Gordon Ramsay is known for turning up the heat on Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, and now the celebrity chef is grilling YouTubers and social media stars in the ultimate sandwich competition. Ramsay’s Idiot Sandwich premiered Jan. 17 on YouTube and is inspired by the popular meme that originated within a sketch on The Late Late Show with James Corden. In the “Hell’s Cafeteria” sketch starring Ramsay, Corden, and Big Brother host Julie Chen, the famously hot-headed chef pressed two pieces of bread against Chen’s face and dubbed her an “idiot sandwich.”
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This week’s competitors include Good Mythical Morning’s Rhett & Link and Mythical Kitchen’s Josh, who “step in front of the master of the sandwich hands, Gordon Ramsay, to impress him with their Idiot Sandwich creation,” per the official synopsis. “Will Josh end the feud with Gordon or will Link burn the kitchen down? Only one person’s sandwich will lead them to be crowned Gordon’s Idiot Sandwich.”
Fox Entertainment’s Studio Ramsay Global — behind Next Level Chef, Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, and the revived Kitchen Nightmares — produces the series hosted and executive produced by Ramsay. Episodes stream weekly on Ramsay’s YouTube channel.
“It was incredible to watch that one tongue-in-cheekmoment turn into this huge, viral sensation. I’ve been thinking for awhile about trying to find a smart way of turning the ‘Idiot Sandwich’meme into its own series,” Ramsay said in a statement. “As an idea that exploded on the internet andacross social media, there was no better way to bring this series tolife, than having it air as a digital exclusive, have some fun andshowcase the sandwich-making skills of some of the biggest influencersand content creators out there.”
“Between the accolades and the expletives, Gordon is arguably the mostrecognizable personality known to the culinary world and an invaluable,prolific partner at Fox,” added Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment.”From a single show to global enterprise, Gordon has amassed 5.5 billiontotal viewers on Fox alone, over 100 million fans worldwide on social,and along the way, coined the hysterical, wildly popular ‘Idiot Sandwich’ viral meme that’s taken on a life of its own and led to this latest digital addition to his always growing content kingdom.”
During a 2019 appearance on The Late Late Show, Ramsay reflected on the viral meme that inspired the official “Idiot Sandwich” bread slice earmuffs sold at the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant in Las Vegas. You can watch that and the original moment that inspired the Idiot Sandwich series in the video below.
Fans can also follow Idiot Sandwich on Instagram and TikTok.
