Hotel Hell (2012) s03e01 Episode Script
Angler's Lodge
1 (Gordon) I'm checking in to a family-run lodge in Island Park, Idaho, where business has taken a toll on a married couple that has lost their way.
(Dede) We've had a lot of hard years and a lot of arguing.
I know we're in trouble.
(Gordon) My struggle is not only to fix the lodge That's 15 years of dust.
[coughs.]
Wow, is that blood? But to renew the passion that they once had.
The heart's gone.
We need to get that back.
It's about to collapse.
Hotel Hell - S03E01 - Angler's Lodge Original Subtitle by garfieldgembul [upbeat instrumental music.]
(Dave) When I first came into the area, I saw this piece of land.
It was right next to one of the world's best fly fisheries, the Henry's Fork at the Snake River.
And we jumped right on that piece of property and started building the lodge.
I thought I could fly fish while I had the phone in my pocket taking reservations.
And that actually happened early on, in the early days, in 1999.
Dave would go cut the logs and peel the logs.
Sometimes he'd make our sons peel some logs, but they were pretty, pretty little.
(Zach) Growing up here was something special.
We literally worked every aspect of it.
I started out as a little kid doing dishes and bussing tables and then waiting tables.
(Dede) When we finally got the lodge built and open, we would have, like, two-hour waits, and people loved it.
Loved it.
(Zach) The lodge was full every single night.
It was going so well that they were getting ready to expand.
And then that summer we lost my little brother.
He was ten years old when he died.
[somber music.]
It was it was dark.
It was a dark, bad time.
And my mom fell out.
(Dede) When we lost that little boy, our life stopped, and I went to bed for three years.
And I didn't I didn't get up.
(Zach) So without her here, my dad was forced to run everything by himself, and that's kind of the way he coped with everything.
There was just a darkness and a sadness that surrounded our family for years.
(Art) Business is quite slow.
I'd say it's probably 25% compared to 100% back then.
Dave and Dede need some help.
(Dave) Zach came back about a year ago to help me run the restaurant and lodge.
He sees constantly how it's a struggle for me to keep up with the restaurant side so he came back to help.
(Art) You take a young man, you stick him in there, and you put him as a general manager.
A general manager, in my opinion, is somebody who needs to know the inside and the outside of the whole operation, but he doesn't know these things.
(Dede) Dave and I are tired, and it's just like a black hole for us, and we don't want to work this hard anymore.
Making a comeback is our last hope.
It's my best hope.
[upbeat instrumental music.]
I've just arrived at Island Park, Idaho, and it is absolutely gorgeous.
This city is nicknamed "Last Chance" 'cause it literally is the last place to stop for food, gas, and lodgings before entering Yellowstone National Park.
And this location is one of the most prestigious fly fishing areas anywhere in the world.
It's a fisherman's paradise.
There it is, Angler's Lodge.
How on earth could this place go wrong? Look at that.
Gorgeous.
- Wow.
Hello.
- Hi.
- How are you? - Good.
I'm Savannah.
Savannah, Gordon.
Nice to see you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Wow.
My goodness me, this place is gorgeous.
- Who built it? - My father.
- No.
Stop.
- Yeah.
- Seriously? - Bare hands.
You are kidding me.
Wow.
Yeah, it's all family business.
- We're all in it together.
- Wow, wow.
And recently my oldest brother Zach took over the restaurant.
So Zach's the restaurant manager.
Mm-hmm.
Is Mum and Dad around? I'd love to meet them.
- Yeah, of course.
- Oh, wow.
I'll follow you.
Wow, look at those beauties up there.
That's a vegetarian nightmare up there.
- Yeah.
- There's fish everywhere.
Yeah, they're for real.
- Hello.
I'm Dede.
- Dede, how are you? - Very nice to meet you.
- What an amazing place.
- Preston, my brother.
- Preston, good to see you.
- Good to meet you.
- Likewise.
- Zach, my other.
- How are you doing, Chef? Wow, this is definitely a family-run business, right? - Yes, sir.
- Gordon, how are you? The gentle giant with a Midas touch, by the looks of things.
Congratulations, the place is gorgeous.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Did you build it really? - I did build it.
- Wow.
I just had a vision in my mind, and we put things up, took them down until it looked right.
And do you live on the property? I do.
We have a cabin right across the way.
- Just here? - Yeah.
Don't tell me you built that as well.
(Dave) I did.
Where was the conversation you both had when you decided to go ahead and build it? We found these old, beat-up building.
There was a "for sale" sign on the back side of it.
So we made a deal, and here we are.
- We started building.
- And what was the dream, Dede? What was the ambition? Well, you know, we just love, love the beautiful river.
We just thought it would boom, you know, because of the beauty.
It's really one of the most beautiful spots in Idaho.
- Right.
- And people just loved it.
So there was, like, a two-hour wait every night.
- How long ago was that? - That was our first two years.
Wow.
So that was a long time ago.
So it got off to a great start.
What happened then? We had another chef and then people got mad 'cause we changed the menu.
After that we had a tragedy.
After the tragedy, my parents just kind of checked out.
It was a really hard time for my family, and, um, I think it showed in the lodge.
You know, they couldn't put their whole heart into it because their heart was broken.
So are you in love with it as much today as you were ten years ago? I'm very proud of it, and I love it, but I'm really tired.
Right.
We've been here a long time, you know.
Our goal is to have the best restaurant in the area and 100 miles around, but through the years we've just lost interest in that.
And he's really tired, you know.
He doesn't want to work that hard anymore.
Right.
So you're the restaurant manager? - Yes.
- And where did you train? I worked at a few really nice places when I was living in San Diego.
That was where I probably where I learned the most.
Oh, so you went away and then came back.
I've been gone for about nine years, yeah.
Right, okay, I want to get to the room, unpack.
Zach, why don't you show me to the room.
Yes, sir.
Oof.
This cottage stinks, no? What's that smell of lemon? I'm not sure.
God, that smell of lemon.
I mean, why on earth would you need air freshener in here with such beautiful air? - Oof.
- Yes.
The smell in here is crazy, you know? Let me just quickly open the window.
Oh, it gets the back of your throat, right? Yeah.
It's a little Is somebody gonna make up the beds? They are made.
I've seen dump baskets that are better.
How old are they? They were put in about five years ago.
Bloody hell.
Seriously.
- Yeah, they're definitely old.
- [bleep.]
- Is that blood? - I don't think so.
- What is that? - I'm not sure.
It's a stain anyway.
Wow.
Okay.
So I'll be down in a couple of minutes for a bite to eat.
Sounds great.
Yeah, what would you recommend? She does the rainbow trout here.
- What's her name? - Her name is Gina.
Okay, great.
Thanks for the update.
- Pleasure to meet you.
- Thanks, Zach.
Wow.
The view is breathtaking, but the color is depressing.
I mean, honestly, everything is dark, and gray, and dingy.
And the pillows, look at those.
How uninviting.
Like the dog sat on it for the last ten years.
They really do smell.
What is that? Looks like a piece of candy stuck on a pillow.
That's terrible.
It's almost like they've fallen out of love for this place.
Look at that.
Ugh.
A big dirty stain.
It's sad because it's almost on the verge of being neglected, and you've got two owners that have clearly run themselves into the ground.
You think of a lodge in this area, you think of something that's cozy, it's warm, inviting.
This is depressing.
Oh, dear.
Always a great way to find out how often the place is cleaned, check out the filters.
Oh, dear.
That's That's 15 years of dust [coughs.]
[bleep.]
in there.
Turns this thing off.
[coughs.]
It doesn't take much to clean that.
Hence the reason why this room stinks of air freshener.
[bleep.]
[coughs.]
[upbeat music.]
Chef, this is Gina.
Gina, this is Chef Ramsay.
- Gina, how are you? - Oh, so nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Nice to see you too.
What do you think is wrong with the business? Staffing issues.
Servers, they are just constantly late and, you know, I wouldn't have a manager.
But Zach's the manager.
Yes, he would come in at 3:00 or 4:00, you know.
- Hey, he - In the afternoon? - Yeah.
- Well, is that Dave's fault? Is he tight or does he not want to put money into the business? He wants to be as thrifty as possible.
Yeah, but this is your menu, right? - Mm-hmm.
- You're the chef, so - Yeah, I know.
- So who dictates this? Dave.
He never let anyone do the food orders even.
- No chefs.
- Really? - Mm-mm.
- But he's controlling you.
- Yes.
- And controlling the business.
Tightly, by the sense of things.
- Yeah, yep.
- Gina, thank you.
Thank you.
Does your dad realize when you build something this unique, then you need to have a team to run it? I don't think so, no.
I don't think he realizes it all.
He doesn't know.
He doesn't know one bit.
He doesn't let them order their own food? Uh, no.
He watches every penny.
Is he that controlling? He really wants to watch what's being sent out and what's being paid for, the money.
Zach, please.
- Excuse me.
- Thank you, Zach.
(Zach) My pleasure.
- Thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
Wings here for you, sir, with a homemade huckleberry barbeque sauce.
Wow.
Thank you.
Are the wings fresh? I believe they come frozen.
- Gina knew I was coming, right? - Mm-hmm.
And you can't buy fresh chicken locally here? Being served frozen food wasn't the start I was looking for.
It looks like it's been dipped in elk's blood.
In fact, the food just kept getting worse.
Pulling back that rib eye is like pulling back that duvet on that mattress, bloodstained and oh, wow.
That's strong in alcohol.
Use the good wine for this, right, Art? (Gordon) Gina claims her hands are tied in the kitchen.
So at this point, I don't know who to blame.
That rice is mush.
Who cooked that? It's like oatmeal.
What the [bleep.]
? Idaho rainbow trout with the herb risotto.
[bleep.]
.
What's all the squidgy bits around the outside? Those are all the sauces.
- All the sauces? - Yeah, yeah, seriously, yeah.
Ah.
Is that risotto or some of the plaster that your dad left over from building the new lodge? It's still got scales on it as well.
Why would you leave the skin that soggy like some used condom? That has to be the worst trout I've ever seen in my entire career.
Wow.
Does Mom and Dad see this food? - Do they come and have dinner? - They hate everything.
They hate the dish, or Everything.
They don't like the way that she does anything.
Then why is she here? When you're in the heat of the season, we kind of just take what we can get.
You can't keep on changing your chef every year.
I agree.
We do it every year.
[bleep.]
hell.
If this place wasn't run by your parents, would you work here? Hell, no.
No.
Not for a second.
I don't want to run a restaurant.
How keen are you to get out? II'm desperate.
And if you got a job tomorrow, would you be off? Yeah, I feel like I've kind of done my part, the part that I told them that I would do.
You're obviously concerned, and you're doing it more out of affection as opposed to you really wanting to be here.
Sounds like your mind's made up.
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
Let's get them out, please.
Would you both come out, please? (Art) Both of us? Would you come out? Both of you.
- What if I don't want to? - [chuckles.]
Chef Ramsay, nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Good to see you too.
Wow, uh So I'm lost for words.
What feedback did you get throughout my lunch? I didn't say anything throughout this.
- He didn't say a word to me.
- Nothing at all? Not yet.
Course by course, you didn't even talk to them? - No.
- Why not? I figured that was what you were gonna do when we were done.
I was hoping at least you were gonna say something to them so they could up their game, no? I actually expected you to say something, and I thought, "Well, should I ask or?" I kept thinking, "Okay, it must be okay.
I haven't heard any comments.
" Don't you want the truth? Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Do you know the owners hate your dishes? No.
You don't know the owners hate your food? No, I did not know that.
You've got no idea that Dede can't stand the curry? No, I never knew that.
I feel like people have been lying to me.
See, now, I don't blame her.
Let me I'm gonna be frank.
The rib eye was overcooked.
It looked like we'd opened the bottom of the dishwasher, and that plug was blocked with bits of floating grease.
[chuckles.]
Oh, God.
You may find it funny, but you're - No, it was funny the way you just described it.
(Gordon) No, but Art, I mean - No, I'm not trying to laugh about the rib eye.
- I understand that.
- No[bleep.]
hell.
Look where we sat, though.
If you phoned me on my telephone in the car and asked me what do you think I'm gonna be having, I would never have mentioned those dishes.
You did nothing to blow me away.
I'm trying to use the ingredients that Dave asked me to use.
A lot of it is cost.
So I was tied to that.
Art, you're the sous chef.
Is there any synergy in what you're doing? No.
You're just doing it to survive.
No one's thinking long-term.
It's stifling the business.
I'm amazed you're still open.
Zach, I don't know if you've got one foot in, one foot out.
You shouldn't be here.
Yeah, I've not been super invested, that's for sure.
Get the [bleep.]
out of here.
Hi.
(Gordon) So far, I've learned that Dave and Dede are checked out, and Zach just doesn't want to be here.
Tonight at dinner service, I'm curious to see if Dave is actually holding Gina back in the kitchen.
Um So Gina, explain the line.
Don't stop working, but just - Okay.
I work right here on the sauté area.
And then Art is there.
I'm the center section doing the burgers, the steaks.
(Gordon) And Zach? (Gina) He mostly stands behind the bar.
So he's not the restaurant manager then.
- He's the barman.
- He's supposed to be.
He went from the bottom to the top this summer.
Nothing in between.
But you don't get support from him.
He doesn't know how to.
He doesn't know how to.
What's the microwave for, Gina? Uh, to heat the dip up.
Not my choice, but not my choice to do a lot of things.
Wow.
You're the chef, right? - Yes.
- So what you say goes, no? It should be, Chef.
[bleep.]
.
- Why? - Art, did you make that? - No.
- What is that? It's some kind of cheesecake.
Gina made it (Gina) That was a collapsed cheesecake.
It looks like a land mine.
- What year is that from? - Like, 1876.
(Gordon) Wow.
Next ticket.
Karina, please.
Your salad will be right up.
(Gordon) Full-time or part-time? It's okay to chew gum in front of customers, or Dave just lets it go on? No, it's very gross.
And Zach, I know you can tell staff what to do, but this young lady's chewing gum.
- I just - You're right, yes.
No, I know, but um is - It's not typical, no.
- Sorry? It's not typical.
Laura, please spit your gum out.
Thank you.
Thank you.
- Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm fine.
- You sure? - Yeah, I'm good.
- What's going on here? - Yeah, you're right.
She shouldn't have gum.
Absolutely.
Excuse me for just one second.
(Gordon) What the What's going with the rib eye? Curry that I'm putting at this second, Chef.
(Gordon) But don't you talk to each other? So the food could hit the window at the same time.
If you opened up and talked to Art, then Art could take the sauce out of the container, and heat it up in a pot.
Yeah.
If you'll hand it to me I could do it right here.
- I got lots of time.
- I'm doing it.
Man, for a tiny kitchen, trying to expedite this food, it so never needs to be this hard.
You know that, Gina.
You don't like talking, do you? It's hard for me when I'm working.
- I'm sorry.
- But you're doing desserts.
Can't the young man do the desserts? - Yes.
- Wow.
(Gina) I know, everyone tells me I need to relinquish responsibility.
These guys are more than capable.
He can slice a cheesecake with his eyes closed.
(Gina) Yes, Chef.
Anyone can do it.
Or do you prefer wasting time doing it yourself? I know.
(Gordon) Just as it couldn't get any worse.
The problem with this lodge is becoming more apparent.
There's just no communication.
Gina doesn't speak to the kitchen, Dave and Dede ignore the problems, and Zach just doesn't know how to take command.
Oh, man.
So dysfunctional.
Yes? Oh, is it? [tense music.]
What did she say? - The chicken breast was cold.
- Cold? Gina, the chicken is cold.
She would like a new chicken breast.
(Gina) Absolutely.
New chicken breast, please.
- Just stop for two seconds.
- Yes, sir.
Zach, gather in.
Art.
All right, I just want you to touch that.
- Touch it.
- It's ice cold.
(Art) Ice cold.
That's what we resulted in sending.
You're just drowned.
Way in over your head.
A mess.
A big mess.
M, E, double S.
Oh, man.
So I was underwhelmed and disappointed.
You built this place to the absolute spec, beyond belief, but I was disappointed in my room.
The beds, terrible.
Zach, I pulled back the top duvet, and there was blood underneath the duvet.
The air conditioning filters were just full of [bleep.]
.
It was really shoddy.
Really shoddy, and it broke my heart, and I didn't even build the [bleep.]
place.
Right.
And look at the kitchen tonight.
What I don't get is the service and the offering because it was shocking.
The chicken goes out ice cold, slightly pink, and nobody cares.
And that dreadful cheesecake - Well, that cheesecake collapsed when I left the kitchen the other night - Get rid of it.
- I was.
- I did today.
- No, you didn't.
- I know.
- You're [bleep.]
nuts! Okay.
Nuts.
- You wrote that menu, Gina.
- I did.
You said your hands were tied so you've got no freedom.
Um, Dave gave me more freedom, I believe than he's given chefs in the past.
So sorry.
You have free I'm just going on what you told me.
Yes, I mean, he gave me - Now I'm not talking about chef now listen.
You told me at lunchtime your hands were tied, and you can't buy anything, you can't talk to suppliers, and what Dave says goes.
Yes, I mean, basically.
Dave, do you handcuff Gina? No, I have not handcuffed her.
The only thing I try to get her to do is cost compare.
You've got to try to keep food costs lower.
Are you telling me that what you're sending is value for money? It's no, it's not.
(Gordon) Nowhere near it.
Am I the only one that believes what we're doing is incorrect? Zach, you're not a restaurant manager.
Your heart's not in it, young man.
Mm-hmm.
And I asked you one vital question at lunchtime.
"If your parents didn't own this restaurant, would you be here?" And immediately, "Hell, no.
" (Dede) I know we're in trouble.
There are lodges around here that are more successful.
They're much more successful, and they're not even half as lovely.
Can I just have five minutes with you? - Do you mind? - Okay.
Let's go, uh (Dede) Thank you.
[thunder booms.]
This is on a deck of cards at the moment.
I feel it's about to collapse because it's built with no infrastructure.
How's the strain of the business affected you and Dave? We've had a lot of really, really hard years and a lot of arguing.
Things that I think are really important, he doesn't and vice versa.
Why is he so stubborn in a way that he's so overbearing and so controlling? I think he's just really scared of losing things so he tries to watch everything, you know.
And Dave wanted Zach to kind of learn the business so that in case anything happened to him, that we didn't lose everything and our kids didn't lose anything, all of our investment, right? And you probably know the terrible things that we went through.
Well, I disappeared, right, 'cause I couldn't function.
So he did it all his self.
He'd run the business without me, and he did the best he could, and he just did what he has to do, and that's what he does.
He does what he has to do.
And he knew that I was gone, and so he he run it by his self.
Yeah.
He needs to accept that he can't continue like this.
Mm-mm.
His heart might be in the right place, but his head's not in the game.
- Mm-hmm.
- You've got the view.
The building's there, but right now it's just a shell.
It's had better days.
For sure.
Really, really good days, at first.
It was wonderful.
We need to get that back.
[somber music.]
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
I came here yesterday, and I asked everyone to be open and honest, and the first time I heard any honesty last night was with your mother.
Not easy, that, is it? I, um don't condone your behavior.
My behavior was what? I just felt like you're the language that you use wasn't that of an English gentleman like I would expect.
I'm deeply sorry about that.
What language did I use? (Zach) A lot of "F" words.
I don't appreciate you using that language with my angel of a mother and my sister.
Could I just stop you there because you're over exaggerating a little bit, because I'm not gonna give you brownie points standing in front of your mother telling me how upset you are when you're laughing, giggling with me at the same time.
You see it as it is, you have to call it as it is.
I like the fact you're standing up.
So it takes me to swear for you to step up and act like a man.
Please.
You don't know [bleep.]
.
(Gordon) Did you just curse? That's disgusting behavior, young man.
If you want to have a little chat with me later, together, one-on-one, I'd love that, but stop being a hypocrite.
You've just sworn in front of your mother.
That was a mistake, and I apologize, Mom.
The hours you turn in, 4:00 in the afternoon, I don't know how you can call that a full day's work.
Gina was frustrated with the fact that you don't commit.
Staff get no direction, and you walk around shaking cocktails.
But I don't need to prove to you my worth.
No.
Not asking you to prove it to me.
Your father put you in charge of the restaurant.
So the big question is, what is your son Zach doing here? My view was he was gonna come help me run the restaurant.
He's not even given you feedback or talked to Gina or even just asking servers to not chew gum.
Yes, it concerns me a great deal.
Okay.
Shall we move on? I've got something really important to tell you.
Please, yes.
It's something that you're not familiar with.
It's called feedback.
Well, let's hear it.
I spent some time this morning just traveling around.
Driving, thinking, contemplating, and popping into local places fly fishermen, locals, houses, cabins.
You name it, I went there.
And the sad news is, they didn't want to come and sort of tell you to your face because it's a small community and but, I've got the feedback.
"My daughter had her wedding reception held at the lodge.
"We'd go back and celebrate, "but over the years things have gone downhill.
"Dave makes us very, very unwelcome, "and he's pushed the town away.
It doesn't feel like they want us there.
" "The owner, seriously, well, needs help.
"He's a total horse's butt.
"He has no idea how to handle employees or his customers.
" "There was a time the community rallied around to help them, "but he showed no appreciation so it didn't last very long.
"After time, he was a jackass again.
"Couldn't care less.
Too bad.
"So much potential there.
Maybe they don't care.
" I don't know why everybody thinks I'm a horse's ass.
I guess I am, huh? I try to be friendly to people.
I treat them just like I treated you.
If I come across cold and arrogant - You come across controlling, and you come across assertive.
Yeah.
We need to get them on our side, whether we like it or not.
Their last comment to me was that if you are prepared to change and commit to change, then they would walk through those doors.
Dave, I just want to spend a couple of minutes with you.
- Do you mind? - Okay.
- Thank you, guys.
- Thank you.
(Gordon) Why does Zach get so defensive like that? (Dave) I think insecurity, maybe.
Guys, can you just give me just five minutes please? (Gordon) In fact, let's go outside.
In fact, let's jump in the car.
I mean, honestly, I'm here to help.
- Yeah.
- You come across so withdrawn.
I don't know what to do about that.
Where did that level of negativity come in? Well, it started when I first broke ground here, and all the locals started attacking us and trying to shut us down.
You know, you have to put your head down and start swinging.
- But then you were successful.
- Yeah, we were successful.
And then I hired a [bleep.]
chef, and then they all took off and went away.
And then I found a good chef and some of them came back, but I can't please them all the time.
Sure, but it's not all about the chef, Dave.
You have to take part of the responsibility, you know.
So these people leave, and they let you down.
You know, at the end of the day, that's on your shoulders, right? Yes.
Dede dealt with the tragic loss of your son, and that took her a long time.
Did you seek help when you lost your son? - No.
- Who did you talk to? - No one.
- No one.
So you just came back into work? - Yeah, the next day.
- The next day.
'Cause there was no one here.
I mean, how did you get through? How? Well, you just get through it, you know.
You you go day by day.
Time helps heal, you know, but there's a hole in your heart that never heals, right? It's never going to.
Yeah.
But have you expressed this to Dede that that's how you dealt with it because I think she's a little bit in the dark.
I think she struggles to read you.
Well, maybe.
I just deal with it on a daily basis, you know.
There's not a day goes by I don't think of my son and the loss, but, you know, you move on, you know? I still have to make a living.
I still have to take care of Dede's feelings, and the kids, and all of that, you know? The kids got spoiled in the process 'cause we coddled them a little bit, and it's obvious, and Zach's a product of that.
- Yeah.
- You know, I come from I believe that they should earn it, but I'm in this situation, and I have been in this situation where, you know, my wife doesn't agree with that philosophy so it's a constant friction.
Same way with managing our restaurant and our business.
She comes in here and wants to coddle employees and doesn't expect them to hold to standards.
And I come in and try to get them to hold to standards, and I'm an [bleep.]
, and we have conflict at home.
So as a result of that, I've tried to minimize the conflicts and let Zach deal with the restaurant 'cause that's where most of our conflicts were.
The business may have suffered.
I may have been an [bleep.]
on occasion.
I don't know what to do about that, you know.
She doesn't understand my personality, but I'm sometimes I take no prisoners, and it offends people, and Dede doesn't understand that mind-set.
She's more of a all fluff.
You can't build this thing like that.
You're tough as [bleep.]
on the outside, but you have a heart, and you can show emotion.
I have a big heart.
Then people need to see it.
Yeah.
[instrumental music.]
I'd like to talk to you about something that's been missing.
When you built this place, we started off so well, didn't we? - Yes.
- Yes.
So I've put something together that I think will help reinstate that love.
Yeah.
Bring that back to the forefront.
Let's have a look.
Wow, who's that there? (Dave) Hey, that was me.
- Look at that hair.
- Yeah.
Man, what happened? Hell if I know.
[laughter.]
Look at that.
Wow.
Talk about handcrafted.
Even the boys are involved.
Look how little they are.
Yeah.
That's rare, Dave smiling.
Yeah, that is rare.
That, I want to freeze that one there.
[laughs.]
Oh, man.
(Gordon) Incredible.
You know, sometimes it's easy to forget.
This is why you built this amazing lodge, for the family, right, Dede? - Yes, oh.
- Chokes me up.
- Yeah.
- Ah, look at that.
Now that's a picture I haven't seen forever.
We need to frame that one on the wall.
(Gordon) These are the most amazing pictures.
Beautiful.
(Dave) They were so young.
(Gordon) Something quite magical about that first fish, right? Dede, when you see those amazing pictures, what goes through your mind? Oh, just just the memories and dreams that we had, you know, and everything just getting better and better and better, you know? Happy times.
And then just enjoying the property all of our life, right? It's a stern reminder to why you built this place.
Just watching your face light up, reminiscing in some of those amazing times, it's so nice to see.
Yeah.
I didn't see it when I arrived, and that's what's been missing.
Yeah.
Those were good times.
When we looked back at the pictures, of building the place, it brings back that energy that we had then, and it really does mean something, you know.
We've raised a family here.
We've raised our kids here.
All those memories were good memories.
So it's always been worth fighting for for me.
You need to fall back in love with it, but more importantly, with each other.
Yeah.
How important is this to you both? - It's everything.
- It's the world, yeah.
It's the world to us.
It's all we have when it's done and said, you know, we spent our best years building this place and running it.
You're comfortable we can get back there? You've got it in you? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
(Dede) Oh, I feel so much better because now we're moving past all the bad things, and we're starting to take a look towards the good things.
[upbeat music.]
(Gordon) After boosting the spirits of Dede and Dave, it was time to elevate the lodge itself.
My team spent all night working to turn the Angler's Lodge into a destination worthy of its rich family legacy.
Let's go.
I can't wait to show the family what we've done.
In you go.
Please.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Oh.
- Enjoy.
- Wow, look at that.
- Come on, jump in.
- Wow! (Dave) That's beautiful.
Perfect.
(Dede) Oh, my God.
- Wow, look at that.
- Oh! (Gordon) Gone is that hideous blood color.
Inviting.
Gorgeous.
Let's start off with that amazing reclaimed wood.
The bedspreads, brand-new.
- Oh, I love it.
- New carpets.
- Just beautiful.
- Isn't it? Yeah, it's amazing.
I think you've opened our eyes to what the place can be.
- You've done a great job.
- Just beautiful.
- It's gorgeous.
- It's amazing.
(Dede) It's just like a new joy, kind of like when we opened it up the first time.
It was like a brand-new joy, something that we can reach for after going through such hard times.
So we know what to do now.
Look at the rocking chair.
Ah.
- Nice.
- I don't even want to leave.
(Dede) It's just beautiful.
- Hello, how are you? - Hi, guys.
Are you guys here to check in? - Yes, we are.
- Great.
Wow, oh, my gosh.
Hi, Alex.
How are you? - I'm good.
- Good to see you.
You should see what they did to the rooms today.
It's amazing.
(Gordon) I've created a delicious new menu perfect for this region, and my team have been training the staff non-stop to prepare them for a successful relaunch tonight.
Here's our dinner menu.
(Gordon) I've invited the locals back and a local food critic so the lodge can rebuild these important relationships and get their reputation back on track.
Everybody's attention just for a second.
Our critic is sitting, watching, paying attention to everything that's going on.
Thank you.
[glass clinking.]
Hello, we just wanted to welcome you all to the lodge, and I hope you're enjoying your evening, and we appreciate you all coming in and trying us again, and we'd love to have you back.
Can't beat the setting, of course, and from now on our food's gonna match all those things.
So hope you're having a great time.
Very nice to have everybody back.
Welcome.
Have a great time.
[applause.]
One short rib right up here.
What are you doing? What are you doing? For the short rib, right? Right now is going three rib eye.
Yes, Chef.
And then you're doing short rib.
Are we sending appetizers? Look at me.
No, we didn't, Chef.
It's my fault.
Oh, for [bleep.]
sake.
Gina, Gina, come here.
Come here.
You're not even helping yourself.
You're not talking to me, and you're just going inward.
I'm gonna force you to talk.
(Art) Okay, so - Gina.
- Yes.
- Are you okay? - I'm okay for now.
- You sure? - I promise.
Okay, good.
Again, Art's there.
He can serve the soup.
Art, would you, please? - Absolutely.
- Okay, soup boiling.
We'll send the soup with one nice kale salad.
So next up, Art, dress me a kale salad.
No, no, no.
I've got the salad.
- You've got the salad, okay.
- Yes.
Why can't he make the salads? It never has to be this difficult.
You can't work on your own.
I've worked on my own many times, Chef.
Gina.
Gina, come here.
(Gordon) Come here.
Are you listening or are you giving up? No, no.
I've told you, you cannot work on your own.
You just shout, "I work on my own all the time.
" - Is it best you go now? - No.
You can't work on your own.
- I understand, Chef.
- You're gonna sink this place.
- Get a grip.
- Okay.
- Okay? - It's not difficult.
Next ticket? Yeah, FYI, in there tonight.
Gina's struggling.
Curt's stepped up.
Art's stepped up.
But with a menu that easy, if your mind's not in that, uh yeah, you've got no chance.
Kale salad in the window.
- Table 26, seat 1.
- Thank you.
- Is that for the critic? - Yes.
- Any seasoning there? - I did salt, pepper.
Give me a fresh one, please.
Art, take over, please.
Uh, Gina, take a step back.
Art, Gina's on the desserts.
(Gordon) Let's go.
Okay, I got chicken in the oven.
So are those three apple crisp in the oven or you forgot them? - They are in the oven, Chef.
- Yeah.
Darling, reheating a dessert I expect you to nail.
That's your table, you know that.
- Nice and gently.
- Yes, sir.
Off you go.
Roasted chicken with a crispy skin.
Oh, we can't do a scoop of ice cream? No answer.
We can't do a scoop of ice cream.
It's cold in the middle.
- Okay, I will redo - No, actually stop, stop.
I want you to take your apron off and then go home.
Art, take over, please.
(Art) Okay.
How's my desserts? Ready to roll? (Gordon) It's not working, is it? - I'm just nervous.
- No, it's not working.
You know it's not working.
I'm not gonna shout.
I'm not gonna scream.
It's just it's unfair.
It's unfair on you, and it's unfair on the lodge.
You're sending a short rib to a table that we haven't even sent the starters.
- I know.
- You're destroying the lodge.
I've got a critic that just landed.
One mistake like that and this place is gonna close.
(Gina) Heard.
Understood.
I'd like to finish out the evening, and see how it goes.
It's not working.
If you're gonna go back in that kitchen what are you gonna do differently? What's the point? I want to keep working so that I can get it down.
But you're not listening.
You're not listening.
You you're not even prepared to take any advice, any help.
(Gina) I know, it's been a long time, Chef, since somebody was telling me exactly what to do, and it's different for me.
We can't continue like this.
There's no point in fighting this.
(Gina) Yes, Chef.
(Gordon) Oh, man.
(Gina) Okay.
(Gordon) Dede, darling.
Dave.
Gina, she's just not up to speed.
And if she can't work with this menu, it's not gonna happen, so Yeah.
The good news is, Art and Curt, already up to speed.
Already, yeah? Yeah, that's good news.
Good feedback from the customers? Incredible.
Everybody was very happy.
Loved everything.
Compliments all around.
- Not a single complaint.
- That's great.
Any difficult questions from the critic? Nothing difficult at all, no.
He was very friendly, very nice, and just really enjoying everything.
He's like, "This was simple, and it was beautiful.
- It was perfect.
" - Awesome.
- Nice.
- Good night, right? (Dave) It was really a good night, yeah.
- Are you happy? - I am happy.
- Good.
- Very happy.
Look at that smile.
I'm just so happy to have people back in here, you know.
It's so nice to see that.
I mean, they're happy, right? (Dede) Yeah.
(Gordon) That's the most important thing.
But there's one tiny missing link.
Someone that I've arranged for all three of you to meet.
Her background is extraordinary.
She knows the area inside out.
And I've asked her to come here for a month and help set this place up, and I want you to benefit from her knowledge.
Please welcome Emily Brown.
Hello.
How are you? I'm Emily.
- Dede.
- Dede, pleasure.
- Zach.
- Nice to meet you, Zach.
- Hi, Emily.
Nice to meet you.
- Pleasure.
- Welcome, welcome.
- Nice to see you.
Likewise.
Welcome.
Good to see you.
First of all, she knows this business inside out, and she's excited to work as a consultant for a month and help set this place up for a very, very busy season.
Yeah, I heard all about you guys.
Really excited to get you guys where you really need to be, so.
- Welcome.
- Welcome.
I want you two to do something you haven't done for a long time.
I'd like you to take your dear lady, and go and have dinner.
Oh, nice.
Won't that be nice? Yes.
Tonight, Zach's got a table for you.
- That'll be great.
Thank you.
- Excellent.
That's the first time I've seen them holding hands.
(Emily) Aw.
[light music.]
- I like Gordon.
- Do you? Mm-hmm.
(Dede) Seeing Dave smiling, It's like the pressure's lifted off.
The love is rekindled for sure, and I'm really excited to have everybody in Island Park start coming back again and being excited about the lodge like they were when we first built it.
- My time is done.
- You're leaving now? - Are you leaving now? - I am leaving now.
You guys have a great spark here.
Trust me, you need to show it.
Don't stop.
Good night.
- Good night.
- God bless.
- Thanks.
- Bye.
- Enjoy dinner.
- Thank you so much.
Take care.
Here's to me and you, man.
Cheers.
- Better days ahead.
- Yeah, to a new lodge.
(Gordon) Wow, what a night.
Oh, man.
That's better.
Man, that's cold out there.
Oh, [bleep.]
hand brake.
Where's the [bleep.]
gear stick on the steering wheel? I shouldn't drive.
[bleep.]
useless.
Man.
[laughs.]
[upbeat music.]
(Gordon) After I left the lodge, the family embraced the many changes and is excited about the future.
Both Dede and Dave have rekindled their passion.
You're doing good, honey.
We're a good team.
(Gordon) And are enjoying working together to make Angler's Lodge the place to be once again.
Hotel Hell - S03E01 - Angler's Lodge Original Subtitle by garfieldgembul
(Dede) We've had a lot of hard years and a lot of arguing.
I know we're in trouble.
(Gordon) My struggle is not only to fix the lodge That's 15 years of dust.
[coughs.]
Wow, is that blood? But to renew the passion that they once had.
The heart's gone.
We need to get that back.
It's about to collapse.
Hotel Hell - S03E01 - Angler's Lodge Original Subtitle by garfieldgembul [upbeat instrumental music.]
(Dave) When I first came into the area, I saw this piece of land.
It was right next to one of the world's best fly fisheries, the Henry's Fork at the Snake River.
And we jumped right on that piece of property and started building the lodge.
I thought I could fly fish while I had the phone in my pocket taking reservations.
And that actually happened early on, in the early days, in 1999.
Dave would go cut the logs and peel the logs.
Sometimes he'd make our sons peel some logs, but they were pretty, pretty little.
(Zach) Growing up here was something special.
We literally worked every aspect of it.
I started out as a little kid doing dishes and bussing tables and then waiting tables.
(Dede) When we finally got the lodge built and open, we would have, like, two-hour waits, and people loved it.
Loved it.
(Zach) The lodge was full every single night.
It was going so well that they were getting ready to expand.
And then that summer we lost my little brother.
He was ten years old when he died.
[somber music.]
It was it was dark.
It was a dark, bad time.
And my mom fell out.
(Dede) When we lost that little boy, our life stopped, and I went to bed for three years.
And I didn't I didn't get up.
(Zach) So without her here, my dad was forced to run everything by himself, and that's kind of the way he coped with everything.
There was just a darkness and a sadness that surrounded our family for years.
(Art) Business is quite slow.
I'd say it's probably 25% compared to 100% back then.
Dave and Dede need some help.
(Dave) Zach came back about a year ago to help me run the restaurant and lodge.
He sees constantly how it's a struggle for me to keep up with the restaurant side so he came back to help.
(Art) You take a young man, you stick him in there, and you put him as a general manager.
A general manager, in my opinion, is somebody who needs to know the inside and the outside of the whole operation, but he doesn't know these things.
(Dede) Dave and I are tired, and it's just like a black hole for us, and we don't want to work this hard anymore.
Making a comeback is our last hope.
It's my best hope.
[upbeat instrumental music.]
I've just arrived at Island Park, Idaho, and it is absolutely gorgeous.
This city is nicknamed "Last Chance" 'cause it literally is the last place to stop for food, gas, and lodgings before entering Yellowstone National Park.
And this location is one of the most prestigious fly fishing areas anywhere in the world.
It's a fisherman's paradise.
There it is, Angler's Lodge.
How on earth could this place go wrong? Look at that.
Gorgeous.
- Wow.
Hello.
- Hi.
- How are you? - Good.
I'm Savannah.
Savannah, Gordon.
Nice to see you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Wow.
My goodness me, this place is gorgeous.
- Who built it? - My father.
- No.
Stop.
- Yeah.
- Seriously? - Bare hands.
You are kidding me.
Wow.
Yeah, it's all family business.
- We're all in it together.
- Wow, wow.
And recently my oldest brother Zach took over the restaurant.
So Zach's the restaurant manager.
Mm-hmm.
Is Mum and Dad around? I'd love to meet them.
- Yeah, of course.
- Oh, wow.
I'll follow you.
Wow, look at those beauties up there.
That's a vegetarian nightmare up there.
- Yeah.
- There's fish everywhere.
Yeah, they're for real.
- Hello.
I'm Dede.
- Dede, how are you? - Very nice to meet you.
- What an amazing place.
- Preston, my brother.
- Preston, good to see you.
- Good to meet you.
- Likewise.
- Zach, my other.
- How are you doing, Chef? Wow, this is definitely a family-run business, right? - Yes, sir.
- Gordon, how are you? The gentle giant with a Midas touch, by the looks of things.
Congratulations, the place is gorgeous.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Did you build it really? - I did build it.
- Wow.
I just had a vision in my mind, and we put things up, took them down until it looked right.
And do you live on the property? I do.
We have a cabin right across the way.
- Just here? - Yeah.
Don't tell me you built that as well.
(Dave) I did.
Where was the conversation you both had when you decided to go ahead and build it? We found these old, beat-up building.
There was a "for sale" sign on the back side of it.
So we made a deal, and here we are.
- We started building.
- And what was the dream, Dede? What was the ambition? Well, you know, we just love, love the beautiful river.
We just thought it would boom, you know, because of the beauty.
It's really one of the most beautiful spots in Idaho.
- Right.
- And people just loved it.
So there was, like, a two-hour wait every night.
- How long ago was that? - That was our first two years.
Wow.
So that was a long time ago.
So it got off to a great start.
What happened then? We had another chef and then people got mad 'cause we changed the menu.
After that we had a tragedy.
After the tragedy, my parents just kind of checked out.
It was a really hard time for my family, and, um, I think it showed in the lodge.
You know, they couldn't put their whole heart into it because their heart was broken.
So are you in love with it as much today as you were ten years ago? I'm very proud of it, and I love it, but I'm really tired.
Right.
We've been here a long time, you know.
Our goal is to have the best restaurant in the area and 100 miles around, but through the years we've just lost interest in that.
And he's really tired, you know.
He doesn't want to work that hard anymore.
Right.
So you're the restaurant manager? - Yes.
- And where did you train? I worked at a few really nice places when I was living in San Diego.
That was where I probably where I learned the most.
Oh, so you went away and then came back.
I've been gone for about nine years, yeah.
Right, okay, I want to get to the room, unpack.
Zach, why don't you show me to the room.
Yes, sir.
Oof.
This cottage stinks, no? What's that smell of lemon? I'm not sure.
God, that smell of lemon.
I mean, why on earth would you need air freshener in here with such beautiful air? - Oof.
- Yes.
The smell in here is crazy, you know? Let me just quickly open the window.
Oh, it gets the back of your throat, right? Yeah.
It's a little Is somebody gonna make up the beds? They are made.
I've seen dump baskets that are better.
How old are they? They were put in about five years ago.
Bloody hell.
Seriously.
- Yeah, they're definitely old.
- [bleep.]
- Is that blood? - I don't think so.
- What is that? - I'm not sure.
It's a stain anyway.
Wow.
Okay.
So I'll be down in a couple of minutes for a bite to eat.
Sounds great.
Yeah, what would you recommend? She does the rainbow trout here.
- What's her name? - Her name is Gina.
Okay, great.
Thanks for the update.
- Pleasure to meet you.
- Thanks, Zach.
Wow.
The view is breathtaking, but the color is depressing.
I mean, honestly, everything is dark, and gray, and dingy.
And the pillows, look at those.
How uninviting.
Like the dog sat on it for the last ten years.
They really do smell.
What is that? Looks like a piece of candy stuck on a pillow.
That's terrible.
It's almost like they've fallen out of love for this place.
Look at that.
Ugh.
A big dirty stain.
It's sad because it's almost on the verge of being neglected, and you've got two owners that have clearly run themselves into the ground.
You think of a lodge in this area, you think of something that's cozy, it's warm, inviting.
This is depressing.
Oh, dear.
Always a great way to find out how often the place is cleaned, check out the filters.
Oh, dear.
That's That's 15 years of dust [coughs.]
[bleep.]
in there.
Turns this thing off.
[coughs.]
It doesn't take much to clean that.
Hence the reason why this room stinks of air freshener.
[bleep.]
[coughs.]
[upbeat music.]
Chef, this is Gina.
Gina, this is Chef Ramsay.
- Gina, how are you? - Oh, so nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Nice to see you too.
What do you think is wrong with the business? Staffing issues.
Servers, they are just constantly late and, you know, I wouldn't have a manager.
But Zach's the manager.
Yes, he would come in at 3:00 or 4:00, you know.
- Hey, he - In the afternoon? - Yeah.
- Well, is that Dave's fault? Is he tight or does he not want to put money into the business? He wants to be as thrifty as possible.
Yeah, but this is your menu, right? - Mm-hmm.
- You're the chef, so - Yeah, I know.
- So who dictates this? Dave.
He never let anyone do the food orders even.
- No chefs.
- Really? - Mm-mm.
- But he's controlling you.
- Yes.
- And controlling the business.
Tightly, by the sense of things.
- Yeah, yep.
- Gina, thank you.
Thank you.
Does your dad realize when you build something this unique, then you need to have a team to run it? I don't think so, no.
I don't think he realizes it all.
He doesn't know.
He doesn't know one bit.
He doesn't let them order their own food? Uh, no.
He watches every penny.
Is he that controlling? He really wants to watch what's being sent out and what's being paid for, the money.
Zach, please.
- Excuse me.
- Thank you, Zach.
(Zach) My pleasure.
- Thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
Wings here for you, sir, with a homemade huckleberry barbeque sauce.
Wow.
Thank you.
Are the wings fresh? I believe they come frozen.
- Gina knew I was coming, right? - Mm-hmm.
And you can't buy fresh chicken locally here? Being served frozen food wasn't the start I was looking for.
It looks like it's been dipped in elk's blood.
In fact, the food just kept getting worse.
Pulling back that rib eye is like pulling back that duvet on that mattress, bloodstained and oh, wow.
That's strong in alcohol.
Use the good wine for this, right, Art? (Gordon) Gina claims her hands are tied in the kitchen.
So at this point, I don't know who to blame.
That rice is mush.
Who cooked that? It's like oatmeal.
What the [bleep.]
? Idaho rainbow trout with the herb risotto.
[bleep.]
.
What's all the squidgy bits around the outside? Those are all the sauces.
- All the sauces? - Yeah, yeah, seriously, yeah.
Ah.
Is that risotto or some of the plaster that your dad left over from building the new lodge? It's still got scales on it as well.
Why would you leave the skin that soggy like some used condom? That has to be the worst trout I've ever seen in my entire career.
Wow.
Does Mom and Dad see this food? - Do they come and have dinner? - They hate everything.
They hate the dish, or Everything.
They don't like the way that she does anything.
Then why is she here? When you're in the heat of the season, we kind of just take what we can get.
You can't keep on changing your chef every year.
I agree.
We do it every year.
[bleep.]
hell.
If this place wasn't run by your parents, would you work here? Hell, no.
No.
Not for a second.
I don't want to run a restaurant.
How keen are you to get out? II'm desperate.
And if you got a job tomorrow, would you be off? Yeah, I feel like I've kind of done my part, the part that I told them that I would do.
You're obviously concerned, and you're doing it more out of affection as opposed to you really wanting to be here.
Sounds like your mind's made up.
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
Let's get them out, please.
Would you both come out, please? (Art) Both of us? Would you come out? Both of you.
- What if I don't want to? - [chuckles.]
Chef Ramsay, nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Good to see you too.
Wow, uh So I'm lost for words.
What feedback did you get throughout my lunch? I didn't say anything throughout this.
- He didn't say a word to me.
- Nothing at all? Not yet.
Course by course, you didn't even talk to them? - No.
- Why not? I figured that was what you were gonna do when we were done.
I was hoping at least you were gonna say something to them so they could up their game, no? I actually expected you to say something, and I thought, "Well, should I ask or?" I kept thinking, "Okay, it must be okay.
I haven't heard any comments.
" Don't you want the truth? Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Do you know the owners hate your dishes? No.
You don't know the owners hate your food? No, I did not know that.
You've got no idea that Dede can't stand the curry? No, I never knew that.
I feel like people have been lying to me.
See, now, I don't blame her.
Let me I'm gonna be frank.
The rib eye was overcooked.
It looked like we'd opened the bottom of the dishwasher, and that plug was blocked with bits of floating grease.
[chuckles.]
Oh, God.
You may find it funny, but you're - No, it was funny the way you just described it.
(Gordon) No, but Art, I mean - No, I'm not trying to laugh about the rib eye.
- I understand that.
- No[bleep.]
hell.
Look where we sat, though.
If you phoned me on my telephone in the car and asked me what do you think I'm gonna be having, I would never have mentioned those dishes.
You did nothing to blow me away.
I'm trying to use the ingredients that Dave asked me to use.
A lot of it is cost.
So I was tied to that.
Art, you're the sous chef.
Is there any synergy in what you're doing? No.
You're just doing it to survive.
No one's thinking long-term.
It's stifling the business.
I'm amazed you're still open.
Zach, I don't know if you've got one foot in, one foot out.
You shouldn't be here.
Yeah, I've not been super invested, that's for sure.
Get the [bleep.]
out of here.
Hi.
(Gordon) So far, I've learned that Dave and Dede are checked out, and Zach just doesn't want to be here.
Tonight at dinner service, I'm curious to see if Dave is actually holding Gina back in the kitchen.
Um So Gina, explain the line.
Don't stop working, but just - Okay.
I work right here on the sauté area.
And then Art is there.
I'm the center section doing the burgers, the steaks.
(Gordon) And Zach? (Gina) He mostly stands behind the bar.
So he's not the restaurant manager then.
- He's the barman.
- He's supposed to be.
He went from the bottom to the top this summer.
Nothing in between.
But you don't get support from him.
He doesn't know how to.
He doesn't know how to.
What's the microwave for, Gina? Uh, to heat the dip up.
Not my choice, but not my choice to do a lot of things.
Wow.
You're the chef, right? - Yes.
- So what you say goes, no? It should be, Chef.
[bleep.]
.
- Why? - Art, did you make that? - No.
- What is that? It's some kind of cheesecake.
Gina made it (Gina) That was a collapsed cheesecake.
It looks like a land mine.
- What year is that from? - Like, 1876.
(Gordon) Wow.
Next ticket.
Karina, please.
Your salad will be right up.
(Gordon) Full-time or part-time? It's okay to chew gum in front of customers, or Dave just lets it go on? No, it's very gross.
And Zach, I know you can tell staff what to do, but this young lady's chewing gum.
- I just - You're right, yes.
No, I know, but um is - It's not typical, no.
- Sorry? It's not typical.
Laura, please spit your gum out.
Thank you.
Thank you.
- Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm fine.
- You sure? - Yeah, I'm good.
- What's going on here? - Yeah, you're right.
She shouldn't have gum.
Absolutely.
Excuse me for just one second.
(Gordon) What the What's going with the rib eye? Curry that I'm putting at this second, Chef.
(Gordon) But don't you talk to each other? So the food could hit the window at the same time.
If you opened up and talked to Art, then Art could take the sauce out of the container, and heat it up in a pot.
Yeah.
If you'll hand it to me I could do it right here.
- I got lots of time.
- I'm doing it.
Man, for a tiny kitchen, trying to expedite this food, it so never needs to be this hard.
You know that, Gina.
You don't like talking, do you? It's hard for me when I'm working.
- I'm sorry.
- But you're doing desserts.
Can't the young man do the desserts? - Yes.
- Wow.
(Gina) I know, everyone tells me I need to relinquish responsibility.
These guys are more than capable.
He can slice a cheesecake with his eyes closed.
(Gina) Yes, Chef.
Anyone can do it.
Or do you prefer wasting time doing it yourself? I know.
(Gordon) Just as it couldn't get any worse.
The problem with this lodge is becoming more apparent.
There's just no communication.
Gina doesn't speak to the kitchen, Dave and Dede ignore the problems, and Zach just doesn't know how to take command.
Oh, man.
So dysfunctional.
Yes? Oh, is it? [tense music.]
What did she say? - The chicken breast was cold.
- Cold? Gina, the chicken is cold.
She would like a new chicken breast.
(Gina) Absolutely.
New chicken breast, please.
- Just stop for two seconds.
- Yes, sir.
Zach, gather in.
Art.
All right, I just want you to touch that.
- Touch it.
- It's ice cold.
(Art) Ice cold.
That's what we resulted in sending.
You're just drowned.
Way in over your head.
A mess.
A big mess.
M, E, double S.
Oh, man.
So I was underwhelmed and disappointed.
You built this place to the absolute spec, beyond belief, but I was disappointed in my room.
The beds, terrible.
Zach, I pulled back the top duvet, and there was blood underneath the duvet.
The air conditioning filters were just full of [bleep.]
.
It was really shoddy.
Really shoddy, and it broke my heart, and I didn't even build the [bleep.]
place.
Right.
And look at the kitchen tonight.
What I don't get is the service and the offering because it was shocking.
The chicken goes out ice cold, slightly pink, and nobody cares.
And that dreadful cheesecake - Well, that cheesecake collapsed when I left the kitchen the other night - Get rid of it.
- I was.
- I did today.
- No, you didn't.
- I know.
- You're [bleep.]
nuts! Okay.
Nuts.
- You wrote that menu, Gina.
- I did.
You said your hands were tied so you've got no freedom.
Um, Dave gave me more freedom, I believe than he's given chefs in the past.
So sorry.
You have free I'm just going on what you told me.
Yes, I mean, he gave me - Now I'm not talking about chef now listen.
You told me at lunchtime your hands were tied, and you can't buy anything, you can't talk to suppliers, and what Dave says goes.
Yes, I mean, basically.
Dave, do you handcuff Gina? No, I have not handcuffed her.
The only thing I try to get her to do is cost compare.
You've got to try to keep food costs lower.
Are you telling me that what you're sending is value for money? It's no, it's not.
(Gordon) Nowhere near it.
Am I the only one that believes what we're doing is incorrect? Zach, you're not a restaurant manager.
Your heart's not in it, young man.
Mm-hmm.
And I asked you one vital question at lunchtime.
"If your parents didn't own this restaurant, would you be here?" And immediately, "Hell, no.
" (Dede) I know we're in trouble.
There are lodges around here that are more successful.
They're much more successful, and they're not even half as lovely.
Can I just have five minutes with you? - Do you mind? - Okay.
Let's go, uh (Dede) Thank you.
[thunder booms.]
This is on a deck of cards at the moment.
I feel it's about to collapse because it's built with no infrastructure.
How's the strain of the business affected you and Dave? We've had a lot of really, really hard years and a lot of arguing.
Things that I think are really important, he doesn't and vice versa.
Why is he so stubborn in a way that he's so overbearing and so controlling? I think he's just really scared of losing things so he tries to watch everything, you know.
And Dave wanted Zach to kind of learn the business so that in case anything happened to him, that we didn't lose everything and our kids didn't lose anything, all of our investment, right? And you probably know the terrible things that we went through.
Well, I disappeared, right, 'cause I couldn't function.
So he did it all his self.
He'd run the business without me, and he did the best he could, and he just did what he has to do, and that's what he does.
He does what he has to do.
And he knew that I was gone, and so he he run it by his self.
Yeah.
He needs to accept that he can't continue like this.
Mm-mm.
His heart might be in the right place, but his head's not in the game.
- Mm-hmm.
- You've got the view.
The building's there, but right now it's just a shell.
It's had better days.
For sure.
Really, really good days, at first.
It was wonderful.
We need to get that back.
[somber music.]
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
I came here yesterday, and I asked everyone to be open and honest, and the first time I heard any honesty last night was with your mother.
Not easy, that, is it? I, um don't condone your behavior.
My behavior was what? I just felt like you're the language that you use wasn't that of an English gentleman like I would expect.
I'm deeply sorry about that.
What language did I use? (Zach) A lot of "F" words.
I don't appreciate you using that language with my angel of a mother and my sister.
Could I just stop you there because you're over exaggerating a little bit, because I'm not gonna give you brownie points standing in front of your mother telling me how upset you are when you're laughing, giggling with me at the same time.
You see it as it is, you have to call it as it is.
I like the fact you're standing up.
So it takes me to swear for you to step up and act like a man.
Please.
You don't know [bleep.]
.
(Gordon) Did you just curse? That's disgusting behavior, young man.
If you want to have a little chat with me later, together, one-on-one, I'd love that, but stop being a hypocrite.
You've just sworn in front of your mother.
That was a mistake, and I apologize, Mom.
The hours you turn in, 4:00 in the afternoon, I don't know how you can call that a full day's work.
Gina was frustrated with the fact that you don't commit.
Staff get no direction, and you walk around shaking cocktails.
But I don't need to prove to you my worth.
No.
Not asking you to prove it to me.
Your father put you in charge of the restaurant.
So the big question is, what is your son Zach doing here? My view was he was gonna come help me run the restaurant.
He's not even given you feedback or talked to Gina or even just asking servers to not chew gum.
Yes, it concerns me a great deal.
Okay.
Shall we move on? I've got something really important to tell you.
Please, yes.
It's something that you're not familiar with.
It's called feedback.
Well, let's hear it.
I spent some time this morning just traveling around.
Driving, thinking, contemplating, and popping into local places fly fishermen, locals, houses, cabins.
You name it, I went there.
And the sad news is, they didn't want to come and sort of tell you to your face because it's a small community and but, I've got the feedback.
"My daughter had her wedding reception held at the lodge.
"We'd go back and celebrate, "but over the years things have gone downhill.
"Dave makes us very, very unwelcome, "and he's pushed the town away.
It doesn't feel like they want us there.
" "The owner, seriously, well, needs help.
"He's a total horse's butt.
"He has no idea how to handle employees or his customers.
" "There was a time the community rallied around to help them, "but he showed no appreciation so it didn't last very long.
"After time, he was a jackass again.
"Couldn't care less.
Too bad.
"So much potential there.
Maybe they don't care.
" I don't know why everybody thinks I'm a horse's ass.
I guess I am, huh? I try to be friendly to people.
I treat them just like I treated you.
If I come across cold and arrogant - You come across controlling, and you come across assertive.
Yeah.
We need to get them on our side, whether we like it or not.
Their last comment to me was that if you are prepared to change and commit to change, then they would walk through those doors.
Dave, I just want to spend a couple of minutes with you.
- Do you mind? - Okay.
- Thank you, guys.
- Thank you.
(Gordon) Why does Zach get so defensive like that? (Dave) I think insecurity, maybe.
Guys, can you just give me just five minutes please? (Gordon) In fact, let's go outside.
In fact, let's jump in the car.
I mean, honestly, I'm here to help.
- Yeah.
- You come across so withdrawn.
I don't know what to do about that.
Where did that level of negativity come in? Well, it started when I first broke ground here, and all the locals started attacking us and trying to shut us down.
You know, you have to put your head down and start swinging.
- But then you were successful.
- Yeah, we were successful.
And then I hired a [bleep.]
chef, and then they all took off and went away.
And then I found a good chef and some of them came back, but I can't please them all the time.
Sure, but it's not all about the chef, Dave.
You have to take part of the responsibility, you know.
So these people leave, and they let you down.
You know, at the end of the day, that's on your shoulders, right? Yes.
Dede dealt with the tragic loss of your son, and that took her a long time.
Did you seek help when you lost your son? - No.
- Who did you talk to? - No one.
- No one.
So you just came back into work? - Yeah, the next day.
- The next day.
'Cause there was no one here.
I mean, how did you get through? How? Well, you just get through it, you know.
You you go day by day.
Time helps heal, you know, but there's a hole in your heart that never heals, right? It's never going to.
Yeah.
But have you expressed this to Dede that that's how you dealt with it because I think she's a little bit in the dark.
I think she struggles to read you.
Well, maybe.
I just deal with it on a daily basis, you know.
There's not a day goes by I don't think of my son and the loss, but, you know, you move on, you know? I still have to make a living.
I still have to take care of Dede's feelings, and the kids, and all of that, you know? The kids got spoiled in the process 'cause we coddled them a little bit, and it's obvious, and Zach's a product of that.
- Yeah.
- You know, I come from I believe that they should earn it, but I'm in this situation, and I have been in this situation where, you know, my wife doesn't agree with that philosophy so it's a constant friction.
Same way with managing our restaurant and our business.
She comes in here and wants to coddle employees and doesn't expect them to hold to standards.
And I come in and try to get them to hold to standards, and I'm an [bleep.]
, and we have conflict at home.
So as a result of that, I've tried to minimize the conflicts and let Zach deal with the restaurant 'cause that's where most of our conflicts were.
The business may have suffered.
I may have been an [bleep.]
on occasion.
I don't know what to do about that, you know.
She doesn't understand my personality, but I'm sometimes I take no prisoners, and it offends people, and Dede doesn't understand that mind-set.
She's more of a all fluff.
You can't build this thing like that.
You're tough as [bleep.]
on the outside, but you have a heart, and you can show emotion.
I have a big heart.
Then people need to see it.
Yeah.
[instrumental music.]
I'd like to talk to you about something that's been missing.
When you built this place, we started off so well, didn't we? - Yes.
- Yes.
So I've put something together that I think will help reinstate that love.
Yeah.
Bring that back to the forefront.
Let's have a look.
Wow, who's that there? (Dave) Hey, that was me.
- Look at that hair.
- Yeah.
Man, what happened? Hell if I know.
[laughter.]
Look at that.
Wow.
Talk about handcrafted.
Even the boys are involved.
Look how little they are.
Yeah.
That's rare, Dave smiling.
Yeah, that is rare.
That, I want to freeze that one there.
[laughs.]
Oh, man.
(Gordon) Incredible.
You know, sometimes it's easy to forget.
This is why you built this amazing lodge, for the family, right, Dede? - Yes, oh.
- Chokes me up.
- Yeah.
- Ah, look at that.
Now that's a picture I haven't seen forever.
We need to frame that one on the wall.
(Gordon) These are the most amazing pictures.
Beautiful.
(Dave) They were so young.
(Gordon) Something quite magical about that first fish, right? Dede, when you see those amazing pictures, what goes through your mind? Oh, just just the memories and dreams that we had, you know, and everything just getting better and better and better, you know? Happy times.
And then just enjoying the property all of our life, right? It's a stern reminder to why you built this place.
Just watching your face light up, reminiscing in some of those amazing times, it's so nice to see.
Yeah.
I didn't see it when I arrived, and that's what's been missing.
Yeah.
Those were good times.
When we looked back at the pictures, of building the place, it brings back that energy that we had then, and it really does mean something, you know.
We've raised a family here.
We've raised our kids here.
All those memories were good memories.
So it's always been worth fighting for for me.
You need to fall back in love with it, but more importantly, with each other.
Yeah.
How important is this to you both? - It's everything.
- It's the world, yeah.
It's the world to us.
It's all we have when it's done and said, you know, we spent our best years building this place and running it.
You're comfortable we can get back there? You've got it in you? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
(Dede) Oh, I feel so much better because now we're moving past all the bad things, and we're starting to take a look towards the good things.
[upbeat music.]
(Gordon) After boosting the spirits of Dede and Dave, it was time to elevate the lodge itself.
My team spent all night working to turn the Angler's Lodge into a destination worthy of its rich family legacy.
Let's go.
I can't wait to show the family what we've done.
In you go.
Please.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Oh.
- Enjoy.
- Wow, look at that.
- Come on, jump in.
- Wow! (Dave) That's beautiful.
Perfect.
(Dede) Oh, my God.
- Wow, look at that.
- Oh! (Gordon) Gone is that hideous blood color.
Inviting.
Gorgeous.
Let's start off with that amazing reclaimed wood.
The bedspreads, brand-new.
- Oh, I love it.
- New carpets.
- Just beautiful.
- Isn't it? Yeah, it's amazing.
I think you've opened our eyes to what the place can be.
- You've done a great job.
- Just beautiful.
- It's gorgeous.
- It's amazing.
(Dede) It's just like a new joy, kind of like when we opened it up the first time.
It was like a brand-new joy, something that we can reach for after going through such hard times.
So we know what to do now.
Look at the rocking chair.
Ah.
- Nice.
- I don't even want to leave.
(Dede) It's just beautiful.
- Hello, how are you? - Hi, guys.
Are you guys here to check in? - Yes, we are.
- Great.
Wow, oh, my gosh.
Hi, Alex.
How are you? - I'm good.
- Good to see you.
You should see what they did to the rooms today.
It's amazing.
(Gordon) I've created a delicious new menu perfect for this region, and my team have been training the staff non-stop to prepare them for a successful relaunch tonight.
Here's our dinner menu.
(Gordon) I've invited the locals back and a local food critic so the lodge can rebuild these important relationships and get their reputation back on track.
Everybody's attention just for a second.
Our critic is sitting, watching, paying attention to everything that's going on.
Thank you.
[glass clinking.]
Hello, we just wanted to welcome you all to the lodge, and I hope you're enjoying your evening, and we appreciate you all coming in and trying us again, and we'd love to have you back.
Can't beat the setting, of course, and from now on our food's gonna match all those things.
So hope you're having a great time.
Very nice to have everybody back.
Welcome.
Have a great time.
[applause.]
One short rib right up here.
What are you doing? What are you doing? For the short rib, right? Right now is going three rib eye.
Yes, Chef.
And then you're doing short rib.
Are we sending appetizers? Look at me.
No, we didn't, Chef.
It's my fault.
Oh, for [bleep.]
sake.
Gina, Gina, come here.
Come here.
You're not even helping yourself.
You're not talking to me, and you're just going inward.
I'm gonna force you to talk.
(Art) Okay, so - Gina.
- Yes.
- Are you okay? - I'm okay for now.
- You sure? - I promise.
Okay, good.
Again, Art's there.
He can serve the soup.
Art, would you, please? - Absolutely.
- Okay, soup boiling.
We'll send the soup with one nice kale salad.
So next up, Art, dress me a kale salad.
No, no, no.
I've got the salad.
- You've got the salad, okay.
- Yes.
Why can't he make the salads? It never has to be this difficult.
You can't work on your own.
I've worked on my own many times, Chef.
Gina.
Gina, come here.
(Gordon) Come here.
Are you listening or are you giving up? No, no.
I've told you, you cannot work on your own.
You just shout, "I work on my own all the time.
" - Is it best you go now? - No.
You can't work on your own.
- I understand, Chef.
- You're gonna sink this place.
- Get a grip.
- Okay.
- Okay? - It's not difficult.
Next ticket? Yeah, FYI, in there tonight.
Gina's struggling.
Curt's stepped up.
Art's stepped up.
But with a menu that easy, if your mind's not in that, uh yeah, you've got no chance.
Kale salad in the window.
- Table 26, seat 1.
- Thank you.
- Is that for the critic? - Yes.
- Any seasoning there? - I did salt, pepper.
Give me a fresh one, please.
Art, take over, please.
Uh, Gina, take a step back.
Art, Gina's on the desserts.
(Gordon) Let's go.
Okay, I got chicken in the oven.
So are those three apple crisp in the oven or you forgot them? - They are in the oven, Chef.
- Yeah.
Darling, reheating a dessert I expect you to nail.
That's your table, you know that.
- Nice and gently.
- Yes, sir.
Off you go.
Roasted chicken with a crispy skin.
Oh, we can't do a scoop of ice cream? No answer.
We can't do a scoop of ice cream.
It's cold in the middle.
- Okay, I will redo - No, actually stop, stop.
I want you to take your apron off and then go home.
Art, take over, please.
(Art) Okay.
How's my desserts? Ready to roll? (Gordon) It's not working, is it? - I'm just nervous.
- No, it's not working.
You know it's not working.
I'm not gonna shout.
I'm not gonna scream.
It's just it's unfair.
It's unfair on you, and it's unfair on the lodge.
You're sending a short rib to a table that we haven't even sent the starters.
- I know.
- You're destroying the lodge.
I've got a critic that just landed.
One mistake like that and this place is gonna close.
(Gina) Heard.
Understood.
I'd like to finish out the evening, and see how it goes.
It's not working.
If you're gonna go back in that kitchen what are you gonna do differently? What's the point? I want to keep working so that I can get it down.
But you're not listening.
You're not listening.
You you're not even prepared to take any advice, any help.
(Gina) I know, it's been a long time, Chef, since somebody was telling me exactly what to do, and it's different for me.
We can't continue like this.
There's no point in fighting this.
(Gina) Yes, Chef.
(Gordon) Oh, man.
(Gina) Okay.
(Gordon) Dede, darling.
Dave.
Gina, she's just not up to speed.
And if she can't work with this menu, it's not gonna happen, so Yeah.
The good news is, Art and Curt, already up to speed.
Already, yeah? Yeah, that's good news.
Good feedback from the customers? Incredible.
Everybody was very happy.
Loved everything.
Compliments all around.
- Not a single complaint.
- That's great.
Any difficult questions from the critic? Nothing difficult at all, no.
He was very friendly, very nice, and just really enjoying everything.
He's like, "This was simple, and it was beautiful.
- It was perfect.
" - Awesome.
- Nice.
- Good night, right? (Dave) It was really a good night, yeah.
- Are you happy? - I am happy.
- Good.
- Very happy.
Look at that smile.
I'm just so happy to have people back in here, you know.
It's so nice to see that.
I mean, they're happy, right? (Dede) Yeah.
(Gordon) That's the most important thing.
But there's one tiny missing link.
Someone that I've arranged for all three of you to meet.
Her background is extraordinary.
She knows the area inside out.
And I've asked her to come here for a month and help set this place up, and I want you to benefit from her knowledge.
Please welcome Emily Brown.
Hello.
How are you? I'm Emily.
- Dede.
- Dede, pleasure.
- Zach.
- Nice to meet you, Zach.
- Hi, Emily.
Nice to meet you.
- Pleasure.
- Welcome, welcome.
- Nice to see you.
Likewise.
Welcome.
Good to see you.
First of all, she knows this business inside out, and she's excited to work as a consultant for a month and help set this place up for a very, very busy season.
Yeah, I heard all about you guys.
Really excited to get you guys where you really need to be, so.
- Welcome.
- Welcome.
I want you two to do something you haven't done for a long time.
I'd like you to take your dear lady, and go and have dinner.
Oh, nice.
Won't that be nice? Yes.
Tonight, Zach's got a table for you.
- That'll be great.
Thank you.
- Excellent.
That's the first time I've seen them holding hands.
(Emily) Aw.
[light music.]
- I like Gordon.
- Do you? Mm-hmm.
(Dede) Seeing Dave smiling, It's like the pressure's lifted off.
The love is rekindled for sure, and I'm really excited to have everybody in Island Park start coming back again and being excited about the lodge like they were when we first built it.
- My time is done.
- You're leaving now? - Are you leaving now? - I am leaving now.
You guys have a great spark here.
Trust me, you need to show it.
Don't stop.
Good night.
- Good night.
- God bless.
- Thanks.
- Bye.
- Enjoy dinner.
- Thank you so much.
Take care.
Here's to me and you, man.
Cheers.
- Better days ahead.
- Yeah, to a new lodge.
(Gordon) Wow, what a night.
Oh, man.
That's better.
Man, that's cold out there.
Oh, [bleep.]
hand brake.
Where's the [bleep.]
gear stick on the steering wheel? I shouldn't drive.
[bleep.]
useless.
Man.
[laughs.]
[upbeat music.]
(Gordon) After I left the lodge, the family embraced the many changes and is excited about the future.
Both Dede and Dave have rekindled their passion.
You're doing good, honey.
We're a good team.
(Gordon) And are enjoying working together to make Angler's Lodge the place to be once again.
Hotel Hell - S03E01 - Angler's Lodge Original Subtitle by garfieldgembul