Pasta la vista! Gino snubs tea with Queen

OFF with his head! Italian-born TV chef Gino D’Acampo claims he turned down an invitation to tea from the Queen because he didn’t like the food and drink on offer.

‘I’m not very keen on tea or cucumber sandwiches,’ says D’Acampo, 46, who presents programmes including Let’s Do Lunch, Gino’s Italian Escape and gameshow Family Fortunes.

‘I was invited to the Palace for tea just before Covid, but a cucumber sandwich is my worst nightmare. I don’t like tea either, so I phoned my agent and said: “I’d love to meet her, but I don’t like tea and cucumber sandwiches, and I can’t do either of those things. I’m also going to have to wear a tie, and the last time I did that was when I got married. I can’t do that. But if I can have a plate of pasta and a cup of coffee, I’m in.” ’

Is this same tea-and-cucumberhating Gino who recently introduced afternoon teas at his eponymous restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne?