Gennaro Contaldo facts for kids

Gennaro Contaldo is a famous Italian chef. He is well-known for working with British chef Jamie Oliver. He also starred in a BBC TV show called Two Greedy Italians with another Italian chef, Antonio Carluccio. Gennaro was born on January 20, 1949. He has received an award called the OSI.

Early Life and Food Passion

Gennaro grew up in a small village called Minori. This village is on the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy. He learned to love food from a young age. He would go hunting with his father and grandfather. He also helped his mother collect fresh herbs. Gennaro started working in local restaurants when he was only eight years old.

Moving to England and Career

Gennaro left Italy in 1969 and moved to England. He first worked in a hospital kitchen. In 1974, he got married and had three children. Later, he had two more children with his current partner. For a short time, he ran a business selling Italian antiques. But he soon returned to his passion: cooking.

Gennaro loved cooking in England because he could find wild game and mushrooms. These ingredients are very important in the cooking style from his hometown, Amalfi. He often talks about how much he enjoys finding wild food, especially different kinds of mushrooms.

Working in London Restaurants

Gennaro worked at popular restaurants in London. He cooked in St John's Wood and at Antonio Carluccio's Neal Street Restaurant. This restaurant was in London's Covent Garden. He left Neal Street in 1998.

In 1999, Gennaro opened his own restaurant called Passione. It was located on Charlotte Street in London. Passione was named 'Best Italian Restaurant 2005' by the Tio Pepe Restaurant Awards. Sadly, Passione closed in March 2009. This happened because of a difficult time for businesses around the world.

Gennaro's Cookbooks

Gennaro has written many cookbooks. His first book, Passione, came out in April 2003. It was all about the cooking style from the Amalfi Coast. This book won an award for 'Best Italian Cuisine Book' in 2003.

He published his second book, Gennaro's Italian Year, in September 2006. His third book, Gennaro's Italian Home Cooking, was released in September 2008. Gennaro's Easy Italian came out in March 2010. His most recent book, "Panetteria: Gennaro's Italian Bakery", was published in September 2016. He has continued to publish books, with his latest, "Gennaro's Verdure", released in March 2024.

Working with Jamie Oliver

Gennaro is very well-known for his friendship with Jamie Oliver. They first met at Neal Street Restaurant in the 1990s. They have stayed close friends and work partners ever since. When Gennaro's restaurant, Passione, was robbed in 2003, Jamie Oliver even offered a reward for information.

Gennaro has appeared on many of Jamie Oliver's TV shows. These include The Naked Chef. He also appeared on Food Network's Iron Chef America. He was one of Jamie Oliver's assistant chefs in a cooking battle. Gennaro also helped create the menus for Jamie Oliver's restaurant chain, Jamie's Italian. He is a business partner in these restaurants.

Television Shows and Records

In 2011, Gennaro traveled around Italy with Antonio Carluccio. They filmed a four-part TV series for the BBC called "The Two Greedy Italians". They made a second series in 2012, called "The Two Greedy Italians: Still Hungry".

Gennaro has appeared on many other TV cooking shows. On BBC1's Saturday Kitchen, he set a record. He made a three-egg omelette in just 16.36 seconds! In 2014, he also earned a Guinness World Record. He made the most ravioli in two minutes.

Gennaro is also a special representative for the Italian holiday company Citalia.

Online Presence

Since 2010, Gennaro has had his own YouTube channel. He regularly uploads cooking videos there. He also often appears on Jamie Oliver's YouTube channel. As of July 2022, Gennaro's channel had over 36 million views. He also had 600,000 subscribers.

Media Appearances

Gennaro Contaldo has been featured in many different types of media.

Television Shows

• The Food Programme (1996-2006)
• Breakfast (1997-2006)
• Fresh Food (1999)
• Self-Sufficiency (2000)
• The Naked Chef - The Italian Job (2001)
• Saturday Kitchen (2001-2024)
• Jamie's Kitchen (2002)
• The Way We Cooked (2002-2003)
• Ruby (2002)
• Jim Davidson's Generation Game (2002)
• Return to Jamie's Kitchen (2003)
• Jamie's School Dinners (2005)
• Jamie's Australian Diary (2006)
• Jamie at Home (2007)
• Jamie At Home Christmas Special (2007)
• Iron Chef America (2007) - as Jamie Oliver's assistant
• Cooking the Books (2008)
• Jamie Cooks.... Christmas (2008)
• Oliver's Twist (2009)
• Jamie's Family Christmas (2009)
• Rachel Allen: Home Cooking (2010)
• Jamie Does (2010)
• Fern (2011)
• Two Greedy Italians (2011) with Antonio Carluccio
• Jamie Cooks Summer (2011)
• Jamie's Christmas Lock-In (2011)
• Jamie & Jimmy's Food Fight Club (2012)
• Two Greedy Italians: Still Hungry (2012) with Antonio Carluccio
• Food and Drink (2014)
• Jamie's Comfort Food (2014)
• Antiques Road Trip (2016)
• Jamie Cooks Italy (2018)
• Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy - London (2022)

Radio Shows

• Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4) (2004)

Books Written by Gennaro

• Passione (2003)
• Gennaro's Italian Year (2006)
• Gennaro's Italian Home Cooking (2008)
• Gennaro's Easy Italian (2010)
• Two Greedy Italians (2011)
• Two Greedy Italians Eat Italy (2012)
• Gennaro: Let's Cook Italian (2012)
• Gennaro: Slow Cook Italian (2015)
• Panetteria: Gennaro's Italian Bakery (2016)
• Gennaro's Fast Cook Italian (2018)
• Gennaro's Pasta Perfecto! (2019)
• Gennaro's Limoni: Vibrant Italian Recipes Celebrating the Lemon (2021)
• Gennaro's Cucina Rustica (2023)
• Gennaro's Verdure (2024)
• Slow (2024)