La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares Update – Open or Closed in 2022?

Is La Gondola still open?

Current Status: >> CLOSED <<
(keep reading to learn what happened)

Season: UK | View All Season UK Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: March 14, 2006
La Gondola Address: 220 Osmaston Road Derby DE23 8 United Kingdom
La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares Update


Episode Recap

La Gondola was a Derby, England, UK restaurant featured on Season 3 of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares in the UK.

Though the La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in March 2006, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place earlier in 2005. It was Season 3 Episode 4 on the UK version of the show.

La Gondola is located in Derby, UK.

The restaurant opened in 1968 and was very popular and successful. Because it’s been around for such a long time, it has a rich history in Derby.

Daniela Bayfield is the owner and has many fond memories of the restaurant, such as celebrating her birthdays there.

She bought the restaurant when it came up for sale. 

Gordon Ramsay arrives and meets with Daniela. He is pleasantly surprised by the decor.

It is a Friday night, but they only have one reservation, which is obviously not a great situation. This is why the La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares episode exists.

She informs Gordon she bought the restaurant on a whim after a divorce.

The clientele is mostly older people who have been visiting La Gondola for generations. 

The menu is extensive and outdated.

Gordon Ramsay orders spaghetti Bolognese but waits a long time for it.

The salmon meal Gordon orders is way too large for the price.

Steve is the head chef and has been at the restaurant since the mid-seventies but refuses to change with the times. 

A large party enters the restaurant, and the kitchen becomes overwhelmed.

They run out of tuna steak and improvise by using canned tuna for the rest of the plates. It’s really not the same – I would be super mad if I got canned tuna instead of tuna steak.

Stella is the marketing manager in charge of booking weddings and events.

She tells Gordon they need at least thirty weddings a year to make a profit, but as of now, they only have nine booked. 

Stella makes a mistake in the kitchen, and instead of fixing the issue, Steve yells at her.

Instead of cooking fresh food, the kitchen staff reheat and microwave many of their dishes.

The next day Steve and another employee Gareth show up late to work.

It is a slow day with only three customers dining in the restaurant. 

Danny is a teen apprentice in the kitchen and seems to only care about his job as Gareth says he watches the clock and can’t wait to go home.

Gordon tells Steve that they are underpricing their meals and serving portions that are too large.

An argument breaks out between Gareth and the owner as they blame each other. 

Gordon Ramsay challenges the staff to make pasta from scratch.

A consultant from Gordon’s company consults with the team and the owner about marketing for La Gondola.

Stella and Daniela show the consultant their questionable advertisement in the local paper.

The ladies then argue with Gordon, saying they still have customers. 

That night the kitchen must make the meals in forty-five minutes.

Everyone loves the fresh pasta dishes, but the kitchen is not communicating.

Gordon is upset by the unmotivated effort he sees in the kitchen.

Steve must make a meal using fresh ingredients, and Gordon trains the rest of the staff to cook using them. The menu is also reduced to make it easier to cook and stock ingredients.

One of the servers does flambé tableside.

A band is hired for the relaunch, and the dance floor is remodeled.

During the relaunch, the restaurant makes more money than they did in previous weeks.

So was the La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares episode a success? Let’s talk about what happened after.


La Gondola Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened after Gordon Ramsay left Derby, England.

After the initial visit, Gordon returns and finds out Steve left after filming and took Gareth with him.

However, Danny is still working at La Gondola at the time of Gordon’s second visit.

Gordon is happy with the flambé, food, and music.

Is La Gondola from Kitchen Nightmares still open?

The La Gondola restaurant closed in 2007, though the hotel remained open for some functions. This means the restaurant only survived for about a year after Gordon Ramsay’s visit.

The hotel would eventually close later as well.

For a long time, the hotel and restaurant property were vacant.

However, Daniela Bayfield, the La Gondola owner, had a plan to launch it as a refugee shelter, which would’ve been a nice use of the property.

Unfortunately, she passed away in 2019 and was unable to get it started before her passing.

The current owner is Sam Elgie of Elgie Properties.

Unfortunately, the La Gondola building is in such bad shape that the only option is to tear it down.

There was an article in May 2021 about Sam’s plans to tear the building down, but I’m not sure if the demolition has actually happened yet.

Either way, La Gondola is 100% closed and never coming back.

 


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-gondola-derby




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Last updated: 2022-03-26 04:56

13 thoughts on “La Gondola Kitchen Nightmares Update – Open or Closed in 2022?”

All comments are the sole opinion of the commenter and are not endorsed by RealityTVUpdates.

  1. The Gondola is still standing. Demolition was put on hold due to the presence of bats living in the building. Currently, there is now a second application for demolition awaiting approval.

    Reply
  2. Daniela wanted to relive her childhood when she used to go there with her parents. Sadly, she lost her money, and the place closed up. This is one I blame on the chef being a bastard and sabotaging the restaurant since day 1.

    Reply

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