Episode 3 Grow It, Cook It, Eat It

I'm Dudley Newbery. I've been cooking and presenting food programmes for 22 years.

This series, I'm going to be doing something a bit different.

I know how much we Welsh love to eat

but I've been getting concerned about WHAT we're eating.

There's an obesity epidemic happening right here in Wales.

We're eating too much junk food,

convenience food and far too many takeaways.

The sad thing is that many people have forgotten how to cook.

The question is, what are we going to do about it?

'For four months, I've been working with my home community of Ynysybwl

'to help people to grow, cook and eat their own produce.

'I've been convincing local people to change the way they shop.'

That's seven evening meals for five people.

-Saving me about £50 a week.

-And it's all fresh.

'And I've been working with a local cafe to make the menu healthier.'

You'd have that again over a fried breakfast? Yeah? Good.

'But it's not always been easy.'

Unfortunately, these plants were put into the shed and weren't watered.

'Now, with the day of the big carnival feast fast approaching,

'I've still got to convince the whole community to get involved.

'It's not just about food. It really is a matter of life and death.'

'In April, I had the idea of creating a vegetable garden

'in the grounds of Glanffrwd School to grow fruit and veg.

'The people of Ynysybwl rallied around and in just a few weeks,

'transformed a small patch of land into a thriving vegetable garden.'

It shows that we can grow our veg, we haven't got to go to supermarkets and we can feed ourselves.

'The plan was to get people thinking about growing local food again

'and to share that food with a community feast at the revived Ynysybwl carnival.'

Absolutely stunning. Better than that tinned stuff, mate!

-Hopefully, when these come up...

-You can put it all in there.

With carnival only a few weeks away, I've got to use all my experience

to pull this community together for this last big event.

Will it be enough to change people's minds?

'Throughout this project, I've been teaching the values of old-fashioned home cooking.

'It's reassuring to find out that the older generation is still at it.

'I went to visit Ynysybwl Community Centre,

'where volunteers like Megan Harrison prepare a daily lunch

'for the village's old-age pensioners

'as part of a unique self-funded community service.'

-How many people are you going to have in today?

-14.

Right. And is that normal for you? Is 14 a good number?

Oh, yeah. It's between ten and 14.

Mostly.

-Generally, the older generation are not normally fussy eaters.

-No.

-They're happy to eat anything.

-The younger ones are the fussy ones.

-You don't take any nonsense, do you?

-No!

-Who's the oldest one that comes in?

-Me.

No, I've got one 96 coming in.

-96? How old are you, then?

-90.

-90?

-Yeah.

-And you're still cooking for the old people?

-Yeah.

-You're one of the young people?

-Mm! BOTH LAUGH

You know what they say? You're as young as you feel.

-Today, they've got sausage, liver, onion, veg and greens.

-Yeah.

They've got cherry tart and ice cream for afters.

-Cherry tart and ice cream? How much do they pay for that?

-£3.

-£3? I'll be back! Can't go wrong with £3.

-I'll take you up on that.

-DUDLEY LAUGHS

-Thanks, Megan. That's great.

'Who'd have thought that at 90 years of age,

'Megan is providing wholesome food for her fellow pensioners?

'The older generation still have a lot to teach us about real food.

'I doubt that any takeaway could compete with Megan's home cooking.'

-How many days a week do you have lunch here?

-Every time Megan's here.

-Three times a week, then?

-Mm.

-Good food?

-Marvellous.

I used to be behind the kitchen myself, but I retired Christmas.

Can I ask you how old you are?

-75, December.

-You retired. Megan's in there at 90, still going at it.

LAUGHTER

Why was the food so good years ago?

Well, it was all grown, no artificial stuff in it.

It's all this frozen stuff now, bought in boxes. Not nice at all.

-Enjoy it?

-Yes, very nice. The liver was nice and tender, wasn't it?

The younger generation today, they can't cope?

I don't know how they're going to cope when they're just buying all junk food.

Everything's junk and they don't sit round the table no more.

-It's a throw-away society, isn't it?

-Yeah.

'As the lunch club enjoy Megan's nutritious meal,

'it's time for me to pay another visit to Adam James's smallholding,

'where Tom, Scott and Liam from Trerobert School are back

'to see how much the pigs Adam is raising for the carnival feast have grown.'

Hi, boys. Thanks for coming back. Are you going to give us a hand?

-Yeah.

-Come on. We'll go and feed the pigs.

They're probably pretty hungry by now.

-How much bigger have they got?

-That much.

-That much?

-Massive!

Excellent. It's a hot day. There's lots of sun.

-What do you guys put on when it's sunny?

-Sun cream.

Sun cream.

We put some water down, make a nice load of mud.

They'll have a roll around, cover themselves in mud

and they've got their own natural suntan lotion.

I think it's super important

that the children know where their food's coming from,

the importance of putting

the right amount of good stuff into their feed.

-You boys play football?

-Yes.

-The pigs play football as well.

What we do is put this stuff in.

Remember this feed from last time? Smells like our breakfast cereal?

We put this stuff in, chuck the ball in there

and as they knock it about, the feed comes out the bottom

so they get some food and they get to play with the ball.

That's the way.

You not interested?

See? There they are, look.

30 years ago, they'd have probably known somebody who had a pig.

They might well have had chickens.

How many children can just walk onto a farm and have a little look?

I think it's important. We've been lucky to be a part of that.

You've been watching these pigs growing.

-What food has Adam been feeding his pigs?

-Healthy fruit and vegetables.

Stuff that's got the same stuff as cereal.

-It's the same for us. If we eat rubbish, we're not going to be very healthy, are we?

-No.

It's the same for animals. Give them good food, get good meat back.

I bet you don't know this. What meat do you get from a pig?

Pork, bacon, sausages.

-Beef.

-Not beef, no.

If we got beef from a pig, we'd have a problem.

I'm waiting to taste these pigs.

They've had a lot of loving and attention and good food.

That's going to be the proof, the day the carnival comes.

When that comes out of the oven, it's either going to be really right or really wrong.

-I've got a feeling it's going to be right.

-Fingers crossed.

-Great.

'With the carnival getting nearer every day,

'gardening guru Terry Walton has returned to Glanffrwd School

'to check on the progress of the vegetable garden

'and to help plant the final additions, the salad crops.'

Pleasantly surprised that everything's come up well.

The beetroot and carrots have come up extremely well.

There's a good row of peas. Potatoes have all popped through.

The shallots look excellent, so do the onions.

We've got a bit of everything.

We're well on our way to providing something for the feast.

'Terry seems happy with the progress

'and we're adding to the vegetables

'with rows of radish, lettuce and spring onions.

'But the small seeds can be a little tricky to handle.'

Put these in very, very gently. Very thinly in the trench.

Oh, you've lost them all. Hang on.

Oooh!

Use your finger to spread those across.

Brown ones are really hard to see so you have to shake them gentle.

I like gardening because we get to get a big shovel

and dig up all the weeds and get our gloves all dirty.

Doing a fine job.

The children are really enjoying it. They're coming out often.

They're seeing things grow. They're enjoying the whole process.

It's lovely to see them out here, all smiles.

They're always knocking me, telling me, "Come on, Dr Pike. See what's happening.

"See this wonderful allotment we're putting together."

We're looking forward to harvesting everything and having a fabulous celebration on August 25th.

It's great to see the next generation come along.

This is the age at which you can get the green fingers.

If you can see them growing, if you can taste this fresh stuff

then you get hooked for life.

We're going to have some real good gardeners in the future. Ynysybwl is in good hands.

Have you been weeding, pulling the weeds out?

That's not a very nice job, is it?

-WHOOSHING

-Steady, tiger!

-What's your name?

-Billy.

-Don't be silly, Billy. Keep it in there.

'After our earlier problem created by the long hot summer,

'the pupils are doing a fine job of watering the garden.

'In fact, they're almost too good at it.'

Billy, put that away!

'No-one calls Billy silly and gets away with it.'

GIGGLING

'As well as planting crops, I've been working with people concerned about their family's diet.

'People like local policeman Ian Randell.'

My family do like a takeaway on the weekends - fried chicken, pizzas.

I know all the saturated fats, all the Es that go into these prepared meals.

It all adds up.

'When we originally met, I set Ian a challenge to prepare

'a home-made version of his family's fried chicken meal

'in the time it usually takes to collect a takeaway.

'Our healthy alternative came out top in taste,

'speed and value for money.

'I'm back to find out if they've been keeping up the good work.'

-You both all right?

-Yes.

-Lovely to see you.

It's been about a month since I was here last.

How many takeaways have you had?

-One.

-You lapsed.

-I did!

-You had a weak moment!

-I did!

I couldn't be bothered to cook and I was in a rush.

For her only to have one takeaway in a month, that's pretty good going. Yeah.

How many times have you cooked my healthy version?

We've cooked it three or four times.

-Has it been easy to do?

-Excellent.

We used turkey instead of chicken because that was quite cheap at the time.

The kids loved that. It was the same recipe but just used turkey instead.

-And she loves the coleslaw.

-That was lovely.

-Nice and light, not too heavy?

-And I had it the following day on a soda bread. That was lovely.

-Are you going to keep it up?

-Yes.

-That's the main thing.

-Definitely.

-That's what I want to hear.

'Another local person who asked for my help was nurse and single parent Christina Jones.

'Her busy work schedule meant that she often resorted to unhealthy

'expensive convenience foods.

'To help her get back on track, I designed a weekly meal planner

'and our trip to the local Co-op showed that shopping doesn't have to be a chore.'

Since I've seen Christina last she's been keeping in touch by e-mail

and she's been paying a lot of attention to the information and help I've given her.

I'm looking forward to seeing what impact it's had on her and the family.

My blood pressure's coming down naturally

because of what I'm eating, because I've now lost three stone.

-Three stone?

-Three stone I've lost in four months.

Mainly because we're eating healthy,

we're eating more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Half the vegetables I didn't know what to do with before.

Now I've had your insight, we're even experimenting ourselves,

knowing what goes with what and how to cook it.

It's nice to go shopping now and look for the ingredients

off the recipe we want to cook from.

I was concerned that perhaps, budget wise, it wouldn't be cost-effective.

It's surprising how cost-effective it is.

Have these changes been a chore or have you enjoyed it?

I used to hate shopping. As you know, I hated it with a vengeance.

Now it's nice to discover new vegetables, new things and new ways to cook.

It hasn't been a chore for me, no. It really has been enjoyable.

The kids are finding it exciting

because they are looking at recipes to cook as well,

and they're joining in and helping me.

It's fabulous. I love it. I should have done it years ago.

'It's only a week to go before the big Ynysybwl carnival

'and there's still plenty to do.

'I'm hoping to feed up to 200 guests on the day,

'using only locally sourced food.

'If I'm going to persuade the community to change, I know this meal has to be a success.'

BAND PLAYING

'The community vegetable garden has been four months in the growing

'and now it's finally time to get picking.'

It's a very delicious bean!

Anne, I've got to be honest, I've never seen a crop of beans like this.

-I told you it would be magic.

-I'm concerned about this magic.

-What's going on?

-You've heard of Jack and the beanstalk!

This is Ynysybwl and the beanstalk.

-What do you think of that? Get the earth off it.

-That is a big one.

Twist and turn, there we are.

-That IS a big one!

-That has to be bigger than you.

What's the biggest? That's the biggest one.

-How many can we feed with that?

-One.

-I think you're right.

It's beans 1, carrots 0, by the look of it.

I wasn't expecting anything underneath.

It's just the green plant. Pull it up and there's lots of potatoes.

One thing we're not short of is lettuce. It's really done well.

They've thrown these seeds down and it's looking great.

Plenty of colour and some nice flavour.

We're getting there.

There we are. Nice lots of salad.

Spicy radish, nice beetroot.

-You like beetroot?

-I told you no.

What do you mean? When was that?

I'm quite surprised at what we've achieved here as a first attempt.

Excellent. It was virgin ground. We had nothing to start with.

We've had problems, but they've been overcome.

-I have got a problem, Anne.

-I can see it in your hand.

The carrots haven't done that well and also the beetroot.

There's lots of nice small ones but I want bigger than that.

Have you got any more magic up your sleeve, Anne?

Well, not magic, Dudley,

but I'd like to invite you down to the Crawshay Street allotments

and we'll beg, steal and borrow a few.

'Allotmenteers Anne, Alan, Norman and Richie

'have played an invaluable role in tending the vegetable garden.

'Visiting their neighbouring plots at the Crawshay Street allotments,

'it's clear how important growing your own food is to them.'

That's more like it! Look at that!

-It's like a cricket ball.

-Yeah.

-Good size on these.

-They're good.

-Super.

That'll be enough for me, otherwise you'll have none for the winter.

'This is proving to be a very worthwhile trip.

'While Anne and Alan add their vegetables to the ones grown in the community plot,

'I went to see Norman, who's been missing in action due to a broken leg.'

-Green plaster.

-That's right.

-I've got six weeks of this.

-Who's going to do your gardening?

-Richie, my mate.

-That's what mates are for.

-He'll have to dig up my spuds!

-And you'll have to eat them.

-Right!

-Talking about eating, I'm on the scrounge.

-No problem.

-Have you got a few bits and pieces I can have to top it up?

-Yeah.

-I'll bring you some meals on wheels.

-As long as you don't charge me!

I won't charge you anything! I hope that gets better soon.

-What have we got here, Rich?

-A few beetroots, a few carrots.

Some kidney beans. Runner beans.

They look really fresh. That's great.

'After all that hard work, time for some well-deserved refreshments

'and some home-made pikelets.

'The older generation once again showing us how it's done.'

Oh, lovely. Smashing.

'Since the beginning of the year, the two middle white pigs

'have been looked after with the utmost care.

'Adam knows that the pigs' well-being will be reflected

'in the quality of their meat.

'Needless to say, these two have enjoyed a happy six months.

'But today, Adam's preparing to take them to slaughter.'

The big day's arrived. How are you feeling?

Dudley, it's always mixed feelings the day they go.

Obviously, it's sad. We've lived with the pigs. They've been great fun.

But I'm really excited. It's exciting to see what you're going to get back.

Fingers crossed it's going to be good.

They go into the trailer very easily.

That's the first time it's happened like that.

We've learnt over the last few years.

Things have got better every single time.

We make it as easy as we can for the pigs, a less stressful experience.

-Less stress for them, better meat for us.

-Better quality meat. Absolutely.

-Well, they've had a good life.

-What more can you ask for?

Especially on a sunny day like this! It's only ever sunny in Ynysybwl.

-Absolutely.

-It never rains in Ynysybwl.

-Right, let's take them.

'Some of you might find the idea of sending pigs off to slaughter an upsetting one,

'but Adam's made sure his pigs enjoyed healthy, happy lives.

'With the vegetables sorted and with a couple of days until the carnival,

'it's time to grab those last-minute essentials.'

-You've got all of our rolls?

-Yes, I've got your rolls.

Thank you very much. They look great.

-See you later, yeah.

-Lovely. Thanks very much. Ta-ta.

'Fresh bread rolls baked and sorted.

'Next stop, the local Co-op for some olive oil and the rest of the dry ingredients.'

-Got something for me?

-Yes.

-All ready?

-All done.

'While some locals are getting the carnival site ready,

'I need to stop off at Adam's house to meet his wife Laura,

'who's been busy in the kitchen.'

-Hi, Laura.

-Hiya.

-OK?

-I'm well. How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

I'm on my collecting run.

-Good.

-You've been busy making chutney.

-Yes.

-I've got an apple for you and a carrot.

-Lovely.

-Nice and spicy?

-Yes, nice and spicy.

-The carrot's quite sweet, so should go well with the pork.

-Lovely.

-So, we've had the pigs from the back garden.

-The chutney from the kitchen.

-A family affair! Great!

'As the marquee takes shape,

'the magnitude of the task is starting to hit me.

'200 people to feed on carnival day. I'm starting to feel nervous.

'Sunday 25 August -

'Ynysybwl's first carnival for over 25 years

'and the day of my special feast.

'Despite some bank holiday weekend headaches,

'most of my helpers have managed to get up early to help prepare

'the vegetables grown up the road on the school playing field.'

Morning, all. How are we doing? All right? Everybody fit?

We've got loads to do, OK?

I really appreciate you coming to give me a hand.

What I want to see is the vegetables on the trays, not your fingers.

So be very careful. Off you go.

-Girls, how are we doing?

-She's cheating.

-She's picking the little ones.

-Just putting them in the bowl?

-Yeah.

Stop telling tales! You need to cut them the same size.

-If there's some big, they're not going to cook and the smaller ones will be cooked.

-OK.

Someone's thrown those spuds about. Was that you?

-That was me.

-Fighting for the small potatoes?

-Yeah.

-Watch your fingers!

Here he is! Where have you been?

-Had a bit of a lie-in.

-A lie-in? You're limping. What's going on?

-Skipping last night.

-Skipping? Well, you're not going to skip this.

I've put you on this job so you haven't got to do much with a knife.

If you do that much damage with a skipping rope, a spoon will be safe.

LAUGHTER

We haven't got that much time left.

So just carefully up the speed a little bit. All right, Ian?

Careful, I said.

'The pressure's on as the carnival procession begins on Robert Street.

'This is the first carnival since the Lady Windsor Colliery shut,

'so the significance of the occasion isn't lost on anyone, including me.'

I've told them I'll do all the finishing off in the kitchen.

They think I'll be chopping all this by hand! Ha ha!

Machines are handy sometimes, but don't tell them in there.

WHIRRING

'The fresh vegetables from the community garden and allotments look fantastic.

'With everything chopped, potatoes cooked and the beans blanched,

'it's time to mix the salads.'

Right, guys, the carnival has started in the village,

so we've got to get this mixed.

The smell is fabulous.

'We're making a bean and tomato salad,

'a summer slaw and a potato and spring onion salad.

'Three delicious and healthy accompaniments to the hog roast.'

We've put in a Thai style dressing, not too spicy.

We've got some lime juice, plenty of ginger, garlic, a bit of chilli.

Not the usual mayonnaise, cos that is really fattening.

This is a lot lighter.

'With no fattening mayonnaise,

'this meal should weigh in at about 300 calories per serving,

'less than half of that of an average takeaway burger.'

Next step, we've got to get this all to the rec

and we're going to be eating this with the pork.

So go home and get freshened up and I'll see you later on.

Thanks very much.

'Following behind the procession,

'everyone is flocking to the recreational ground.

'With hundreds of guests expected to fill the marquee very soon,

'we've got our work cut out getting everything ready in time.

'In our bid to keep everything fresh, healthy and local,

'we are hoping to keep people away from carnival chips and fizzy drinks.

'Our simple but tasty hog roast and array of salads

'can show our guests that healthy choices are delicious, too.

'And talking of the hog roast...'

Well, Adam, the fruit of your labour is in front of us.

-What do you think of this?

-This is always the best bit.

As soon as you get this in front of you, it just makes you feel proud.

All that time, everything that we put into producing the pig,

and this is the end result.

'Thankfully, Adam's pleased. I just hope the guests will be, too.

'It's time for the moment of truth.

'With our hungry locals starting to arrive,

'it's time to dish up the salads.'

We've got ten minutes before they all start coming in.

I looked after the pigs. I fed them really well. It's had a happy life.

I don't mind eating it. It's going to be lovely, I reckon.

Oh, it's absolutely fabulous - well grown, well cooked!

Smashing.

You can see what's available and the taste is fantastic.

All the veg turned out beautifully from our garden as well as the allotment.

I think it's been amazing

and it's been a worthwhile exercise for everyone.

'Over the last two months, I've asked the people of Ynysybwl to learn to love good food again,

'just like they did when I was growing up here.

'It hasn't all been a success.

'We struggled at times to get the whole community behind the project.'

Oh, it's tiny!

'But we have had some real success stories along the way.'

How does that taste compared to the takeaway?

-Better.

-Better, is it?

-Much better.

You know exactly what's in there. Nice cooking, really healthy.

I can't fault it. It's brilliant.

MUSIC: "Paradise" by Coldplay

Community spirit's been lost over the last couple of years

being a small ex-mining community,

but this has brought people back together.

It's been a great success.

All those things the kids were planting came up and we consumed them today. It was wonderful!

All these people enjoying the fruits of the labour

of that one small plot in a community.

'This project has been an important first step

'in what I hope will be a long and successful journey

'towards people in Ynysybwl enjoying a more healthy lifestyle.'

It's super important that children know where food's coming from,

the importance of putting the right amount of good stuff in their feed.

We've been lucky to have been part of that.

'200 satisfied customers and at the end of a successful day,

'Dr Pike has more great news about the future of our community garden.'

We're going to carry it on.

We're going to keep planting produce to use in the school kitchen.

-The children will be eating it all through the year.

-Great.

-I hope we get an invite to try it.

-You will do, next summer.

-Do you like beetroot?

-I told you no.

-What do you mean? When was that?

Wales's obesity crisis is real.

We need to think more about what we eat and the choices we make.

So let's pull together to grow, shop, cook and eat

more of the right things and less of the wrong things.

-Ynysybwl, it's been a tough few months. Have you enjoyed it?

-ALL: Yes!

-Here's to a healthier future.

-ALL CHEER

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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