Why was Gordon Ramsay at these Toronto restaurants?
Maybe TV’s biggest food meanie was here to perfect the idiot sandwich
Famously fiery celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has been making the rounds at Toronto restaurants this week, but instead of scowling and calling our chefs “fucking muppets” or “panini heads”—like he does in Kitchen Nightmares—he’s been rather adorable.
On Saturday night, Ramsay paid a visit to David Schwartz’s fancy-schmancy Ossington steakhouse, Linny’s, where he was seen laughing, schmoozing and snapping smiley selfies. And not one steak was hurled across the dining room.
After bumping into Ramsay at Linny’s, TV personality Patricia Jaggernauth posted a TikTok video of her and the chef, in which Ramsay merrily—if somewhat loosely—shouts out her recently opened business, One Gram Coffee Bar in Greektown, praising the café’s dialled-in grinder in particular and wishing her new spot success. And then, just last night, Ramsay allegedly dined at one of Linny’s sister restaurants, the recently revamped Mimi Chinese on Davenport.
About a month ago, Redditors claimed they spotted Ramsay at the Roasted Nut near Trinity-Bellwoods; however, with only a suspiciously baby-faced photo to prove he was there, the jury’s out on whether it was actually him. But, still, we want to know! What the Hell’s Kitchen is the chef up to in Hogtown? A new restaurant? A Toronto takeover? A series reboot with a plot twist: Ramsay is nice?
Related: Toronto chefs and restaurateurs explain why all your favourite kitchens are pivoting
Womp, womp. Turns out he’s most likely here promoting a partnership with Canadian cookware brand HexClad, known for its hybrid stainless steel nonstick pans manufactured in PEI. It’s an anticlimactic answer—but congrats on those cool pans and the celebrity collab, PEI.
Lindsey King is a Toronto-based writer and editor whose work can be found in Toronto Life, Maclean’s, Canada’s 100 Best and more. She is interested in arts and culture, food and drink, architecture, design, and real estate stories
