Gino’s Italian Escape - Season 1 (2013)

Gino begins his Italian journey on the stunning Amalfi Coast, a favourite holiday destination from his childhood. First off Gino visits the pretty town of Amalfi, world-famous for its lemons ,and explores a secluded citrus grove, high on the cliffs above the town. Here, he picks and tastes Amalfi’s legendary lemons with a family who own the grove. Motivated by the breathtaking location, Gino whips up a creamy lemon mousse topped with crushed amaretti biscuits - using Amalfi’s unique fruit and the local citrus liqueur, limoncello. Eager to find more tasty Italian ingredients, Gino then heads further down the coast to an organic buffalo farm. Here, he meets expert mozzarella makers and is keen to try his hand at crafting the pliable cheese. As the sun goes down, Gino hosts a sailing trip with his new friends from the lemon grove and dishes up delicate buffalo mozzarella wrapped in parma ham and rocket, paired with a delicious cocktail of limoncello and prosecco.

Gino's Italian adventures continue in Naples - the area of Italy where he was born and where he trained to be a chef. Here, he examines the foods and ingredients that have made the city famous - pizza and coffee! Naples is world famous for its pizza and credited for inventing the Margherita pizza of mozzarella, tomato and basil in 1889. Whilst in Naples Gino investigates the Neapolitan food trend of fried pizza – and helps an award winning chef make this surprisingly tasty street snack.

Gino pays a visit to Puglia, a region where centuries of tradition meet modern day. Close to Bari, the bustling capital of the Puglia region, the cool sea breezes helps to provide perfect conditions for growing olives and producing local olive oil.

Gino makes a culinary journey around the country's capital, where his first stop is one of Rome's finest delicatessens.

Gino returns to Campania, the Italian region where he grew up and where his family still live today. He pays a visit to Gragnano, which is world-famous for its pasta. He also visits a picturesque orchard, where he comes across the reddest cherries he’s ever seen. Gino pays a visit to his Italian relatives and for the first time ever decides to cook for them.

Gino is in Puglia on the lookout for some amazing food and visits Altamura, a place known for it's world-famous historic bread. He then moves on to one of the poorest regions of southern Italy, Basilicata. He samples some traditional cucina povera, which translates as poor people’s cuisine.