Food Safari Italy

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.

Maeve tries crayfish cooked on a barbecue after visiting the crayfishermen off Geraldton. Melbourne chef Maurizio Esposito teaches Guy the secret recipe for his crayfish gnocchi.

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.