Our chef tells how his passion for cooking was born, and what books he used as examples.

Although Marchesi earned his first Michelin star quite early in the game, he never lost his enthusiasm for creating new dishes, for experimenting.

Gualtiero Marchesi has been described as growing up in a pot. While training under the eye of his mother, he began to specialize in tavola calda e fredda (hot and cold food service) which, usually connected with a bar, offers quality ready-to-eat dishes. La Cucina Italiana (Italian Cooking) is a periodical that's been on newsstands since 1929. Paola Ricas, who was an editor there, shares a special moment in its history.

Gualtiero Marchesi tells us a bit about when he discovered "haute cuisine" in a famous hotel school in Switzerland.

Gualtiero Marchesi's restaurant was more akin to an art exhibit, than a place where you can get something to eat.

Gualtiero Marchesi, together with his friend Medagliani, figured out how to invent new kinds of pots and pans to make the most of his new recipes.

Melanzane alla Parmigiana, or La parmigiana di melanzane (Eggplant Parmesan) is a classic recipe from the Campania region. Marika shows us how to make it, one step at a time.

Marchesi's friends and clients talk about Milan in the 1980s and how the fashion business helped it become such a cosmopolitan city. Reference is made to Florence's "Sala Bianca," [White Hall] in the Pitti Palace, where fashion shows took place before Milan became synonymous with high fashion.

Giovanni Ballarini talks about what the kitchens of Italian restaurants were like in the fifties and sixties. To make sense of how he describes them, see Yabla lesson Parole Alterate - Modifying Words to Create New Ones, as well as video lesson Marika spiega: Parole alterate. Gianni Mura talks about some of the trends found on restaurant menus today.

Marika prepares the eggplant slices by baking them in the oven—a much lighter way of preparing the eggplant layers than the traditional frying method.

It's time to check the eggplant in the oven. And what about the slices that were a bit too sottili (thin)? Will they have burned? Note that English mostly uses eggplant as a collective noun (in the singular) but Italian, unless referring specifically to a single eggplant, uses the plural le melanzane when referring to eggplant in general, and to the slices themselves.

We've finally reached the last part of this recipe. Now you can make this dish yourself. Don't forget to pre-heat the oven to two hundred and twenty or two hundred and forty degrees (428-464°F). If you happen to have any leftover afterwards, you can safely freeze it. Buon appetito!

Marchesi talks about how important his travels in Europe and in Asia had been in enriching his menu, and confirming the path he was following.

Marchesi had plenty of artist friends, and that meant late nights, while having a restaurant meant getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the market. How did he do it?

Marchesi's friends provide details about their long-term relationships with the celebrated chef.