Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

176 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|August 2019

MasterChefstarGreggWallacetalksto

LaurenTayloraboutmarryingintoanItalianfamily,

andlearningalotinthekitchen

COOKING LIKE

THE ITALIANS

M

anypeoplewillknow

GreggWallaceasthe

formergreengrocer-

turned-MasterChef-

co-presenteralongside

JohnTorode–anda

manwhoreally,reallylovesapudding.Not

manypeoplethinkhecancook,though.

“Theydon'trealise!”saysWallace.

“UnfortunatelyonMasterCheftheydon’tlet

mecook,Ilovetocook,buttheydon’twant

meto,theywantJohntobethecook.You

can’tworkwithfoodfor 25 - oddyearsandnot

beinterestedincooking.”

Headmitshiscookingskillshaveevolved

however,particularlysincehemethisfourth

wife,Anna,whoisItalian.“Idoalotmore

cookingthanIeverdidandit’sbecauseof

Annaandherfamily[they’refromtheLazio

regionnearRome].I’velearnedsomuchfrom

her!”

Somuchsothatthecouplehavenow

writtenacookbooktogether,Gregg’sItalian

FamilyCookbook.ButwhiletheMasterChef

andEatWellForLesspresenterhaslaid

claimtosomeoftherecipes,reallyit’sall

bornoutofthefoodAnna,hermumRina,

dadMassimoandRomannonna,havebeen

makingforyears.Itwasmerelya“happy

accident”thatWallacemarriedintoafamily

wherefoodisthebeatingheart.

“ItwasfoodthatgotmeandAnnaclose

together,”theLondon-born 54 - year-old

explains.“ThatItalianapproachtofoodis

somethingthatI’vealways,alwaysliked,and

tofindoutthatIwasfallinginlovewithagirl

whowasanincrediblecook,andthentofind

outthatherfamilywerealsoincrediblecooks,

wasquitearevelationforme.

“Irealised,alongsideabeautifulgirl,I

wasjoiningafamily,”headds.Wallacemet

Anna, 21 yearshisjunior,backin 2013 (she

apparentlymadecontactonTwittertodiscuss

arhubarbandduckrecipe),threeyearsbefore

theytiedtheknot.Theywelcomedtheirfirst

childintotheworld,aboy,Sid,earlierthis

year.

Wallace’sloveaffairwithItaliancuisine

beganwhenhemadeaseriesthatsawhim

travelthroughthecountrywiththelate

CharlieHicks,andfirstsatdowntoasimple

plateoforecchiette(ear-shapedpasta)in

Puglia.“Iwasjustlike,‘Wow,foodshouldn’t

tastethisgood’,”herecalls.“Fromthatpoint

on,I’vebeencompletelyandutterlyinlove

‘Idoalotmorecooking

thanIeverdidandit’s

becauseofAnnaand

herfamily,I’velearned

somuchfromher!’

withthefoodofItaly.Ilovethatit’srelatively

simple,andthatitcomesoutofnecessity,

mostofit,feedingbigfamiliesonverylittle–

it’sjustsoridiculouslyclever.”

Big,everydayfamilyfeasts,everyoneinthe

kitchen,wascentraltoAnna’supbringing,

spendingschoolholidaysinhernonna’s

houseinRome,suckingtheheadsofprawns

asatoddlerandlearninghowtocook.

“Thewholefamilycooks,andI’mproud

ofthis,theyrecognisemyAnnaasthebest

cook.Sheusedtocomehomefromschool

andcookdinnerforherparents,”Wallace

says.“She’safarbettercookthanme.”

Theircookbookisacollectionofeasy-

to-makeItalianclassics.“Mostareincredibly

simple,andthat’sthepoint.You’lllikely

recognisenearlyallofthedishes.Think

pizzabianca,grilledsardinesandsalsadi

pomodoro–recipesthatdon’trequiremany

stepsoringredients.Afewyoumightnever

havetried,likegnocchiallaromana,made

fromsemolinainsteadofpotato,orribollita

(Tuscanbreadsoup),andsomerequireabit

moretimeandeffort,likeRina’sporchetta

(Romanroastporkbelly).

Wallacesayshe'slearnedalotfromRina.

“Ilovebagnacauda[asaucemadefrom

anchoviesandgarlic]butitkeptsplittingso

IphonedmymateMichelRouxJr.atthe