Adriano Zumbo (2011 - 2011)

Macarons are one of Adriano’s signature dishes – they’re what he’s most famous for! For one day only, Adriano will turn his Balmain kitchen upside down to create the largest range of macarons Australia has ever seen. It’s a daunting task: Create 63 new flavours, ranging from pig’s blood and chocolate to hamburger and 23-carat edible gold, in just five days.

Adriano grew up in country NSW and going home to Coonamble is all about re-tracing his family roots. It’s been five long years since Adriano’s been home and everyone is in for a big surprise. While he’s there, he’ll stay with his mum and dad, Nancy and Frank; we’ll also meet some of his friends and family. And let’s not forget the two kitchen staff Adriano’s dragged along to help. How will Stacey and Alessia cope with the Zumbo clan? They’ll be lucky to get a word in… And with floods threatening to surround Coonamble , will they be able to get back to the kitchen?

Adriano met Stacey in 2009. She wrote him a simple letter asking if she could make him a cake to distract her from the chemo she was going through. As soon as Adriano received the letter, he flew to Stacey’s home and spent two days cooking with her – it was the start of an enduring friendship. Twelve months on and Stacey’s in for a real surprise – she’s been flown to a special TAFE event in Canberra. Little does she realise, Adriano is also there teaching apprentices how to cook. It’s a reunion full of tears and laughter. Adriano decides to take Stacey up on her offer to spend a few days chilling out at her beach house, which comes complete with an outdoor kitchen overlooking the beach. Together, they cook up beautiful fresh food. Meanwhile, back in Sydney, the lab has gone into overdrive trying to keep up with the summer demand, but storm clouds are forming.

Adriano runs evening cooking classes throughout the year. They’ve always been successful, but he wants to try something new. So he’s decided to launch a new series of cooking classes just for kids. The aim is to find aspiring young chefs and teach them how to make simple, mouth-watering desserts for the family. Adriano already has his own mini-me sous-chef: 11-year-old Emily works in The Lab after school two days a week. She skips while she works and puts a smile on everyone she meets, but back to the main game … the most gregarious and talented of our young chefs will be selected to host a special, fairytale twilight dinner for local mums and dads. Adriano knows how to work with adults, but how will he go with kids?

Each staff member, from the most experienced to the youngest apprentice, will be given two weeks (or similar) to create an original dessert or cake for inclusion in the range. Every dessert must tell a story. Each creation will be presented to Adriano for judging. He’ll tell each staff member what’s right and wrong with each desert and help them to finesse it. But unless the dessert meets Adriano’s exacting standards, it won’t be sold. It will go in the bin. Who will surprise? And who will disappoint? This episode presents a wonderful opportunity to head home with our core cast of kitchen staff to meet their friends and families. It also offers the perfect end-of-episode climax!