There are stories everywhere, especially in the cuisines unique to every culture.
Gordon Ramsay is a familiar face not just in food-related entertainment, but in mainstream television. With his new show, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, he takes viewers into the unfamiliar, indulging in his own kind of thrill-seeking tourism to discover new culinary frontiers.
The new National Geographic and FOX+ show just started on this past July 22, and it gives Ramsay vast amounts of room to breathe and flex—he’s an accomplished Ironman triathlon athlete, by the way—as he visits Peru, Laos, Morocco, Hawaii, Alaska, and New Zealand. He’s not just looking around these places, either: he’s visiting them to really dig into the most distinct nuances of each territory’s food.
And when we say dig, we mean it: in New Zealand, for example, he literally has to dig his own pit to correctly cook a particular Maori dish in its traditional fashion. He also dives into the ocean, scales mountains, and climbs to the tops of very precarious trees just to get the right ingredients he needs. No easy supermarkets or fully stocked kitchens this time.
While Ramsay is as opinionated and outspoken in Uncharted as he always is, we see a side of him that isn’t often showcased in his other shows: his sense of wonder, coupled with a seasoned (pun unintended) perspective that is equal parts respectful and willful. This is an experienced chef and traveler who is confident in his skills and knowledge, but he’s also mindful to not come across arrogant as he learns from the people and places he visits.
In each destination, Ramsay studies different dishes and makes the personal effort to forage and harvest all the ingredients he needs. He works in tandem with local culinary veterans as their relentlessly curious—and snarky—student, picking up not just cooking instructions but also intensive lessons about each place’s time-honored traditions. Each episode leads up to him and his mentor putting together feasts for the residents: a nerve-wracking challenge for any outsider, even one as accomplished as Ramsay.
“It has been an amazing journey travelling off the beaten path with National Geographic and connecting with locals to learn and share incredible stories of unique traditions, delicacies and the extreme lengths it takes to harvest native ingredients,” Ramsay explains. “I have learned way more filming this series than I have in the last 10 years.”
Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted is produced by Studio Ramsay for National Geographic. For Studio Ramsay, executive producers are Gordon Ramsay, Elvia Van Es Olivia, Helen Cooke, Lisa Edwards and Jon Kroll. For National Geographic, executive producer is Betsy Forhan, vice president of production is Kevin Tao Mohs, and president of original programming and production is Geoff Daniels.
