Season 1

An inside look at the traditional wood-fired oven and how it is still used today. Many Italians constructed their own in their backyards when they arrived in Australia.

Maeve joins the last sardine fisherman in Fremantle on the Western Australia coast, the charming Jim Mendolia. Melbourne cook Rosa Mitchell from the Journal Canteen, shows Guy her delicious classic recipe for stuffed sardines. Maeve visits the Baldino family at L’Abruzzese Pasta in Adelaide to learn how all the various shapes of extruded pasta are made including the “little ears” or orecchiette which Guy cooks in his restaurant kitchen. He then ventures into the Victorian Alpine country to visit Simone’s, a beautiful country restaurant run by Umbrian chef Patrizia Simone.

Maeve spends the day with a tomato-growing family who have made fresh tomato sauce every day for 45 years; Guy joins tomato grower John Monigatti during his harvest.

Guy makes a bread-based salad called panzanella after visiting an artisanal baker in Melbourne; Maeve discovers more about the Italian passion for veal.

Italian Food Safari goes to the far western end of Australia to visit the crayfishermen of the stunning Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton. Guy pops in on Melbourne chef Maurizio Esposito to learn the secrets of his delicious crayfish gnocchi recipe. Maeve visits Melbourne pizzaiolo Alessandro D’Auria of Pizze e Fichi who has made thousands of pizzas in his years perfecting the art of pizza. Guy makes delicious stuffed artichokes using a recipe passed on to him by his father. Sicilian gelato-making brothers Ciccio and Salvatore La Rosa from Gelatomassi in Sydney explain why Italian gelato is so good.

Guy takes a trip to a huge family garden in Melbourne that provides meals and wine. In Adelaide, Maeve discovers the wonder of prosciutto when it is cooked with pasta.