The World’s Most Scenic Office?
After Linda and I checked into the lovely Hotel Marinedda, courtesy of our friends at British Airways Holidays, we had a bit of time before the rest of the gang arrived from the north of Italy, so we took our laptops out onto the terrace and got some work done.
Linda was finishing off some edits on our videos while I was writing voiceovers for upcoming episodes. There are definitely worse places to set up an office for the afternoon.
After a lovely reunion with Granny Finder Livia, and cameramen Andrea and Michelangelo, we managed to get a bit of rest before things got properly underway. The rest of the week was essentially non-stop driving, filming, eating, driving, filming and then a bit more eating.
We don’t like to moan, but if we had one tiny complaint, it was that our hotels had such lovely pools and facilities, and we barely got a chance to use any of them. We were just working too much. Tiny violins, I know.
Right, Onto Pasta
As for the important stuff? You know, the pasta. There was quite a lot of it.
On our first day we met Gianfranca, who made filindeu — “threads of God” — one of the rarest pastas in the world.
It’s also one of the most difficult to make and easily makes my top three for sheer difficulty. The dough is stretched and folded over and over by hand into impossibly fine strands, and watching someone who really knows what they’re doing is pretty hypnotic.
The thing is though, it’s all in the dough. Get that wrong and you haven’t got a chance.
Gianfranca cooks hers in fish stock, which is a more modern version and — perhaps keep this between us — I actually preferred it to the traditional mutton stock, especially in those temperatures.
Very few people still know how to make filindeu, which makes seeing it all the more special.
And Gianfranca wasn’t one of those people with just one very impressive skill either. She somehow seems able to do absolutely everything. She also makes jewellery and decorations inspired by pasta shapes — really leaning into the whole “too pretty to eat” thing — and brews her own mirto and clementine liqueurs.
Camera Gymnastics and Wonderful People
We also filmed Giovannina making Zuppa Gallurese, a proper Sardinian comfort dish made with layers of bread, broth and cheese.
The kitchen setup did make things interesting though. There was quite a lot of filming through windows and stretching across tables and sofas trying to get the right shots. Andrea and Miche definitely earned their dinner that day.
Then came one of the best bits of the whole trip — meeting so many wonderful people and seeing the little differences each family brings to their cooking.
We spent time with Maria Chiara, our oldest nonna of this trip at 95 years! She was so full of life, and a real character who brought not just impeccable techniques but her spotty when making gnocchetti, before meeting Anna Maria and Maria who showed us their version too, served with fresh tomatoes. Same pasta, same traditions, but completely their own style.
And then there was Lucia, who at 90 years old was still making traditional Cjusoni with Massa Frisa. Watching someone who’s spent a lifetime doing something is always special. There’s no measuring, no checking, no hesitation — just years and years of instinct.
In Monti, on the last day: We just filmed Pietrina, Domenica and Tonina making zuppa Montina, which is a slightly different version of zuppa gallurese ( not baked but cooked on the hob).
Then in Monti, on the last day: We filmed Pietrina, Domenica and Tonina making zuppa Montina (a slightly different version of zuppa gallurese which is not baked but cooked on the hob.
Keeping Us All Organised
As usual, Livia somehow managed to keep us all on track.
While we were driving between locations she was ringing ahead to sort seasonal ingredients with local producers, checking in with families and even making sure we’d have somewhere to park once we arrived.
It’s one of those jobs that only becomes obvious when someone isn’t doing it. Click here to read more about the important work that our Granny Finder Livia does.
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