Kitchen nightmares

Television viewers find programmes about kitchens and cooking irresistible. If hairdressers or fishermen were the subject matter, no such interest would exist, so in many first world countries cookery shows are mandatory and they achieve high audience figures.

The majority, of course, are clones of similar programmes in other languages, and versions of The Great British Bakeoff can be enjoyed as far afield as Uruguay and Australia, just as Britain's Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is replicated around the globe. Rumour has it that the keenest viewers are other chefs and restaurant owners, no doubt enjoying a slice of schadenfreude.

Spain is no exception and has its very own 'Gordon Ramsay', though in this case lacking the charisma of the British chef. Rudeness, yes, is also Alberto Chicote's stock in trade, since, as every creative artist knows, conflict sells.

Previously a regular cook, Chicote's achievement in making the leap to modest TV stardom is praiseworthy, but unfortunately he appears to have little talent in the restaurant turnaround business, which is what his show is all about. Indeed, it is clear he knows little about running any business.

A total of 17 restaurants featured in the programme have had to close, despite Chicote's professional assistance aimed at avoiding this. His career has been a disaster in any language, to the extent that the 22 ill-fated establishments that were condemned to the scrap heap by Chicote's disastrous touch have formed a pressure group.

The show, aired on Channel 6, has also been involved in various legal cases in which restaurant owners alleged that their failures were deliberately concocted to produce the sensationalism required for increased viewing figures.