The Bafta award-winning programme sorts out the culinary wheat from the chaff, and the management expertise from the duff.
By all accounts it was a tough job – but has Gordon succeeded in turning around this restaurant, which opened only in 2006?
The Granary was formerly a private dining club called The Radcliffe. Oodles of money was lavished on the 18th century building, but it spluttered and died within months of opening.
Well-known chef Gary Hollinghead skulked back to London, and a plan to build a helicopter facility to attract Z-list celebs like Jordan from London failed to take off. The Radcliffe was no more, and The Granary took its place – but the new restaurant struggled to make its mark.
When news first got out in October that Ramsay had been taken on to try to fix most of its ailments I hot-footed to The Granary to review it.
Then, despite willing service, I was underwhelmed thanks to several dead trees standing guard over the pot-holed car park and the smell of chip fat which hit me before I even entered the oddly-designed place. The food – calves' liver seemingly cut with a saw and a tasteless bread-and-butter-pudding – was equally miserable.
I returned last week to see if Gordon had used his inspired leadership to transform The Granary into any kind of viable business. He had just one week to straight-talk management and chefs.
Those trees and potholes still give a tired, couldn't-care-less feel to customers entering the car park. Surely management could buy a bag of gravel and hire a chainsaw to make the first impressions more pleasing?
The chip fat smell is gone, but the décor is still very dodgy. Does a huge picture of a combine harvester which now dominates one dining space add to the party? I think not. It sits in one of three cramped dining rooms so tightly packed with high-backed chairs that you might be forgiven for thinking you'd entered a furniture store.
According to The Granary's website: 'It has built steadily on its reputation for great food – and all food is produced to the highest standards'.
It also boasts of beautiful landscaped grounds and expresses 'warmest thanks and appreciation to Gordon Ramsay for his help and guidance'.
For the life of me I couldn't see what Gordon had achieved. From the specials board I chose tuna with a tapenade crust on a Provencal sauce. The tuna was cooked so as to be just bearable, but not pink or rare as requested. Gordon may have urged kitchen staff to put a bit of flavour and character into the food, but it seems the kitchen staff do not actually taste the fruits of their labours.
Super-strong olive mash swamped the fish, while the Provencal tomato sauce was reduced to an industrial strength. Local vegetables which don't go with tuna – Brussel sprouts and carrots – joined large, watery courgettes. But the halved, sautéed new potatoes were fine and dandy.
Much of the menu is as per October, including Discovery apple crumble and custard. My choice was a Baileys chocolate hot pot with local ice cream and mocha sauce.
Served in a ramekin dish and described as a kind of soufflé by a friendly front-of-house member, it tasted stale and utterly devoid of Baileys. The sauce was chocolate, not mocha, but it and the ice cream were redeeming features. At just under £6 – wow! this ain't London! – it promised more but delivered less.
The Granary may not have taken many of Gordon's pointers on board. Gordon, you'll need a good month here to really get this place moving in the right direction.

The Granary, Whiteley Lane, Titchfield. 01329 84 4466.
Open: Seven days a week. Food served from 11am until late.
Food: **
Service: ****
Atmosphere: ***
Disabled access: Lots of gravel for wheelchairs to navigate. Small rooms may be off-putting.
How to get there: Exit at junction 9 on M27, follow signs to the A27 towards Fareham, turn off towards Segensworth then left on to Whiteley Lane. The Granary is on the left. Car park. Bus: First 26 or 28.