The Gangotras vs The Massaccesis (heat four)
In heat four, the Gangotra family from Birmingham take on the Massaccesi family from Wiltshire.
Published: 28 July 2017
In heat four, the Gangotra family from Birmingham take on the Massaccesi family from Wiltshire.
The Gangotra family
“We’re highly critical of each other’s cooking.”
Sisters Bobby (42) and Lorna (41) were brought up being cooked for by their grandparents in the family home in Birmingham. They always helped out making meals for special occasions at their local temple.
Sister-in-law Monika (33) embraced cooking when she married Bobby and Lorna’s brother. With a PhD in psychology she originates from Australia and grew up spoilt by her mum’s fantastic home cooking. With plenty of cooks in the Gangotra family home, Monika loves being the creative cook and is and always on hand to make the food look beautiful.
Bobby took a six-month sabbatical from her job as a GP and went to Thailand where she learnt first-hand how to whip up authentic Thai dishes.
Lorna’s husband grew up in the Middle East and this along with her love of Yotam Ottolenghi really influences her cooking, whilst Monika is a big fan of Italian and Mexican cuisine.
The Massaccesi family
“Our world revolves around food. We talk about it so much we probably bore other people. They call us the feeders!”
Teresa (53) and Giordano (54) met in Bermuda when she was a midwife and he was a waiter. Their eldest daughter Niamh (16) was born there and the family returned to the UK where they had their second daughter. The family is now based in Wiltshire.
Both Teresa and Giordano grew up with families that loved to cook. Teresa is from an Irish family and her Mum always cooked hearty food from scratch. Teresa is obsessed with food and cooking; every birthday and Christmas she asks for cookbooks and vouchers for cookery courses. She is a part-time learning support assistant at a primary school and uses cooking to teach the kids a wide range of subjects including maths and science - she thinks she can use cooking to teach just about anything!
Giordano is Italian and works as a waiter at an Italian restaurant while also doing shifts in the bakery section at a supermarket. Giordano often plays his accordion in the restaurant and sometimes he can persuade Niamh, who also works there as a waitress, to join him on the violin. Niamh finished her GCSEs this summer.
