My Family Feast

Congo culture comes to Sydney in the first episode! Sean Connolly partners with the Nyadi family to host a fun-filled Congolese party.

Sean Connolly learns to cook classic Italian dishes when he is invited to the Pacialeo family's annual tomato bottling weekend. The proud patriarch of the family, Uncle Antonio, guides Sean through the elaborate process. The bottles are left to cook overnight and the next day four generations of Antonio's extended family gather together to enjoy a traditional Italian feast.

The 5th of April is "Ching Ming", the time of year when Chinese families gather at the cemetery, to pay respect to their ancestors. After visiting the cemetery, they gather at Eileen and Newman Yip's home for a traditional Chinese feast. The Yip family moved to Australia seven generations ago and Newman's father opened a vegetable store in Sydney in 1920, which Newman still runs.

Sean Connolly meets the Abboud Al-Suhairy family who fled persecution in Iraq to live in Australia. Largely overlooked in history books, Mandaeans are a pre-Christian minority religion of ancient Baptists who hold in respect John the Baptist as their principal teacher. Sean is invited to attend a communal baptism on the Nepean River and learns the story of the family's heritage and culture.

Sean Connolly joins Tam and her husband Nam Le for the annual Vietnamese Moon Festival - a day of cooking, feasting, and prayer. Their daughters Lan and Mai help their mother prepare dishes for the feast that takes place after they visit their temple to make offerings. On the menu for the traditional moon festival feast are Moon Cakes, Chicken Curry and Bun Rieu (pork and crab noodle soup).

Sean spends an unforgettable evening with the Cubanadas, a group of strong, cuisine-loving Cuban women celebrating their friend's s 70th birthday.