Colin Fassnidge is sharpening his knives in preparation for the launch of Kitchen Nightmares Australia, premiering 7.30pm Wednesday, October 12 on Channel Seven and 7plus.
Visiting a different struggling restaurant each week, Colin will work out why the establishments are on the brink of collapse, before relaunching them in just five days.
Fassnidge has over 32 years of restaurant experience. Trained by the legendary Raymond Blanc, he has worked alongside the original Kitchen Nightmares legend, Gordon Ramsay, and has chef-owned several awarded and critically acclaimed restaurants.
Mediaweek spoke to Fassnidge about hosting the iconic format and whether he took any notes from the original series.
The Kitchen Nightmares format has a number of versions across the globe – the most famous being the original UK version and subsequent US version, both hosted by Gordon Ramsay. Heading into his own version of the show, Fassnidge says he didn’t spend much time going back over what’s been done, preferring to forge his own path.
“I grew up as a younger chef watching the English version, which is where it all started. As for the American version, I was like, ‘no, not interested.’ Screaming and shouting to people who just want to eat crap food like Americans, full stop, I’m not interested. It was all show-pony, and it wasn’t done for the goodness of the people. I don’t want to do that.
“Everyone keeps talking about Gordon, this was Gordon’s format. But I’ve spent 50 years working out who Colin is, I don’t really need to be Gordon.”
Gordon Ramsay in the original Kitchen Nightmares
When asked why now was the time to bring the show Down Under, Fassnidge jokes “there have been a few incarnations of the show over the years which weren’t very good, so it’s time to have a good version!”
“People have said, ‘this is the right show for you to do,’ because apparently, I’m quite outspoken. I’m just very passionate about my industry.
“Unlike a lot of countries, we’ve had floods, fires, droughts, and then a pandemic on top of that. Our industry just got battered, and it’s why a lot of the places are in this position. They’re desperate. I think it’s good to see bad stories come good – although obviously, not everyone comes good in this show. But it’s good to see the struggle that restaurants actually go through, and how you can lose your way pretty quick.”
Despite being no stranger to tough love, Fassnidge says that needing to tell people everything wrong with the restaurant they’ve put so much work into was “not as easy as you would think.”
“I work in a very tough industry, and I’m very passionate about it, but when you’re standing in front of someone, it’s like you’re going into their house and you’re telling them how bad it is. Sometimes you need thick skin.
“A lot of people got really upset – there was one where she basically hit the floor in tears. I actually felt bad about one of them. But you’ve got to do it, because otherwise it’s just not going to change. The good thing was that I knew we would fix the joint and it would be 10 times better than when we got there.”
If you’ve spent enough time in one industry, it would be easy to assume there wasn’t much left that could shock you. For better or for worse, Fassnidge says that was absolutely not the case in Kitchen Nightmares.
“I’ve worked in this industry for over 30 years, and to go in and see some of the bad food handling practices and dirty hygiene – even I was like ‘fucking hell, how does this still happen?’. Imagine you get an oyster from dirty water in a sink that has been frozen, then thawed, and then given to you and you’re told it’s fresh. It’s pretty disgraceful.”
As for what audiences can expect from the new show, Fassnidge says that it’s not all dirty kitchens and people being told off.
“If you know me by now, I’m actually quite funny, I think! There’s a lot of humour in there. We let the audience in on the joke, and then we let the person on the other side hang themselves.
“The audience will also see how hard it is to make money in restaurants. Hopefully, with most of them, they’ll go on this journey where they want these people to do well and they don’t want them to fail – well, not everyone! But in the end, it’s quite heartwarming. At the start they’re crying, but at the end, they’re crying with joy.”
Kitchen Nightmares: 7.30pm Wednesday, 12 October on Channel Seven and 7plus