A culinary nightmare has been transformed into an overnight success, attracting food lovers from as far away as Scotland and Ireland.

Restaurant owner Charita Jones has revealed bookings at Momma Cherri's in Little East Street, Brighton, have rocketed since her appearance in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares with the notoriously sharp-tongued chef Gordon Ramsay.

More than 300 people made bookings the morning after the programme aired on Channel 4 on June 7, when viewers were taken behind the scenes of the soul food kitchen as Ramsay tried to turn around the ailing business.

Mrs Jones is now teaming up with Brighton's Thistle Hotel for an Independence Day party on July 4 with more than 500 guests.

The American-born businesswoman said: "Our takings are up 100 per cent and the only problem we are having now is that there are so many requests for bookings people can't get through on the phone.

"Even while the programme was still being aired the bookings started coming in and I woke up the next day to more than 300 emails."

Mrs Jones spent the night before her television debut eating at Ramsay's Claridges restaurant in London with her family after vowing to give the chef a taste of his own medicine.

She said: "We were treated like royalty with the best table in the house and arrived to find a bottle of champagne waiting for us."

June 24. 2005