Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has lifted the lid on his personal dining preferences, revealing the one dish he tends to avoid when eating out.
In an interview with Town and Country, he exposed the ‘soup of the day’ as a potential pitfall, suggesting that it’s often a way for restaurants to use up leftover ingredients or recycle yesterday’s specials.
His advice is to quiz the staff on the previous soup of the day flavour before you decide to order it.
“Ask what yesterday’s soup du jour was before today’s special.
“It may be the case that it’s the soup du month.”
Ramsay’s top tip for discovering a restaurant’s hidden gems is to tap into local knowledge by asking your server for recommendations.
With servers often having an in-depth understanding of the menu, they can steer you towards the chef’s latest creations or customer favourites.
Drawing on his own experience, Ramsay noted: “It depends on the restaurant, but servers tend to taste most of the dishes on the menu and can give you insight into what the chef has added and what the locals have,” yielding some “great recommendations” in the process, reports the Mirror.
The acclaimed chef also shared his expertise on how to spot “red flags” at restaurants, warning diners to be wary of establishments that make exaggerated claims about their offerings, such as “world’s best,” “famous,” or “best in the country.”
Another potential warning sign, according to Ramsay, is an overly long list of specials on the menu, which may not be as appealing as they seem.
Gordon pointed out: “Specials are there to disappear throughout the evening. When they list 10 specials, that’s not special,” in an interview with The Mail.