I’ve only just discovered this show in its second season. It’s similar to Kitchen Nightmares except that hidden cameras are used.

But here’s my question: How can the owner of a restaurant not know that their restaurant is being filmed by hidden cameras? If the owner doesn’t know (and several episodes make it appear that they don’t) from whom is permission to install the cameras given? Nobody in any of the episodes I’ve seen is shown giving approval for this. But surely the producers of the show aren’t breaking the law by installing cameras without somebody’s legal permission.

The fact that this isn’t explained throws the legitimacy of the show in general into question. If it is the owner of the restaurants who give permission, then the reactions they show are fictional and they are provided to the audience only for entertainment purposes. In other words, if this is faked, there’s no reason to assume that anything else is real.

It reminds me of other shows where the audience is shown a surprised reaction by somebody as they encounter somebody else. But in order for the audience to see this reaction, there must be a camera crew somewhere. In fact, more often than not, the camera crew is positioned inside a house or apartment when somebody knocks on a door and surprises them. If they’ve already admitted such a crew into their home, there’s no way that they can possibly be surprised by the person coming to the door. At best, it’s a reenactment of what their reaction originally was.

But on Ramsay’s show, it can’t even be a reenactment. If the owner of a restaurant gave permission for hidden cameras to be installed, then they can’t possible be surprised by the fact that hidden cameras were installed.