Gordon Ramsay's ’24 Hours to Hell and Back’ filming in central Arkansas

Hell on Wheels, the mobile kitchen for Chef Gordon Ramsay’s '24 Hours to Hell and Back' stopped in Conway on Saturday.
Hell on Wheels, the mobile kitchen for Chef Gordon Ramsay’s '24 Hours to Hell and Back' stopped in Conway on Saturday.

Chef Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, a reality TV show that aims to rescue “struggling restaurants” across the country, made a stop in Conway Saturday.

Ramsay, an award-winning host, is known for his work on Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef and Kitchen Nightmares. Ramsay first visits the restaurant in disguise, to evaluate the eatery’s issues. He confronts the staff with camera footage exposing their problems, and then challenges them to turn the place around.

The show’s Hell on Wheels truck was set up in a parking lot near the corner of Bruce Street and Farris Road, steps away from the University of Central Arkansas campus. The vehicle serves as a temporary kitchen while a restaurant is revamped in under 24 hours.

Nearby, college student staple and dive bar Bears Den Pizza was buzzing with activity, despite the fact that the restaurant was “closed for renovations,” according to a post on its Facebook page. In a separate comment on the page, the restaurant wrote that they had “no idea” when they would open again.

In response to a Facebook message about the show, an employee wrote that they could “confirm and deny nothing,” adding “top secret.”

A routine state Department of Health inspection of Bears Den on Wednesday included an observation that a cook “touched chips with bare hands.” The error was corrected on-site, the department said.

At the end of the 24-hour renovation period, the restaurant typically holds a “grand re-opening.”

The third season of 24 Hours to Hell and Back will air starting Jan. 7, 2020.

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