Original subtitles

How beautiful is this?

And look at the Acropolis.

Just within touching distance.

Simon, we go together.

No, I'll watch out.

Or follow the gentleman.

Come on.

Let's go.

Thank you.

Gino De Campo, Fred Seriats, and I, I

want to see the Acropolis.

are on a big, fat Greek adventure.

The party that never ends.

Back together again.

Behind the wheel.

What I want you to hear is, yes,

Captain.

Captain my ass.

How are you?

That's the end of the tuk-tuk.

An epic odyssey like no other.

The best chef in the world, I'm coming

in.

I caught the lobster, did you see?

Proving this country's culinary credentials This is Slovakia

on a different level.

are up there with the very best of

Europe.

Got a little bit of cream coming out

the side there.

I don't care.

Do you want a Viagra Negroni?

Viagra Negroni?

Yes, my man.

I feel it.

One French planqueur.

When there is no wine, there is no

love.

One cocky Italian.

Say hello to my little friend.

And one Greek god.

You do look like a cabal.

In the birthplace of civilization.

What could possibly go wrong?

Oh!

Brake!

You're such a moron.

We're coming soon.

I need to get a rolling pin.

Right.

Because every time I go away.

Yes.

My mother-in-law asks me for a

rolling pin.

Right.

What about these rolling pins over here?

Don't touch him.

Let's move on, this is not a rolling

pin.

Come on, come on.

Listen to this.

Athens is widely considered as a birthplace of

western civilization.

Is it?

We've made it to Athens and I've been

able to ditch the tuk-tuk.

I know I've got a car on my

left.

Oh my God, what is he doing?

And traded up to a nice little retro

camper van.

I'm excited about the ancient history and the

amazing restaurants here in Athens.

Tell you what I'm excited though, old recipes

that restored the taste of time.

Oh shit, I'm feeling sick at the back.

I can't even read my guidebook.

Relax.

Guys, you cannot come to Greece and not

have a souvlaki.

It's like going to Naples and not trying

the pizza.

I'll go get it, I'll go get it.

Souvlaki pit stop, here we come.

I can't park anywhere.

Ciao, I'm done, I'm done.

Okay, one second, Gordon.

What sauce did you put in there?

They just put yogurt.

Fred, try yours.

It's very good, you know, it's very fresh,

very simple.

Their souvlaki is literally equivalent to our fish

and chips.

It's historic, the souvlaki.

For a dish with origins that reaches as

far back as the 17th century BC, it's

pretty tasty.

Hey guys, look at the simplicity.

Nice pork kebab, few fresh tomatoes, a bit

of onion, fresh parsley, yogurt, job done.

What do you think, Fredo?

What do you think?

It has everything, this is a meal in

itself, right?

You can have it on the go, that's

what's great about it.

Gordon, we cannot eat like this.

It's slipping out of second gear.

It's slipping out, but I feel like being

on a horse here, look.

I dropped my tomato on my shorts.

Over two and a half thousand miles from

home, the second leg of our Greek odyssey

continues.

With a stay in the ancient capital, Athens.

Then it's on to the oldest wine region

on earth, the vineyards of Attica.

Before a long drive north to the stunning

landscape and monasteries in the sky in Meteora.

What's the first thing you think about when

you think about Greece?

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

Stop it.

The most famous philosophers came from ancient Greece.

The Olympics, guys, the birthplace of the ancient

Olympics.

Oh, yeah, that's true.

Fred, as a father of a daughter who

made it to the Olympics, how does that

make you feel?

I'm so proud.

I am so proud.

When I think about it, I cry.

It's just so beautiful, yeah, I'm so proud

of her.

Inspired by Fred's Olympian daughter, Andrea, our next

stop will try to capture some of that

competitive spirit.

I want to show you something.

Welcome to the Panthenic Stadium.

This is the stadium that gave birth to

the modern-day Olympics.

Given we couldn't get to the Olympics in

Japan this year, this has got to be

the next best thing.

50,000.

50,000 in this arena.

Built entirely of the marble used to build

the Acropolis and steeped in history, it was

also host to the inaugural 1896 modern Olympic

Games.

The Olympic torch starts from here.

Yeah.

And then when they're hosting the Games, the

actual marathon finishes here.

You've run a marathon before, right?

Yes.

Did you enjoy it?

No.

You did not enjoy it at all?

Not at all.

I mean, it's advanced human nature running for

that long.

How many marathons have you run?

One and an ultramarathon of 42 miles.

Wow.

So I've done 15 normal marathons, five ultramarathons

and four Ironman.

Just saying, that's all.

Just saying.

Look at that beautiful statue.

Oh, look at that!

Why there is a wheelie here?

Is that a wheelie?

You know, in ancient Greece, they were depicting

genitals a lot, but in 400 BC, big

genitals, which is interesting, because these ones are

quite small, were not considered desirable and it

wasn't about power or strength.

In fact, you know, when they were doing

plays, fools were always depicted with a big

penis.

Hold on there.

So to have a big penis was to

be...? It was not desirable, the big penis.

Where did you get this from?

Can I translate that for you?

You would be in fashion and you would

be out of fashion.

See?

Serves you right for that big thing there.

Gino would be like the god, see?

Be coming with your little thing like that

and be like, oh, look at Gino!

If this place alone isn't inspirational enough, I've

got an extra surprise in store for my

two little side pricks.

Marathon Maria!

With former Olympian and marathon enthusiast Maria Polizzi,

enlisted to help run proceedings.

Hello, how are you?

Nice to see you.

Me too.

What is it like running into this stadium

at the end of a marathon?

Ah, it's a big experience.

I finish here in Panathinaikos Stadium many, many

times.

Wow.

One of them is in the World Jumbo,

when I finish 12th place in the world

with a national record.

Two hours, 39 minutes.

She's talking too much about marathon.

Sorry, you don't know the agenda today?

I kept it a surprise.

The agenda...

One lap today around the Panathinaikos...

Oh!

Are you ready?

Let's go for a shower.

I always wanted to come here.

It is beautiful.

Stunning.

You are ready, wow!

Um, Gino is late.

Gino!

Gino, come on!

Oh, welcome, welcome.

Pull those shorts down, they're higher than Simon

Cowell's trousers.

What are you doing?

No, I don't like you like this.

Well, look at the shoes.

I don't have a pair of trainers.

Oh, my God.

I'm sorry.

It's OK.

You feel welcome about this?

Very.

The Angels Olympic Games, the last event is

Oplitodromos.

Oplitodromos run with heavy armour.

Look at that.

How heavy is that?

20 kilos.

We are ready?

OK.

Let's go.

Wow.

The weighted jackets replicate the full armour worn

by Olympic warrior competitors.

Maria, this is heavier than Fred's.

25 kilos.

But today, Maria is also trying to level

the playing field.

God, this is so heavy.

There is no need for stuff like this.

Give me your hand.

How many kilos are you putting on me?

Eight kilos only.

I mean, if there's ever going to be

a moment for Jane Fonda's video to come

back, it's you, the male version, Mr Fonda.

Come on, let's go.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Ready?

Yes, yes, I'm ready.

You?

Yeah, absolutely.

Let's go for the starting line.

OK.

There's so much history in here.

You can feel it the minute you step

onto this track.

Good luck.

Good luck, yes.

Good luck.

You OK?

Yeah.

Let's talk now.

Let's go.

Maria, when you're ready, we're ready.

I say three, two, one.

I thought you...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, full start.

I thought you said go.

Sorry.

No, no, no.

OK, OK.

Relax.

I say three, two, one.

Sorry, OK, excuse me.

Three, two, one.

Go.

Oh, wait for me.

Determined to beat the French runner bean, my

tactic is to hang on his shoulder.

Slowly.

Thanks to the searing heat...

Come on, Gino.

..and the weighty jackets...

Come on, go, go.

..Fred's travelling at a donkey's pace.

Come on, Fred.

You two, what about team spirit?

Gino is not about winning, he's about arriving

in style.

With 50 metres to go, I make my

move.

Oh, well.

You can't win them all.

Fuck!

Fred's going to dine out on this one

for the rest of his life.

The French ecunys.

He beat me by a fraction.

You lost.

Me?

How do you mean, you lost?

15 marathons.

Whatever you do and you lose.

If he had my jacket, trust me, he'd

be behind Gino.

You know what?

I now understand why you needed a small

wheelie to do this thing.

Because you're more aerodynamic.

With a bichelon, he's going to go all

over the place.

Gino, Fred and I are in Athens.

Oh, fucking hell.

You need to put on neutral.

Yes, I'm trying to find fucking neutral.

But I'm beginning to think that the retro

camper van might not have been my smartest

move.

We are in the middle...

OK!

..of the bloody thing here.

Can you stop shouting in my fucking ear?

Sorry.

With all four of Greece's mission-starred restaurants

located here...

I'm very hungry now.

..it's a city with a fast-growing reputation

for culinary excellence.

You know, I'm seeing quite a lot of

Italian restaurants here.

Really?

But you really have your mind on a

one track.

It's all about Italian, Italian, Italian.

Continuing our quest for the perfect kebab, next

stop is a Greek eatery, which has totally

reinvented the souvlaki.

Hook up.

This restaurant is run by four super-talented

chefs.

They are making serious waves and elevating traditional

dishes into the modern 21st century and really

sticking, you know, Greek food on the map.

And I can't wait to taste it.

We good?

How are we?

Hi, guys, welcome.

What a beautiful place.

Nice.

Gino.

Gino, how are you, man?

Very good, very good.

Now, they say it's the best souvlaki anywhere

in Greece.

What's so special about your souvlaki?

Well, the thing that we do is that

we cook the meat fresh for every single

order that we get.

The word souvlaki comes from the Greek for

skewer.

The meat thinly sliced.

But the innovation here is the thinly cut

slices of pork, which they can cook super

-fast...

So here we need about 50 seconds, so

you take it out like this.

..and fresh for every customer.

Voila.

Try this.

Oh, thank you.

That's good.

Oh, wow.

What cut of pork was that?

Boneless neck.

And it's not fatty, it's very nice.

It's all a far cry from Stavros kebabs

down the old Kent Road.

And it's not just the meat that has

paid special attention.

We take the crust out, take the pizza

oven, 300 degrees, so the air circulates inside

and it gets a bit fluffier and crispy.

I think you know about pizza.

What do you mean, I think I know

about pizza?

Italian or not?

Yeah, I'm Italian.

My friend, you're making a kebab.

You're making a kebab.

No, not kebab, it's souvlaki.

I'm a pizza boy.

Did you just call me a pizza boy?

Well, you know about pizza.

This guy just called me a pizza boy

and nobody says anything.

So you're aerating the dough, so it makes

it a lot lighter as well.

Lighter, fluffy and crispy on the outside.

That's why we make it in the pizza.

That is delicious.

I mean, they've reinvented the wheel here.

What do you think?

Are you ready to rumble, get inside the

kitchen, get a fight?

I already know in my mind we're going

to kick your ass like there is no

tomorrow.

Let's go.

Like this?

Let's go.

We're going to cook, you can judge.

Okay, I'll be truthful.

It's time for a souvlaki showdown.

You do look like a kebab.

No, because you go wide on the top

and nice and fit on the bottom.

May the best kebab win.

No, no, hey, hey.

You talk too much.

Go, go.

Go, Danny, go, go.

Here's our pork.

This has been sous-vided overnight.

How long did you leave for?

Twelve hours.

My vacuum-sealed cooking process will ensure our

pork remains deliciously moist before being finished on

the grill.

Think of the glaze.

Why don't we use some of that Greek

honey with the anchovies, so it's like a

salt, savoury, sour, anchovy paste and chilli.

Okay, we can do that.

He's calling me a boy.

Just stop calling me a fucking kebab.

He's calling me a pizza boy.

I'm grilling our sous-vide pork to add

beautiful colour and flavour.

Looks good.

Oh, my Lord.

Meanwhile, Gino is busy with the garnish.

How fine do you want it?

Yeah, very fine.

I'm going for the double blade.

Where did you get the speed from?

I don't want to let you down, you

know that.

I have never seen you work in harmony

like this, shoulder to shoulder.

Thanks, Fred.

This is inside to beyond.

Great!

Hello, Fred.

How are you?

Nice to meet you.

Hello, Fred.

How are you?

Hello.

Are you eating sous-vide?

With everything unusually calm in the kitchen, Fred

goes to get the lowdown with the co

-owners, chefs and kebab kingpins, Spiros and Faciles.

What is it like working with four chefs

in the same kitchen?

What does it mean?

It means amazingly difficult.

And are there any arguments in the kitchen

at times?

Non-stop, yeah.

Non-stop?

Every day, every hour, every second.

With our pork still needing time on the

grill...

I'll get some flavour on that, thank you.

..we'll have to work quickly to get finished.

But it seems my sous-chef didn't get

the memo.

Hey, what are you doing?

I'm having a break.

A pizza boy and a beer boy, eh?

You found your match, you know.

Chefs, two more minutes.

Slice the pork nice and thin, Paul.

Fresh yogurt.

Pickled fennel.

More pork, more pork.

More lemon, please.

How long?

90 seconds.

Let's go.

Let's finish off with a little touch of

the pork scratching.

Oh!

A bit of dirt won't hurt.

They're running behind, they are in the sheets.

Don't worry, don't worry.

They are in the sheets.

Let's get this over the line.

All right, guys, both teams on the pass.

Go, go, go.

OK.

Here we go.

It's the moment of truth.

First up, who cuts traditional pork souvlaki?

I think it's very tasty.

The flavours are very natural.

I would say it could do with a

little more salt.

And next, a sweet and spicy pork belly,

served with yogurt, pickled fennel and crispy pork

skin.

Very nice.

You did not put too much salt for

once, and I'm very happy about it.

The only thing is there is too much

lemon zest.

It's overpowering of lemon.

I will tell you that I think that

they are both very nice.

However, today, on the day, I think yours

is the best, for me.

Hold on for me.

Hold on.

Chefs, owners, come in here, please.

Never trust a French referee.

Time to call in the real experts.

Sorry, my friend.

Your pick?

This.

He's going to put traditional.

We need to accept that.

We're on the ropes.

We can't win, but Vasilis is our last

hope to redeem ourselves.

Yes!

There's two ones.

What else?

Why are you winning?

No, fuck the French.

He doesn't count.

You're out of the shot.

Out of the shot.

Yes!

It's a draw.

I'll take the draw.

I'll take the draw.

For me, a draw, that's a win away

from home.

It's a match made in heaven, standing next

to Gino, because when we work together well,

there's fireworks.

Oh, shit!

We're bonding not only as friends, but also

as cooks, and we understand each other now.

I hope that we're going to do more

of that.

After a day discovering the ancient history and

flavours of Athens, we're taking a trip to

the suburbs.

We are in Attica.

This is the largest wine-producing region in

Greece, right?

We're heading 15 miles east of Athens to

a town called Sparta.

As Fred tells us, there is a Greek

wine renaissance taking place here.

I'm really excited about the innovative drink scene

in Greece.

I've never been a big fan of Greek

wine.

I remember my mum and dad's parties, like

Christmas and birthdays, and the Greek wine was

under the table in a box with a

tap on the end.

Things have changed.

80% of the vineyard here are less

than 20 years old.

Do you understand?

So the winemakers are very innovative.

And what kind of blend is it?

Mainly Savatiano, which is the local grape.

The thing is, this grape doesn't have a

good reputation.

If the grape isn't good to begin with,

how do you make a delicious wine?

First of all, it's how you tend to

the vine.

Tend to the vine?

What's the term?

Tend to the vine?

Is it tend to the vine?

Come on, let's go drinking.

It's tend to the vine.

Fred has arranged to meet one of the

country's most successful producers of biodynamic wine.

Dimitri Georgias.

Fred, where are we going, please?

Just keep going straight.

To save getting lost among the region's 16

,000 acres of vineyards...

Dimitri!

Oh, shit!

..we're picking Dimitri up to lead the way.

Hello, hello, guys.

Pleasure meeting you.

Dimitri, hi.

Whoa, I just want to apologise for the

driving.

You know, he's not just a winemaker, he

is the top winemaker in Greece.

This is Greek wine royalty that we have

at the back of the van.

This is it.

Wow.

Whoa, welcome, guys.

Dimitri's small but perfectly formed vineyard spans 4

.5 hectares.

And despite the history reaching back over 380

years, he's adopted a less-than-conventional approach

to grape cultivation.

We are in a biodynamic farm.

The difference is that this is my friends

and we treat it as living creatures.

That means they do have a soul.

Vines have a soul?

Yes, really.

Biodynamic farmers like Dimitri are not only restricted

in the use of chemicals, they also believe

in a spiritual connection between plant growth and

the solar system.

One of the products that we use, it

is silica quartz.

We smash it, then you just add 50

grams.

And then we try to introduce the cosmos

into here.

Where is cosmos?

Cosmos is everywhere.

So we get cosmos that goes in there?

Yes.

OK, is it in there now?

Almost.

Cosmos!

Hello.

Can I stir it?

Yes, yes.

One minute.

Yes, you stop.

Dimitri believes that spraying this unique solution, which

has been energised by our own fair hands,

will actually make the vines grow faster and

stronger.

I'm not a spatula.

Now we can fill the backpacks and the

tractor and let's spray over.

Have you seen the tractor there?

That's a Ferrari.

I can drive that.

I'm Italian, OK?

If this was a McLaren or whatever you

guys drive in England, then yes, that's a

Ferrari, I'll do it.

With the Italian getting to grips with his

stallion...

Look at that, I know exactly what I'm

doing.

..it's time to help breathe some cosmic life

into Dimitri's vines.

So we spray on the top of the

vines.

Over the top, yes.

The sole part of the vine.

We have enough cosmos.

Let's go.

We are part of the cosmos.

We are the cosmos, aren't we?

Let's go.

OK.

Where's Gino?

I'm not safe with him in a tractor.

Oh, shit.

What the fuck is he doing?

Hello.

This thing is unbelievable, eh?

It's all shit.

Careful.

What do you know?

The plant is injured.

No, it's not.

It's injured.

It's not injured.

Shush.

Careful, please.

Don't spray me.

Don't spray me.

Let's spray...

That's silly.

Careful.

Be careful.

Gordon.

Really?

Say hello to my little friend.

Gino.

Come here, you French bastard.

Slow down.

Enough cosmos.

Gino.

Come on, man.

Really?

Turn it off.

Demetrius.

Demetrius.

I'm so sorry.

Honestly.

You're out of order.

Can we go get some wine?

Let's go and try some wine.

No, no.

Gino.

No, no, no, no.

He's dead.

No, no, no, no, no.

No, no, Gino, stop.

Gino.

Okay, let's go try some wine.

Let's go try some wine.

Ah, see?

Yeah, I see.

Bastard.

We're in Attica, a region in southern Greece

that has been producing wine for over 3

,000 years.

Gino, get the table out the back, please.

And after creatively completing the cosmos spraying, Dimitri

has kindly agreed to offer us a taste

of his best-selling black label, Savatiano.

It's very cloudy.

It's just the colour from the grapes that

are macerating with the juice.

Right.

So it takes this orange colour.

This is our purpose, I mean, to offer

something which is as natural as possible.

You know, the Forbes has described this orange

wine as the coolest wine trend for 2021.

It's big.

It's getting bigger and bigger.

It's amazing.

Cheers.

Cheers, good health.

Dimitri, I'm dying to taste this.

Hey, Dimitri, good health, my friend.

Ah, this is very nice.

It's lovely.

It has a very strong body.

It asks for really good food to accompany

with.

Mediterranean food, salads, oily stuff, barbecue.

For me, that's quite sharp, a little bit

too sharp.

It's as it should be, you know.

If you don't do any intervention, that's what

happens.

That's what nature does.

I have a much more educated palate than

you do, and if I find that wine

somewhat acidic and somewhat rough, I'm not allowed

to say.

You are so one-dimensional.

Come on, man, open up your mind and

just try and appreciate what this is about,

because this is not just about the wine

in the glass, it's about the philosophy behind

the wine.

Not my cup of tea personally, but incredibly

admirable to see Dimitri's working with nature to

produce amazing wine.

Dimitri's wine was very similar to Ginovino and

Jesse juice, the one that I produce.

I like it.

Go easy on that tractor.

Thanks, Dimitri.

Take care.

Send my love to the family.

Do you want to cook?

Yeah, why don't we go in there?

We stocked our trusty camper van with delicious

local ingredients so we can rustle something up

to pair with a natural wine.

Cheers.

Are you going to do a nice little

sort of meze plate or something?

No, no, no, no, I'm doing the vine

leaves.

I've got an idea, with Greek cheese and

Italian mozzarella so they can get nice and

stringy.

You know, you always cook Italian, it's all

about Italian stuff.

Do you see me talk about France like

this and advertise that I'm French?

Yes, look at the top that you've got

with the French flag.

I'm going to quickly blanch the vine leaves.

And while Fred plays at being Plato...

Is it interesting, this book?

You should read it, guys.

..I'm cooking lamb chops and grilled asparagus.

Don't overcook my lamb because I like it

medium rare.

No, just in case.

Are you trying to tell me how to

cook a fucking lamb chop?

You get so defensive for everything!

Most men are within a finger's breadth of

being mad.

What?

What?

I think you two are well within that

finger's breadth.

These asparagus are burnt.

No, they're grilled.

This one is...

This is not grilled, this is completely burnt.

OK, OK.

Don't start to put it into nature with

the cosmos.

OK.

Is it a quote?

He who doesn't pay attention to what he

cooks burns stuff.

It's right!

These are burnt.

They're grilled.

They're grilled.

They need colour.

No colour, no flavour.

Quote that.

No colour, no flavour.

Can I say, this is really beautiful.

Thank you.

So the vineyards are stuffed with local cheese

and mozzarella.

I needed a stringy cheese.

Why not put feta and pine nuts in

there, traditionally?

Why put mozzarella in there?

He always has something to say.

I know.

He's a critic.

And the lamb?

Medium rare?

I'm going to go for it.