Episode 1: Cooking with fire
Food Safari returns in a blaze of glory introducing all you need to know about fire, wood, charcoal, types of meat, smoking, grilling, roasting and a cheat’s spit. In this flame-cooking master class, host Maeve O’Meara meets an impressive line-up of chefs and food purveyors from across Australia.
Thanks to Rodney Dunn (), Lennox Hastie (), Peter Marshall (), Tetsuya Wakuda (), Anthony Puharich (), Victor Puharich () and Guy Grossi ().
Recipes
Rodney Dunn and Maeve O'Meara. Source: Food Safari Fire
Episode 2: Street food
Maeve explores the best chargrilled street food from around the world, including Greek pork souvlaki, Abruzzese arrosticini, Malaysian satay, Vietnamese beef in betel leaves and Mexican fish tacos. This episode is a celebration of street vendors' passion for charcoal, wood and fire. As Maeve can attest: “There’s nothing as enticing as food cooked in the open air where the spices and marinades come to meet you halfway down the street, drawing you in like a magnet, preparing your taste buds for heaven”.
Thanks to Thomas Deliopoulos (), Tony Nicolini (), Regina Meehan (), Simon Goh (), Gerardo Lopez (), Ben Nguyen (), , and Drums Café at Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne.
Recipes
Episode 3: The wood-fired oven
From a healthy, six-minute ‘stand-up’ fish to Neapolitan pizza, slow-cooked goat, sourdough bread and sensational Greek pie, Maeve explores the versatility and uniqueness of cooking with a wood-fired oven. Dating back to Ancient Egypt and early Mediterranean civilisations, wood-fired ovens begun as both heat source and cooking device. Today, they are a symbol of ‘the good life’. In this episode, Maeve chats to a baker, a universally acclaimed pizza maker, and several chefs with a fiery passion for this style of cooking.
Thanks to
Russell Jeavons (), Salvatore Pepe, Johnny Di Francesco (), Joost Hilkemeijer () and Matt Germanchis ().
Recipes
Joost Hilkemeijer and Maeve O'Meara Source: Food Safari Fire
Episode 4: Grilling passionate
Maeve explores how fire and coals create some of the world’s most beloved recipes, including traditional Turkish kebabs, Portuguese sardines, meltingly tender marinated Chilean pork belly and a spicy masterpiece known as South African braais.
Thanks to Somer Sivrioglu (), Fatima Barroso (), Nelson Burgos (Fino Par), Margarita’s Cecinas, Duncan Welgemoed (), Christian Silva (), Aldhiaffah Al-Iraqi Restaurant, New Star Kebabs and Sofra Restaurant.
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Episode 5: The tandoor
Over the past 5,000 years, the basic design of the tandoor oven has not changed, making it one of the oldest cooking devices on earth. In this episode, Maeve seeks out recipes from the subcontinent and Armenia cooked with this ancient oven, including tandoori chicken and prawns, naan, lamb kebabs and an elaborate roast pumpkin. Don't be surprised if you end wanting a tandoor in your own backyard!
Thanks to Ajoy Joshi (and ), Kumar Mahadevan (and ), Deepak Kumar (), Adam D'sylva (and ), , Faheem’s Fast Food, Billu’s Indian Eatery, The Sapphire Function Centre and Vatan Restaurant.
Recipes
Ajoy Joshi and Maeve O'Meara Source: Food Safari Fire
Episode 6: Spit-roasting
The ancient tradition of roasting a whole animal over a fire has always been visually spectacular and incredibly delicious. In this episode, Maeve explores the Argentinian style of a la cruz cooking, and learns the secrets to Brazilian churrasco, Sardinian suckling pig, Portuguese piri piri chicken and a crowd-pleasing Greek Easter lamb.
Thanks to Nicolas Arriola (), Patricia Nunes (), Pietro Porcu (), Jose Silva (), David Tsirekas, Frangos Charcoal Chicken, Awafi Charcoal Chicken and The BBQ Store.
Recipes
Nicolas Arriola and Maeve O'Meara Source: Food Safari Fire
Episode 7: Pots and pans
As the cuisines of the world developed different techniques to cook with flame, they also developed a unique range of pots and pans. In this episode, Maeve discovers the secrets to Spanish perol, Croatian peka, Chinese claypot, Moroccan tajine and Lebanese saj — and why they taste so good!
Thanks to Frank Camorra (), Hassan M’souli (), , Joseph Abboud ( and ), Frank Roncevic, Baalbek Bakery, Zaatar Melbourne and The Balkan Seafood Restaurant.
Recipes
Cheong Liew and Maeve O'Meara Source: Food Safari Fire
Episode 8: Asian barbecue
This high-energy episode celebrates classic Asian recipes cooked over coals. From the Vietnamese lunch staple bun cha (marinated pork), to Chinese cumin lamb, Thai grilled chicken, Korean barbecue and the popular Japanese cooking technique, kushiyaki, Maeve enjoys a sensuous feast of Asian flavours.
Thanks to Angie Hong, Dan Hong ( and ), Chung Jae Lee (Seoul Food and ), Maria and Alexi Xiao (Xiao’s Noodle Bar), Sujet Saenkham (and ), Min Kim (), Keita Abe (), Hwang Ga Charcoal, BBQ Danjee Korean Restaurant, Sydney Madang, Strathfield Meat Mart, Golden Century Seafood Restaurant and Holy Basil.
Recipes
Dan and Angie Hong with Maeve O'Meara Source: Food Safari Fire
Episode 9: Smoking
Maeve explores the ancient art of smoking, a cooking technique that was originally used as a preservative, but is now applauded for its ability to impart flavour and texture. Meeting smoking masters from across Australia, Maeve tastes hot-smoked salmon and kingfish, the West African condiment shito, flavoursome smoked lamb, Irish cold-smoked green bacon and Kansas City-style ribs.
Thanks to Stan Soroka (), Kunle Adesua (), Charlie Costelloe (), Jim Johnson (), Atilla Yilmaz (), Frank Shek (), Melbourne Barbecue Festival, Emperor’s Garden and Ivan’s Smallgoods.
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Episode 10: Barbecue safari
In this series finale, Maeve celebrates the ingenuity of the homemade barbecues and learns just how adaptable a 44-gallon drum can be! She meets a former pearl diver who uses the vessel to smoke barramundi, and a Jamaican chef who prefers to harness its cooking capabilities for jerk chicken and pork. Catching up with other barbecue devotees, Maeve discovesr there are many ordinary objects, including fridge parts, wheelie bins and lawnmowers can be welded into cooking devices. There’s even a car boot barbecue, a homemade Cypriot kleftiko oven and a Samoan umu feast.
Thanks to Neville Poelina (), Damion Brown (), Simon Zalloua () and Sharon Salloum ().
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