'No talking' and 'a $250 fine if you can't work weekends': The strict employee rules at infamous restaurant ditched by Gordon Ramsay in Kitchen Nightmares



In May, Amy's Baking Company featured on Kitchen Nightmares, the TV show where Gordon Ramsey offers his advice to struggling businesses



It was the first restaurant in the show's history where the celebrity chef walked away, saying he couldn't help them because they wouldn't take his criticism



Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona, first gained notoriety for being the first restaurant that celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey refused to help on his TV show, Kitchen Nightmares.

Now Samy and Amy Bouzaglo, the married owners of the eatery, are back in the spotlight after RadarOnline released a list of the excessively strict rules imposed on employees in their contract.

Some of the more over-the-top stipulations include: 'Holidays and weekends are mandatory. . . Due to the nature of our industry this is a necessity and any no-show will be monetarily penalized with a fee of $250.00.'



Controversial couple: Samy and Amy Bouzaglo (pictured), owners of Amy's Baking Company, made headlines after appearing on reality show Kitchen Nightmares in May - and being accused of stealing their servers tips

Equally stringent is rule number ten, which states: 'No visiting or unnecessary talking is allowed during your work shift. This causes distractions and results in loss of product. Any may result in possible harm to you, or to others.'

The guidelines even go so far as to try to dictate employees' lives after leaving ABC.

According to rule 20, no one can work for a competitor 'within a 50 mile radius of ABC within one year of termination or voluntary resignation, without prior authorization.

'Nor shall you be allowed to open your own business of the same type, within the above mentioned radius.'

What's more, the restaurant owners have apparently created new laws that apply solely to themselves and those who work for them.



'No working for a co mp eti tor within 50 mile s of ABC within one year of termination'

'No purses or bags are allowed inside ABC,' says the contract.



'Upon leaving a designated employee of ABC has the legal right and consent to inspect any and all packages that you may have brought with you.'

The 20-item contract also requires workers to acknowledge that any tips they receive are 'the property of the house'.

Internet users have taken to Twitter to voice their shock at the 'insane' list of rule.



'Something tells me they're going to have a hard time recruiting new employees,' wrote one commenter Twitter, while another said: 'Why would anyone work for these people???'



Under pressure: Chef Gordon Ramsay walked off his first ever episode of Kitchen Nightmares after being unable to get through to Samy and Amy Bouzaglo about the problems with their Scottsdale, Arizona bistro. However, they say THEY stopped filming.

This is by no means the first time that the restaurant and its owners have courted controversy.



In May, it became apparent that Salomon 'Samy' Bouzaglo, an Israeli citizen, was facing deportation.



The restaurateur was being investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials regarding information about his past that he didn't tell them prior to immigrating to the United States.



At the time, Azcentral.com reported that Samy Bouzaglo could have his residency status revoked after immigration authorities discovered that he hadn't disclosed important information about his past.



' No visiting or unnecessary talking is allowed during your work shift'

Azcentral.com alleged that the information related to documents that showed he is banned from France and Germany and has a history of drug and extortion charges.

And before his immigration woes, Mr Bouzaglo and his wife made headlines when they posted a series of unhinged messages on their Facebook site, resulting in further negative publicity for their business.



The posts were in response to online crit icism of their restaurant which flowed forth after the airing of the now-infamous Kitchen Nightmares episode on May 10.



Filming at the restaurant before Mr Ramsey arrived showed diners waiting more than hour for their meals, with Amy cooking each meal one at a time.

One told the Phoenix New Times: 'You could hear Amy yelling in the kitchen and Samy was running all over the dining room.

'Other tables were complaining and people were leaving because they were waiting so long for their food. My partner and I had reservations for 6:45. By 9:30, we still hadn't received our pizza.'

And when one customer confronted Samy about the fact he still had not been served he as told to 'go f--- yourself.'

Even the fiery Gordon Ramsay was left open-mouthed by the chaotic goings-on at the bistro - which included a young waitress being fired for asking a question, and Mrs Bouzaglo threatening to call the police on a customer who tried to leave after waiting an extra long time for his pizza.

Rage: The owners of Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro respond to their 'haters' on Facebook after the episode of Kitchen Nightmares aired on May 10

Threats: The owners of the restaurant appeared to lash out at criticism via social media

Fury: The post came shortly after the episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares featuring the Scottsdale restaurant aired

When Mr Ramsay tried to give the husband and wife team some pointers as to where they were going wrong, he was met with open aggression from Samy and complete denial about the quality of the food from Amy.

And after Mr Ramsay tells diners that the owners are keeping their waiting staff's tips, the chef ends up close to trading blows with Mr Bouzaglo .



It later comes to light that the couple have fired more than 100 employees in just a year.

During a morning meeting to clear the air, the tense situation once again escalates with Amy threatening to walk out.



Finally, at the end of the episode, Mr Ramsay wishes the couple good luck with their business but tells him he cannot help them and leaves.

Claims: Days after the abusive messages appeared, the owners claimed that the social media accounts of the restaurant had been hacked

Shortly before the Kitchen Nightmares episode aired, the Bouzaglos wrote on Facebook: ' We do not feel the need to make any excuses for our behavior on tonight’s show.'

They also challenged ex-employees to come forward with evidence that they had stolen their tips as was claimed in the episode.



After the show aired, hundreds of negative comments appeared across social media sites, slating the owners' attitudes, their treatment of staff and the quality of food.



Negative comments appeared on Reddit, Yelp and Facebook, calling the restauranteurs 'incredibly immature, rude, unprofessional'.

Another added: 'these people were so arrogant that they couldn't see that a Michelin-star chef was trying to help them'.

In response, the husband and wife team allegedly began posting torrents of abuse directed at commentors on their business's Facebook page.