Field Trip with Curtis Stone

The Margaret River region in the southwest corner of Australia is known for its surfing, vineyards, and amazing farmlands. Lately, its been garnering a lot of attention as a culinary destination. Yesenia and Ben join Curtis as he explores everything this area has to offer. Stuart McCormick gives us an up close look at his herd of grass-fed Shorthorn cattle. Local Chef Tony Howell takes the team out to try their luck at trapping marron, a large freshwater crayfish. Vanya Cullen gives a tour of her biodynamic vineyard that's guided by lunar cycles, before they head to the shore to forage for coastal herbs with Chef Paul "Yoda" Iskov. Along the way, Curtis goes surfing, races motorbikes, and finishes the trip off with a barbie on the beach.

At the base of the Italian Alps, Curtis travels to Lombardy to discover a local cheese and peasant dish before embarking on a helicopter tour of a prestigious vineyard to pick up wine which pairs beautifully with the decadent sturgeon caviar produced in that region which he serves at Maude.

Heading up the coast on Highway 1 to discover the jewels of the Pacific, Curtis visits with a couple who turned from tech to cheesemaking, the only female uni diver in California, and to seaweed & abalone farms. The trip culminates in an impromptu vineyard cookout where Curtis creates a dish to bring back to Maude.

Among medieval towns, dense forests, and winding cobblestone streets, a trip to Umbria in the heart of Italy finds Curtis chasing canine companions for his favorite ingredient, getting a tutorial from a master of porchetta, and on a lost-in-translation hunt for pheasant.

A visit to the northern part of Western Australia finds Curtis in the quintessential Outback where he is educated by an Aboriginal elder on ancient fishing methods and dreamtime stories, herds cattle with a fifth-generation female rancher, and dives for pearls.

Cheese, wine, and steak lovers unite as Curtis and key players from Maude travel to the misty mountains of Spain with excursions including goat milking, mushroom foraging with a Michelin-starred chef, and uncorking a sixty-year-old bottle of wine housed in a winery designed by an architectural icon.

Curtis meets the Mad Hatter of South Australia's winemaking, learns the rigors of sheep shearing, and forages with Chef Jock Zonfrillo of Orana and the indigenous adviser to the restaurant.  

When in Rome, Curtis visits a butcher specializing in organ meats, tastes pastries in the Jewish Quarter, and works alongside a chef to make the traditional offal dish, cortatella.

Curtis is given a lesson in Aboriginal ingredients on the rooftop of an urban garden in downtown Sydney, dives for lobster and uni to prepare a beachside curry, and tastes exotic fruit in a tropical wonderland.  

Curtis visits wine country during the busiest time of the year - harvest - where he assists at the sorting table, tries his hand at fileting salmon with an all-female fishing crew, and tours the farm and kitchen of a three-starred Michelin chef. 

In Curtis' home state of Victoria, Curtis meets up with his brother for what have been called the best croissants outside of France, cooks up some kangaroo with renowned Chef Ben Shewry, visits an olive grove and wagyu ranch before concluding his trip with childhood friends for a Greek barbecue. 

Curtis dives with competitive spearfisherman Justin Lee and tours the Berkshire pig farm run by his brother, Brandon. Later, Curtis is introduced to the tradition of Paniolos - Hawaiian cowboys.

Unseen footage from this season's adventures Down Under include knife making in the Barossa Valley, rum distilling in New South Wales, and preparing pheasant with the Grand Dame of Australian cooking, Maggie Beer. 

Curtis hunts for wild boar which he takes back to a taro farm to prepare with the Hawaiian food staple, poi, and can't resist hitting the waves after visiting with a couple who shapes their own surfboards.