7.8 /10 1 Votes
Genre Food reality Original language(s) Spanish Network laSexta Presented by Alberto Chicote | 7.7/10 IMDb Country of origin Spain First episode date 25 October 2012 Number of seasons 5 Cast Alberto Chicote | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Based on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Written by Marta Machuca
José Miguel Romo
Óscar Prol
Pablo Aguinaga Directed by María Ascen Recarte
José Rueda Number of episodes 62 (aired as of October 22, 2016) Similar Zapeando, Al rojo vivo, El Intermedio, Merlí, El club de la comedia Profiles |
Pesadilla en la cocina ("Nightmare in the kitchen") is a Spanish food reality television series hosted by chef Alberto Chicote. It airs on laSexta, and is the Spanish adaptation of the Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares franchise.
Contents
History
The original format started on British station Channel 4 in 2004 under the name Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. It was hosted by renowned chef Gordon Ramsay, who tried to save British catering establishments on the verge of bankruptcy. Its success led to Fox Broadcasting Company acquiring the rights to the format and launching the American version, also hosted by Ramsay, in 2007.
In 2010, Spanish TV station Nova, owned by Grupo Antena 3 (now Atresmedia), started airing both the British and American versions of the show, notching notable rating figures for the channel's standards. In 2012, right before its merging into Grupo Antena 3, laSexta acquired the rights to the format and started preparing the launch of the Spanish version of the show, which would be named Pesadilla en la cocina (the same title under which Nova still airs Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Kitchen Nightmares to this day). Pesadilla en la cocina premiered on laSexta's prime time slot on October 25, 2012. The chef selected to host the format was Madrid-born Alberto Chicote, who was named restaurateur of the year in Spain in 2006 and was the owner of Pandelujo, named restaurant of the year in 2010.
Failures and controversies
Aside of the closures listed above, Pesadilla en la cocina has also seen some controversial incidents. The most notorious of them happened in Bilbao, when Chicote went to help La Reina del Arenal and its annex Opila. The owners asked the station not to air the episode about them claiming they had been coerced, and claimed it had been manipulated after its broadcast. Also, Chicote was accused of homophobic behaviour when he told one of the owners that he looked "like a little girl" and asked him if he would "put anything into his mouth".
Other person who raised his voice against Pesadilla en la cocina was Cristóbal, the owner of El Yugo de Castilla (Boecillo, Valladolid), personal friend of Alberto Chicote, who completely ignored his advice after filming. Later he would claim that his suggestions were not adequate and that the renovation made his restaurant look worse. El Yugo would remain closed to the public and serving only personal requests until 2016.