Jamie Cooks Italy
Monday 13 August, 8.30pm C4 Factual
Italy’s best-kept food secrets are on the menu in a new foodie series hosted by chefs Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo. They’ll be learning recipes handed down over generations as they travel to eight different regions, from Puglia in
Spring and the Aeolian
Islands in Summer to Tuscany in
Autumn and
Rome in Winter.
Q Why did you want to make this series? And why do you love Italian food? A It’s taken two years to make this show, but it’s been an absolute labour of love. I take my chef mentor, Gennaro Contaldo, with me. We meet some wonderful nonnas [grandmas], who don’t chop like chefs, but their food tastes better. Q In the first episode of this eight-parter you meet nonnas Franchina and Marina. A Many of these nonnas are now in their 90s, but have been cooking from the age of seven. This is the last generation of nonna that didn’t grow up with cars, gas and electric; they had to be resourceful. It was a pleasure cooking with them and hearing their stories – I had little platonic romances with them all in a funny way! Q When it comes to food, what’s significant about visiting different regions of Italy at different times of year? A If you go to Tuscany in Autumn you’ll get the new season’s olive oil, wild boar and chestnuts, which is great. But if you go in the Summer you’ll get something completely different.
Q What are your top tips for cooking Italian food at home? A Get a pasta-making machine, it’s a total game-changer. For pizzas, invest in a mezzaluna [a curved blade with a wooden handle on each end], which makes cutting easier. Also, buy decent olive oil and good parmesan cheese! Q Like the nonnas you meet in the show, do you think you’ll be cooking in your 90s? A I hope so! When I left college at 18, my dream was to have a little 30-cover restaurant, so my goal is to retire and just run something like that. If the only thing you have to worry about when you wake up in the morning is what to cook for lunch, I’d say that’s pretty cool.