(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: May 7, 2010
Fleming Address: 8511 SW 136th St Miami, FL 33156
Episode Recap
Fleming was a Miami, Florida restaurant featured on Season 3 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Fleming Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in May 2010, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place much earlier in July 2009.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 3 Episode 10.
In this episode, Gordon visits a Miami-based Scandinavian restaurant called Fleming, which is owned by Andy and Suzanne Hall, a husband and wife duo.
The Fleming restaurant was once the most popular restaurant in Miami during the 1980s.
Today though, the clientele and décor are very dated, which has the restaurant struggling to survive. That’s pretty much to be expected given that the Flemings Kitchen Nightmares episode exists.
Andy and Suzanne have hired a Cuban chef who has a hard time sticking to the Danish menu.
Andy and Suzanne are not the original owners, but they want to stick with the Danish theme of the restaurant.
As Gordon Ramsay sits for his meal, he notices many old-fashioned traditions the restaurant still follows.
One of those traditions is being served fresh vegetables with a dipping sauce before your meal.
The server lets him know that much has changed since the 1980s, including the customers.
Gordon orders a sampling of Danish dishes cooked by Orlando, the Cuban chef.
Gordon’s salmon dish has a bad taste, and a dead fly is on the plate.
Gordon also orders a duck dish that tastes as if it was made days ago.
It’s not all bad, though – Gordon is highly impressed with the foil swans used to present dessert. That’s something, at least…
For the dinner service, Gordon Ramsay’s appearance draws in huge crowds.
However, all through dinner service, food is being sent back for being too bland.
It gets worse…
As Gordon Ramsay looks through the kitchen, he discovers rotting meat.
He ran out and removed the duck off of a customer’s fork. He then shuts down the restaurant.
Andy, the owner, gives Gordon a hard time about this, and Gordon then gives him an ultimatum.
Either he will help them, or Fleming can continue the course it’s on (which is headed straight for failure city).
Gordon talks to the locals who say the restaurant was the crown jewel of Miami back in the day, but since the new owners brought it, Fleming has gone downhill.
Simply put, it is not a popular location anymore.
Gordon tells the staff at Fleming how the locals feel about the restaurant.
He lets them know they all feel it doesn’t have the same appeal that it did in the 1980s.
Orlando says he wants to move away from the Danish menu, but Andy is too afraid. He doesn’t want things to change.
Suzanne blames Andy as well and wants change. Andy finally gives in and allows for some changes at Fleming.
Gordon introduces a new menu item, seared tuna.
Beyond thew new dishes, the renovations have given Fleming a more contemporary look, steering away from the pastel colors of the 1980s.
Fleming also hosts a swimsuit fashion show on the streets of Miami to drum up attention for the restaurant.
On relaunch night, Andy steps up and takes control of his staff.
Team members from the Miami Heat basketball team even show up for dinner and to help with publicity.
There are some hiccups…
At one point, Chef Orlando messes up the salads. The oven then malfunctions, and a small fire starts.
Gordon quickly puts the fire out and dinner service quickly goes back on track.
After successful dinner service, Gordon Ramsay gifts Fleming a brand new oven.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Fleming restaurant episode a long-term success?
Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Miami, Florida restaurant is still open in 2023 and beyond.
Fleming Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Fleming Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after the cameras stopped filming and Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Miami, Florida.
At first, the restaurant was keeping with Gordon’s changes and things seemed to be going well.
However, soon after, the restaurant started to shift back to some of the pre-Gordon details.
For example, while they did keep Gordon’s menu, they also returned some previous dishes that had been liked by regular customers.
Most notably, they brought back the dessert bar and started serving soup and salad with every mean again.
I think that’s fair, as long as they kept Gordon’s menu as well.
However, the changes would not help the restaurant last as it would close soon after the episode aired.
Is Fleming still open after Kitchen Nightmares?
Fleming closed in October 2010, about five months after the Fleming Kitchen Nightmares episode aired and slightly over a year after Gordon’s actual visit.
As of 2022, Fleming remains closed.
The old Fleming Miami Florida location is now occupied by a gym called Orangetheory Fitness Pinecrest, so there won’t be any food served at that location.
Why did Fleming close after Kitchen Nightmares?
One reason that Fleming closed is that the regular customers didn’t like Gordon Ramsay’s new menu.
Additionally, the owner of Fleming, Andy, said that he spent very little time with Gordon, so it seems like he didn’t actually get much of a chance to learn from Gordon’s expertise.
Was the Fleming Kitchen Nightmares episode fake?
Because Gordon Ramsay spent such little time with the Fleming owner, there were some accusations that the Fleming Kitchen Nightmares episode was fake.
To add more fuel to the fire, a writer for the Miami Herald said that the was at the filming and the Kitchen Nightmares producers were prodding the people at the restaurant to complain.
Here’s a link to the Miami Herald article. And here’s a relevant excerpt:
Once inside the restaurant, 8511 SW 136th St., the producers made it clear exactly what we needed to do to be on TV: Complain, volubly and bitterly. “If you have something to say about the food or the service,” a producer instructed, “give us a signal so we can bring the camera to the table. Once we’re there, don’t look directly at the camera, but speak in a loud voice so the microphone will pick you up clearly.”
…
“Insights from a Michelin chef, what could that hurt?” he says. “But what was really disappointing was the amount of time you get with him. It’s actually no time, off-camera. What you’ll see on the show is what we got. The whole thing is about their TV show, not about cooking or the restaurant business.”
Is that evidence of a fake episode or just normal reality TV producing style? Well, you’ll have to decide.
Personally, I think that’s just how reality TV works, but I could see how some people would feel that the Fleming Kitchen Nightmares episode was fake.
What happened to Andy Hall from Fleming?
Andy Hall was the Fleming Danish restaurant owner, along with his wife Suzanne.
After Flemings closed, Andy got a job working as the Associate Director of Resident Dining at Chartwells, which seems to have been where he’s stay since then.
You can connect on Andy’s LinkedIn page.
Final thoughts on the Fleming restaurant in Miami
Overall, Fleming did not have a very succesful experience on Kitchen Nightmares, as the restaurant closed only around a year after the visit from Gordon Ramsay (and just five months after the episode aired on TV).
There were also accusations that the episode was fake, as Andy said that he really didn’t interact with Gordon Ramsay that much.
As of 2022, the old Flemings Miami Florida location is occupied by a gym, so there will be no more Danish food at that location, at least for now.
Andy Hall, the Fleming owner, now works in a dining company that works with educational institutions.
If you want to see updates for some other nearby Florida Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can check out our updates for Le Bistro in Lighthouse Point and Anna Vincenzo’s in Boca Raton.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/fleming-a-taste-of-denmark-miamiWhat did you think about the Fleming episode of Kitchen Nightmares? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
You can also click the buttons below to share this post!
And don't forget to check out all of the other Kitchen Nightmares updates.
Watch Kitchen Nightmares Episodes at Amazon
Last updated: 2022-09-09 05:57
What happened to all of those updates in the kitchen? Everything new, plus the redecorating of the restaurant. Did they just sell it?
I would guess all of the equipment was sold at some point given that the location is a gym now and would have no use for it.
They said they are gone because of people dun like the new menu , i think its more like an excuse , i do not believe a new menu will kill a place in only few months especially its arranged by Gordon’s team.
And about the “prodding the people at the restaurant to complain” , yes i think we all know that those extra diner suddenly show up at the night to fill up the place are hired as how the show did in every episode but i also do not believe they are forced to complain about the food quality and long waiting time, after we all see how bad the food looks and rotten ingredients inside the fridge. Also it is illegal and Gordon’s team will get sued if they did something like that.
What law is there that addresses reality tv? All reality tv is staged to some degree. These shows need ratings. They all embellish. It’s entertainment;not true reality.
I heard Orangetheory serves great energy bars so there’s still food being served at the location.