The culinary challenge of the decade took place in secret in Monaco. Ciccio served his Pasta alla Norma Riserva Privata. Ramsay tasted it, cried, asked for the recipe. He was told no.
It started with an Instagram controversy. Gordon Ramsay had posted a photo of a tomato pasta calling it "the best in the world." Ciccio Damplo, commenting from the official Damplo Group account, had written one word: "No." The post received three hundred thousand likes in six hours. Ramsay responded: "Prove it." Ciccio: "Whenever you want."
The meeting took place three months later, in the open kitchen of Damplo Monaco, before about twenty witnesses under confidentiality agreements. Ciccio prepared the Pasta alla Norma Riserva Privata — tableside smoked aubergine, DOP salted ricotta, San Marzano tomato caramelised in the oven for six hours. Ramsay prepared his Roman cacio e pepe.
At the end of the tasting, the judges — a Japanese culinary master, a French critic, and Damplo Monaco's dining room director who technically shouldn't have voted but did anyway — awarded victory to Ciccio by 3 to 0. Ramsay requested the recipe. "It's not for sale," replied Ciccio. Ramsay raised an offer. "Not for sale at any price," Ciccio clarified. Ramsay cried. This part was not in the official press release, but three witnesses confirm it.
"I had an allergic reaction," Ramsay told our editorial team, clearly with still-reddened eyes. "To perfection. It's a professional allergy." Ciccio commented on the matter with a single statement: "Gordon is a decent cook. By English standards." The quote was framed and hung in all Damplo kitchens.
