One of the great lessons learnt from filming this series is the importance of stopping work and getting together to eat and drink and enjoy the company of people you love.

If you had to free associate around food and the words ‘unusual’ or ‘challenging’, I wonder what images would come into your mind? For me there’s a flash of a table of four of us hoeing into our first black pasta.

Much of the filming for Italian Food Safari has been far from warm kitchens and comfortable restaurants – we’ve ventured into the rugged outdoors for many of the stories to reflect the traditions Italian people brought with them.

The Italians have fabulous descriptions to describe every part of the cooking process of just about anything. When it comes to pasta, there are sayings like “la condiche la pasta” meaning "dress it but don’t have it swimming".

One of the most fascinating things about filming in people’s homes all around Australia is being lucky enough to have an inside peek at how they really live.

Italian butchers really know how to put on a Sunday barbecue – in this case the whole hog – or rather the classic porchetta from Abruzzo on a spit.

For so many years growing up on Sydney’s east coast and spending lots of time at the beach, I’d see rock fishermen picking their way around the rocks to the big rock platforms where the sea would surge in.

What an array of spectacular plants at Sicilano’s garden. I could not believe how much of this land had plantings on it. Fruit trees, olive trees, vegetable patches. There were zucchinis growing, beans and so much more.