(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: UK | View All Season UK Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: November 28, 2006
Rococo Address: 11 Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 5DQ, United Kingdom
Episode Recap
Rococo, later renamed Maggie’s, was a King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England restaurant featured on Season 4 of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares in the UK. Though the Rococo Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in November 2006, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place much earlier in 2006. It was Episode 3 of Season 4 on the UK version.
Located in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, Rococo’s is a very expensive restaurant.
The owner is Nick Anderson, a former Michelin star winner.
The restaurant used to be very popular, but it is currently struggling because no one comes in due to the high prices.
They are now close to bankruptcy. If they close, Nick and his family will be in huge trouble, which means that they definitely need some help from Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.
Nick lives above the restaurant with his wife and family. They will be homeless if they lose the restaurant.
On a Saturday night, the restaurant only has eight bookings. However, the restaurant should have a lot more than that for a weekend night.
Nick says that Rococo sells modern British cuisine. To test it out, Gordon orders the fish soup, and it comes served in a teacup.
The fish soup smells foul, which definitely isn’t what you’d expect from a Michelin-level chef like Nick.
The Dutch egg and mushroom toast Gordon ordered is over complicated. Gordon’s dishes from his restaurants are on the menu, and he orders them, but it is rubbery.
The server hovers over Gordon, and Gordon has to shoo him away. He keeps coming back to see if Gordon has enjoyed the meal.
After dinner, Gordon meets with Nick and tells him the food is too complicated.
Nick informs Gordon he used to run the Crown Hotel restaurant. In 2004 Nick was forced to file for bankruptcy. He opened Rococo to support his family.
Locals question the value they are getting for the money they are paying.
Gordon watches sous chef Tim and the owner Nick to see how they prep for a dinner service.
The freezer is full of great ingredients, but no one comes into the restaurant to eat them.
Gordon challenges Nick and sous chef Tim to a cooking challenge.
He has them cook different dishes using fresh ingredients.
During that time, Gordon keeps wondering how Rococo managed to stay afloat.
Nick says that his family has no life, and they don’t travel or go anywhere, primarily because of their huge debt burden.
Gordon allows Nick to cook from his complicated menu one last time. Gordon is very critical of the menu and the dishes.
The master celebrity chef suggests a name change.
He thinks it should be changed to something that sounds less pretentious.
Nick is unwilling to let go of the past, but Gordon still changes the name to Maggie’s.
During the relaunch, the family has forty-four bookings. The food is well received and is going out on time.
Nick shows Gordon he is serious about the change and steps up.
The customers enjoy the food and the lower prices. The whole night ends in success.
Rococo Update - What Happened Next?
Seven weeks later, Gordon revisits the newly named Maggie’s.
He comes in on a very busy weeknight.
Gordon says the food is still very good. However, good food isn’t enough when a restaurant is in so much debt.
Unfortunately, that means that Maggie’s / Rococo closed in 2007, shortly after the Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired.
As of 2022, the old Rococo location in King’s Lynn is occupied by a new restaurant called Market Bistro. If you want to learn more about the restaurant that replaced Rococo, you can check out the Market Bistro Yelp page.
What happened to Nick Anderson from Rococo?
As of 2020, Nick Anderson is the head chef at a restaurant called The Boxing Har, which is located on Banbury Road in Chipping Norton. Reviews for the restaurant and Nick’s cooking seem good, as it has a 4.5 star rating on TripAdvisor and a 4.6 star rating on Google Reviews.
More Information
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Last updated: 2022-01-04 04:52
Thank you for providing this update. It’s good to know Nick was able to move on from King’s Lynn and his encounter with Gordon Ramsey. I’m pleased he was able to get out and move away and not have to run the whole business too.
The UK Kitchen Nightmares series were quite tame compared to the later American shows, so Nick got off quite lightly.
The shows proved that while some chefs may be good at cooking, many had no idea of how to run a business, and this was Nick’s main problem. He quickly adapted to Ramsey’s simplified menu but letting go of the past and modernising everything else was much more difficult for Nick.
The location of the restaurant is difficult too, and for a small town, this restaurant needs to be busy, constantly or it can quickly decline.
Every episode of Gordon Ramsey’s shows should come with an “F” count, so the viewer knows how aggressive Ramsey gets with his abusive remarks.
An eatery needs to be pretty darned good if it wants to have a long shelf life. Even after Gordon’s visit, I felt Maggie’s had nothing to make it stand out from the competition. I was sure it would no longer be in business. I’m glad Nick is working though and hope his financial problems are behind him. He seemed a nice bloke.
When you earn a Michelin star you get a free set of Michelin tires as a prize. Nick should have sold them to alleviate his money issues.
awesome, thanks
Nick