Mint Newcastle

Hold the front page – celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsey has been spotted eating curry and chips on the Quayside! Well, not both together I should add. On Tuesday he dined at Khai Khai Indian restaurant on the Newcastle side of the river, where he was so impressed with the food that he personally thanked the chefs. The next day he was tucking into chips across the water in Gateshead.

Rumour has it he’s principally here to film at Trakol Restaurant in Gateshead. But with the standard of cuisine on offer at this uber cool Scandinavian restaurant nestled under the iconic arches of the Tyne Bridge, I very much doubt he was filming Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. It’s much more likely he was filming for his new tv series, Next Level Chef, aimed at finding the country’s next culinary star.

Trakol forms part of the By the River Brew Co. container settlement, which also includes a micro brewery and tap room, a bagel cafe, and a street food market and a bicycle shop. It actually holds a special place in my heart, as it was while standing under these arches at dusk with a local brew in my hand and gazing across the river that I realised I could quite happily move to this city. And when I later returned to dine at Trakol restaurant I became serious about doing so.

Whatever it is that Ramsey is filming in the area, I have no doubts that it will have other folks looking wistfully towards the city and wanting to pay the place a visit. And once they’re here, well if they’re anything like me I expect they’ll then be hooked…!