Liguria and La Bella Figura Two Greedy Italians

'I am Antonio Carluccio. Food is my life.'

-This is almost a religious act.

-Yes.

Hallelujah. Why I'm cooking so good?

'And I am Gennaro Contaldo.'

I just can't believe it.

'I too am devoted to food.

'For years I was Antonio's assistant.'

-Just a minute.

-Do you want to cook it?

-No, no, no. It's all in a lump there.

-OK. Now, he's my best friend.

Italia!

'It has been nearly 50 years since we lived in Italy.'

-Beautiful.

-Wow!

'We have come back to see if we still have a taste for the old country.'

-OK.

-The freshest butter ever.

'When we were young, looking your best was everything.'

My God, Charlton Heston. I look like him.

'For us, it was all about taking pride in everything you did.'

This is real food.

'What you English might call showing off,

'we Italians called la bella figura.'

This is the first act.

'We want to know if la bella figura is still important in Italy.'

You make the olives, wow!

'Where better to find out than on the Italian Riviera.'

Bellissima! What a catch!

-There's one!

-Where?

-There.

Go there! 'We are on a voyage of discovery.

'But keeping up appearances won't be easy with Gennaro in tow.'

Don't look at me.

'But don't worry.'

Ah!

'It will be fantastic just as long as there is plenty to eat.'

Lovely.

BOTH: Mmmm.

'The Italian Riviera on the Ligurian Sea

'is where our countrymen have always come to show themselves off.'

Finally the sea, Gennaro.

It is beautiful. Look how many yacht, Antonio.

'As a young sailor, the Riviera was my hunting ground.'

Give me a bit of water.

-I remember I had white shoes.

-Some bella figura you was then.

White leather shoes, Gennaro. White trousers.

They were very, very stylish.

Ultimately, it was obviously to get some company.

-Are you cold?

-No, I want to look nice.

'Liguria is one of the smallest of Italy's 20 regions.

'Here, there is just mare e monti, sea and mountain.

'In between the two, the famous Riviera.

'If you could afford it, the ultimate place to be seen

'was the little paradise called Portofino.

'Once a humble fishing village,

'nowadays you are as likely to see a fisherman

'as you are to bump into Signori Dolce e Gabanna, Pirelli or Berlusconi.

'If you got it, this is the place to show it off.'

-Gennaro.

-I can't believe it.

Just straighten up myself.

-Do this one. Make my hair beautiful.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Bella figura, Antonio.

-You are beautiful.

'The Hollywood movie stars

'who made Portofino famous in the 1950s stayed here,

'the Hotel Splendido.'

My God, Charlton Heston.

I look like him a bit. My hero.

'It's just the thing to have a famous name or even better, a title.'

Buongiorno! Good morning.

-Buongiorno.

-How are you? Very welcome to the Hotel Splendido.

-May I invite you please to sign our book.

-Pleasure, pleasure.

It's full of history. Please, Mr Commendatore.

My goodness.

It's just like being a commander of the British Empire,

although in Britain I am just a humble OBE.

Would you be so kind as to sign our golden book?

This is really full of history.

-The first page.

-Wow!

-The Duke of Windsor.

-Wallis Windsor.

-Exactly.

-May I ask you kindly please to sign as well?

-Me?

-Please. We would be delighted.

-It would be an honour.

Thank you very much. Please.

-May we invite you to sign this?

-How did you get the picture?

-That is a secret.

-That's interesting.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

'You know why Antonio was given this great honour?

'Just being a greedy Italian.'

'Here in Portofino, having a title brings rewards.

'A room with a view.'

This is Portofino, Gennaro.

I should think so. Portofino with a commendatore.

They've given you something nice.

That is pretty obvious and it's also well deserved.

-Tell me something.

-Yes.

You loved it when he called you commendatore.

-And you just forgot me. You just forgot me for 20 minutes.

-Yes.

Can you sign the gold book?

Of course I can sign the book. You didn't even go like that to look.

-Listen, it's 30 years that I pay attention to you.

-Yeah.

May I leave you for ten minutes by yourself?

-But it was 20 minutes.

-20 minutes. There's 20 minutes off 30 years.

-Because I'm a commendatore, Antonio Carluccio.

-This is in your brain.

'Maybe Antonio can be a commendatore, but I'm younger and better looking.

'Time to go it alone, but I'm starving.

'Even the fish in Portofino, they're showing off.

'Look at them jumping up.

'I'm going to do you with a tomato. Little basil.

'Where's the frying pan?'

What a catch!

Bellissima!

'A lot of fish in the sea, but I'm more interested in the one I can eat.'

'I prefer to let the hotel chef do all the work.

This is the typical bella figura, that the chef wants to make

in front of poncy people that live here.

Here we have Armani there. We have Agnelli there.

They're all here and in the hotel, they are coming for that.

He prepares wonderful things.

I'm really curious to see what he does.

'But not everybody can afford to go to the Hotel Splendido to eat.'

-From Italia?

-Si!

-Si mangia bene?

-Eccellente.

-What to eat? Something like fish?

-Fish. You can choose everything.

Comes from Italy frozen or China frozen or whatever.

Yeah, but why you should give them frozen fish?

Tell me something, down in Portofino the people used to come out,

first because they have to be bella figura.

I've got a lovely boat in Portofino, I can go fishing in Portofino,

I dress smart in Portofino,

I'm eating in a beautiful restaurant in Portofino

where they serve this fantastic fresh fish.

Do you think we lost this kind of bella figura

now that work's inside the restaurant?

What you got to eat?

It doesn't matter where the fish comes from.

They don't care, they don't have to do bella figura. What's happened now?

-It's changed?

-Look at here.

When I start to work 23 years ago,

nobody arrives in this way in Portofino.

A lot of people arrive to say hi, I have been in Portofino,

and I take a picture.

It's difficult to explain fresh fish, explain everything.

Only things they are interested in is to pay.

Yeah, very cheap price.

'Frozen fish in Portofino! Not what I was expecting.'

'And it's not what I am eating.'

Ecco, Corrado. Magnifico. Cos'e, questo? Come si chiama?

Sono un filettino di triglia con vere olive taggiasche. E della melanzana sotto...

Delighful!

This is fillet of red mullet with taggiasca olives,

they are the olives that they grow here in Liguria and aubergine.

Mmm. Delizioso.

A wonderful composition because the little mint in between

makes it all, and this the wasp that wanted to share something with me.

'It's still possible to show off your status in Portofino.

'You can spend 4,500 euros a night for a room with a sea view,

'but for me, it's too ostentatious.'

'Where is the passion for the ingredients?

'The pride in their food?'

'Have Italians forgotten that there's more to la bella figura

'than simply showing off?

'It was always about making the best of yourself and what you have got.

'One thing they have got a lot of here in Liguria is olives.'

Do you see the colour of the tree?

The grey green from up there. That's all olives.

Now you can imagine going to all those terraces to collect the olives.

That's quite a major job.

'The taggiasca olives that grow up here are extremely hardy

'and famous all over Italy.'

-Olives, look Antonio. This is food.

-Those are green olives.

I would love it if he ate this, it's so bitter, yuk!

Taste it, tell me if it is good.

-I am not tasting it. Don't be so stupid.

-I'm not, just in case.

No, no, because they are very bitter. They are very bitter.

You are really very silly.

The bitter fruit is not for eating raw, it is for olive oil.

Oil like you wouldn't believe. We came here for something very special.

The most important thing of the oil is the colour and the transparency.

Here, you can see the colour and the path.

-A-ha!

-Drink it.

You don't drink it like that! That's lovely.

That is almost like a tea ceremony in Japan.

Don't wipe your hands on my jacket.

'Every region of Italy thinks its olive oil is the best.

'These Ligurians believe to catch a customer,

'you must first catch his eyes.'

-This is the shape of the olive.

-Yes.

-And this is the shape of the leaf.

-Oh yes, you are right.

This one. Is it expensive?

Is it expensive. 70 euros.

-And this, what is this here?

-This is a very special package.

'Each bottle even comes in a stone box made from the same rock

'that's found in the ground where the olive trees grow.'

Yes, it is similar to doing like this.

It's a very good olive oil put in a special packaging.

In a way you glorify the olives. You make the olives wow!

Tell me something, if I have to buy a bottle of olive oil from you,

something like that, how much roughly would it cost me?

Oh, it costs 50 euro.

And how long one has to wait to have something like this?

Er, you have to book er, one year before, yes.

-One year?

-One year.

-Grazie.

Thank you very much.

'50 euros for half a litre. This bella figura has gone too far.'

'I still haven't had any fresh fish.

'I'm going to get some, even if I have to catch it myself.'

'My sailing days are over.

'I'll leave it to Gennaro to make bella figura with those fisherman.'

I love you. You are great friend.

-Yeah, I know you've got bottle of wine there.

-Yes.

On the way back I'll bring us some anchovies.

I'm going to miss you.

Fishing for anchovies, this time of the night, this is my life.

I've always been a fish man and now I am for real.

This is hard work.

'Even at sea at night, we look the part and we dress the best.'

Incredible! I can't believe it. There's so much. Can you see?

And I'm helping it.

I just can't believe it.

'You know what? I still got it!'

'Gennaro always has been the performer.

'It's the bella figura of a young man.'

I discovered that in getting old, older, you are just content

and happy to be who you are, so you don't need to show off.

-Have you seen my anchovies?

-The anchovies, they're perfect.

I just love it. What a great fish man I am.

-What do you think?

-That's fantastic.

They are fresh, they are nice. Now this recipe is extremely simple.

First of all, you have to find those mullets.

Short little ones, they are tender and nice.

They're called Triglie alla Genovese.

In Genoa, they like to do this, you know, and they unite two things.

Fish of the sea, but also one product from the mountains

which is the porcino and the combination is mind blowing.

-Yes, this one.

-Dry one.

-Smell, smell.

-Wow!

-Wow!

-Lovely.

Now I need good olive oil in this pan.

A little bit more, little bit more, little bit more.

-More.

-More and more. That's enough.

First of all, they are coming into flour and you do like this.

-Another one.

-And do you know why I do this, in flour?

-Why, tell me?

The flour sticking on the fish is absorbing more sauce later,

so now I shake off the superfluous flour,

yes and then one by one.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Lovely.

-Yeah.

-Look at this.

And now they become slightly brown on each side.

I use good olive oil for this

because it gives a lot of flavour and we are in Liguria here,

plenty of olive oil. Perfect. Look at this.

-At one time Gennaro...

-Mmm hmm.

..I was eating in a harbour, 20 of those and I was taking one by one

and nibbling vah vah vah.

-And the other side, vah vah vah.

-Vah vah vah.

And just like playing mouth harmonica.

You were playing zrrrr shhhh zrrr shhhh.

-No, you do that noise. I didn't.

-All right.

So we can now take them out and put them here.

They are already edible as they are. So now give me the onions, please.

Yes! And can you give me also the chopped garlic.

-Put it in. Put it in. Well done.

-What shall I do with this?

-Now get the porcini. Can you chop them finely?

-All?

-Yes.

The dried porcini you showed me before,

-they are soaked in warm water for about 20 minutes, half an hour?

-Yeah.

The red mullet, Genovese style,

it's because Liguria has the mountain in the back

and the sea in the front.

So we have the triglie

and we have mushrooms from the hills and olive oil.

Put in, put in, put in.

-Mare e monti.

-Yeah, mare e monti,

and this gives a really wonderful flavour.

Now the other ingredient is anchovy.

This dish is simplicity in itself.

Wonderful. Can I have the tomatoes now?

I give you that honour. Lovely.

Oh, look at this. Mmmmmmm.

-Any stock, any water?

-No, a bit of water, actually.

Off.

The last item I need is a little bit of chopped parsley.

-You can chop, you know.

-I know.

Put it in. Yes. So now the sauce is complete.

One.

-Can't wait to eat it.

-Six.

Put the potatoes here. Yes.

I also made a lovely potato mash.

The best tip to make a wonderful potato puree

is to choose very floury potatoes, a little bit of nutmeg.

Good, enough. Thank you.

-I love it when you say thank you.

-Well, I am a gentleman.

-Yeah, the first time. Salt.

-Wonderful.

And the potato's ready.

Oh, that's wonderful. Look at this.

Gennaro, this is a piece for you.

-Can't wait to eat it.

-Wonderful.

-It's all for you.

-For me, it's...

Yes, it's just for you.

-Ah, for me as well?

-OK. Shall we?

Does it look good for you, Gennaro?

Just a minute. Let's have a look.

BOTH: Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!

That's really wonderful.

My goodness, that's good.

Mmm.

Wonderful.

-You know what is needed here?

-What's needed?

A nice glass of wine.

'From posh Portofino to expensive olive oil,

'the bella figura we have found so far

'has only been about showing off with money or for money.

'But in our day, no matter how little you had,

'you could still put on a beautiful show.

'In the simple mountain village of Mendatica,

'some old traditions are kept alive at an annual festival.'

The real Liguria is here, up in the mountains.

'A local shepherd is making an unusual fuss over his flock.

'In celebration of transumanza,

'the migration of the flocks from the highlands to the lowlands for winter,

'the whole village dresses up.

'Young and old alike all making the best of themselves.'

Have a look at the small children. Bravo, bravo.

Bravo! Bravo!

APPLAUSE

'Everybody really participate with a lot of pride.'

Bravi!

'The sheep and goats put their best hooves forward.

'Everything looks wonderful until Gennaro scares the animals.'

-Gennaro, they saw you.

-No, they look at you.

-No, they saw you.

I am sure they look at you. I don't move.

'The main event is the Palio delle Capre, where shepherds from the six mountain pastures

'pit their best goats against each other.

'It's all organised by Aldo, the shepherd.'

-Quante pecore c'hai?

-Io ne ho 1,500.

Wow, he has 1,500 sheep and goat.

-Antonio?

-Yes?

-Have you noticed it, how proud is Aldo?

'And now for the obstacle race.

'Even though we are in Italy, the winner's not the prettiest goat

'but the goat most obedient to his master.'

You always loved that. Antonio, quick!

It's wonderful to see the first one,

the blonde goat won the first heat and it's very, very sweet.

'It is not important who wins,

'but it is everybody making bella figura, that is more important.'

'Here it's the whole village making bella figura.

'Not for money, but out of pride in the traditions, their history

'and their community.'

Are you proud of what's happened today?

Si, sono molto orgoglioso - questa manifestazione, praticamente, l'ho inventata io. Sono molto orgoglioso.

Yes, yes, he's very, very proud because this sort of gathering

was created by him and he is very proud of that.

What does bella figura mean for you? Cos'e la bella figura per te?

-Grazie.

-Si?

The villagers, the shepherds and their flocks

put on a splendid show with limited means.

Can the local cooks do the same?

High up here in the mountains,

there are no red tomatoes or yellow peppers, no oranges or lemons,

nearly all the food produce is pale.

-Buongiorno!

-Buongiorno!

'The people who cook here use plain ingredients

'and transform them into something more beautiful.

'In fact, the cuisine is famous, it's called cucina bianca, white cooking.'

Wonderful potatoes, look at this!

-Look at these, Gennaro.

-Oh, my God.

Potato put in the oven with just garlic, sage and rosemary.

A bit of salt.

Antonio!

Questa e cucina bianca.

This is the white cooking, and we can taste.

Mmm.

E cosa c'e qui dentro?

Farina e porro tagliato sottile, sottile crudo.

Si mescola tutto e un po' di panna.

Wow!

So they are very thin sliced potatoes, and double cream,

and a little bit of leek, very, very fine leek chopped, and that's it.

That's it.

Time for lunch.

The communal feast of San Mateo.

But not for Gennaro.

Antonio...

Ooh, bello...

It is your wine.

-That's fantastic.

-This is your glass.

-Thank you.

-This is your dish.

-Yes.

-This is for you.

-Thank you.

And where is the fork?

Where is the fork?

-That is your fork.

-Thank you.

-You OK now?

-I am OK now.

-Are you sure?

-Really, cos...

-Don't you want anything?

-I am talking to the young lady.

-OK!

Thank you very much, I'm going.

'But cucina bianca is not just another money-making idea.

'Or more fancy packaging.

'It's almost as ancient as...as I. '

MUSIC: "Miserere mei, Deus" by Gregorio Allegri

Antonio.

Where do you take me?

Look at the fresco.

That is wonderful.

It's the Last Supper.

Also it's a little faint, it's quite a few hundred years old.

Yeah.

Gennaro, I see that it's quite pale, everything.

Well, everything is white to resemble what, actually,

the people, they used to live off.

It is the white cuisine. Cucina Bianca.

With the exception of the wine.

Oh, the wine as well, yeah, I know.

But the red wine.

Red wine, yes, but wine, Antonio, to be on the table of Christ,

-has to be red wine.

-Oh, yes.

It is marvellous.

This is an homage to cucina bianca.

First...

get some nice potato.

You slice it.

Be careful your hands.

And this potato now, you have to blanch.

You don't have to overcook it. They don't have to be too, too soft.

It's just blanched.

So, goes in boiling water for three minutes.

-Slightly cooked.

-Yes.

So as soon as the water started to boil. To boil, you remove.

Put them on a cloth.

To dry a little bit the potato.

They won't go black now,

because they have been blanched.

Now comes the cabbage.

You get these nice leaves of the cabbage,

make sure you get those tender leaves of the cabbage.

HE SIGHS

-Exceptional!

-Exceptional.

Now, what we have to worry about, it is,

this vein, this is the line of the cabbage, which,

it can be a little bit tough, so instead of using a knife,

use the scissors.

-Simple.

-Simple!

-Do you want to try?

-No, thank you.

-Are you sure?

-I'm not a goat.

GENNARO LAUGHS

-Put them in.

-Inside, yes.

Inside. OK.

Press them a little bit.

And you cook them how long?

It just needs to be blanched.

Don't forget, this particular dish, it needs to be baked.

-So.

-To be cooked further later, then?

-Yeah.

It's stopped.

Get the butter

and spread the butter about all around the dish.

You start with the potatoes.

You start with the potato, and such a simple, this one.

You overlap almost every single one,

and then you carry on overlapping.

A little salt, a little bit of pe... Pepper!

Pepper. BOTH: Well done!

ANTONIO: Well done, Gennaro.

A little bit of butter.

Just a little tiny bit of butter, because it has to melt.

That lovely butter.

-Those, they're ready, can I have that?

-Oh, yes.

It is all soft, you can see.

Look at that.

You lay a few.

-It looks very easy, very nice and neat.

-Yeah, that's good.

That's done. You can see, easy.

And then, cheese.

-Lovely Italian cheese.

-Yeah.

-Smell it again.

-Yes.

OK, then cut the little slices.

Carry on exactly the same way.

What do you finish with?

-I finish with the potato.

-The potato.

I have to finish with the potato.

Aluminium foil.

-Yes.

-Oh, yes.

Put them in the oven, go on.

Yeah, I know, go on, go on, go on, go on.

Go on! Don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid, I am afraid that I burn my...

OK.

'After 25 minutes, remove the foil,

'and bake it for another five minutes.'

Yes.

-Here we go!

-That looks wonderful, Gennaro.

Aha!

Bubbling.

That's lovely.

Aah!

ANTONIO SIGHS

-Nice and bubbly.

-The smell is wonderful.

-Oh, my goodness me.

THEY SIGH

Ooh, wow!

Ooh, wow. Looks very good.

GENNARO BLOWS

-Really, really good.

-Aah, yes! Can I taste it?

You know what? That's a lovely combination.

Mmm!

Very good.

Mm-mm!

Mm-mm.

Why you do that?

Cos it was hot.

-Gennaro...

-Mmm.

Wonderful taste.

Of cabbage, potato and cheese.

It's very difficult to achieve a delicacy like this

with just three very humble ingredients.

Mmm...mmm...

And the super touch of Gennaro Contaldo obvious.

Mmm.

It is an homage to cucina bianca. Bless the cucina bianca.

'The higher we go and the further we get from the busy Riviera,

'the more we can appreciate simple things.'

Figs! Figs!

Oh

'Gennaro is the main stealer.'

Yeah...

Take it, take it.

-Take it.

-If you push it a little more here, I can take it.

You son.

Mmm... They are wonderful.

THEY LAUGH

Mmm...

-Mm-hm!

-You greedy Italian.

-Chestnuts!

-Chestnuts.

-Chestnuts!

I'm going to get those. Stay there, stay there, Antonio. Stay there.

Stay there, stay there.

HANDBRAKE IS PULLED

'Trouble is, we are not the only greedy Italians round here,

'and these ones bite.'

I've got it, I...

Let's see, let's see.

Let's see, let's see, let's see!

-Antonio!

-HE LAUGHS Oh, that's fantastic.

-Ah...

-Ah!

-HE LAUGHS

Look at this. There are the chestnuts here.

Yeah...

-Yeah, take this one.

-Ooh, lovely.

-Hey!

-Look at that!

Look, he's underneath, on top.

And they do bite, these things.

-Antonio?

-Yes.

I love food.

-Yes.

-You know, to eat, not...

-To gather.

To actually been eat from.

ANTONIO LAUGHS

Don't look at me!

ANTONIO LAUGHS

Ma io ce l'ho davvero!

Wonderful.

ANTONIO LAUGHS Gennaro, you made them a big favour today.

What do you mean, make a big favour?

Yeah, they nibbled a bit from your flesh.

'Maybe there's a different meaning to bella figura.

'Sometimes the less you have,

'the more beautiful an impression you can make.'

'We are heading up Montoggio.

'At the top of the mountain, there lives a little old lady

'who leads a simple life

'and makes use of the plants most of us would call weeds.'

-Qui.

-Qui, dove?

'Perhaps she has a lesson for us.

-Quello.

-Questa qui?

Questo.

Borage.

How clever she is.

You put a just little slice of prosciutto,

and then you get a nice little bit of mozzarella, and...

E si fa nella padella con burro.

And then you put some butter inside the frying pan,

and then you slowly, slowly cook, er, you eat.

'Amelia do simple things with wild herbs. She reminds me of my mother.'

Ecco, questa e medicinale.

She brings me memory back.

I used to go out with my mum, and she used to say,

"Gennarino, pick me that herbs."

I used to do all this, and we used to go out once a week,

collect the herbs for salads, for cooking.

Also for medicine. She was known as the white witch.

Cos'e questa?

Can you understand, my God,

the way she's actually got the harmony with the food?

It's like almost the poetry.

She is not aggressive, "I have to learn all these things myself,"

it's, cooking is not aggressiveness.

It's pleasure, it's love,

and everything she's been showing to me, she brings back memory.

The calm of the cooking, the love of the cooking.

'Amelia is going to show me how to make a frittata

'with potato and wild herbs that was just growing outside.'

Parmigiano, quanto?

Un bel po'.

'Some eggs, mixed with Parmesan cheese.'

-Un pizzico di sale.

-Un pizzico di sale.

'A nice pinch of salt.

'And now she mills the potato with wild herbs

'to separate out the stalk.'

Potato,

the herbs that gives nice flavour.

Puliamo qui.

She said you clean them underneath.

And look! How clever. This is all the leftover stuff.

Stuff you can't eat it. More, more, more...

'Now, to bind the mixture together, we need some breadcrumb.'

All. I love it!

THEY LAUGH

-Tutto!

-Tutto!

-Tutto!

Bravo.

Then fry some sliced onion.

Then we need to put them all inside.

All inside.

'Then fry the frittata in olive oil.

'Add more breadcrumb to give it a crust. It's almost time to eat.'

Antonio!

What damage... What damage have you done today?

-Look, sit down, please. Sit down.

-OK, OK.

-Thank you very much.

Damage! Stop complaining and sit down.

-But you had very good supervision.

-Yes, I know, indeed.

OK?

Ecco.

Wow!

-Tolgo queste cipolle di qua.

-Eh, si!

Let's see.

-Mmm...

-Let's see. It looks very good.

We have the task, is to have it very well cooked on the outside

and moist in the middle.

Mmmm.

It's good.

Molto buona.

La frittata povera. La nonna diceva, "Facciamo una frittata povera."

Frittata for the poor,

because they are very simple ingredients inside,

and you can feed the family with poor food.

Not poor food in quality, but in value.

-Frittata e molto buona.

-Grazie. Grazie mille.

-Lei ha fatto una bellisima figura.

-Anche al signore.

Cos I'm jealous.

AMELIA LAUGHS

Molto bella.

'Simple food, made with pride, and not just showing off.

'Just like my mother would have done.'

'We have found authentic versions of bella figura

'in the simple life of the mountains.'

But how has it survived in the bustling capital of Liguria?

Known as La Superba, Genoa's fleet was once so powerful,

it controlled the whole Mediterranean Sea.

I was in the Navy when I was young.

A proud sailor.

'We are following our noses through ancient alleyways to the old port

'in search of a beautiful secret.'

Aaaah!

'Some other shops like this have not changed for centuries.'

Fantastico!

'Nothing fancy, just Genoese fish and chips.'

Ooh! Look at that.

Look at that.

This is the shop of my heart.

Oh, look at it!

Wood-fired oven.

This is real food.

No doubt about it.

The food is just fantastic.

You cook on the charcoal, you cook with wood, you do the original food.

Gennaro, why do you have to move the hands always like this?

Because it's the passion!

For me it's like to revive them again,

like to learn again how to cook. The simplicity...

Can you do it without the hands?

No, I can't.

'Old-fashioned Genoese pride survives

'in this fiercely traditional kitchen.

'Even the old fryers have a special title.

They are called friggitorie, where the people,

they fry all sorts of goods for the breakfast.

It's just fantastic. Home-made real chips.

Ci puo dare un po' di queste asciughe?

Senta un po', ma qual'e la cosa che piu richiedono qui?

What is the thing that they most request, the customers?

Le cose diciamo piu richieste sono i totani fritti

che facciamo alle undici e mezza,

che piaciono veramente a tutti. E il baccala fritto.

So the most popular thing, they are totani, which is a sort of...

-Er...not octopus.

-It is a squid.

A squid, a longish squid, then the baccala,

which is the salted cod, and they do it around 11:00am, 11:30am,

so that it's fresh, you can take it away.

'The locals claim this is the original takeaway food.'

-Fresh anchovies, Gennaro. Yum, yum, yum.

-Mmm.

Ah...

In carpione, it's called.

In carpione means in flour and deep-fried,

and then put in vinegar, and they are little fishes, like, um...

Oh, and you eat everything!

Mamma, mamma, mamma!

The port is there, the food is here, and everybody,

all these Navy people, they were coming here, buying very quickly.

'And what better to go with battered fish? Chips.'

'Not made from potato, but cut from the local speciality, farinata,

once prepared by the Roman soldiers in their shields.

You have to notice that this, they are not just chips,

but they are chips made of chickpeas flour.

Very interesting, because it's very, sort of, flavoursome, and so on.

And this is the famous baccala, which is the salted cod.

This one used to be the poor man food.

Poor man fish.

Now, when you're talking about two greedy Italians,

you can see who is the greediest, over there.

HE LAUGHS

'It was here that Genoese traders first brought from India

'what is now our most famous herb.

'Just as well.

'Can you imagine Italian food without basil?'

-Who never heard of pesto, Gennaro?

-No.

Pesto. Pesto.

Known all over the world, and it comes from Genoa, from Liguria.

-So you will do the pasta today, yes?

-Yeah, I'm rolling the pasta.

And do you know which pasta to do?

Yes, er...

The recipe's called mandilli de seta. Silk handkerchief.

Silk handkerchief, oh, I love those with pesto.

Flavoured with pesto.

The best thing to do is to do it with the mortar and pestle,

because we want the pesto to be a cream.

Thank you, thank you.

It's...what would be life without Gennaro?

So now we take the garlic, which... Gennaro is a very strong man.

He does it with a fist. But I do it with this.

Gennaro, why you don't start to do the, the pasta.

I'm waiting for your recipe, the one you wanted.

Yeah, just put 250g of flour, yeah. This is 00 flour.

00, fine flour, yes?

There's one egg and three yolks of egg.

Just the yolk, otherwise it becomes too hard.

OK.

-Three, three yolks.

-Three yolks, OK.

And coarse salt for grinding the entire thing.

Because with the coarseness, you can see that the cream will come out.

-Antonio?

-Yes.

-Look at the colour of this yolk.

-That's fantastic.

Now the garlic, Gennaro, I put it squashed into the mortar.

And now the garlic and the basil soon become a cream.

And now we add also pine kernels,

which, they add the sort of je ne sais quoi.

-HE LAUGHS

-What language are you speaking?

-That's French.

-That's all right, I remembered that.

..of flavour, of sort of the resin flavour of the pines.

-That's very, very good.

-And give it that crunchiness, yes?

-No, because it's all pounded.

-OK.

-Not crunchy.

And you mustn't forget that all those things,

they come because the hills of Liguria,

they're almost covered with all those ingredients

that we put in the pestle and mortar.

Pine kernels, the basil is cultivated everywhere.

Gennaro, I can see that you're so fascinated with what I'm telling you,

that you stop working there.

You're right. Sorry.

-HE LAUGHS

-Sorry, sorry, Antonio.

And so the pesto became like this, the sauce of Genoa.

-Very, very clever.

-Of Liguria.

That's wonderful, and now you put the Parmesan cheese,

which in some cases, I put even pecorino.

Pecorino is nice. I like pecorino cheese.

A little bit of olive oil.

Ah, that's wonderful. And the perfume which comes from this.

Yes, look at this.

It should be slightly coarse.

-Perfection. What about your pasta?

-Don't worry.

You can see, Antonio, I almost finished rolling the pasta out.

The lovely colour of the pasta, it's incredible, look.

See how I hold it.

Yes, at home you could do it also, simply using a machine,

but this is the best way.

-And look at the way it's rolling out nicely.

-Yes.

It has to be very thin.

Yet, but very poetically, mandilli di seta.

-So silk handkerchief.

-Very dialect.

Because the handkerchief, the translation is mandilli,

is almost paper-thin, and the handkerchiefs,

they were a functional thing, goodbye to the mariners,

whether they were going or coming back.

-Thin, thin, thin.

-I know, I'm doing that. Thin, thin, thin!

-Come on... My goodness.

-It worries me.

Now to see how thin it is.

-You put them on, on the edge.

-Yes.

-OK, and then you blow, underneath.

-Wonderful, so the weight, yes...

-So when this...

Can I have it now?

That... Don't you think it's thin enough?

Now I show you what handkerchiefs are, because, instead to cut them,

I make the discovery, Gennaro,

that if you do it like this, look, like this.

-Yeah.

-You tear it apart.

Do you see this, this serrated edge here?

In doing this, look, it builds a little bit of serrating here,

which absorbs a little bit more sauce.

-Can I try?

-Yes.

Go.

Not too, too small. Make it bigger.

The handkerchiefs would be bigger.

And then it's lovely to let them dry a little bit like this.

Fantastic.

Let's see the water...

Yes!

Now give me the pasta.

Right.

And it cooks in a minute, no more than that.

Yes...

Yes, yes, yes.

Can you put the pesto in the pan now, please?

Oh, yes.

I just put it.

Lovely.

Give me the pan.

This, a suggestion to everybody using either self-made pesto,

or the other one, bought in, er...

shops, to add a little bit of water to make it moist for the pasta,

because it absorbs, the pasta absorbs a little bit more.

I think it's done.

-Yes, it's done, it's done.

-Yeah.

Mmm.

The smell is incredible.

Oops...

Fantastico.

-It's almost religious, the moment.

-I know.

So calm.

-Yeah, I give you a little bit more.

-Thank you.

-Just a little, little sauce on top, Antonio?

-Yes.

Yeah, just a little touch, yes.

-That's for you.

-Thank you.

-And that's for me.

-Never was so much gentilesse between us.

Never.

Oh!

ANTONIO LAUGHS

-Can I...?

-Yes, you can.

BOTH: Mmm-mmm-mmm!

THEY LAUGH

GENNARO LAUGHS You are laughing.

Of course I am laughing.

-Now, if you keep the right side.

-I am, I can see the sign.

On a small road like this, it's better.

'We came to Liguria to find out how the notion of bella figura

'has changed in the Italy of today,

'and how it has changed for us as we get older.

'We began in the beautiful bay of Portofino,

'and we're ending it in the most unlikely place -

the back streets of Genoa.'

-Gennaro, I want to show you something here, very special here.

-What?

Something special.

'Here at the community of San Benedetto,

'is a man who reaches out

'to people who have stopped caring about bella figura -

'the outcasts and misfits of society.

'He is my friend, Don Andrea Gallo.

APPLAUSE

'Don Andrea provides a safe refuge in this commune, food,

'and the chance to learn new skills.'

Wonderful.

That is bella figura.

Yes, I know now.

'This couple has been living rough,

'and Don Andrea is helping them find a home.'

Antonio.

Antonio, Antonio.

Antonio!

-Quanti anni hai?

-Trent'anni.

-E nato in carcere. E venuto fare il battesimo.

-Bravo, bravo.

He has been born in a prison because his mother was in the prison,

so he never got baptised,

so that's why last week, at the age of 30, he became sort of baptised.

It's unbelievable, all what is done through him, practically.

'Don Andrea provides jobs,

'and with them, a chance to regain a sense of pride.

'30 years ago, he opened a simple trattoria for the public,

'and everybody who works at La Lanterna

'has come through the commune.

'Former waifs and strays, like Eleanora.'

La communita raggioneva sul fatto che io avessi bisogna di un appartamento,

di un posto di lavoro per potere accogliere mio figlio in questa nuova vita.

That was very kind, because they realised that she had a,

sort of, five years old son, and she needed some accommodation,

and a job, and they gave her a job here.

'Two years ago, Loris asked Don Andrea for help.

'Since then, she has also regained her pride and self respect.

Bellissimo.

That is what it is, bella figura.

Not to show off.

THEY SING IN ITALIAN

'Today, this place is famous and very popular -

'but it was not always so.'

THEY SING

ANTONIO LAUGHS

ANTONIO LAUGHS

All the food here has one vitamin more than others, and that is love.

THEY SING

APPLAUSE

'Next time...'

There is a lot of snow. You can make me an ice cream.

'Gennaro and I are off to the Alps, in the region of Lombardy.'

LAUGHTER

Antonio! What cheese is this?

A... A natural Viagra, they call it.

LAUGHTER

'We will be camping and fending for ourselves...'

-GUNSHOT

-Aargh!

I missed it!

HE LAUGHS

'..as we live the life of arrangiarsi,

'the ancient Italian art of getting by.'

Gennaro, you are wonderful.

HE LAUGHS

Only Gennaro can do things like this.

'And of course, we will be eating lots of delicious food.'

Yum, yum.

Yeah! Look what you put, fantastic dishes.

It is incredible.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd