Taste buddies Gordon, Gino & Fred go Greek!

Until 2018, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was probably best known for his potty-mouthed antics in Kitchen Nightmares and, across the Pond, Top Chef, where he spent much of his time biting his fingers, jiggling around as if he needed the loo and bellowing at the top of his voice. Sometimes all at once.

But then some TV genius decided to throw him in the back of a moving vehicle with fellow chef (though Ramsay has previously insisted he should be called a ‘cook’ as he’s the chef) Gino D’Acampo and First Dates maitre d’ Fred Siriex, and send the trio packing on a road trip.

The result, bizarrely, was utter magic. The trio bonded like glue while they explored the delights of Italy, France and Scotland, serving up a delicious combination of cookery skills, recipes and banter that would make the Top Gear threesome blush.

A second series, Gordon Gino & Fred: American Road Trip, hit our screens in 2020, bookended by two Christmas specials, and viewers around the world lapped them all up.

Now, with a BAFTA nomination and a TV Choice Award under their belts, Ramsay, D’Acampo and Sirieix are back for the first of three series commissioned by those canny chaps at ITV.

Gordon’s response to the additional outings was typically snarky: “Another three years with Gino and Fred, are you kidding me?”, while Gino gushed: “I am absolutely delighted that I will be making more fantastic shows together with my friends, as this programme starts to go seriously global.”

Having previously made their way along America’s west coast to explore flavours of the new world, this time around Gordon, Gino and Fred will be travelling to Greece, where they will immerse themselves in the rich culinary traditions and spectacular landscapes of the old world while finding out all they can about the birthplace of civilisation. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong?

The taste buddies begin by embarking on an island-hopping tour, keen to discover more about the lush Mediterranean diet and how it contributes to the country having one of the healthiest populations in the world.

Naturally, Gino feels right at home from the word go, declaring himself ‘El Capitano’ and taking charge of their catamaran, though regular viewers already know Gordon’s scathing opinion of Gino’s driving, so the ride’s bound to be a somewhat bumpy one.

Among the adventures lying in store for the trio in the coming weeks are hunting and cooking a unique species of lobster in Crete, touring the islands by tuk-tuk and jet ski, taking a mud bath in a volcanic spring, as well as chowing down on mouth-watering moussaka and tickling their taste buds with a hugely popular sausage speciality.

As for the locations on their itinerary? They’re a travel agent’s dream: the three foodie fans kick off their journey in Crete, Greece’s largest island, before navigating their way to stunning Santorini, making their way to the party island of Mykonos and finishing their trip in the Greek capital Athens and the monasteries of Meteora.

If that’s not a recipe for perfect telly, we don’t know what is.

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