A taste of Italy
Giorgio Locatelli became a chef thanks to his granddad – and a bowl of tomato soup
Maria Moratti/Getty Images
- Caroline Frost
Add Celebrity MasterChef to your watchlist
Ad
What inspired your love of food?
I was raised in a village called Corgeno, on the shore of Lake Comabbio in the north of Italy, where my granddad had a hotel that the whole family worked in. I was the smallest of my siblings, so I couldn’t be a waiter. Instead they put me in the kitchen. By the time I was nine or 10, I said to my grandma, "I want to be a chef,” and that was my decision for life. To this day, if I have to change a light bulb, I get nervous, but if I have to cook for 250 people, I feel confident.
How did you work out what kind of chef you wanted to be?
I come from a generation when, to be a proper chef, you had to work in Paris, New York and London. Starting out, I worked so hard that one doctor told me I had malnutrition! Then one holiday my friends and I were served the most delicious tomato soup and I had an epiphany: “I don’t need a Michelin star to be a chef, I just need to make good food, because it makes people feel fantastic.”
If I have to cook for 250 people, I feel confident
Will you be soft or mean when it comes to judging the food?
“Mean” is a bad word, I would say “truthful”. I want to be more like a tutor. I know from my own training that you learn a lot more from those who tell you your mistakes but are fair. I apply the same rules I have in my own kitchen, where it’s important to say, “Just because the dish is no good, doesn’t mean you’re no good.” I want respect to go both ways, but I’m still the chef in this kitchen! And contestants have really responded to that. I’m not just standing on the stage. I take off my jacket and I cook along with them. By the end, if I make a comment, contestants know it’s not about them, it’s about the dish.
You’ve been a judge on MasterChef Italia. How is it different assessing celebrities’ dishes from those of your Italian aspiring chefs?
There’s no difference because the criticism is about the food. For aspiring chefs, there’s a lot more at stake – by the final, we have 10 people who want to become chefs, and whoever gets to the final knows it will change their life.
Celebrities are doing it for pleasure, and because they fancy coming on the show. But they still bring a lot, and I learned new things, including one person who told me, “I got this recipe from TikTok.” I’ve never been on TikTok in my life!
Finally, what would you choose for your desert island dish?
Ad
White truffle risotto.
Authors
Caroline Frost
Ad
Ad
Subscribe for £1 per week
Too much to watch this autumn? Let Radio Times magazine and app do the choosing, with expert picks across TV, streaming and film.
Ad