“Short-tempered TV chef”: This description alone is enough for many people to identify Gordon Ramsay. The gastronaut has gained a reputation for being fiery and hard to please on shows like “MasterChef” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” though his rise to fame began much earlier. He first became a Michelin-star-awarded head chef in the 1990s, and within just a few years, he opened his first eponymous restaurant.
Since then, Ramsay has gone on to open several more top-notch eateries all over the world, from the U.S. to Hong Kong. But when the Scottish chef travels, he doesn’t stick to his own restaurants — he’s eager to explore the local flavors and try new recipes. In fact, when asked by YouTuber Cho Seung-yeon about his favorite countries for foodies, Ramsay listed three spots that don’t host a single Gordon Ramsay restaurant.
In the interview, the restaurateur named Laos as his favorite food destination in the world. “I recently came out of Laos, and going back to the provinces and spending time in the countryside, away from the tourist traps, the food was just off the charts,” he revealed. For runner-up destinations, Ramsay named Vietnam as another favorite food tourism spot, along with Spain — or, specifically, the city of Madrid.
What to eat in Gordon Ramsay’s favorite food destinations
Though Gordon Ramsay didn’t name any specific Lao dishes in his YouTube interview, his journey in the Southeast Asian country was documented for his show “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted.” In one clip, the chef enjoys freshly grilled “toe biters,” a type of water bug, comparing the taste to that of lobster and crabmeat. After, he helped prepare ant soup, with a flavorful combination of salt, lime, and herbs. If you’re not accustomed to munching on bugs, don’t worry — Laos offers other delicious fare, including khao soi (a rice noodle soup) and kua pak bong (a vegetable stir-fry).
If you decide to travel to Laos’ neighbor, Vietnam, instead, you’ll be rewarded with an array of tasty culinary options, many of which are prepared and served humbly on the streets. Pho (noodle soup), banh mi (a sandwich made with a baguette), and bot chien (a stir-fry containing fried dough) are a few popular foods. However, Ramsay once shared in an episode of “MasterChef” that his favorite dish of all time is hu tieu, a Vietnamese noodle soup featuring slow-cooked pork.
If your travels take you to Europe rather than Asia, head to Madrid and feast on Spanish food, a cuisine that Ramsay claimed was “overtaking Italian cuisine” during a clip from the HBO show “Road Trip with Gordon, Gino, and Fred.” One menu item Madrid is known for is cocido madrileño, the city’s take on Spain’s traditional meat stew.
Other destinations Gordon Ramsay loves
If you’re interested in more of the famous chef’s bucket list destinations, look no further than Norway. Gordon Ramsay opened up about his affinity for the Scandinavian country in an interview with Travel + Leisure, saying, “Norway’s cuisine is among the finest in Europe.” In particular, Ramsay highlighted the city of Bergen, noting that he “tasted some of the best seafood of my life during my few days there.”
Singapore is another of the chef’s favorite destinations. He once told CNN that he visited the country three times within six months, and he even collaborated with Singapore Airlines to create the company’s inflight menus. His go-to food in the small island country: Singaporean chili crabs.
When it comes to Ramsay’s favorite place of all, he prefers to be close to his U.K. roots. The TV personality told Travel + Leisure (via Yahoo! Finance) that his ideal place to pass the time is an English town called Rock. He gushed to the outlet, “Rock is in a microclimate on the west coast of Cornwall, and it’s this tiny little fishing village that is breathtaking.”
