A WORD of advice: make sure you tune into Island Feast with Peter Kuruvita on a full stomach. I made the mistake of previewing the first episode of the Sydney chef’s latest foodie-cum-travel series having neglected breakfast, and within 10 minutes I had a hunger headache not experienced since being cruelly torn away from Los Angeles’ cheap Mexican restaurants.
Kuruvita is best known in food circles for his executive chef gig at Sydney’s Flying Fish Restaurant. Last year he broadened his fanbase to those who have never sampled his dishes via a highly enjoyable television series, My Sri Lanka with Peter Kuruvita. Clearly, audiences loved his enthusiastic approach to cooking and life – the chef was nominated for the Most Popular New Male Talent Logie last month.
Kuruvita’s latest program is a 10-week island-hopping adventure in south-east Asia and the Pacific. In each episode, the chef explores several islands to learn about traditions, customs and, of course, food.
SBS has produced a string of brilliant food-related programs of late – including two series by Luke Nguyen and a behind-the-scenes look at dessert king Adriano Zumbo – and Kuruvita’s second series is no exception. Island Feast is beautifully shot, with every ocean, beach and bustling street market bursting with vibrancy.
In the first episode, we meet our host in the northern Philippine island of Luzon, where he fishes before setting up a rudimentary kitchen on the beachfront and cooking a classic Filipino dish, spanner crab kinilaw.
He then travels south to coastal town Vigan, which, as the chef explains, is just as well known for its Spanish architecture as it is for its longanisa, a chorizo-like pork sausage with a recipe as fiercely guarded as the Colonel’s secret herbs and spices.
One of the best aspects of the program is Kuruvita’s genuine interest in the people he meets. His personality is warm and infectious, his recipes seemingly simple.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to eat.
Island Feast, SBS, Thursday, 8pm.
