Going Italian
TV chef Gino D’acampo tells Katie Wright why he’s going back to food like his ‘mamma used to make’ in his new book
Growing up in the town of Torre del Greco just outside Naples, Gino D’acampo wasn’t like other children. “All my other cousins, the boys, they were playing football, they were going on their bikes – i was never that kind of kid,” the celebrity chef and restauranteur says.
“i was always kind of sit down in the kitchen, help [the adults] out, peeling potatoes, understand about the pasta,” he continues, his accent instantly recognisable. “i was always the only boy among a group of women.”
While his late mother Alba began working as a nurse aged 18, her eight sisters stayed at home, meaning the young Gino was schooled in the art of cucina povera (‘poor kitchen’ – traditional recipes passed down in frugal households) by his many aunts. Not that they were a close-knit bunch, however.
“it was the opposite,” says the 46-year-old, who has two sons Luciano, 20, and rocco, 16, and daughter Mia, 10, with wife Jessica. “We were about 68 or 69 cousins in total, so you can imagine there is nothing close about my family.”
Now, with his latest cookbook – Gino’s italy: Like Mamma Used To Make – and accompanying TV series, Gino is paying tribute to his beloved relatives. “The idea of the book is to celebrate and say thank you to all the women in my life, especially my family,” he says.
That’s why you’ll find recipes such as Aunty Lina’s pasta Genovese (thick tubes of pasta smothered with a rich, meaty sauce) and Aunty rita’s baby octopus with mussels and cherry tomatoes, alongside dishes Gino discovered while cooking with families across italy. Crisscrossing from Naples to Tuscany, he was invited into the kitchens of mammas and nonnas who shared their perfectly-honed recipes passed down through the generations.
While his female-centric early years made a huge impression on Gino, it was actually his grandfather, a professional chef, who inspired him to enrol in catering college at the age of 15.
“i remember one day he made gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil,” he recalls. “[He started with] some potatoes, a bit of flour, eggs and all of a sudden he made this magnificent dish. That was the moment i considered my grandfather an artist and hero.”
Moving to the UK five years later, the fledgling chef worked in London restaurants before being convicted of burgling the home of popstar Paul Young and being sentenced to two years in prison.
Determined to succeed in the culinary world following his jail stint, Gino started making TV appearances in the early Noughties, becoming a household name thanks to regular slots on This Morning, fronting his own series and winning i’m A Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! in 2009.
He’ll soon be jetting off with pals Gordon ramsay and Fred Sirieix to shoot the next instalment of their popular road Trip series. “You only watch 50% of the fun,” says Gino. “First of all, i think we wouldn’t have jobs anymore. Second of all, i think all our wives will leave us!”
Does he ever worry, in the era of cancel culture, that his candid quips or on-screen antics could land him in hot water?
“i’m going to be extremely honest with you – i don’t really care,” he deadpans. “i think only malicious, bad people have to worry about stuff like that.”
Gino’s Italy: Like Mamma Used To Make By Gino D’acampo, Bloomsbury, £25. Photography by Haarala Hamilton
SPICY FISH SOUP WITH TOMATOES AND ORANGE ZEST
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped 200ml white wine
600ml hot fish stock
400g can of chopped tomatoes
16 large raw prawns, completely peeled 300g skinless red mullet fillet, cut in 3cm chunks
300g skinless haddock fillet, cut in 3cm chunks 10 red cherry tomatoes, halved
4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley leaves 1 unwaxed orange
Salt
Method
Pour the oil into a medium-sized saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the chilli flakes and the onion and fry for six minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Increase the heat to high and pour in the wine, then bring to the boil and let it bubble for two minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Stir in the stock and canned tomatoes, season with two teaspoons of salt and return to the boil once more. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, de-vein the prawns with the point of a knife, skewer or even a toothpick. The vein runs right along the back. Insert the point about 1cm down from the head of the prawn and pull it back up towards you. This will lift up the vein and you can pull it off with the knife or with your hand.
Add all the fish and the prawns to the saucepan, then stir very gently so you don’t break up the fish. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring very gently after about five minutes.
Stir in the cherry tomatoes and parsley and continue to simmer for a minute. Remove from the heat and divide equally between four warmed bowls. Grate orange zest over each bowl and serve immediately.