Gordon's odyssey begins in the north of India, home of our curry house classics. On board an express train he's thrown in at the deep end cooking for its many passengers in the train's cramped pantry car. Later, he meets his match working for a cantankerous royal chef, preparing a biryani with a difference for a huge wedding feast, before venturing into the jungle where he gets eaten alive by ants when he scales a 40-foot tree in search of the local tribe's favourite delicacy.

Gordon heads off the tourist track into impenetrable north-east India, home of the country's best-kept culinary secrets. Leaving the 21st century behind, he immerses himself in the life of a local meat-loving tribe in Nagaland, once better known for head-hunting than their curries. Then he's off to Assam to enter a housewives' competition to find the best Assamese dish; and finally he sets up shop among the street food stalls of Calcutta to try and tempt the local foodies into buying north-east curry - Ramsay style.