What issues did Dahlak face before Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service?

Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service premiered on FOX on May 21, 2025, with the celebrity chef going undercover to investigate faltering eateries around the country. In each episode, he creeps about behind the scenes, identifies the issues, and then emerges to assist in their resolution. Episode 11, "Dahlak," aired on August 13, 2025, and centered on a Philadelphia restaurant that has been offering authentic Eritrean cuisine for forty years.

The establishment is well-known in the neighborhood, and it is operated by a widowed owner who has been in business for decades. The meal still had incredible flavor, but Ramsay swiftly discovered some big flaws on Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service, such as insects and a kitchen that had clearly not been well cleaned in a long time.

Furthermore, the owner needed to begin transferring the torch to her children, but the family wasn't sure how to do so. The story demonstrated how even a well-known, long-standing restaurant may fall apart without adequate maintenance and a future strategy.

Why did Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service need to help Dahlak?

For 40 years, Dahlak wasn’t just a restaurant in Philadelphia, it was more like the spot for authentic Eritrean food. Locals came for the rich flavors, warm atmosphere, and a taste of tradition you couldn’t find anywhere else. The widowed owner built the place on family recipes and old-school cooking methods, turning it into a bridge between her heritage and the community.

Favorites like Dahlak Tibs and Zigni/Key Wat kept customers hooked, along with veggie stews that could win over even the most devoted meat-eaters. The food was legendary, so it was a shock when Gordon Ramsay went undercover on Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service and found some “extra protein” in the form of cockroaches.

The kitchen was a disaster: dust everywhere, equipment that looked like it had been abandoned for years, and cleaning routines that clearly hadn’t been a thing in a long while. It was a weird split: amazing food up front, but a behind-the-scenes mess that could have shut the place down. Turns out, even the most loved neighborhood spot can be hiding some pretty gross secrets.

Beyond cleanliness issues, Dahlak struggled with fundamental operational oversight. The aging owner faced difficulties maintaining consistent quality control across all aspects of the business. Years of accumulated problems had created a cycle of declining standards.

Staff training appeared inconsistent, leading to poor kitchen practices and maintenance shortcuts. Without proper supervision and established protocols, employees developed harmful habits that compounded existing problems. The lack of systematic approaches to daily operations contributed to the restaurant's decline.

Equipment maintenance had been neglected, resulting in malfunctioning appliances and inefficient workflow patterns. The kitchen layout and organization no longer supported smooth service during busy periods, as seen on Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service. These operational deficiencies directly impacted food quality and customer satisfaction.

The restaurant's future depended on successfully transferring ownership to the next generation. The widowed owner's children needed to assume leadership roles to ensure business continuity. However, engaging younger family members proved challenging, given the establishment's current state.

Without passionate leadership from the next generation, addressing systemic problems would remain impossible. The children required motivation and training to take ownership of both daily operations and long-term strategic planning. Their level of commitment would determine whether Dahlak could survive another four decades.

What does Gordon’s involvement mean for the restaurant?

Gordon Ramsay went full mission mode on Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service. He didn’t just swoop in to scrub a few counters; first came the bug eviction notice, with professional pest control making sure the roaches packed their tiny bags. Then, a deep clean so intense the kitchen probably sparkled brighter than it had in decades. New rules were set to keep things from ever getting that bad again.

But this wasn’t just about mops and disinfectant, it was about changing how the whole place ran. The family had to figure out how to mix modern management with the heart and soul of their old-school recipes. And in the end, the real secret ingredient for keeping Dahlak alive might just be the same community that kept its tables full for 40 years.

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Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX and streams the next day on Hulu.

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