Giovanni Ballarini talks about Paris being the capital of haute cuisine, and about the birth of bourgeois cuisine at the time of the French Revolution. Chef Mariasole Capodanno talks about her experiences, as a young girl, with real French cuisine and how even the presentation was so amazing. Neapolitan and Sicilian cooking came out of the work of chefs who had been employed during the reign of the Bourbons, especially in Naples and Sicily, where the chefs were called Monsù, or Monzù a corruption of the French, Monsieur.

Gualtiero Marchesi talks about his experiences in Paris, learning from the chefs there. Actually, he already knew much of what was taught to him, because he'd had chefs in his family who were well-versed in both every day and fancy fare. He, on the other hand, was looking for something new and different.

Alberto Capatti shares his memories of the grand restaurants of Paris in the sixties. Velvet curtains, low lighting, fires in the fireplaces, ten kinds of cheese — a far cry from what would become known as "nouvelle cuisine."

Alberto Capatti talks about his first culinary experiences as an Italian in France, not knowing how to choose wine, etc. Gualtiero Marchesi talks about how he sought to take the elements he admired in French cuisine and apply them to his own style of cooking in Italy.

Gualtiero Marchesi had the opportunity to witness the beginnings of "nouvelle cuisine" in France before it arrived in Italy. The Troisgros family, with whom he worked, were famed for their innovative cooking. Their restaurant was in an area with no gastronomic legacy, and they had to rely on their skill, rather than on characteristic local ingredients.

What Gualtiero Marchesi learned from the Troisgros brothers in Roanne, was, above all, the importance of simplicity.

The beginnings of La Nouvelle Cuisine (French: the new cuisine) are likened to the Impressionists, abandoning mythical themes, and painting directly from nature. La Nouvelle Cuisine focused on the quality of the food itself. Marchesi was in tune with this idea, and at the same time, knew he'd found true artistry in the Troisgros brothers in Dijon, when he went to work with them in the late sixties.

From la nouvelle cuisine, which at its beginnings was reserved for fancy restaurants and connoisseurs and was looked upon with some scepticism, important lessons could be learned about cooking methods and the quality of the food itself.

Italians are very attached to tradition. In fact, although eating habits have changed, many traditional dishes, rather than being discarded, have been transformed. This means more variety and smaller portions, so that a diner will eat more than just a plateful of pasta.

Gualtiero Marchesi is an artist, using food to express his creativity. He's also headstrong, and doesn't easily accept other people's ideas. Step by step, he shows us how to make his famous open ravioli, beautiful to look at, and wonderful to taste!

After the huge success of the television series, I Cesaroni, Alessandra Mastronardi is the star of Don’t Stop Dreaming, where she plays the part of an aspiring dancer. In an interview for starlit.tv! she talks about the very different personalities of the two characters, as well as her own.

What are the names of the notes in Italian? Alessio, a music teacher from Pisa, starts off his music lessons by explaining how these names originated in a Tuscan monastery in the 11th century.

The great chef, Gualtiero Marchesi, invites us to keep on dreaming, and to believe in our dreams. He takes us into his own dream, which has to do with cuisine as art. Consequently, the way in which food is presented takes on special importance.

Tiziano Ferro starts off his "eco-tour" sponsored by the Italian electric company, Enel. He suggests small ways in which each of us can save on energy.

Maurizio is a young student from the province of Pescara, going to school (university) in Rome. He tells us a little bit about himself, and his life in Rome. This is an excellent opportunity to compare how Italian treats tenses with respect to English, especially the English present perfect, and present continuous.