Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay dines in Mystic again — this time at The Shipwright’s Daughter
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay continues his foodie tour of southeastern Connecticut, stopping by another Mystic restaurant this week.
The host of Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is filming the next two seasons at Foxwoods, stopped by The Shipwright’s Daughter at Whaler’s Inn for dinner on Tuesday. He posed for a photo with executive chef David Standridge (a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Best Chef: Northeast award) and the Shipwright’s Daughter staff.
“We love taking care of people in the industry at the restaurant, but this time it’s a little different,” a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page reads. “Thank you @gordongram for dining with us last night! Our team was so happy to have you in the kitchen!”
This is the third Mystic restaurant — and the second run by a James Beard-nominated chef — where Ramsay has been spotted while filming in the area. He stopped by the Oyster Club last month, where he enjoyed a meal of oysters, empanadas and stingray, and posed for photos with executive chef Renee Touponce and servers and kitchen staff. Touponce is a 2024 finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef award.
“He really enjoyed everything about being here,” Touponce said. “He said the food was beautifully presented and flavorful.”
The celebrity chef visited Red 36 on May 20 and posed for photos with staff while wearing cycling gear. A Red 36 employee told Hearst Connecticut that Ramsay was just stopping by on his bike ride and did not eat there.
Ramsay was also seen visiting Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen in early May. In a May 9 Instagram post, the restaurant shared a photo of the chef holding a signed plate that read, “(damn) delicious. Sincerely, Gordon.” According to the post, he enjoyed buffalo cauliflower, hot honey and BBQ chicken wings, and a Southwestern hash salad.
The images come weeks after ITV America announced that the TV show “Hell’s Kitchen” would film seasons 23 and 24 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, instead of its previous filming locations in California and Las Vegas. Ramsay opened a Hell’s Kitchen restaurant at the location in July, but the cooking competition show will not be set at the restaurant.
While this is the first time the show has filmed in Connecticut, it has featured some of the Nutmeg State’s talent in the past. Scott Leibfried, a former sous chef on the show, is working with Music & Industry, a new restaurant coming to South Norwalk. Kevin Cottle, who competed on season 6, is the executive chef at Fire at the Ridge in Middlefield. Another season 6 contestant, Van Hurd, is now the executive chef at Fire by Forge in Hartford. Megan Gill, 22, who finished second among her age 23 and under peers on Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” in 2021, is now the executive chef at BLDG, the restaurant inside the Marcel Hotel at Long Wharf in New Haven.
