Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

28-year-old Alex is the owner and head chef of La Lanterna, a modern Italian eatery in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, that's supposed to offer a taste of Little Italy in England's first garden city. But Alex has no customers, cookers that don't work and an expensive menu that's about as authentically Italian as "spag bol."

Mexican-born Israel and his English partner Tara have sunk £150,000 of their own money into D-Place, a trendy café-bar in Chelmsford, Essex. Faced with dysfunctional staff and a disastrous fusion menu, Gordon is about to have the longest week of his professional life. Can he quell the panic, banish the deep fat fryer and bring D-Place back from the dead?

Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack, an intimate eatery near Brighton's beachfront, serves up a menu of irresistibly unique classics from the Deep South. Owner Charita Jones is a natural, but she struggles to bring in customers and is now facing financial disaster. Can Gordon put the soul back into the business, or will the shack shut up shop for good?

La Riviera, a fine dining restaurant in Inverness, boasts top French chef Loïc Lefebvre and a kitchen staff with Michelin star-studded backgrounds. Loïc is on a mission to bring sophisticated French cooking to the home of haggis and deep-fried Mars bars, but the food is pretentious and the locals aren't biting. Can Gordon tone down their act, demystify the menu and get customers in?

Gordon travels to the seaside to help the Sandgate, an ailing hotel and restaurant. Owners Lois and Peter have never owned a catering business before and they're losing £4,000 per month. Meanwhile, their head chef cooks for four different restaurants and is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Can Gordon bring this business back from the edge of collapse?

Despite being voted Restaurant of the Year by the Blackpool Tourist Board, Clubway 41 is in dire straits. Between its flaky, self-appointed head chef and bizarre menu items such as "tomato and Cointreau soup," the restaurant is breaking every rule in the book. Can Gordon bring their staff and food back down to earth?

Oscar's is an idyllic Irish restaurant in the beautiful Nantwich countryside. But owner Maura constantly bickers with her son, head chef Lenin, while customers wait hours for fluorescent crab stick paellas and stodgy carbonaras. The restaurant is hemorrhaging money, and Lenin's heavy drinking is causing problems in the kitchen. Can Gordon bring the Irish heart back to Oscar's?

La Gondola, a struggling Italian restaurant in Derby, is stuck in a time warp. Owner Daniela bought the place because she was married there years before, but her sentimentality has blinded her to its tacky '70s cuisine and bad net curtains. Meanwhile, head chef Steve would rather open a tin of tuna than create a proper meal. Can Gordon save La Gondola from sinking?