‘Women do get a bit too touchyfeely with me’
The cheeky TV chef reveals his wife Jessica is very understanding when it comes to female fans, plus what he really cooks that you’ll never find in his recipe books
Gino D’acampo has pretty G much seen it all, thanks to his adoring fans sending him all kinds of personal stuff to sign – anything from their knickers to sex toys. You’d imagine these requests would cheese off Jessica, his wife of 16 years, but no – she helps him out.
“She’s cool about it,” the 40-year-old tells Closer. “She just gets everything together and says: ‘Sit down and sign this stuff.’ She tells me off sometimes because I’ll just put ‘Gino’ with a kiss and she’ll say: ‘Mate, put a bit more effort into it! Put ‘loads of love’ or something.’ She encourages me to do more with the fans, which is funny.”
But Gino says Jessica, who he met in a restaurant in Spain aged 19, occasionally has to draw a line. Gino says: “There have been occasions where women who’d had a few too many drinks got too touchy-feely with me. She’d never be rude to them, but she’ll say it’s time for us to leave the pub or club.”
MARRIAGE SECRET
And Gino adds that the secret to their longlasting marriage is their independence.
“Apart from family life, we live separate lives,” he muses. “I’m very busy with TV work, restaurants and businesses, while my wife owns a gym in Radlett, Hertfordshire. She’s very busy and socialises with her friends, while I’m with my mates.
“If you’re always in each other’s pockets, at some point, as much as you love someone, it gets boring. I like her to have her own life.”
Gino certainly is a busy man – after finding fame on This Morning in 2009, he won I’m A Celeb! in the same year and has starred in Gino’s Italian Escape and Celebrity Juice. He runs a booming restaurant empire, a food import business and has written more than a dozen cookery books.
STRICT PARENTING
His latest book, Gino’s Healthy Italian For Less, is full of mouthwatering pasta dishes, soups, casseroles and stews. But, at home, he says he makes far more challenging meals for Jessica and their three children, Luciano, 15, Rocco, 12, and Mia, five.
“We had tripe [cow’s stomach] two weeks ago,” says Gino. “I love it. What’s not to like about tripe? OK, the idea of it, maybe, but it’s a delicious dish and the meat is so tender.
“If the kids didn’t like it I wouldn’t offer them anything else. If parents give in, it’s because they can’t be bothered to fight. Kids can go to bed hungry – it won’t kill them. The amount of sugar and processed s**t kids eat these days, it would take them a heck of a long time to starve! We have jacket potatoes with cheese and beans, too. Every chef will tell you there’s a moment in the week when all you want is beans on toast. Baked beans is one of the best inventions in the world.”
Gino says that although his children have a much easier upbringing than he had growing up in southern Italy – he came to the UK
aged 19 and still works 17-hour days – he does expect his children to earn their living.
He says: “Luciano loves the restaurant business. I’m going to let him work in my restaurants washing up plates, working in the kitchen, being a waiter. Eventually, he’ll run the restaurant and that’s a lot of responsibility, so he’ll have to know what he’s doing.’
FRIENDLY ADVICE
His saucy innuendos on This Morning have made him a big hit with viewers – and usually leave Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in stitches. Gino says: “We’re friends outside of work. Holly has been to my house and me to hers. Sometimes she calls me for cooking tips.” Surprisingly, given his friendly personality, Gino confesses he doesn’t care what people think. Recalling when he went on This Morning wearing smoky eye make-up last year, he says: “If I fancy doing something I just do it. I don’t really care about people’s reactions.”
‘Holly Willoughby calls me for cooking tips’
l Gino’s Healthy Italian Meals For Less (Hodder & Stoughton, £20) is out 18 May