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.

Monopoly, the board game invented in the US in 1903, is used to explain monetary policies and Italy's current financial woes.

L'Eredità [Inheritance] is an immensely popular daily quiz show on the RAI [pronounced rye], the Italian public TV and radio network. This episode benefits the Telethon Foundation, which provides funds for research into genetic diseases, and is based on Jerry Lewis's Telethon. To understand the play on words they use at a certain point, see the various meanings of macchina here. Learn more about this Italian game show here.