Oliver even once put up a reward for information when Contaldo's restaurant, Passione, was burgled in 2003. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and fry over a medium heat for about five minutes, then add the tomatoes, basil leaves and some salt to taste. His third book, Gennaro's Italian Home Cooking, was published in September 2008, and his fourth, Gennaro's Easy Italian, was published in March 2010. Talking about gnocchi, the chef said: “If you want to make gnocchi with just flour and water, it’s so simple, but with nice sauce. Born in Minori on the Amalfi Coast, Gennaro’s quintessentially Italian spirit and positive nature has made him a TV favourite.

Gennaro Contaldo - Wikipedia Gennaro Contaldo - Wikipedia

Contaldo grew up in the village of Minori on the Amalfi coast – “the sea was my swimming pool and the mountains were my back garden” – and fondly remembers artichoke season.

Heat plenty of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan until hot, then add the pumpkin slices (you may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan) and deep-fry for a couple of minutes on each side. Contaldo's inspiration to cook in England was partly due to the availability of game and fungi, both important components of Amalfitan cuisine.

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In an era of excessive convenience and disposable food waste, Gennaro’s Cucina could not come at a better time – you will learn how to use simple ingredients in inventive ways, eat seasonally, spend less and, ultimately, eat better. His first cookbook, ‘Passione’, published by Headline in 2003, won Best Italian Cook Book 2003 at the World Gourmand Cookbook Awards and was short listed for the André Simon Award. Many times, instead of taking money, you take a chicken, a goat, salami, cheese, fruit, in exchange,” he remembers, laughing. Gennaro has worked in some of London’s most popular restaurants, such as the late Antonio Carluccio’s ‘Neal Street Restaurant’. I press everyone to learn how to cook because once you’ve learned how to cook, you can use whatever you find in the house.

His latest book, ‘Gennaro’s Limoni’ published by Pavilion, is a foodie’s must, celebrating and sharing Gennaro’s love of lemons, Italy’s favourite fruit, and recipes that they star in.

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With tips and ideas of what to do with leftovers, Gennaro helps home cooks squeeze maximum use from the ‘cucina povera’ ethos, turning humble ingredients into nourishing feasts without taste sacrifice. Remove the foil and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and has taken on a golden brown colour. He made a comic appearance as one of Oliver's sous-chefs on Food Network's Iron Chef America, in a battle against famed Italian-American chef Mario Batali. Where aubergines are abundant during summer, pumpkin is plentiful during the colder season, especially in rural locations where this autumnal squash provided necessary nutrition for families. There was no information, not many people wrote recipes down – I have a recipe book here,” he says, tapping his head.

He spoke to Chris about when he first met his young protege, and said that they still “talk every day.

Gennaro Contaldo’s cheap, delicious Italian On my plate: Chef Gennaro Contaldo’s cheap, delicious Italian

Restricted choice of scarce ingredients meant they learnt the value what they had, how to cook dishes lovingly and use imaginative methods of preservation to make simple dishes go far: including salting, drying and curing.In 2011 he toured the Italian regions alongside Antonio Carluccio in a four-part series for the BBC, "The Two Greedy Italians". As of July 2022, Contaldo's channel has received over 36 million views and he has 600,000 subscribers. And I hate expiry dates, just smell it, look at it – there’s nothing wrong with it except when it’s rotting.