A bow and arrow and a legend, Robin Hood.
These are the ingredients that make Nespoli the best
out of the 22,000 archers in Italy.
If I had to describe archery in four words, I would say:
concentration, precision, patience and solitude.
That may make you a champion archer
but, judging by your face,
in the kitchen, you need some help.
No problem, Mauro! We've got the solution.
Today, we're sending you to Alba to meet Enrico Crippa,
who will teach you how to prepare a starter
fit for an Olympic finisher.
Andiamo!
Welcome to Transform My Meal.
The target is 70 metres away.
The centre, 10 points, has a diameter of 12cm.
Everything has to be manically precise.
It's just you and your bow.
It doesn't talk to you, but it does keep you company.
My name is Mauro Nespoli.
I'm 29 years old and I come from Voghera.
I'm an archer in the sporting group
of the Italian Air Force and the DLF Voghera Archers.
I have been a member of the Italian national archery team
since 2002
and in 2012, my team and I won the gold medal
at the London Olympic Games.
In 2008, we had taken the silver medal,
again in the team competition, at the Beijing Olympics.
I had put a lot of effort in, made a lot of sacrifices
and then made such a horrendously obvious mistake
in the world's eye.
It took me about two years to get over it.
The demons, that arrow, kept coming back to torment me.
It was a woodworm that kept on burrowing away.
As a rule, I try to vary my diet as much as possible,
particularly in the evening when I'm at home.
But lunch is basically the same thing,
day-in, day-out.
I'd love to have the opportunity to meet
with a chef of my level.
A champion of chefs.
I would certainly ask him to help me create something
a bit more imaginative, fun, different...
We totally agree, Mauro.
What we need to know
is how much your physique uses and needs
to find the perfect balance between body and mind.
(NUTRITIONAL FACTS)
Mauro Nespoli, 1.81m tall and weighing in at some 77kg,
is incredibly precise
and has great powers of concentration.
These are the two weapons that every archer needs,
and although they might seem like natural talents,
they actually require special training and diet.
Mauro trains between three and six hours a day,
shooting more than 250 arrows.
He maximises his strength and stamina with gym workouts
designed to help him give his best mental
and physical performance during competitions.
All of this means that his diet
has to focus on ingredients high in nutrients
but low in calories, such as fruit and vegetables.
Just the thing to snack on during training sessions!
Of course, he also has to sip plenty of water as he goes.
Mauro is allergic to nickel,
so he has to avoid canned foods,
and when it comes to proteins,
he has to stick to lean meat and eggs,
Just because archery doesn't use up
as much energy as some sports,
that doesn't mean Mauro can forget about his nutrition.
On the contrary,
he has to aim for the right diet
if he's going to hit the bull's-eye.
(HIT THE BULL'S-EYE)
Hey, let's take a bit of a break, shall we?
I suppose that's what you call a "balanced diet".
Hold it right there!
I'd get it if you ate something tasty...but that!?
We thought you liked rice!
Leave all that stuff here - we're off to see Enrico!
Welcome to Alba,
a little gem next to Turin in the north-west of Italy.
The city used to be known for just two things -
Nutella and truffles -
until Enrico Crippa came to work here.
Here are some interesting background facts
that complete his story:
(THREE YEARS LIVING IN JAPAN)
(WHICH MARKED THE WAY HE WORKED FOREVER)
(HE HAS WORKED WITH WORLD-CLASS CHEFS)
(LIKE GUALTIERO, MARCHESI AND FERRAN ADRIA)
Certainly something local,
seasonal, fresh, light and wonderful.
And above all, fun.
What makes Enrico's work different
is that, near to the restaurant,
he's got his own allotment
which he visits every morning to pick most of the ingredients
he will later use to cook with.
The vegetable garden is in control
of the entire seasonal menu of the Piazza Duomo restaurant.
What do you mean? What the allotment says, goes, Enrico?
If there's a hailstorm, it's a problem
because it ruins my lettuce, my vegetables.
So Enrico,
can you guess why an Olympic athlete like Mauro
should have to come and see you?
He's probably fed up of eating
the same rice salad all the time,
so perhaps he'll be wanting to look for new nourishment,
I wouldn't say healthier,
but at least that are more entertaining.
Mauro, you really look like
you know exactly which street the restaurant is.
No way!
Dell'Arco Street?
Well, there's a coincidence. It's about time you two met.
In we go!
Don't get scared off, please!
Oh, that's sad.
Really demanding, both to look at
and to eat, I can promise you.
But, if you don't get offended, I won't even try it.
I'd rather help you straight out
with something better.
Tomato-flavoured white pasta
with aubergines, plus a little surprise.
So, what do we need?
Fine, well, for plain pasta, we need pasta.
Curves, spaghetti curves
like the curve of your bow, in your honour.
Parmesan, olive oil, salt, Parmesan sauce,
bread, which we will add at the end and we're off.
Come on! We're off!
You cut it as though you were cutting an orange.
First in half and then in half again.
That creates four wedges.
I'm guessing you do better with your bow in hand, don't you?
Yes, I'm not that practical in other things.
Watch your fingers.
For now, all ten fingers are still there.
Yes? That's lucky.
We use two types of tomato -
one very sweet, a cherry tomato,
and an acidic one, from the branch.
- Let's add a little sugar. - Sugar?
Yes, this way we regulate the tomato's acidity.
We season it with a few basil leaves.
(BASIL IS A PLANT RICH IN ESSENTIAL OILS)
Get your hands dirty!
Mix it in, just like you do a salad. Like this.
In order to prepare the stock that the pasta is cooked in,
the tomato is placed in a bag
that we will put in a steam oven
at 70 degrees for four hours.
Now let's get the aubergine ready.
Perfect.
(EGGPLANT IMPROVES THE BLOODFLOW)
(AND PROVIDES FIBRE TO CLEANSE THE ATHLETE'S ORGANISM)
We cut off this part.
- Ah, you're left-handed too? - Yes, I'm left-handed.
I've just noticed now. I get it why you win.
Left-handers have that extra something.
And now, we cut each half in half again.
Getting more difficult, isn't it?
Eh, and here...
Go on, Mauro! Get stuck in!
Yes.
Not exactly equal halves! But it'll do.
I'm more precise with the bow.
Yes, aren't you?
And a little bit of sugar to give it a sweet touch.
Pretty and perfect! Enrico, where'd you learn that?
I spent three years in Japan, so the Eastern system,
concentration, peace of mind,
which I think is so important for you.
Yes, Zen in archery...
when we meet the Japanese national team
it is certainly very interesting to see
the preparation before they start shooting.
Then, on field,
gestures are virtually identical.
We still beat them?
Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose,
pretty much equally.
We cook the eggplants like the tomatoes in the steam oven
by adding first olives and then some capers,
which contain components that protect the liver.
(OLIVES ARE A NATURAL SOURCE OF VITAMIN A AND C)
And a little olive oil.
Now it's time to cook the pasta!
This turns them to get the oil.
We do this with the tomato essence
that we have removed from the oven.
The essence is got by straining the liquid twice:
once quickly with paper and then again - drop by drop -
with a cotton cloth.
Now let's start with the preparation.
We hide what you're going to eat,
so you can't see what's underneath.
Let's plate that all up,
camouflaging the eggplant and the cream cheese underneath.
We add flowers and five types of basil
so that every mouthful is a surprise!
(TRANSFORM MY MEAL)
What a change!
We started with a really rank rice disaster
that even the chef Enrico Crippa refused to try.
And now, here's a full-flavour tomato pasta
with a lot of hidden surprises!
Every spoonful hits the target! And that's exactly our aim -
to help athletes enjoy the food
their diets require them to eat.
That's an Olympic-sized difference, boys!
It's delightful. Really...
Let's see if we've done our job well.
A party on the palate.
I can taste the tomato, the aubergine...
..the cheese sauce that brings it all together.
Each mouthful has a different flavour.
It's like a shot, which is different each time.
Enrico, thank you so much. I've really made a discovery.
I'm going to have a bit more.
And I'll do the same.