One of my best friends Jonathan Doar (we call him JD) is an exceptional chef who appeared on the Food Network’s popular show Chopped (This fact alone sets him a part from most chefs out there).  JD’s clearly a young, enthusiastic, and of course up-and-coming chef in the ranks.  Now that he has spent the past many months learning ‘on the ground’ around Italy, he’s even more experienced than ever before, as this video definitely demonstrates.

JD begins his demonstration (or should I say teaching lesson?) by visiting local shops to pick out the different types of food he’s going to cook up.  (On a side note, I love the shops he visits and I haven’t even been there.  They feel local and homey as I sit here in damp and cold Dublin.  I want to visit them!  I’m of Italian heritage and still haven’t made my way to Italia, even after spending three of the past four years living in Europe.  Shame on me.  I know).  Following his visit to the local shops, JD moves to the countryside, where he picks things naturally from the environment.  How cool is that?  Pretty legit if I say so myself.

JD’s cooking demonstration begins at 1:30 in the video (But don’t forget to watch his clever introduction).  As he notes, Bosa, Sardegna at La Cucina di Bosa is his site.  He describes it as ‘a small town on the West coast of Sardegna’ (I can only imagine how awesome that is).  The two foods JD’s dealing with is eel (a baby eel at that) and fresh sardines (fitting considering he’s in Sardegna…)

Without spoiling the video, I won’t go into further detail.  I suggest you just watch.  I was certainly entertained.  And impressed.

Mangia! Mangia!