The Special Guest Who's Cooking At Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant
Although Gordon Ramsay spends a lot of time entertaining people through his shows and TikTok videos, he's also busy running a number of restaurants. Out of all of his restaurants, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay stands above the rest. Located in Chelsea, London, it was the chef's first restaurant and has earned three Michelin stars (via the restaurant website).
But that's not the only Ramsay eatery that stands out. Another is Lucky Cat, which focuses on Asian cuisine. It launched in London in 2019, and Ramsay said that he would open another Lucky Cat location in Miami sometime in 2022. The restaurant first stood out due to controversy when the chef was accused of cultural appropriation. But fans who grab a seat at Lucky Cat this week will have the chance to taste a menu from a special guest chef.
On Instagram, Ramsay announced that chef Pyet DeSpain will be cooking at Lucky Cat. If you're familiar with Ramsay's cooking shows, you might recognize that name from "Next Level Chef." DeSpain was the first winner of the cooking competition. Her winning menu included empanadas, striped sea bass, roasted lamb with potatoes, and green beans wrapped with prosciutto, according to Remezcla. How would she try to win over customers at Lucky Cat?
Here's what Chef Pyet DeSpain is cooking up at Ramsay's Lucky Cat
Lucky Cat's Instagram account has been sharing some of the dishes that DeSpain has made during her time at the restaurant. Recently, it posted a video of someone pouring a dark sauce over a quail dish as part of the collaboration. Other highlights include a pumpkin massaman. A different Instagram post shows a few photos of DeSpain's menu, which appeared to include an empanada. Could it have been DeSpain's bison empanada or a pork and sweet potato empanada like the kind she whipped up during the "Next Level Chef" competition?
According to LA Eater, DeSpain had a pop-up in Los Angeles called Shkodé in April, and the menu featured bison empanadas and bison meatballs along with beans, squash, and corn. The outlet explains that her cooking brings together her Indigenous and Mexican roots and that DeSpain wants to make Indigenous cuisine "part of the conversation in the culinary world." In an exclusive interview with Mashed, her "Next Level Chef" mentor Nyesha Arrington raved about DeSpain's empanadas, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them on Lucky Cat's menu, too.