Last week, National Geographic and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay announced they would be joining forces for a new series called Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted. Per a press release, the series (set to air in 2019) "draws connections between exploration, adventure and food — with a dash of friendly competition — starring Ramsay."
The series will be produced by Gordon's own studio, Studio Ramsay, and is set to begin filming this fall. In Uncharted, "the celebrated chef will embark on anthropology-through-cuisine expeditions to unearth the most incredible people, places and flavors the world has to offer," the press release notes.
Each episode of the show will have three components: exploring a culture's culinary secrets with locals, tracking down traditions and customs specific to the region "in hopes of discovering the undiscovered", and "testing Ramsay against the locals, pitting his own interpretations of regional dishes against the tried-and-true classics." The series intends to "truly immerse" the chef in all aspects of the local culture "to better prepare him for the final friendly cooking competition with local chefs and foodies."
Gordon says, "My passion for adventure has made me not only a better chef but also a fearless apprentice of all cultures, which makes it so exciting for me to work with National Geographic, who've been taking exploration to the limit for their entire storied history."
If you're thinking Uncharted sounds similar to Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, you're not alone. National Geographic Channels PR tweeted an announcement about the series, and some people expressed disinterest in Gordon's new show.
In a statement to Eater, National Geographic addressed the negative feedback regarding the series, which hasn't even began filming yet. “We are disappointed that the announcement of our upcoming series with Gordon Ramsay was taken out of context. With National Geographic’s storied history of exploration, our plan with this series is to celebrate and learn about local cultures around the world. In partnering with Ramsay — a well-known adventure enthusiast — we are going to fully immerse viewers and give them a glimpse into surprising and unexpected cultures and local flavors. We have not gone into production on the series yet, so this perspective is premature. We’re looking forward to working with Ramsay, who’s been making food and travel documentaries for well over a decade, to share the series when it premieres sometime next year.”
We'll have to wait until 2019 to see all the places Uncharted takes Gordon, but according to the press release, we can expect to see him scale cave roofs to harvest fresh nests in Malaysian Bornea and hunt tarantulas in Cambodia. Sounds exciting!
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