When Kitchen Nightmares, the Fox TV makeover show, descended upon a modest joint in downtown Everett last December, the producers invited Cornichon to join the pre- and post-makeover diners. Until this week, we were under a tight non-disclosure agreement. Here's what really happened; the full story is on TV tonight at 8.
Top row, from left: Rishi and interim chef Tyler Pilagi, Grey Goose martini in green glass, onion soup, wedge salad. Bottom row: crab cakes, salmon, pork shoulder, bread pudding.
The first night, early December, at the Prohibition Grille on Hewitt Avenue:
A big dollop of restaurant-supply coleslaw and a slab of cornbread accompany the dinner plates, honey optional. The pork "wings" are particularly good, several braised smoked shanks. Oysters and the prawns come with a sweet, goopy dipping sauce; the crab cakes contain more filler than one finds at, say Steelhead Diner in the Pike Place Market, but Prohibition ain't that kind of spot. It's a old-fashioned bar & grill, for heaven's sake, not Canlis. It's the sort of place where a lot of the "fresh" food comes in the back door frozen, and moves via the fryer onto the customer's plate.
Suddenly, the sounds of a kitchen confrontation in the front half of the building break through. "The restaurant is being shut down," comes an announcement. "Stop eating!" Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, in the house with camera teams and sound men following his every move, has apparently found something untoward in the kitchen.
A harried gent bursts into the room and crashes through the fire door out to the parking lot. That would turn out to be Chef Rocky, longtime employee (real name Edward Trabue), taking his leave. Many of the diners haven't been served yet, but everyone shuffles into the night.
Two days later, we're waiting in a tent down the block for the "reveal."
Lights outside to catch people coming in. It's no longer Prohibition Grille but Prohibition Gastropub. (Wouldn't you know it, Ramsay owns three or four gastropubs in England.) The decor is brighter, with the bar newly painted bright red, and broad golden chevrons zig-zagging across the walls and tables. Rishi trades in her miniskirt for a pants suit.
Tyler Palagi, who's been in the news quite a bit lately (Matt's in the Market, Radiator Whiskey) is on hand to run the kitchen for the re-launch. Brought in for a couple of weeks to hire and train a new chef, he runs into snags. The first chef lands in jail. The second doesn't work out.
And the restaurant's belly-dancing owner, Darlene "Rishi" Brown, poor thing, has 16 private holiday parties on the books for December, all faithful followers of her old menu. "Oh boy, what a scene," she tells me later. Her established customer base is "really pissed off about the change," as she puts it. "They're not coming in, they've beat me to shreds, accused me of selling out."
What keeps her going is that Chef Ramsay has faith in her, feels she's worth helping, even though she had no restaurant experience at all when she bought the restaurant. "I didn't even realize how much help I needed," she confesses. Her current consulting chef is Marketta Schreck of The Ruins; she's happy--and feels less threatened--to be working with a woman.
And the new "gastropub" menu continues to evolve. Good thing, because the food on that second night is pretty dry, under-seasoned and under-dressed. (I blame nervous cooks.)
The show ends on a positive note, though (as all makeovers do). Happy diners, big crowds. In real life, maybe not so much. But Rishi remains positive. "I never once looked back and stayed focused on the blessing that Chef Ramsay felt I was worth helping."
Ya see? Redemption. Classic third act curtain.
Prohibition Gastropub, 1414 Hewitt Avenue, Everett, 425-258-6100 
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