GINO D’Acampo recently tweeted a nice photograph of himself with one of his young children. “Back at home in Sardinia for a week, nothing better than relaxing and getting kisses from my little angel,” he wrote to his 1.75 million followers.

It was hard not to envy him his time spent relaxing under the Italian sun but at least you have to recognise that he has worked hard for his right to a family break.

D’Acampo, 41, has just published his latest book, Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape, and his latest ITV series, a spin-off from the book, continues this Wednesday evening (on November 8). Not only has he developed a successful chain of restaurants (he says he has already scouted “one or two possible locations” in Scotland) but he is a regular on TV, most recently in Gino’s Hidden Italy. He is resident chef on ITV’s This Morning, and his Italian Escape book titles have sold more than 300,000 copies.

D’Acampo was born in Naples, into a large family. As he has explained, the food they ate was rather traditional: the recipes tended towards the simple yet nutritious, based on fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. He has said that his grandfather Ciro, who had a restaurant, always insisted that a good recipe didn’t need many ingredients, “because if the ingredients are good quality and full of flavour, why do you have to cover up or change their taste?”

Ciro seems to have played a key role in the young Gino’s passion for food. “My grandfather was a respected professional chef and a great inspiration for me,” he says. “My admiration for him certainly played a large part in my choice of career.” And his very earliest food-related memory, in the family kitchen or around the table, relates to Ciro again: “My earliest memory was seeing him rolling gnocchi. He was very skilful and I could watch him for ages.”

What were his favourite foods when he was growing up? “It won’t surprise you to learn that I’ve always loved pasta but, having grown up on the coast, where fresh fish and seafood is so plentiful, I can’t remember a time when I’ve not absolutely loved those flavours.”

D’Acampo was just 11 when he walked into Ciro’s restaurant and decided that cooking was for him. “The only other careers I considered were medicine and dentistry ... something where I could wear a white coat, basically,” he says. “But I found that you have to study really hard to be a success in those professions and, as a chef also gets to wear a white jacket, I decided to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps instead.”

He trained at the Luigi de Medici Catering College and was just 19 when he arrived in London, to work at The Orchard Restaurant in Hampstead and then at the Cambio restaurant in Surrey. He worked with Tesco on its Finest range and this paved the way for his TV debut, on Great Food Live on UKTV Food.

He has genuinely warm memories of the travels he made and the meals he tried while researching his Italian Coastal Escape book. He journeyed up the country’s west coast, visiting the Aeolian Islands, Calabria, Campania, Capri, Lazio, Tuscany and Elba. “It was an amazing trip in so many ways,” he writes in the introduction, and I was reminded once again of the beauty of the Italian coastline, the incredible quality of the ingredients, and how passionate the locals are about their food, especially their regional sensibilities.” A few sample dishes will suffice here: beef carpaccio with horseradish and parmesan cream sauce; roasted kid with garlic new potatoes; sweet and sour rabbit with borettane onions.

Asked if there was anything that was new to him, and whether there was one meal that blew him away, D’Acampo says: “Sometimes, things that we might find new or innovative are actually traditional and centuries-old; it’s just that we haven’t discovered them yet. I think this happens a lot in the world of food. For instance, I’d never tried pizza made from chickpea flour, but I had that experience on the island of Elba. Delicious! I’ll certainly be looking forward to the next time.”

Asked which meals he would urge, say, Scottish visitors to Italy to sample, his response is unequivocal. “All of them!” he says. “I think every one of them is amazing and I definitely had the Scots palate in mind as I created my own versions.”

In his book he expresses surprise that relatively few tourists take the time to visit Calabria. He is convinced we are missing out on so much. It’s a beautiful region, he says, a natural paradise. “The area is mostly unspoilt by tourism and there are nearly 500 miles of coastline to explore. The food is amazing and is strongly influenced by Arabic cuisine. They like things spicy and use a lot of peperoncino to add flavour and heat. I love nduja – a spicy spreadable sausage – which the Calabrians spread on toast or add to seafood dishes.”

You don’t have to look too far to find concern being expressed over Britons’ allegedly poor national diet, our love of crisps and stuff that is high in saturated fats – pies, meat, kebabs and pizza. D’Acampo, though, does not rush to judgement: he acknowledges that our national diet “has changed a lot during my time here and people have become much more educated and aware of everything to do with food. You can’t make a blanket judgement regarding a nation’s eating habits – everyone makes different choices. Like most Italians, I favour a wide-ranging diet, but emphasise the quality of the ingredients and the moderation of the portions”.

D’Acampo manages to juggle a demanding professional life with a demanding personal one. He and his wife Jessica have three children – Luciano, Rocco and Mia. The juggling act can be hard at times, though: he says that when he is working, he goes “flat out” and is constantly on the move, travelling all over the country. He makes up for it, he adds, by taking long family holidays.

He touches, good-naturedly, on his food weaknesses – “Most Italians have a liking for Nutella and I’m no exception. Kinder Eggs are also a definite weakness” – and says that, as with many chefs who are constantly exposed to food, and food preparation, that sometimes all he really wants is eggs on toast.

D’Acampo’s website lists his restaurant empire: branches of My Pasta Bar, in central London; the full-service Gino D’Acampo – My Restaurant, in Manchester, Leeds and London, with others due to open south of the border. Can he ever see himself coming to Scotland and following in the footsteps of many other Italians who have made a success in food and drink up here? Absolutely, he affirms. “I love coming to Scotland and I have already taken a look at one or two possible locations.” Watch this space, as they say.

Anything else on his mind, we ask?

“One thing to remember,” he advises. “When you say the word ‘gnocchi’, it rhymes with ‘hockey’. On no account pronounce it ‘gn-och-aye’.”

• Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape, Hodder & Stoughton, £20. Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape continues on STV this Wednesday, November 18 at 8pm. www.ginodacampo.com

Book extract: Gino's journey

The journey charted by the new book and TV series covers Italy's west coast, including the little-visited Calabria, which he describes in our interview. Here, he talks about two of the coast's other beautiful regions

The Aeolian Islands

Situated in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 25km northeast of Sicily, the archipelago consists of seven tiny volcanic islands – Salina and Panarea, Lipari, Vulcano, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi. Salina is remarkably green and lush because of its natural freshwater springs. As its name (which means "salt mill" in Italian) implies, salt is a major part of this island’s economy, but it is also famous for its delicious capers and exquisite sweet Malvasia wine. Panarea – the smallest and chicest of the islands – has a rocky, dramatic landscape and is inhabited on just one side. Cars aren’t allowed, so residents drive around in three-wheel trucks, golf buggies and scooters. Since just about everything has to be shipped in, the ferry arrivals are a riotous affair as lorry loads of goods are stacked precariously onto these tiny, basic vehicles. The surrounding waters are full of fish, crustaceans and squid. I was lucky enough to go fishing off the island and was thrilled to catch one of the local specialities – totano, the red squid.

TUSCANY & ELBA

The Tuscan style of cooking is generally fairly rustic, and I love it. Locals seek out only the freshest seasonal produce, so incredible meals are created from whatever is at its best in the market that day. Although the cuisine can be regarded as basic, because it generally doesn’t include lots of sauces or spices, the amazing quality of the raw ingredients means that dishes are always full of flavour. White truffles are a special treat that appear in October and November in San Miniato, and the beef from the Chiana Valley is outstanding, so perfect for the popular local speciality bistecca alla fiorentina (Florentine steak). As well as tasting delicious, Tuscan food is hearty and filling, probably because bread (often unsalted) is served in or with most dishes. Tuscan wine is also excellent.

I must reserve a special mention for Elba – a stunning, quaint island 10km off the coast of Tuscany. It holds particularly fond memories for me, as it was where I spent my first-ever family holiday. As you may know, this is where Napoleon was exiled for nine months. Quite honestly, I don’t know why he didn’t just stay and enjoy the rest of his life here – it’s hard to think of a better place to retire or be banished to! You're constantly reminded of Napoleon’s presence on Elba, but funnily enough when I think of the island what comes to mind first is tasting a pizza made with chickpea flour. At first I was sceptical, but after tasting the pizza I was well and truly converted.

Edited extract from Gino's Italian Coastal Escape by Gino D’Acampo, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £20

SPICY CHICKEN WITH NEW POTATOES, TOMATOES & RED PEPPERS

POLLO PICCANTE CON PATATE NOVELLE, POMODORI E PEPERONI ROSSI

This is an incredibly simple recipe, perfect for a midweek supper – you just put everything in the roasting tin and pop it in the oven. Being a one-pot dish, minimal washing-up is required and there’s no need to cook any additional vegetables, although you may like to serve it with a mixed salad. Make sure you use a large enough roasting tin – ideally the ingredients should be in a single layer so the chicken will turn golden brown, the peppers and onion will start to char around the edges and the potatoes will become lovely and crisp all over.

Serves 6

650g baby new potatoes (preferably Charlotte), scrubbed and halved lengthways

6 fresh plum tomatoes, quartered

1 large red onion, peeled, halved and cut into 1cm slices

2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1kg chicken legs (skin on)

1kg bone-in chicken thighs (skin on)

75ml olive oil

1 teaspoon chilli powder

Salt

1] Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Put the potatoes, tomatoes, onion and red peppers in a large roasting tin, about 45 x 35cm. Sprinkle over the oregano and season with salt.

2] Season the chicken with salt, put it in the tin and drizzle over the oil. Using your hands, mix thoroughly until the vegetables and chicken are well coated in oil. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables, skin-side up. Sprinkle over the chilli powder.

3] Roast for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn over the chicken. Return to the oven for 35 minutes.

Recipe extracted from Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape by Gino D’Acampo, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £20