EXCLUSIVE - The death threats, the rows and a scandal over unpaid tips: The most infamous couple from Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares take on their critics

Amy and Samy Bouzaglo have amended their strict staff contracts

The restauranteurs 'recognise the outcry' and now pay their servers tips

They are tirelessly fighting a deportation case after Samy's drug charge in Europe nearly 30 years ago



The most infamous couple ever to star on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares have told how they were left fearing for their lives after being subjected to death threats following their TV debut.



Millions watched as fiery chef Ramsay walked out on Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, who own Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona, after a string of rows while filming the Fox reality show.



Having been accused of stealing their staff’s tips and taunted over the quality of their food on the show, Amy and Samy were then bombarded by threats made in late night phone calls and online.



And speaking exclusively for the first time, Amy, 40 – who insists that THEY stopped the filming - told MailOnline: ‘Physically, this has taken a huge toll on me.’



She said the couple have been forced to call the police and make reports to the FBI, adding: ‘Over the past couple of months, we’ve gone from being completely unknown to having people call us at 3am saying they’re going to break into our house with a rifle, rape me and kill my husband.



Bullied: Amy and Samy Bouzaglo had their own nightmare after starring on Gordon Ramsey's reality TV showAmy Bouzaglo

Self-taught chef: Amy Bouzaglo said Gordon Ramsay tried her cakes and loved them while filming Kitchen Nightmares



‘It’s happened hundreds of times, with people just screaming down the phone at us. The phone is still off the hook at the restaurant.



‘God is giving us the strength to get through it, we’re fighters and survivors - and we have our cats! We’re dedicated to showing everyone who is still unwilling to accept the truth that we don’t poison the food, we don’t assault employees and customers - and we don't steal our servers tips.'



They are also living under the shadow that Samy will be deported back to Israel by Homeland Security after serving 15 years in prison for drugs trafficking in Germany and France.

Amy and Samy were thrust into the spotlight in May when Kitchen Nightmares showed them yelling and pushing at customers and firing one waitress on the spot, calling her a ‘poisonous, little viper’ - with the restaurant closing briefly.

They said they were initially contacted by producers who were alerted to Amy’s Baking Company after the couple were subjected to a bad review over Yelp – and subsequent bullying from 'Yelpers’ - following an incident with a man they allege was trying to get a free meal three years ago.



The customer then placed a review on Yelp ‘full of inaccuracies and slanderous comments – he accused us of reheating pizza and using store-bought dough’, claimed Amy.





' 'We’re dedicated to showing everyone who is still unwilling to accept the truth that we don’t poison the food, we don’t assault employees and customers - and we don't steal our servers tips '

Having become embroiled in a public online row with the customer that led to a ‘s**t storm’, Amy said: ‘When Kitchen Nightmares came to us, we thought Gordon Ramsay would help us.



‘I’m self-trained and never went to culinary school, and welcomed Gordon Ramsay coming and giving me any critique, I’m by no means perfect. But I do know the quality of my food, I never have complaints and food is rarely sent back. We have loyal customers.’



Filming started in December and Amy said: ‘When Gordon was there, he tried my cakes and loved them, they filmed me making my homemade pasta and they didn’t show that.



‘I asked Gordon many times, ‘what’s wrong with the food?’, he wouldn’t tell me. I literally chased him around, saying ‘I know you sent everything back’. He said we would talk about it later, but at no point did he offer any constructive criticism and that was hurtful to me. I had a great deal of respect for him as a chef.



‘On the final night of filming, Gordon accused my husband in the middle of the restaurant and told the customers that he was keeping the waitresses tips and they were going in his pocket.



‘At this point we both realised they were accusing us of something that was 100 per cent inaccurate and we felt very strongly in standing up for ourselves to make sure they didn't misportray us.'

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.

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

On the verge of tears, Amy insisted: ‘My husband is a gentleman, he would never let a woman pay for anything if she was with him, he would rather cut his balls off than take money from any waitress or servers.



‘We never had a complaint in six years and we never took money from our servers.’



Her husband Samy, 63, agreed: ‘They showed us as delusional. We would never have agreed to go on the show knowing they could do this. Gordon said ours was the cleanest kitchen he had ever seen.’



The show actually aired week before the US in Canada and Amy and Samy were bombarded with calls from ‘the most obscene lunatics’ as well as hundreds of thousands of posts on Facebook, threatening to kill their cats and wishing the restaurant would burn down, they say – and had to go on YouTube to watch the episode.





'We’re printing T-shirts that say ‘I survived Amy’s Baking Company’, ‘Here’s your pizza, go f**k yourself’. 'I'm the Gangster', and 'I speak Feline, MEOW!!' ... Never in my life would I have thought the show would launch us into this kind of stratosphere'

Following their TV appearance, the stern contract that Amy and Samy ask staff to sign was leaked online – showing a long list of rules imposed on staff including no cell phones at work, any no-show penalized with a fee of $250 and ‘no visiting or unnecessary talking’ allowed during a shift, even going so far as to ban staff working 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 time, within the above mentioned radius.’



Amy said: ‘We are hard people to work for, but good people, all we ask is that they pay attention – if they’re not they can hurt people.



‘In Europe they have a different tipping system, just as they do in China and Japan and many restaurants in New York are considering doing away with tipping completely.



However, Amy admitted: ‘Since the show, we recognise the outcry and now we’re giving the servers their tips. It would still work out in their favour to be be paid hourly, but now they’re guaranteed to make a minimum of $7.80 an hour and we make sure they go home with more than that, 100 per cent. '



She also said the couple no longer include the non-compete clause in their contract - and never took anything from anyone's paycheque, adding they are now looking for new staff, insisting: 'We are very good, strong people to work with and the staff we have now, they love us, they know who we are.'



First fail: Gordon Ramsay was forced to walk off the 82nd episode of Kitchen Nightmares after being unable to work with the owners, who have courted controversy ever since the episode aired

On Kitchen Nightmares, it was claimed that 100 staff have quit Amy’s Baking Kitchen in the past year alone, but Amy said although there was 'high turnover' it was nowhere close to this amount, adding: ‘There has to be accountability, You have to have a contract so you don’t have disaster and chaos.



Adding to the stress of the show, Amy and Samy also claim their Facebook account was hacked following their TV appearance – and say that someone also forged a Reddit posting where they seemingly tried to hit back at their detractors.

Amy said: ‘I know it’s hard for people to believe it wasn’t us because of what we had written online in the past , but anyone who knows us knows we would never write these things, I would never say I buy my cakes at Walmart or I am Wonderwoman!’



The pair went to cops and say their Twitter, Yelp and work email accounts were hacked too.

Amy alleges they discovered a middle-school student had hacked their Facebook account – but claims that Facebook chiefs have not got in touch with them despite making complaints to the social network.



‘We had to get police involved and the FBI,’ said Amy,’ but the problem is that one of the hackers is a minor, but we know who he is.’



All smiles: Amy and Samy Bouzaglo say despite the trouble caused by their Kitchen Nightmares episode their bistro has now turned into a tourist attraction - and they are planning their own reality show

Tough: Amy and Samy Bouzaglo have amended their contracts - and taken out a clause that forbids staff from going to work at rival restaurants and bakeries within a 50-mile radius. Boss: Amy Bouzaglo says she and her husband are 'good, strong people to work with' Strict: Amy Bouzaglo said she and her husband are now looking for new staff for Amy's Baking Company - who 'know they're coming to work and not play.'

While this is all on-going, Amy and Samy, who have been married for 10 years, are now fearful that Samy will be deported back to Israel, where he is a citizen.

Morrocan-born Samy served 15 years in jail in Germany and France after being convicted of drug trafficking.



He moved to the U.S. 13 years ago and was given his Green Card, however, six years ago – just as the couple were setting up their restaurant – he was told Homeland Security was starting deportation proceedings



He is currently involved in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement case to revoke his residency status.

'He answered everything honestly with regards to the Immigration paperwork', said Amy.



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

Claims: Days after the abusive messages appeared, the owners claimed that the social media accounts of the restaurant had been hacked ‘We’re still fighting it and the judge is taking everything under review.

‘We’ve had attorneys review his case and if the case was in America he would never have been arrested – he was a victim of circumstances and surrounded by the wrong people.

‘But Samy was honest and truthful and if we have to leave and go to Israel, then we have to leave.

‘Samy feels like he’s an American, he employs Americans and he’s paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. He does not have a parking ticket or a speeding ticket, he has perfect credit. ‘I believe if anyone deserves to stay here, it’s my husband. We will continue to fight, we're good people.'

One good thing, Amy said, to come out of Kitchen Nightmares is that they are now bombarded by customers.

Hand-made: Amy Bouzaglo puts her cakes and deserts on display at Amy's Baking Kitchen



‘We have a different kind of clientele’, said Amy: ‘We’ve become a summer tourist attraction, we're humbled when people ask for pictures with us.



‘We’re printing T-shirts that say ‘I survived Amy’s Baking Company’, ‘Here’s your pizza, go f**k yourself’','I'm the Gangster, and' I speak Feline, MEOW!!' We’re making cherry lemonade out of lemons. Never in my life would I have thought the show would launch us into this kind of stratosphere.



‘Now we can only defend Gordon Ramsey, we support him and hope that people are not as quick to judge him and hate on him because of these accusations. Kitchen Nightmares was not doing very well and the ratings were not very strong.



‘Our show was the highest they ever had, it broke all of the records, sot there are no hard feelings to Fox or Gordon. We are upset about the way we were portrayed and edited but we are focusing on our future now.

