Episode 3 Second Chance Summer: Tuscany

IN ITALIAN:

Maurizio's farm in the southern Tuscan hills is up for sale.

Before he sells,

he is handing over the running of his business to ten strangers.

-Hello.

-Oh, hello.

-Bottoms up.

-Salute.

They all share the same dream...

I am to young to go in my rocking chair quite yet.

..of starting a new life in Italy.

Being a farmer, living in Tuscany is what I should be doing.

But this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

comes with responsibility.

-What have you done all morning?

-You will not get an answer from me.

By taking over the whole farm, they must tend the 13-acre vineyard.

This is really, really hard work.

And five acres of olive trees.

The little babies are starting to be made into oil.

As well as breathe new life into the bed-and-breakfast.

I can't quite believe this is happening.

-And serve food to paying customers.

-Come with us.

To our...ristorante.

SHE CHUCKLES

This is their chance to put their dreams to the test.

AP COUNTS IN ITALIAN

We probably need someone who speaks Italian to know what it's saying.

After two months,

will any of the group decide to buy the farm together?

I'd never be able to afford to do this sort of thing on my own.

Or will they find other ways to make Tuscany their new home?

What could possibly go wrong(?)

The group are starting their third week running the farm.

Little chicken eggs from our own chickens.

These have got to be the smallest eggs in the world.

Good morning!

I've devised a shopping list.

What do you want for the next two days?

A bottle of Irn-Bru.

-Irn-Bru? In Italy?

-Yeah.

THEY CHUCKLE

Entrusted with Maurizio's prized vineyard,

they've succeeded in pulling off the grape harvest.

But the daily farm chores continue.

Firewood needs to be collected to keep the boiler alight.

OK, I think if we leave that open, we can get some air in there.

It's still pretty full from the load earlier.

We all have the responsibility for it.

It's got to be constantly burning, all day and all night, so...

So, we're just taking turns, really, to keep it going.

I came here to find a reason to get up for every morning.

I mean, it's beautiful scenery and it's...

I mean, it's stunning.

But in reality, it's bloody hard work.

It's long hours, it's monotonous, it's tiring.

It's the reality check, really.

HE GROANS

Look at this manly... He's carrying a hay bale.

There's nothing more manly than carrying a hay bale.

'I'm absolutely loving Tuscany.

'If I'm truthful, it's probably been...'

15 years since I've felt as good as I do now.

I'm actually surprised how much I'm enjoying it - the countryside,

the people, the weather, the work we're doing.

So where is the orchard, then?

-It's... Well, if we cut... Just move a bit further.

-Yeah?

'I want a simple life.'

I love growing all my own stuff.

I love being out in the countryside.

I love the fact that you can wake up every morning and the sun shines.

It's just magic.

I see you've got the shopping bag with you, all ready to go.

My special market bag.

In search of some fresh produce, this morning,

Gill, Karen and Lesley

are making the six-mile trip to their local town.

Castel del Piano lies on the western slopes of Mount Amiata and

has a history dating back to the Etruscan times.

Look at all the stuff, wow.

Quanto costa?

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

Today, its main attraction is the weekly market.

Tartufo is truffle.

-Yeah, it's a black truffle.

-That would be really nice.

Salame, cinghiale?

-Si.

-Si?

That's perfect.

That's bread.

Pane is bread.

-But no, look. It's...

-Like pancakes, like crepes.

So, we need to find the fruit and vegetables. Oh, here.

I think this is it.

'For me, Italy just means'

the food, the wine, the cooking.

I'm going to go with the fact

that they are so fresh that I think they'll be fine.

'I can smell lemons, olives,'

everything.

-Fennel's lovely.

-I know.

I'm going to go for...four.

'I do love to cook.

'There are some really great Italian recipes that I've never really been

'able to try'

because they're really stuff that you need from Italy.

Are those unripened lemons on the vine?

-Beautiful.

-They've got all the leaves, too.

-Get some.

-Yeah?

Definitely.

-Grazie.

-Are we done?

-Yeah, I think so. Are you happy with that?

OK.

-What are you making for tea?

-Risotto.

-Risotto?

-That'll be fine.

-Wow!

-That looks amazing!

-I like your work.

-Wow.

-Well done, Gill.

Well, you can go and ask for all these things now.

While the farm survives on income from the vines and olive groves,

there are also other ways for an agriturismo to make money.

-Looks delicious!

-The group have plans to open a restaurant.

Am I right in saying that the general idea was that

obviously different people want to cook on different nights?

We could have, like, a run-through night

and then do it on Saturday night.

Not charging anyone,

but to invite all the people that have helped us so far.

It's like an opening night - you are opening up and you're

just bringing in everybody who's helped you

and you're getting word out there.

You don't get a menu, you sit there, you eat what you're given.

And you meet people and have fun.

Would it be sensible maybe, just to start off, to do,

for the next two weeks, just do it on a Saturday night?

Just to get us going? Do you want to start this Saturday?

Yeah, honestly, I'll give it a go.

Right, so you are in charge this week.

Gill is the head chef on Saturday,

and I think there is something at stake here, really.

You know, we are kind of the Brits here and we just want to

prove that we actually know about food and cooking good food.

How many people are you planning on inviting to your first night?

-We can do up to ten.

-This is restaurant standard food

-we're talking about.

-Yeah, yeah. It's all right.

-A good chef has got to do what they want to do.

-Yeah.

You're going to do what you want to do. They're going to do what...

We've got to give everyone...

Gill does enjoy cooking, but the difficult part is going to be

finding people prepared to come up and try it.

You've got to give them a reason, you know,

"Why should we travel up to La Banditaccia?"

So, we're just going to have to work on that a little bit.

This sounds exciting now.

Well, it's good to do, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Good work.

'I really want to get involved in the restaurant.

'It's very hard work, but I don't see'

any reason why we shouldn't have a go.

Andy, did you see we got yesterday?

-Oh, that's fantastic.

-I love it.

-That's cool.

-We really loved it.

We only saw it by accident, but I think it looks really sweet.

I'm loving it.

-Loving it!

-Loving it!

-Loving it.

-Yeah.

The restaurant isn't the only project on the agenda.

The grapes have been gathered, but the olives are still ripening,

and soon the group will have their second big harvest to contend with.

Across the region, the olive harvest for some farms has already begun.

With the groves at La Banditaccia soon reaching their peak,

Rob has invited local farmer Stavros to check out their crop.

So, the olives are up there.

-Also there.

-And it goes, yeah, and down.

Two years ago here, it has a big, big attack of flies.

This destroyed all the production.

And we will look now, but if we see that is the fly, you know,

the sickness, we have to take samples and to bring to someone

here to look at the microscope.

-If the fly is attacking the olives...

-Mm-hm.

..we've got to move pretty fast, yeah?

-We've got to...

-We have to see how much is the attack, you know.

-Yeah.

-Has it the fly or not?

-We have to go inside.

-OK.

I didn't come here with the concept that I would be a farmer,

but you've got to embrace everything that's here.

It's hard work, that's the one thing I've really learned, you know.

The farmers,

a lot of them have next to nothing,

but they are also genuinely happy and they enjoy their lives.

It's great.

We can see also some... We can...

Oh, look, this is the beginning of the attack.

It's not so much, you know.

Therefore, we have to take the samples so we can see how

much is attacked, what percentage has been attacked by this fly.

-OK.

-Hm?

-Yeah, yeah, OK, we can do that.

In a good year, each tree can produce

up to four litres of olive oil,

but this season, with the threat of the fly affecting the

region's olives, Rob has concerns about their crop.

Do you see that?

So this olive's got little pock marks on it, which is basically

where the fly has kind of buried its larvae in,

and it'll eat... Basically,

it eats all the pulp inside the olive, which it just knackers it from there.

Stavos was saying we've caught it early, so let's hope...

We have to wait for the results to come back and take it from there.

Rob and Altaf are visiting a local press for some professional advice.

-This is the lab, then, is it?

-It's not a lab.

This is an olive press.

Frantoio Franci is a world-renowned olive mill with

a reputation for creating high-class organic olive oil.

Giorgio.

THEY SPEAK ITALIAN

Best-case scenario is we get a phone call tonight to say the ideal

course of action would be to spray the olives,

leave it 21 days and look at picking them then.

You know, it could be the make or break of the farm.

If the olive is contaminated,

is our harvest ruined, or can we still harvest the olives?

It depends how many olives are...

probably contaminated.

I don't know if it's the right word.

The structure of the olives is in part destroyed

by the action of the fly

because the worm of the fly grow up eating the pulp of the olives.

Oh, OK.

With the microscope, we can see if the egg is alive and if the

worm is alive and which size is it.

Severe fly damage could result in the oil from their olives being

downgraded, and as a consequence, less income for the farm.

Don't be afraid. You can make extra virgin olive oil.

Maybe you can't win the best of the world with these olives,

but you can make a very good extra virgin olive oil.

That's a huge relief, that we can still harvest.

It's a massive relief. I'm actually really relieved.

-Positive result, yeah, absolutely.

-Positive result.

Remember, you have to produce oil - bitter and spicy.

Bitter and spicy oil, OK.

If you come in Tuscany and produce extra virgin oil,

you have to produce good.

-Bitter and spicy.

-No pressure(!)

You can't make mistake.

Definitely not! Thank you very much.

Learning about what it takes to do a proper harvest and seeing

kind of it all going on has been great.

It is seasonal. It's hard work.

But everyone you speak to is passionate about what they do here.

And it's so lovely. It's kind of a little bit like going back in time.

After receiving good news about the olives,

Rob and Altaf head into Castel del Piano.

So, what's the longest time you've stayed in one place?

I lived in Buckinghamshire for seven years, that's probably the longest.

I love having that luxury. And don't get me wrong,

I would love nothing more than to settle down, have kids.

I've had that life, of having a home,

a nice life, but then it doesn't work out.

-I have a very cynical view about relationships.

-Yeah.

Do you know what I mean?

I threw my heart and love into my wife, and it didn't work out,

and it completely throws your life a curve ball,

and you've got to deal with it.

My marriage failed, and now,

the first time, at 44, I'm single

and finding...

discovering myself again.

I thought, "Oh, my God," my world had ended

when my marriage broke down.

And I couldn't see anything beyond that.

I thought, "That's it, I'm done."

But I actually now realise, actually,

I'm beginning to understand me more.

In a relationship, you've got to compromise.

You've got to compromise.

Yeah, you have to. It's a two-way street, right?

There is a fine line between compromising and losing yourself.

When you've been with another person for so many years,

you lose yourself, you lose a sense of yourself.

The simple things. "What is it I like, what is it I want?"

Back at the farm, with Gill in charge,

the group are preparing for their opening night.

So, this room is going to turn into the restaurant.

I'm liking that.

I put the wine glasses over there.

I found some Italian cookery books.

We found this old hammock. Yeah, it's a bit of a focal point.

I like it.

So I'm quite... Yeah, I'm quite pleased.

'Coming to Italy has given me a real sense of purpose.

'Life is about opening up to new challenges'

and experiences.

And...

trying to make yourself

a better person.

-Is that prominent enough?

-Yeah.

By the time you've got your menu written on it,

Even just... Or, "Welcome to La Banditaccia."

-Not over-the-top there?

-No, not at all.

-OK. No, actually...

-Cos it's the same colour, right?

-Colour, exactly.

OK.

My partner, Graham, died of cancer in March of this year,

and that really did hit me.

I'd cared for him for six months, and actually, when that was over,

it was almost like, "What am I going to do now? What's my purpose?"

I've lost touch with the world, with everything.

I think you've done a stunning job.

-POSH VOICE:

-Sterling, darling, sterling.

-Thank you, thank you.

-Yes, yes, yes.

-Wow! That looks so cool.

-What are you thinking?

I'm thinking, "Who's going to sit there while they're waiting

-"for their food?"

-THEY LAUGH

HE SIGHS

-This is beautiful.

-Beautiful!

It's absolutely gorgeously beautiful.

I love that. I just love the changes of the light.

Over the mountains, hills.

You can see why people...

-Painters used to come here, to Tuscany.

-Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

It's tranquil, isn't it?

I don't think I've ever seen anything, like, you know,

light and shade, the way it works.

Incredible.

-How's your day been?

-Been good.

-My day's been a bit weird.

Kind of struggling to...

understand why I'm here, to be honest.

Yeah.

Living with strangers is difficult, you know.

It's not an easy thing.

I think it's difficult for somebody

who's predominantly used to

being on their own or with a small group of close friends or

family to all of a sudden

have to deal with total strangers.

I think we are all learning, you know, to get along with each other.

-This is so good.

-Do you like it?

-I love it.

-This is absolutely fantastic.

Really awesome is what it is.

It's real comfort food.

While you're eating, Stavros came here today, he's had a look at our

olive groves because we were worried these flies that attack

the olives were kind of doing a bit of damage.

He said it's good news, the olives are OK.

Realistically, at the earliest,

the olive harvest is going to happen in seven days.

Oh, brilliant!

There is the potential that we might actually make a profit.

Potentially on the olives.

-We'll get a good price? How does that work?

-Potentially.

We need to make some phone calls and have some conversations,

-but, yeah.

-Gill, this is so beautiful.

-You like it, Chi?

-Spot on.

-I'm really glad.

There's definitely been a shift.

I look around and everyone's got their own little roles.

I just felt like I am walking about aimlessly trying to figure

out what I could bring to the group.

I came here to grow,

and today I felt I'd got nothing to offer to anyone.

-Bongiorno.

-Bongiorno.

I'm just about to do some eggs.

How many eggs have we had since...?

There was one yesterday.

-Two the day before.

-Uh-huh.

-Two the day before.

-Are we calculating our losses? No?

-But they're very cute.

-Oh, God!

I like them.

It's a new day on the farm

and one of the group has reached a conclusion.

I had an idea something was on the cards.

Yesterday, he wasn't himself.

-He was a bit down.

-Emotionally, yeah.

But it's his decision.

-He's not a teenager, he's a grown man.

-Yeah.

-Right?

He can make his own decisions.

After a fortnight at La Banditaccia, Altaf is moving on.

I had a conversation last night with Robert and he said,

"Altaf, you've got to have some sort of purpose or you've got

"to be passionate about something."

And, yeah, do I get itchy feet if I sit still for too long? Absolutely,

I get itchy feet. I want to run away. I want to escape.

The only way I can be free is to get into

my vehicle and just keep wandering.

Maybe it's the gypsy in me. It needs to keep travelling.

I've had these misgivings and I've booked a flight to the UK.

I want to keep my options open.

-Take some time, yeah?

-It doesn't feel I'm completely running

away, but taking stock of what I want to do.

-You're going to touch base?

-Yeah. I've left my stuff here.

Good. Excellent.

I've only just heard, Rob has just told me

that there's a chance, or that there's a likelihood,

that Altaf will be leaving this morning.

I feel really funny. You can feel the atmosphere has changed.

Like, everyone is really sort of...

Clearly, he had so much going on,

but he couldn't really talk to people.

I felt a bit like we had let him down, actually, because,

you know, perhaps if he had spoken to more people,

maybe that would've helped.

At the end of the day, what Altaf has done is his choice,

and we are not here to make his mind up for him.

Well, I mean, all you've got to do is look at a family of ten.

I don't think it's humanly possible

for ten people to live together!

-24 hours a day.

-24 hours a day.

-Seven days a week for seven weeks.

So all it is is a reflection of life.

I think it would be really easy for all of us just a say, "Oh,

"I've had enough, I want to go home. I miss my family, I miss my house."

But these opportunities don't come along very often.

And I feel that I still haven't found my answer yet.

With one Tuscan journey at an end, farm life continues.

And with the olive harvest a week away, the nets are being prepared.

If you came to live here, then, were you thinking about something

that would be just for yourself

or would you also be thinking about a relationship?

I honestly don't know is the answer to that one. I don't know if I

would ever go down that path again.

I'm not sure.

Life throws funny things at you, things that you don't expect.

And when I got married the first time,

I was 22 years old.

I had my first child when I was almost 24.

And I was more than happy to do that

role of being, you know, house wife.

But things didn't work out that way.

I've had two marriages have broken down due to financial reasons.

I'll be honest, it would be nice to settle down, but not, you know...

It's got to be...

I'm not saying I'm closing the doors on it.

I am saying I'm not actively looking.

-That's it, end of.

-This is time for you.

-Yeah.

I got disillusioned, I think,

with the breakdown of my second marriage, thinking that that would

be the one that would see us out and then realising that,

you know, it wasn't going to happen.

My dreams were shattered, my goals were shattered.

Everything I wanted in my life hasn't come true.

I hope that moving to Italy will give

me a complete and utter sense of purpose again.

-Do you think that you would like a relationship?

-I don't know.

I think if Mr Right were suddenly to appear in front of me,

I would probably, yeah, look at it and think, "Oh."

Cos these things come along when you're least expecting it.

Then pepsio.

Peposo.

-Is that...?

-Potato, I think it.

We've got grated tomatoes with mushrooms...

-Do you want me to tell you?

-Go on, it would be easier.

It would be less painful.

Peposo is the peppered stew,

and then budino is the pudding of apple and lemon.

-Is that like a mousse kind of thing or...?

-No. It's pudding.

-Pudding.

SHE LAUGHS

This evening, Gill will be offering home-cooked food to customers

for the first time in an effort to boost their agriturismo.

I want it really, really...

-Finely chopped?

-No, not chopped.

-I'd like it finely sliced.

-Sliced.

-Mm-hm.

-And chillies as well, you said?

-Yeah.

-I think that could all go in together.

-It's cooked, isn't it?

-Is it slowly cooked?

-Yeah.

Is this all the stuff for today?

-Yeah.

-That's a massive pepper. What are you going to do with that?

-Are you going to stuff it?

-It will go into like a stew.

-Oh, right, OK.

So these are all going to go into the stew. And this here is the...

-..the fennel that you are going to braise.

-Yeah.

We'll kind of like slice it down the middle

and then do it in a stock.

Well, it looks wonderful.

-And you are feeling calm, aren't you?

-I am at the moment.

-Uh-huh.

Yeah, I am at the moment.

I love cooking.

I love it when I've got a huge table

full of people who are

really enjoying their food.

Karen, bits of this meat is caught on the top.

Is that OK, do you think?

Graham was really the cook. He's left me with that legacy.

Our dream was being able to buy a bed-and-breakfast.

And we were so, so close, it's just ironic that we didn't quite make it.

The starter's done.

The meat's done. Everything's done.

-And breathe.

-And breathe.

Oh, my God.

That's gorgeous.

That is absolute perfect.

To test out their hosting skills before opening to the public,

the group have invited some of their neighbours.

So if you say benvenuto, cos that's "welcome".

-Benvenuto is welcome.

-Benvenuto.

-Is that Italian?

-Hm.

-OK.

A good restaurant relies on reputation.

Keen for local word to spread, for the first night only,

dinner will be on the house.

-We've got the wines the guys bought.

-Yeah.

We'll stick to the champagne for now.

-You good with pouring champagne?

-Yeah.

I mean, if it's the kind of stick it in the bottom of the bum

and all that kind of stuff.

-That's what I'm wondering.

-No, no, just hold it on the side.

I think I am kind of front of house, kind of back of house.

Kind of everything.

Romain is a local olive farmer who has been teaching the group Italian.

Benvenuto.

-Buonasera.

-Buonasera.

-I'm Chi, welcome.

-Yes, Olivia.

-Olivia. Lovely to meet you.

Marita, nice to meet you.

Lovely to meet you.

It's really nice to have people here, actually. It feels real now.

Except I don't really know if we have enough coat hangers.

-A gift.

-Oh, he comes bearing gifts! Fantastic.

-Wow.

-We have our menu on the board.

This is our meal for tonight.

-So I hope you enjoy this evening.

-Great.

-Thank you.

Just make yourselves at home, right? Just chill and relax and enjoy.

-Thank you.

-OK.

Hoping to make a good impression,

the evening starts with champagne and canapes.

-The saucisson is wild boar.

-Right.

-And truffle.

-Wild boar and truffle, OK.

-Yeah?

-Hors d'oeuvres?

-So you've got some smoked salmon.

-Is there a vegetarian one?

Yeah, they're both... We will do...

I will bring you the vegetarian ones afterwards.

-Yes.

-The sausage is wild boar and truffle.

I'm vegetarian, so...

You're vegetarian, so you're not going to...

-Chef, we have a slight problem. There's no vegetarian option.

-OK.

Do they not eat fish either?

No, this is pescatarian, that's not vegetarian.

Is there anything that we can just quickly rustle up?

A slight hiccup cos no-one told me that they didn't eat fish.

Anyway, we're muddling through, as they say.

Cheese and avocado for our vegetarians.

Anybody else vegetarian? There you go. Cheese and avocado.

You'll have it anyway!

OK, that one is good to go.

Embracing the joys of Italian cuisine, Gill has prepared

peposo - a traditional peppery beef stew and a staple of rural Tuscany.

Wow, this looks great. Yes, beautiful.

Buon appetito. Bellissimo.

Wow, look at that!

Yeah, look at that! I wonder what's inside.

The surprise is it's full of meat.

-Funghi, mushrooms.

-Funghi!

I have a question.

Is the chef Italian or...

English or French?

Tasting the food, it could be Italian.

Is everything all right?

It's very, very good.

You have to tell it to the chef.

Pass our compliments on to the chef, thank you.

Gill did really well. First time we've done it.

We are cooking for local people. The wine is flowing.

They seem to be OK about the food, so I think it's all good.

-I know that the chef is not Italian.

-Why?

-Because we would not serve everything altogether.

-You're right.

Of course.

Only the meat and then you have maybe a side dish

with the vegetables, but not altogether,

so this is a sign that the chef is not Italian.

We want to meet the chef because I think you call the catering.

CHI HUMS A VICTORY MARCH

Bravo!

I did come here obviously to try everything out,

and I did enjoy doing the restaurant.

But have you been cooking before Italian food?

This was not the first time.

-Yeah, really, the first time.

-Wow!

The peposo was really Italian.

Yes.

It's really hard work,

but I think Graham would be quite proud of me.

-La chef.

-ALL:

-Alla chef.

It's a new day at the farm.

-So was it successful tonight?

-Yeah, very.

Somebody has booked to come back

-and actually pay for it next week.

-Cool!

Tracey, there is a God, and they are all yours.

The burnt offerings of the last three bits of shortbread.

Three bits, guys. Come on, three bits.

That's all right, I'm OK with this.

Do you think you all played a good part, then, or...?

-Would you change anything, or...?

-It was actually really nice.

We were in the kitchen and you could hear everybody laughing and

it just sounded like it was a dinner party at home.

I just wanted to go and join in.

They would have been happy to have had, instead of it being plated,

in the middle, which I've never had that in a restaurant.

Do you think that they'll come again if they've got to pay?

Well, there are people who are coming already.

-Gavin's got a couple of people.

-OK.

Maybe some more people in the...from the village.

OK.

Riding on the wave of Gill's success,

for their next evening, the agriturismo will host their

first paying customers with former chef Gavin in charge.

Well, it's like a little flyer. So it just says,

"We would like to invite you to join us at La Banditaccia

"for our very first evening of traditional Tuscan food,

"wine and entertainment.

"The menu will offer traditional local dishes, 40 euros per person.

"Please call and reserve your table as soon as possible

"so as to avoid disappointment."

And what I would love to see is that the restaurant could be full

every Saturday night. I have run businesses most of my life.

I have been self-employed since I was 22, so, yeah,

it does come natural.

And obviously, I've been involved with the catering industry for the

predominant part of that time, so it does come fairly naturally.

So it's what I enjoy.

I spent many years learning to be a chef,

then I moved into my own restaurant.

I've had several pubs,

a nightclub, a bed-and-breakfast hotel.

The appeal to me of starting something from scratch and making

a success of it, or not, because there have been

a few that haven't been, but I think that's what motivates me.

We're escaping, old bean.

Yes, go, go, go!

It's a bit like Thelma & Louise, isn't it?

In search of a flavour of Tuscany, Gavin and Andy set off to

visit Italy's gastronomic capital - Florence.

-You couldn't take a picture of me, could you?

-Sure.

Just so I can prove, in case nobody believes...

Nobody believes you were actually there.

Nobody believes I was ever there.

-With that dome in the background?

-Yeah.

There you go.

Cheers, geezer.

With his upcoming restaurant night, for Gavin, it's a chance

to take inspiration from an authentic Florentine market.

That's the one I was on about.

That Fiorentina, that's like a full side of beef.

What I really wanted to do for the restaurant was to serve that

for everybody, but this Fiorentina, what they do is they cook it

five minutes on one side, five minutes on the other, so it's rare.

-Virtually red and runny, bloody in the middle.

-Well, raw.

-Yeah.

Raw in the middle, yeah.

And you serve that with what?

It's going to be mashed potatoes with asparagus,

and I am going to do a thick sauce, like a jus, they call it.

A thick meat sauce.

That wouldn't be bad for the restaurant, either.

-The Cumberland?

-It's kind of like that, yes.

It's a spicy sausage, but it's got sort of paprika,

it's got that paprika, smoky paprika taste.

Get some of those, they'll be nice.

-Can we have quattro?

-Quattro, si.

Just had a little bit of inspiration there - I might just do

a very slow braise on it, and add it to one of the main courses.

Scusi, this...

It is meat, beef.

Salted. With spice.

This is my recipe.

-This butcher shop is three generations of my family.

-Si.

My grandfather, my father, and me.

So that is why you are excellent at your trade?

Because it's in your blood, it's in your genes.

Yes.

I think that walking round proper markets,

things I used to do 25 years ago, when I was a chef,

it's reminded me of how I used to feel about food, and cooking,

and experimenting, and things like that,

and that's really unexpected.

After a taste of Tuscan delights,

Gavin and Andy are eager to sample some of the city's best cuisine.

We are not coming all the way to Florence without having

a Florentine steak.

I suppose you can't really ask for a well-done one, can you?

Let me tell you something, if you go into a restaurant in Florence

or Tuscany and ask for a well-done beefsteak Fiorentina,

they will throw you out. And I mean literally, throw you out.

Ciao.

Bistecca a la Fiorentina is one of Florence's most famous dishes.

A rich and rare kilo of steak,

bred from Tuscany's finest Chianina cattle.

You can get right lost.

-Oh, my God!

-That was mine!

Do people really come in and eat the whole thing themselves?

-Yeah!

-Really?

-Yeah, it's really nice.

Also, if you make your shirt dirty, it's better. Enjoy.

-Thank you.

-Grazie.

That is the best thing I've eaten in a long time.

I'm speechless.

Good food, good company, good wine.

-Perfect.

-Perfect.

It's the day of reckoning for the restaurant.

This evening, paying guests are booked into the Agriturismo,

expecting an authentic Tuscan dinner.

I feel OK, but I've got stomach cramps and diarrhoea and

things of that nature, so there's something not quite right.

Nightmare.

I've been quite unwell during the night, with issues,

and obviously, when you're cooking for anybody else,

particularly paying customers,

you've got to be very careful with that kind of thing.

Very disappointed, I've been looking forward to it,

but at the end of the day, you've got to be sensible.

-So, if we can get hold of Gill and Karen...

-Right.

-And they agree to do the food, the cooking tonight.

-Mm-hm.

Obviously, my menu is out the window,

so they are going to have to go and do the shopping as well,

before coming back here to prepare it.

-So...

-OK.

-Tight does not even begin to cover it.

I can't remember the last time I had my hair done

-on a Saturday morning, actually.

-No.

-Buongiorno.

Buongiorno.

-What you going to have done?

-Shampoo and then a...

-..bit of a zhuzh.

-A zhuzh?

-Yeah, but I don't know you say...

-Is there a word for a zhuzh?

-I don't know how you say blow-dry.

-Yeah.

So long as you don't have that enormous thing on your head.

Oh... Ooh.

-That's very retro.

-Mm.

PHONE RINGS

Oh, who's that? That's me.

My bag's always too big. Erm...

-Hello?

-Hello, is Jill there?

-Er, it's Karen.

-Oh, hi, Karen. Right, you'll do!

-Oh, thanks!

-You're going to love...

-HE LAUGHS

You're going to love this.

Because of my dicky tummy, I cannot cook.

The question is, can you and Jill take over the cooking?

Erm, obviously my menu is not going to be suitable,

so it would be a case of you guys sort of getting your heads together

quickly and deciding something that you're comfortable to do.

-Even if it's a repeat of last week...

-Right.

-You know, whatever.

-You know, you're kind of...

-I know. I know, love.

Gavin, I'm going to talk to Jill. I'll call you back in five minutes.

-OK, that...

-Or you can call me back in five minutes.

-I'll call you back in five.

-Five minutes?

-No problem.

All right, thanks, bye.

-Just get...

-Have you ever heard anything so bizarre?

-No. There's not enough time.

-I haven't even thought about menus or anything.

-I don't know what the time is, what's the time?

-It's 11 o'clock.

There's been nothing done whatsoever. The kitchen's in a mess.

-Yeah.

-Everything is in a mess and he wants us to pull it out of the bag.

The word is no.

N-O.

Can't be done.

'What a joke. I'm not picking up his mistake,

'because I wouldn't put my name to it if I couldn't do it properly.'

I'm not doing it with an hour's notice, busting a gut to do

something that, you know, if I haven't planned it, can't...

You just can't do that. No chef would do that.

Ah, Lesley.

This is your challenge for the day, should you choose to accept it.

-Yourself and Tracey...

-Right.

I'm going to try and get this thing together. I know it's...

-Look, I mean, I'm not being funny, but...

-I know. I know, I know.

This is just setting me up to fail, isn't it?

You've had an entire week to think about your menu, sort it out.

You're thrusting this on me, right, for a three-course meal, right,

for eight people, at 11.20, and we haven't even done the shopping.

It's either we come up with something

or we have to postpone it for a week, until next week.

That's what we've got to try and avoid.

I mean, I'm just trying to think now what sort of recipe could you put together...

I mean, by the time we've been shopping and messing around,

we're talking about beans on toast.

Milk, garlic, chilli.

I have never cooked food for a restaurant.

I don't do fancy highfalutin cooking, I do very basic home food,

very tasty, very filling, to feed a family.

I'm just going to pick stuff up from here that I know I can get from here.

It's going to be, erm, a British menu tonight.

Whether they like it or not!

Nothing matters like it used to. Life is for having fun,

without having to obsess about it,

the pressure of being obsessed about your looks.

THEY SPEAK ITALIAN

Si.

'Ageing is something that you have to accept.

'People said that when you get to about 50, women become invisible.'

Men no longer wolf-whistle at you, nobody turns...

bats an eyelid when you walk past, and I agree, it's true.

I am invisible.

But I love being invisible, because I've got such a sense of freedom.

-Grazie, arrivederci.

-Grazie. Arrivederci.

Right.

Crumble butter...

Where do you get the stewing beef from?

Back at the farm, with sickness keeping him from the kitchen,

Gavin sets about turning the living room into a space for fine dining.

I think it is going to be a nicer setting for the restaurant. Cosy.

Nice view. And away from the kitchen and the noise.

Apart from the bugs. I'm going to get rid of the bugs.

Purdy.

I think if I'm honest,

the reason I've tried so many different things in my life

is that there is an aspect of a certain amount of boredom, yeah.

After I've been doing something for a while I do tend to

sometimes lose interest, and it's a big failing.

I suppose truthfully if I'd have spent a bit more time concentrating

on one thing I might have done a little bit better.

But that's just not who I am. I'm a little bit of a free spirit.

Lesley was the only one who was willing to help, really.

I think she'll do a nice job.

You know, she's fairly confident about the menu she's going to cook.

It's a lot simpler, but, yeah, we'll just have to get through it and...

Not ideal circumstances, though.

-So what are you cooking, Les?

-Oh, Christ knows.

We're having a chicken pasta starter, chicken which is

done with peppers and fresh...

whatever we could get, erm, tagliatelle.

-Moving on to beef casserole.

-How many layers are you having?

-How many servings?

-They want a meal. Sorry, but they want...

-Blimey, Charlie.

-That's what I'm saying.

-It's not Christmas.

Based on the food that we're putting on, I think 18 euros a head.

-Three courses?

-Yeah, three courses.

-That's cheap.

Well, to be fair, the food is nothing... It's...

Well, it's not exp...

What I could do with, if you can, is just some cheap table wine.

-House wines.

-Do they sell cheap stuff at petrol stations or...?

-Really?

-I know, but it's just table wine.

-No, I won't have any of that.

I'll get you something that's going to be decent.

If it's under eight euros, something like that, that will be OK.

Thanks, buddy, I appreciate it.

Rob and Robert head to the winery where the grapes were sold

last week, in search of some locally sourced wine.

The Sant'Antimo wine estate, with its 40 hectares of vineyards,

produce some of Tuscany's finest award-winning wines.

-This is where the magic happens.

-Quite a bit of wine in here.

-Yeah!

Charging 18 euros a head for dinner is a chance for the group

to earn some extra money for the agriturismo.

We're doing a restaurant.

So some of the other people that we live with are going to cook

and serve food, so I wanted to come back and see you and see if

you could kind of help us out with some wines.

'I love Italian wine.

'I could wax lyrical about it.

'Unlike the Brits, it's meant to be had with food,'

whereas us it's like, finish work, "I need wine, I need wine!"

Whereas the Italians are like, they sit down as a family,

and for me that's important.

Wow. That's...

-That's lovely. That smells really lovely.

-It tastes really smooth.

And that's only been open minutes, so we leave it for longer...

-Decant it later.

-Yeah.

There's good tannins in it as well, so it would go

with a rich, meaty food.

-Yeah, it'll fit perfectly with the beef.

-Yeah.

-Aw!

-Keen to try the other one but I like that.

-Yeah.

-And this is the blend. This is with the Merlot?

-Yeah, this is the blend.

-Merlot, Sangiovese and...

-And Cabernet Sauvignon.

-Cabernet Sauvignon.

-Yeah.

-Oh, fantastic. Super.

I'll be just taking a short nap when we get back, I think.

-So...

-Price.

-Price, important part.

-Yeah.

Brunello di Montalcino, 30 euros for a bottle.

Romito del Romitorio is 15.

I think... Yeah, six of the 30 and six of the 15.

Or do you want to get 12 of the 15?

I think six of each. Yeah. This is good.

Hoping to give their customers a taste of fine dining,

Rob and Robert spare no expense in selecting the finest wines.

-This is 390 euros.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

At La Banditaccia, Lesley is busy in the kitchen.

If we can get 20 euros a head

and we're going to give them a bottle of wine,

I think that's fair.

I've dealt with a lot more problematic things than this

in my life. This is just a straightforward cooking exercise.

I mean, this is a walk in the park in comparison.

-With a British take on the Italian menu...

-Look, stew, pudding.

What more do they want?

..and Tracy and Chi front of house...

Do you think I should change my wellies?

..Osteria Banditaccia is open for business.

I can't find the tagliatelle. Where is it?

I have no idea, doll.

Well, that's what I'm saying, somebody needs to find it.

Is that it there?

What are you after?

-I can't find the tagliatelle.

-She's looking for tagliatelle.

Is this it?

No.

-Here?

-Yes! Thank you.

LESLEY LAUGHS

TRANSLATION

Welcoming their first ever paying customers,

pressure is on to make an impression.

-Are we charging £20 each or...?

-20 euros.

-Right, 20 euros each.

-What and some...?

-And they can have the wine...

-Buonasera.

-Buonasera.

-Hello!

-Do you want to take them through?

The menu for this evening is here.

I have no idea what it is but this is what you have.

-Is that OK?

-Looks good.

-OK.

-Yeah?

-OK.

-Brilliant.

Gee, everything is absolutely boiling hot.

Ow! I need an oven glove.

And there's a fly in there.

Flies crawling all over me.

Beam me up, Scotty.

-Lesley, she needs her antipasti for the two people waiting.

-OK.

-What's that? Get that off.

-It's only cheese.

-Yeah, get it off, though...

-I can't.

-Oh.

You have to take it off.

LESLEY SIGHS

-I'm not giving him that.

-Don't!

Oh!

-Stop with that.

-Lucky I didn't lick the plate!

-Hello.

-Buonasera.

-Oh, hello.

-Buonasera!

I'll just take you through.

So, just come with us to our ristorante.

SHE CHUCKLES

-Right, so who wanted white and who wanted...?

-The lady...

White for you? OK.

Ooh, that's not good.

A bit of protein!

SHE LAUGHS

In the country of... Exactly!

Don't worry, I'll change that completely.

Bon appetit.

The Italian version is...

I'm on a farm with stupid flying bugs that don't realise that they

should not show their face when we have a restaurant. But, oh, no.

-Hello.

-Buonasera.

-We'll just be with you.

Please come this way. Yeah...si.

I wouldn't like to say how it's going.

Most chefs I know actually, erm...

Are they close to insanity? I'm not quite sure.

Girls, we need bread on the table, please.

-For what?

-So they can soak their sauce up with a light bread.

For her signature dish, Lesley's serving a classic British beef stew.

I think I've probably bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm

a mum and I've cooked food my life, so at least I know how to cook food.

(Oh, these flies!)

How much food, Chi, do you think they want?

Just pour first.

-Could we have some salt.

-Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. Yes, yes. And pepper?

-Yes.

-Yeah, well, both, you.

I think the table with the two men are trying to be polite

and the older man and woman are struggling to keep their food down.

Did you not like it?

British food is not for you, is it?

Chi...don't look.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, my gosh.

-How'd it go down?

-Well, how do you think? Look.

Look, the potatoes burnt.

-LESLEY SIGHS

-God.

I quit. I'm not going back out there.

Oh, look, can I quit?

You're sacked!

THEY LAUGH

I have never worked so hard in my life.

But the light at the end of the tunnel,

which is not quite the oncoming train but very close, is the fact

that I've actually made a dessert

and hopefully everybody will be happy.

-That's all I can hope for.

-SHE LAUGHS

Oh, God and we haven't even got a bill to present them, have we?

Oh, we can't charge.

THEY LAUGH

-LESLEY SIGHS

-20 euros will cover what they had.

-We'll just tell them to pay whatever they like.

-No, 20 euros, that's it.

That's what we agreed and that's what they'll pay.

And see if they don't. They all will, hopefully, and if they don't,

well, we'll deal with that when it happens. At least we'll put

something in the kitty.

My favourite part of the night, this is.

We made a complete botch-up in the kitchen,

but we are also doing our best.

40, 60, 80, 100, 120.

Lesley is like the most hilariously scatty chef I've ever worked

with in my entire life, but, in all fairness to her, she said,

"I'm a mum, I'm not a chef."

So she is doing what she probably does with her kids at home.

You were trying to serve British food to Italian people...

-Well, yeah.

-..so I think you did really, really well.

And we are the first people to actually make money out of

our restaurant.

-We have pulled off a bloody miracle.

-Yeah.

-Tonight.

Being here has given me a completely different outlook on life.

It's just proven to me that anybody could do anything.

Well done for being the worst front of house!

Life is a learning curve.

I don't want to go backwards

and I don't want to try and be who I was,

I want is to actually move on and become who I'm going to be.

Erm. And I think that's a very exciting thing to look forward to.

THEY LAUGH

Andy takes charge of the farm's all-important olive harvest.

To actually pour olive oil, which I'll go, "I made this,"

will be something special.

But with more B&B guests arriving

and other opportunities on the horizon,

not everyone is so committed.

I hope you're all aware that I'm not picking a single olive.

-Why? It's got to be done.

-There are things that I want to do, Gavin.

If I'm in an olive field, I can't then do that...

As farm deadlines approach,

tensions mount and the pressure takes its toll.

I swear my heart is beating ten to the dozen.

It took all my self-control not to blow there.

Subtitles by Ericsson