The program that has converted Alberto Chicote A national celebrity, ‘Kitchen Nightmare’ is on its way to reaching ten seasons, with the announcement of the filming of what will be the ninth. There are many restaurants, bars and eateries that have gone through the program, but the Cantabrian Pili House It is one of those that has left the greatest mark on viewers.
In the numerous rebroadcasts of docurealitythe Casa Pili program is usually one of the most watched and they generate conversation again and the occasional meme on social networks, since on that occasion many truly tense situations were experienced. Especially emotional tension, and not exactly contained.
Chicote has been in many situations where he has demonstrated his ability to remain calm while the world seemed to burn around him, sometimes confronting cooks and employees by giving violent blows and even threatening the chef himself. But the cocktail that was held at Casa Pili was an exceptional case because it was a family and humble restaurant, with its protagonists clearly carrying a great emotional baggage. It was easy to empathize with Pili, her son, her brother and her mother.
Things didn’t start well even with the traditional tasting of dishes on the menu, indicating from the beginning that everything was working wrong at the Castro Urdiales restaurant. A variety of options paraded around Chicote’s table, each one worse, practically all based on poor quality pre-cooked food and with a dubious presentation.
The idea of accompanying seafood crêpes and peppers stuffed with cod – frozen – with raspberry syrup It didn’t exactly help. A sad Russian salad, pre-cooked pig’s trotters so hard that they couldn’t be chewed, charred brick dough rolls, a raw grilled steak…
The chef and presenter came to admit while chewing the crêpes that it was “the worst thing he had ever eaten in his life”, and he had to ask Pili to try them. She was offended by her brother’s comment stating that they were “garbage” when eating her own plate ran to vomit of nausea. When not even the cook is able to eat what she serves, we are off to a bad start.
A chaos anchored in family problems
The services that Chicote subsequently attended did not exactly improve the situation. With Pili tense from the beginning and getting flustered quickly before having the dining room full, the situation only became more and more heated. Despite serving practically everything precookedfor her or frozen, the orders were piling up, and her brother Christopher didn’t help calm things down either.
With Pili getting more and more nervous, going so far as to drink a beer before starting to cook or lighting a cigarette in the middle of the service – to Chicote’s astonishment – the insults, quarrels and accusations between cook and waiters it only grew. A tension that was clearly entrenched in the family relationship that threatened to separate them.
The high point of the night came with the Anxiety Attack of Pili, showing that all of this was beyond him, unable to manage not only the business, but also the family and personal problems that it entailed.
The rebirth of Casa Pili
Alberto Chicote’s reprimands after the dinner shift and the subsequent individual and family therapy to which he subjected the family, with Pili’s mother included, opened the wounds and he explained that the salvation of the business would first have to be that again, a united family that supports each other and work together rowing in the same direction. After the emotional conversation that ended with a hug and tears, the renovation of the premises and the new menu breathed new life into the restaurant.
Chicote left Castro Urdiales with a new Casa Pili, and also a new Pili, calmer, more controlled and much happier and confident in his abilities and his work, collaborating with his brother and his son, and no longer resorting to freezing. The first customers seemed more than satisfied and there was a different air in the premises. “If it weren’t for these moments, my job would be shit,” declared the Madrid chef, sensibly emotional at his farewell.
And so, the restaurant continued, gaining a loyal clientele and a rapid increase in popularity in the Cantabrian city. The positive reviews They did not stop happening and even many curious visitors came, attracted by the impact of the program. They were all good words towards Pili, her team and her food, as can be seen in the photographs that the restaurant published on its social networks.
Sudden closure
However, for no apparent reason, Casa Pili closed its doors forever, at least until now. It was the first day of May 2019the year before the pandemic, and the restaurant said goodbye with a brief message on Facebook.
Reactions of surprise and sadness followed one another, as none of his regular customers or neighbors seemed to have expected the sudden news, which came without prior notice. After the signs of support and messages of affection received, Pili responded again to thank him, but without adding more details or possible future projects.
How deeply the program affected the viewers is evident when reviewing the social network and others where the closed restaurant appears, because although more than four years have passed, it is still they continue to receive words of encouragement and affection, with users who even say they feel identified, wishing them good luck and success.
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Eight seasons of ‘Kitchen Nightmare’ have left us grotesque moments and truly quirky characters that were difficult to empathize with, but Pili and her family knew connect with the heart from Chicote, and with ours.
Photos | Casa Pili on Facebook – laSexta
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