Even Gordon Ramsay’s tuna needed a paddock pass for the Las Vegas GP

Gordon Ramsay is used to getting the VIP treatment at Formula 1 races. But this weekend he’ll be in his chef’s whites serving up fine fare in Ramsay’s Garage. The “Kitchen Nightmares” star spoke to Motorsport about what’s on the menu for his guests, who paid $35,000 each for the three-day trackside experience.  

“This is our Monaco: it’s flash, it’s flamboyant, it’s Vegas. People are loving it,” Ramsay said. “I think we have the only tuna in the country that’s got its own paddock pass,” he went on, noting the menu will feature a wide variety of offerings, from fried chicken to handmade sushi rolls. “It’s a 120kg (264lb) yellowfin tuna that had to come through security with its own paddock pass. We had the face of the tuna on the pass and everything, how cool is that?”

The celebrity chef said he was “desperate for an opportunity” to show the F1 paddock “how good” hospitality offerings could be. “I’ve got a great relationship with F1, the team have been amazing. Stefano [Domenicali’s] vision is this whole lifestyle explosion [but] food was never really a talking point before,” he explained.

“There’s something quite special about this thing only being up for 72 hours, we’re really creating something unique,” he continued. “Guests have got great entertainment with the race, and finally, I can tick that box and say we’re delivering beyond-Michelin star [quality]. Some of the things that are going on, we don’t even have a chance to practice that in our own restaurants. It’s that special.” 

Though Ramsay will spend quite a bit of time behind-the-scenes, fans can still expect to see the chef on the starting grid come Saturday night. “I mean I couldn’t get the kitchen any closer to the track,” he laughed. “I’ll pop out to the grid. [But] I’ll be hiding from [Martin Brundle] — he’s sick to death of my face,” Ramsay joked.