Two Greedy Italians — Season 1, Episode 4: Puglia: Saints and Miracles
Documentary • 60 min • 2 seasons, 8 episodes • ★ 8.4/10
Episode synopsis
In this final episode of the series, religious sceptic Antonio and fanatical believer Gennaro eat their way along a culinary pilgrimage through Puglia's monasteries, holy shrines and festivals to discover whether food and religion are still as closely linked as they were in their youth. After a pilgrim's picnic, they visit a monastery once as famous for its vibrant produce as for its 2,000-year-old saint's tooth. Here they discover the impact of a more material world on the Catholic religion and Gennaro chooses to spend a night in a friary cell. At the shrine of his personal saint Padre Pio, Gennaro finds himself moved by the religious fervour of the pilgrims whilst Antonio questions the ethics of the religious tourist industry and bemoans its impact on the food available. Later, they join an olive harvest, eat at a straw-fired bread oven and join in a unique celebration of the Day of the Dead where it becomes clear that in this historically poor region, religion is still simple and pure and food is still revered as a gift from God. They cook recipes traditionally associated with religious festivals: Easter lamb with peas, sweet and sour bread salad and double layered panettone and ricotta pudding.
About Two Greedy Italians
Two Greedy Italians is a BBC television series that first aired on BBC Two in the UK on May 4, 2011. The series sees the chefs Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio travelling around Italy to see how society and food has evolved over the years. It was produced by Nicola Gooch. An accompanying cookery book was produced for the series. A second series was broadcast in April and May 2012. The series has also been sold and broadcast internationally, including on the Australian channels ABC and SBS, and the Swedish broadcaster SVT.