Brooklyn Beckham Said a Chef Told Him to Cook Pasta With a Wine Cork

• Brooklyn Beckham was criticized for cooking bolognese with a wine cork in the pot earlier this year.
• Beckham told Insider that he learned the cooking hack from a chef and he’s been doing it ever since.
• The aspiring chef also said he’s working hard and isn’t bothered by his Instagram haters.

Whether he’s making a grilled cheese sandwich or frying some chicken, Brooklyn Beckham is always subjected to Instagram criticism. 

But David and Victoria Beckham’s eldest son received the most hate when he dared to cook spaghetti bolognese with a wine cork in the pot. 

Insider recently sat down with the aspiring chef to discuss his new partnership with the kitchen-appliance company Typhur, so we decided to find out more about his controversial hack. 

“So I actually don’t know where I learned that, but a chef told me to do that and every time I make spaghetti bolognese, it’s just been a habit,” Beckham said. “I don’t know if it does anything, but I remember someone telling me to do that.” 

When Beckham shared an Instagram picture of himself whipping up the pasta on March 29, he noticed the critical comments. 

So Beckham took to his Instagram story, where he shared an excerpt from an article that read: “The addition of wine corks added to the cooking liquid ensured a more tender dish.” 

The excerpt is from a February 2016 article written by Doris Reynolds for Naples Daily News called “Let’s Talk Food: Wine corks ensure more tender octopus.” 

In the article, Reynolds said she was surprised to find multiple recipes that “included wine corks in the instructions” and that some chefs “use wine corks when cooking such meats as short ribs and other tough meat.” 

Italian chef Barbara Pollastrini told Insider that adding a wine cork to a bolognese won’t do anything to help soften the meat, adding that the “only way to have a fantastic ragù is to cook it for at least three hours.” 

The cooking hack is clearly up for heated debate, but Beckham has faith in his spaghetti bolognese recipe — which he said was inspired by his dad. 

“My dad loves cooking, so he used to cook it all the time when I was a little kid,” Beckham said. “I would be so excited coming home from school and seeing my dad make spaghetti bolognese.” 

Beckham has made a few tweaks of his own to the recipe (including the wine cork), but he told Insider he’s not bothered by the haters. 

“To be honest, I’m used to the hate,” Beckham said. “It doesn’t really bother me. Cooking makes me happy. I have more important things to worry about than people saying a little bit of rubbish about me.” 

“There are always going to be people out there who try and pull you down,” he added. “I’m doing my thing and working my bum off. So they can keep writing what they want, but it’s not going to bother me — I’m just going to keep doing my thing.” 

We don’t have Beckham’s or his dad’s recipes, but if you’re craving pasta tonight, we love Ina Garten’s favorite weeknight bolognese or Gordon Ramsay’s version with sausage.