In a defining moment of Bar Rescue, Jon goes berserk and clears the bar top of every item on the menu at Fairways Golf Bar and Grill in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, while screaming at the top of his lungs, “Nobody eats this frickin’ food!” This episode (“S3E26: Hole in None”) is iconic for several reasons, all of which involve poor food and beverage handling and sanitation.

Mixologist Phil Wills and chef Brian Duffy do double duty as experts and recon spies, and Phil gets immediately sick and vomits from a draft beer drawn from a kicked keg that was never disconnected. An investigation into the kitchen with health inspector Steve Blovat shows some astonishing filth and severe sanitation problems with the coup de grâce being a giant mushroom spore, possibly black mold, the size of Jon’s head protruding from the walk-in cooler’s wall.

As most Bar Rescue fans know, Jon goes ballistic over all things safety related, especially when his family, friends, and crew are involved. Phil getting sick and then everyone possibly being exposed to black mold throws Jon into a rage like no other. To ensure no one eats the menu of food ordered during recon, Jon swipes the lot of it off the bar top and onto the floor, creating a spectacular and Emmy-worthy scene of it and likely ruining his favorite black blazer.

In a Jim and Sam Show interview, Jon later admits this scene was a personally pivotal one for him as host of Bar Rescue. He says he realized that “Bar Rescue reality” is different from “regular reality” because he could do almost anything and people would not only tolerate it but accept it and still want him to stay and rescue their bars. Beyond this blog post, I have gotten years of enjoyment from watching this episode and the potentially outrageous things Jon said and did after he realized Bar Rescue reality is its own thing. I have also used the short video clip above as “Jon Taffer’s Tutorial on Hospital Food” for friends and family who find laughter to be the best medicine, even for after surgery care. A special note of thankfulness goes to Jon, Phil, and Kevin the cook from Fairways Golf and Grill, because without everyone’s expertise (IYKYK) I would not have this little gem to share.