In the latest of what have been regular trips to Newcastle, chef Gino D'Acampo was keen to celebrate the first year of business for his city restaurant which he says is his best and busiest to date.
The TV regular was back at INNSiDE hotel on Newcastle Quayside to mark the birthday of the restaurant which bears his name and to meet fans at one of the special meal events that are always fast sell-outs. Before the evening arrivals, who snapped up tickets to enjoy a meal in Gino's company, he summed up his first year of business here, saying: "I could not wish for a better result."
And as he's been getting to grips, during his visits, with the Geordie accent - which he already had experience of, thanks to time spent with Ant and Dec during his winning appearance on I'm A Celebrity - he said: "Since day one that I opened, it has been my busiest restaurant - I was really kind of shocked that it has done so well." While the pandemic was a "nightmare" for the industry in general and the reopening then saw recruitment problems, the first year here, he said, has been great.
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Gino has previously told how the riverside location makes him think of Venice and he recalled: "I always wanted to have a place in Newcastle. I came here about 20 years ago when I first came to the UK - I came to a party and I always thought one day I will have a restaurant here.
"It reminds me a lot of Italy - the sea, the bridge. Whenever I see water, I think I should have a restaurant there. When I came here they told me Newcastle was the party city of England and not to waste my time anywhere else!"
So, he took the advisors' advice and says now of Geordies: "You guys are super cool. I still don't understand everything you tell me, because of the accent, but I guess it's the same for you: you don't understand me; I don't understand you.
"The most amazing relationships in the world are when two people don't understand each other - they just nod!" But, he agreed: "The food does the talking!"
See here for more about the Gino D'Acampo restaurant on the quayside, which has an extended outdoor terrace and is serving a spring-summer menu: Gino's favourite - "more fresh, more colourful" he says, compared to the winter season. Besides new upcoming TV work, Gino has a book and a Big Town Chef game out but will be factoring in relaxation time too as, after working flat-out for six months of the year, he likes to spend the rest of the time on holiday. For details of special events when he's back keep an eye out on his website here.
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