Gennaro Contaldo has his phone snatched
TV chef Gennaro Contaldo claims a woman nabbed his phone from his hand while out at Walthamstow Market.
Gennaro Contaldo said he "pinned" a woman to the floor after she allegedly snatched his phone from his hand.
The 77-year-old TV chef claimed the woman jumped on him before he put her on the ground in an attempt to recover his device while he was out at Walthamstow Market in East London.
On the latest episode of Dan Hope's HUNGRY podcast, Gennaro said: "I had my phone in my hand, and this girl in Walthamstow market comes along - it was a girl, after, I realised – jumped on me, bang! Took my phone. I didn’t scream. I just jumped back.
"And then I pinned her down on the floor. I wanted my phone."
He recalled the woman shouting: "I don't have anything! I'm going to scream."
Gennaro continued: "I put my hands inside her pocket, and two phones came out. One came out, and I said, this is not mine. The other one... I picked it up.
"People had come along to help me. They recognised me. I went, 'That’s my phone!' I said [to her], 'Go!'
"She was only 20-odd years old."
The restaurateur shared that he carries two phones in case one goes missing or is stolen.
Gennaro added: "I panic. If you've got a ticket, it's on the phone. You don't have any more papers, anything like that.
"You know, you've got an appointment, you've got your bank account, your card is there [on the phone]. And then you lose it - what happens?"
The star is best known for co-fronting the BBC series Two Greedy Italians with chef Antonio Carluccio, who died in November 2017, after suffering a fall at his home in London at the age of 80.
The programme, which aired on BBC Two from May 2011 until May 2012, followed the two chefs as they travelled around their home country to see how society and food had changed over the years.
Gennaro, who has cooked for the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and mentored his 51-year-old friend, The Naked Chef's Jamie Oliver, in Italian cuisine, has also made many appearances as a guest chef on BBC's Saturday Kitchen Live.
