Ep 1. Episode 1

Food Safari is a television series that explores the diverse cuisines of Australia. Season 1, Episode 1 is called "Fire" and it delves into the world of cooking with fire.

The episode begins with a segment on traditional Aboriginal cooking. Presenter, Maeve O'Meara, visits a remote Australian community where she meets a group of women demonstrating how they cook using hot coals from a fire. The women show Maeve how they cook kangaroo tail, goanna, and bush bananas by placing them directly on the coals and then covering them with ash. Maeve is fascinated by the complexity and ingenuity of this ancient cooking method.

Next, Maeve visits one of Sydney's best restaurants, Firedoor, where chef Lennox Hastie cooks on an open flame. Lennox explains how he sources different types of wood to give his dishes unique smoky flavors. He also takes Maeve into the kitchen to show her how he prepares his signature dish, wood-fired flatbread.

Maeve then travels to the Victorian high country to meet with Italian chefs Andreas Papadakis and Luca de Marzio. The two run a restaurant called Simone's, named after Andreas' grandmother who taught him how to cook. They use fire to cook whole animals, such as lamb and pigs, in a custom-built oven outside the restaurant. The chefs show Maeve how they prepare their porchetta, a savory Italian pork roast, and explain how the fire gives the meat its distinctive aroma and flavor.

Finally, Maeve heads to Western Australia to visit the Truffle & Wine Co. in Manjimup. Here, she meets with chef Dean Banks, who was trained by the world-famous Noma restaurant in Denmark. Dean uses a combination of fire and fermentation to create unique dishes, such as roasted beetroot with fermented garlic and truffle oil. Maeve joins Dean in the kitchen and learns the intricacies of fermentation, a technique that has been used for centuries to preserve food.

Throughout the episode, Maeve showcases the versatility of cooking with fire and how it can be used in many different cuisines and cooking styles. From Aboriginal bush cooking to modern fine dining, the episode highlights the importance of fire in Australian cuisine.

Overall, "Fire" is an informative and engaging episode of Food Safari that will leave viewers craving smoky flavors and the warmth of an open flame.