From bogus spag bol to fresh seasonal veg, Gino D’Acampo has very strong views on Italy…
Gino’s Italian Family Adventure Monday 8.00pm ITV (11.15pm Wales, Tue 10.45pm N Ireland)
Alicia Miller - 28 October 2021
Naples-born celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo is returning to his roots with his wife and three children in a new TV series, and Italy couldn’t look lovelier: coves with turquoise water, epic mountain scenery, freshly baked pizzas… So why is he so drawn to holidaying in southern Italy? And what tips can he share?
“Italy is the opposite of Britain: in the South, people are friendlier than in the North”
In the UK it’s the other way around. But Italians are generally happy – that’s part of why everyone loves coming on holiday here. The south of Italy is better for summer holidays by the sea, too. I go to the North when I want cities: Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence. But it feels more like you are on holiday when you’re in the South. The beaches are the most beautiful in Europe – with warm water! Everything is around the sea.
“Someone who has never been to Sardinia is crazy, in my opinion”
You have an island that’s just two hours away from the UK, where the weather is magnificent and the sea is like being in the Caribbean or the Maldives – if not better. The food is excellent. The wine is incredible. It is an island that has everything. I have a villa in the mountains in the north-east, in Telti, half an hour from the sea. My head is constantly full with work, but when I come here I finally relax. I always say that the sea talks to you, the sea is noisy, but the mountain doesn’t talk, it listens. You get real peace and quiet here. We love to self-cater and one of the things I do with my boys [Luciano and Rocco] is cook a roasted piglet, with potatoes dripped in the pig fat. It’s a very Sardinian dish: porceddu.
“The best pizza place in Naples? There isn’t one”
Forget the tourist places, and go right into the Quartieri Spagnoli [Spanish quarter]. Anywhere you go here – left, right, above, below – here in the heart of the city you cannot miss the best Neapolitan pizza ever. Don’t be afraid to explore: when people imagine that Naples is dangerous, it’s a myth. I think people watch too many Mafia movies and think the Camorra are there to kill everybody that moves! But it doesn’t happen. There are places in any city that locals will tell you to avoid, and name one city as big as Naples that’s not dangerous.
“For a great family holiday, go to the Cilento coast”
Amalfi has history and the 1960s Italian dolce vita experience, but in Cilento [south of Amalfi in Salerno province] it’s very quiet. And they really love children. The beaches are amazing, and the food is insane. There are a lot of minerals in the soil, and salty winds that come off the sea, and these elements together make the ingredients really special. The best thing, though, is the seafood, everything from mussels to octopus. The simpler the preparation, the better, like any good Italian dish.
“Strawberries in December — there’s no way you’ll find them in Italy”
Italian people wouldn’t accept it. Here you’ll never be served anything out of season. That’s why the markets are so incredible – the ground is fertile and the produce is fresh and local. Each town in southern Italy will have its own market days, one for fruit and vegetables and another for fish and meat. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that wasn’t excellent. These people pick fruit grown in the sunshine and get up at 6am to harvest carrots, probably just a mile away from the stall. We should be grateful there are still people willing to do that.
“Stay away from any restaurant serving spaghetti bolognese”
It’s for tourists: Italians don’t eat bolognese sauce with spaghetti. And if you want to eat like an Italian, focus on the antipasti. You can enjoy so many beautiful things: fried potato croquettes, seaweed doughballs, bruschetta with prawns, octopus salad, buffalo mozzarella with parma ham… Order those first then, after the starters, ask for the menu again and decide what you’re going to have: a pasta or a main. In Italy we don’t order everything at the beginning, because you don’t know what you’ll feel like eating after the starters. Or how hungry you’ll be.
“If you’re travelling with kids in southern Italy, beware: the wi-fi isn’t very good”
The phone reception isn’t good, either. So be prepared, especially if you rent a car and are going around exploring. I suggest you take a wi-fi dongle with you. Just plug in the internet and that’ll keep the kids quiet!
“I discovered a new thing recently…”
Suddenly, there are a lot of French people coming to Italy for a holiday. There is always a rivalry between France and Italy. They think they have the best cheeses – we think we do. They think they have the best wine, we think we do. They think they have the best places for holidays, we think we do. They think they are the best at football, but I think we proved lately that they are not. But despite this I’ve seen a lot of French people here in the past six months. And that pleases me a lot. They come and they realise they were wrong – Italy really is the best!
Naples-born celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo is returning to his roots with his wife and three children in a new TV series, and Italy couldn’t look lovelier: coves with turquoise water, epic mountain scenery, freshly baked pizzas… So why is he so drawn to holidaying in southern Italy? And what tips can he share?
“Italy is the opposite of Britain: in the South, people are friendlier than in the North”
In the UK it’s the other way around. But Italians are generally happy – that’s part of why everyone loves coming on holiday here. The south of Italy is better for summer holidays by the sea, too. I go to the North when I want cities: Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence. But it feels more like you are on holiday when you’re in the South. The beaches are the most beautiful in Europe – with warm water! Everything is around the sea.
“Someone who has never been to Sardinia is crazy, in my opinion”
You have an island that’s just two hours away from the UK, where the weather is magnificent and the sea is like being in the Caribbean or the Maldives – if not better. The food is excellent. The wine is incredible. It is an island that has everything. I have a villa in the mountains in the north-east, in Telti, half an hour from the sea. My head is constantly full with work, but when I come here I finally relax. I always say that the sea talks to you, the sea is noisy, but the mountain doesn’t talk, it listens. You get real peace and quiet here. We love to self-cater and one of the things I do with my boys [Luciano and Rocco] is cook a roasted piglet, with potatoes dripped in the pig fat. It’s a very Sardinian dish: porceddu.
“The best pizza place in Naples? There isn’t one”
Forget the tourist places, and go right into the Quartieri Spagnoli [Spanish quarter]. Anywhere you go here – left, right, above, below – here in the heart of the city you cannot miss the best Neapolitan pizza ever. Don’t be afraid to explore: when people imagine that Naples is dangerous, it’s a myth. I think people watch too many Mafia movies and think the Camorra are there to kill everybody that moves! But it doesn’t happen. There are places in any city that locals will tell you to avoid, and name one city as big as Naples that’s not dangerous.
“For a great family holiday, go to the Cilento coast”
Amalfi has history and the 1960s Italian dolce vita experience, but in Cilento [south of Amalfi in Salerno province] it’s very quiet. And they really love children. The beaches are amazing, and the food is insane. There are a lot of minerals in the soil, and salty winds that come off the sea, and these elements together make the ingredients really special. The best thing, though, is the seafood, everything from mussels to octopus. The simpler the preparation, the better, like any good Italian dish.
“Strawberries in December — there’s no way you’ll find them in Italy”
Italian people wouldn’t accept it. Here you’ll never be served anything out of season. That’s why the markets are so incredible – the ground is fertile and the produce is fresh and local. Each town in southern Italy will have its own market days, one for fruit and vegetables and another for fish and meat. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that wasn’t excellent. These people pick fruit grown in the sunshine and get up at 6am to harvest carrots, probably just a mile away from the stall. We should be grateful there are still people willing to do that.
“Stay away from any restaurant serving spaghetti bolognese”
It’s for tourists: Italians don’t eat bolognese sauce with spaghetti. And if you want to eat like an Italian, focus on the antipasti. You can enjoy so many beautiful things: fried potato croquettes, seaweed doughballs, bruschetta with prawns, octopus salad, buffalo mozzarella with parma ham… Order those first then, after the starters, ask for the menu again and decide what you’re going to have: a pasta or a main. In Italy we don’t order everything at the beginning, because you don’t know what you’ll feel like eating after the starters. Or how hungry you’ll be.
“If you’re travelling with kids in southern Italy, beware: the wi-fi isn’t very good”
The phone reception isn’t good, either. So be prepared, especially if you rent a car and are going around exploring. I suggest you take a wi-fi dongle with you. Just plug in the internet and that’ll keep the kids quiet!
“I discovered a new thing recently…”
Suddenly, there are a lot of French people coming to Italy for a holiday. There is always a rivalry between France and Italy. They think they have the best cheeses – we think we do. They think they have the best wine, we think we do. They think they have the best places for holidays, we think we do. They think they are the best at football, but I think we proved lately that they are not. But despite this I’ve seen a lot of French people here in the past six months. And that pleases me a lot. They come and they realise they were wrong – Italy really is the best!
ALICIA MILLER