Two Greedy Italians: Still Hungry - TV review

Mamma mia, here we go again. My my, how can we resist you? Yes, arguably Italy's greatest TV chefs are back for a second series.

Antonio Carluccio and his one-time assistant Gennaro Contaldo are on a quest, returning to their homeland on a voyage of discovery – does the Italy they remember as children exist today?

On the first leg of this odyssey they visit Calabria, a pretty rural settlement, where the Greedy Italians get to live up to the show's title – scrumping fruit from a stranger's garden.

Antonio, now well in his 70s, could easily be a Mafia Don, with a face lined with stories, escorted by his 'associate' on some rural retreat.

In fact, these goodfellas are soon dealing with a bloodbath of their own. Well, to be fair, it was pigs blood and the experienced chefs were seen helping a group of schoolchildren make the equivalent of our black pudding.

Not one of the children seemed in any way squeamish. I can't imagine either of my two being so enthusiastic in such circumstances.

Moving on, the firm friends make a pork, barley and spinach stew, with Gennaro creating the dish as his master, draped in beige rags, holding a gnarled stick, gives instruction.

Hang on a minute – a master with beige rags and gnarled stick giving lessons. Could Antonio be Yoda the Jedi master? Mia mamma, not surely.

Recalling many treasured family get-togethers, the celebrated pair join a large party and discuss the good old days.

Antonio laments the passing of traditional large families, with many couples in the country now content with one child.

In celebration of a local bay, they join family members in the traditional transportation of a figure of the Virgin Mary from sea to the beach, repeating a local legend.

An over enthusiastic Gennaro gets soaked in the process, so his dear friend cooks up a hearty fish soup – including an exotic sounding scorpion fish.

This pug-ugly addition to the meal may look dreadful, but is apparently delicious.

Naturally, food is the focus of the journey, but both share recollections of childhood years, with a scattering of black and white photos and heartfelt stories.

They visit a local school to compare how modern day Italian children eat and play.

The pair are shocked by what they see, confirming reports that the country has the highest percentage of obese inhabitants in mainland Europe.

Pudding anyone? Gennaro creates a rice cake infused with juicy oranges, picked straight from the tree.

A meeting with a 12-year-old Calabrian by the name of Joshua restores their faith in the future. The young boy is a celebrated cook, with a book of traditional snacks in print.

The Dons may have found their successor after all.

Paul Naylor