Italian Food Safari

Maeve visits the inspiring Ricupero family who settled in Jarrahdale outside Perth where they grow vegetables on a large scale and bake 140 loaves of bread every two weeks. Guy shows a recipe for delicious bruschetta, using day-old bread. Guy joins olive oil producer Joe Grilli from Primo Estate in McLaren Vale at harvest time. Vongole harvester Tony Petruzzelli takes us to Adelaide's Outer Harbour. Sydney chef Eugenio Maiale cooks up the classic spaghetti alla vongole. Second generation Sicilian sweets master Achille Mellini from Grossi Florentino makes the crunchy fried biscuit cannoli filled with fresh ricotta.

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.

Guy Grossi joins tomato grower John Monigatti on Echuca's black soil plains during harvest. Maeve then shares tomato day with the Cipri family in suburban Sydney who have made fresh tomato sauce every year since the patriarch Severio arrived in Australia 45 years ago. Cooking teacher Rosa Matto, makes a marvellous eggplant parmigiana. Sardinian chefs Giovanni Pilu from Sydney's Pilu at Freshwater and Pietro Porcu from Melbourne's Da Noi and The Tea Rooms at Yarck get together to show Guy Grossi rustic dishes from their respective regions. Melbourne chef Graziella Alessi creates the luscious dessert tiramisu.

Guy Grossi visits Melbourne artisan baker Daniel Chirico. Guy makes a delicious bread-based salad called panzanella. Maeve meets passionate Western Australian butcher Vince Garreffa on the farm that raises his veal -- White Rocks, south of Perth. Celebrated Sydney chef Nino Zoccali from restaurant Pendolino explains the joys of using secondary cuts of meat and shows how easy it is to make a beautiful osso buco. Guy takes us to the beautiful pine forests of Mount Macedon with Chef Aron Michielli to forage for pine forest mushrooms and slippery jacks. Aron takes Guy to his Melbourne restaurant Biricchino to whip up magnificent pappardelle pasta with wild mushrooms.

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 Grossi meets passionate gardeners Lina and Antonio Siciliano who have created a huge vegetable and herb garden in Melbourne's suburbs. Maeve visits her friends the Marino family in Adelaide who show how they cure prosciutto on a large scale at San Marino Smallgoods. Legendary chef Armando Percuoco from Buon Ricordo restaurant cooks up the simplest dish of pasta with beans. In Melbourne, cheese maker Giorgio Linguanti takes Guy back to his childhood with the delicious fresh cheeses he makes including luscious burrata, mozzarella and ricotta. Loretta Sartori who once ran her own sweets palace in Melbourne but now spends her time educating troubled youth, cooks a spectacular ricotta cake.

Italian Food Safari joins professional rock fisherman Alex Bellissimo from Rock and Beach Charters. Respected Melbourne chef Robert Castellani from Donovan's Restaurant shows Guy an ingenious way of baking snapper. Italian cooking teacher Luciana Sampogna from Cucina Italiana makes the lovely little pretzel-like snacks called taralli that are popular right throughout the south of Italy. Guy meets Italian Australian family, the Pizzinis, who come from Italy's alpine regions and who settled in Victoria's King Valley and grow exceptional Italian grape varieties, and Fred Pizzini, shares his standout recipe for duck ragu.

Italian Food safari visits Mario Mammone and his family who own large citrus orchards in the fruit bowl of Australia outside Mildura. Guy Grossi visits the fennel growing Mason family on the fertile plains outside Melbourne. Mildura chef Stefano Di Pieri shows Guy how he uses the best blood oranges and fennel in season to make a kingfish carpaccio with shaved fennel. In Adelaide, butcher Tony Marino invites us to join his family to cook up an exceptional Abruzzese banquet including the classic porchetta on a spit. Young pastry chef Alexandra Rispoli from Buon Ricordo restaurant shows how to mix and cook fragrant pistachio biscotti.

Maeve meets the effervescent Italian Australian GP Pietro Demaio whose self-published book 'Preserving the Italian Way' has been a bestseller and inspired thousands. On the outskirts of Adelaide, Pat D'Onofrio and Lina Verrilli grow and cure their own olives to sell in local markets. Guy spends a few cold winter days with the Momesso family making their own salami. Maeve joins Sydney restaurateur Lucio Galletto at home as he picks basil from his garden to make a classic pesto. In Adelaide, Claudio Ferraro who is a partner in the city's Italian cafe chain Cibo, shows how intricate and delicious the pastry sfogliatelle are to make.

Italian Food Safari discovers an Italian breed of cattle called Chianina now being reared in Australia by Daniela Mollica. In a beautiful house in the Adelaide Hills, Adelaide chef Salvatore Pepe, a partner in the Cibo cafe chain, cooks perfect bistecca served with white beans. Guy Grossi shares his recipe for fresh pasta and Andrew Cibej from Sydney restaurant Vini makes a wonderful spinach, ricotta and potato-filled ravioli. Maeve is surrounded by almond blossom in South Australia, visiting Munno Parra Downs and grower Phillip Costa. Guy joins Melbourne sweets queen Marianna Di Bartolo from Dolcetti as she folds fresh almonds into her luscious soft nougat.

Guy Grossi goes hunting game with his chef friend Daniel Airo-Farula in Bulla, then makes rabbit in a Sicilian style sweet and sour sauce, coniglio in agrodolce. In Sydney, chef Danny Russo shows off a delicious family recipe for quail involtini. Maeve visits her friend Stefano Manfredi from Bells at Killcare on the NSW Central Coast. In Melbourne Adelina Pulford from Enoteca Vino Bar shows Guy how to make the silkiest creamy panna cotta with prosecco. Italian expatriate Aldo Cozzi from Di Lorenzo and his coffee roaster George Sabados explain why coffee is so important and the rules of enjoying good Italian coffee.

The squid was once used as bait and is now a delicacy. Maeve joins Claude Basile who shares the recipe for his adored black ink pasta using squid ink sacs. Sydney restaurateur Beppi Polese shows Maeve how his famous baccala mantecato is made using the salted dried cod called baccala. Melbourne specialist butcher Roger Ongarato explains what makes pork and fennel sausages such a favourite in Italian households. Brescian-born chef Alessandro Pavoni from Ormeggio restaurant in Sydney demonstrates the techniques and tips to make the perfect risotto. Vanessa Martin from Sydney's Il Piave shows Maeve how easy and delicious crostoli are to make.

Italian Food Safari visits Far North Queensland and Guy Grossi learns how buffalo mozzarella is made. He then shares his recipe for a simple but exquisite classic Caprese salad with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. Robert Marchetti, executive chef of Sydney's Icebergs Dining Room, shares his recipe for suckling lamb. Perth butcher Vince Garreffa from Mondo Di Carne butchery hosts a huge Calabrese lunch, a man who never does anything by halves. He cooks up a delicious veal shoulder on the spit, served with homemade pasta. We finish at the home of Guy Grossi who keeps Sundays sacred for the event of the day -- lunch - the epitome of the Italian philosophy of 'La Dolce Vita' -- life is sweet! Ciao!