Gino's Italy: Like Mamma Used to Make

Chef Gino D'Acampo travels through the north and south of Italy, celebrating the women who have fuelled and fed his fellow Italians through the ages. He starts his culinary journey in his birthplace of Torre del Greco on the outskirts of Naples, where he learnt to cook in the kitchens of his Nonna Flora and Mamma Alba.

Chef Gino D'Acampo heads to Procida off the coast of Naples, a hidden gem of an island that is dwarfed by neighbouring Capri and Ischia, but has a big reputation when it comes to food. Gino meets two women who are at the top of their game and are changing the culinary landscape, and concludes his visit by cooking trofie pasta with lemon pesto and prawns.

Gino D'Acampo heads to Tuscany and reveals a very different side of this much-visited region, one that is steeped in medieval heritage and its linked culinary customs. Women are very much at the heart of this, and he meets the successors as well as the creators of these cherished traditions, hoping to learn some of these lessons himself. Gino finishes his day cooking a delicious steak Fiorentina.

Chef Gino D'Acampo heads to Emilia Romagna, where he gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari in its birthplace. Also known as Italy's food basket, the region is characterised by its medieval cities of Bologna and Modena and is home to farmland producing meat and cheese, as well as balsamic vinegar that is celebrated throughout the world. Gino concludes his time here rustling up mortadella burgers with a red onion, cherry and balsamic relish.

Gino is back exploring Tuscany - he visits a wheat farm, learns about Tuscan food traditions, goes to work at a vineyard and tastes some fine wine.

Gino D'Acampo concludes his culinary tour by returning to his home town of Torre del Greco, making a modern twist on a traditional aubergine parmigiana in the foothills of Mount Vesuvius. Then It's all hands on deck for Gino and his relatives as they prepare an Italian feast to honour his Aunt Clara and toast her with a special wild fennel spritzer.