Eating History: Italy

Italian food's conquest of the world is today almost complete and it is now considered the world's best cuisine. But it was not always like that. John tells the story of a remarkable transformation. In this episode, Johns subjects a group of modern tourist to the food served to 19th-century tourists on their grand tour of Europe. He walks in the footsteps the unlikely father of Italian Food, Pellegrino Artusi, who through his seminal book of recipes did much more to bring Italy together than any politician had until then and, some might argue, since. John reveals how Italian cuisine today is unpretentious, delightful and most of all, healthy! At least that is what the American Scientist Ancel Keys declared when he popularised the term "Mediterranean diet", setting Italian food on its way to conquer the world…a conquest that was completed by the incredibly talented Italian chefs who today are Italy's most important ambassadors.