The journey in Italy of chef Davide Oldani to discover the tomato continues and this time it will be the turn of the basil. An aromatic herb, a symbol of Italian cuisine and narrated in first person by who this raw material cultivates and works it. The same people protagonists of the series "Alle Origini della Bontà" a journey into the world of growers and producers who make the ingredients that arrive every day on our tables special.

The meetings of chef Davide Oldani

To characterize every episode of the series, the stories of the characters involved and ready to tell with enthusiasm and emotion their activities. There are those who get up early in the morning to go to the fields to work, who became a cook thanks to the passion transmitted by their mother and those who left a theatrical career to cultivate the land as did his parents.
"There is a great passion on the part of young people on what is the earth. I have seen girls and boys return to their roots facing many challenges for the sake of tradition. Like Marianna Masselli, the agricultural entrepreneur who after a long period in Rome where she worked as a theater critic, returned to Puglia, a land that was not easy, to become a peasant woman. It's a beautiful thing, almost unique. Passion, intensity of work and hard work give a triple value to his choice, also because the final result of his work is to nurture people », chef Davide Oldani told us.
And speaking of young people, he told us something more about the project of the Olmo school in Cornaredo where he is a mentor and teacher for about a year and a half: "For me it is very satisfying that the guys follow the vein of my kitchen, specifically the passage of a recipe from tradition to innovation as you will see at the end of all episodes of Origins of Goodness ».

The next episode, the basil

In this regard, in the episode dedicated to the basil that will air the November 17 at 11:30 am on Rai 1, we will see the starred chef struggling with the pasta and basil. His motto in the kitchen and the guideline that characterizes his recipes is "less is more", an idea that will explain carefully to us and to the young students of the Olmo di Cornaredo school, with a flat balanced between tradition and innovation. But before arriving here, immense green fields will welcome chef Davide Oldani, ready to meet Giuseppe Bonati. The basil grower for Barilla will talk about the challenge at km 0 launched by the company, but also the best time to collect the green leaves that he cares with dedication in the countryside of Parma.

Browse the gallery

The third episode of the project Alle Origini della Bontà Barilla will instead focus on the chili pepper. Emblem of the south and of many regional recipes, it is anything but an ingredient devoid of culture. To confirm it the Professor Enzo Monaco, the Director of the Museo del Peperoncino that will tell us its history and origins. To know all the potential in the kitchen instead, we can count on the guidance of Michelangelo Citino, chef of the Michelangelo restaurant in Milan. A chef with a Milanese accent and the Calabrian blood that as a young man joined the hotel school to follow a friend's dream. The man who inspired his dream today no longer makes the cook, while Michele, as he calls his friends yes. The episode will air on November 24 at 11.30 on Rai 1.

The egg

To close the series Alle Origini della Bontà, the journey of chef Davide Oldani to the discovery of the egg, one of the basic ingredients of the traditional pastry. The December 1st, again at 11.30 on Rai 1, we will discover all the secrets thanks to the Antichi Sapori trattoria. Since 1995 Davide Censi, patron of the restaurant, carries on the family tradition preparing the same pastry and cappelletti in broth of Mother Teresa who inspired it. But there will also be space to talk about nutritional values, animal welfare and correct nutrition.

See for yourself

The journey At the Origins of Goodness has led us to look closely at some of the most important raw materials for Barilla. But also for us. As they are all those told in the site Look Tu Same, a project created by the company to let us know his world in more depth. Ingredients, stories, but also answers to the most frequently asked questions and the possibility to visit the fields of Barilla and its establishments thanks to Google Street View. Also on the site, we will be able to view the videos, the insights taken from the series At the origins of Bounty. The protagonists of the site for this year are the recipes created by chef Davide Oldani and all the chefs who, by episode, have accompanied him on this journey.