Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has been spotted in Gateshead while filming gets underway at a Quayside restaurant.
Geordie fans couldn't believe their eyes on Tuesday morning when they spotted the famous TV chef enjoying a stroll along the Quayside. The Kitchen Nightmares star is understood to filming a new project at the popular restaurant Trakol, with details strictly under wraps.
Film crews could be seen outside of the restaurant, owned by Dave Stone, on Tuesday afternoon. The eatery, which focuses on seasonal dishes, is part of the trendy shipping container village, By The River Brew Co, on Gateshead Quayside.
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One fan said they saw Ramsay walk past their office at the Royal Naval Reserve Unit on the Quayside, Tweeting: "Gordon Ramsay I hope you enjoyed your morning in Newcastle! If you have time pop by HMS Calliope for a brew."
They added: "He walked straight past our offices and then he went for a walk down the Quayside."
But Ramsay hasn't been the only celebrity to enjoy a stroll along the Quayside during a visit to the North East. Just last month Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp amazed Geordie fans when he popped into the Bridge Tavern for a pint with Sam Fender just hours before the verdict of his defamation case with Amber Heard.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star, who won the case, later appeared at the Sage in Gateshead where he performed alongside Jeff Beck. Hollywood legend Harrison Ford was also spotted on Newcastle Quayside during a break in filming the new Indiana Jones film in June last year.
Ramsay's visit to Gateshead comes just weeks after he announced a new series of Next Level Chef, which will debut on ITV next year. The eight-part cooking competition, designed to unearth the next culinary star, has been billed as the “toughest and most epic cooking contest on TV”, according to producers.
The show is set across three kitchens on three different levels, from a top-tier kitchen “utopia” to a basement level with “scraps” – as contestants vie to progress to the next level. Ramsay will be joined by two of the most “elite names in food” – who are yet to be named.
The trio of judges will each mentor a group of chefs who will compete against each other to prove themselves in the kitchen, produce high-calibre dishes and avoid elimination.
Only one contestant can be crowned the Next Level Chef, with the winner receiving a life-changing cash prize of £100,000 and a one-year mentorship under all three judges.
Ramsay said: “Next Level Chef is off the chart next level everything. A culinary competition that is epic on every level. From the size of the enormous structure to every challenge, every moment of jeopardy is huge.
“I want to see our chefs, social media stars, home cooks whatever their level, whatever their experience, show me what they can do.
“Whether they’re at the top cooking in the dream kitchen with every gadget and the finest ingredients or in the middle kitchen, good equipment, good ingredients but nothing fancy or, and this is where it gets really interesting, down in the basement kitchen.
“Super basic, minimal ingredients and left-over scraps then show me what you’re really made of.
“Talent and tenacity will absolutely shine through, and someone will walk away with an equally Next Level prize, I can’t wait to get started.”
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