Gino D'Acampo

“A lot of food shows are people wanting to become celebrities, rather than encouraging people to cook.”

“I always remember my mum and dad arguing a lot and one main reason was lack of money. I realized very young that I always wanted to make money so I'd never have the same arguments like my mum and dad.”

“I'm the type of person who doesn't do television just for the sake of it.”

“Hearing other celebrities moaning about the bad things about being famous - there is no worst thing. If you don't want to be famous, just stop it and go and be a doctor or a teacher.”

“We have a big garden; there's a swimming pool, and we keep chickens. I love them. I love getting up in the morning and collecting the eggs.”

“The only way you could replicate the way I grew up, with no access to supermarkets or petrol stations, would be to live on a farm in the middle of Wales.”

“My father always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted, providing I was happy. He wanted me to go to school, but because I never wanted to, it was the only thing we argued about.”

“I had never seen an avocado until I came to London in 1994. They just weren't a feature of southern Italian cuisine.”

“I'm very lucky because I can say to my wife, 'Is there any chance we can have shepherd's pie or this or that tonight,' and she does it very well - especially as I don't always want to cook!”

“It was totally insane doing goat yoga in San Francisco.”

“I don't do cookery shows to show off, I do it to encourage people. What's the point in going on TV and doing a recipe that no one can replicate?”

“You'll never see an Italian go on a diet.”

“My grandfather used to be a chef and I remember going to his restaurant to peel potatoes and clean his floor. He used to go out and kiss all the girls in the restaurant and I thought 'oh this is good... one day I want to be like him.'”

“The best place to go in Italy for a summer holiday is the island of Sardinia.”

“Generally, Italians just eat better. They're not doing that thing where they're eating two or three hundred grams of pasta. They're never eating a carbonara sauce with a tub of cream in it.”

“Nowadays, everyone writes a cookbook. Models, singers, whatever, everybody thinks that they can do it and cook on TV. What they don't understand is that if you want to do it well, you need to put in the hours.”

“Between my brain and my mouth there should be a filter where common sense kicks in before I deliver a word, but I think when God made me he forgot the filter.”

“I think every lady wishes their husband would cook.”

“But my wife doesn't often allow me to cook in our kitchen at home. She says that I'm messy and I don't clean up after myself!”

“I'd love everyone to try authentic Italian food.”