Since the first moment he arrived on our TV screens back in the noughties, Gino D'Acampo has regularly had us all in hysterics with his antics. From presenting a segment on This Morning naked except for a skimpy apron, to swimming in a frozen lake in Finland in a Versace-print mankini for Gordon, Gino And Fred, the Italian chef’s cheeky chappy charm has made him an audience’s dream – and a producer’s worst nightmare. In fact, Gino tells us with a chuckle, he’s the most censored man on ITV – and television bigwigs often ’freak out’ whenever they give him a show, because he doesn’t know where to draw the line.
The star, who has three children – Luciano, 21, Rocco, 19, and 12-year-old Mia – with his wife of 22 years, Jessica, has managed to carve out a hugely successful career, launching several restaurants, fronting both food and mainstream entertainment shows, and penning bestselling cookbooks. Incredibly, he also fits all of his work into just six months of the year, insisting on taking half the year off to enjoy downtime in his home on the island of Sardinia.
As he prepares to release his latest book, Gino’s Air Fryer Cookbook Italian Classics Made Easy, and return to ITV this festive season with a new travelogue alongside pal Fred Sirieix, Gino sits down with heat for a typically frank chat about family life, being in the spotlight and why he couldn’t care less about social media trolls…
You only work six months of the year, so how do you squeeze everything in?
I’m very organised, and I have a paper diary. I don’t do anything on the internet or phones. Everything is written down. Time off is important to me, though, because I’m a great believer that a break is a good thing. At the moment, that works, but if I add any more holidays, I’m going to make a lot of enemies.
It must be great to have that time with your family, though?
I think it’s not only important to spend quality time with my family, but I also strongly believe in spending time alone. You discover new things about yourself and you have time to think, which is something that people don’t do often enough. Everybody’s always so busy and alone time is super-important for my marriage. Jessica and I have been together for 31 years, we have three children, and we never have problems, because we have our own lives away from one another.
Is your family very proud of what you do?
They are. And they are the ones who watch my TV shows, because I don’t. When I get sent a final cut for a show I’ve filmed, I pass it to Luciano, who is my agent. He and the rest of the family then give me feedback. There’s no point analysing it myself and picking fault.
Do you find life in the spotlight hard?
If people find it hard, they should get out of the spotlight. People are very quick to moan. They say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be a celebrity, because people might ask me for pictures’. Well, don’t f**king do it. They want everything – they want fame but none of the other stuff.
Do you feel quite lucky to have carved out a career in the spotlight?
I am super-thankful for it. But I think there are very few people who have a career in the spotlight the way I have it, because I don’t really care about it. I just go on with my life. And if the moment comes that someone doesn’t like me on television any more, so be it.
You’re known for doing some pretty outlandish things – is there a line you wouldn’t cross?
What line? I have no interest in drawing lines! ITV freak out when they give me a show, but they know that I mean well and whatever I say, it comes from a good place. I don’t do anything I wouldn’t do in everyday life.
Have you ever done or said something that you’ve regretted?
No. If I said it, I meant it, and if I meant it, then it’s cool. Without sounding like an asshole, I don’t care what people have to say about me. On social media, for example, why would I even bother reading comments and replying? Of course, there are some people who are going to love what you do and some people who are going to hate it.
You’ve carved out an amazing career in the spotlight, but you’ve hinted that perhaps TV isn’t in your future…
Maybe I didn’t explain myself properly when I said that. I never said that I don’t want to do television any more. What I said was that I don’t have any new shows that I would like to try, because I pretty much do everything on TV that you could dream to do. I have Gino’s Italy, where I travel every year in my beautiful country, to show you guys how to cook Italian. Then I’m still the host of Family Fortunes, which is coming out again in early 2025, and I’m still filming Gordon, Gino And Fred – and if Gordon is not there, I’m still filming with Fred. How many more shows does a man want to do? Do I sit at home like many people in my position do, and try to find a new show concept? Not really.
Talking of Gordon, Gino And Fred, which you film with Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix – it has been so popular, will there be another series?
We’ve all been friends for a long time. Gordon texted me yesterday, saying, ‘How are you, buddy?’ And I just spent five days with Fred on holiday in Sardinia. We love doing it and it’s very much on the cards. We want to do Australia next. But the main issue is two very busy individuals – Fred and Gordon – and one guy who only works six months of the year! Right now, Gordon is the busiest, so Fred and I have filmed something together instead.
What’s the show about?
It’s called Emission Impossible – you’re going to see it in December on ITV. We travel to Austria and Croatia to show people what’s happening to the world in terms of global warming. But we try to do it without preaching, and we have a lot of shenanigans along the way. It’s very much in the same vein of Gordon, Gino And Fred.
Do you guys have good banter off-screen as well as on?
The relationships are impossible to fake. When you spend all that time together, if you are faking a relationship, the viewers at home will know.
Do you wind Gordon up off-screen?
Every time that I have an opportunity, I will. I saw he did something for Men’s Health magazine recently – well, you should have seen Fred and me taking the piss!
You’ve just released your new book. For anyone who hasn’t used an air fryer, what do you love about them?
An air fryer is basically an oven. The only difference is that, with an air fryer, you’re going to save a lot of electricity and space, because they are smaller and cook faster. I wish I could talk to every single person who’s thinking of buying one and just say, ‘Go for it’.
Your son Luciano has followed in your footsteps, and now you run a restaurant named after him together in London – are all of your kids foodies?
Luciano and Rocco have a talent agency called MMS, and they look after all my restaurants, books, television shows and interviews. Rocco looks after my other restaurant, the Gino D’Acampo restaurant in Manchester, and Luciano pretty much focuses on the London one. Mia is 12, and all she wants to do is make TikTok videos on dancing, make-up, nails and hair.
Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?
Lately, I am very focused on my pizza oven business. I’ve got a pizza oven company, and we’re just about to launch an electric pizza oven that people can use in the house. So, my ambition is to take my business worldwide.
What have been your career highlights?
The thing that I’m most proud of is that, here I am today, still doing what I started doing 25 years ago. For me, it’s not about awards, it’s not about money, it’s not about fame. It’s about being able to do something that you like for so many years. Thinking about how many people have been cancelled nowadays, who come out of the spotlight for one reason or another, right or wrong... Well, I’m still here, and I have no intention of going anywhere.