Theo James Shares His Restaurant’s Burro e Parmigiano Recipe

Theo James loves to cook based on vibes.“I don’t do it with exactitude because I’m too impatient,” Mr. James said. He extends that approach to burro e parmigiano, a simple Northern Italian dish that happens to be one of his favorites. (It’s also a recipe he makes for his kids, he told Cathy Lo, a New York Times Cooking editor.)

While he may not be one for measurements, when he makes his version, which is adapted from Ornella, a restaurant he owns with Naz Hassan and Ed Templeton in East London, he does make sure the ingredients are the best they can be: deeply flavored dark chicken stock, aged Parmesan, fresh tagliatelle.

When simplicity and incredible ingredients meet, he said, “those things bound together create something incredibly delicious.”

You can watch him cook the dish alongside Kaya Scodelario, his co-star in Guy Ritchie’s comedy-drama series “The Gentlemen” and another passionate cook, in the video below (or on YouTube).

Here are excerpts from the interview and the outtakes, which have been edited and condensed.

Have you ever cooked with each other before today?

THEO JAMES No, but you keep threatening to cook me Brazilian.

KAYA SCODELARIO I want to cook dinner for you, but you don’t ever answer my calls.

JAMES Kaya’s a great Brazilian chef. What’s your favorite thing to cook?

SCODELARIO I just like home comfort food. When I’m working, I really miss cooking — when I’m away in hotels and stuff and traveling. So when I get home, it’s the first thing I want to do: spend four hours in the kitchen just cooking. Podcast, glass of wine, no one disturbing me and, yeah, cooking for people. It’s my love language. I like to feed.

Have either of you ever worked in the food service industry?

JAMES Yes.

SCODELARIO Did you?

JAMES Yeah. God, yeah. I was a waiter in multiple pubs. I even did one of those things where you had to turn up to catering venues —

SCODELARIO Silver service?

JAMES No. God, no. You turn up as kind of a teenager. I’ll always remember — I had all of the pinnies on — and I leant over to pour someone some coffee, and I had another coffee pot in my left hand, and I poured the coffee all over the guy’s crotch, basically. I got instantly fired. Cheers!

SCODELARIO I’ve never worked in the service industry.

JAMES Have you not?

SCODELARIO No, I never. But I played a waitress, and I was really bad at it. I couldn’t carry the [tray].

What’s the best or worst food you’ve ever had to do a scene with?

SCODELARIO We, on “Maze Runner,” had to do a scene where we hadn’t had food for ages, and we walk in a room, and there’s every kind of food imaginable. They let us choose, and I wanted deep-fried Oreos. But I got really sick because I had about seven of them straight away. So that was great but also awful.

How do you feel about eating food in bed?

SCODELARIO I’m down for eating food in bed.

JAMES Really? I’ve always felt kind of repulsed by the idea of it.

SCODELARIO OK.

[Both laugh]

SCODELARIO I think it’s always a better idea than the reality of it. Like, you know, on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, where they’re like, “Oh, we’ll do Mummy’s breakfast in bed.” And you’re like, This is actually annoying because now I’m stuck in the bed, and there’s orange juice everywhere.

JAMES That’s cute. Yeah, but I don’t like the idea of scoffing sandwiches while you’re asleep.

SCODELARIO What about in a hotel?

JAMES Hotel, you’re allowed to do for breakfast, but that’s it.

SCODELARIO OK. What about a midday club sandwich? You wouldn’t eat that on the bed?

JAMES Maybe near the bed, or adjacent to the bed, but never in the bed.

If the cast of “The Gentlemen” owned a restaurant, what would everyone’s roles be?

SCODELARIO I’d like you as the angry chef in the background. You don’t ever want to come out and see people, but you’re really stressed all the time.

JAMES What would Joely [Richardson] — what would her role be?

SCODELARIO Front of house.

JAMES What would your role be? Manager.

SCODELARIO No.

JAMES It’s a bit boring.

SCODELARIO I’d be … I don’t know. Keep the books.

In your family, do you have any specific traditions around food?

JAMES You have good traditions from your mother in your family about food, right?

SCODELARIO Kind of. We do Christmas on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. We eat, like, I think, three or four times a week Brazilian food.

JAMES What are the classics?

SCODELARIO Rice and beans. But proper beans.

JAMES What’s the most complex Brazilian dish to make?

SCODELARIO Feijoada takes a good few hours.

JAMES What is that?

SCODELARIO It’s really good, and I’ll do it for you when we get back. It’s got, like, pork trotters and pig ear and everything ——

JAMES Aw, poor piggy.

SCODELARIO My son is a pescatarian, so I’ve been learning more vegetarian meals. But I don’t like bell peppers or chickpeas, and I think everything vegetarian is that. So I need better veggie recipes. Do you do Sunday dinners? Do you make the kids sit at the table with you?

JAMES No. God, no, no, no. Growing up, it was pretty English. We had Sunday roasts. The Greek side, my grandfather’s side, we did a bit of Greek-y style but he wasn’t a big cook.

SCODELARIO Do you ever have bacalhau? It’s salt cod. We do that for Easter, always.

JAMES Do your kids — do they feel connected to the Brazilian part of you?

SCODELARIO Yeah, I think food is a really great way of introducing kids to their culture and heritage and stuff. Because it’s something they can taste and see and be included in. He’s very proud of that. Both the kids are. Whenever we travel the world, the first thing I’ll do is find the local Brazilian restaurant. And luckily Brazilians are everywhere.

What’s the biggest difference between craft service on a British film set versus an American one?

JAMES We often talk about this. Basically, in England, craft doesn’t exist.

SCODELARIO It doesn’t exist. They don’t feed us.

JAMES It’s like a table with a kettle. And some terrible biscuits.

SCODELARIO Crappy biscuits. Off brand. The cheap ones.

JAMES A molding orange or something. Whereas here, in America, craft service is an art.

SCODELARIO Incredible. It’s a whole truck, and anything you want they can just make. My favorite thing about working in America is the food on set.

JAMES Not the work?

SCODELARIO Not the work.

[Both laugh]

What are you eating, Kaya? On an American set?

SCODELARIO Breakfast burrito, because that’s not a thing in England. I love a breakfast burrito.

JAMES We should get one after this.

SCODELARIO Yes, that’s exactly what we need. Jambalaya. I had that recently on a job, and I was like, that’s fun. Never had that before, that was great. It’s just that, every three hours, they will make sure there’s a hot meal for everyone. And we just don’t do that in the U.K.

JAMES There’s a slight culture of Britishness where they’re like, “Oh, you don’t need — stop moaning!” It’s like a 14-hour day, and they’re like, “You can have a cup of tea!”

SCODELARIO “Have a biscuit! You’re OK!” But we always, don’t we — we get for the crew, we’ll get, like, an ice cream truck or coffee.

JAMES We’re good like that.

SCODELARIO We’re good people.

If you were a food dish, what would you be? Can you answer for each other?

JAMES You would be —

SCODELARIO A dehydrated mango.

JAMES No, you would be six chicken nuggets.

[Laughs]

JAMES No, you would be something exotic with a simmering undertone of vermouth.

SCODELARIO Ooh. All right, I’ll take it. You would be——

JAMES Some chips.

SCODELARIO No, you would be something simple but delicious. Genuinely! Like this [burro e parmigiano]. You would be this.

JAMES That’s what my ex-girlfriends used to say.

SCODELARIO Easy, not overcomplicated.

JAMES Simple but delicious.

SCODELARIO A bit dumb but pretty.

[Both laugh]

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