A year after Wilson’s Secret Sauce got a retooling visit from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, the Upper Darby barbecue restaurant is closing, writes Victor Fiorillo for Philadelphia Magazine.
Ramsay’s interventions appeared on an episode of a new Fox show, Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service.
Now, husband-and-wife owners Steve and Kelly Wilson have decided to replace their sit-down restaurant with a ghost kitchen and return to catering.
Now they can spend more time with their 13-year-old son, the Wilsons said.
As for Gordon Ramsay? The Wilsons have an opinion.
“I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate some of the advice that he gave us. I’m sure it helped with some things. But business actually slowed down a bit since he came in,” said Kelly Wilson.
Many customers wanted the old menu back.
They did appreciate the reality check that Ramsay’s visit offered, even if it was a bit humiliating. Some scenes in the program that showed them in a bad light were deceptive or untrue, the Wilsons said.
They also had no idea that Gordon Ramsay was going undercover when the network approached them with an offer of a restaurant makeover.
Read more about the Wilsons’ experience working with Gordon Ramsay in Philadelphia Magazine.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on DELCO Today in March 2026.
