Pasta Grannies had a mini trip to Emilia Romagna to top up our supply of social media footage, which should really be titled the ‘Big Dog Episodes’. Usually it’s cats, who don’t cause too much of a problem for cameramen Andrea and Michelangelo, as they twine themselves around their ankles or flick a tail across a lens. This time, however, Andrea has given a face clean by a large Russian Labrador as he crouched to take a low-level shot.
The first enthusiastic canine assistant director was called Axel. We met this fluffy guy while shooting cannelloni in Imola with his owner, 78-year-old Paola. She was lovely, but couldn’t stroke Axel while elbows deep in pasta dough, so that was my job. I managed to ensure we captured the pasta shots by provided him with a distraction and I played with him and his favourite toy Tino so that Michelangelo and Andrea could secure those perfect close-ups (minus any rogue wet noses) for the episode.
Later, in Casalfiumanese, we met 84-year-old Vittorio, a passionate gardener and cook. He spends hours tending his vegetable garden by the Santerno River, traveling there twice daily on his powder-blue ape, the subject of much of our admiration. His garden is overflowing with salad greens, tomatoes, green beans, and fruits, and he often transports his beloved wife’s flowers to market on his three-wheeler. We were on the hunt for nettles for our next recipe, but everything else he grows is a feast in itself. They cooked us a sausage lasagne, which was a comforting close off to the day.
Next up, was another fluffy friend – a pastoral dog from Switzerland who pretty much had vertical take-off every time he barked (which was a lot). Bobo, was a big old fluffball who looked similar to a Saint Bernard. And my oh my was he incredibly curious. Michelangelo was sent to open the gates and greet him on the basis he is the tallest and therefore unlikely to have his face licked (he didn’t manage to escape it). His owner, the lovely Cristina made us garganelli alla zingara (gypsy sauce), which is made with fresh vegetables and pancetta. During filming, Bobo was just as excited as us to taste the pasta, and kept sneaking tastes throughout the shoot!
It was a beautiful bonus filming trip, very hands-on (more so than normal thanks to these playful pups). Perhaps next time we’ll pack a dog whistle and some dog treats, just in case.
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