PHOENIX — Gordon Ramsay made a special visit to ‘Caffe Boa Ahwatukee’ earlier this year, and now the Italian restaurant owner can share how his business has benefited from the celebrity chef’s visit.
“Caffe Boa in Ahwatukee started in 1995. We are an Italian scratch kitchen. My wife, business partner, bought it in June of 2021,” shared Patrick Larson, owner of Caffe Boa Ahwatukee, with ABC15.
Larson told ABC15 that his restaurant will be featured on the celebrity chef’s new show, ‘Secret Service.’
According to the restaurant owner, the filming took place this February after a lengthy process of emails and background checks that began with an email last fall.
“I all started off with a cold email, I would say, somewhere in October, from a casting agency saying that they were looking for old, dirty, dingy restaurants that need renovations,” said Larson, who shared he was hesitant to respond but then did.
“I'm not only a business owner, but a businessman, and someone with education and business, and [who] knows what needs to happen [to] be successful. I knew that there were certain things that were not in place, that needed to be in place to kind of take us to the next level. And if somebody like Gordon Ramsay, or if were to happen to be some other personality, celebrity chef, wants to help us, then I'm willing to take that help in, I guess, in any regardless of what it might cost me to start, as far as you know, public humiliation, or what have you,” said Larson.
Caffe Boa in Ahwatukee got help with renovations.
“Gordon Ramsay definitely helped us. Our dining room was old, it was outdated, it was dingy, it was dark, and it was all of the previous owners you know vision, if you will, or decor, and it needed a major facelift. And that's what we got, above and beyond from Gordon and his team,” said Larson to ABC15. He also shared that the restaurant switched out a broken walk-in freezer with a walk-in cooler, which is of great help as the business prides itself on being a scratch kitchen.
According to Larson, Ramsay’s visit not only helped in renovations, but it also left a long-lasting lesson.
“The takeaway for me, I guess, personally and professionally and from a business aspect, is you, you can't be afraid to ask for help. We all need help from time to time. And you know, you just have to know, be the big man and realize that, yeah, some things aren't right here, and they could be better. So, if someone like Gordon, or whoever doesn't have to be a celebrity chef, it could be, you know, a local consultant or just a local vendor or whatever, like you have a way to improve the business. I'm all for it. One of the things that I pride myself on is constant improvement,” shared Larson with ABC15.
