The Supersizers Eat... S01E06 - Ancient Rome

Series in which restaurant critic Giles Coren and writer and comedian Sue Perkins experience the food culture of years gone by. This time they travel back to the early days of the Roman Empire. Living in asplendid villa, Senator Giles dons a toga while Vestal Virgin Sue dresses in tunics and keeps the fires of Rome burning.

Italian chef and cookery writer Valentina Harris slaves away in the marbled kitchen, cooking extraordinary meals, including the stinking fish sauce known as garum. When not gorging on delights from Valentina's kitchen, Giles and Sue try out the popular Roman snack lagana, the precursor of pizza and pasta, while attending the Colosseum.

Sue also finds herself as Queen Cleopatra, and is delivered to Giles in a carpet. Together they dine on spicy Egyptian fare. Giles tries his hand at being a gladiator and Sue discovers some of the more obscure gods at the Pantheon. While dining on sheep's testicles, sow's udder pate and duck tongue, Giles realises that being a gladiator may not be such a good idea, so they decide to go and conquer a small island called Britannica.

Rocking up on Dover beach, they try British oysters and the food provided for the invading Roman army. Sue tries her hand at being Boudicca and Giles plunges into a freezing cold Roman bath. Missing their slaves, they retreat back to Rome for a final banquet with guests actor Kenneth Cranham, historian Adrian Goldsworthy and food expert Angela Pagano. Our intrepid Supersizers end their adventures suffocated in a shower of falling rose petals.