After lots of searching, Gualtiero Marchesi finally finds a place that could work as the restaurant of his dreams.

Marchesi recounts how he transformed some dark basement rooms in Milan into a modern style restaurant that eventually made history.

Gualtiero's friends continue telling the story of the 1970s, when he finally opened his restaurant, on the via Bonvesin de la Riva in Milan. It was rough.

The sixties and seventies were magical years for Milan. Fashion design started undergoing important changes, and people started talking about food!

Fashion designer Chiara Boni talks about Milan in the seventies. Gualtiero Marchesi talks about combining tradition with innovation in both his art and his kitchen. Gastronomer Eugenio Medagliani talks about how at the beginning, people understood very little about this "nouvelle cuisine."

Gualtiero put some very fancy lamps in his new restaurant, but it stayed almost empty for a good while. He didn't give up, nor did he stoop to using the techniques a New York restaurant used when it opened.

Marchesi completely upsets the traditional concepts of cooking, and many think he's just too weird in his combinations and cooking times.

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

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.

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

One thing that was special about Marchesi's cuisine was that rather than looking abroad for exotic ingredients, his dishes were works of art made with local, ordinary materials.

Marchesi shows us a delicious dessert made from leftover panettone. Panettone is an Italian fruitcake from the Lombardy region that is traditionally served during the Christmas season. Cinepanettoni are comic movies served up during the holidays.

Agata and Catena have stopped at the Catania outdoor market to do some food shopping. Catena gets to taste some of the delicious local specialties.

Catena and Agata relax in the garden of Agata's baglio [Sicilian architectural form with buildings arranged around a courtyard]. They're getting ready to cook typical Sicilian dishes that Catena will include in a cookbook she's writing.

Anna and Marika are going to make a delicious recipe from Puglia. They explain what panzerotti are and the necessary ingredients and utensils for making them.

Anna and Marika complete the recipe and the resulting “panzerotti” look mouth-wateringly delicious.

In this video Anna and Marika show us how to cook the famous pasta dish named after the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. The ingredients are few and simple, but there are some norms to stick with. ;)

Marika completes the recipe for "pasta alla Norma," and serves it up. It's evident that Anna thinks it's real good, too. In fact, she describes it as troppo buono (too good), a typical colloquial way to say "very, very good."

Marika and Anna assemble the ingredients and utensils to make this Sardinian speciality that's similar to ravioli.

In this phase, Marika and Anna roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. They start making the dough by hand, and are very excited about using their new pasta machine.

Here we are in the final phase of this delicious pasta recipe from Sardinia. This is the fun part, for sure.

Anna and Marika provide the list of necessary ingredients for this Calabrese specialty. This recipe calls for sheep's milk ricotta. When you go to buy ricotta in Italy, storekeepers will ask if you want cow, sheep, or goat ricotta. You can also specify a mix.