The season-ending episode of Kitchen Nightmares was just like the rest of them: Gordon Ramsay jets over, rolls in or gets dropped off at some floundering restaurant, eats bland, boring, awful food, cleans the place up, whips it into shape then disappears.

Formulaic, sure, but that’s not to say the show is never entertaining. This time around Ramsay was in Moorpark, faced with the usual atrocities. Stuffed and crusted everything? Why not. Garlic shrimp and strawberry salad? It sounded good on paper.

Chef Michel (apparently the best chef in Ventura County!?) butted up against Ramsay in typical fashion, proclaiming that even Ramsay’s kitchen probably wasn’t perfect. And the way the U.S. versions of Ramsay’s shows make him look, maybe you’d agree. I, too, might have agreed had I not eaten at Ramsay’s New York restaurant last week. Not only is the food fantastic (well worth two Michelin stars), but the kitchen is spotless–the kind of perfection that only millions of dollars and well-trained employees bring you. So, yes, he does know what he’s talking about.

But that’s all the Ramsay you’ll get for awhile, which is a shame because TV needs more righteous hard-asses.

Tags: cooking, fox, gordon ramsay, IDIOT BOX, TV