Italian chef and restaurateur Antonio Carluccio investigates the life and recipes of Bartolomeo Scappi, a popular chef from the 16th century who published a cookbook containing 1,000 delicious recipes.
Antonio travels through Italy, where he cooks grilled eel in Venice, a porcini mushroom tart in Lombardy and a stuffed suckling pig banquet in Rome. He pays a visit to a restaurant on the banks of Lake Maggiore where Scappi’s masterful meals are frequently on the menu. In Venice, Antonio is delighted to discover that many of the age-old cooking techniques and recipes from Scappi’s time, including Scappi’s characteristic use of spices for his marinades, are still used in many kitchens.
Throughout his journey, Antonio cooks up an array of Scappi’s delights, which were originally created for cardinals, emperors and popes, and discovers that Scappi’s food is as celebrated today as it was almost 500 years ago.