(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 5 | View All Season 5 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: November 4, 2011
Burger Kitchen Address: 8048 W 3rd St Los Angeles, California 90048
Episode Recap
The Burger Kitchen was a Los Angeles, California restaurant featured on Season 5 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Burger Kitchen Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in November 2011, the actual visit from Gordon Ramsay happened a few months earlier in August.
It was a two-part episode that spanned Kitchen Nightmares Season 5 Episode 6 and Episode 7.
In my opinion, this episode is one of the most fun, drama-packed episodes of Kitchen Nightmares.
In the episode, Gordon Ramsay heads to The Burger Kitchen, located in Los Angeles, California.
The Burger Kitchen restaurant touted itself as a house of gourmet burgers.
However, it was facing some very serious issues since its inception almost a year before the Gordon Ramsay visit.
The Burger Kitchen owner was Alan Saffron, an Australian who immigrated to the USA.
In a very contentious decision, Alan used the inheritance money of Daniel Saffron, his son, to open the restaurant (without consulting Daniel about the decision).
You can already see the drama brewing, right? It’s pretty crazy to just take your son’s inheritance money without consulting him.
Also, that inheritance money comes from a kind of seedy place, as I’ll discuss later in the post.
Further, Daniel Saffron was not given a proper partnership in the restaurant.
To make matters even worse, he was not being properly briefed about Burger Kitchen’s financial matters.
Basically, things are already pretty bad from a personal relationship standpoint.
This is Kitchen Nightmares, though – so the food and operations are also not up to standards.
The one good thing about the restaurant was the interior, which Gordon Ramsay seemed to actually like.
However, there’s not much else to be positive about. Alan (the owner) claims to be suffering a loss of $6,000 per month, which is definitely not a good spot to be in as a restaurant.
When Gordon Ramsay arrived at the The Burger Kitchen, he soon-after sat down to test out the food.
Gordon ordered a meat pie and some burgers but found them to be totally bland and under-cooked.
All of the blame for the poor food quality was put on Chef David.
However, David didn’t want to accept responsibility because the owners weren’t letting David cook the food how he wanted to.
Basically, David had to follow instructions…and those instructions led to low-quality food.
He also claimed of not getting his wages on time, which doesn’t exactly make him motivated to change things.
David actually does seem like a good chef, as Gordon Ramsay liked David’s burger when David was allowed to cook it his way.
Overall, the Burger Kitchen had around 10 different chefs in its 16 months of opening, which shows that the chef isn’t the problem.
That’s like a constant revolving door of chefs going in and out of The Burger Kitchen.
There aren’t just disputes with the chef – Daniel was angry with his father for using his inheritance money without his permission.
He was also unhappy about being dragged forcibly in this family business.
Such a mess of affairs. Nothing seemed right.
Want to know what happened next? Shocking truths kept piling up one after the other.
Apart from swindling his son’s inheritance money, Alan was also accused of using pre-made and dry patties, not allowing the cooks to use salt in the burgers and unfair financial transactions.
The head chef, Alan’s wife and Daniel all joined the screaming match.
If all that was not enough, endless shots of half-cooked burgers slashed the plates brought the remaining carnage.
After things cool down a bit, they all were invited by the Gordon to a theater.
He tried to lead a talk between Alan and a website owner whose negative reviews Alan believed had ruined the business.
As a next step, Gordon tried to strike reconciliation between Daniel and his father.
Things seemed to go in the right direction and attention finally shifted on food again.
For the dinner Daniel took the lead and came out decently despite few glitches.
The restaurant was also given a makeover overnight by Gordon and the menu was also updated.
Not only this, but a surprise was also planned by him and food critics and bloggers were also invited on the re-opening.
Daniel was put in charge of managing things at The Burger Kitchen, but Alan still struggled to give up control at the restaurant.
Eventually, Gordon Ramsay got Alan to promis to let Daniel deal with the things in his own way.
This is where the show ended.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Burger Kitchen restaurant visit a long-term success?
Keep reading my update to learn what happened next and if this Los Angeles restaurant is still open in 2025.
Burger Kitchen Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped what happened in the Burger Kitchen Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Los Angeles, CA.
I’ll talk about the status of the restaurant in a second.
But first, let’s look at a few Burger Kitchen reviews that were written after the visit from Gordon Ramsay.
The Burger Kitchen Los Angeles Reviews
Overall, The Burger Kitchen had a 3 star rating on Yelp, which includes reviews both before and after the Kitchen Nightmares visit.
Unfortunately, though, the reviews didn’t seem to get any better even after Gordon visited.
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after Gordon’s visit…
2 star Yelp review from January 2012:
Went in after seeing this place on Kitchen Nightmares, thought we’d see if Gordon made a real change.
For a burger place ……….
All 4 burgers (ordered medium, medium well, and medium rare (x2)) came out well.
After just opening for the day there were no sweet potato fries – their “specialty.”. Ice tea, yes. Lemons, no.
Staff was friendly enough but not super attentive or efficient. overall, not terribly impressed.
Next time I’ll go to Five Guys or In-n-Out.
1 star Yelp review from January 2012:
1 star Yelp review from January 2012:
Small menu.
It’s just burgers and fries.
Burgers come with literally nothing.
Bacon, cheese, mushrooms, etc all cost additional.
Fries are also additional.
A cheeseburger and fries cost me $17 + tax and tip.
The burger and fries themselves were nothing special.
Sadly, Wendy’s has a better burger for almost a 1/4 of the price.
The review above is pretty brutal, claiming that Wendy’s serves a better burger!
3 star Yelp review from January 2012:
The burgers here are good and it is reasonable to eat here if you’re in the area.
It isn’t a destination burger joint and there isn’t anything exceptional about it.
But it is reasonably priced and tasty enough.
Overall, given the negative nature of most of the reviews, it’s no surprise what happened next…
Is The Burger Kitchen still open after Kitchen Nightmares?
The Burger Kitchen closed for good in February 2012, which is just a few months after the episode aired on TV.
Before its closure, the Saffrons seem to have already sold the Burger Kitchen to new owners shortly after the Gordon Ramsay Burger Kitchen visit.
In October 2011, new management, new chef and new menu were introduced.
The restaurant also gained sudden popularity after Gordon’s show.
A lot of people went there out of curiosity, yet the reviews continued to be negative.
For those reasons, it’s no surprise that The Burger Kitchen closed so shortly after the episode aired on TV.
After Burger Kitchen from Kitchen Nightmares closed its doors, the location was occupied for a time by a Tokyo cuisine eatery.
However, that restaurant also ended up failing at some point.
As of 2023, the former Burger Kitchen location is occupied by a Greek restaurant and cocktail bar called Theía.
The restaurant has good-but-not-great reviews, with a 4-star average on Yelp.
You can learn more about the new restaurant at its Yelp page.
You can also see the old The Burger Kitchen Los Angeles CA location in this shot from Google Maps street view:
No matter what, it appears that Alan’s dream of amazing burgers is gone for good.
Thankfully, people in Los Angeles still have plenty of other options to grab a good burger.
The Saffron Family Has an Interesting History
If you want to learn more about the Alan Saffron and Daniel Saffron inheritance situation, there’s also a good read in The Sydney Morning Herald about where the money came from.
It seems like Alan’s father, Abe Saffron, was known as “Mr. Sin” and made millions in the vice trade in Australia.
It’s definitely an interesting read given the context of Burger Kitchen’s episode.
Alan Saffron also wrote a book about his experiences growing up with his dad.
It’s called “Gentle Satan: Growing up with Australia’s Most Notorious Crime Boss“, though the reviews are mixed.
Here’s the cover of Alan’s book:
What happened to Alan Saffron from Kitchen Nightmares?
Unfortunately, Alan Saffron passed away at age 71 from a heart attack on April 19, 2020.
Rest in peace, Alan.
You can read Alan’s obituary here, which includes his work in Hollywood.
What happened to Daniel Saffron from Kitchen Nightmares?
I’m not sure what happened to Daniel Saffron, but there are some reports that he’s moved to Michigan.
Wherever he is, I hope that he’s doing well.
David, Another Saffron Family Member, Convicted of Forex Trading Fraud
Here’s another interesting tidbit:
David Saffron, another member of the Saffron family and Daniel’s brother, was hit with a $32 million default judgement from the US for a “cryptocurrency fraud and misappropriation scheme”.
The regulator alleged that from December 2017 through the present, Mr. Saffron fraudulently solicited and accepted at least $15,815,967 worth of Bitcoin and U.S. dollars from at least 179 individuals to trade off-exchange binary options on foreign currencies (forex) and cryptocurrency pairs, among other things.
Again, this is about David, not Daniel Saffron (who you saw on the show).
But I still thought it was interesting, especially because of the family’s connection to Abe Saffron (Mr. Sin in Australia).
Thanks to the reader below who shared this link.
If you want to learn more, The Daily Beast has a very detailed article that references the Kitchen Nightmares connection.
Final Thoughts on The Burger Kitchen
Overall, the Burger Kitchen episode was not one of Gordon Ramsay’s succesful visit.
The restaurant was sold very shortly after and then closed less than a year after the Gordon Ramsay Burger Kitchen visit.
As of 2023, the old The Burger Kitchen LA location is occupied by a new restaurant named Theía.
Sadly, Alan Saffron from Burger Kitchen died in 2020 of a heart attack.
I’m not sure what happened to Daniel Saffron from Burger Kitchen, but I hope he’s doing well.
Daniel’s brother, David, ran into some issues with an alleged cryptocurrency scheme.
Overall, the Saffron family has an interesting history, because a lot of the money came from Abe Saffron, who was “Mr Sin” in Australia.
That wraps up my post-Kitchen Nightmares update on the restaurant.
If you want to see some other nearby Los Angeles Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can check out my updates for Sante La Brea in central LA, Sebastian’s in Toluca Lake, La Frite in Sherman Oaks, and The Capri in Eagle Rock.
And if you want to join a lot of other people in sharing your thoughts about the episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
As always – thanks for reading!
More Information
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Last updated: 2023-12-21 08:24
They were all ill suited for the restaurant business,,u dont put 500,000 into a biz u have no experience in,,The father didnt even have enough sense to use Mouthwash or gum.
Did the son get his money back in the end!?
Definitely what I want to know!
Yes, the customers who were served raw meat came back and doubled down their money. Also, the suit faery dressed up all the cooks in suede tuxedo’s and made it rain garlic bread. It was amazing and touching. I must admit I cried a little.
You win the internet…. made me laugh so hard
I wanted them to arrest him for theft! He stole money from his son! He didn’t even apologize for his theft! He stole and hurt that young man tremendously!
More importantly, did the crazy mom ever get her prozac?
the nutjob chef needed the prozac more than the mom. i would use 1 pill and give the mom 1/3 and the chef nutter 2/3 lol
gen we know thats you bruh
Uhm. No. The wife/mom was a nut.
And Alan and his horrible wife robbed Daniel.
Was great to watch apart from seeing the beautiful Lena who was talked down to for no reason. She was so lovely and even comforted Daniel when he cried.
I’d let her use by face as a trampoline tbh
a man of culture
Can you possibly form a complete sentence Tommy ? How old are you, twelve ?
probably not
The girlfriend Wendy looks like a nut job too. Hopefully that guy dumped her and his nut job family.
She is very creepy, odd person
Agreed. Damn creepy.
No she’s not.
Why were the are owners allowed to call the Brown people Jalapeno ??????
My daughter worked at a restaurant and the salad prep guy’s preferred name was Jalapeño – his real name was to difficult for the staff to get correct-and this was a busy restaurant – no time for speech lessons
I agree with this. Nobody can pronounce my last name and I’ve had a few bosses just call me “Lefty” because the starting of my last name is Lef and continues on in a french way. So I’ve become Lefty.
It amazes me how race can be brought into almost anything. It’s truly sad that people likje you automatically think the worst and assume racism. Come to find out, the “brown guy” preferred the name Jalapeño.
I’m so glad that everything isn’t racial like, it is in your world. You and people like you are the reason that racism will always exist. Sad. Really sad.
BUT… there are also good hearted and fair people like you, thank God. We need every one or them for sure…. Be safe, be happy…
lol
Because that’s his name?
Daniels gf is pretty ngl xD
the waitresses were cute especially the one that comforted daniel (dirty blonde)
Not hotter than the yelp reviewer blonde in blue. She was absolutely stunning
Does anyone know the name of daniels gf? xD
Yes. His name is Abe Saffron.
You can read all about him here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Saffron
He’s a notorious person in my homeland.
he???????
I think Francis interpreted “gf” as grandfather rather than girlfriend.
Correct.
ffs lmaooooooooooo
Wendy.. literally says in the show
I’m so sad to hear about Alan passing away. I hope Daniel is doing ok.
That Alan is stupid. Stealing your son’s money is the lowest of the low. Wendy is so strong to have stayed by Daniels side despite medium rare girl and Alan treating both so badly. And the yelp conspiracy? What a joke. They can’t take critism without seeing it as a personal attack.
Well he did learn how to steal from his father.
Emotionally exhausting 2 part show; in the end, it folded anyhow?!
It wasn’t Alan that passed away, they are talking about his father. The grandfather.
You’re wrong. Read the obituary I posted. Alan passed away in 2020, unfortunately. It has his picture and says that he’s survived by his son Daniel (among others).
Sad situation. I have much more respect for Chef Ramsey than ever, now.
Given Alan’s heritage Gordon should have rebranded the restaurant as Crocodile Dundee’s House of Burgers. Or as a whorehouse.
The Chef David and the son Daniel and his girlfriend were all on drugs, I notice these things because I use to be a Fiend too, I believe they were smoking crystal meth or crack, all the tells were there.
I did some digging about the details, and there’s definitely more than meets the eye. I got most of my info from an old SeriousEats review of the restaurant from 2010, shortly after its opening and roughly a year before filming: https://web.archive.org/web/20180130171507/http://aht.seriouseats.com/2010/04/burger-kitchen-review-los-angeles-ca.html#comments-81406
There’s also a Sydney Morning Herald article from January 2011 on Alan and his father: https://www.smh.com.au/national/mr-sins-family-goes-to-court-as-more-millions-emerge-20110123-1a18q.html
And then there’s this blog post, where apparently more of the Saffron family and friends are hopping in to offer their two cents: https://themillieblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/burger-kitchen-on-kitchen-nightmares-exposed/
Key findings include:
– Alan has a long career in the US as an entrepreneur and talent agent; he claimed to have kickstarted Power Rangers merchandise sales in the US in the 90s thanks to his involvement in Puzzle Zoo, a chain of toy stores
– He previously owned a steakhouse back in his native Australia (though this may have been bankrolled by his father and was otherwise a failure)
– Alan suffered a stroke in December 2010, claimed he was bedridden and unable to work in early 2011, and was only “hardly in the restaurant” throughout much of 2011
– Alan and Daniel didn’t get $250k each, like they told Gordon; Alan got $500k while Daniel and his 4 brothers and sisters got $1m ASD each (unspecified whether USD or ASD; if the latter, then ~$375k and $750k respectively)
– Daniel, by all accounts, was a full partner with his father: putting up the money, arguing with customers online, stiffing suppliers, and almost exclusively running the restaurant while his dad recovered
– Daniel also apparently designed the menu and actively worked in the kitchen on a daily basis
– David Blaine, the chef who walked out, has been Executive Pastry Chef at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA for about a decade and is doing well by all accounts
Thanks for sharing your research! I will try to include some of this in the post when I get time.
Well, this is what David has been up to. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree or something https://financefeeds.com/us-court-orders-australian-pay-32-million-forex-trading-fraud/
Thanks for sharing! Just FYI, though, this is about David Saffron, not Daniel Saffron. David is Daniel’s brother so there’s still a connection, but I don’t think Daniel (the son from the episode) has any connection to this.
Ohh, I apologize for misreading! Thanks for including it in the post anyway 🙂
Is Wendy still with Daniel?
I’m sorry to speak ill of the dead, but that father and his Wagyu beef gave me the heebie jeebies. His mouth reminded me of Grandfather Clock on the Captain Kangaroo show. His son just looked dirty and whined a lot. None of the people in this episode were very appealing to me. I wouldn’t eat one of those nasty raw – looking burgers either. Yuk.
If I had to hear him say Wagyu one more time I was going to rip my hair out.
The mother was a first class POS. Dad was another criminal slimeball. Son Daniel was a whiny annoying piece of trash.
The old man’s dad was a major organized crime figure in Australia. The old man himself had his own lesser criminal history. How many dads steal from their sons? Step-mom was no winner either.
If I had been their son I would have gotten whatever $$$ I could get, changed my name and moved to Canada or Mexico.
I cannot To visit you restaurant i’m so excited after the remake After watching Kitchen Nightmares on TV period I’m so excited to visit. You guys, i’m leaving from phoenix Arizona on my way back to San Jose, California. And I’m gonna make a special trip just to taste your food. I’m excited, please don’t let me down. See you soon.
Unfortunately, The Burger Kitchen closed many years ago so you won’t be able to visit.
If you want to find some California Kitchen Nightmares restaurants that are still open, you can check out my full Kitchen Nightmares update list:
https://realitytvupdates.com/kitchen-nightmares-updates/
There’s a map at the bottom that lets you see which restaurants are still open in different states.
I recently rewatched this episode and I was really upset at how Gordon just glanced over the fact that he got three raw burgers from the chef! As soon as Gordon mentioned it to David, he starts complaining about not being able to use his recipes and blah blah blah. The problem is Gordon just drops the whole fact that David sent out THREE RAW BURGERS! I understand that David Blaine was not much of a chef, but Gordon would have chewed out another chefs @$$ for something like that!
But hey…he added wine to the mushrooms and that’s okay by me! LOL