In this 90 minute special the Welsh Italian cook Michela Chiappa shares her favourite recipes for Britain’s 10 favourite Italian dishes. Based on an online poll, the recipe list include plenty of favourites that we’ve loved for years, as well as some unexpected modern choices that show how British tastes have developed and confidence has grown. Britain’s tastes have clearly evolved since Britain first discovered Italian food in the 1950s – Panorama’s classic April Fool report on the Spaghetti Harvest from 1957 shows how exotic Italian food was to our grandparents. Nowadays bruschetta, linguine and pesto are everyday staples for Britain’s children, and Italian food our go-to choice for food that’s easy to prepare, full of flavor and guaranteed to please. But there’s one surprising omission… what no spag bol?!
Michela’s authentic but easy to follow recipes are based on lessons learned from her Italian grandparents, but also reflects her modern tastes to bring the best Italian flavours to contemporary home cooking.
As we countdown through the 10 to discover Britain’s ultimate Italian favourite, the programme features interviews with many of the chefs responsible for this ‘Britalain’ love affair: JAMIE OLIVER, RUTH ROGERS, THEO RANDALL, ALDO ZILLI, VALENTINA HARRIS AND GENNARO CONTALDO, as well as the new kids cooking the best Italian food in Britain today: SAM HARRIS, FLORENCE KNIGHT and JACOB KENEDY.