The Priory Kitchen Nightmares Update – Gordon Ramsay – Open or Closed?

Is The Priory still open?

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

Season: UK | View All Season UK Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: November 27, 2007
The Priory Address: Syresham Gardens Haywards Heath RH16 3LB United Kingdom
The Priory Kitchen Nightmares Update


Episode Recap

The Priory was a Haywards Heath, West Sussex restaurant featured on Season 5 of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares in the UK. Though the The Priory Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in November 2007, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place much earlier in 2007. It was Episode 5 of Season 5 on the UK version.

The Priory is a restaurant located in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. The owner is Scott, who bought the restaurant only three weeks prior.

He was impressed with the beautiful building, which is a converted nineteenth-century convent.

However, Scott has no experience running a restaurant, which is why The Priory ended up on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

When Gordon Ramsay arrives, he is amazed by the beauty of The Priory. The building really is fabulous and it’s such a unique space for a restaurant. Very cool.

However, the rest of the experience at The Priory doesn’t quite match the beautiful building.

The customers are of an older generation and use the half-off dining coupon.

To get the “normal” experience, Gordon uses a coupon and eats off the buffet line.

The potatoes he eats are burnt, and the turkey is dry.

Gordon then meets the general manager, Matt, who is also trained as a chef. 

Gordon finds spoiled meat and warm meat wrapped in cling film in the kitchen, which is a breeding ground for bacteria. If that meat were to be served, the customer could get very sick.

The Priory uses lots of frozen food. For example, their Yorkshire pudding sauces are all frozen.

Scott is clueless as to what is happening in the kitchen. Gordon wraps the kitchen in hazard tape to show Scott how poor the conditions are. 

Gordon uses the confessional to speak with the staff to find out what the real issues of the restaurant are.

The master chef has an idea to turn the restaurant into a grill with steaks and leave the carvery behind.

He also wants to ditch the coupons, as it’s just not a good long-term solution for attracting customers.

The staff is taken to a local farm and tested on cuts of beef. However, Scott is worried about the changes Gordon wants to make to The Priory. 

Dinner service includes local clergy members and the bishop of Sussex. They bless the meal before it begins.

Orders begin piling up, and customers are waiting hours for their meal.

Gordon closes the kitchen at midnight and leaves the kitchen feedback. He reminds them that they are a team and need to work together to ensure success. 

Gordon and the staff give out samples of steak sandwiches that the locals love as a marketing strategy.

The re-launch night has a much younger crowd and over 80 reservations.

Toby, the head chef, throws a tantrum, and Matt steps up as the head chef.

Gordon lets Matt know he was the key to the restaurant’s success at the end of the night. It’s always good to recognize hard work, so I’m glad that Gordon took the time to do this.


The Priory Update - What Happened Next?

Gordon revisits The Priory six weeks later.

Scott, the owner of The Priory, didn’t take his advice and lost 2/3 of his business.

Scott did not do any marketing or promotions promoting the restaurant as a grill.

No one knew the restaurant went in a new direction.

Toby was fired for selling spoiled chicken and they had hired a new chef named Aimé Zbinden.

Is The Priory from Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares still open?

The Priory closed in 2008, less than a year after its appearance on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Scott didn’t take Gordon Ramsay’s advice, which led to the restaurant failing.

After The Priory closed, the location was occupied by a Spanish tapas restaurant called la Capilla for a time. However, that restaurant would also close after a short period of business.

As of 2022, we can’t find out what business is occupying the old The Priory location in Haywards Heath. It was sold to a property developer around 2018, but we can’t find any record of that property development actually happening.

However, one thing is clear – The Priory restaurant is permanently closed.


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-priory-restaurant-haywards-heath




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Last updated: 2021-12-31 05:25

3 thoughts on “The Priory Kitchen Nightmares Update – Gordon Ramsay – Open or Closed?”

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

  1. I can’t understand that some restauranteurs have an ego tantrum and do not listen to Gordon, suits them right to go broke

    Reply

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