ITV : Gordon, Gino & Fred Go Greek

Gordon, Gino & Fred

Go Greek

Press Pack

Strictly embargoed until 00.01am on Tuesday 21 September 2021

Gordon, Gino & Fred Go Greek

"One French plonker, one cocky Italian and one Greek God in the birth place of civilisation, what could possibly go wrong?"

Gordon Ramsay

Episode One: Mamma Mia! TX Monday 27 September at 9pm TBC

Crete, Santorini & Mykonos

PI embargoed until 00.01am on Tuesday 21 September 2021

With a BAFTA-nomination, National Television Award nomination and a TV Choice Award under their belts, Gordon Ramsay, Gino D'Acampo and Fred Sirieix are back!

This time their RV is hitting the beautiful Greek islands and historical city of Athens, for a big fat Greek adventure, together again behind the wheel on an epic odyssey like no other. From island hopping on a catamaran, to jet ski racing and shipwreck diving, there will be bromance and bickering in equal measure. Thanks to an abundance of fantastic food, including the freshest lobster, chefs Gordon and Gino will be looking to prove that Greece's culinary credentials are up there with the very best of Europe.

The guys will begin their adventure 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.

Episode one sees the trio lobster diving and pastry making in Crete before visiting the hot springs of Santorini and then moving on to make traditional sausages in Mykonos.

Gordon, Gino and Fred begin their journey off the coast of Crete on a catamaran which Gino declares himself the captain of. He tells Gordon: "I've sailed more boats than you've cooked beef wellington, I can tell you that."

They meet up with a diving expert who shows them how to search the wreckage of a boat for the rare and expensive lobsters Gordon wants to cook for their lunch. Gordon and Fred are determined to hold their breath long enough to catch their meal, but Gino decides he'd rather catch a few rays on the beach.

After sampling the lobster cooked by Gordon on the boat, they head to the ancient city of Chania where Fred has hired a tuk-tuk to show them the sights. But as they whizz through the streets they soon have to change plans and start walking after Fred rams their tuk-tuk into a car.

The trio head to a bakery to sample bougatsa, a local delicacy made from filo pastry and sheep's cheese using a family recipe which is over 400-years-old. Gordon, Gino and Fred meet the owner and his wife, Joanna, who is in the kitchen and is keen to show the boys how the bougatsa is made.

As she stretches out the pastry, she examines their hands and explains that Gordon's are the best because they are big, so the stretching of the pastry will be easier and quicker.

Gino says: "So we have to work harder than Gordon? That's the story of our lives!"

Gordon, Gino and Fred decide to each have a go at making the bougatsa, but as they get underway, they discover that Joanna only has eyes for Gordon and his pastry. As she compliments and assists Gordon but tells Gino and Fred off, there are no surprises when Gordon comes out top in Joanna's taste test.

A disgruntled Fred complains: "It's not a fair competition to start with because she made half of his puff pastry so at the end she was judging her own work!"

With Captain Gino back at the helm of the catamaran, they head to Santorini to take a mud bath in the island's volcanic hot springs.

Gino tells Gordon: "This is going to rejuvenate you, and, let's be honest, some of us need a bit of rejuvenation."

As they leap into the water, they take hand-held motors with them to pull them through the sea to the springs. When they get there, Gino says they need to rub handfuls of the sand on their bodies for the full-spa experience. Gordon isn't convinced by the smell of the mud and he's even less enthusiastic when Gino asks him to rub it on his back, although he soon gets into the swing of it…

Afterwards, a shocked Fred says: "He didn't just put the mud, he actually properly massaged him slowly. I've never seen that."

Next up, the guys sail around the Santorini coast to the picturesque village of Oia, to see its famous cliff-side whitewash houses and dome churches. They meet Grandma Catrina, to learn how to make a traditional and mouth-watering moussaka. Gordon knocks up a quick salsa verde as an accompaniment and Gino is over the moon when Catrina criticizes how much salt Gordon has added.

Gino says: "Today there is one thing that we all learned, even god can make mistakes. If he can make mistakes like that - we all have a chance in life!"

Finally, Gordon, Gino and Fred reach the magical party island of Mykonos, where they are back on the road travelling by tuk tuk, on a mission to tickle their taste buds with a hugely popular local specialty - the Mykonos sausage.

Episode Two: Clash of the Titans

TX Monday 4 October at 9pm TBC

Athens, Attica & Meteora

PI embargoed until 00.01am on Tuesday 28 September 2021

After indulging in the unique produce of the Greek islands and exploring the fresh local specialities that not only contribute to the remarkably healthy older generation, but also enable some of the longest life spans anywhere in the world, the boys are in the Greek capital Athens in a vintage VW campervan. This is where high-concept cuisine originated and is still being re-invented, in a city known as the birth place of democracy and the cradle of western

civilisation. Highlights include a souvlaki showdown, racing in an ancient Olympic stadium, a visit to an award-winningbio-dynamic vineyard, downing liquid Greek salad cocktails in one of the world's top bars, The Clummsies, visiting bee keeping nuns and truffle hunting with dogs amidst the gigantic rock pillar landscape of Meteora in central Greece

Produced by Studio Ramsay for ITV.

GORDON RAMSAY INTERVIEW

What can viewers expect to see in the new series?

Everything they've come to love about me, Gino and Fred creating havoc and cooking great food in beautiful locations. Meeting amazing food providers, discovering off-the-beaten-track destinations, having fun with the locals and of course some pretty dreadful driving when anyone other than me is behind the wheel of our various modes of transport!!

You've swapped the road for island hopping this series - who was the best Captain? C'mon, you really don't need to ask that question - me! It's always me! Gino thought he was in charge of the catamaran because he got some kind of canoe certificate in a Christmas cracker but let me tell you, he was no captain D'Acampo!

What was your favourite moment or experience on this trip?

We really appreciated how lucky we were to get away and film safely, in COVID times when most people were still staying home. It was great to see the guys, hang out and have fun after the difficult times. It was energising and uplifting. All the locations we visited were quieter than they usually would be, no tourists anywhere, empty streets, empty beaches and that gave us a new perspective, time-out to admire the real beauty of Greece and its stunning islands. The sunsets were incredible the ingredients amazing and the people warm and welcoming.

How would you summarise Greek cuisine?

Super tasty, very fresh - often the most delicious dishes were made of the simplest most humble ingredients. A lesson to learn is that cooking does not need to be over complicated. Fishing for seafood is always a joy, here the waters were crystal clear and the produce incredible, the octopus and lobster was some of the best I've ever tasted.

Did you cook anything unusual?

In Channia, Crete we went to this old, family run bakery to learn to make Bougasta, which was a first for me, a hundred year old recipe a light, crunchy filo pastry sheep's cheese puff with sugar sprinkled on top -delicious! The most beautiful ingredient we discovered was definitely the purest honey produced by the nuns in Meteora, honestly, truly stunning! I'm going to roast my Christmas Ham this year with some of their honey it will be delicious.

Can you tell us a bit more about some of the activities?

I'm always excited to go truffle hunting, I love truffles such an incredible ingredient and to think no matter how modern life gets, how high tech kitchens can be, you can have all the

gadgets in the world but you still need the incredible nose of a four-legged friend to sniff out the very best truffles. Fascinating. And PS, someone gets naked - again and, no, it's not me!

Obviously you're used to Gino and Fred's 'quirks' by now, but even so, what was the most annoying thing each of your companions did on the trip?

I seriously don't have enough minutes or hours in my day to sit here and list all their annoying habits, there are way too many!

GINO D'ACAMPO INTERVIEW

How did you feel about getting back on the road (or water!) with Gordon and Fred again? The last trip with Gordon and Fred was very, very cold so it was brilliant to be back in the sunshine and enjoying the beautiful islands together. I loved being able to captain the boat and making the guys say 'YES CAP!' to me. We had lots of fun but we also had some lovely, special moments together too.

Have you been to Greece before? What do you like about it?

The Greek Islands were amazing, I loved discovering all the local food and traditions. The people were brilliant and so welcoming to us.

I hadn't been to Athens before but it was great and felt very historical - The Panathenaic Stadium was incredible.

Any favourite food experiences on the trip? The lobster looked incredible?

There was such a variety of food experiences on this trip, on the islands there was lots of amazing, fresh seafood to explore.

In Athens, we had lots of amazing in land food experiences - myself and Gordon worked very well together in a souvlaki showdown with the locals - it was brilliant (even though we didn't quite win)! The truffle hunting was a very different experience.. a real life treasure hunt!

You looked thrilled when Gordon's salsa verde was criticized by Grandma Catrina?

It was amazing to see that Gordon can also make mistakes. Watching him grovel to Grandma Catrina was a beautiful moment and to top it off Grandma Catrina loved my Gino Vino!

What was the most annoying thing each of your companions did on the trip?

Fred's driving is always very annoying and very slow… Gordon throwing sand all over the sausages on BBQ was not ideal - if anyone else did that he would have gone crazy!

FRED SIRIEIX INTERVIEW

How did you feel about getting back on the road (and water!) together again?

It was fantastic, it really was. It was just so nice to be out again with Gordon and Gino, back on the road together, especially after the unprecedented times and the pandemic. I've been to Greece a couple of times before with friends and family, but the things I do with Gordon and Gino - I cannot do with anybody else I know! The last adventure we had in America was just something else. I cried so much when it was over. And so to go back, and to beautiful Greece - we went in May, the sun was shining, the water was warm. Yes, there were