Chef’s Kiss

Hey, cuz.

I come bearing gifts.

Maddie, it is 9:14 in the morning.

It is never too early for ice cream.

Besides, when you've been up since 4:00 with a baby,

this already feels past lunch.

Oh, my gosh.

This is why I love being a food-focused agency.

Oh, come on, you can't say no.

Okay, fine, you win.

Mmm.

That is so good.

I know what your business brain is thinking.

Oh, you mean you flying to Italy, on our dime,

to rescue some struggling company

and go on some wild-goose chase before they even renew our contract.

Gee, what is my business brain thinking?

That it's a bad idea?

I know that you've spent weeks on this campaign, but...

Weeks?

Mads, Luca spent the last 50 years building up the Russo brand in the U.S.

He was able to take his small family name and make it global.

I'm not just gonna let that die.

Besides, they're our biggest client. We need them.

Without the green light from Tuscany,

you know the U.S. board is never gonna approve a total rebrand.

Makes more sense for them to tighten the belt

and tear up our contract when it expires next month.

That's why I need to go there myself.

I can get the Italians' attention.

How? By skywriting over Tuscany?

I won't have to.

My source has told me exactly who I need to find.

This is Luca's sister, Francesca Russo,

now the sole heir to the Russo family.

And she still owns the original Trattoria, on Tuscan family land.

This is exactly what the brand is missing.

We lean into this, go full origin story.

The whole campaign is about her being the new face of Russo's Pasta Sauce.

She's the heartbeat.

Real roots. Real women. Real sauce.

All right.

It's worth a shot.

Let's do this.

- Ooh. That's my ride. - Okay.

Call me when you get there, and have a safe flight.

Ciao.

And if you happen to stumble upon a ridiculously handsome Italian guy,

don't overthink it.

Bye, Mads.

Roberto insisted that I give compliments to the chef.

He said the tagliatelle speciale is magnifico.

Ah, grazie.

It's a total prima Donna, but so is the porcini cream.

Knocks it out of the park... every time.

"The park"?

Is this another American expression?

Ah, for someone who claims never think about home,

home makes its way into the conversation a lot.

Look, maybe I'm linguistically nostalgic, but that's it.

I'll have you know

I've gone a whole month without saying "piece of cake."

Wow. Progresso.

You're basically Italian.

The sass I have to deal with.

Yeah.

If sass worried you, you would have left after your first espresso.

Eh, good point.

But for the record, I'm not going back.

Not now. Not ever.

Well?

It's not right.

It still needs

something.

It's her.

- Hey, you. - Hello.

Hi.

Guys

welcome to Tuscany!

Oh, my gosh, that looks amazing.

Look at those cute buskers.

They're adorable.

Right? It feels like a dream.

Whoa!

Lo? Lo

are you okay?

I am so, so sorry.

Uh, are you okay?

- Yeah. - You speak English?

Oh, thank goodness.

You just came out of nowhere.

Me? You're the one on your phone.

R-Right. I mean...

Guys, I'm gonna call you back, okay?

Are you sure you're okay?

I'll be fine.

I should go, then.

Again, I'm so, so sorry. So sorry.

Ciao. Ciao.

Isabella?

Hi. It's-it's me, Lauren.

- Sì, I'americana. - Yeah. Oh.

Benvenuta. Mwah.

I'm so excited to be here.

It's so rustic.

I'm in love already.

- Come, come. - Okay.

- I'll take it. - Oh.

Thank you so much.

I-I can't believe I'm here, honestly.

It's my first time in Italy.

Okay.

I'm obsessed.

You must be starving.

Yeah.

Is this Francesca?

Sì.

Apparently very precocious, even as a bambina.

Bambina. I love it.

I can't wait to meet her.

I-I just want to learn everything about her.

I was actually thinking

maybe we can get some footage of her cooking?

Is something wrong?

Uh, Francesca, she's not coming.

But when we talked, you said that she was here often.

Sì, sì, she's here, but...

How do I say without disrespect?

Uh, she has made herself unaccessible.

Today? That's fine. I'm super flexible.

Ah, ah, not only today.

I told her you were coming after we DM'd,

and I assumed she'd be okay with it, but

she wants no association with the tinned sauce at all.

Wait, what?

She only told me today, and you were already on your flight.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting her to be so stubborn.

She has never refused a guest before.

Scusi, I feel terrible you come all this way.

Maybe there are some other things I can help you plan during your stay.

Look, she is the new face of the Russo Pasta brand.

I promise you, she'll love it.

It's very doubtful. She's never cared for brands.

But she is the brand.

Luca and Francesca were very close,

but their philosophies were very different.

Francesca believes that the sauce should be made from scratch.

Ingredients and family recipes handed down through generations.

To-to mass produce it in a factory would be a ridicule.

A mockery.

Amore, please don't take it personally.

It's not your fault.

She just cannot support a sluggish pasta sauce.

"Sluggish"?

Look, millions of Americans would disagree with you.

The Russo name means little to her anymore.

The-the Trattoria is her true love, kept alive for sentiment.

Okay.

It's just a minor setback.

All I have to do is come up with a new rebrand.

How hard could it be?

Look at where I am.

Mmm.

Oh, wow.

This is the most sublime pizza I've ever tasted.

- It's my girlfriend's favorite. - It makes sense.

I mean, the crust, the cheese, the ham that doesn't taste like ham.

Magnifico. I will give compliments to the chef.

Please do.

The chef.

Of course. Okay

what if I team up with the chef for a few days?

I can get all the inspiration I need

just being around the food, the people, the culture.

You know, the Trattoria is as much the heart of this story.

Meravigliosa. You can still do your job, just in a different way.

M-Maybe Francesca will come around. You never know.

Hey, uh, Bella, I was thinking that, uh, we...

- You. - You.

What are you doing here?

I'm the chef.

You've already met?

Benissimo. It's settled, then.

Uh, what's settled?

Turns out, he's from the West Coast.

- And you'll never guess... - Never guess what?

He's also the head chef.

From what I saw, he was pretty cute.

I hadn't even noticed.

Well, I'm sure he noticed you.

Even when you're jet-lagged, you're charming.

Speaking of charming,

you have got to see this place.

It's literally like something out of a freaking movie.

If you open that closet and find matching slippers to the robe

you've got on, I will literally lose it.

And it also smells like fresh flowers

everywhere.

I mean, you know how much I love crunching numbers,

but I got to admit, you're living the dream.