Moroccan food is one of the most cleverly balanced cuisines on earth – spices are used to enhance the flavour of dishes & there is nothing like the warm waft of beautiful spices that seduce you when you open the lid of a tajine. The essence of Moroccan food is a communal style of eating, with many dishes shared by the family. The meal time is very social & eaten at a leisurely pace with much laughter & talking.When entering a Moroccan home, you would be offered food & usually tea within a heartbeat. Hospitality is a very important part of Moroccan culture & making guests welcome is also part of the Islamic teaching.

Malaysian food is heavily influenced by the food of other countries including Chinese, & Indian as well as the native Malay or Peranakan style of cooking. These influences extend from the use of the wok as the main cooking pan, to a combination of a number of spices in many of the dishes. Malaysian food uses an amazing blend of flavours aimed at making your 'tastebuds jump up & down' & the thing that raises it to an art form is the combination of textures, tastes & colour. & nothing is more colourful than the cleverly layered riceflour & coconut sweets called Kueh.

Food Safari plunges into the fiery passionate world of Portuguese food where all the best food has a close relationship with fire, starting with the now famous Portuguese charcoal chicken. Food author and explorer Maeve O'Meara prizes a recipe for the famous marinated flattened chicken with peri peri sauce from her friend Luis Fernandes whose family brought the recipe from Angola to the world.

Vietnamese dishes are fresh, have a depth of flavour & seem to have amazing health properties at the same time. Have you ever eaten a bowl of pho with all the accompaniments when you’re feeling less than 100 %? One chef friend calls pho the Vietnamese equivalent of Jewish chicken soup – it's good for the body & the soul. Or have you had a few mouthfuls of green papaya salad when your palate is feeling jaded? Instant zing! More than any other cuisine, Vietnamese food centres on herbs & uses an amazing array along with salad greens in many dishes. These are eaten for their healing properties as well as for their taste.

The vibrant, intensely colourful world of Indian food in Australia found an ever increasing fan base when Australians began to travel through India during the 1960s & 70s. Each region of India has its own style of cooking & distinct flavours – North is known for Tandoori & Korma dishes, South is famous for hot & spicy foods, the East specialises in chilli curries, the West uses coconut & seafood & the Central part of India is a blend of all.

In Greek culture, food is so much more than sustenance – it’s everything – culture, comfort, family, life. “If you grow up Greek, you grow up with your mother chasing you around the house with a spoon”, jokes Greek Australian chef Peter Conistis. From one of the ancient civilisations on earth comes simply prepared food that uses the best of what’s in season & adds just a little magic to help it sing off the plate. From some of the best lamb dishes on earth to fresh seafood, vegetables, beans & pulses & of course good olive oil, Greek food is simple, colourful & incredibly good for you.When Greeks taste something delicious, they have a lovely phrase “Yia Sta Heria Stas” which translates as “I kiss your hands”, celebrating the skill of the cook.

Chinese cuisine is familiar to Australians & a recent survey found that two thirds of Australian households own a wok & use it regularly, but not everyone knows how to use it properly. With authentic ingredients now being more widely available it is possible to cook recipes that once were only available in restaurants. The spread of traditional Chinese food began with Cantonese style cooking from the south of China & includes instantly recognisable dishes such as stir-fries, sweet & sour & chop suey. In recent years Northern style & spicier food from Szechuan & Shanghai have followed.

Ever since Italians migrated to Australia and introduced us to spaghetti bolognese and pizza, Australians have embraced this wonderful, satisfying cuisine. Spaghetti Bolognese is now so popular that it could almost be classed as an adopted national dish. Italians were among the first to show us how to appreciate good coffee, use olive oil and understand the joy of fresh pasta. Antipasto is another Italian introduction. The literal translation is 'before the meal'. Small morsels are offered to guests as they arrive and these might include zucchini fritters, carciofi (artichokes), olives, stuffed peppers, tuna carpaccio. Remember not too much so that your guests don't get full before the main meal.

Thai food has been a huge hit in Australia with Thai restaurants in many suburbs and parts of our cities serving a range of curry puffs, soups, curries and stir fries. At its best, the flavours of sweet, sour, salty and tangy are balanced and when used cleverly, you feel your taste buds dance. Eating Thai style is to be served all the dishes at the same time in the centre of the table – no entrée/maincourse/dessert here. Rice is an integral part of every meal, along with soup, a couple of curries and side dishes. Thai people eat with a spoon and fork and use the fork to push the food onto the spoon; the fork is never used to actually eat with.

Food Safari goes in search of the fresh green flavors of Lebanese food and host Maeve O'Meara finds the biggest mound of fresh parsley being chopped for use in falafel, the delicious fried snacks made from chick peas that go so well with creamy hommous and smokey eggplant dip baba ghanouj. Maeve journeys into one of her favorite big Middle Eastern emporiums with master chef Greg Malouf.

Mexican cuisine is one of the most ancient and developed on earth but is little known outside its borders and too many restaurants are more “Tex” than “Mex” according to the small number of Mexican expatriates in Australia Authentic Mexican food is vibrant, delicious and fun and varies according to which region its from. It is also colourful, spicy and uses an amazing array of chillies, both fresh and dried. Many ingredients are available everywhere – tomatoes, limes, coriander, red onion, avocado, corn…and its easy to cook. Some people think Mexican food is too spicy – but true Mexican food has a depth of flavour with its combination of savoury and earthy flavours, and use of fresh herbs.

This week Food Safari enters the delicious colorful world of one of the cuisines we know least about in Australia - Turkish food. While kebabs and Turkish delight are well known, some of the amazing array of vegetable dishes, dips, and marinated meats are yet to be discovered. Maeve O'Meara journeys into an emporium filled with ingredients for Turkish cooking with her friend, chef Serif Kaya.

The final episode of Food Safari ends with the fire and passion of Spanish cooking - you can smell the heady scents of saffron, paprika and garlic as host Maeve O'Meara investigates the key ingredients needed to create a Spanish pantry and visits chefs and home-cooks to gather some really easy recipes. Learn about the art of Spanish tapas.

Japanese food is refined and elegant, its preparation and presentation honed over the centuries so its flavours are pure and delicate. Like many of the most highly developed cuisines on earth, Japanese food celebrates and highlights the flavours, textures and colours of seasonal produce. The first produce of the season is prized. As well as exquisite flavour, visual beauty is paramount; the type of plate or dish is as important as what is on it. The Japanese have also perfected the concept of negative space; where the empty parts of a serving platter serve to emphasise the beauty of the food placed on i

The French have elevated food into an art form... nowhere else on earth is so much attention paid to what people are going to eat and how they eat it. The reason is steeped in history - the fostering of the royal court, the subsequent revolution, the discipline of the apprentice system, the quality of ingredients and creativity of the chefs, and simply, the love of good food. The focus on food has elevated French chefs to almost godlike status and one of the symbols is the coveted Michelin star system that rates chefs and restaurants. Published since 1900, it awards stars to a very small number of European restaurants of outstanding quality

The French have elevated food into an art form... nowhere else on earth is so much attention paid to what people are going to eat and how they eat it. The reason is steeped in history - the fostering of the royal court, the subsequent revolution, the discipline of the apprentice system, the quality of ingredients and creativity of the chefs, and simply, the love of good food. The focus on food has elevated French chefs to almost godlike status and one of the symbols is the coveted Michelin star system that rates chefs and restaurants. Published since 1900, it awards stars to a very small number of European restaurants of outstanding quality

Indonesian food is one of the most vibrant and colourful cuisines in the world, full of intense flavour and varied textures. With 6,000 islands, there is a huge range of regional specialties, but wherever you are in Indonesia, most meals, including breakfast, are based around rice. There is also an abundant use of sambals, an accompaniment based on chilli and garlic which can be raw or cooked. It's said that because of the hot and humid climate chilli and sambal help maintain your appetite. Indonesians need a 'kick start'; to their palate from chilli and from pickles, a burst of sour crunch. So each meal is generally rice, sambal, pickles with small amounts of meats, seafood or vegetables, often in curry form. People eat either with their right hand or with a spoon and fork

The rocky island of Malta is home to some beautiful rustic recipes that sing of Mediterranean flavour and freshness. Maltese cuisine is truly peasant cuisine, using vegetables in season, home-made cheeses and some of the cheaper cuts of meat. These are cooked slowly with fresh tomatoes, parsley and garlic to create tender stews with lots of flavour. One of the famous meat dishes is bragioli or beef olives, a rolled stuffed piece of meat cooked slowly. Rabbit is also extremely popular and many Maltese families raise their own. Meals are large and served communally - the famous baked pasta pie timpana generally feeds a small army of people.

Pakistani cuisine is the lesser known food of the sub-continent and is rich in tradition, full of marvelous and diverse dishes. Pakistan was created in 1947 when India was partitioned and has a predominantly Muslim population. Although Pakistan is relatively new, the cuisine has developed many more years and incorporates elements from its neighbours - India, Afghanistan and Iran. The varied regions also means there are a whole range of different foods - from the fertile valleys and the sea of Sindh province; to pastoral Baluchistan, from neighbouring Iran; to the Punjab with its five rivers and the rugged North West Frontier, home of the chappli kebab.

Croatia's central location in Europe means its cuisine offers the best of many different regions. From the pristine Dalmatian coast, the food is Mediterranean, with many distinctly Italian influences. Further inland, what's known as continental Croatia is full of rich Austro Hungarian style dishes. The common factor in both regions is the emphasis on getting extended families together and devouring a delicious meal. Along the coastline, families get together especially in summer and cook in a bell shaped oven called a pekawhich (a peka). The peka steams the food in its own natural juices, which enhances the flavour. Devotees claim anything cooked under the peka tastes incredible, turkey and pork are favourites

Not only has Singapore transformed itself in the last 150 years from a fishing village to one of Asia's most dynamic cities, it's also a centre for some of the best food in South East Asia. Settlers and traders from China, India and Malaysia have helped make the cuisine the unique mix it is today along with a strong determination from Singaporeans to eat very well. Food is the national obsession, a constant topic of conversation and for many, eating out is standard practice

Hungarian cuisine is a combination of simple peasant food which originated many centuries ago when nomadic tribes rode the great plains of Hungary, some new ingredients which arrived with the Italians and Turks in the 15th and 16th centuries and the elegant, highly developed cuisine which came from the days of the Austro Hungarian Empire. The result is delicious, sometimes hearty, to help people withstand long cold winters and sometimes incredibly indulgent, especially when it comes to pastries, cakes and desserts

Sri Lanka, the beautiful spice island once known as Ceylon, is a rich melting pot of cuisines. It seems every nationality that has visited and traded over the years has left a mark on the cuisine - the Dutch, Portuguese, English, Arabs, Malays, Moors and Indians. With a tropical climate, fresh fruit, vegetables and spices are in abundance and used in many ways. Freshness is the key to the food with households regularly shopping more than once a day for produce.

Brazilian food is an exuberant, colourful mix of Portuguese, African and native foods including some from the Amazon. The native Indians developed ways of preserving meats by smoking and drying them, they cooked corn porridge, cassava meal and sweet potatoes and discovered delicious foods such as heart of palm. In the middle of the 1500s, when Portuguese sailors discovered they could venture on long sea voyages by taking salted cod along with them for food, the area known as Brazil was discovered and colonised, and is now the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.

Korean food is some of the healthiest on earth, with an emphasis on vegetables, meats cooked simply and without much oil and a near obsession with the fermented vegetable kimchi. Much of the food that exists today and the customs surrounding it have come from royal cuisine and the complex customs of the ancient court. The food is a study in balance with consideration given to temperature, spiciness, colour and texture along with careful presentation.