“WE HAD TO pinch ourselves – more than once – that this counted as work,” says Lottie Birmingham, who is the executive producer of Stanley Tucci’s latest foodie Italian travelogue.
The show-runner (and pasta-taster!) of Tucci In Italy insists she “can’t pick a favourite” of the five areas covered across the series that goes out on National Geographic: “Each region surprised us in different ways. And part of the joy was seeing how each place revealed itself through the people we met and the stories they shared.”
In fact, she continues, “I miss the people and the food in equal measure”.
Rather more believably, she adds: “Despite having travelled to every region of Italy over the past few years, I will never tire of going back, and can’t wait to plan my next trip.”
If you’re planning on doing something similar, here’s her five-course banquet of advice gleaned from the five episodes.
LE MARCHE
Moreish olives and wild mussels
“Le Marche felt like one of Italy’s best-kept secrets (though maybe not for long!).
The landscape, especially at the coast was beautiful. We focused on local specialties like vincisgrassi – a rich, layered pasta dish, a bit like lasagna.
But best were these olives they eat as snacks in the town of Ascoli Piceno, stuffed with spiced meat then fried in breadcrumbs.
The crew were all eating them while shooting because they were delicious, so the chefs just had to keep making more!
“One of our favourite restaurants was Da Emilia (ristoranteemilia.it/en) – which is right on the beach at Portonovo.
The setting is perfect and the food was incredible, especially the signature dish of spaghetti moscioli with a local variety of extra-sweet wild mussels.”
SICILY
Devouring Stanley’s leftovers
“Sicily’s cuisine tells the story of centuries of conquest and cultural blending, with influences from Arab, Greek and Spanish traditions woven into every dish.
We ate a lot of arancini (rice balls) while travelling around, and the traditional caponata (stewed Mediterranean vegetables) was delightful.
“A standout moment of our Sicily shoot was definitely filming up Mount Etna – it was cold and very windy but a great experience.
But we’re generally very lucky behind the camera on this show. Often our contributors – chefs, experts, restaurateurs – make us a crew lunch so we are fed very well!
If something looks particularly appetising on camera, we usually get Stanley to pass it behind camera and we all dive in with many forks.
I think we’re the best-fed film crew around!”
SARDINIA
The soupy secret to long life
“Sardinia offered a strikingly different culinary identity from mainland Italy, rooted in its traditions and island isolation.
We visited the tiny island of Tavolara and met their ‘King’ [through a quirk of history, Tavolara, though part of Italy, is its own kingdom].
He runs a restaurant there, Ristorante da Tonino Re di Tavolara (ristorantereditavolara.com).
“Another memorable moment was visiting Seulo, one of the world’s ‘blue zones’, where people live significantly longer lives than elsewhere in the world.
In fact, we were lucky enough to film with some of the town’s elders – living to 100 is not that uncommon here – and up in Seulo we had a really gorgeous minestrone soup that is said to be one of the secrets to their blue zone longevity!”
VENETO
Horses for courses
“In Veneto we decided to focus on the wider region rather than Venice, which is already so well known.
There we tried horsemeat; radicchio heads grown in this kind of soupy, nutrient-rich liquid; and tiramisu, which originated in the area.
It’s my favourite dessert, and I have a group with some friends where we rate each one we try.
Luckily the one we had in Treviso, where it’s said to have been invented in the late 1960s, did live up to expectations!
Another highlight was shooting in Verona, where the amphitheatre is actually older than Rome’s Colosseum.”
CAMPANIA
The dish so good they named it thrice
“Campania is home to so many iconic Italian classics when it comes to food – not least pizza, which is thought to have been invented in Naples.
Either way, it’s such a buzzy and exciting city to film in, though I also loved heading out across the bay to the lesser-known island of Procida.
We got to try a dish called Bufala Bufala Bufala, which was possibly one of the best things.
It’s hard to explain it in words, so best to watch the episode, but it’s a dish based around buffalo mozzarella in a few different forms, and it’s definitely worth travelling for!
That was at a restaurant called Le Trabe (letrabe.it/en).
“There’s one crew lunch that stands out in my mind, too – with Peppe Guida, the self-taught, Michelin-star chef at Villa Rosa not far from Sorrento (peppeguida.com/villa-rosa-la-casa-di-lella).
We had an incredible lemon pasta and so many fresh vegetables.
“WE HAD TO pinch ourselves – more than once – that this counted as work,” says Lottie Birmingham, who is the executive producer of Stanley Tucci’s latest foodie Italian travelogue.