Pears

“Pears were my mother’s favourite fruit. As a child, I remember watching her picking them as we went on country drives in Victoria. The budino recipe here is similar to my mum’s, and we ofer it as a special dessert during winter. I also like to use pears in salads, in pâté, in a carpaccio dessert, and to make a chutney we serve with Piedmontese sausage. Pears and gorgonzola are a great match too.”

Polenta

“We always joke that in Northern Italy they like eating polenta, but in the south, where my family is from, we feed it to the pigs. But truthfully, we love polenta for its versatility. You can have it fresh, baked or deep-fried. You can use it as a feature dish or as a side dish. You can serve it with seafood, meat or vegetables. And there are various grades to try.”

Chicken

“If we serve chicken it has to be from Milking Yard Farm in Trentham, Victoria. These are quality chickens, happy and healthy. You don’t want to use inferior product. In winter, organic chicken soup is considered Italian medicine, and we use chicken stock in dishes such as linguine vongole to add a layer of flavour. Also we do chicken liver pâté.”

Cavolo Nero

“This is known as black cabbage and Tuscan kale. It’s a bit of a trendy ingredient now, but we used to forage for it years ago when it was considered peasant food or cucina povera. We use it in chicken ragu, as a filling in pasta, as a side dish grilled and mixed with pasta, and minestrone soup are two other uses for this incredibly versatile vegetable.”