The celebs have now been split into two opposing camps- one lot, housed at basecamp living the life of (relative) luxury, while those in Exile are being forced to rough it.
And it was a case of needs must for D’Acampo, Kim Woodburn, Lucy Benjamin, George Hamilton, Stuart Manning and Sam Fox when hunger forced them to ditch a la carte, for a la rat in what must be a reality TV first.
Fearful that slim rations might affect their ability to perform in the Bush Battles ahead the group weighed up the pros of cons of eating the pest.
Queen of Clean Kim Woodburn was reluctant at first but gave in after Sam and Lucy agreed to give it a go. While straight talking George Hamilton was of the opinion: “If you kill it you should eat it.”
He laughingly added: "I’d like to write home about this, but nobody would believe me!””
In a feat of culinary skill he had every right to be proud of, Gino said he would fillet the furry creature and put it into the risotto (“like a little pancetta”) and much to his surprise it went down a treat.
Even if Stuart who told his fellow camp mates “we’ve just got to get on with it” appeared somewhat confused, describing the taste as “chickeny-beefy.” Whatever that means?
Lucy even claimed that if it was a choice between rat and the crocodile feet grub they’d had previously, she’d order rat every time.
A satisfied Gino commenting on his unusual dish told the Bush Telegraph: “It’s not done by choice but it's done because we need it. We need some kind of protein; we need some kind of flavour.
“I was so proud that none of them said anything. They ate it, they loved it and it is a fantastic experience they will never forget.” He’s definitely right about that.
And for those who missed Gino’s recipe first time around and fancy giving it a go for themselves it’s as follows.
Put a little bit of olive oil in a pan. As soon as it starts to get hot put the pieces of rat into the oil. Seal. then add the pre-soaked beans and fry everything together so the flavour of the rat gets into the beans. And then, according to Gino at least, there you have it: “Fantastico!”
