Felt pretty excited about interviewing Gino D’Acampo, for His & Hers Magazine, and not particularly stressed until I mentioned it to my hair-dresser. Suspect she viewed him as some kind of latter day god. People love his sense of fun, his great culinary knowledge, expertise and he has become a national figure.
Feature by Jean Hill
After that, I got nervous! INNSIDE is impressive. This has been a massive reinvention of what was once the Liverpool Echo & Post building. I travelled up in the lift with a guy, his partner and a friend. He had promised them he would treat them to an evening at the Sky Bar, and he was making good on that, and they were very excited. It struck me, that the Sky Bar was not necessarily a destination for ‘the beautiful people’ looking for exposure. I was surrounded by spectacular views of Liverpool and beyond, on all sides, and people obviously having great fun, enjoying the company and the surroundings. This is a beautiful space, and totally relaxing. There are stools at the glitzy wrap-around bar, cosy booths, and space for parties to fizz. It is a totally friendly vibe. I enquired after Gino at the bar, and was presented with a glass of delicious Italian, vino rosso. I cannot promise you the same result!
These are my memories from when Gino launched his restaurant in Castle Street, Liverpool, several years ago.
‘The starter included crispy mushroom risotto balls, with a crunch and melt in the mouth deliciousness, and came with the best buffalo mozzarella I have ever tasted. Somewhere on the way to the mains there was divine crispy cod, king prawn on ciabatta with lemon and chilli mayonnaise. The authentic Neapolitan pizza came with a glorious Caprese salad, with more of that mouth-watering mozzarella. There was a moreish linguine with fresh crab, and a spicy risotto. It is the freshness of taste that impresses, no main ingredient gets muddled with overpowering accompaniments.’
Then (Castle Street launch) it was Gino sending a heart-warming video from Sardinia. This time I got to meet him. He is friendly, open and very much the professional chef. He is also quite funny, and does not seem to take himself ridiculously seriously. He is, though, obviously passionate about Italian regional food and maintaining very high standards in his restaurants. He visits all his restaurants on a regular basis. When I asked him what motivated him to launch a new restaurant, he explained that it was the people he works with that inspire him and give him fresh energy. He said: ‘I take my energy from those around me, who inspire’.
I asked him about a favourite meal or food, from his childhood, that he could still step into his Old Hall Street kitchen and cook today. That turned out to be potato gnocchi. His grandfather used to cook this dish and it inspired Gino to be a chef. I have prepared gnocchi and love it.
Italian cooking is very much about regional distinctions. Gino particularly likes influences from: Puglia, Lazio, Tuscany and Bologna. Puglia is famed for its bread, focaccia and Mozzarella. Lazio is known for gnocchi and other delights; Tuscany for its ‘cucina povera’ (making the very most from economical ingredients: potato tortellini as one example). Bologna celebrates Prosciutto, lasagne and balsamic vinegar. It is a rich heritage.
Gino set up his first restaurant in Kentish Town in his early twenties. He considered it was ‘madness’ (he was far too young) but he must have learnt so much from that experience, and has gone on to great successes without compromise. He loves working in England. He feels entrepreneurship is totally encouraged in UK, where in Italy, obstacles would be put in the way. He acknowledges that Italy has the sun, for growing vegetables and fruit (and incidentally Italy has launched a great campaign to go organic). He rigorously monitors the quality of all his ingredients that are mainly sourced from UK. He imports pasta, rice for risotto, beans and extra-virgin olive oil (possibly several other items). Sometimes the vegetables sourced locally in England, need a little dressing to compensate for lack of sun, and that works beautifully.
There is a new Mediterranean menu launching in the next few days at Old Hall Street, and His & Hers will be there to review it. Lovely prospect.
<https://ginodacampohotelsandleisure.com/our-restaurants/old-hall-street-liverpool>
From the archives: The countdown to Gino D’Acampo’s launch is on.
