Airdate: French Food Safari

Maeve O’Meara returns with a new season of Food Safari, this time set in both France and Australia, which is all about cuisine and nothing to do with eliminating aspiring chefs.

French Food Safari is a 9 part series that  follows renowned chef Guillaume Brahimi on a personal voyage back to France.

They visit many of France’s top kitchens and the many places of food pilgrimage in both Paris and regional France, tracking down world-renowned butter, cheese, chocolate, charcuterie, truffles and wine.

“I am so proud of this series,” says O’Meara. ” To journey into the world of French food is like entering food heaven, where everything is so exquisite and such care is taken to create perfection. This is some of the most exceptional food we’ve ever filmed –you’ll put on weight just savouring it from the screen.

“Food Safari devotees are going to be ecstatic!”

French Food Safari is a Who’s Who of France’s top French chefs and providores. Meet the acclaimed Alain Ducasse, who has 27 restaurants across the world and an unprecedented 19 Michelin stars; the father of modern French cooking Paul Bocuse; legendary chef Guy Savoy, who has restaurants in Paris, Las Vegas and Singapore; and the incomparable king of sweets Pierre Hermé.

“I reignited my passion for traditional French cooking during the filming of this series with some of the best chefs, butchers, bakers and pâtissiers this food loving homeland has to offer,” said Guillaume.

French Food Safari also gains access to the elusive rock star of bread Jean-Luc Poujaran, who works in an ancient cellar below the streets of Paris; plus the wood-fired oven of baker Poilâne, whose bread is flown daily to New York and Tokyo. There is an extensive, and of course, delicious tasting of some of France’s best cheeses with affineur Laurent Dubois, and a visit to the labyrinthine tunnels in which Champagne’s finest bottles mature.

Maeve and Guillaume enjoy the thrill of the chase amongst groves of oak trees with a truffle dog and The Pébeyre family, the kings of truffles of The Périgord. The series also explores the beautifully aromatic world of La Maison du Chocolat where oceans of liquid chocolate are transformed into exquisite sweet delights. Chef Dany Chouet opens her home in Perigord, a long way from Australia where she introduced a generation of food lovers to classic French cooking, while prolific cookbook author and chef Stéphane Reynaud reveals the life of a small town in the mountains of The Ardèche and shows off true French hospitality at its best.

Passionate baker Fabrice le Bourdat displays his pre-dawn world of delicious baking, and Maeve and Guillaume visit some of the most celebrated working kitchens of France, operating seamlessly to produce hundreds of meals during service.

Australia’s crème de la crème of French inspired chefs also feature in this mouthwatering series, sharing their wisdom and recipes – including Shannon Bennett (Vue du Monde), Philippe Mouchel (pm24), Warren Turnbull (Assiette, District Dining), Mark Best (Marque), Jacques Reymond (Jacques Reymond’s Cuisine du Temps), Serge Dansereau (Bather’s Pavillion), Chui Lee Luk (Claude’s), Tony Bilson (Bilson’s), Damien Pignolet (Bistro Moncur), Geraud Fabre (France Soir), Robert Molines (Bistro Molines), Gabriel Martin (Metropolis), Roméo Baudouin (Victor Churchill), Vincent Gadan (Patisse), Jean-Michel Raynaud (Baroque /Patisserie) and Pierrick Boyer (Le Petit Gâteau).

These leaders of French cookery share some of their favourite recipes, many of which are within range of home cooks. Learn how to create classics such as coq au vin, boeuf en croûte, vol au vent, salad niçoise, chicken grenobloise, terrine, croquembouche, soufflé and prune flan. As well, Guillaume Brahimi shares some of his own spectacular recipes for bouillabaisse, cassoulet, ratatouille, crème brulée and raspberry tart.

French Food Safari premieres Thursday 23 June on SBS ONE.