Food Safari

- Season 3

(2008)

To open series three Food Safari explores the colorful cuisine of South America with passionate chefs and home-cooks. Maeve O'Meara joins chef Jorge Chacon to learn about the particular flavors and ingredients that make South American food really special. Chef Juan Gomez makes Colombian style arepas and Chilean musician Gema Badiola prepares a fragrant, all-purpose salsa called pebre.

Food Safari explores the nourishing foods of Egypt as Maeve discovers the country's favorite dishes. We meet Ramy Megalaa, chef and restaurateur, who introduces Maeve to the key ingredients in Egyptian cooking and later prepares for her an aromatic fish tagine. We learn what to expect from a traditional Egyptian breakfast including the popular fava bean dish, ful medames.

From one of the world's great food-loving nations Food Safari explores some seriously good food. First chef Detlef Haupt reveals the essential ingredients in traditional German cooking and later prepares one of his favorite dishes, sauerbraten served with potato dumplings and tasty cabbage. Butcher Stefan Birmilli guides us through the realm of German sausages.

"Food Safari enters the saffron-scented realm of Persian food - one of the most ancient cuisines on earth - to discover the secrets to cooking tender kebabs, how the rosewater iced dessert faloodeh is made, and why the Persian rice dish zereshk polow is so adored. Maeve joins emporium owner Russoul Sajadi for a tour of the best rice, nuts, barberries and spices essential for Persian cuisine.

Without roast beef, pork pies and rollmops, empires would never have been made. Maeve explores the intricacies and amusing etiquette of English food from a perfect afternoon tea to good old fish and chips. Top Sydney chef Matthew Kemp of Balzac and Burlington restaurants takes Maeve on a tour through the essential ingredients and then whips up a sensational summer pudding, full of fresh berries.

Food Safari's African episode is filled with delicious recipes from some great chefs and home-cooks and ingredients that are now available in Australia. Maeve visits one of the most fascinating bakeries - cooking Ethiopian injera bread which is used with the many spicy stews including a slow cooked chicken dish called doro wat, made by young marketing expert Karim Degal.

Food Safari explores the food of Syria - one of the most vibrant cuisines of the Middle East, full of herbs, spices and traditions stretching back many generations. Maeve meets up with Melbourne Restaurateur Amal Malouf who owns and runs Arabesque Restaurant to get an explanation of the essential ingredients to make traditional dishes.

Food Safari discovers some of the vast range of flavors and dishes across the expanse of the United States of America. Chef George Francisco from Sydney's Jonah's restaurant introduces Maeve to a range of essential ingredients and whips up his legendary Chesapeake Bay crab cakes. Maeve then learns some of the secrets of the American barbecue from Brisbane restaurateur Steve Johnson.

In the final episode of this series, Maeve O'Meara explores the delicious and complex world of Jewish food - full of age-old traditions and customs including a strict dietary code (kashrut) laid out in the Old Testament. She visits kosher butcher shops and fish shops in Melbourne and Sydney, with food preparation supervised by a rabbi to make sure the kashrut laws are adhered to.