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Podcast: Chef James Rigato Previews Gordon Ramsay's Uncharted in U.P.

July 20, 2021 | By Michael H. Babcock

This weekend the Upper Peninsula's food scene will be highlighted during an episode of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted on National Geographic TV. The episode will feature a bunch of scenes in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, and as you'll find out in this episode of the PHF Podcast, that's because Chef James Rigato made it so. 

Chef James Rigato by Lake Superior"I was adamant that the Keweenaw be a focal point of that episode," the former Top Chef competitor said. That's exactly what happened as Chef Ramsay got to experience quite a bit of the Keweenaw during his visit here.

Chef Rigato gives a great behind-the-scenes preview of what people can expect in the episode, talks about why he fell in love with, and eventually bought a house in, Keweenaw County, and talks about food culture in the Copper Country.

This Episode’s Guest

  • Chef James Rigato, owner of Mabel Gray Kitchen and guest chef in Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted’s visit to Michigan’s Copper Country

Episode Viewing Event at Rosza Center

Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau is excited to present a FREE watch event of Nat Geo's Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted in the Upper Peninsula!

In this Nat Geo series, Chef Gordon Ramsay travels the world, immersing himself in different cultures, dishes, and flavors. What began as mere speculation about Chef Ramsay's appearance in the Keweenaw, is now in full reality for the world to enjoy!

See the places and faces that you know and love around the Keweenaw and the U.P. - pasty making, thimbleberry jamming with the monks in Copper Harbor, hunting woodcock, cooking fresh Superior lake trout, mountain biking, and more!

Doors open at 8:30 p.m. at MTU's Rozsa Center on July 25, 2021. RSVP here (not required).

Quotable Moments from Chef Rigato

  • “I told National Geographic if we’re going to get (Gordon Ramsey) up here, we have to go mountain biking, we have to show him the monks and we have to go to a copper mine. I was adamant that the Keweenaw be a focal point of that episode.”
  • “You have to tap into (the natural resources here) and find it - it’s a little bit of a relay race trying to collect all of the resources up here, but once you know. Once you catch that fish, hunt that bird, you realize the abundance up here. It’s not necessarily something you can just get off 41. You can’t just walk into a store and buy the best resources up here.”
  • “(Gordon Ramsay) got a good idea of what summertime in the U.P. is like.”
  • “When I cook, it’s from love and connecting with people.”
  • (Talking about Campfire Cooking in Keweenaw) “I just want to have some content floating out there in the world for keweenaw imagery. When you go on YouTube there isn’t a ton of content, and that’s fine, but I wanted to have some nice Zen peaceful cooking videos out there that are honestly the antithesis of food TV as we know it. I’m fatigued of chef’s battling it out all the time. I want to go back to the days when it was just someone cooking simply and enjoying the environment."
  • “The vision is inspiring for what the Portage Health Foundation is and also will be. There’s a huge potential for impact in the area for food education, health and wellness. I was really inspired by (PHF having) a dietitian and doctor looking at it from a holistic point of view.”
  • “There’s a lot of opportunity up here to tap into the wildlife around us sustainably and holistically.” 
  • “I expect to be around here doing food things with those resources in the future.”

Additional Information
Michael H. Babcock

Michael H. Babcock