Episode 19 Country Show Cook Off

The nation's best-loved chefs are hitting the road...

This is not Italy!

..to compete in some traditional country shows.

I'm hoping to win one of the rosettes.

On the way, they'll meet some of Britain's best local food producers...

Why would you ever eat a cupcake when you have parkin?

..before competing head to head with each other...

It's only a competition!

It's only a show!

..and the Great British public.

I thought the competition was big enough!

Our chefs are at the mercy of the harshest food critics

in the land, the beady-eyed country show judges.

We don't like odd ones.

It's a competition, and I'm taking it very seriously.

Hold onto your aprons, it's Country Show Cook Off.

Today, gourmet chefs Aldo Zilli and Silvena Rowe put on

their seat belts and head off on the next big leg of their country show

road trip from Pembrokeshire to the Yorkshire Dales.

They travel through the Cumbrian countryside,

from Lunesdale to Brough.

-Ooh! Shh.

-They look good, don't they?

Shh! This is not Italy! We don't cook here!

So far, our challengers have taken on each other

and amateur cooks, with mixed results.

After three dishes, Aldo is lagging, with just three points.

We give points for a culinary success, and Silvena is in the lead, with six.

Our competing couple travel to an area

so lovely it's called the Eden Valley in Cumbria.

They head to the ancient Westmorland village of Brough.

This hamlet has a history that can be traced back 2,000 years

from the Roman fort of Verteris, now the site of medieval

Brough Castle, to its ancient monuments and Victorian square.

Brough plays host to an annual agricultural society show.

This small but popular event was established in 1876,

and attracts competitors in a variety of categories

from all over the area.

Well, it's our local show, and I like to support the local shows,

and today, I mean, it's a fantastic entry in the baking,

they've done really well.

Our professional chefs have entered the Four Sausage Rolls category,

which sounds a breeze for our pros, but could it be an unsavoury trap?

The challenge is to beat local cooks like Linda Bowman.

I've won with my sausage rolls in other places.

The person to impress is Judge Val Walton,

and she's ready for a tough battle for the roll of honour.

It is exciting, cos it's lovely to see everybody's exhibits.

Our chefs will need nerves of steel to come up with prize-winning pork and pastry perfection.

Bulgarian born Silvena Rowe adopted the UK as her home decades ago.

She's a big fan of British produce,

which she serves up at her restaurant, Quince.

Silvena is passionate about food, all sorts of food.

He eats like a giant mouse.

Aldo Zilli hails from Italy,

but has made the UK his home for decades too.

He likes nothing better than adding an Italian twist to British food.

Mamma mia!

Mamma mia, indeed.

Today, our chefs park up in the scenic Cumbrian countryside...

No, Aldo!

I lost the door.

This one is a bit stuck. Hold on, Aldo. Here.

Wow. It's like magic!

We're getting good at it.

..and before long start hatching plans to beat each other

and the local Brough cooks in the Four Sausage Roll class.

I'm using pure, beautiful,

quite coarsely ground pork mince from a local butcher,

some herbs and spices, but really keeping it very traditional.

The sausage meat is going to be dressed properly, like an Italian.

I'm going to add fennel, I'm going to add lots of spices,

so I'm gonna make a very tasty sausage roll.

I'm going to go for my own puff pastry.

I am doing pastry that normally has to be done at 16 degrees Celsius.

I'm doing it in a little camping van, so it is slightly dangerous.

And everybody will make their own pastry, and of course I won't!

I'm going to just buy my pastry already made.

Oh-oh! That's a bit sneaky, Aldo.

But before they both get cracking, they're off to visit a cook

who turned her sweet tooth into big business.

Our food-fighting duo head to nearby

Mallerstang Valley in East Cumbria.

The area has been described by naturalists

as "England's last wilderness".

Dalefoot Farm lies in the valley on the River Eden.

This working farm houses the Country Fare bakery in a converted barn.

Here, a 12-strong team turn locally produced free range eggs,

milk and butter into handmade cakes that are sold by the thousands,

nationally and internationally.

Silvena and Aldo arrive to meet baker and proprietor Dianne Halliday.

-Silvena.

-Dianne.

-Dianne, nice to meet you.

Hi, you must be Dianne. It smells amazing in here.

Smells like...smells like sugar and spice.

We started 13 years ago on my kitchen table.

My family was growing up and I needed something to do, so, yeah.

And now you sell to lots of people, including Paris?

We do, yes. One of the... one of many.

They're all based on traditional family recipes as well.

Do you keep them a secret?

Oh, yes, you are very, very lucky.

You've got one of my recipes, very lucky!

I can see a big kitchen in there.

-Is that where we're doing it?

-Yep.

Let's go.

# If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake. #

She's going to cook one of her specialities,

coffee walnut cake with Cumberland rum and butter topping.

So we're just going to put butter, nice and soft, yep.

We've put soft brown sugar.

I think if we just put a bit of rum in now...

Quite a big spoon!

Oh, no, lots of spoons. One...

-Oh, really?

-Traditionally, when the babies are christened,

the first food that any little baby should have is rum butter.

Sounds like me mum talking!

Right, so you can see it's nice and soft.

Ooh, the smell.

Smells lovely. It's nice.

-Mmm, yummy.

-It hasn't got enough...

It does, it smells...

It is delicious.

It is very rummy.

We go over to our working stations.

-Not that we're doing much work, Aldo.

-No!

-Dianne is doing everything.

-Shall we put her in the middle so we can help her? You get in the middle.

Ah, thank you, right. There you go.

-Oh, it smells so nice in this place.

-Oh, you're having a laugh?!

No, no. Thank you! We need the eggs beating.

I can give you a fork or my mixer.

I get all the best jobs!

Mind your suit!

Oh, they're perfect now.

Lovely. The cake will be so fluffy and light now.

Just like me!

We're just going to cream...

-More butter.

-More butter, yes. And sugar.

A pinch of salt, and then a little bit of real vanilla.

And then in the flour, we're going to put a little bit

of baking powder, it is self-raising flour,

but a little bit more powder just gives it a bit more oomph.

You stay over there, don't worry about it.

I'll keep the rum butter from escaping.

You wash your hands, Silvena!

They add the beaten eggs and flour.

Plenty of coffee in. And we'll just put the walnuts in.

Ooh, look at that.

I tend to make one cake as opposed to two cakes,

and sandwich it together.

If you make one cake, it tends to keep it moister.

It's going to take an hour, that. But here's one we prepared earlier!

What a relief!

Look at this. Look how beautifully you have distributed the walnuts.

-Lots of walnuts.

-How rich is that?

Don't go right to the edge, because if you go right to the edge,

when I put the top on it will squish out and then it will look a mess.

And you don't want it to look a mess.

-You are putting plenty on the top, I see.

-Ah, yes.

So we're not skimping here. Oh, the smell is divine.

Oh. These tips would be useful for us entering competitions.

Watch and learn!

I'm doing that to my sausage rolls later! That's what I'm doing.

I'm going to start with a nice half. Looks great.

I could eat that right now.

Ah, gorgeous. Oh. Can we try?

Oh, please do.

Oh, go on, get stuck in, Silvena!

-You really went for that, didn't you?!

-Well, I like cake.

I'm a bit more sensitive. Can I have a fork?

SHE LAUGHS

I can't possibly pick up a cake and eat it like that.

Oh, no, couldn't do that. This is beautiful.

Mm. Lick your fingers.

-Amazing.

-It's one of my favourite cakes, this.

-Good.

-Very, very good.

Competition is never far from our duo's minds,

as they start to grill Dianne.

So you mentioned, you do a bit of judging on competitions.

Any tips for us, as in overall behaviour?

Stick to the rules.

Stick to the rules.

-Stick to the rules.

-Sausage roll is sausage roll.

-It's a sausage roll.

-Don't put it in the Cornish pasty section?

And if it says four sausage rolls, don't take three.

Oh, really. That's a good tip!

That's a good tip. Thank you very much.

I can count to four!

Good point, Dianne, and as the only rule for the category

of four sausage rolls, the rest is up to our chefs.

Aldo thinks sausage meat is the best way to beat the opposition,

but first he's got to beat the weather.

What's going on? The rain is following me all over the country!

I'm making sausage rolls with a little bit of difference.

Again, I've got my Italian twist again here.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to just toast a little bit of fennel seeds.

Here, I've got whole fennel and I'm going to chop this extremely fine.

Fennel, by the way, it's like that aniseed flavour.

This is quite toasted now, cos that was very, very hot, that pan.

OK, so that goes back on with a little bit of oil,

and I can feel the rain,

I can feel the rain, but I hope it stays off for a little bit longer,

because I wanted you to see this, that's why I want to do this here.

OK, so the fennel now is going to be sauteed,

I'm going to add a little bit of shallot in there.

There you go.

OK, before the rain comes, I'm going to crush this fennel seeds

with some sea salt.

Ooh, it's now coming down.

I don't feel very lucky, because as soon as I start cooking outdoor,

the rain starts coming down.

Apple. These have been washed, skin on, and everything.

We need a couple of apples to flavour this wonderful meat.

This is the sausage meat, and that's the pork mince.

The rain is now coming down, so I have to go inside again!

Come on, then.

Oh, nice and cosy!

Once sheltered in the van, Aldo adds pancetta to the mix

and starts to create his sausage meat filling.

And now I'm going to blast this pancetta properly with my fennel

and my shallot.

The smell is beautiful, it's a little bit of smoky flavour there,

all of this is going into my mix.

This was the sea salt and the fennel seeds going in.

Then we've got an egg, and I'm only going to use one egg yolk,

going in my mix.

I need to chop a little bit of this parsley.

Cos I want to put a little bit of green in there.

And I do love a little bit of zest in my dishes.

And now finally, a little bit of breadcrumb goes in. Some pepper.

This smells absolutely stunning, that fennel, that pancetta,

that beautiful aroma in there now.

Mm, it's all in that bowl.

Sausage meat done, now what were you using for pastry again?

My magic all-butter, shop-bought pastry.

OK, so roll the pastry this thickness,

and then cut the excess off.

Now, what I'm trying to do here is to make a big,

big length of two sausage rolls, basically,

and that to me is enough for two sausage rolls.

I love it. OK, now, then.

A bit of this egg wash on there.

And now you roll, and there's your sausage roll.

So we're going to cut this right there.

Lots of egg wash.

I can't believe the weather.

HE LAUGHS

OK, there you go.

That's sealed nicely.

There's one, so we're going to cut them at the end there.

So now, that's going to go all the way down.

There you go, look at them. They look beautiful.

We eat with our eyes,

so Aldo wants his rolls not only to taste great but to look great too.

I wouldn't really use a sharp knife and go straight in,

cos it's very dangerous then.

I don't want to ruin them, so very gently with a pointed knife,

go in, then if you wanted to, you can go right down the middle

and you'll make your little crosses.

What we need to do is use this fantastic egg yolk

and brush them off.

I think they look absolutely stunning.

A sprinkle, just a few seeds on top, like that.

And these are sesame seeds.

Again, I don't want to overdo it, because you never know whether

these judges are going to like these, so let's hope that they go,

"Wow, this is amazing, what a twist he's given to these sausage rolls,

"he or she," because I'm assuming they don't know who made them,

because if they do know who made them, then I would never win anything.

Nah, come on, Aldo, you know the judging's done blind.

They've no idea who's entered what.

I'm going to put this one here, and then cut this one a little bit.

So that doesn't mean that I'm not going to make that,

because I'm going to try it, and that's I think the size

I'm going to make my sausage rolls,

so they're all going to be the same size.

I can't believe it, I'm becoming so precious about sausage rolls.

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

Looks the same as the others.

# Hard rains a-gonna fall. #

Swimming, darling, swimming, swimming! Oh, my God!

Come on. I've set you all up here. I've cleaned up my surface.

-OK, ciao, darling.

-It's your turn, ciao.

-Ciao.

-I'm going to take my tankard, and I'm going.

-Ah, the umbrella's going, it's going!

-Hang on!

Now, Silvena's not cutting corners with her pastry.

Like any good chef, she's making her own.

We're starting with flour.

You can mix plain and strong flour, but I'll use plain on this occasion.

Some salt will go in there.

Water. Just a little bit of lemon juice goes in there.

Working it gently, you're going to achieve a very, very rough pastry.

So at this stage I'm going to show you, I'm going to tip it over.

Work it until we get it into a ball.

The idea is to mash it until it becomes fairly pliable.

And it's a good workout, basically.

It's very good for your bingo wings.

Bingo wings averted, let the pastry rest in the fridge.

After an hour or two, it's ready to roll.

Making sure the butter and the pastry are the same softness,

so the butter is not too soft,

so I'm going to use some of the butter to show you the idea.

This is what we need to do, cover the entire surface,

everything gets covered.

And we begin to work. You only roll in one direction.

I'm going to roll up and down, but not left and right.

Don't worry about it not being equal,

don't worry about butter escaping, I will show you what is a single turn.

A single turn is one, two. This is how a single turn.

Again, I'm very tempted to do that,

but I mustn't. I still keep the same direction.

Once you roll it to this length, you do another single turn one, two.

Roll again, third turn is one, two, at which stage your pastry is ready.

Each turn gives you nine layers,

which means that this pastry now should have 27 layers.

She chills the puff pastry and starts her sausage meat.

I'm going to do very traditional sausage roll recipe.

The best quality pork mince you can get.

About two teaspoons of the dry herbs, salt, pepper.

I'm going to use a little bit of Worcestershire sauce.

It's very, very British. Some sage.

Fresh thyme, this goes in there as well.

All of this, I will amalgamate together. No egg, nothing else.

Just the breadcrumbs will go in here.

This needs to be very, very well mixed together.

The rain is coming here as well. With my other hand I'm wiping.

I hope there is no holes in the roof, but so far so good.

And this is looking good.

She lets the meat chill,

and moves to last stage of that temperamental puff pastry.

I have to work quite fast with it.

I want it to be fairly thin, and long.

I will do my sausages about six centimetres each,

so I need this to be 24 centimetres at least.

Let's see. Perfection, OK.

So basically what I'm going to do is just trim it now.

I want the sausages to be quite chunky. This is too thick.

Remember, you need about 20 minutes in the oven,

and it's pork, it cooks quite slowly.

So you want it to be quite a generous amount, you really

don't want it to be far too thick either, cos it will never cook.

OK. I'm not going to really,

really apply too much pressure other than what you see me doing here.

I want this beautiful edge to show.

People think sausage rolls are simple.

Nah, not when you do them properly.

And there it is. Look how beautiful this is.

Right, this is where my ruler is going to come now and help me.

Oh, good God.

I don't want the shape spoilt.

Well, that's not the same size, is it? You idiot.

Basically, let's measure with this one.

It is quite stressful working in these conditions.

I may not look it, I may be all the cool cat, but really...

I am feeling a little bit under pressure.

OK, we are ready to go. Fabulous looking sausage rolls.

Who'd have thought that a simple sausage roll

could become such a challenge?

These two really want to win.

Will Silvena's home-made puff pastry have the wow factor,

or will it be Aldo's shop-bought pastry?

Let's see how they turn out.

OK. And there they are, they are looking outstandingly beautiful.

Even if I say so myself.

Ah, gorgeously cooked underneath as well.

Yeah, this is the right side, this is how I'm going to display them.

Lovely! And what about yours, Aldo?

They've opened up. Oh, no. So that's no good.

Well, there was a split there cos I scored them,

and I said don't score them too much, and I scored them too much.

So I can't use those three. Nah, I'm not happy with this.

I'm just going to make four more.

Nah, it's too wet and damp to do anything about it now.

Wait till the morning.

I'm up so early, the sun's rising. Ah, the fresh air,

the sheep, but let's talk sausage rolls, shall we?!

I'm not too happy with these, so I'm going to have another go.

But I'm not throwing these away yet,

because you never know what might happen in that oven again.

You never know, Aldo! Better get moving, then!

He's using the same method, pastry, sausage meat,

but this time he doesn't score them.

Oh, lovely and fresh from the oven!

Could this give him the edge over Silvena?

The Brough Annual Agricultural Society Show brings visitors

and exhibitors together to strut their stuff and show off their wares.

I've entered the ginger biscuits, shortbread, Victoria sandwich

and chocolate cake.

Last year, I got first with my ginger biscuits.

I was really surprised.

Oh, did you, love?

You can display your talents for crafts, food sculptures,

art and, of course, all sorts of baking.

I just want to test my ability to cook, because I've never

baked before, and I just learned how to bake here, in England.

The person to astonish is Val Walton, and she's no pushover.

This is her first year of judging the baking,

but she's no stranger to these competitions.

I suppose I won quite a few shows, baked all the classes myself,

so yeah, I know what to look for.

It's show time!

Silvena and Aldo head to the exhibition tent

to place their entries.

And they weigh up the competition.

This will be number one, because this is how they should be, the edge should be here.

My edge is here but my edge is open, slightly open.

A sausage roll's a sausage roll.

Mm, no, they have rules and regulations here.

I wonder shall I put a little note, with a description?

I'll go and ask.

Oh-ho! She's very keen to win,

and she wants the judges to know that her pastry is handmade.

Do you think the judges will know?

-The judge will know the difference. You don't need to put a description.

-Oh, really?

-I'm sure.

-Mm. OK.

Mm-hm. I think that's why they judge that way.

OK, then. Thank you very much.

-OK. You're welcome.

-All right.

Well, I've been assured that the judge will know

the difference that my one's the homemade pastry, so fingers crossed.

Mine really stand out!

I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, to be honest.

It just depends whether they're looking for flavour, really.

Your ones look gigantic, of course.

I told you to stick with smaller ones.

-I know.

-They look good, no?

-They look great.

-They're a bit big, but...

-Yeah.

I don't know if size matters.

-Always.

-Not in sausage roll world.

Not in the world of sausage rolls!

Local lass Linda Bowman's in the same category,

and knows that quality can't be rushed.

The pastry took me a long time, cos it's flaky pastry,

so that was a bit longer.

For Linda, it's all about the taking part.

She's entered seven categories.

Because if t'show's not kept going by entries, they'll just collapse.

So you know, it doesn't matter what you do, what you enter, just do it.

It's only 30p to enter any class.

Ho-ho! Won't break the bank, then!

Our chefs have got five minutes to spare and check out the show.

And something's caught Aldo's eye.

I want to show you...

What?

..a leek.

SHE LAUGHS

SHE GASPS

Look at that leek.

-Wow!

-That is a leek!

What's going on there? This is incredible.

-I know.

-This is, like, such intricate work.

Wow! This is the village of the icing queens, you know?

I just am very impressed with the icing skills of this village.

What it is with this show, it is not a lot, but it's quality.

The tent closes and judge Val Walton get poised to adjudicate.

Our rivals have had a couple of damp days in Brough,

and whilst they await their fate, they warm up over a nice cup of tea.

Well, I'm going to be intrigued to see what she's gone for.

It's only one judge, isn't it?

Well, she might've gone for a freshly baked in the morning,

two hours ago, pastry...

like yours. That's what she might've gone, for sure.

-Cos my one went down...

-She'll never let me forget this, that I made it twice!

Back in the tent,

Val is about to pass judgment on all sausage roll entrants.

So, I always start off with a look,

make sure that they're evenly matched.

I'm looking to see if they've cooked right through the pastry.

That one there isn't and it's stuck to the baking tray.

That one's done fine, it's risen nicely.

They're not too bad at matching.

Next to get the soggy bottom test is Silvena.

Yeah, slightly harder...harder done.

Now it's local cook Linda Bowman. Will she pass the first hurdle?

Those are a different sort of pastry.

They're quite light, are those, but...

Aldo gets the "firm bottom" check.

Bottoms assessed, it's time for Val to take a judicious nibble!

That one's nice as well. That's...

Now I'm going to taste it, just to see.

That's quite spicy. Nice sausage meat.

Very tasty, that one, actually.

-Very nice.

-Looks like Aldo's recipe's paid off.

These are actually still warm.

Probably freshly made this morning, which is a plus,

for the pastry, cos it's still crispy.

They're always best on the first day.

All baking's always best fresh out of the oven.

Linda Bowman's up for the taste test now.

That one's done well, it's well cooked.

There's the sausage meat in the middle and the pastry's

just slightly underdone at the bottom there, on that one.

A nice, flaky pastry.

Yeah. I don't know what else to say about that one, really.

Well, Val hasn't given much away there, Linda.

Last is Silvena. What will Val make of her homemade pastry?

That one, not just quite sure about that one.

Could've done with a bit more cooking in the middle.

The sausage meat's just not hard enough done but yet,

the outside's cooked. It's probably too hot an oven to...

That one, again, it's...it's quite a spicy sausage meat...

..but it flavours well with the pastry.

I like that one, when it's, um, when I've tasted it.

That's a turn up! It's her sausage meat that's left her in with a chance.

With bated breath, Aldo and Silvena enter the tent.

Will they be on a "roll" or will there be tears before teatime?

Hey-hey! There's a little red note under mine!

I've got nothing. Wow. That's amazing.

I'm absolutely...

I can't do a speech, cos there's nobody here!

I'm really, really shocked, I have to say. I'm so shocked.

-Oh, dear!

-Oh, well, I'm pleased for you.

-Oh, dear!

Well, certainly you worked very hard for that.

-I thought they were very good, so I don't understand what happened here.

-OK, so that got second.

-Yeah?

-That got third.

Yeah. I knew this would be, but this isn't cooked underneath.

I saw it earlier. You know, you...

Look at mine. That's perfection.

Sorry. Even though I say so myself.

-Yeah.

-Look how thin the pastry is. That's what...that's what's made it.

Yours is beautiful, man. I don't know what's wrong with yours.

-Because they were 12 hours old, that's what's wrong with mine.

-It's because you made fresh pastry.

Aldo, no, Aldo. I'll tell you the key is to...

-You shoulda bought your pastry, love.

-No, Aldo, the key is to make them two hours before,

and this is what the problem is.

-Are you upset?

-No, I'm not bothered about it, because...

-Your face looks bothered.

-No, I'm not bothered.

She is bothered!

That's disappointing for Silvena,

but has Linda done any better in the sausage roll stakes?

-Oh, nothing, you see.

-Yeah.

But I wouldn't've given myself a prize for that.

I would. They're really nice.

Anyway, I can eat them now, so that'll be fine!

Ah, that's a shame, Linda.

But have other entrants fared better in their chosen categories?

Yeah, I've got first for my shortbread,

first for my Victoria sandwich and first for my ginger biscuits.

This time I got first place again, so nobody can beat me!

Aldo's got first prize, but it seems that's not enough for him.

Excuse me, guys, to interrupt you.

I've just come first on the sausage roll front.

Do I get a rosette?

No, you just get your red ticket.

-Is that it?

-Yes.

It's more the rosette I want.

Give it a rest, Aldo! Rosette? We give points for a victory.

You've won first prize, giving you three points,

and a grand total of six.

Silvena gets nothing today, but she stays on six points too.

The scores are level, so it's all to play for.

Next time on Country Show Cook Off: it's the last day to gain points

and win the week, so our duo have to pull out all the stops.

I can't wait!

Smells bella!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd