Charlie’s Italian Bistro Kitchen Nightmare update – After Gordon Ramsay’s visit

Gordon Ramsay presents Kitchen Nightmare for empowering restaurants. He is identifying the problems and making changes to eliminate restaurant difficulties. Another fantastic episode was Ramsay’s visit to Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant in California, United States. Let’s have a close look at the restaurant, the visit of Ramsay, and what happened after the Kitchen nightmare’s episode on Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant. 

Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant 

Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant was located in La Verna, California, United States. That was a restaurant that served Italian cousins. However, Charlie’s restaurant was suffering from hundreds of problems. 

As the owner, Tatiana took a risk by buying this restaurant, even though it put the homes of her mother and sister at risk. Tatiana never had the guts to make changes that would have made it better. As a result, the bad turned into worse. She walked around with a glass of wine in her hand, complaining about nothing to the staff and thanking the head chef for doing nothing.

Who is the owner of Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant?

Tatiana Leiva is the owner of the restaurant. She used to work as a waitress, and when the place came up for sale, she bought it. However, her dream had turned nasty. Tatiana’s mom, Patty, and sister, Val, put everything they had into Tatiana’s purchase of Charlie’s, which was paid for by Patty and Val. They could lose their homes if Gordon didn’t turn around the failing family business.

What happened in the Italian Bistro restaurant after Gordon Ramsay’s visit? – The episode recap

Gordon sat down and started to sample the menu. He first tried toasted ravioli, the Frutti di mare, and the lasagna. The first impression was worse. His final try was garlic chicken pizza. It also gains the same impression about the worse handling of the restaurant. He criticized the food.

Ramsay visited the kitchen and met the staff. He did not forget to check about storage as well. Then at night, he observed the dinner service. After carefully watching every single part of the process, he explained the situation to Tatiana. 

Then Ramsay began to make changes in Tatiana’s restaurant. He optimized the power of teamwork. He decides to replace the head chef first. Because the head chef Casimiro worked there for more than ten years. So, there was no update on the restaurant or menu. So, Ramsay introduced Jonathan as the new head chef. After that, Chef Ramsay relaunched Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant with a short and sweet menu. 

Italian Bistro restaurant menu

Chef Ramsay changed Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant menu to a dynamic, simple, clean one. It is compared to bread, pizzas, pasta dishes, soups, and authentic Italian dishes. The menu was limited to 20 – 30 dishes. So, there are no complicated choices for customers. And it makes the staff’s work more manageable than before. 

What happened to Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant after the Kitchen Nightmares episode?

Charlie’s staff managed the restaurant clearly with the power of teamwork. There was a very focused relaunch and a very successful dinner service. Jonathan, whom Gordon had brought in as head chef, stayed for an extra month. During that time, he ensured the food quality was maintained, trained the staff, and helped them find a new head chef.

Also read: Denver’s best pizza place after Gordon Ramsay’s visit? [2022 Update]

What happened to Casimiro from Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant?

There is no update about him after the Kitchen Nightmares episode because he is not active on social media platforms. 

What happened to Genevieve from Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant?

Unfortunately, the server Genevieve had passed away from medical complications due to epilepsy.

What happened to Tatiana from Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant?

Per her social media updates, the restaurant owner Tatiana Estefania Leiva is currently working as a project manager at The Wrap Studios California.

Is Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant from Kitchen nightmares still open?

Service is not available at Charlie’s Italian Bistro restaurant now. It closed in July 2012, a few months after the Kitchen Nightmares episode airing date. But, there is no updated reason for the closure.

Restaurant reviews

After the relaunch, TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews were very positive, mainly because the food was excellent and the staff was friendly. There weren’t many bad reviews because the wait times were long and the portions were small, but customers loved the new menu and food. According to the restaurant location map, the same feedback can be observed. 

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