Sartaj Singh
‘Ciao House’ will return to Italy for another set of culinary adventures! Food Network has renewed the cooking show for its third season. Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabriele Bertaccini, the experts who have been hosting the series, will remain the series’ faces. The casting for the upcoming installment is currently underway to find ten new talented chefs who will head to a breathtaking Italian countryside villa and compete for a grand prize.
In the second season finale, chefs spiced things up in the saucepans and the competition. One of the highlights was the wild boar challenge, which made contestants put their abilities to cook tough meats to the test. With creativity and proficiency in their technical skills, Ivan Barros and Maria Bregatta emerged as finalists. Maria employed her flair for infusing dishes with Sicilian and Dominican styles, while Ivan, a Miami native, found the perfect balance between Italian flavors and modern methods. Despite the intense competition, they held onto their sportsmanship and displayed camaraderie throughout.
The location of the season itself stole the show many times, creating a serene and inspiring environment during the heated competition. It also impacted the produce and ingredients that made their way to the chefs’ tables. “In Puglia, it’s in the South. Gabe and I were always joking about the tagline for Puglia,” said Alex Guarnaschelli about the location. “We settled on the breadbasket of Italy. That’s apparently what it is called, and there is great bread. I was equally impressed, though, with the produce and seafood. It was magical. We have different groups of chefs but also different ingredients to channel in terms of local cooking. I think the seafood is hard… I also think seafood is good for one minute, and the next, it’s terrible. Or if you overcook it, there is nowhere to hide,” he added.
To find the contestants for the third season, in late July 2024, Food Network put out a casting call for chefs over 21 years of age. Even though Food Network hasn’t officially announced the renewal of the series yet, the casting call makes it clear that it is just a matter of formality at this point.
The winner of the competition will receive all-inclusive culinary education across Italy and the opportunity to train with renowned Italian master chefs. We have yet to find out whether we will be treated to the picturesque landscapes of Puglia in the third installment or if the season will head to another part of the country. However, we can be sure that the show will maintain its ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ style countryside charm and appeal.
Puglia, or Apulia, has served as the perfect location for ‘Ciao House’ in the past, with its rich cultural heritage and culinary traditions. With valleys, rocky coastlines, and historical towns dotting the countryside, the ever-changing landscape provides a visually dynamic backdrop for the show. Another great asset of the region is its wealth of local cuisine, which is recreated and blended with other styles each season, effortlessly introducing us to mouthwatering new dishes. Other shows and films shot in this place are ‘Food Club,’ Netflix’s ‘Brigands: The Quest for Gold,’ ‘Ben-Hur,’ and ‘365 Days.’
