Episode 20 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 a rosette.

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...

APPLAUSE

-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, top chefs Aldo Zilli and Silvena Rowe buckle up

and take to the road for their final leg of their trip

from Pembrokeshire to the Yorkshire Dales.

They travel from Brough in Cumbria to Muker in Yorkshire.

Which side of the road are you driving on?

-Is it left?

-I'm not sure.

-We're in England.

-I don't know, are we on this side?

-Yeah.

You're the driver, I'm the driven.

So far, our contenders have battled each other and amateur cooks

for prizes in country shows with varying degrees of success.

They're neck-and-neck with six points each.

Whoever places highest today, if they place at all,

will win the week.

Are you confident for tomorrow?

Well, I'm going to be myself. I'm going to do exactly what I do.

You're going to be a chef tomorrow?

Yes, I'm going to be a chef and see what happens.

-What about you?

-I'm going to be a housewife tomorrow.

SHE LAUGHS

Our rival chefs travel to Muker,

a village of only 60 inhabitants in Upper Swaledale

in the most northerly of the Yorkshire Dales.

To many, this is the most beautiful of the Dales,

surrounded by high fells and stunning countryside.

The name Muker reflects the village's Norse roots

and means "narrow acre".

Each year, this tiny village becomes a Mecca

for some 2,000 visitors for the annual Muker Show.

This hugely popular show was founded in 1893

and attracts visitors for its brass bands, sing-alongs

and, for the more energetic among us, fell races.

Plus there's crowd-pulling sheepdog trials

and home-produce competitions.

It's a ritual in some respects.

It's something that's gone on for well over a hundred years.

It's just a very old-fashioned show, as it should be,

and it's got all the baking and the vegetables

that things had years and years and years ago.

I love it because of where it is, really, and the people are lovely.

Our professional chefs have entered the wait for it

Two Items of Food from a Dales Kitchen

Displayed on a Breadboard category.

Our chefs will have to be inventive to interpret Yorkshireness

and could lead to a sticky end.

They'll have their work cut out

beating local cooks like Lesley Calvert.

It's a challenge to try and beat some of the other bakers.

And it's good fun.

But the person to knock out is judge Val Punchard.

And she'll be looking for a good, clean fight.

Val knows what makes a hit.

It could be anything, absolutely anything.

When you read the class entry,

it gives the whole scope of whatever you want, really,

as long as it's on a breadboard.

So what our chefs make is up to them,

but they'll need to be showstoppers to win them the week.

Food author, newspaper columnist and restaurateur Silvena Rowe

was born in Bulgaria but loves her adopted home, Britain.

I'm British, you're Italian, remember.

You're British, with an accent like that?

Of course. I'm very British, exotic British.

Aldo Zilli is a chef with many talents.

He's held the record for pancake tossing,

but when he's not flipping a crepe 117 times a minute,

he likes to bring a bit of Italian passion to his cooking.

O Sole Mio is going to sing tomorrow morning.

# O sole mio... #

Didn't have to wait for that one.

Our chefs park up for the last time this week

on the banks of the beautiful River Swale in the Yorkshire countryside.

This wild river runs for 72 miles

and is popular with anglers fishing for barbel,

a sort of bearded freshwater carp.

But our couple don't have fish on their minds,

it's a bit of R&R they're after.

I'm all right, Jack!

-Table?

-Hang on second.

SHE LAUGHS

-Struggling?

-There you go.

No! No! It's not done properly.

-There's your coffee table.

-It's not done properly!

Oh, come on, you two, no sitting around enjoying the view.

You've got to come up with a plan

to break the scores deadlock and win the week.

It's our last competition and we need to win.

Whether you or me win, we need to win, we can't let the locals win.

We've got to take the flag home.

See, she is the one that wins everything.

Calvert. Remember that name.

-She wins everything every year.

-Every year.

Our category is Two Items of Food from a Dales Kitchen

Displayed on a Breadboard.

Displayed on a breadboard?

-Cheeseboard? Breadboard?

-I don't have a breadboard.

-What is your dish called?

-I'm not telling you nothing.

I'm going to do something that the housewives and everybody at home

will say, "I can do that, no problem."

OK. I've made an extra effort. I've gone the extra length for it.

Wait and see how princely this cake is going to be.

-Ooh! Did I say cake? Sorry.

-Oh!

Both our chefs want to wow the judges

by cooking up what they think is typically Dales fare.

And to get some tips, they head into the village

where tomorrow's country show will take place.

The picture-perfect village of Muker in Swaledale

is a hidden treasure that nestles in the northern Yorkshire Dales.

It's home to a church, a woollen shop, village pub and not much more.

But then who needs more?

What this village lacks in size, it gains in character.

# I'll never forget him The leader of the pack. #

ENGINE REVS

Go, Granny, go! Ha-ha!

Our duo are here to elbow their way into Dales life

and get an edge over the competition,

so they go to meet Muker locals Alison Stringer and Nick Turner

who are at the hub of the village community.

This is so beautiful. It looks like a picture postcard.

And you run your own business here, a teashop?

Yeah, that's right, that's right. Teashop, shop, B&B.

-All these things...

-We're doing all these little bits.

-Multi-tasking.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And you've got lots of bedrooms?

-No, just the one room.

One bedroom? How cool is that? That's where I'm staying.

-Are you always fully booked?

-Oh, yeah, I know, Aldo!

Like the B&B, the shop is small and sells locally-sourced produce.

But it's the tearoom kitchen

where our chefs head to get tips on Yorkshire fare.

Alison's going to cook her renowned

whisky and Glendale ginger wine cake.

Glendale ginger is a local ginger wine. Non-alcoholic.

-This is it?

-Yep.

-We've got plenty of alcoholic whisky, so...

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-Ooh!

-But I actually made...

-That smells nice. I love ginger, anyway.

-Yeah.

Ooh, yeah, that smells very nice.

I always think Yorkshire food is about fruit and beer and alcohol.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That's good to know.

-Keep everybody warm.

That's good to know because tomorrow for the competition,

I'm doing a cake, and I'm going to alcoholise it.

Yeah. So we start with the butter.

It's just a creamed cake recipe, really, and...

-Are you needing some muscle?

-I think I do need some muscle.

-OK. Aldo.

-Go on, then.

No, no, Aldo, come on. You've dressed appropriately.

Aldo's dressed for the occasion.

Look, he's enjoying this.

Normally I use a big food processor and do everything in bulk, but...

Then why didn't you this morning, then?

Because you're a big Italian, Aldo.

I've got raisins, sultanas and small Vostizza currants.

It's been soaked in the Glendale ginger.

Just gives them a lovely, much fatter and softer texture.

-What do you want a hand with?

-Right, we need some sugar in there.

-Oh, the fun continues!

-Some nice soft brown.

Go on, then. Just carry on. Carry, carry on now.

-Get you to do all the work.

-It's getting slightly harder.

-Can I put this in Aldo's bowl?

-Yeah.

Because I don't want him to say I'm not doing any work. OK, Aldo?

Oh! God, this is hard work!

-And the plain flour. This is ground almonds.

-Yeah.

It moistens up the cake, does ground almonds.

Yeah, yeah. It would, yeah.

-Sorry. Keep going.

-It's all right.

So I tend to put one egg in and a little bit of flour

and four eggs in total.

Four eggs in total.

THEY LAUGH

I've never seen him working so hard!

Put some flour in there, come on!

So the loaf I'm doing tomorrow,

if I use tea, what is the best tea to use for flavour?

-Earl Grey is often used.

-OK.

This is the local advice, a local tip.

-Or a strong tea.

-Is it popular?

Yeah. I use a tea loaf with, um...and people spread butter on it.

Let's finish this cake.

Please, don't be like that.

You do work in a kitchen. What is the matter with you?

Well, I didn't plan to work in a kitchen.

-I'll give it back to you now.

-There we go.

How much whisky did you put in there?

-Um...I think there's about 50ml.

-50ml.

-And then what I do is feed the cake afterwards.

-Yes.

-Oh!

Soak for a few weeks with whisky.

-Oh!

-Yeah.

-I do like a bit of whisky.

Add finely-chopped fresh ginger

and then dried mixed spices to the bowl.

Alison's cake bakes in the oven for around 90 minutes at 150 degrees.

And then we end up with...These are smaller ones that I made earlier.

That's my little dibber. It's a very important device, is the dibber.

-Are you feeding with whisky?

-We feed with the whisky.

We do it that way one week and then turn it around the next week.

-Ah!

-Do it on the bottom.

It's just how much you think it can take, really.

But you can eat it straightaway. I mean, it's a nice, moist cake.

But fruitcake is always best left for...I would say a good month.

Do you think people in this country still do this?

I do, yeah. I think there's a big, big tradition, especially in Muker.

For the show tomorrow, everybody's been baking.

They've all been coming in, buying ingredients.

-Oh!

-No pressure there, then(!)

No pressure. But I'm doing something special.

Right now, I worry about texture. I want your texture.

This is nice and moist.

I've seen what you're doing, I'm going to apply it tomorrow.

So those will be put away and then this is what happens later.

-Can I?

-Help yourself.

This is...amazing.

-I love the spice.

-Very nice with the ginger.

-Mm!

-Well done. I could eat that all day.

No, you can't eat cake all day!

Alison's given our duo plenty of food for thought.

The scores are 6-6,

and it's your last chance to go into the baking battle and win the week.

So you'd better get cracking!

First up to go all Yorkshire is Silvena

with her Yorkshire tea loaf and rhubarb and vanilla jam.

And she starts by preparing her fruits.

This recipe's very simple.

I will admit I've never done it before, but it should be easy.

Using two teabags of really strong tea,

I'm going to put a bit of water. That should be enough.

A little bit of rose-water.

Not too much, because it can be very, very strong, so not too much.

About the equivalent of one teaspoon is enough.

Then I will also put a glug of brandy

because I like the taste of it.

A bit of honey. Not too much.

Again, the equivalent of one teaspoon of honey.

Delicious.

And the fruit can go in now, as well.

What we're going to do with that fruit now

is allow it to soak overnight. The more you soak it, the better.

The fruit will be become delicious and plump and moist.

Ooh, just like my mum! Like all good cooks,

she's soaked some fruits the day before.

And the fruit should be very tasty.

So what I'm going to do is just drain it.

This is really deliciously plump.

So I'm going to put this aside

and I'm going to get on with my dry mixture.

Like I said, this is extremely simple.

Flour and we have some spices.

We have nutmeg, we have cinnamon and baking powder.

What I'm going to add now, which is a little bit alternative,

is two teaspoons of delicious medium-cut orange marmalade.

The brown sugar goes in here, as well.

Some butter, melted butter and one egg.

Give it a good mix together.

You know what, I'm going to put my hands

because I want to feel this dough with my hands.

And that is the best way to know is it working well.

So what we'll do now is actually add our fruit to it.

It's quite a lot of fruit.

But every amazing cake does have a lot of fruit.

I think we're ready to go.

I have put a couple of lemons in here because it's very windy.

I'm going to remove them now and hoping the paper will not fly out,

which the paper will fly out.

So, OK, what I'm going to do now is this.

I'm going to put a little bit on the bottom.

Oh, my God!

SHE LAUGHS

OK, I have to work very quickly now

while the wind is a little bit subsided.

OK? Perfect!

-Hey, Aldo.

-Hey, baby.

How we doing? Ooh, smells delicious!

So this will go now, um...

OK, Aldo, excuse me.

Oh, my goodness me!

Ooh, that's a bit of a squeeze!

The cake goes into the oven for around one hour at 180 degrees.

-How are you doing there?

-I'm doing good, thank you.

Out of the kitchen, Silvena, and give Aldo a chance

to get started on his rascals and Yorkshire curd tart.

First up, the rascals.

These teacakes date back to Elizabethan times.

They're similar to scones,

but in Yorkshire, they're considered biscuits.

Or is it scones?

OK, so, what have I got in here?

I've got plain flour, eggs, baking powder.

I've got some fruit peel, I've got butter, mixed spice

and then you add your egg and milk in

and this really should form a dough.

And then you shape your rascals

and then we bake them with some cherries

and then we should be all right tomorrow.

Hopefully, they'll stay nice and moist for me.

There's my rascals.

Smells bella! Wonderful!

Bella! Ha-ha-ha!

Aldo rolls his dough about 2cm thick

and cuts his rascals with a pastry cutter.

Let's do one with a plain side.

All right, what should we do, plain or not?

-The curly side. I like the curly side.

-You like my curlies?

They're going to be quite disfigured

by the time you've finished with them so...

The curly side is going to look quite rustic, like,

"Look what I've done deliberately!"

Now, a little brush with milk and egg yolk and I'm going to decorate.

Oh, now, this is going to be fun, let's see you doing that.

-I'm quietly watching, please don't give me...

-Isn't she terrible?

-..kind of thunder looks, you know.

-Not too much, Aldo.

Don't go over the top again, Aldo.

Do you like that? Do you like that? Or shall I...?

-It's very Italian.

-Do you want to decorate one?

I notice how he's using his imagination

and every single rascal is going to be different in decorating.

-Yes, of course.

-There's nothing predictable about Aldo Zilli.

Aldo Zilli actually is full of surprises.

And each one of those little rascals is going to rise into

a tremendous architectural creation with a very different topping.

SHE LAUGHS

-Ladies and gentlemen, my rascals.

-Perfect!

The rascals go in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Whilst they cook, Silvena gets going with her rhubarb and vanilla jam.

One kilo of rhubarb, one kilo of preserving sugar.

About four or five tablespoons of pectin

and two vanilla pods and this is it.

Oh, I don't want the vanilla in.

Amazing! So easy.

Right, so...

..I'm going to rest now.

It's looking stunning.

She leaves the jam to cool and set and checks on her tea loaf.

That perfect, that's done, that's moist.

That is amazing.

You should not remove it immediately because it's still too hot.

So I'm going to let it rest here for a while until it cools down,

and then I'll tip it over and it's done.

But this is ready, this is good.

Silvena, are you ready to look at my rascals?

Oh, darling, show me your rascals!

They smell good, don't they?

They look like I want to eat them now with a bit of clotted cream. Ha-ha!

Mamma mia, my rascals are ready!

He's so excited.

Aldo moves onto the sweet pastry base for his curd tart.

He fills the case with baking beans

and while it blind bakes, starts the filling.

I've got some white sugar here,

I've got some soft butter.

I'm going to cream this butter.

Lovely, to make lovely cream.

And now I'm going to add my flour, my fruits,

my raisins go in there.

I've got some curd cheese here

which I'm going to add this egg.

This is very local.

I'm going to zest a couple of lemons.

A little touch of this nutmeg, just a little bit.

Now, let's start mixing this.

And mix the whole thing together.

All I need now is my pastry case

and I'm going to fill it with this wonderful mix

and then let's hope for the best.

Aldo, your creation is ready now.

-Be careful now, don't drop it, whatever you do.

-Ooh!

Here we go.

Now, I've got some lemon cheese.

Just spread this on the bottom.

And then we're going to fill it.

Oh, smells really good!

Right to the top.

Well, I think this has got a chance, actually.

I won't tempt fate or anything. In the oven I go.

-Don't bang your head now.

-No, I'm a bit worried about dropping it.

-Thank you.

-What would you do without me, really?

-Well, you know...Open the oven.

-Yes, not that you are very grateful.

-Oh, God! What is she like?

-You know, I...

La miseria!

Goodbye, little cake.

While the curd tart bakes,

Silvena makes a start on her teacake decoration

with fruit-shaped marzipan.

Using some orange marmalade, I'm going to glaze the top

because I want to get those fruits stuck on the top.

So this here, this is the perfect orange.

I'm going to cut them in halves.

And this makes the cake really, really

just the most amazing creation.

I mean, this is really quite delicious. I love marzipan.

And now for the tricky bit.

This is really quite special. This is edible.

It's gold leaf. Pure gold, 24-carat gold.

Look at this, eating pure gold.

Oh, it feels good. You can get used to it, really.

SHE LAUGHS

This is pretty amazing.

Oh, wow! It looks really good, doesn't it?

-Look at the spring. This is good texture inside.

-Can I feel?

Yeah. Don't put your fingers through,

but feel, because it will teach you

what the inside of a fruit loaf should be like.

-That's if I want to learn it.

-I think you should.

I think it looks amazing. Well done, girl.

Thank you so much. It means a lot when he says that.

That's very, very good.

That's my winner. Can I borrow some gold?

Oh, excuse me! No way! No way!

Aw! Now, let's have a little check in the oven.

See what the tart is doing.

Ooh, that's ready to go.

It's wobbling in the middle.

Mm! Oh! The smell!

-Really, really good smell.

-Ooh, it looks delightful.

And with everything ready for tomorrow's show,

our couple relax with a nice cuppa.

Here's your cup of tea, love. My cake is done.

-Oh, thank you, darling.

-Salute.

-Cheers.

This is our final show. Good luck to us tomorrow.

The Muker Show attracts huge crowds for a village so small.

The reason it's so popular is clear.

It's not just the stunning location and displays of animals.

There's an exhibition tent

where you show off your genius of growing veg,

flair for flower arranging, gift for jewellery making

and forte for food.

Aldo and Silvena arrive clutching their entries.

And for Aldo, it's getting too much.

It gets to me as soon as I get to this point.

It gets to my stomach. It's like a little nerves coming in.

Yes, you may well have butterflies.

Whoever gets the highest place today will win the week.

And the pressure's on, especially when they see the competition.

This is very high standard. Look at those. Look at those.

-Very high standard.

-It's extremely high standard.

Mm. Time to get creative with their display.

Look at this flan! Oh!

Oh!

Ah!

I put the gold leaf on yesterday

and I wanted to put a little bit more today,

but it still looks stunning, anyway, so I'm very happy with that.

Even though Silvena and Aldo are very competitive,

she's willing to give him a hand because he's all fingers and thumbs.

Now, the way we're going to arrange it is this way now.

And we're going to put it like that.

I knew she'd become useful at some point in my life.

IMITATES ALDO: I knew she would become useful at some point at life.

Our duo know the person to beat is Leslie Calvert.

She's won this category in the past.

And not only is she a competitor, she's a steward.

Yeah, it is quite strange when I've got produce in there,

but obviously I can't say anything, um...

and it's just like...please! And hope it wins.

I just realised that the woman I was talking to and taking advice

is the woman that has won year after year after year.

So basically, I listen to nothing she says

and that is why when I ask her, what do you think about my thinking,

she was, like, the organiser here, she says, "Oh, it's OK".

Leslie isn't the only person to watch.

There's another local cook, Gill Gurton.

Yeah, I've got a loaf of brown bread and a jar of lemon curd.

Last year, I won a cup for my brown bread,

which was quite amazing for me, yeah.

Come on, you two, hurry up!

All up to them now.

Well, Aldo, your fate may be with the gods,

but the goddess you have to impress is judge Val Punchard.

She knows her baking.

I have a little shop in Hawes.

We sell sandwiches and a lot of home-baked cakes and puddings.

And she knows what she's looking for in a winning dish.

Taste has got to overrule presentation.

Totally.

The Muker Silver Band arrives as the tent closes

and the judging gets going.

To take their minds off their fate,

Aldo and Silvena go and get some sheepdog action.

It's like a marathon, it's like Olympics for sheep, I think.

-Because they're running very fast.

-The dogs are so clever.

Where do we start?

Back in the tent, Val is approaching the bench

where our chefs' entries await her verdict.

She judges blind.

The entries are numbered, and Val has no idea who's entered what.

First up is steward, competitor and rival to our chefs Lesley Calvert.

That's nice.

She stands back nervously and watches Val assess her work.

I like this one. Very, very nice.

And now it's Lesley's lemon curd.

Val's not giving away much as she moves on to Gill Gurton's entry.

She has the same two items on her breadboard.

That's absolutely gorgeous. That's beautiful, that one.

But Gill has won prizes for her brown bread before.

Very, very good.

Mm! That lemon curd is excellent.

Silvena is next to get rated. Val starts with her jam.

Rhubarb vanilla jam. Sounds very interesting.

Wow! Look at that.

Mm! That's gorgeous.

Now she casts her eye at the 24-carat creation.

I don't really want to do this.

It's presented so nicely.

I can feel the moistness.

Mm, that's lovely.

Really nice. Very, very moist.

Chunky. I like chunky, that's good.

Would love to sit down, afternoon tea and eat that one.

Oh-ho! It's looking good for Silvena.

Now Aldo's tart gets the taste test.

Mm!

Lovely.

Finally, it's crunch time for those rascals.

Mm! It's something different.

It looks home-made.

It's very much a sort of farmhousey sort of style of baking.

And the sort of thing you could imagine set out for afternoon tea.

Good, hearty and full of flavour.

All the entries have been tasted, but it can still go any way.

Our twosome re-enter the tent.

Will it still be a score draw?

Whoever gets the highest place today will win the week.

-Oh, my God!

-Well done, girl.

-Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

-I can see a red rosette.

All I can say is that the people of Muker have an impeccable taste.

Wow!

But Aldo didn't lose out completely. He's got third prize.

Well done, darling, as well, to you, as well.

How did our other contenders do?

Lesley Calvert lost out to Silvena and Aldo

but didn't do too badly in other categories.

First prize with fruitcake.

I think it was my gingerbread, shortbread.

So no, I'm pleased.

And what about Gill Gurton? She got second place.

I beat Aldo Zilli! Excellent!

Look at my baby cake. First prize.

Hold on, what's this Silvena's spied?

Best in section! Oh! I've got best in section!

-Best in section!

-Again, again.

-That's what the rosette's for.

-Best in all this big section.

-That's what the rosette's for.

-Oh, my God, I'm so good at baking!

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my God, Aldo, best in section!

Muker, I want to be back next year and defend my title. I love that.

-First and third.

-Still very good.

-Not bad, not bad.

This was your massively best effort, you know that.

You went all the way. You baked.

-This is delicious!

-Well done.

-Thank you, Aldo.

-Well done. You deserve it.

-If you want any baking...

-That was a big effort.

-..baking lessons, you know where to come.

Ooh, Aldo's a tad embarrassed there.

So Silvena gets three points for first place,

plus an extra point for best in section,

giving her four points today.

Aldo's third place gives him one

and a total of seven points for the week.

That means Silvena is this week's Country Show Cook Off champ

as she wins with ten points. Hoorah!

As the Muker Show draws to a close,

the crowds head to the Farmers Arms for the day's finale sing-along.

# Oh, it's far, far away from the noise and the din

# Of collieries and factories and mills... #

It's been a roller-coaster week for our double act.

-But that's it, no more kiss.

-Oh, mamma mia!

-More cream.

-With spills...

-Gold for Italy!

-..and thrills aplenty.

-It's my cup! It's my cup!

-Plus ups and downs.

We've won nothing, dear. Neither you or me.

-It's raining!

-Look at mine. That's perfection.

So, what do our chefs take from their week on Country Show Cook off?

The categories have been quite sweet in this week.

We've only had two savouries, and I won both.

So it tells me that my strength is actually in savoury, not sweet.

I was very excited about this competition

because this is diving into the heart of Britain.

Because I've lived here for so long, I'm married to a British man.

Yes, I'm foreign, yes, I have the accent,

but I've always wanted to be seen as British.

And for me to win a quintessentially British food show, it's phenomenal.

# Home of the Swale

# Beautiful, beautiful dale. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd