Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA
Channel 4, 10pm
Is it just me or is anyone else suffering from a major dose of Gordon Ramsay fatigue? The whole shouty, sweary chef thing just seems, well, a little 1998 these days.
Once genuinely good telly, Ramsay has long since veered into the toe-curling territory of caricature. It’s like watching a Spitting Image puppet gone rogue. Only slightly more rubbery faced. And annoying.
For those viewers who can suitably suspend their disbelief (you must tell me how you do that), this latest episode of Kitchen Nightmares USA sees Ramsay travel to West Babylon, New York, to visit Classic American, struggling with mounting debts and ambitious but inexperienced owners battling to keep their dream alive.
Best friends and owners Colleen and Naomi bought the restaurant together, but their lack of experience is proving overwhelming, leaving their friendship at breaking point.
Add disorganised staff and a disappointing menu and their prospects aren’t looking good.
Enter stage right the patron saint of restaurateurs. With windmilling hand gestures, gnashing of teeth, muttered expletives and feverish raking of fingers through hair, Ramsay duly unveils his plans for an intervention (how very American) with a shake-up of staff and new dishes to put a modern spin on classic American fare. So far, so gloriously formulaic ...
Call me picky but given Ramsay’s own widely reported financial woes in the restaurant business, is he really the best person to be doling out advice to those in a similar boat? Pot. Kettle. Black, anyone?
Undercover Boss
Channel 4, 9pm
As this new series gets underway, a fresh batch of high-profile business bosses leave the safety of their plush corner offices to roll up their sleeves and get to grips with the inner workings of their own companies. First up is Jacqueline Gold, head of Ann Summers and a woman responsible for transforming the adult retail industry from the seedy realms of the raincoat brigade to a taboo-busting high street staple.
Too famous to go undercover herself, Gold must employ a proxy – younger sister Vanessa – to visit stores across the UK and report back. Despite having worked for the company since the age of 16, Vanessa must first overcome crippling nervousness when faced with intimate questions from customers about the products.
Perfume
BBC4, 9pm
This second episode follows three perfumers to discover what it takes to become a “nose”. The programme also visits American Christopher Brosius, a punk star with a mission to create scents that can speak to us of times past.
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