Not satisfied with just the one postcard he sent us, we managed to pin Jamie down to find out more about his Italy travels.
Italy is amazing! The food is so fresh and delicious and the people are fantastic. They are very passionate about their food and will spend hours arguing over who has the best stew or olive oil. Every region has its own way of cooking and each one is as good as the next. There is such diversity between the towns and villages, not just in their food but their traditions, lifestyles, culture – that’s why I find Italy so exciting. Going there and meeting all those lovely people, learning from them and cooking with them; it reminded me why I love food and cooking so much.
That’s a really hard question to answer since there are so many great dishes! I really love antipasti because you get loads of amazing flavours with every bite. But I also enjoy a delicious porchetta. It’s such a versatile dish and tastes great sandwiched between fresh ciabatta or served with some veggies. I also love pasta of all sorts.
My favourite memory was the birthday meal I prepared at the end of my journey. All the different characters I’d met along the way travelled down to eat and celebrate with me. It was an amazing experience – they all sat round a huge table, tucking in and arguing about whose food was the best – as always. It was fantastic when they all agreed they liked my cooking!
Most of them didn’t know who I was, which was actually really nice. They just thought I was some mouthy British chef trying to take over their kitchen which they didn’t always appreciate! I did have to prove myself on a few occasions but that was what the trip was all about – to get motivated again about my cooking. It was a really interesting and inspiring trip for me.
For one thing, in Italy, food and cooking is passed down through generations – loads of recipes are old family secrets. Also, from an early age, Italian kids learn to respect food – where ingredients come from, what they taste like, how they should be prepared. They carry this with them through their lives.
I think part of it is to do with the regionality of the country. Each region, each city, each village I visited had its own unique style. But I think there is more to it than that. Tradition and family values play an equally important part. And then there’s lack of choice when it comes to ingredients. Italy isn’t the richest of countries so people have learnt to make a little go a long way.
There are loads of places I would love to go and travel round, but I am pretty busy at the moment with various other projects like School Dinners and Fifteen. Hopefully in the future I will do another trip like this one.
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Have a go at some of Jamie's best recipes.jpg)
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