Gondola On The Murray
World, 8pm
Unless you are Australian and watch cookery programmes on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), you probably do not know who Stefano de Pieri (above) is. He is a TV chef who presents one of many popular cookery programmes Down Under, which ATV has bought and is airing tonight. An Australian friend says there are a number of TV chefs in the country and I should not get too excited about it.
Well, I have to say de Pieri is not exactly Jamie Oliver, the trendy young celebrity of The Naked Chef fame and voted one of the 'sexiest' men alive last year by People Magazine in the US. Perhaps ATV should buy one of his shows.
Anyway, back to de Pieri, who is popular enough to have a Web site devoted to him. 'I cook for a living . . . but I'd rather be conductor,' he says. 'To chill out, I sleep. The thing I make best is risotto with parmigano and chicken stock. The piece of technology that has shaped my life the most is the bike. Fellini's Amarcord is my favourite film of all time. Paradise is Sunday lunch with my family. The first thing I do when I switch on the computer is call for help. The first thing I look at when I meet a person is their eyes.' And his philosophy on food? 'Food should be the business of hope, passion and celebration. All I can contribute is a repackaging of the basic rules of Italian cooking in a manner that I think is relevant to Australian conditions,' he wrote in one of his books. There, you probably feel like you know this man already. In the first of this seven-episode series, the Italian-born chef prepares a 'long lunch' with new varieties of Italian wines as well as braised duck with pappardelli and mushrooms.
Avventura Journeys In Italian Cuisine
Pearl, 6.50pm