Amy's Baking Company

"Amy's Baking Company" is the 16th episode of the sixth season of ''Kitchen Nightmares'', and the 82nd episode of the series. The episode first aired on May 10, 2013, and centered on Gordon Ramsay attempting to help Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, owners of Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The episode marked the only time in the history of both the British and the American versions of ''Kitchen Nightmares'' that Ramsay was unable to complete the restaurant's transformation due to conflict with the owners. The owners' violent behaviors received negative attention on social media, and the manner in which they responded to this critical reception further fueled the controversy, prompting ''Forbes'' to refer to this as an example of how a business should not react to comments posted on social media.

A follow-up episode, "Return to Amy's Baking Company", aired as the season-seven premiere on April 11, 2014.

Synopsis

Amanda "Amy" (née Bossingham) and Salomon "Samy" Bouzaglo, the husband-and-wife owners, explain the history of their restaurant: Samy invested over a million dollars to build the restaurant in 2006 to "fulfill Amy's dreams". About two years prior to the episode's filming, bloggers began writing negative reviews of the restaurant's food and pointing out the owners' behavior. Amy claims the reviews are "lies" and states that they cost the restaurant a "tremendous amount of business".Hahnefeld, Laura (May 23, 2013)
"Chasing Amy: Overcooked Reality and the Decline of Western Civility"
. ''Phoenix New Times''.

On the night before Ramsay's arrival, the camera crew witnesses an intense argument between Samy and a customer. It starts when the customer complains to Samy that he and his friend have been waiting for a pizza for over an hour, causing Samy to lash out at him and order the two customers to leave, but not before insisting that the two customers pay for the drinks they have received. Samy then turns his attention to the customer's friend, while Amy threatens to call the police. Just when it appears that Samy and the customer will come to blows, a cameraman steps in and escorts the customers out of the restaurant. Amy then berates and insults the other customers in the restaurant before storming back into the kitchen.

Upon his arrival, Ramsay is initially impressed with the kitchen's good hygiene and organization, and is impressed by Amy's desserts, though becomes more wary when Amy admits that she closes the restaurant if either of the owners are not there. After the initial discussion, Ramsay prepares to sample the dishes. He has a rather negative response to the menu items: the fig and pear prosciutto pizza is very sweet, and the dough is undercooked. The blue-ribbon burger is not medium rare as requested, with a combination of condiments that Ramsay finds bizarre, and a bun dripping with grease. The red pepper ravioli exhibits a combination of sweet and spicy flavors that Ramsay calls "confusing", and he learns from Samy that the ravioli were a mass-produced frozen product, despite being advertised on the menu as "freshly made". The salmon burger is overcooked and poorly presented. Samy reveals to Ramsay that he does not tell Amy about customer complaints about the food, as he knows she does not deal well with criticism. At another point during the sampling, Ramsay learns from one of the servers, Miranda Winant, that none of the servers make any tips, but that they instead go to Samy. Ramsay discusses this with Samy, who justifies the policy by saying he does much of the front-of-house work, though Miranda reveals that Samy does not always properly put the orders in and as a result often omits dishes that are ordered. Samy also operates a point of sale machine poorly. Miranda says she can operate the machine, but Samy refuses and tells her to go away.

Later, during dinner service, Ramsay criticizes Amy and Samy for the food he was served during lunch, and Amy responds by denying any wrongdoing because Samy refused to tell her the problems about the food. Ramsay also criticizes Amy for using frozen ravioli instead of making it fresh, and announces to the customers that the ravioli is off the menu, which does not sit well with Amy. Throughout the night, customers are seen complaining about the long waiting, and several customers are shown sending back dishes they disliked. At one point, Amy accidentally gives the wrong table number to Miranda. Subsequently, when Amy gives food to Katy Cipriano, another server, as well as the table number, Katy asks, "Are you sure?" Amy responds by accusing her of having an "attitude problem" and demands that she leave. When Ramsay witnesses a customer giving a tip intended for the servers and Samy taking it for himself, Samy again defends the policy, stating that the waiting staff receive an hourly wage. This prompts Ramsay to inform the customer that all tips go to the restaurant's management and not the servers, to which the customer replies, "That's horrible." Samy and Ramsay then get into a heated, profanity-laced argument, in which Ramsay tells Samy he is not allowed to take his servers' tips. Amy closes the restaurant, and Katy quits on the spot while getting fired. Samy attempts to dissuade Amy, but she does not relent, later describing Katy, who leaves the premises in tears, as a "poisonous little viper".

Ramsay returns to the restaurant the next day, only to find it closed and empty. Ramsay takes this opportunity to talk to Henry and Jessica, who previously worked in the restaurant. Both describe horrible working experiences: Henry says Samy made him wash his car and Jessica says that at least 50 people were fired during the 18-month period when she worked at the restaurant. Ramsay then attempts to talk to Amy and Samy, telling them what they are doing wrong. Amy refuses to listen and becomes increasingly aggressive and hostile towards Ramsay. Samy reveals that that the number of fired employees is closer to 100. Finally, Ramsay learns that Amy had lied to him about making the desserts herself. Ramsay concludes they are not open to making any changes and leaves the restaurant. In a concluding monologue, he states that this is the first time he has met restaurant owners that he could not help. Before leaving the area, he cites the fact that the restaurant has gone through a hundred staff members, stating that Amy and Samy have infuriated the local community and are incapable of accepting criticism, and that he believes that they would not have adhered to any changes he would have implemented to improve the restaurant, regardless.

Production

The episode was shot in December 2012. On December 10, a local media interview with a diner described his altercation with Samy during taping. The diner saw what he thought was an act for the purposes of the show, but a producer told him "what was happening was real". The diner went on to explain that police were on the scene by the time he left the restaurant. The diner reported that the police were responding to a "911 hang-up call" from the restaurant, and that they left after "concluding everything was fine".

Reception and reaction

The episode premiered on May 10, 2013, and was viewed by about 3.34 million people. It was seen by 1.2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds in the United States and 5% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode met with praise from reviewers, with one critic writing, "The episode is nothing short of amazing."

After the show aired, the restaurant, which was located in a shopping center at Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard, became a tourist attraction. The restaurant received extensive negative feedback on their official Facebook page. When owners Amy and Samy responded by denouncing people who posted negative comments, they provoked more of the same, not only on Facebook, but also on Yelp and Reddit. ''Forbes'' used the reactions as a poster example of how a business should not react to comments on social media. The owners later stated that they were hacked, and that they had not posted any of the comments.Erwin, Elizabeth (May 14, 2013)
"Restaurant owners slammed on national TV speak out"
KPHO-TV. CBS 5. The couple later claimed that the unsatisfied customers seen in the episode were "actors" during their appearance on ''Dr. Phil''. This prompted more negative responses and the original comments and responses were eventually removed. As a result of the ''Kitchen Nightmares'' episode and Facebook posts, awareness of the incident caused the "meltdown" to go viral.

The company hired a local public relations firm, and a second Facebook page was eventually taken down as well, while another one called "I support Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro 100 percent" appeared on May 15. A press release announced that they would be holding a "Grand Reopening" on May 21, 2013. On April 11, 2014, ''Kitchen Nightmares'' aired a special episode revolving around the events at Amy's Baking Company during and after the episode aired with a new, specially recorded interview with the owners conducted by local reporter Ana Garcia.

Amy's Baking Company permanently closed on September 1, 2015. Amy Bouzaglo explained that the development stemmed from problems with the building's former landlord, and not the TV series. She also indicated her future career plans included making desserts for a Phoenix-area restaurant group and producing online instructional cooking videos. The owners moved to California in 2016, and later to Israel in 2018 following Samy's deportation, which ''USA Today'' and 12 News reported had occurred because of Samy's failure to disclose that he had served time in prison for extortion and drug charges overseas. In April 2022, Amy returned to the United States and filed for divorce, while Samy remained in Israel. She continues to post baking content on social media. Amy began an Instagram account with the name Amy's Baking Company, on which she posts videos of herself making desserts. As of August 2024, she had over 30,000 followers.

In 2021, Amy Bouzaglo gave an interview to the ''New York Post'' discussing her experience on the show. She stated that production staff had "rearranged" ingredients in the kitchen and "sabotaged" their POS system. The customers recruited by the producers were also allegedly the "same ones who had left negative reviews" beforehand. Bouzaglo also defended taking waiters' tips, saying that they were paid $8 to $14/hour. She also stated the decision to have production end after one day was hers, not Ramsay's or the producers', and she asked that the episode not air.

References

{{Gordon Ramsay

2013 in Arizona
2013 American television episodes
Buildings and structures in Scottsdale, Arizona
Restaurants in Phoenix, Arizona