2008 Woodie Awards
Lela's Gets a Fox Reality Facelift
Pomona eatery is featured on 'Kitchen Nightmares'
LISA ROSE WEIS, Special to the Post
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Entertainment
To viewers of the Fox Reality TV show, "Hell's Kitchen," celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey may seem like the boss from hell. His constant yelling and sometimes unachievable expectations have earned Ramsey a reputation for being one of the meanest characters on reality television. However, Thursday night Ramsey proved that his onscreen persona is just that, a character.
Amidst a crowd of photographers, television crews and Pomona Mayor Norma Torres, Ramsey saved a small Pomona café from imminent closure. On Thursday night the celebrity chef unveiled the changes he made to Lela's restaurant that is located in the Arts Colony of downtown Pomona.
The restaurant opened in August and since that time has had trouble filling the tables.
Enter Gordon Ramsey. On the show "Kitchen Nightmares," Ramsey travels through the country saving restaurants that are close to failure. Think extreme home make-over for businesses. Lela's is one of the restaurant's receiving a Ramsey facelift.
According to the restaurant's Web site, the goal of Lela's was to serve international cuisine at American prices. Ramsey's first order of business was to change the mission of the small café.
"I had to come in here and say, 'Look, no one is going to spend $27.50 on a meal in Pomona. You want to have people who come in here once a week for a hamburger rather than once a month on special occasions,'" said Ramsey.
Ramsey worked with the owner Lela Guillen and her staff for one week. He revamped everything from the artwork hanging on walls to the menu.
The new menu has nachos and burgers to appeal to a younger, hipper crowd. With 21 simple items, the menu is no longer intimidating to the target audience, college students. The crowning achievement of Ramsey's reconstructed menu is the homegrown Pomona salad and the Pomona burger. The salad consists of butter spinach, beans, and fried chicken, foods that Guillen and Ramsey deemed culturally and agriculturally important to the region.
Amidst a crowd of photographers, television crews and Pomona Mayor Norma Torres, Ramsey saved a small Pomona café from imminent closure. On Thursday night the celebrity chef unveiled the changes he made to Lela's restaurant that is located in the Arts Colony of downtown Pomona.
The restaurant opened in August and since that time has had trouble filling the tables.
Enter Gordon Ramsey. On the show "Kitchen Nightmares," Ramsey travels through the country saving restaurants that are close to failure. Think extreme home make-over for businesses. Lela's is one of the restaurant's receiving a Ramsey facelift.
According to the restaurant's Web site, the goal of Lela's was to serve international cuisine at American prices. Ramsey's first order of business was to change the mission of the small café.
"I had to come in here and say, 'Look, no one is going to spend $27.50 on a meal in Pomona. You want to have people who come in here once a week for a hamburger rather than once a month on special occasions,'" said Ramsey.
Ramsey worked with the owner Lela Guillen and her staff for one week. He revamped everything from the artwork hanging on walls to the menu.
The new menu has nachos and burgers to appeal to a younger, hipper crowd. With 21 simple items, the menu is no longer intimidating to the target audience, college students. The crowning achievement of Ramsey's reconstructed menu is the homegrown Pomona salad and the Pomona burger. The salad consists of butter spinach, beans, and fried chicken, foods that Guillen and Ramsey deemed culturally and agriculturally important to the region.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Cynthia Ellis
posted 3/05/07 @ 8:17 PM PST
i am sorry that Lela was have problems getting customer to her resturant and I am also disappointed to know I missed Chef Ramsey.But I am very glad to here he has hooked it up. (Continued…)
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