Gordon Ramsay is, without doubt, one of the most (if not the most) famous and successful of the celebrity chefs. Renowned for both the excellence of his food and his foul mouth, he has created an irrepressible brand for himself and spawned a media and restaurant empire. He will be hoping that his latest adventure that takes him into the metaverse will be another successful diversification of his business interests.
Ramsay is launching his own non-fungible token and venturing into the crypto space of The Sandbox. He is creating a reality cooking show on the decentralised gaming platform. The announcement was made on Twitter to his 7.6 million followers.
“Hell is coming … to the #Metaverse! That’s right. #HellsKitchen is coming to @TheSandboxGame complete with the most amazing virtual restaurant and the Red AND Blue Team !”
The tweet also showed a trailer of how the game will look, with blocky style animation and a distinctive Ramsay avatar at work in a digital version of Hell’s Kitchen. Hell’s Kitchen has been nominated five times for an Emmy award. The reality cooking TV show allows participants to compete for an actual job as Head Chef in one of Ramsay’s Restaurants.
Ramsay holds multiple Michelin stars and is associated with thirty-five restaurants worldwide. He has establishments in the UK, France, Singapore and the United States. He recently signed a deal with Lion Capital in the US, which will see one hundred new restaurants opened across America. His exceptional British cuisine, volatile temper and astute business acumen have made him a famous face around the globe.
The Sandbox deal is not his first foray into online gaming. NetEnt worked with the Scottish-born celebrity chef to create an official Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen slot game, which is one of the best free slots online.
The game is set in Gordon Ramsay: Hell’s Kitchen in Caesar’s Palace. The gameplay mirrors Ramsay’s personality and explosive temper, which gives it an intense feeling. The reels spin, and Gordon’s well-known catchphrases ring out. As with all things Ramsay undertakes, authenticity and perfection are key. There is no reason to believe that he will not bring the same levels of excellence to the Sandbox Game.
Ramsay says about the new project,
“There’s nothing more exciting to me than chartering new territory, whether that’s creating a signature dish, a new restaurant concept, a new show, or now a virtual experience in The Sandbox.
I’ve been fascinated by The Sandbox and its offering in the metaverse. I couldn’t think of a better platform to bring the high energy of my Hell’s Kitchen restaurant and brand.”
The Sandbox is the third largest metaverse and is based on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows its users to create, share and monetise their assets. The idea is to disrupt the online gaming market by giving players the chance to have ownership of their creations. It allows users to create and animate 3-D objects known as assets. Depending on the type of assets, they are either unique (Non-Fungible) or replicable. The Sandbox uses several tokens, which are then stored on the Ethereum blockchain.
The Sandbox has partnered with ITV Studios, the Hell’s Kitchen TV Show distributor. As a result, hell’s Kitchen now has its own parcel of ‘land’ in their metaverse. Hell’s Kitchen on The Sandbox is the platform’s first cooking-based game. Players can create dishes, collect recipes and participate in competitions to become the head chef. Digital assets and NFTs will include limited edition Ramsay avatars. They will be available for players and creators to add to their experience.
According to Forbes Celebrity 100, Ramsay was worth a cool $70 million in 2020. He was the only celebrity chef to make it to the list. After selling the stake in his business to Lion Capital, it was estimated that Gordon Ramsay was worth $220 million. So who knows what riches he might find in the new crypto world?
