No One Can Decide If They Love Or Hate The Quarantined Chef Who Cooks With Hotel Appliances
From salmon grilled on an iron to asparagus steamed in a kettle, this chef has really divided the internet.
Hotel quarantine has become a pretty stock-standard affair for anyone trying to cross Australian state borders or return from another country.
And, over the last few months, documenting the meals you’re given during your two-week stay on social media has become its own big thing. In Australia, people have gone viral for transforming their boring meals into restaurant-ready creations, while students stuck in dorm rooms at New York’s NYU have used TikTok to show off the mouldy fruit they were receiving, despite paying $79,000 tuition.
Luckily, most hotels that host returning travellers give guests the option to order groceries or takeaway to be delivered to their room. Taking full advantage of this luxury is Jago Randles, a 23-year-old chef from the UK who was quarantining in Canada ahead of a new job in Whistler, British Columbia.
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After deciding that takeout was far too expensive, Randles went viral for creating his own 5-star “Isolation Kitchen” meals using only appliances found in his hotel room and the kitchen utensils he brought with him for the new role.
Uploading his first video on November 22, Randles has since made 16 cooking videos and racked up 4.5-million likes on the app. But it was his first TikTok, where he cooked a salmon noodle dish, that really divided the internet.
Frying his salmon and egg on the hotel’s iron and steaming some bok choy in the kettle, people suggested that while inventive, Randles was inconsiderate for using these communal appliances for uses other than intended, effectively stinking up the place.
“I guarantee the room still smells,” one top comment read. “Out of all the foods, why fish? Every guest staying after you is gonna be smelling that,” said another.
Beyond the smell, people also shared their disappointment for the people staying in the hotel room after Randles, who may need to use the appliances. However, for the most part, Randles did cover the iron with baking paper and didn’t really steam anything too offensive in the kettle.
So, while everyone was quite torn by Randles’ videos, they slowly started to grow to like how inventive the chef was being. From making iron-grilled bacon and pancakes, to hollandaise sauce, and a literal sous vide chicken in the kettle, each creation was smart, but also just so very gross for anyone who has ever stayed in a hotel room before.
However, people had a real change of heart when the one and only Gordon Ramsay decided to react to Randles’ TikTok of a chicken cutlet and asparagus dish in his famous Ramsay Reacts TikTok series.
Grilling his chicken on the iron, steaming his asparagus in the kettle, and frying an egg on the coffee pot heating plate, should’ve given Ramsay a lot of ammo to roast the young chef. But while the celebrity chef normally tears the dishes he reacts to apart, Ramsay was surprisingly supportive of Randles’ attempts at his hotel room cooking.
“To be honest, that looks like… some decent food. Certainly some of the best food I’ve seen in any hotel,” Ramsay said about the dish.
Speaking to Insider, Randles shared that was excited by the duet, which helped his original video reach 13.2-million views and 2.4-million likes.
“That’s about the nicest thing I’ve heard him say on any of his TikToks,” Randles told Insider. “I figure I don’t really need a CV anymore. Any future potential employers, I’ll just send that over.”
While the verdict is still out on whether “Isolation Kitchen” is chaotic good or chaotic evil, Jago Randles plans to continue his videos now that he’s out of hotel quarantine.
Jago Randles also told Today that the hotel ended up giving his deposit back and have yet to actually say anything about his in-room cooking adventures.
“They’ve not said anything to me, and I made sure to leave no trace in the room,” he said. “I’ve had my deposit back; I’m not sure if they’re aware of the videos yet!”