Gabriella Margiotta interview

Gabriella Margiotta is sous chef at her father’s award-winning South Liverpool restaurant Cucina Di Vincenzo and was a semi-finalist in the latest series of Masterchef: The Professionals

Words | Lawrence Saunders

What made you want to take part in MasterChef: The Professionals?

Even though I’ve been a chef for many years, I’ve never considered myself of the calibre required to be up there with the UK’s best. It was my friends Nina and Rebecca who were like ‘You should do it!’ and I was just like ‘No, this is something that’s way out of my reach’. It took a lot of pushing and shoving until Nina sat on the edge of my bed, passed me the iPad and said ‘We’re not leaving here until you apply’. The rest is history, I guess!

You said during the semi-final that you didn’t feel you were a competitive person before the show. What changed?

I’ve never been that competitive – even in sports when I was younger. I was always like ‘If you come first or second, you know, it’s fine’. But then, to see that I had this momentum and this rhythm and I was doing well, I was like ‘Oh hang on a second Gabriella, you can go all the way! You’ve got the stamina, you’ve got the drive and you’ve got the skill’. That’s where the spark of healthy competitiveness came and I just wanted it so bad.

Watching the show back, I can see that I was changing and growing as a chef throughout. With the first dishes, I stayed really true to my Italian heritage but as the competition went on, I did start to take a few more risks. When it came to the dessert I made in the semi-final, I wanted to stick to my roots as my family is the main drive behind my cooking.

That dish was about taking a childhood memory of having banana splits with my dad, sister and brother at Rossi’s ice cream parlour on the front in Southport. It was always a Sunday treat after we’d had dinner and done our homework. I took that memory and wanted to elevate it. It was quite bold and there were a lot of elements to it. At one point, I was like ‘Have I gone too far with this one?’. But you know, I took a risk and thankfully, it paid off.

Speaking of memories, what is your earliest food memory?

It’s got to be my mum’s sugo (pasta sauce). After milk, it was probably the first ‘meal’ I ever had. It was the most incredible, sweet Italian tomato sauce with garlic, oregano and olive oil.

How did you find the overall experience of appearing on MasterChef: The Professionals?

It was difficult and challenging but I think what makes it so difficult and challenging is because of how much you want it, and how much it means to you. That passion and that fire is what makes it stressful because you’re not just going to cook to impress, you’re going in to go all the way and showcase yourself in the best way possible in front of these incredible chefs. That aspect is what creates the pressure and makes it difficult, rather than the actual task at hand.

I understand you received some help from fellow Liverpool chefs whilst you were on the show. Can you tell us more about that?

When the whole MasterChef process started, I thought, ‘Oh gosh, what am I going to do?’. As a chef, I’ve got hundreds of different recipes and ideas but putting them together and elevating them is what I got a bit foggy with.

I reached out to Ellis Barrie (chef-owner at Lerpwl), who I’ve always kind of known from being in the industry, and he was such a crucial part of that whole experience for me. His knowledge of the kitchen and his passion for food is incredible. He’d come here to Vincenzo’s and work alongside me to help get the dishes where they needed to be for the show. He was so supportive and I’ll be forever grateful for that. Anton Piotrowski from Röski and Paul Askew from The Art School were also there for me if I ever needed to ask anything.

Are you hoping to do more TV in the future?

It’s funny, a lot of people have asked me that but I don’t know, to be honest. I’m just ready to ride the wave of whatever comes from this. The most important thing for me is to keep on working hard in the restaurant and keep making time for my family. Anything else that comes my way will be a blessing and a great opportunity. I’m ready to see where it goes and let everything happen organically.

Was it always the plan to end up working at your father’s restaurant or did you want to do your own thing?

After college, I started to work in professional kitchens and I just wanted experience. I always went and did my own thing like setting up a little street food business, working in France for a bit and travelling to Greece and Spain. But home is where the heart is and somehow I always ended up coming back. When Vincenzo’s finally opened, going on six years ago this year, it just felt like the most natural place to be. I love my family and we’re very close, so to have the opportunity to work with them every day was amazing.

I don’t know if I’ll be leaving anytime soon but I’m probably at the point in my career where I think I might be ready for bigger things. I definitely want to go and get some more experience in fine dining kitchens. Seeing the other contestants on MasterChef create such incredible food, kind of set something off in me. I don’t want to stop learning and I want to keep on pushing myself.

All episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals are available to watch now via BBC iPlayer. You can follow Gabriella on Instagram @gabriellas_kitchen

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