Approaching 30,tired and in danger of losing touch with the joy of cooking,Jamie heads to Italy to try and re-discover what first inspired his love of food. In his clapped-out camper van,he travels Italy in search of the country's gastronomic heart and cooks with people passionate about food. Along the way he has to kill his own food, cook for the toughest critics he's ever faced - ordinary Italians. He explores why a culture of food permeates Italy in a way that Britain can only wonder at, and finds out if an English chef can hack it in Italy's backyard.