FIRST OF ALL:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The Chef & the Slave really wish you a smashing 2013 🙂
SECONDLY: who are these 2 guys down here?
As some of you know, Fabio – the Slave – is also a freelance journalist and lately he has been working very hard on the new season of “Italy Unpacked”: a prime-time series presented by the lovely couple up here – the art historian Andrew-Graham Dixon and the acclaimed Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli – that will be aired on BBC2 in the next 3 Fridays of this month.
Andrew and Giorgio will be travelling throughout the North of Italy, an area of the country which is closer to Europe than to our capital Rome. They will visit major cities like Turin, Milan, Bologna, but also smaller gems probably unfamiliar to many of you – like Mantua, Ferrara, Modena, and Cremona – exploring some of the most beautiful rural areas in our country.
Three episodes, each one a different region of Northern Italy: EMILIA ROMAGNA, LOMBARDY – where Giorgio comes from – and PIEDMONT. From Parmesan and Parma ham, to Ferrari and Fiat, these regions are well-known all over the world for just one of two things. Let’s not forget about the art though, which is amongst the most beautiful Italy has to offer.
It will be a journey to unpack the art and culture, food and landscape of an area of Italy that both Giorgio and Andrew are very passionate about. The aim is to put these areas of Italy back on the map, places that are far too beautiful and important to simply be passed through.
The 1st episode, “THE ART OF THE FEAST”, will be focused on Emilia Romagna – Bologna in particular – and will be aired tomorrow, Friday the 11th, at 9pm on BBC 2.
While working on this episode, Fabio got the inspiration for the BACKDOOR KITCHEN’S BRAND NEW SERIES OF SUPPERCLUB NIGHTS – “THE ARTUSI’S WAY” [click!] – which will explore the origins of modern Italian cuisine going through the iconic recipe book written by Pellegrino Artusi at the end of the XIX century and will kick off with “A Peninsula without tomatoes” on the 20th – very few seats left [BOOK!]