Hi Katie. How are you?
You and Giancarlo met in 1997... was it love at first sight? 

Yes it was for him – and after two weeks it was for me! He fell for my artwork (I was commissioned by him to paint murals in his restaurant) and I fell for his pasta. The lunches progressed from a beautiful but simple bowl of pasta at the beginning to after six months of painting, lobster and vintage pink champagne. It was then that I knew something 

was a little more serious than simply feeding the painting crew!

 

Had Giancarlo always been a chef? And you an artist? Where were you trained?

Giancarlo became a chef when he dismissed one of his chefs at a restaurant he owned. His partner at the time said: “Well done, mate, you got rid of the chef but now we have 70 in for lunch! You had better get your apron on!" 

   My training was a degree from Wimbledon School of Art in Costume and Set Design. 

   We have worked alongside our own talented crew, particularly Gregorio Piazza at our restaurant in Bray and Stefano Borella in our London-based cookery school. 

 

Do you remember the moment you decided to open a restaurant? When Caffe Caldesi opened in 2002, how did you feel?

Giancarlo had always been involved in restaurants, but for me this was our first opening
as joint owners. It was really exciting, a freezing cold windy day – we cut the ribbon and 

had photos taken but the wind blew our hair into ridiculous styles. We looked hilarious so we never used the photos! I was heavily pregnant too with Flavio. The first customers had to tread past ladders and builders as we weren’t completely ready. 

 

Tell me about your cookery schools in Tuscany and London, and classes in Bray. Can anyone do a course? 

Yes, anyone can do a course from any level of cooking. We love to encourage beginners, and teach the experienced new tricks and increase their repertoire of recipes. 

 

Is it true that in a period of six weeks in 2005, you got married, opened your Tuscan cookery school, opened the London cookery school and wrote a second cookbook? And then did a documentary about it?

Yes, it is!

Wow, that's impressive...

 

Talk me through your cookbooks...

There's Italian Mama's Kitchen, Return to Tuscany, Italian Cookery School, and new one Rome: Centuries in an Italian Kitchen. Also The Amalfi Coast, Venice, Wild Rosemary & Lemon Cake, Venice Recipes Lost & Found.

 

Do you watch all the cooking programmes? How do feel about being on them – do you get nervous? 

Yes, I love to watch them, and yes, I get very nervous – my day on Saturday Kitchen was the 

most nerve-wracking of my life! James Martin was lovely, though (to look at and in his nature!). He told me not to worry, that if I panicked he would cook my recipes and I should grab a glass of wine and keep talking. Actually, it was fine and I really enjoyed it, even the omelette challenge!

 

Caldesi in Campagna opened in 2007. Why Bray?

We were initially brought in as consultants and then fell in love with the restaurant and the location. It was so different to our busy, bustling Marylebone branch.  

 

Do you and Giancarlo still cook there?

Giancarlo frequently does and I work with Gregorio on new recipes for the restaurant and the books, particularly as the one we are working on now is about Sicily and Gregorio is Sicilian.

 

Have you ever had a disaster in the kitchen, or a funny moment?

Yes, plenty! I had a group of VIP Americans on a private course at our house – they arrived looking so elegant and all had chauffeurs. I proudly brought out a tray from the oven of freshly cooked focaccia. I had timed it perfectly so I could show them as they walked in –the smell of bread and rosemary and olive oil was fantastic. I presented it and somehow it slid from the tray onto the floor right in front of them! One of the ladies was so nice and said: “Do you know in America, we have something called the five-second rule, it’ll be just fine to eat while its still hot!” And so they did, and loved it!

 

Where do you dine out locally and what's your favourite meal?

That’s a hard one. We tend to go to our restaurant in Bray as it is convenient for us to check out the food and entertain there. I suppose we have created a location that is to our taste, so it would be silly not to enjoy it. 

 

What would you suggest busy mums cook for a dinner party? Any tips?

Anything that doesn’t ruin in the oven, so a casserole or slow-cooked joint. Check out

my recipe for Slow-cooked Roman Lamb with Baked Onions in my book.

 

Where do you go on holiday? Does the food sway your decision?

We nearly always travel with a purpose – we went to Vietnam and New York to research salads this year because of our book on salads coming out in spring. Then, more recently, we went to Sicily for our book on it. We often think we should simply travel and not be there on a research trip but actually it doesn’t feel like work and gives us a purpose. We
are not very good at lying on a beach, we have tried but we are a bit obsessed by food!

 

Will your sons follow in your footsteps?

They would like to but then they also want to do quantum physics and archaeology so it’s not definite!

 

Where do you go from here? What are your aspirations and what can we expect to see from you next?

We hope to open a new restaurant in London but it’s early days so fingers crossed!

 

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