Welcome to my website. I am the author of ‘Vietnamese – Simple Vietnamese Food To Cook At Home’. I am a photographer and film maker. You can book into my supper club, Vietnamese cooking classes, buy my book, check out my photography and lots more here.
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Best Food Photographer in London
The supper club is held in my home in London Fields, Hackney. It is like a dinner party in the tradition of a Vietnamese feast with homemade Vietnamese food.
Vietnamese food is about the balance of flavours, of sweet, salty and sour – there is no measuring device that can ever match your own taste buds.
By Leluu
There wasn’t a moment of consideration when we were invited to meet, learn from and eat with Gennaro Contaldo at L’Atelier des Chefs – (a cooking school in Central London). Yes Please! Genarro is Jamie Oliver’s mentor! The guy is a genius, a respected TV chef, a personality, an entertainer and above all he is an Italian!
We all know that the Italians are loud about loving their food and they love to cook well, eat well and live well. Its summer time and summer means Italy! Whether you’re going there on holiday to take some sun, living la vida loca, or take some time out for “Eat Pray Love” like Elizabeth Gilbert – whose trip was all about la dolce vita (we will soon see highlights of our Liz portrayed by Julia Roberts at the movies) or you’re just at home and the taste of Italy is just in simple ingredients like garlic, tomatoes and basil.
Gennaro from Amalfi has always struck as a typical Italian with his ancient Neapolitan gestures and mannerisms. You know, the one with all the tips of the fingers of one hand bought together pointing upwards and then shaken violently up and down depending on the degree of impatience. Is he a caricature of his own stereotype or is this how he always is – at home and elsewhere – a marveling Italian with spirit and ‘passione’, having a lifetime love affair with food.
This is a very nice book, “Supplement To The Italian Dictionary” by Bruno Munari you can learn how to speak volumes with gestures or at least understand what the heck the Italians are on about. (I always thought the one with the finger turning in circles pointing towards the ear means: you’re thick – but it means – Call me.. he he)
His hand shake is as steady as a rock, his presence and charisma locks you captive as he sets to inspire, teach and share the wealth of his knowledge and skill for making good food. He shouts, his voice is loud and his gestures make you listen and hear every word and every detail is an inspiration. Here is a man defined by his love, his passion, his talents in honour of good food and he is willing to represent jar sauces. Might you be cynical?
As a lazy so-and-so, I don’t always cook sauces from scratch for myself– because I don’t always have the time or the energy to after a hard day’s work. Before coming to this event, I am already a Bertolli consumer – its one of the tastier ones from the supermarket – I am already sold.
The Italians believe that great food makes life worth living but also don’t always want or need to cook from scratch every day. Therefore, many Italian households consume sauces from a jar such as Bertolli – because if a good sauce already exists – sometimes you just don’t want to go through the bother of cooking when you can be doing something else.
I wouldn’t believe for one second that manufacturers of these sauces would get away with selling such bad tasting sauces like the famous ones sold in the UK, that fill supermarket lanes because no one would buy them. Thank goodness for Bertolli, (Barilla & Agnesi).
It is amazing to think that some Italian guy, Francesco Bertolli, probably the same as Gennaro back in 1865 set up a small family stall selling olive oils, wine, cheese and olives. Did he imagine that generations after he had lived that so many homes of millions of families around the world would enjoy a range of what he started underneath his family home?
Our “cooking lesson” with Gennaro was just like watching him perform as he does so well on shows. He must have taste a pomodoro sauce a thousand times and over but it seems that every time he tastes his creation – its like it’s the first time. He bangs his spoon in delight and exclaims to God, “Oh! Its beautiful! Fantastic! Uhmmmmmmmm! God! I am good at cooking!”
Gennaro is possessed as he stands at his kitchen, creating magic – it is like he is in his element, his whole body language and expressions is deployed like poetry. We were all in awe. Don’t we just love these characters who are not afraid of expression. Who are so free about their passion and so high in spirits. He is a very funny man and to learn from him must be the greatest gift you can receive.
He is still working with Jamie Oliver and trains new chefs at ‘Jamie’s Italian.’ Gennaro also gives private cooking lessons at his home in North London – you can check it all out on his website: www.gennarocontaldo.com
At dinner we were lucky enough to sit next to him and his best mate, Paolo, a chef at Etrusca and they were both teaching us Italian signs like, your brains doesn’t work, you’re breaking my balls and so on. Heh! Gennaro was rolling out the jokes, “in Italian, its funny”. Cultures always love talking about their culture and of course we had some pasta, one with mackerel and one with beef and Bertolli sauce. It was really nice. And a delight to meet Paolo and Gennaro.
