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Top 10 Worst Pizzas Served on Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares
During his time on Kitchen Nightmares, Superstar Chef Gordon Ramsay has been faced with more than a few infuriating situations. From horrible tasting food to poor quality ingredients, disrespectful chefs, and outrageous dining rooms, there is little that Gordon hasn’t seen. Although running a restaurant can be tough, you would expect a good chef to be able to make a decent tasting pizza, at the very least. But, for the chefs on this list, even the basics seemed too difficult to achieve. So here are the Top 10 Times Gordon Ramsay Was Furious Over A Pizza On Kitchen Nightmares!
10. Mama Maria’s Monster Mess
From the moment this pizza was placed on the table, you could already tell it was one of the greasiest pizzas ever made. And from the moment Ramsay stood outside of Mama Maria’s Italian Ristorante in Brooklyn, he could already tell by the shabby appearance that this was going to be an interesting ride. And he was more than right. The staff and the owner did not greet Gordon’s arrival with a ton of excitement, but rather with a lot of awkward looks and snarky comments. Gordon was hopeful that the food wouldn’t be the issue at this restaurant, but the rude staff instead. He’s proved wrong after he receives and tastes his frozen-looking meal and doubly so after a quick stroll around the kitchen. With moldy desserts on his plate, dirt, and dust around the restaurant, and an overly oily pizza, the unwelcoming staff was only the tip of the iceberg. Gordon sat down and tried to decipher why the pizza was so greasy and oily. “How could a pizza contain so much grease?” seemed to be a burning question in his mind. After some time pondering, he realized that no one tasted the food before it was sent to him, which is a pivotal step in any chef’s process. The employees were on the verge of losing their cool after Ramsay told them he just had one of the most disgusting lunches ever, insulting their cooking methods. Following a somewhat bustling rush hour, Gordon came to the rescue of the 55-year-old Italian restaurant and redesigned the entire menu, getting rid of anything frozen and coming up with new, exciting recipes. Thanks to Gordon’s help, Mama Maria was able to turn itself around and no longer offers one of the greasiest pizza Ramsay ever tasted!
9. Poor Prosciutto Pie
While many of the restaurants listed here may share the same scandalous and horrific kitchen tidiness problems, this next contender has made it solely due to its distinguished pizza. And the owners’ bubbly personalities, of course. While you may have watched Gordon wreak havoc in disgusting kitchens filled with mold, bacteria, and rotting food, the issue at Amy’s Baking Company had little to do with the kitchen’s quality control, and all to do with the actual food. Although the owners were extremely confident in the crisp crust of their pizza, Gordon strongly disagreed when they served him the prosciutto pie. Not only was the crust nowhere near the standard that had been promised, but it was also completely undercooked, and in some bites, just straight out inedible. Gordon went on to voice his remarks to Amy, one of the owners, but that was all in vain. She refused to accept his critique and claimed that to her, there was nothing wrong with her pizza. Even though you could clearly see the half-cooked dough dangling in a pool of grease. In addition to the cooking time issue, Gordon also noted how oddly sweet the pizza tasted. Although a certain level of sweetness is wanted from the tomatoes, there’s supposed to be some sort of acidity to balance out the flavor. Alas, this pizza didn’t fit the bill. The owners continued to defend their precious, unpalatable pizza and finally, Gordon had enough. He told them the pizza was raw, soggy, wet, and too sweet and after being yelled at, he walked out, leaving the owners to fend for themselves. Chaos and inedible pizza were on the menu of this now-closed restaurant and if it’s taught us anything it’s this: if Gordon Ramsay tells you your pizza is bad, it might be a good idea to listen to him!
8. Catastrophic Calzone
When visiting Pantalone’s restaurant in Denver Colorado, they served Gordon a wide array of Italian “cuisine”, however, one of the most unappetizing items had to be the Chef’s Calzone. Named after Head Chef Pete, Pete’s Calzone was easily one of the largest meals Gordon had ever been presented with. This calzone was practically an entire pizza folded in half! After some profanities were said about the looks of this overly stuffed calzone, Gordon took a bite and did not have anything nice to say about the taste either. With a mouthful of raw onions and ice-cold pepperoni, he declared it a hideous meal. Word got back to the kitchen, and Pete was less than joyful about the news. With a dish that big, the most important thing is to make sure the whole thing is cooked and hot. Crispy on the outside and soggy on the inside isn’t exactly the most appetizing taste ever. The calzone is a classic pizzeria dish loved around the world, however, Pete’s Calzone at Pantalone’s ended up being a major disappointment in Gordon’s eyes.
7. Grocery Store Style
When Gordon arrived at Charlie’s Italian Bistro, he fully expected to meet Charlie himself. But, turned out, the owner of the restaurant was a woman named Tatiana. When they served Gordon his food, he expressed how this was one of the worst Italian food experiences he had ever had. After he ate some raw toasted ravioli along with a weird-looking pink lasagna, he was hopeful that the pizza – an Italian staple – would redeem the menu. But, sad to say, it was just as terrible as the rest of the food. He even compared it to a store-bought frozen pizza, since it was so undercooked, cold, and of extremely bad quality. And funny enough, no one except Tatiana and the head chef, Casimiro, seemed to disagree with him. His comparison wasn’t so far off after all, as he discovered tons and tons of foods in the freezers, including the pizza doughs. No wonder they tasted like frozen pizzas. Gordon pointed out that more does not always mean better when it comes to pizza – a concept that didn’t seem quite understood by the head chef. Gordon introduces his chef, Jonathan, who stepped in and helped maintain the restaurant’s new standards after Gordon’s exit and the pizza became much more enjoyable after that.
6. The Colossal: A Pizza Nightmare
The next pizza on the list is one of the most massive pizzas that Gordon had ever seen – and it is jaw-dropping so, behold. The name The Capri Restaurant gave this monstrosity of a pizza was truly fitting as customers knew this beast as “The Colossal”. This pizza was loaded to the brim with nearly every imaginable pizza topping. Yes, this sounds like it could be a fantastic pizza, loaded with flavor, but, one look is enough to make your stomach turn, and this is exactly what happened with Gordon before he even took a bite. As he pushed the endless toppings around on top of the uncooked pizza dough, it started to look more like a grilled vegetable salad than an actual pizza. Just way too many ingredients on this pie. The waitress even told Ramsay the pizza had a bit of everything – minus anchovies. Gordon wasn’t impressed and called the pizza dreadful and hideous. As Kitchen Nightmares continues to prove time and again, the most simple recipes are almost always the best. The taller the pie, the harder they fall! After receiving some help from Gordon, the owners improved their restaurant and their reputation for a little while. But, all good things must come to an end and Capri closed its doors in 2019, and the world said goodbye to The Colossal, without too many regrets.
5. The World’s Most Bizarre Pizza
In an attempt to fuse two incredibly popular dishes of the 21st century, Sushi Ko in California tried to create a Sushi Pizza. The attempt was not exactly a flaming success, at least, not according to Ramsay. The restaurant’s specialty item was no better than their other food failures of frozen salmon and overnight soup. The waitress told Gordon that the dish was made of rice, mayo, cheese, salmon, and crab – which seemed like an interesting, yet unappetizing combination. Despite the waitress’s warning, Gordon decided to order it anyway. Gordon took one bite of the dish and immediately spit it out and smashed his napkin on top of it to hide its hideousness. He then took a stroll down to the kitchen to express his discontent with the nefarious pizza. After reprimanding the owner and the chef for not wearing hairnets in the kitchen, Gordon couldn’t hold back saying that the Sushi pizza was a disgrace to both the pizza and the Japanese culture, potentially one of the harshest criticisms ever given on the show. Nonetheless, Ramsay did his best to help the owners out, but Sushi Ko ended up closing its doors. Too little too late. However, they did serve one of the most memorable dishes that Gordon has ever tasted! Just not memorable in a good way.
4. Favorito Del Nonna or Disgusto Del Gordon
When Gordon arrived at Anna Vincenzo’s in Boca Raton, he was pleasantly surprised. Not by the pizza, but by the decor of the restaurant. The outside looked relatively clean, well decorated, and ready for service. But you know what they say – never judge a book by its cover. The biggest issue with the restaurant wasn’t its appearance, but the food itself. If the food is bad, the restaurant will suffer, no doubt about it. Add in a stubborn chef who doesn’t take criticism, and you’ve got yourself a ticking time bomb of disaster. After eating some horrible appetizers and butting heads with the owner via the innocent waitress, Gordon finally tasted the alleged best pizza served at the restaurant – the Favorito Del Nonna – and let’s just say it wasn’t love at first bite. While many pizzas on this list were criticized for being way too oily, or topped with an overload of stuff, the pizza at Anna Vincenzo’s was the complete opposite. Gordon described it as completely dry, bland, and boring, with a little touch of sogginess in the middle of the pizza. Even stranger still, the pizza was topped with broccoli, one of the most universally hated vegetables. To which the owner replied with a friendly comment saying Ramsay didn’t know anything about pizza because he was British. How’s that for not taking criticism, right? For Gordon, this pizza was certainly not the perfect Italian experience and the owner’s snobby and obstinate attitude did not help the cause. Gordon attempted to turn this family restaurant around but it was hopeless. The one saving grace here is that no child will ever have to try eating this broccoli pizza again!
3. Baked Potato Pizza Pie
If a pizza arrives at the table and Gordon’s immediate reaction is to say: “what is that”, then it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the dinner experience. One of the strangest pizza’s he had ever seen, the Loaded Baked Potato Pizza at J.Willy’s in Indiana, did not set the bar super high right off the bat. Gordon was so shocked by the funny-looking pizza that he asked the priest who was eating at the next table to bless his food. But, needless to say, God wasn’t on his side as he took his first and last bite of this loaded pizza. He compared the ranch dressing to wallpaper paste and sent it right back to where it came from. The layer of oil on the pizza did not impress Gordon either. Overall, a very disappointing pizza, especially if you were looking for that tangy marinara sauce. But, no. Instead, you get this. Wallpaper paste. Yum. It’s always great when a restaurant wants to push the boundaries in terms of ingredients and recipe creativity, however, the quality has to meet the mark too. J.Willy’s did not make it despite the recipe improvements and closed down a few months after Ramsay’s visit. So, no more Baked Potato Pizza, but, maybe that’s for the best.
2. The Moldy Tower of Pizza
People have served Gordon some pretty terrible pizzas over the years and they’ve all thought they knew everything there was to know about cooking. However, Gordon has rarely been so unimpressed by a restaurant’s pizza quality than that of Barefoot Bob’s Beach Grill. A common issue on Kitchen Nightmares is the quality of the food being prepared and the cleanliness of the restaurant. You can get seriously ill if your food has not been properly cooked or prepared. It’s called Food Health and Safety for a reason, people. Even though Gordon didn’t order the pizza during his routine taste test, he still managed to get his hands on some, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. In the midst of looking through tons of frozen and expired food, he came across a stack of 25 moldy pizzas, all piled up together in a soaked, forgotten fridge, and it sent him into a furious spiral. Not the best first impression, let’s just leave it at that. Ramsay estimated that the restaurant had wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on spoiled food. With food standards this low, it’s no wonder the restaurant was struggling. Despite Gordon’s best efforts to help the restaurant, it eventually closed after going back to its original decor and menu. Again, no wonder. Minor issues with pizzas can be fixed but when a restaurant has this little regard for their quality, they might as well be left off the menu.
1. The Best and Worst Pizza in Denver
Remember Pantalone’s in Denver, Colorado? Well, they have the honor to be another contender on this list and they’ve even earned the number one spot! Score! Considering the Calzone didn’t set the bar very high for any other dish, it should come as no surprise that their pizza did not fare any better. It was covered in a heavy amount of grease from the unreasonable amount of cheese and sausage. Gordon couldn’t believe his eyes. The pizza, which was supposed to be thin crust, was easily one of the largest Gordon had ever seen. When Gordon saw how gigantic, doughy and oily the pizza was, he said that this was in no way the best in Denver, as the owner proudly claimed. Because of the chef’s stubbornness to admit that his pizza was not good at all, Gordon conducted a taste-test with 3 different pizzas with random people on the street. Pete’s pizza, shockingly, came in last – finishing behind even a store-bought pizza. Ouch. But, eventually, with Gordon’s help, the restaurant got a little “make-over” and began to earn its “Best pizza in Denver” title back!