WEBVTT - David Beckham: Part 1 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.720 Welcome to River Cafe Table four, a production of iHeartRadio 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:05.480 and Adami's Studios. 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:12.959 I'm sitting here in the River Cafe garden with David Beckham. 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:16.960 He has just cooked an exquisite tagatelly with fresher rolls, 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:21.239 butter and parmesan. It's a bit much, really, as I 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:26.200 don't go around scoring free kicks. I know David has 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:29.480 a lot of friends, a lot of colleagues, and certainly 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:31.880 a lot of fans, but when he comes to the 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:36.120 River Cafe, it's with his family, Victoria and their four children, 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:41.159 always sitting at table one, basking and family, love, sharing 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:45.320 food and always having his favorite wine, Sassakia. 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.080 Thank you, David, You're welcome. Thank you. 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.720 You were describing cooking as one of the great pleasures 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:52.760 the other night. 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.840 It's one of my biggest passions, you know, along with wine. Now. 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:58.160 I love to cook and I was in the kitchen 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:01.120 the other day cooking for the kids and Victoria was like, 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.160 can I help? What can I do? And I was like, honestly, 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:09.080 sit down, have a vogron tonic, relax, be with the kids. 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:10.440 This is what I love to do. 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:12.560 And I really relate to that because you kind of 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:16.160 far there's a method, isn't there. But it's also creative, 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:18.760 and it's also you're doing it for your kids who 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.080 you haven't seen all day, and there's the anticipation, and 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:24.360 I think that is something why you probably like to 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:25.679 cook and I like to cook. 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.200 It's just one of the main reasons why I love 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.800 to cook, because it's why I love lego also, you know, 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.280 because it relaxes me, you know, and I'm forty seven 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:36.800 years older and I'll still sit there with you on 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.360 my own actually till two, three, four in the morning 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.319 doing lego because actually it relaxes me. And it's the 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.000 same cooking for the kids. I love to cook for 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.160 my parents. I love to cook for my friends. And 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:52.040 I think that it's obviously come from, you know, my upbringing. 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:53.320 What was your mother a cook? Cooking? 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.080 My mum cooked for me and my sisters every single night, 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.760 and I had hard working parents, working class parents. When 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:02.840 my dad was out from six in the morning till 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.080 seven in the evening. My mom was a hairdresser and 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:09.440 still is a hairdresser. She used to spend her evenings 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.320 obviously cooking for me and my sisters, and then at 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.839 about eight or nine, o'clock in the evening. Some old 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:18.880 ladies would arrive and she'd be doing their hair too, 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:21.880 eleven twelve at night. So yes, my mom used to 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:25.600 cook for us every evening, every Sunday lunch. And my 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.440 grandma was exactly the same as well. So that's really 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.600 my childhood with my grandparents. And my granddad was Jewish, 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:37.280 so every Saturday when we turn up, my grand would 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:43.959 have this most amazing chicken noodle soup with the motsameal dumplings. 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.400 So I was brought up That's what I was brought 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.320 up on. And the jelly deals. One of the delights 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.720 of been from the East End of London was pie 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.400 mash and jelly deals and liquor. That was what I 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.320 was really brought up on. It was the one treat 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.600 that I used to go with my nan my grandad. 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:04.920 We used to go down to Chapel Market. There was 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.520 the most amazing pie and mash shop there and we 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.480 used to sit in there, sawdust on the floor, sat 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:15.560 on wooden seats and eating our pie mash and jelly deals. 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:18.480 What was in the pie Actually, it's just mince meat. 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:22.720 It's just mince meat. The pis are the most amazing pastry, 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.400 and I always get them to turn them upside down 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:28.200 on my plate. And then it's a big dollop of mash. 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.119 And the mash is literally there's no there's hardly any 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:34.840 butter in it. It's just salt and the potatoes. And 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.800 then the liquor is this most amazing green sauce. It's 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:42.880 made with parsley and stewed eels, and then I put 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.680 some spicy vinegar over the top, with some a little 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.000 bit of salt and lots of pepper. But the jelly 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:52.120 deals are the thing that not many people that I 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.400 know love the jelly deals. My grand used to like 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:58.720 them stewed. I literally like them in the jellatine. So 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:03.360 they come up in slices, so the earls are cut up, 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.640 and they come in this this plastic pot and I 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.440 just pour vinegar and pepper on it, and I have 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:11.000 it at least once a week. Now. 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:13.920 Many people that I talked to talk about the food 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:18.240 of their parents, but the memory of their grandparents is 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:19.720 really important to them. 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:25.080 We used to go there every weekend because my dad's 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:29.000 parents actually had passed away before we had all grown up, 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:32.920 so we always used to spend weekends at my man 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.839 and grandad's house. So my mom's mom and dad and 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.760 we used to turn up at their at their flats 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.240 in London, and the first thing that I would do 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.719 and I walked through the door in my grand's flat 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:49.080 would open, I'd open the fridge and there she'd have 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.480 fresh strawberries. Every Saturday morning that we turned up, she'd 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:54.920 have fresh strawberries and a big pot of sugar. 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.480 It's interesting that you talk about that because my husband, 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:02.960 Richard designed house which was a very strong route from 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:07.160 the park through the garden, through the courtyard into the 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:09.640 house and into a garden. But my route, I always 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.200 used to say, was from the courtyard into the house 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:14.560 and into the fridge. You know, my first stop was 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.920 always at the fridge because again his mother always had 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:18.520 food for us. 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.240 Yeah. Well, they had a very They had a very 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.479 small flat. So as you walk in, literally the toilet 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.560 was on your left and just slight a foot fervor 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:30.040 was the fridge. So you open the fridge and there 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:34.200 there was, you know, the most amazing fresh strawberries every 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.039 Saturday morning. Every Saturday morning. Because my grandfather used to 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:40.279 go to work at about eleven o'clock in the morning. 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:43.680 So what we'd do is we'd arrive really early, like 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:48.120 nine o'clock. My grand would have this thick, freshly cut bread. 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.840 She'd make the most amazing sandwich. I'd sit and watch 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:56.200 like the football on a Saturday morning before my grand 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:58.160 had left, and then he'd go to work and then 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:01.920 go and watch Spurs play. He was in the print, 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:04.520 so he was in the print, and he worked up 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:08.719 until he was eighty eighty one eighty two, he still 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:12.760 went to work. And yeah, he's an amazing man. And 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:14.920 he was a Tottenham fan. So he used to go 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.159 and watch Tottenham in the afternoons. And that's where my 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.120 gran and my mom used to take me down to 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:22.160 Chapel Market and we used to go and have piemash. 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:23.200 How old would you have been? 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:28.080 Oh my god. We went there from as long as 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.960 I can remember, I mean two three years old and 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:33.760 up until up until they passed away. 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.760 So there's your mother. That's interesting that she worked all 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:42.040 day and she cooked for you at night, so you 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.880 sat at the table and then worked again. Would she 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:46.920 have done a weekly shop or would you stop at 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:50.160 the market or how would she do all that? 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.760 Do you think I mean she'd do. She'd probably do 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.680 a weekly shop shop, I'd say, But you know, my mom, 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.800 like I said, she'd drop us to school in the mornings. 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.719 Then you know, you do hairdressing throughout the day, pick 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.760 us up from school, bring us home, cook us, you know, 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.719 whatever we were going to eat that evening, which was 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:12.040 either she used to make the most amazing gammon and chips, 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.559 which again it's one of those things that I still 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:19.680 have now. It was amazing gammon, fried egg, pineapple from 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:24.600 a tin, coleslaw and chips, and it was one of 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:27.000 my favorite meals and she still cooks that for me now. 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.120 So yeah, that was one of the things that I 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:30.720 used to love. 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.360 When you left home and you were no longer had 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:50.280 your mother to cook, but you also you had such 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.320 a love for food and an understanding of the connection 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:55.800 of food and the importance of sitting at the table. 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:57.840 What was that like when you left that? 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:01.840 I was actually quite excited because I left home when 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.200 I was fifteen years old to move up to Manchester 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.720 when I was fifteen, and then I was in lodgings. 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:10.920 So I was in lodgings for about four years and 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.720 then I bought my first house and actually I was 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:18.160 quite excited about it, because, in all honesty, I spent 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:20.320 a lot of time in the kitchen with my mum, 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:24.280 you know, helping her with the dinners, and then when 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:27.080 she would do her hair dressing in the evenings, I 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:29.280 used to make the cups of tea and bring the 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:33.760 biscuits or the cake for all my mum's ladies that 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.560 she was doing their hair. So I used to love 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:38.960 that kind of thing. So get in my own house 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:43.360 having to cook for myself, actually, I was very excited about. 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:45.160 Did you entertain what did you cook for? 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.720 I would entertain I'd have a few friends around, you know. 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:51.000 I did like to go out for dinner, but my 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.800 favorite evenings were and still are, you know, cooking for 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.800 the kids, cooking for friends, you know, and especially when 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.280 I have when I have like a lot of time, 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:04.280 you know. Pretty recently, I was in isolation actually for 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.720 five days because I've just been to Italy. So I 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:11.800 came back and on one of the last days, Victoria's 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.560 parents had a party and I couldn't actually go to it, 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.400 so everyone was out of the house, and I actually 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:23.079 secretly loved it. So I literally had two most amazing 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:28.679 cuts of meat and one was a t bone and 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.360 I had some English wagou. I poured one glass of 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:36.760 the most amazing red wine that I treated myself too, 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:38.880 because I was on my own, feeling sorry for myself, 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.160 looking forward to watching the football in the afternoon. On 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:43.880 my own, I set the barbecue up, and I think 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:48.200 there's nothing better than when you have time to get 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:50.720 everything right you have, you know, I had a nice 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:54.240 tomato and onion or shot salad, and I literally had 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:56.400 the meat and a glass of wine, and it was 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.960 the most amazing meal that I'd had for a long time. 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:05.040 So those are my perfect afternoons. Even it was actually 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:10.360 quite thick. I don't like to brag, but absolute perfection, 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.000 that's your idea of perfect. Well, I've been watching Chef's 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.240 Table that morning and it gave me the idea of 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:19.480 obviously doing you know, the barbecue in the afternoon. So 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:23.360 I've been watching the butcher. There was a there's an 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:26.480 Italian butcher on the chef's table. So I put it 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.800 on the grill, cooked it for six or seven minutes 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:33.960 either side, and it was quite a thick piece, a 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.600 bit of salt, bit of pepper, and I like I 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:41.480 like my meat. I like it rare medium, a push, 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:45.600 but rare, more rare, and it was it came out perfect, 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:47.679 and it was only me in the house, so I 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:48.000 ate it. 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.640 I like it when it's when if it's thick enough, 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.959 then you can get it really black on the outside. 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.880 So there's that contrast. 0:10:55.800 --> 0:11:01.640 You think of the the So that's what it was 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:03.439 like that day. So that was the perfect day. And 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.840 I had a bottle of Italian massetto, so I had 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.120 Cora vand it and poured a cup of glasses for myself. 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:13.040 Tell me, we've been talking about food, what do you 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:14.120 feel about wine? 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:16.320 You know, I'm at the end of the dawn from 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.840 the East end of London, so really I only saw 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:22.880 my mom and dad drinking either you know, blue nuana 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:26.280 or lambriusco, and that was as good as it really got. 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:31.439 So then when me and Victoria actually first started dating, 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:34.960 we used to go to this restaurant in the Midland 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.720 Hotel in Manchester called the French Restaurant, and it was 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.360 very fancy and we used to go in there and 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.480 we used to sit in the corner and we used 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:47.360 to order the most expensive bottle of champagne and the 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.959 most expensive bottle of wine, not knowing what we were drinking. 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:53.200 We were just wanting to have a nice night out 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:55.840 and know that we were drinking something great, even though 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.600 we had no idea what we were drinking. And I 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:04.720 think that was my first introduction into tasting a grape wine. 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.880 One of the first things, remember, I want to say, 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:13.840 it was either a sixty two or sixty seven Lautour, 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:18.560 And that was my first introduction into tasting something that 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.960 I thought was great. Even though I had no idea 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:23.679 whether it was great or not, I knew that I 0:12:23.720 --> 0:12:27.920 was tasting something special. So at that point, obviously I 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:30.680 was still, you know, a professional player, so I never 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.520 really I was never a big drinker. I used to 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:35.960 have a glass of wine or you know, every now 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:38.680 and again, but I never really drank throughout my career. 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:44.160 But then I really started loving wine when we first 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.240 moved to la and we used to go to Napa 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:48.360 Valley a lot, and I used to sit with people 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:52.000 like Bill Harlan or An Colgan, and I think that 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:55.280 there's nothing better than actually sitting at a table with 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:59.319 someone that knows what they're talking about and what they're drinking, 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:03.520 and what they're smelling and what they're tasting annoyingly. Victoria 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.560 is very good on that. It is annoying. 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:10.480 Actually she has she can say this wine tastes of 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.360 cigarette smoke. Yes, and that's exactly what. 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:15.800 She can say. And I'm like, yeah, it really does. 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:20.600 And I'm like, I don't taste that, but no, but annoyingly, 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:23.800 she's very good at that, and she'll never admit it. 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:27.320 She'll always say, well, David's the expert. Then then you know, 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.160 all of a sudden she'll come out with all that 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.839 smell that tastes a little bit smoky, and you know, so, yeah, 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.000 but you know, I love wine. 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:37.160 Does it matter to you if you order a wine 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:39.080 that you might not be happy? 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:45.080 You know what I have? How does it make me feel? Actually? 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.160 I think it can make or break an evening in 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.720 my opinion. I really do think it does. Even though 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:54.440 you know that you're going to get great food in 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:59.120 the restaurant wherever you are. For me, if I have 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.560 picked the wrong wine, wrong glass of wine, or the 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:06.200 wrong bottle of wine, I wouldn't say it ruins my evening, 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:09.600 but yeah, it does ruin my evening. And I get 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:13.000 quite emotional about food and wine, you know, when I'm 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:17.160 eating something great. I want everyone to try it, you know, 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:21.600 And that's unfortunately I'm married to someone that has eaten 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.320 the same thing for the last twenty five years since 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:30.120 since I've met Victoria. She only eats you know, grilled fish, steam, vegetables. 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:34.760 She will very rarely deviate away from there. The only 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:38.760 time that she's ever probably shared something that's been on 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.480 my plate was actually when she was pregnant with Harber 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:43.920 do you remember, And it was the most amazing thing. 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:48.240 It was one of my favorite evenings. I can't remember 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.480 what it was, but I know that she's not eating 0:14:50.520 --> 0:15:04.120 it since. To be honest, I've been so lucky because 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.920 in a way, when I left Manchester and I had 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:12.840 to leave Manchester United, I was obviously devastated at the time, 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:17.760 but it's really really educated me in living in different countries, 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.960 eating different foods, trying different things. And when I was 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.560 playing in Italy for eleven months, i was on loan 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.960 at AC Milan, so i'd train in the morning and 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.760 in the afternoon. I decided to take a culinary course 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:36.000 in Italian cuisine and I absolutely loved it. So I 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.720 did that lesson or as I had a few private 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.720 lessons and then it was in a class, but everybody 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:46.040 was very focused on what they were all doing, so 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:49.520 they weren't even bothered that I was. Obviously at the time, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:54.200 it's a big deal to be playing for an Italian team. 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:58.800 So I did the culinary course because my kid's favorite 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:03.000 food is Italian. So I wanted to perfect making the 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:08.040 perfect ragu. I wanted to perfect doing the perfect risotto. 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.400 I always had it in my head that doing a risotto. 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.240 Making a risotto was difficult. Actually it turns out not 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.280 to be that difficult. So why did they teach you 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:23.680 about making Obviously the stock is really most important, and 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.000 literally you're stood there for twenty minutes kind of making 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.040 sure that you're keeping an eye and everything that's not 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:31.240 going too dry, that it's not going it's not got 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.080 too much liquid in it. And then obviously the ending 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.360 is the part where everything comes together with the parmesan, 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:41.760 you know. So that I just loved that time because 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:45.040 I got to perfect the perfect well, I think it's 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:49.600 the perfect ragu, making fresh pasta from scratch, and obviously 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:52.560 the risotto. So that was one of the things that 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.240 I loved about living in Italy, you know, And it's 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:57.400 the one thing that I love about Italians and the 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:01.480 Italian food and the culture because for a start, it's 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:05.240 all about family. It's all about food and the wine, 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:09.360 of course, but whether you go into a small cafe 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.159 on the side of the street or you're in the 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:16.199 middle of Tuscany with an old Italian mama making the 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:20.399 most amazing pasta, everything that I ate and I have 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:25.120 always eaten in Italy has always been astonishing. 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.000 Everything I would say when you say that it's family, 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.000 I always tell the story that I was once in 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.880 a room in a house with Richard with his family 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:37.239 in Tuscany, and I heard this huge argument going on 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:40.159 downstairs in Italian and I thought, oh, no, you know 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.800 what's going on. So I kind of made my way 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.320 downstairs and there were two sisters and they were in 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:50.479 the kitchen and they were having this unbelievable argument about 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.399 whether or not with a papa pomodoro, which is a 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.639 bread soup of just bread and tomatoes. One wanted to 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:58.480 add a bit of water at the end and the 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:01.280 other one didn't. And you know, so it's not even 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:05.159 village to village, family to family, region to region. It 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.600 can be sister to sister. You know that there's the 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:09.200 right way to do it, and they care so. 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.000 Much, so much, and even when they're not arguing, it 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.200 sounds like they're arguing. They're so passionate about it. 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.920 I hope we'll cook together more. And they loved having 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:22.640 you in the kitchen. 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:32.359 Kitchen that well, Thank you, David, wonderful, Thank you for 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.280 having me. You're welcome, Love you too. 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.920 In the next episode, you can hear David cooking Apasta 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.359 in the River Cafe kitchen. Then we'll continue our conversation 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:57.879 about football, family and food. To visit the online shop 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:02.040 of the River Cafe, go to shop Therivercafe dot co 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:03.160 dot uk. 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.119 River Cafe Table four is a production of iHeartRadio and 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:14.320 Adamized Studios. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:17.639 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.