Just days after fellow celebrity chef Nigella Lawson jetted out of the country, Gordon Ramsay has been spotted in Auckland and took to Instagram to share his adventures "scooting around" the city.
The expletive-prone chef posted a video of himself on a Lime scooter in Auckland's picturesque Viaduct Harbour with the caption: "Just scooting around #Auckland #NewZealand".
Gordon enjoying a scoot around the Viaduct. Photo / Instagram
Ramsay also dropped by local restaurant Cassia and shared a snap of his meal on his Instagram story. He praised chef Sid Sahrawat for his tuna, ginger, cucumber and yuzu dish, labelling it "delicious".
He finished off his meal with a pineapple dessert which he simply labelled: "WOW".
Also on Ramsay's menu at Cassia were their signature dishes: beef short rib, kumara, cardamom, cashew, and the caramelised duck, chettinad sauce, onions.
Head chef Sid Sahrawat said Ramsay dined at Casssia for two to three hours last night, and his chefs and other customers were "star struck".
"It was amazing, he's such a star and one of the best chefs in the world," Sahrawat said.
"For people like him coming to one of our establishments is an honour. He ordered off the menu, and obviously we wanted him to try a few extra dishes.
"On the whole he was very happy when I spoke to him. He loved the beef, the duck.
"You know how strong he is as a chef. I think he's got a great personality, just so much energy, it's very inspiring for our whole team to see how he's been in the game for so long but he's still so energetic and so motivated so complimentary to everyone about everything."
Also on Ramsay's culinary tour of Auckland was Depot Eatery in SkyCity.
Depot head chef Al Brown said his staff found Ramsay "fantastic in every way".
Ramsay reported back that Depot's Kingfish sashimi with oyster cream, apple and fennel seed was "amazing".
"His PA got in contact with me the day before and said he'd like a table," Brown said.
"We don't have reservations but he's Gordon Ramsay, so he can have a table for sure. Just lovely to have him in, and left him alone to enjoy what we do.
"He does his TV thing, but that's telly. He's a straight shooter. The staff found him delightful."
Gordon also shared his meal from Cassia on his Instagram story. Photo / Instagram
Ramsay was also spotted by diners at The Glass Goose off Federal Street sporting the same New York Yankees cap he was seen wearing in the Lime Scooter video.
This afternoon, Ramsay is understood to have landed in Queenstown - perhaps visiting his old mate Kiwi chef Josh Emett.
The impassioned Hell's Kitchen star was said to have arrived on a Jetstar flight from Auckland.
Scottish-born Ramsay OBE, whose restaurants have been awarded 16 Michelin stars, mentored MasterChef NZ's Emett, who earned his own Michelin star as head chef at Ramsay's historic Savoy Grill, London.
He worked for about 12 years for Ramsay's restaurants in London, New York and Melbourne, but told Stuff in 2014 Ramsay had sacked him after Maze in Melbourne struggled.
Emett co-owns Queenstown's Rata and Madam Woo, and Hawker & Roll restaurants, with local Fleur Caulton.
Gordon and some lucky diners at The Glass Goose. Photo / Instagram
Ramsay announced on New Year's Day that he and his wife Tana are expecting their fifth child, two-and-a-half years after they suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage when Tana was five months pregnant.
While it's not clear what's brought Ramsay down to New Zealand it looks like he's making the most of his time here.
