OUR television screens are now filled with celebrity cooks.
But well before Matt Preston and Iain Hewitson, or heaven forbid, Gordon Ramsay, became household names in Australia, there was Mildura’s own Stefano de Pieri.
It’s been over two decades since Stefano enchanted audiences with his popular program A Gondola on the Murray, which not only proved how fun and entertaining cooking could be, but also helped put this region on the map – nationally and internationally.
And now Stefano is ready to return to the small screen with a new series, aptly titled In Australia’s Food Bowl, which will premiere on SBS Food on Thursday, May 27, at 7.30pm.
The program is much anticipated, and will attract a large and cultured audience.
It’s the sort of publicity that Mildura, and the wider Sunraysia region, can’t buy.
Personally, I find many celebrity cooking shows these days to be junk food TV. They are manufactured, overly dramatic and lacking in substance, a cheap bite for ratings that ultimately leave you unsatisfied.
But Stefano’s new program on SBS promises far more nourishment than that.
In Australia’s Food Bowl 10-part series, he’ll explore the connection between the food producer and the consumer and the relationship between food and the environment it comes from.
It speaks to everything Stefano is passionate about. Call it a food program with soul.
Born in Treviso, near Venice, Stefano migrated to Australia in 1974 and made Mildura his home in 1991. My family only moved here about five years ago, but I have learnt a lot about this region from Stefano over a number of coffees since. His love for this region is enormous.
But with that passion comes frustration, particularly over our inability to truly promote what we’ve got here in our own vast backyard.
Being the heart of the Food Bowl of Australia is our identity, but do we capitalise on that?
That’s why I am looking forward to this new series, as it won’t just be about learning to cook pasta or a fish dish, it will be a fact-finding tour, where he will uncover the beauty and richness of the area, its community and how it is evolving.
The series will include a segment on Australia’s most successful olive oil producer who shares why this golden liquid is the best and purest of all thanks to the region’s Mediterranean-like climate.
Another program will feature Barkindji elder Peter Peterson, who shares the ancient creation story of the giant ponde (Cod) that created the Murray River, before Stefano’s former apprentices, local indigenous women Tamara Peterson and Whitney Kirby, prepare a delicious smoked cod recipe by the banks of the famous waterway.
It doesn’t sound like fast-food junk TV to me, more a slow cook to savour.
One of my favourite cooking shows many years ago was titled River Cottage, where a London cook decided to sell up in the city and live off the land on a country cottage in the south of England.
It was a show with substance, that was entertaining, fascinating and educational.
I think commercial TV producers these days get it wrong in believing audiences don’t have an appetite for more of those sorts of programs.
For many of us, watching wannabe chefs act like brats or cry if they lose a cooking competition, leaves a bad taste.
But In Australia’s Food Bowl sounds far more appealing. It’s about real people, real food and an environment which is one of the most productive areas in Australia.
To whet the appetite for the upcoming series, which we hope will generate huge interest for this region, I will leave the final word with Stefano.
“In this series, I will introduce you to this river community, from this region’s First Nations people, to farmers and food producers, and explore the relationship between food and the environment,” he said. “And of course, I’ll create some beautiful and simple dishes that celebrate our region. I can’t wait for you all to indulge in this fabulous feast for the senses.”
