"Kitchen Nightmares" behind the scenes at Lela's Fine Dining

[ruinascimento1977]

big shit



[JesusFreak19761]

well it didnt' help them being they are now out of business

[astayonix]

With all this gear and setup, you'd really think that the head-chef and owner would rally the troops to get things in order for Gordon's visit. I mean, judging by this, it's not exactly like they had a small footprint.

[brianpomona18]

@astayonix You wouldn't believe this, but they actually did prepare for his visit, and checked everything. Somehow they still seemed to miss things for half of their menu.

[SeLangXiansheng]

watching this episode right now, american definitely cant cook jackshit

[quikgamer]

What a stupid remark...Americans Cant cook Jackshit? We have some of the best Chefs in the world.

[SeLangXiansheng]

proves nothing.

and cmon lets just be honest, you guys,( among so many terrific stuff) invented junk food.

[MalcolmAxe]

Yeah ? How did you get your name? Did your parents throw silverware down the stairs to get the sound for your name? Ever been to Asia? Nope! Have a fried rat, thats Junk Food in Chinese!

[MalcolmAxe]

Yeah, like jackshit is equal to fried rat and boiled dog. I realize that you don't think some food is edible unless it was someone's pet first. Make sure you burn the hair off the cat before you serve it! Fuckin GOOK!

[emoviebuff87]

maybe buzzard is the reason why Lela's closed down. he was stealing alot of stuff and that's probably how the place went into debt. even though buisness was good. Lela should sue buzzard.

[brianpomona18]

ha... business was terrible! bad location for one (dead area 90% of the time) and overpriced for pomona (lots of bums here). if you watch the episode where he gets caught with wine and lamb, you can hear him say that he got it from the trash can (lamb was chef gordon's rejected plate and wine was expired and thrown out). he did take some shrimp and soda before though.

[emoviebuff87]

wow!! so what is lela doing now?

[brianpomona18]

not sure... still deep in debt thats for sure! she still owes me over $7,000! O_O

[emoviebuff87]

wow!! $7,000! u think she may call ramsay for a loan or something?

[brianpomona18]

ha... i think she has already exhausted all her loan privilages... if you remember from the episode when shes asking her sister to loan her $3,500 for rent, she goes on saying that she owes like $60,000 and $64,000 on her line of credit! O_O

[emoviebuff87]

wow! and a woman of her age being in alot of debt. do u really think shes gonna pay u what she owes you?

[brianpomona18]

i really hope so... but it doesnt seem like it. everyone i tell this to tells me i'll never see a dime of it. me and my girlfriend ran into at a 99 cents store once and she assured me that she hasn't forgotten about (paying) me. i don't know...

[emoviebuff87]

im pretty sure that she won't pay you back unless she wins the lottery or something like that. is she married? and if she is can't her husband's family help?

[michellestmarie]

If someone borrows money from you, and fails to make good on it RIGHT AWAY...much less months or years after the lending...you're done for. I know from experience.

[emoviebuff87]

by the way, what was it like working with gordon ramsay?

[brianpomona18]

i think her husband died a while back... and i'm sure she has already reached out to every branch of her family tree for help. she probably owes thousands to her whole family. about gordon ramsay... well i din't work too much with him since i was only a busser/dishwasher.. but on our grand reopening he had me serve tables and got frustrated with me cus i didn't know where table 4 was... haha

[emoviebuff87]

wow! so do you think she's gonna flee the country or something? i know she took a big risk at opening up a resturant in a dead area but idk. i just feel sorry for her after seeing the episode.

[brianpomona18]

lol i doubt it.. she has a nice 2 story spanish style house in a historical area in pomona.. i don't think she'll leave all that behind and run. plus she takes care of her 5ish year old grand daughter

[michellestmarie]

She should have opened a retro diner and had kick-ass diner food. THAT would have sold there.

[nvanbc1]

@emoviebuff87 If everyone fled the country because they got into debt, about 4 people would be living in the US today.

[emoviebuff87]

so do u think that she's embarressed about showing her face in public? by the way, how do u think she will pay u back? i mean really?

[brianpomona18]

i don't know really... i saw her once last year at a 99 cents store and she reassured me that she hasn't forgotten about (paying) me.. but i don't know... it's been close to 2 years now since she closed down lela's

[emoviebuff87]

yeah i know that. but what good does that do if she just assures you that she hasn't forgotten? if u ask me, you'll never see a dime of it. im not being mean, it's just that it seems like in reality she won't.

[brianpomona18]

Yeah, that's what everyone has been telling me. After over two years now, I think they're right. It's too bad... I could really use the money. I got burned again recently by another restaurant last year. I'm 21 and still can't afford my first car yet.

[michellestmarie]

Ohhh I know the feeling.

[michellestmarie]

Right. Since when is taking garbage a sort of theft? As far as I could see--apart from the wine--he was taking stuff that would have been binned. But the wine is a bigger deal.

[brianpomona18]

Actually, the wine was expired and tossed out. There also was only very little wine in the bottles; less than half full.

[y2yulio]

sorry, should have been more specific.  i meant the butcher shop in la verne.

[sleestack]

what was gordon like in person? What is it like when they are making the show? Is he there very long and does he really seem to care? Its seems really edited and maybe scripted?

[vocam04]

this is boring,were's the fod

[Kahuna21]

yeah i thought they said it had closed down due to debts...have they relocated and reopened?

[brianpomona18]

nope... lela is still in a hole to this day... unfortunately she still owes me thousands in wages :(

[kara12]

is it gone now?

[brianpomona18]

yea it's been gone since june 28, 2007 ...long time now lol

[hianda]

What happened to Tabitha?

[brianpomona18]

she got abducted by aliens... lol

nah i dont know what shes doing

[robcodsall]

Hi Brian -you might be interested to know that the episode featuring Lela's was broadcast in Britain tonight (Feb21). Shame that the place closed because it looked like it was really starting to pick up. What has happened to you all now? I hope you've all landed on your feet. Regards Rpb (in Wrexham, North Wales)

[brianpomona18]

wow pretty interesting! didn't know it would make it way over there! well unfortunately i'm still waiting for my paycheck from lela over half a year later after closing... she said she'd get me some money when she had it and shes going to live with her son and rent her house out to avoid losing it.

[deur6]

ive actually eaten here. shame it was before gordon turned the place around :(

[ragemanchoo82]

BTW, remember 'Legs' the server? Whatever happened to him? He was cute

[brianpomona18]

which one was that? lol

[ragemanchoo82]

That was his nickname. He was the one who aced the blind meat taste-test thing, I think.

[brianpomona18]

oh you mean LEX... lol

his real name is Alexis

[ragemanchoo82]

Ah, my bad

[SafeLight4]

thats CRAZY this place used to be 51's spot! it was cool seeing this on tv though

[DIANAtheMUSICAL]

omg i know lela!

[brianpomona18]

you do?!

[gaijinsteve]

I just saw the episode and read Stranahans blog, sad that the place closed. Do you know what happened to the other people you worked with? That clip you have of Buzzard was funny as hell. Seemed like cool people...

[brianpomona18]

oh haha we all used to make fun of buzzard... i made that video of him long time ago while that place was still open and showed it to everyone including him. i still talk to ricky and tabitha. i actually am going to start working with ricky and lex again at a new butcher shop/deli

[nomoredramah]

please let us know the name of the deli.you guys are hilarious.i`d definately come by and eat there!

[brianpomona18]

umm its in la verne at the corner of foothill and fruit in the marshals shopping center... its called "the butcher shop" its going to open this month

[nomoredramah]

thanx.i cant wait...i`ll see you there!

[mattyj2001]

For those living in/around La Verne, this place is open and the product is top notch! I'm a wannabe home cook/chef/pitmaster and I'm very happy with my purchases from The Corner Butcher thus far. Let's hope this place finds a better fate than Lela's!

[brianpomona18]

yeah seems like a good place. unfortunately they ended up not needing to hire me afterall. did you get to meet ricky and lex?

[mattyj2001]

I think I mostly spoke to Ricky the first time I was there, but I've been there pretty much every week since they opened and have talked to everyone at one time or another.

They've created a very welcoming but professional atmosphere there. And the product is top notch. I hope it catches on and stays in La Verne forever.

[brianpomona18]

Ricky is quite a character isnt he? lol

[y2yulio]

i walked into that place a few weeks ago, if you love meat then there is your heaven!!!

[ragemanchoo82]

Brian, who was that retarded chef who put hersheys syrup on top-quality lambchops? I felt like screaming at my TV.

[deur6]

they weren't quality

[ragemanchoo82]

Eh, he was still retarded for putting hersheys syrup on them

[brianpomona18]

oh haha that was good 'ol RICKY!

[chsu423]

does anyone know how I might be able to get a copy of this show?

[brianpomona18]

go to google and search for "kitchen nightmares" s01e08" ...its gonna be a torrent file

[DroogInPhoenix]

Do you have any footage of it that doesnt suck ass or is shorter then the seasons preview you posted?

[ramandala]

Yawn... It doesn't show the behind the scenes work at all, just some of the equipment.

[y2yulio]

funny thing is this place is now closed down.

[marksiwel]

Really?

[y2yulio]

yep, my brother told me about and it and i drove by and it was empty, and there is a big "for lease" sign on the window.

[mintlipgloss]

Do you know why it closed?

[cahk2]

The owner had too much debt accumulated... that was announced 30 seconds before the end of the show

[brianpomona18]

yeah it closed down back in june... she still owes me $7,650!!!! ricky like $4,500 and tabitha $2,500... crazy huh

[zachb007]

all a bunch of losers!!!

[sleestack]

they owe her from what i saw on that show

[ragemanchoo82]

y2yjulio - Yahoo Yellow Pages still lists it, but they are often slow to update their listings.

[theburnoutzero]

has the episode aired yet?

[SMOKEDADDYRECORDS]

not that one

[DroogInPhoenix]

Aired tonight, 11/22 check torrents for it.

[slantone]

some people....they just watch tv - and have no idea where it comes from or that it actually takes people to work hard and set shit up for their entertainment......fuckin twats.....

[warkillspeople]

That's 1:14 I'll never get back...

[DodgyKen06]

Rubbish

[whutevs]

i've seen a lot of videos on youtube, but this has to be the most pointless.

[24AIRMOBILE]

who cares about behind the scenes it always spoils a good tv moment