You don’t have to spend a fortune to eat like an Italian, says Gregg Wallace – the best food is often the cheapest
Claire Webb - 12 February 2021
Big Weekends with Gregg Wallace Friday 9.00pm Channel 5
Gregg Wallace is no stranger to London’s top restaurants, but prefers no-frills trattorias whenever he’s in Rome. “The Romans have a marvellous saying: ‘The more you spend, the worse you eat’,” he explains. “If you’re paying more than £20 for a main course or £25 for a bottle of wine, you’re in the wrong place. Do what the Romans do and spend as little as you can on your food.” In this week’s episode of his Channel 5 series Big Weekends, the MasterChef judge eats his way around Rome, where he scoots about on a vintage Vespa, indulging his passion for history as well as his appetite.
The show was filmed before the pandemic and he can’t wait to return. “I’m in love with Italy, and especially Rome, for a number of reasons: the history, the culture, the food, the people-watching, the fashion,” he says. “It’s a stunningly beautiful city, with good restaurants in every alleyway.” It’s a city he knows well because his wife Anna’s family is from Rome and he lives with his in-laws, who taught him to heed that old Roman proverb. His other tip for visitors is to do your homework before you go. “Learn the Italian words for foods you like, so you don’t need an English menu and can go to an authentic restaurant. Pizza comes from Naples, so forget about pizza. Order the simplest pasta dishes.” Neither should you be put off by rustic presentation. “Italian food will never win MasterChef because it’s not smart enough. When it tries to be Michelin-style food, it’s selling its soul to a French devil. It’s supposed to be simple.”
While filming the series, he discovered the culinary delights of the Jewish quarter in the historic heart of Rome. Its distinctive dishes are the result of 300 years of papal oppression and isolation: from 1555 to the mid-1800s, it was a poverty-ridden ghetto because Jewish people weren’t allowed to do skilled jobs or own property. Today Il Ghetto is one of Rome’s most fashionable neighbourhoods, packed with upmarket boutiques and popular kosher restaurants. “That’s the best food I’ve ever had in Rome,” he says. “While I was there, I had a big piece of lamb that had been cooked on a rack over thinly sliced potatoes – oh my word! It was one of the nicest dishes I’ve ever eaten.” And another of his favourite Italian dishes also originated there – carciofi alla giudia, a golden, crispy, deep-fried globe artichoke. “It’s a beautiful thing – simple and inexpensive. I learnt the Romans' love of fried food is thanks to the Jewish quarter.” Elsewhere in the city, he recommends ordering offal. “I’m a particular fan of offal and the Romans are very good at it. Try some tripe – trippa alla Romana – with plenty of pecorino. Offal was poor people’s food because the Church and the nobility would take the prize cuts, leaving the off-cuts.” The leftovers of the butchered animal, the brains and intestines and so on, are known as the quinto quarto, “the fifth quarter”.
When it comes to wine, the golden rule is moderation; Wallace’s wife Anna has taught him to call it a day after two glasses. “I love the Italians’ attitude towards alcohol. It’s absolutely OK to have a drink whenever you want one, but it’s not OK to be drunk. When I’m in Italy with my father-in-law, he will order a caffè corretto – coffee with grappa – at nine in the morning if we’ve had a couple of bottles of wine the night before, and nobody bats an eyelid.” You should also refrain from ordering a cappuccino after a meal. “A milky drink for them is breakfast, and so when you have a cappuccino after your steak, it’s like you’ve ordered a steak and then a bowl of Coco Pops. And latte simply means milk – order a caffè latte.” Wallace began his food career stocking fridges in Covent Garden and makes a beeline for the local market whenever he’s abroad.
“When we’re in Italy, my in-laws send me to the market to improve my Italian, and food shopping in Rome is an absolute joy. If you really want a taste of the culture, wander through a residential area, go to a market, stop for a coffee and watch the world go by.” When we’re allowed to travel abroad again, he’s looking forward to a long weekend away with his wife. “Lockdown has made me realise how good the simple things were – like walking around another city. What I want to do most is sit in a piazza with Anna and an aperitivo, and watch the Romans out for a stroll in the early evening. Sitting in a piazza is so civilised, and with the right person it’s incredibly romantic. I’ve missed that.”
The show was filmed before the pandemic and he can’t wait to return. “I’m in love with Italy, and especially Rome, for a number of reasons: the history, the culture, the food, the people-watching, the fashion,” he says. “It’s a stunningly beautiful city, with good restaurants in every alleyway.” It’s a city he knows well because his wife Anna’s family is from Rome and he lives with his in-laws, who taught him to heed that old Roman proverb. His other tip for visitors is to do your homework before you go. “Learn the Italian words for foods you like, so you don’t need an English menu and can go to an authentic restaurant. Pizza comes from Naples, so forget about pizza. Order the simplest pasta dishes.” Neither should you be put off by rustic presentation. “Italian food will never win MasterChef because it’s not smart enough. When it tries to be Michelin-style food, it’s selling its soul to a French devil. It’s supposed to be simple.”
While filming the series, he discovered the culinary delights of the Jewish quarter in the historic heart of Rome. Its distinctive dishes are the result of 300 years of papal oppression and isolation: from 1555 to the mid-1800s, it was a poverty-ridden ghetto because Jewish people weren’t allowed to do skilled jobs or own property. Today Il Ghetto is one of Rome’s most fashionable neighbourhoods, packed with upmarket boutiques and popular kosher restaurants. “That’s the best food I’ve ever had in Rome,” he says. “While I was there, I had a big piece of lamb that had been cooked on a rack over thinly sliced potatoes – oh my word! It was one of the nicest dishes I’ve ever eaten.” And another of his favourite Italian dishes also originated there – carciofi alla giudia, a golden, crispy, deep-fried globe artichoke. “It’s a beautiful thing – simple and inexpensive. I learnt the Romans' love of fried food is thanks to the Jewish quarter.” Elsewhere in the city, he recommends ordering offal. “I’m a particular fan of offal and the Romans are very good at it. Try some tripe – trippa alla Romana – with plenty of pecorino. Offal was poor people’s food because the Church and the nobility would take the prize cuts, leaving the off-cuts.” The leftovers of the butchered animal, the brains and intestines and so on, are known as the quinto quarto, “the fifth quarter”.
When it comes to wine, the golden rule is moderation; Wallace’s wife Anna has taught him to call it a day after two glasses. “I love the Italians’ attitude towards alcohol. It’s absolutely OK to have a drink whenever you want one, but it’s not OK to be drunk. When I’m in Italy with my father-in-law, he will order a caffè corretto – coffee with grappa – at nine in the morning if we’ve had a couple of bottles of wine the night before, and nobody bats an eyelid.” You should also refrain from ordering a cappuccino after a meal. “A milky drink for them is breakfast, and so when you have a cappuccino after your steak, it’s like you’ve ordered a steak and then a bowl of Coco Pops. And latte simply means milk – order a caffè latte.” Wallace began his food career stocking fridges in Covent Garden and makes a beeline for the local market whenever he’s abroad.
“When we’re in Italy, my in-laws send me to the market to improve my Italian, and food shopping in Rome is an absolute joy. If you really want a taste of the culture, wander through a residential area, go to a market, stop for a coffee and watch the world go by.” When we’re allowed to travel abroad again, he’s looking forward to a long weekend away with his wife. “Lockdown has made me realise how good the simple things were – like walking around another city. What I want to do most is sit in a piazza with Anna and an aperitivo, and watch the Romans out for a stroll in the early evening. Sitting in a piazza is so civilised, and with the right person it’s incredibly romantic. I’ve missed that.”
CLAIRE WEBB