Like many chefs, Gordon Ramsay is always down to try new foods. On the July 21st premiere of his National Geographic Show, “Uncharted,” he travels to Peru where he tries an array of local delicacies, including roast guinea pig.
“You do not know what you’re missing,” Ramsay said, after tasting a loin cut of guinea pig meat. “I am telling you now, delicious.”
While guinea pigs are primarily kept as beloved pets in the U.S., in Peru, they’re a common source of food, especially in the Andes Mountains. Guinea pigs belong to the rodent family (they’re related to chinchillas and porcupines), but eating them in Peru is as normal as eating pork and according to Ramsey, tastes “pretty good, like a suckling pig.”
Ramsay assured viewers that as good as he thought they tasted, he won’t be serving the meat back in the States anytime soon. “I can’t feature roasted guinea pig on my menus here in the U.S. I would be taken down,” he said.
On the show, Ramsay also cooked worms with scrambled alpaca eggs over an open fire on the top of a mountain.
According to The Telegraph, the Scottish chef confessed that the six-part series tested his palate and pushed his boundaries when meeting with community food experts to try the local cuisine.
Of course, fans and foodies alike have made the comparison: “Uncharted” seems eerily similar to the late Anthony Bourdain’s hit show, “Parts Unknown,” which appeared on CNN from 2013 to 2018. Ramsay admitted to Deadline that he received “a lot of flack” for it, but said that he has been doing these types of shows, rooted in discovering new cultures, for just as long as Bourdain.
“Judge [this] program with integrity. I totally respect what he did and how he did it, but this journey began in 2004, discovering India, Vietnam and Cambodia and literally getting away from the three Michelin star setup with 25 chefs, what’s it like to be at the coal face,” Ramsay told Deadline. “That’s what this is all about.”
