(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: UK | View All Season UK Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: June 7, 2005
Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack Address: 2-3 Little East Street Brighton BN1 1HT United Kingdom
Episode Recap
Momma Cherri’s Soul Food Shack was a Brighton, UK restaurant featured on Season 2 of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares in the UK. Though the Momma Cherri’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in June 2005, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place much earlier in 2004. It was Episode 3 of Season 2 on the UK version.
Momma Cherri’s Soul Food Shack is located in Brighton, England.
The restaurant has been open for three and a half years.
The restaurant is owned by “momma” Cherri Charita Jones.
The restaurant is open seven days a week but hasn’t made any money since the restaurant opened, which is obviously a big problem if you’re trying to build a successful business.
The restaurant only has enough money to stay open for another three to six months.
Gordon arrives and automatically likes the atmosphere of the restaurant.
Gordon is told by Brian Moyo, the former head chef, that Charita is in charge of the menu.
Gordon orders soul food staples like hushpuppies with pineapple salsa and catfish. Gordon loves everything and clears his plate.
This is literally the only time that Gordon Ramsay has liked all of the food at a restaurant, though there have been other times where he liked a single dish.
The master chef goes back into the kitchen to compliment Charita and tell her that her cooking reminds him of home.
Charita is so overwhelmed she begins to cry.
Charita tells Gordon that she preps all the food by herself to save money.
She prepares the food and serves it after a quick reheat in the oven.
Gordon realizes Charita is doing everything. Brian is losing his motivation because Charita does all the cooking and prep work. There is nothing left for him to do.
Gordon tells Charita her items are priced too high, and she replies that her bank manager was the one who convinced her to do that.
Gordon takes the staff out to the beach to promote the restaurant for a cookout. It goes very well, in large part because Charita is a natural salesperson.
During dinner, Brian is struggling, and Charita keeps interrupting him.
Gordon visits Brians’s home the next day, and the two cook a new and improved meatloaf dish for the restaurant.
Gordon thinks having a three-course menu will help drive up the mid-week sales.
Gordon takes to the radio to promote Momma Cherri’s Soul Food Shack’s relaunch.
During the relaunch, Charita steps up as a leader and owner.
The staff used to take advantage of her and showed up whenever they pleased. Charita enacts a new rule; everyone must be on time and be ready to work.
Brian is working in the kitchen, struggling to get everything right for the relaunch. At the end of the relaunch, the restaurant had taken in £1,000+, which is definitely its best day ever.
Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack Update - What Happened Next?
Two months later, Gordon went back to Momma Cherri’s Soul Food Shack and said the food had improved. The food also comes out on time, and customers are no longer left to wait. Momma Cherri Soul Food Shack is fully booked at least a month out one year later. They are doing very well and are very popular.
They’re doing so well, in fact, that the restaurant moves to a new location and changes the name to Momma Cherri’s Big House.
However, things started to go down hill with Momma Cherri’s Big House when Gordon revisited a year later.
Gordon inspects the kitchen on his revisit and sees they went back to frozen food.
He is very disappointed in Charita and helps them transition back to fresh food.
However, there were still some issues.
In 2007, the restaurant got zero ratings for food safety and hygiene, which isn’t what you’d expect from a place that Gordon mentored.
In 2009 the restaurant closed due to mounting debt.
More Information
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Last updated: 2021-12-30 06:25
sad how the only restaurant where gordon actually liked the food is closed.
Yeah, its not enough to know how to cook well but a good management is also important and that is what the restaurant needed.
Momma Cheri, I watched the episode where Gordon are your food and came back with a clean plate..
I’m pretty sure if you was in London you would be smashing it and raking in some profits..
I was so 2000 and late, didn’t manage to get down to taste your food only to realize your restaurant in Brighton had closed..
I’d love to see you bounce back, I’m pretty sure location is important, I’d love to see you in London..
I’ve tried some so called soul food which was below mediocre, something I could have bought frozen and fried myself..
Just saying.. even had gone to Brooklyn Jamaica ave, mmm mmm mmm.. ain’t nothing I tried here
Sad – but there is no excuse for the restaurant getting zero ratings for food safety and hygiene in 2007.
Slightly Confused??? Yes the Shack closed, but that’s because they upgraded! Momma Cherri’s Big House, and according to google they are very much open with 308 reviews at 4.9 Stars. Or am I just confused??
Momma Cherri’s Big House
2-3 Little E St, Brighton, United Kingdom
Not sure what’s up with Google. If you look at Momma Cherri’s facebook/website, though, you’ll see that she’s currently cooking at popups at a bunch of places, rather than her own restaurant.
Sad to know that Momma Cherri’s couldn’t make it work, even with Chef Ramsay’s help. When she married her Chef that was working for her was not good a good move. He was lazy, and d I d not want cook fresh food, and momma C wasn’t checking up on him, and her kitchen. She could have been a great success, but would not follow through.
It was sad that her restaurant failed despite her good cooking, but “Momma” nevertheless was immortalized in the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody:
“Momma, just killed a man //
Put a gun against his hand, pulled the trigger now he’s dead.”