Airdate: Nigella: The Cook Who Changed Our Lives

SBS will screen a documentary narrated by Nigella Lawson which profiles Italian trailblazer, Anna del Conte.

Titled by SBS as Nigella: The Cook Who Changed Our Lives, the guests includes Tom Parker Bowles who happens to be on Family Food Fight for Nine, potentially at the same time.

Nigella: The Cook Who Changed Our Lives is a memoir celebrating the life and influence of Britain’s doyenne of Italian food – 91-year-old trailblaser, Anna del Conte. Featuring and narrated by Nigella Lawson, Anna’s most ardent advocate, and including a cast of familiar faces, this film reveals how a Milanese cook changed our attitude to Italian food at a time when we could only buy olive oil in specialist shops or the chemist.

Anna’s story forms the back bone to the film, from her childhood in Italy and experiences during the war years, to the Britain she discovered in 1949. The film provides a jumping off point to explore the UK’s changing culinary landscape and colourful food history – from tinned ravioli in the 70s, to more ‘sophisticated’ fare we enjoy today.

To help tell this story, there is an eclectic mix of contributors who inform and support the narrative. Some share sequences with Anna (food and otherwise), whilst others provide comment and insight on Anna’s influence and the wider story, with guests including Angela Hartnett, Antonio Carluccio, Prue Leith, Ruthie Rogers, Tom Parker Bowles, and Lloyd Grossman.

Wednesday, 31 October at 8.35pm on SBS.