More on the ABC story here, at RealityBlurred.com

at RealityBlurred.com Andy Dehnart wrote:Meanwhile, Samy, whose full name is Salomon Buozaglo, may be deported; The Arizona Republic reports that he “is involved in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement case to revoke his residency status, his lawyer said Tuesday. Scottsdale immigration lawyer David Asser said the case against his client started two years ago and was the subject of a removal hearing Monday.” It is apparently unrelated to the TV show.

=R=

Is it just me, or does this story sound similar to the Bleeding Heart Bakery saga? I wonder if Amy is related to Michelle Garcia. Both of them have terrible employees and customers that are causing their businesses to fail.

stevez wrote:Is it just me, or does this story sound similar to the Bleeding Heart Bakery saga? I wonder if Amy is related to Michelle Garcia. Both of them have terrible employees and customers that are causing their businesses to fail.

She also reminds me of Natalie Zarzour, currently with Black Dog Gelato. I so hope that she doesn't destroy that fine business.

The one difference perhaps is that I have the impression that both of them actually can cook - maybe I'm wrong? -whereas Amy can't even bake a pizza without ending up with a sodden mess it seems.

Hi- I just ran across this post about a reporters saga this week at Amy's where he and his group found fruit flies in one of their vodka drinks, and returned it. Samy brought them another glass of vodka, which also had a fruit fly in it, and they promptly returned it. Samy brought out a third glass of vodka, which had three fruit flies in it. When they mentioned this to Samy, he kicked them out of the restaurant. Here is the article written about their experience there this week.

http://m.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/b ... tml?r=full

I don't understand how the business has stayed in business so long. Concerning the food though. I don't think all the food is bad. There is a question as to whether Amy makes all of the baked goods herself, but the Phoenix reporter that got kicked out with the rest of his group, actually went to the restaurant next door to eat lunch. He asked the waitress at that restaurant if she would run over to Amy's and buy him a piece of chocolate moose cake. She did, and he reported that it was good.

Amy actually admitted all the pastries were bought in on Facebook last week before they brought in the PR firm and edited all their FB content. In fact, someone in comments on one of the local articles identified the source as its a local source for many area places that bring in pastry.

Hi- The thing about this whole saga is you don't know what to believe. There are I am sure people posting on the facebook page that claim to be Amy and are not.

NFriday wrote:There are I am sure people posting on the facebook page that claim to be Amy and are not.

I'm wondering why you're so sure of that. Do you have some inside info that you're not sharing?

NFriday wrote:Hi- The thing about this whole saga is you don't know what to believe. There are I am sure people posting on the facebook page that claim to be Amy and are not.

I think Amy was showing her true stripes, which the television show didn't hide, then began to claim all their accounts were hacked. I think it was their attempt to make themselves clean.

They have two facebook pages:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ABC-Amys- ... 8546071825 - less than 2,000 followers

http://pixsym.com/blog/reputation-management/yelp-extortion-the-lawsuits-dismissed-are-they-back-at-it-in-2012
We like to call them the “Camel Toe Mafia” just a bunch Pussies hiding behind a computer screen. Or working for YELP.

https://www.facebook.com/amysbakingco?fref=ts with 103,000 followers

We do not feel the need to make any excuses for our behavior on tonight’s show.
However we would like to make the following statement:
We do not, nor have we ever stolen or taken any of our servers ,waitresses, or waiters tips at Amy’s Baking Company.
We pay our staff members anywhere between $8.00 to $14.00 per hour to ensure that at the end of the week regardless of it being busy or not, that they go home with money and a well paid paycheck. As do many other restaurants.
They are aware of this when they are hired.
I would challenge any of our employees past or present to come forward with proof that we have ever done such a horrible thing.

So please enjoy the show!
Amy & Samy

The end is nigh. Amy's is getting a reality show.

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/31/spare_u ... lity_show/

Hi The reality show does not surprise me, although I would not want to hang my dirty laundry out there for everybody to see. I bet you the deal falls through though if Samy gets deported. Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Hi The reality show does not surprise me, although I would not want to hang my dirty laundry out there for everybody to see. I bet you the deal falls through though if Samy gets deported. Thanks, Nancy

Why? They just move the bakery and fun to Jerusalem!

The reality show does not surprise me, although I would not want to hang my dirty laundry out there for everybody to see.

Isn't that what reality tv is all about? Kind of a video e-bay where dirty laundry is converted into money.

Hi- Well Amy and Samy now require all their new employees to sign a contract before they start working at the restaurant. The craziest thing is that if any employees quit or get fired, they can't work for another restaurant within a 50 mile radius. All employees are required to work weekends and holidays too, and if they don't show up for work on a weekend or holiday when they are scheduled to, they get fined $250. That is going to make somebody want to get a job there. Here's what else is in the contract.

http://now.msn.com/amys-baking-company- ... -employees

I wonder how business is there since they had their grand reopening?

Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Hi- Well Amy and Samy now require all their new employees to sign a contract before they start working at the restaurant. The craziest thing is that if any employees quit or get fired, they can't work for another restaurant within a 50 mile radius. All employees are required to work weekends and holidays too, and if they don't show up for work on a weekend or holiday when they are scheduled to, they get fined $250. That is going to make somebody want to get a job there. Here's what else is in the contract.

Is that even enforceable by law?

The non-compete clause is just ridiculous. What the hell difference does it make? Like servers have proprietary knowledge. They aren't writing trading software or developing pharmaceuticals. Amy also wants to make employees pay for burnt food? What a couple of bozos. They also make their employees surrender all tips in return for $8/hr regular pay. I wonder if they inform their customers that the employees will not receive any tips? I do think the US should follow Europe in giving their servers a decent salary with benefits and rolling that cost into the menu pricing, but it seems to me that ABC is defrauding their customers who hold a reasonable expectation that tip money will go to the employees for whom it was intended and not to the management. Somehow, I think there is going to be no shortage of lawyers willing to represent Amy's employees in lawsuits. If I was an organizer for the HERE Union in Phoenix, I would make unionizing Amy's my number one priority before other establishments start to think they can get away with this kind of crap.

Hi- I just ran across this recent interview with Amy of Amy's Baking Company. It is very interesting.

http://thestir.cafemom.com/food_party/1 ... pany_owner

Yes, they are planning a reality show because they are feisty people, and she thinks they would keep the show interesting. She said in the interview that when the producers talked to her about doing the show, she told them that there are several people on yelp that have been harassing them for three years, and she did not want these people involved in the taping. The producers ended up inviting them to the taping instead, while some of her friends were turned away.

Amy also said that the reason they did not allow people to keep their tips was because Samy waited on most of the tables himself, which the producers did not like, and they made Amy and Samy promote one of the bussers to a waitress. There is more in the article. Hope this helps, Nancy

You can get Amy's merch now. How charming. http://www.businessinsider.com/amys-bak ... emailshare

Hi- Did anybody see the followup show for Amy's Baking Company? I just saw part of it online last night, and apparently they are still in business, and Gordon Ramsey did not meet with them this time, but one of the producers of the show interviewed them, and several of their former employees were interviewed. Apparently the latest season of Kitchen Nightmares just ended on Fox, but the whole season is available for viewing on fox.com. They did nine shows this season. Has anybody heard anything about Amy's reality show, or the possibility of Samy being deported?

I've only read the write ups on the Reality Blurred blog but I think the follow up episode was even more scripted and set-up than the original episode. So much stuff is faked in these shows its hard to tell if there is any truth there at all.

@Nfriday - the Amy revisit was rather dull and the KN season overall felt way too short - I enjoy it a lot usually and felt like there was not enough this season.

Siun wrote:@Nfriday - the Amy revisit was rather dull and the KN season overall felt way too short - I enjoy it a lot usually and felt like there was not enough this season.

HI,

Agreed. I missed the Amy episode, because I didn't realize it was back on the schedule.

While it was nine episodes, there were several back-to-back episodes visiting the same restaurant. It was far less than nine restaurants visited.

I prefer this show over Hell's Kitchen, which always has you back in the kitchen for dinner service. How often can they get the same food wrong is mind-boggling.

Regards,

Agreed Kathy, I watch all his shows (should I confess that) and my all time favorite is prob the UK KN series but the US series, while more sensationalized, is one I look forward to. Hell's Kitchen always feels so inept - no one ever seems like a decent line cook let alone a promising exec chef and I'm always rather embarrassed to be watching it.

Off the Ramsey theme, I did just watch an MTV series called House of Food which was pretty decent - only small bits of Real World type drama and lots of food and desire to get it right - it was a much better series than many these days.

HI,

Visiting my sister, I suggested watching Kitchen Nightmares UK. If f-bombs were a drinking game, you'd have alcohol poisoning by the end of an episode. My sister found it highly amusing and added it to shows to watch while running a treadmill.

I do look forward to the hotel nightmares coming up.

Not quite getting into MasterChef this year, though I look forward to the Kid's episodes.

Regards,

Hi- I discovered that Amy and Samy were on Dr. Phil back in April too. I am not sure if that episode is available online. I looked on dr Phil's website though, and there were lots of negative comments about Amy and Samy there, as far as their appearance on the show. Apparently Dr. Phil brought in a PR expert, who told them that they should just avoid responding to all the negative reviews they are receiving on YELP. He said their angry tirades were just encouraging more negative reviews of the place. Somebody suggested that Dr. Phil have a show in which Amy, Samy and Gordon Ramsey all appear. I can't see Gordon agreeing to that. During the show where they revisited Amy's Baking Company, Gordon did not show up at the restaurant. If you go to fox.com, you can see all of the nine episodes of the latest season. I totally missed the show when it ran this last Spring. I did see Master Chef a few weeks ago, and that show does not turn me on as much. I noticed how much weight Graham Elliot has lost since he had gastric bypass surgery though. He looks really good now. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi,

I had a feeling given the relatively lack luster season this year:

Gordon Ramsay to End ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ Series in U.S. and U.K.

All that is left is one revisit episode in the US and a season for the UK.

We will have to wait for another opportunity for some restaurant related issue to almost kill him.

Regards,

Hi,

Amazon Prime has uncensored American episodes of Kitchen Nightmares, seasons 1-6.

F-bombs dropped regularly and for one French chef he was called a C-word. So if that is not to your liking, skip it.

Regards,
Cathy2

Hi- I saw a promo for a new show that Gordon is premiering on Fox on June 13th called Twenty Four Hours to Hell and Back. Apparently he has 24 hours to turn around a restaurant. They are showing eight episodes