Theos on an Italian job

Theo Randall tells ELEANOR FLEMING about his earliest food memories, his career and the best ingredients for classic Italian dishes

- ELEANOR FLEMING

CHEF Theo Randall says his earliest memories centre around food - from his mother’s cooking to having pizza for the first time and tasting the combination of olives, cheese and tomato.

However, his true “love affair for Italian food” started in the late Eighties when he started working at The River Cafe restaurant in London, which opened in 1987.

“At the time, London restaurants were doing veal Milanese with spaghetti, or they were doing spaghetti bolognese, and it’s just not real Italian food,” he says.

“It was like that for a long time, until The River Cafe came along and it all changed.

“It was perfect timing in some ways - and so my love affair for Italian food started.”

Growing up, Theo says his family often holidayed in Italy and France and his late mother “cooked all the time” at home.

Describing her as an “amazing cook” he says she would make bread several times a week and bake every Sunday, too.

This meant his school packed lunches were often very different to his peers: