Chef Gino D'Acampo sets off on another tour of his home country, this time exploring the north of Italy. In the first edition he examines the food that has shaped the city of Florence, beginning by tackling the bistecca alla Fiorentina - a thick and juicy steak - before preparing sliced T-bone with a colourful courgette ribbon and goat's cheese salad. He then heads to the town of Prato, sampling a pastry chef's speciality brioche buns with an aromatic, creamy filling, and conjuring up his own dessert of apple poached in red wine with amaretti biscuit cream.

Gino D'Acampo's next stop is Venice, where he takes a trip on a gondola with a local countess to find out about a type of Venetian tapas called cicchetti, before creating his own ciabatta-based platter, featuring courgette and fennel with capers, prawns on chilli mayonnaise and breaded cod on lemon mayonnaise. The chef then heads out of the city to the nearby island of Burano, where he participates in a highly unusual method of cooking risotto.

Gino D'Acampo explores the gastronomic region of Emilia-Romagna. In a part of Italy famous for its cured meats, the chef is amazed to find an ancient cellar packed with prized culatello, including one reserved especially for Prince Charles. He then buys a wedge of Parmesan cheese and uses it to enhance a colourful dish of fried aubergine, tomato and mozzarella, topped with basil and olive oil dressing. His culinary quest continues in Modena, where he samples some of the world's finest traditional balsamic vinegar and prepares chicken and pancetta served with asparagus and cherry tomato salad.

Gino D'Acampo tours the picturesque region of Liguria in north-west Italy. His first stop is the village of Camogli, where he meets a family making a living from fishing tourism, before preparing sea bass in caper and butter sauce served with griddled, marinated carrots. Keen to explore more of the coast, the chef heads to Recco, where he helps a baker prepare the town's famous type of focaccia. Finally, Gino rustles up one of Liguria's most popular dishes - trofie pasta with rustic pesto, green beans and potato.

Gino D'Acampo travels through the landscape of Tuscany, beginning in the city of Siena, famous for its sloping Piazza del Campo and its `panforte' - a rich, spiced fruit-and-nut cake dating back to the 13th century. The chef tastes this ancient Christmas treat and, inspired by its flavour combinations, creates his own chocolate version. Next, he visits some Benedictine monks and tours their vast vineyard, before using their Tuscan red wine in his recipe for marinated beef skewers and three-bean salad.

The final leg of Gino D'Acampo's tour takes him to Bologna, widely regarded as Italy's gastronomic capital. Making his way to a trattoria, he meets a chef who has been honing her bolognese sauce recipe for almost 30 years. Gino then prepares his grandfather's take on tagliatelle alla bolognese and explores the local speciality of mortadella. Finally, he goes on the trail of the region's distinctive local pasta - tortellini - and creates his own version with ricotta cheese, hazelnuts, orange zest and chocolate chips.

Gino begins his latest Italian escape in a place very close to his heart, Olbia on Sardinia's North East coast, where Gino has lived for the past 3 years. As a chef Gino is passionate about fresh produce, so at his beautiful home he grows his own vegetables and tends to his very own vineyard too. What better than to invite a few close friends over for an Italian Festa to celebrate Sardinia's national dish? As Gino prepares Porcheddu, the mouth-watering roasted suckling pig.

Gino leaves the coast behind and heads deep into the mountains, to unlock the secrets to Sardinia. The island is home to more 100 year olds than any other, and it’s all down to its landscape and diet. He visits the town of Orgosolo, made famous by the abundance of murals on the walls, depicting its proud history. Then on to a working farm where he meets a shepherd who explains how the simple food from the land sustains the Sardi people. He visits a distillery that still brews Sardinian moonshine and gets more than he bargained for when he tastes this fiery tipple. Finally, Gino whips up a hearty rustic pasta dish, using traditional but simple ingredients, and serves it to his new found friends.

In this episode, Gino is back on the road again, leaving the mountains and heading south to the coast and the capital of Sardinia. On his way he takes a fishing trip and learns how fishing in the deep blue waters runs a close run second to farming on this island. He then visits the bustling capital city of Cagliari, where he is introduced to the unique textures that the locals use to enhance their fish dishes. After a whistle stop shop at Europe’s largest covered market, he makes his way to the magical ancient site of Nora, where he cooks a succulent tuna dish, as the sun sets over the ruins.

Tonight Gino says arrivederci to Sardinia and arrives in the capital city of Sicily, Palermo. Sicily is somewhere Gino has never been before, but has never visited, so this is a real journey of discovery for him. Home of the mafia, a vibrant street food culture and interesting history, this portside city stops Gino’s in his tracks. He has an unexpected encounter at the street food market, meets the man who stood up to the mafia, and ends up wine tasting in Marsala, finishing up his day in the vineyard cooking a beautiful chicken in marsala sauce.

Tonight it's all about the food and how Sicily’s interesting history has influenced the food they eat and the ingredients they use. Crossing the island, taking in the beautiful baroque towns of Noto and Modica, Gino learns about chocolate and cassada. Past the temples of Agrigento, he makes his way up to the foothills of mighty Mount Etna, to Sicily’s lemon riviera, and makes a sumptuous lemon risotto in a lemon grove.

Gino finishes his food odyssey of Sicily with a bang! In the pretty town of Taormina, Gino learns how to make cannoli - Sicily's most famous sweet. Gino climbs the craters of Mount Etna and tastes Etna fire water, a fiery tipple with a recipe that's stayed the same for centuries. Gino then makes a personal pilgrimage to the town of Savoca, the setting of Corleone in The Godfather, which just so happens to be his favourite film of all time! Here he meets the owner, shares a world famous granita, and ends his magical journey by cooking on the terrace of this infamous bar. How did he do that? Well, he made them an offer they couldn’t refuse!

Gino begins his latest Italian escape in Abruzzo - a little known region of Italy, bordered by Lazio, Marche, Umbria and the Adriatic Sea. It’s so far off the beaten track; it only opened an airport at the turn of this century! Gino will experience fishing and farming first hand - two things that define this beautiful region.

In the second episode, Gino heads to the beautiful mountainous region of Trentino-Alto Adige - situated in the very north of Italy and bordering both Austria and Switzerland. To help uncover the unique culinary heritage, Gino first heads to Valfloriana, where dairy farmer Graziano will teach him how to make the traditional caciotta altimo cheese, which is flavoured with thyme

Gino D'Acampo explores the northern region of Lombardia, where goes to Harry's Bar on Lake Como to unearth the secret of the establishment's best-selling drink - the bellini. The chef hitches a ride on George Clooney's boat to take a tour of an Italian villa that is on the market for 16m euros, before fly-fishing for agone and creating a supper from his catch

This northern region hugs the Ligurian sea and with the infamous Cinque Terre on it's coastline, Gino learns the secret of Italian gelato, not just an ice cream but a way of life! Liguria is famous for its seafood and pesto, but Gino is interested in the one ingredient that is the backbone to all Italian cookery. Olive oil. So he visits a grove high above the coastline and finds out for himself how the humble olive is turned into this liquid gold, before he cooks up a dish that takes it's inspiration from the region.

Affectionately known as Chiantishire, Gino is going to unearth the secrets of the Chianti Classico wine in the beautiful region of Tuscany by making his own in the Baroli vineyard, the place where Chianti was invented. He then joins the vintage bike riders of the Eroica, riding on the symbolic white gravel roads through the Tuscan countryside.

Gino D'Acampo explores Piedmonte, a northern region that borders France and Switzerland and sits at the foot of the Alps. It is known for sophisticated cuisine and wines such as barolo, but it is also home to a truffle festival in the town of Alba, where Gino meets a man whose job is to hunt for the delicacies with his trusty four-legged friend. Piedmont is at the heart of the Italian rice production and Gino tries his hand at rice harvesting and cooks a meal that celebrates the Po Valley area.

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