Italian Food Safari

Book excerpt: Following on from last Christmas’s best-seller Food Safari, comes the sure-fire smash hit Italian Food Safari. Italian Food Safari is the much-awaited next feast in the beautiful SBS Food Safari series...a celebration of the incredible breadth and hard work of the Italians who came and settled in Australia and have kept their food traditions intact. Travel again with Maeve O’Meara and legendary Melbourne chef Guy Grossi as they spend time with Australia’s top Italian chefs and producers around Australia. Set around Australia and covering the four seasons, Italian Food Safari introduces you to the concrete backyards full of abundant tomato and basil plants, the cosy home kitchens where masterpieces are whipped up, the elegant restaurants filled with delicious cooking aromas, the specialist providores and extensive delis, bakeries, cheese-makers and pasticcerias. Some of the world’s most celebrated Italian culinary masterpieces feature alongside beautiful rustic family favourites. Offering simple foolproof recipes that anyone can cook at home, it’s a delicious journey into Italy making discoveries that will inspire any cook. In addition, Guy Grossi shares some of his family’s most revered recipes for traditional favourites from the North to the South of Italy. Italian Food Safari celebrates all the extraordinary wealth of Italian culture – the pioneering families building their wood-fired ovens, growing much of their produce in the early days and keeping food at the centre of family life, a tradition we all treasure.