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 on phone from the home in Sardinia where he spends six months of each year.
“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 amongst 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 D’Acampo 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 shares sons Luciano (20), 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, the Neapolitan native 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. They’ve been a big part of the reason why I am the person I am today,” 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 D’Acampo discovered while cooking with families across Italy.
Crisscrossing the country from Naples to Tuscany, he was invited into the kitchens of mammas and nonnas who generously shared the perfectly honed recipes passed down through the generations.
While his female-centric early years made a huge impression on D’Acampo, 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 of his earliest food memory. “[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 a proper artist and hero.”
Moving to the UK five years later, the fledgling chef worked in a number of London restaurants before being convicted of burgling the home of pop star Paul Young, and being sentenced to two years in prison.
Determined to succeed in the culinary world following his jail stint, D’Acampo started making TV appearances in the early Noughties, eventually 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.
A lot has changed since the straight-talking chef – now the owner of 11 restaurants, he says, with four more opening by next summer – spent days slaving over a stove in the male-dominated kitchens of the capital.
“I have to say, I’ve seen female chefs that scare me more than a male chef,” he says. “I’ve dealt with female chefs that make Gordon Ramsay look like a p***y, to tell you the truth.”
And he’s all in favour of more women rising to the top in every profession: “We should have more women who control countries, [then] we will have less wars around the world. We should have more female chefs, we should be surrounded by more women – I really strongly believe that.
“When [women] confront someone, they are not looking for a fight, they are looking for a solution. Men are different – we are always looking [at] who has got the biggest penis. Sorry to say that vulgarly, I don’t know how to explain it.”
Indeed, D’Acampo is happy to see a woman residing in 10 Downing Street once more.
"I was so excited for a female prime minister,” he says, speaking a few days after Liz Truss won the Conservative leadership race.
“There are things that women do that men can never do – it’s as simple as that. It’s a different touch. So I wish her the best of luck to be honest with you, and I will support her.”
Now back in the UK after his extended Sardinian summer, D’Acampo will 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 per cent of the fun,” says D’Acampo of the show, suggesting that if viewers ever got to witness the unaired footage the consequences would be dire.
“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.
“If I care what other people think I’m gonna waste too much time.”
He concludes: “If you’re a nice person, you shouldn’t really care about what you’re going to say because you’re never going to hurt anyone. I think only malicious, bad people have to worry about stuff like that.”
Below are three recipes for you to try at home...
SPICY FISH SOUP WITH TOMATOES AND ORANGE ZEST
(Serves 4)
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 6 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 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Stir in the stock and canned tomatoes, season with 2 tsp salt and return to the boil once more. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, devein 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 5 minutes.
Stir in the cherry tomatoes and parsley and continue to simmer for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and divide equally between 4 warmed bowls. Grate orange zest over each bowl and serve immediately.
ONE-POT ROAST CHICKEN WITH PEARL BARLEY, WHITE WINE AND PEAS
(Serves 4)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
8 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, total weight about 1.5kg
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
225g pearl barley
200ml white wine
4 rosemary sprigs
800ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
Juice of ½ lemon
150g frozen peas, defrosted
Bunch of parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan 130°C/Gas 2.
Pour the oil into a flameproof casserole dish and place over a high heat. Add the chicken, skin side up, and fry for 4 minutes. Season the skin with a large pinch of salt and pepper and turn the thighs over. Fry for a further 4 minutes until golden. Remove the thighs and place skin side up on a plate.
Put the carrots and onion into the casserole, sprinkle over 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper and fry for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Stir in the pearl barley for 1 minute, then pour in the wine. Stir and allow the alcohol to evaporate for about 1 minute. Add the rosemary and pour over the hot stock. Stir, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the dish from the heat and stir the barley. Place the chicken thighs on top of the barley, skin side up, and cook in the middle of the oven, uncovered, for 55 minutes.
Take the dish out of the oven, remove the chicken thighs and place on a plate. Remove and discard the rosemary. Pour the lemon juice and peas into the barley mixture and stir well. Check for seasoning.
Place the chicken back on top of the barley and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.
Sprinkle over the parsley and serve in the middle of the table for everyone to tuck in.
BISCOFF AND ESPRESSO CHEESECAKE
(Serves 10-12)
250g Lotus Biscoff biscuits, plus 3 biscuits to decorate
100g salted butter, melted
300ml double cream
80g icing sugar
500g full-fat cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
20ml strong espresso coffee
10ml coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
150g Biscoff spread
For the coffee syrup:
50ml strong espresso coffee
50ml coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
50ml caster sugar
Method:
Crush the biscuits into crumbs by either using a food processor or putting them into a sealed food bag and, using a cooking hammer or rolling pin, smashing them until you get crumbs. Tip them into a medium-sized bowl with the melted butter and, using a flexible spatula, mix well, ensuring the butter has coated all the crumbs.
Pour into a loose-based cake tin – I used a deep tin with a diameter of 24cm and a depth of 6cm – and press down firmly over the base and sides, ensuring the sides are even, as that is the part you will see when the cheesecake is finished. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
Pour the cream and icing sugar into a large bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
In a separate large bowl, whisk the cream cheese and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and use a spatula to mix.
Pour half the cream cheese filling into another large bowl. Add the coffee and liqueur to one bowl and use a spatula to mix gently until smooth in colour. Take out the biscuit base from the freezer and pour over the coffee cream mixture. Spread evenly using a spatula and return to the freezer for 10 minutes.
Place the Biscoff spread into the remaining cream cheese mixture and use a spatula to mix well, again until smooth in colour. Remove the biscuit base from the freezer and gently spread on top of the coffee cream mixture, creating a 2-layer cheesecake. The layers are very similar in colour, but the balance of flavours is perfect. Smooth the top and place in the fridge for at least 5 hours, allowing the cheesecake to set.
To make the syrup, pour all the syrup ingredients into a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. When bubbling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 6 minutes, creating a thick runny syrup, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. You can test it is ready by making sure it coats the back of a metal spoon. Pour into a small jug and allow to cool completely.
When ready to serve the cheesecake, drizzle over the coffee syrup and arrange 3 biscuits standing up in the centre. This will be OK to eat for 3 days if kept, covered, in the fridge…if it lasts that long.
Gino’s Italy: Like Mamma Used to Make By Gino D’Acampo is published by Bloomsbury, priced £25. Photography by Haarala Hamilton.
