Season 3

Philippe Etchebest goes to Corsica. The meeting of this Basque temperament and the inhabitants of the island of Beauty will make sparks fly. It is in Corte, in the heart of historic Corsica and at the foot of the mountains that the Chef sets down his bags. Pierre is an unhappy manager; he works with an old friend at the bar and a generous cook who makes good food, but Isabelle, his daughter, manages the room. Between her and the rest of the staff, the current does not pass. The daughter constantly criticizes the kitchen and blames her father for not giving her more responsibility in the restaurant. Her foul mood and her derogatory remarks fuel a real trench war between the dining room and the kitchen. Philippe noticed that the young girl was taking her lunch shift while the customers were already at the table: no setting up, no cleaning and no smiling, it was too much. Philippe puts his foot down and tries to get Isabelle back on track.

In this episode, Philippe Etchebest, 2-star chef, discovers a family business run by Mario and Luigi, two Sicilian brothers aged 70 and 80. A beautiful establishment on the bay of Juan les Pins where Mario's 3 children work. But a generational conflict undermines the establishment, the 3 young people want to make this restaurant a steak house, a modern place for young people, while Luigi, an old entrepreneur in the restaurant business, opposes all their choices. 40 years in the business, Luigi is a self-made man and he doesn't let anyone dictate anything to him. Especially not young people "who know nothing about the business". The Chef's task will be particularly difficult: how to change an old fox who has no confidence in his own family to make him listen to reason? Philippe Etchebest will try everything by provoking an explosive family council during which the corpses will come out of the closet.

It is in Lavelanet, a small village in the Ariège, that Delphine and Frédéric have taken over an establishment. But their lack of training prevents them from working properly. Frédéric, the manager, is too self-effacing and does not manage to gain the respect of his boss. The latter no longer maintains his kitchen and serves tasteless and tasteless dishes. Delphine is overwhelmed by the task. As a result, this young couple is on the verge of implosion and the village's clientele is seeing a piece of its heritage slowly but surely decline. For the first time in Cauchemar en cuisine, it is an entire village that mobilizes to save a restaurant. The inhabitants have called on Philippe to help this young couple out of their predicament, and everyone will pitch in. But what Philippe discovers goes far beyond minor management problems...

Anne-Lise, the young manager of the establishment, no longer knows how to manage her team. Indeed, an incredible inertia reigns in her restaurant: the chef is an apprentice who doesn't assume his responsibilities, the waiters arrive far too late to set up, the owner's husband hides behind his pizza oven to avoid intervening... and poor Anne-Lise yells at everyone to get things done, without success... Philippe will have to use all his psychology to restore the confidence of a young woman who is constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, who spends her time yelling at her employees and who watches helplessly as her restaurant slowly sinks.

For the love of a mother. It is in Blagnac, in the southwest of France, that he discovers Annie, a manager who struggles to keep her business running. Tired, emotional, she would like to get some time back for herself and her husband and hand over to her son Serge to manage the restaurant. But she does not trust her son and compensates by being on all fronts, she even solicits her husband who is... a physiotherapist. Annie's dilemma is Serge. Serge is a big, friendly 49-year-old who hides behind his bar and watches things go wrong without realizing how serious the situation is. His favorite thing to do is to play pool with his friends. As usual, Philippe will try to put some order in the heads and hearts of the people in order to shake Serge and make him face his responsibilities. Will the son be able to win back his mother's trust? The road will be difficult, as always, and the journey of each of them will help to bring together a family on the verge of implosion.

Philippe Etchebest goes to Chilly-Mazarin, to a restaurant in the midst of a nervous breakdown, torn between Christophe, the manager, and Ruben, the cook. Christophe claims loud and clear that he is the boss, but it is Ruben, his chef, who decides everything. Between them, the tension is at its highest and there are frequent outbursts, so much so that the customers desert the establishment, embarrassed by these incessant arguments. The arrival of Philippe will exacerbate the tensions, each one putting the blame on the other. With his demanding eye and a tough speech, Philippe will try to put everyone in the right place, but the strong personalities in front of him will not let him...

Kevin and Nico are two young men from the Marseilles nightlife. With no experience in the restaurant business, they have acquired a small restaurant overlooking the city's harbor. Totally new to the business, they accumulate management errors and are unable to run their establishment. Despite a very nice location, their terrace remains desperately empty. Philippe is going to hallucinate while observing the two young people working: Kevin going shopping in the middle of the service to buy missing products; Nico, the cook, starting his set-up at 1pm and working with his feet in the water because of a leak... Scandalized by so much negligence, the Chef is going to give the two boys an ultimatum. One week to change everything or close the establishment!

Romain, the manager, runs a small brasserie in the heart of the city, and works with Najib who officiates in the kitchen. But between the two men, the professional relationship is complicated; Najib feels abandoned by Romain, who reproaches his cook for a lack of audacity in his dishes. With so little motivation, the establishment is slowly but surely sinking. Philippe will have to go back to the basics of the restaurant business to give the two associates a new lease on life.