Ferrari-obsessed celebrity chef, James Martin, the pin-up star of British television shows, Saturday Kitchen and Strictly Come Dancing, left his kitchen whites in the locker today as he toured Ferrari World Abu Dhabi – home of Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest rollercoaster.

 

Having taken delivery of his own iconic Ferrari F40 last month, Martin - in the UAE capital as a guest chef at Gourmet Abu Dhabi, a 16-day culinary festival taking place until February 17 - toured the world’s largest indoor theme-park and stopped off at Galleria Ferrari, featuring the biggest collection of Ferrari cars outside of Maranello; Scuderia Challenge, a multi-car Ferrari F1 simulator; and Ristorante Cavallino, where he met the restaurant’s Head Chef, Massimo Falsini.

 

“It’s well known that I love cars so visiting Ferrari World Abu Dhabi was a must for me during Gourmet Abu Dhabi,” said Martin. “Some of the displays are amazing and I had fun in the simulator going round Yas Marina Circuit.”

 

Martin, however, drew the line at braving Formula Rossa, which accelerates from a standing start to 240kph in under 5 seconds. “I saw [Ferrari F1 driver] Fernando Alonso’s face after he tried it before the Grand Prix here last year and I knew then there was no way I’d be getting on it, especially not with cooking for my one-night-only dinner tonight.”