Gordon Ramsay Burger Moving Into Flamingo Las Vegas
Flamingo Las Vegas just got hotter. Flavor and flames are coming to the resort this summer with the addition of Gordon Ramsay Burger.
The debut of Gordon Ramsay Burger at Flamingo Las Vegas follows the success of the restaurant’s first Las Vegas location, which opened at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in December 2012. It is the celebrated chef’s seventh restaurant at Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas Resorts and the fifth Gordon Ramsay Burger location.
“We are incredibly fortunate to celebrate the popularity of Burger inside Planet Hollywood,” said Gordon Ramsay. “So much, in fact, that we expanded the space a few years ago to meet the demand and accommodate more guests. Now, to add another location inside one of the most iconic resorts in Las Vegas is truly a dream come true.”
Gordon Ramsay Burger continues to push the traditional burger, fries and milkshake combination to the limit. Guests can expect some of their favorites on the menu at the Flamingo location, such as the Hell’s Kitchen Burger, Farmhouse Burger and Hellfire Chicken Wings. To achieve a complex flavor, all burgers are cooked over an open flame fueled by hardwoods. Sides include Just Fries with house ketchup and chipotle ketchup, Truffle Parmesan Fries with truffle aioli and house ketchup, and Sweet Potato Fries with vanilla powdered sugar and honey jalapeño aioli. Those with a sweet tooth can choose from a variety of milkshakes.
“Adding Chef Ramsay to our culinary roster creates a whole new dynamic at the Flamingo,” said Dan Walsh, SVP and general manager of Flamingo Las Vegas. “From delicious burgers and signature sides, Gordon Ramsay Burger will be a fun dining destination for family and friends to enjoy at our resort.”
The 8,000-square-foot space was designed by DEZMOTIF Studios and features a large exhibition kitchen, island-style bar as the restaurant’s social hub, expansive storefront windows, multiple dining zones, a nod to Britannia with Union Jack accents and dynamic flame displays throughout. Casual and inviting, the main dining room space has a warm and comfortable feel and offers views of the exhibition kitchen. The spectacular, open-air patio overlooks the bustling Las Vegas Strip and is anchored by a 25-foot-tall LED column showcasing Gordon Ramsay Burger imagery underneath the famous Flamingo neon.
Gordon Ramsay Burger at Flamingo Las Vegas will occupy the former Bird Bar space along Las Vegas Boulevard.
Gordon Ramsay North America comprises the United States and Canada restaurant business of acclaimed chef, restaurateur, TV personality and author Gordon Ramsay. In 2019, Gordon Ramsay inked a deal with private equity firm Lion Capital to expand Gordon Ramsay restaurant concepts across the U.S. and Canada. The company currently has 27 restaurants across Las Vegas, New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, Connecticut, Indiana, Orlando, North Carolina, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Lake Tahoe, Kansas City, Miami, Oklahoma City, and Lake Charles, several of which are in partnership with Caesars Entertainment.
The group is scaling dining concepts as the company taps into several of Gordon Ramsay’s successful U.S. and international key brands including Gordon Ramsay HELL’S KITCHEN, Ramsay’s Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay Steak, Gordon Ramsay Burger, Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza, and Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips.
In addition to the Gordon Ramsay North America restaurants, there are 52 international restaurants in the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants portfolio worldwide, where Gordon Ramsay holds a total of 7 Michelin stars. In total, the company is on track to open its 100th location by the end of 2024.
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HEINZ’s Open Kitchen Features Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson
HEINZ announces “Open Kitchen,” a new event series from the brand’s Black Kitchen Initiative. Kicking off in partnership with world-renowned chef, Marcus Samuelsson, past and current Black Kitchen Initiative grantees will take over restaurant kitchens for exclusive pop-up experiences. Open Kitchen gives up-and-coming Black chefs new opportunities, experiences, resources, and exposure for their culinary businesses – one of the largest barriers to success in the American restaurant industry. The first takeovers will happen in New York and Atlanta.
Samuelsson – the creative and culinary force behind more than a dozen restaurants worldwide – will open two of his most iconic locations to past Black Kitchen Initiative grant recipients to kick off the program. Samuelsson will also collaborate with the chefs on exclusive dishes for each event.
- On Dec. 6, Joy Crump and Beth Black will bring their signature Virginia flair to New York’s Red Rooster Harlem. Crump and Black own Foode + Mercantile in Fredericksburg, Va. The chefs celebrate Black culture through food, music, community and storytelling.
- On Feb. 21, Samuelsson will open Marcus Bar & Grille in Atlanta to Lorraine “Mama” Smalls and Antwan “Cake Daddy” Smalls. The Smalls own My Three Sons in North Charleston, S.C., where they offer classic soul food with a regional Gullah flair that patrons regularly say is reminiscent of eating grandma’s homecooked meals.
“Opening a restaurant is tough business,” says Samuelsson. “From raising capital to getting people to know you are there, it’s an uphill battle, which is why I’m thrilled to partner with HEINZ on the new Open Kitchen series to provide resources and additional exposure to multiple Black Kitchen Initiative grantees. I can’t wait to see what these chefs cook up in my kitchens. The future is bright for each of them.”
The Open Kitchen series is the latest program coming out of the HEINZ Black Kitchen Initiative. Launched in 2020 in partnership with The LEE Initiative and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ), the HEINZ Black Kitchen Initiative aims to celebrate and preserve the legacy of Black food culture by helping to break down barriers that keep Black voices and cooking out of America’s culinary space.
“The Black Kitchen Initiative is a hallmark program for HEINZ as we recognize the critical way America’s Black-owned food businesses continuously shape the nation’s food culture,” says Lizzy Goodman, HEINZ brand communications manager. “All Black Kitchen Initiative programming strives to set up Black food business entrepreneurs for long-term success. A key priority for us is growing and evolving the initiatives – as we’ve done with the new Open Kitchen Series – to ensure we’re addressing current challenges Black food entrepreneurs are facing in the industry.”
In addition to Open Kitchen, over the last three years, the Black Kitchen Initiative has committed a total of $3 million dollars in grants and released two seasons of the award-winning Black Kitchen Podcast Series. After announcing the latest $1 million commitment in Black Kitchen Initiative grants in July, the newest grant recipients have been selected. The full list can be found at heinz.com/blackkitchen/2023.
Foodies and fans can purchase tickets to the Black Kitchen Initiative Open Kitchen event in New York on Dec. 6 by visiting https://bit.ly/OpenKitchenHarlem. For more information about the Open Kitchen series and the Black Kitchen Initiative visit @heinzbki, @leeinitiative and @srrj_coalition on Instagram.
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Arizona Sued Over Cage-Free Eggs Rule on Restaurateur’s Behalf
Courtesy Arizona Department of Agriculture
Arizona small business owner Grant Krueger was already running his restaurants on razor-thin margins before the state Department of Agriculture mandated that only cage-free eggs be sold in Arizona. The Goldwater Institute and Pacific Legal foundation have filed suit on Krueger’s behalf, challenging the agency’s mandate, which they say violates the Arizona Constitution.
Over Krueger’s 34 years in the restaurant business, said he’s seen first-hand the impact of reckless government policy, including inflationary pressures, wage mandates and COVID decrees. Now, at a time when restaurants and restaurant-goers alike are already struggling with inflated food prices, the new cage-free egg rule will increase costs, while poaching his rights and scrambling the rule of law, according to Goldwater.
“I had no seat at the table for any of this,” said Krueger, who buys more than 2,000 eggs per week to supply his three Tucson-area restaurants, Union Public House, Reforma Modern Mexican and Proof Artisanal Pizza. “Unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats shouldn’t be able to arbitrarily impose these kinds of harmful mandates on small business owners like me.”
The egg rule wasn’t passed by the Arizona Legislature. Cage-free eggs are more expensive to produce than conventional methods—so much so that the mandate could impose up to $66 million in increased costs on Arizonans, according to Goldwater. But rather than go through the proper lawmaking process on critical policy questions, AZDA bureaucrats usurped the legislature’s lawmaking authority, creating a brand-new policy that affects the entire state—all while acting with zero checks and balances.
According to the Humane League, Arizona was the 10th state to enact such a mandate. “Arizona prohibited the production and sale of eggs from caged hens, joining nine other states in protecting egg-laying hens at the state level: Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Nevada,” according to the Humane League.
“In the fight to free hens from battery cages—brutal metal enclosures as small as filing cabinet drawers—state-wide legislation and regulation is one of the most powerful ways to enact change,” according to the Humane League’s website. “In writing new regulations to protect egg-laying hens from a lifetime of mistreatment and misery in confinement, Arizona is making crucial progress for chickens, not just within the Grand Canyon State but also beyond its borders.
“By 2025, all eggs laid or sold within the state of Arizona must be 100 percent cage-free. This means that, once the rule is fully implemented, over seven million hens will be spared from life in extreme confinement every single year,” according to the Humane League.
“According to the new rule, Arizona farmers are required to provide egg-laying hens with at least one square foot of floor space—an important upgrade to the harsh conditions of battery cages, which confine each bird to an area no bigger than the surface of a small iPad per animal,” according to the Humane League.
According to the Arizona Department of Agriculture, small producers with fewer than 20,000 egg-laying producing hens are exempt from this cage size requirement standard. The rule had been slated to be enforced in October 2022, but a delay was necessary due to the national egg shortage caused by avian influenza. The mandate does apply to retail sales. Egg producers must apply for and receive certification and be registered with the AZDA before selling their eggs.
“The Arizona Constitution is clear: lawmaking is the job of Arizonans’ elected representatives, not unelected regulators,” said Goldwater Staff Attorney John Thorpe. “But bureaucrats are trying to go around the lawmaking process to impose a policy that only helps the government’s favored special interests while hurting everyone else.”
“The legislature cannot give regulatory agencies like the Arizona Department of Agriculture the power to make the law,” said Adi Dynar, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “Sweeping policies, like the cage-free egg rule, which substantially increase prices for businesses and consumers, must be made by the people’s representatives, not bureaucrats.”
Read the lawsuit here.
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