But Gip was so flummoxed by Gordon’s appearance that he put his prized set of knives on the roof of his car so he wouldn’t forget to take them home with him, and then drove off.
“I’ve had those knives 36 years, and they’ve gone everywhere with me and now they’re lost somewhere down the Otley Road, so I’m gutted.” said Gip.
Gip’s menu - marinated courgettes and aubergine with a mint and sweet balsamic dressing, served with smoked and grilled ewe’s milk ricotta , followed by seafood linguine clearly hit the mark. Gordon even managed a couple of slices of pizza.
“A couple of days later we were told we were to cook off against a team from a restaurant from Bristol in the studio in front of Gordon, and 50 invited diners would score our food.” said John.
Gip and John have been involved in the family restaurant for the past 33 years, taking over from their father who established Salvo's as one of Leeds first pizza parlours. Their uncle Pinu was famous for singing arias as he whizzed the pizzas into and out of the oven. Now the next geneeation are in charge, they are going back to their family roots in Southern Italy, and sourcing authentic, fresh produce to deliver the true Italian experience.
Missing knives aside, John, Gip and Chris Jackson found themselves en route to the F Word studios in North London to be pitted against a team from Prosecco in Bristol whose inspiration comes from Northern Italy.
John was in charge of moral support, Gip and Chris to prep and cook 50 three - course meals in real time for the studio diners who would decide if the food was worth paying for.
On the menu: spinach and ricotta tortelloni, followed by escalope of pork with roasted red peppers and capers in a red wine vinegar reduction, with grilled zucchini and mint and crushed potatoes.
Then came the cook off. Both teams to produce Gordon’s recipe of fig and frangipane tart and lemon mascarpone.
“We began at 8.30 in the morning and had to prep and prepare the courses for the close ups, helped by Gordon’s brigade.and right hand man Sarge. We then had a whirlwind of interviews, photos and I don’t remember the time rushing by.” said Gip.
“Then the time came to do it for real . We stood by our stations as a stern looking Gordon Ramsey faced us on the kitchen pass and gave us 20 minutes to prepare our tortelloni before the checks for 50 diners started to roll in.”
So, what was Gordon really like?
“He does have a big TV persona, and before he begins a scene he stands and psyches himself up before he goes for it.” Said Gip . “ He can be formidable, but he is also interested and extremely supportive. He believes in nurturing chefs” .
Asked to predict their chances of winning through, John was pretty confident about the first course although they wished they could have brought their own ricotta, imported from Italy every week.
And Gip’s verdict; “ A mad cocktail or exhilaration and exhaustion, but inspirational.”
Find out if they won on Tuesday.
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