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Community Corner

Resident Survives A 'Kitchen Nightmare'

One Commackian's take from behind-the-scenes of Kitchen Nightmares at Classic American in West Babylon.

I like reality shows, but my one favorite in particular is celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. Recently, a friend and I had an opportunity to be part of Kitchen Nightmares, and of course I jumped at the chance.

The so-called “nightmare” of a kitchen featured in the episode was that of Classic American, a small, quaint eatery in West Babylon, owned by two former waitresses.

Filming got off to an interesting start. Before we even began, we were told not to wear any items of “loud” clothing or anything with a logo, and we had to sign an agreement. These all seemed normal enough requests. Then, as I looked over the paperwork before signing, I noticed a paragraph stating that the show was not responsible for any illnesses afterward…I became slightly worried at that part. But sign the agreement I did.

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As filming began, the crew took a picture of us and assigned us a number. Then, the food came: It was exactly as bad as I thought it would be. As most of us who watch the show know, Kitchen Nightmares is just that—a nightmare. This experience was no different. For starters, it took three hours for dinner to be served. During that time, whatever appetizers we received, we sent right back.  The potato skins were doused in herbs, the calamari felt like a rubber band in my mouth, the chicken fingers were burnt and the pasta was watery.

After some more waiting, we were told that they lost our ticket. Frustration started to build, but I didn’t care—I wanted to get a peek at Gordon Ramsey. We heard him yell and scream, but still no sighting. Finally, he poked his head around the corner and eyed the people coming in. He then instructed the owners to close the place; no one else would be coming in for dinner. Happy for that quick look at Mr. Ramsey, my friend and I tried to finish the awful meal while the production crew filmed us.

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And yes, we made it on TV—three times to be exact.  My shining moment came as I glanced at the plate of defrosted chicken over spinach sitting in front of me and said “What the hell is that?”

In the end, I received a gift card to return to the newly madeover Classic American, and my 15 seconds of fame.

To watch the episode, which originally aired on Jan. 28, 2011 on Fox, click here.

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