Gennaro Contaldo
Encyclopedia
Gennaro Contaldo, is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) co-owned and was executive chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
of the now-closed Passione restaurant, in Charlotte Street, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK. Contaldo grew up in the small village of Minori
Minori
is a Japanese visual novel company which created the games Bittersweet Fools, Wind: A Breath of Heart, Haru no Ashioto and Angel Type. Their latest game as of 2009 is Eden*...
on the Amalfi Coast, developing his love for food from days he spent hunting with his father and grandfather, and collecting herbs for his mother. He began working in local restaurants at age eight. He left Italy in 1969 for London where he married in 1974 and had three children. He briefly established an Italian antiques business before returning to cooking. Contaldo's inspiration to cook in England was partly due to the availability of game and fungi, both important components of Amalfitan cuisine.
Contaldo later worked for popular London restaurants in St John's Wood
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
, and at Antonio Carluccio
Antonio Carluccio
Antonio Carluccio, OBE OMRI is an Italian chef, restaurateur and food expert, based in London.-Biography:Antonio Carluccio was born in Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy. His father was a stationmaster, and he moved with his father's job when he was young and grew up in Piedmont...
's Neal Street Restaurant in London's Covent Garden. He left Neal Street in 1998 and opened Passione in 1999. Passione was awarded 'Best Italian Restaurant 2005' by the Tio Pepe Restaurant Awards. Passione closed in March 2009 due to decreased business as a result of the late-2000s recession. In media interviews, Contaldo has frequently voiced his enthusiasm for foraged wild food, especially mushrooms.
In April 2003, Contaldo published his first cookbook, Passione, which is dedicated to the Amalfitan style of cooking. The cookbook won 'Gourmand World Cookbook - Best Italian Cuisine Book' for 2003. His second book, Gennaro's Italian Year, was published in September 2006. His third book, Gennaro's Italian Home Cooking, was published in September 2008, and his fourth, Genarro's Easy Italian, was published in March 2010.
Contaldo is also famous for his association with his protege, Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
, whom he first mentored at Neal Street Restaurant in the 1990s. The two chefs have since maintained a close friendship and professional relationship. Oliver even once put up a reward for information when Contaldo's restaurant, Passione, was robbed in 2003. Contaldo has appeared on many of Oliver's television shows, such as The Naked Chef. 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. Contaldo also developed menus and trained chefs for Oliver's UK restaurant chain Jamie's Italian.
Gennaro has made cooking appearances on numerous other television shows. On BBC1's Saturday morning show Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen Live is a 90 minute cookery programme, which is broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday mornings. It is currently presented by James Martin; previous presenters have included Antony Worrall Thompson and Gregg Wallace. The programme is currently produced by Cactus TV...
, he set a record of 16.36 seconds for making a 3-egg Omelette
Omelette
In cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...
.
Television Appearances
- The Food Programme (1996-2006 - 2 programmes)
- Breakfast (1997-2006 - 2 programmes)
- Fresh Food (4 August 1999)
- Self-Sufficiency (22 October 2000)
- The Naked Chef - The Italian Job (2001)
- Saturday Kitchen (2001- 2011 - 10+ programmes)
- Jamie's Kitchen (2002)
- The Way We Cooked (2002 - 2003 - 3 programmes)
- Ruby (16 May 2002)
- Jim Davidson's Generation Game (2002)
- Jamie's School Dinners (2005)
- Jamie At Home Christmas Special (2007)
- Iron Chef America - Served as one of Jamie Oliver's sous chefs during his battle with Mario Batali (2007)
- Cooking the Books (2008)
- Oliver's Twist (2009)
- Rachel Allen: Home Cooking (30 January 2010)
- Fern (April 2011)
- Two Greedy ItaliansTwo Greedy ItaliansTwo Greedy Italians is a BBC television series that first aired on BBC Two on 4 May 2011. The series sees the chefs Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio travelling around Italy to see how society and food has evolved over the years. It was produced by Nicola Gooch. An accompanying cookery book...
(2011)
- Jamie Cooks Summer (2011)
Books
- Passione (2003)
- Gennaro's Italian Year (2006)
- Gennaro's Italian Home Cooking (2008)
- Genarro's Easy Italian (2010)