Episode 8

Rick Stein travels south from the dry outback into the Riverina, a region that defies Australia’s reputation as the world’s most arid inhabited continent. Once harsh plains, the Riverina has been transformed into one of the nation’s most important food bowls, shaped by irrigation, migration and a powerful spirit of reinvention.

Leaving the isolation of the Outback behind, Rick heads for a place where farming looks very different. He meets Ian Marston, an unconventional farmer who gave up traditional agriculture to gamble on emu farming. Home to more than 750 of these extraordinary native birds, Ian’s operation reflects a willingness to adapt and innovate. Rick cooks his first ever emu egg omelette, with one egg being equivalent to between eight and ten chicken eggs, discovering both the richness of the egg and the ingenuity behind this niche industry.

Rick continues to Griffith, in the heart of the Riverina, stopping en route to experience one of Australia’s most distinctive traditions: the democracy sausage. Visiting a local polling station during a national election, Rick learns how compulsory voting turned election day into a social event, complete with a humble sausage sizzle.

From Scenic Hill on the outskirts of Griffith, Rick surveys a landscape transformed by the Murrumbidgee irrigation scheme, one of Australia’s earliest nation-building projects. Completed after World War I, the scheme brought water, opportunity and new settlers to the region. Among them was Valerio Ricetti, a young Italian migrant who reinvented his life entirely, living as a recluse in his self-built 'hermit’s cave', a powerful symbol of the Riverina as a place where people could start again.

Italian migration went on to shape the region’s food and wine culture. Rick visits the De Bortoli family, whose four generations of winemaking innovation helped establish the Riverina as a major wine-producing region. Tasting the very first vintage of Noble One, Australia’s pioneering Botrytis dessert wine, with its creator Darren De Bortoli, Rick reflects on how far Australian wine has come since his first visit in the 1960s.

Back in Griffith, Rick explores a town where nearly one in four residents are of Italian descent. From bakeries and cafes to classic cannoli, the Italian influence remains strong. Inspired by this heritage and the region’s history of reinvention, Rick creates a slow-cooked beef shin ragu with pappardelle, a comforting dish that pays tribute to the Riverina’s enduring blend of hard work, adaptability and good food.