The chef, restaurateur and mentor to Jamie Oliver returns to his home village on the Amalfi coast and takes the simple way out. I was born in Minori, on the Amalfi coast, a lovely village 30 metres above the Mediterranean. The sea was my swimming pool, the mountains my playground, the village my kitchen. I'd like to go back there for my last meal.
There are olive and lemon groves, chestnut woodland and a beautiful stream that gives the village its name. The houses are all one-on-top-of-the-other; it looks like a cliff. And every person there is an artisan. They can cook! The smell of the sea is incredible, the wind blowing through the smell of lemons and herbs.
Everything is delicious: the spring water, the bread "... I only left for the first time when I was 20 and didn't return until three years later. I was shocked to see how beautiful it was and wondered what had made me want to leave in the first place.
Wherever I go, Jamie [Oliver] is there too;he's like my son. For my last meal, I'd want him, my mother, father and sister to be with me. Not to mention my five children, my wife and all my lovely friends.
It would be the end of the summer. That's when it's almost like spring again, and you find the best produce.
I'm a cook, not a chef yet " I'll only think of myself as a chef when I'm 100, and I'd like to have the simplest food that I grew up with. Spaghetti with chilli, extra virgin olive oil, basil, cherry tomatoes, ripe and sweet, and a grating of parmesan. For lunch, dinner, any time of the day, this is the best dish, and the heart of Italian cuisine. Of course I love a piece of nice fish, a good cut of nice meat, but for my last meal, simplicity is the way to go.
We'd have a lovely glass of the local wine I grew up with. And for dessert, lovely, sweet, fantastic sfogliatelle " filo pastry wrapped 100 times, filled with ricotta, semolina and candied fruit. It's a traditional dessert and one I dream of all the time. Whenever I see it, I can't help myself; I just grab it.
If it's in the day, I'd want the sun to be bright and hot. If it's night-time, I'd want the moon to shine on the sea and the fishermen.
There'd be music and talking rubbish, nothing too serious, nothing sad. Only happy things. And dancing, I'm very a good dancer. I'm always dancing from kitchen to kitchen.
Gennaro Contaldo is a restaurateur and chef, and co-presented BBC2's series Two Greedy Italians with Antonio Carluccio
