Morocco Hairy Bikers - Chicken & Egg

MUSIC: As Time Goes By

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all of the world,

she walks into mine.

CLUCKING

CLUCKING CONTINUES

CLUCKING CONTINUES

-LOUD POP

-Oooh!

Lay it again, Sam!

CLUCKING

HAIRY BIKERS: We're back! Shaboo!

And we're on our biggest adventure ever.

Let's go!

-We are taking our bikes to four continents.

-Where's Dave?

..to find out how chicken has taken over the culinary world.

Absolutely superb.

This is almost a religious experience.

And why is about to become the planet's most popular meat.

We are going to cross France, just to find a chicken!

We'll uncover the world's most fascinating and delicious...

Curry! ..chicken and egg dishes.

Chicken!

From the great British roast, to exotic spices in Morocco...

And the best ways of cooking them.

EVIL LAUGH

BOTH: Oh, what?!

We're exploring the history and cultural impact

of the humble chicken.

It's the Holy Land!

And the egg, dude.

From the home of lip-smacking fast food...

Thank you!

..to French Cordon Bleu.

Ohhh!

Paris!

Ooh la-la!

It's our most finger-licking, chicken-y adventure ever.

CHEERING

I don't know how you top this.

HE ULULATES

CLUCKING

This week's chicken adventure brings us to North Africa.

A place we love for its incredible history...

-..exotic spices...

-and mind-blowing chicken dishes.

Dude, we're in Morocco!

Heh-hey!

Our chicken odyssey spans the globe,

but Morocco is where we can really spice up our poultry pilgrimage.

1,600 miles from home,

just across the Mediterranean from Spain, Morocco is a crossroads of

intoxicating flavours from Africa, Arabia and the Mediterranean.

Hey, Kingy, look behind us. The Rift Mountains.

Beyond that, the Atlas Mountains. Beyond that, the Sahara.

Beyond that, Lawrence of Arabia.

We are so close to Spain, but we are in Africa.

We are here to unravel the culinary secrets of Morocco's

favourite meat - the bird that put the Moorish into Moor-occan cuisine.

The balance is absolutely superb.

-I was not expecting that.

-No.

It doesn't do it like that when you try it, though.

CLUCKING

There's only one place to start our Moroccan food adventure,

with this country's most iconic dish...

Chicken tagine.

Succulent spiced chicken, stewed in an unmistakably-Moroccan

clay cooking pot.

The tagine is so connected with this country,

it's practically Morocco on a plate.

And we've offered to cook this fantastic feast for the people

who been cooking it for 2,000 years.

Morocco's original inhabitants,

nomadic tribesmen, known as Berbers.

Right, where's me turban? That's it, I want to be a Berber.

You'd be a Berber Original!

LAUGHTER

We're heading deep into the ancient Berber country...

-Hey, donkey!

-..to cook our version of this Moroccan classic.

Look, we're in olive country.

The whole place is dotted with olive groves

and the quality of the olives in Morocco

and the oil is absolutely awesome.

So, why don't we do chicken and olives?

It's Moroccan, it's traditional, it's bloomin' tasty!

The Berbers are fiercely proud of their culture and cuisine.

Aye, and they've been cooking tagines for centuries.

No pressure, eh, Kingy?

I think we need to take a present, to show them we come in peace.

Now, that is a good idea, dude.

We should take them...chicken.

Talk about coals to Newcastle. We're flogging tagines to Berbers!

LAUGHTER

FIERCE CRIES

Berbers are expert horseman,

famous for striking terror into their enemy's hearts,

with their ferocity on the battlefield.

HORSE WHINNIES

-I think this is the place, Kingy.

-Well, I hope so, dude.

That looks like a Berber horse.

The Berbers throw annual festivals, called Fantasias,

where their best riders show off their horsemanship skills.

It's all about keeping their culture alive.

Manic horse riding and chicken casserole. What more could we want?

How important...

to Morocco is the Berber culture, would you say?

We have a strong tie to that tradition and culture.

Fantasia is a traditional exhibition.

The amazing part is they have to load the rifles,

or the muskets, on the horses.

-No!

-Yes, it's a powder.

-Really?

So, they're loading muskets and firing them...

-Yes.

-..and riding a horse at full tilt, as well?

-Yes.

-That's it, yes.

-That's incredible.

-That is incredible.

And how important are chickens to the Berbers?

Chickens are very important to the Berbers,

because the famous food here with the chickens is tagine.

-Aha!

-So, it's chicken tagine.

-With preserved lemons and green olives?

-Yes.

-Traditional.

-Yeah, it's very traditional.

Tasty!

This troupe are rehearsing for their Fantasia.

And there's nothing like dressing up in traditional costume and

galloping across the dessert at full pelt to build up an appetite.

Well, we can only hope our green olives and lemon chicken tagine,

dude, hits the spot at lunchtime.

HE BEATS A RHYTHM

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Some folks prefer the breast to the leg.

We are in Moro-cco.

We're going to cook tagine now. Let's go!

This is living the dream, isn't it?

Well, we're in a tent. That's a start.

-With our friendly Berbers. Hello!

-Hello!

You see, there's nothing wrong with knowing where your meat comes from

and this is definitely a chicken, on account of, you can tell.

So, what I'm going to do is just take the head off and then...

we're going to joint it into eight pieces.

Tagine cooking is all about the slow and low.

Making a sumptuously, succulent stew, thanks to the moisture

collecting in the cone and then dripping back down into the food.

They don't cost a lot and, trust us,

even a tough wild chicken like this one turns into delicious

tender melt-in-the-mouth meat after an hour in the tagine.

Oh, look at that. Pretty soon, this honey is going to be sweating.

It's going to be sweating like the French military when the Berbers

appeared over the hillside and Beau Geste started to get into a panic.

Now, it's hard to regulate a charcoal brazier,

but I'm doing my best.

So, just let that simmer for approximately four days

until the onions are gently caramelised.

Meanwhile, a quick belly dance.

Sugar-boom-boom!

The tagine is quite a rustic dish, so obviously Mr King's

abilities won't hinder the dish one little bit.

Meyer, there's nothing wrong with my abilities.

The portions are just going to be slightly chuck!

Thank you very much!

What we'll do now is put the garlic in. Chopped very finely.

Now, the first spice we add... is dried ginger.

-Nice.

-Some cloves. I'm just going to break these up a little bit.

Not too many cloves, because we don't want the tagine

to taste like the dentist's.

Cinnamon.

The sweet spice of Morocco.

Just a few grinds of this lovely white pepper will do nicely.

Just give that a stir.

And just for a moment, let those spices find their way in the world.

Oh, look at that.

Nice smell.

It is, isn't it?

Now, we're just going to set these onions aside, because Mr King

is going to brown his chicken.

Look at that!

It's just like a beach full of tourists from Stockport

on an 18-30s on that beach.

Now...saffron.

You can soak this saffron in water if you want, before you put it in,

but we'll just sprinkle it, shall we?

We've got plenty of saffron and this is good saffron.

Make sure it goes on the top of the dish,

because burnt saffron is awful.

It goes incredibly bitter.

The onions and the spices are returned

to the saffron-encrusted chicken.

Beautiful, beautiful...

Looking good, mate.

Yeah.

And then we pour about 300ml, a good half pint,

of really good-quality chicken stock on the top.

Bring that to a gentle simmer,

put the lid on and just let nature take its course.

Which is where the genius of the tagine pot design comes into play.

The tagine is a constant recycling of flavours.

As the steam rises, it condenses on the cone, runs back in

and so it goes round.

For an average chicken at home, I'd say about 45 minutes,

but really, don't be too pedantic.

When the chicken is falling off the bone, it's ready to eat.

It's a strange-looking thing, but it doesn't half work.

As I said, genius!

Don't tell the men with guns,

but it might not actually be a Berber invention.

The Arabs came from the Middle East to conquer Morocco

in the seventh century, bringing Islam with them.

-BRITISH OFFICER:

-Giddy-up, lad!

And it wasn't just religion they brought.

They came with new spices - ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Mmm, tasty!

And it's thought they brought a new way of cooking, too.

Yeah, you've guessed it - the tagine!

Tagine?!

Because the lid meant moisture couldn't escape, it was perfect

for hot dry places like North Africa, where water was scarce.

I say, it's flipping hot!

The Berbers went bonkers for it and the chicken tagine was born.

Anyone peckish?

HORSE WHINNIES

FIERCE CRIES

SPORADIC CRIES CONTINUE

Hey, Dave, I know these are only rehearsing,

but these fellas look pretty hardcore, don't they?

-The ground shakes, as they get closer.

-Yes.

WHOOPING AND HOOVES POUNDING

FIERCE CRIES

-Can you imagine 8,000 of those charging at you?

-Yeah.

-The ground is shaking with five!

-Aye.

It'd be terrifying!

I'd love to do that, Kingy. I could do that.

I'd face you across the battlefield.

Any day, any time, any place, anywhere.

Right, let's see who is the pluckiest.

I challenge you to a Berber stand-off. Let's see who is chicken.

I'm going to face you on the battlefield on my horse at a charge.

You will break first, I guarantee it.

I'll never, ever break first, when you're involved.

-You will.

-I will not.

-You will.

-Never.

The Berbers may look fierce, but they've never seen

two northerners squaring up outside a nightclub.

FIERCE CRIES

-Right, you!

-You son of a camel!

-You, you, you...cretinous Cumbrian!

-You bowl of tagine!

-You bowl of decapitated slugs!

-Look at you, you can't even move!

-Yeah, look at that, you broke off!

Yes!

We didn't...

We stood him straight in the eye, didn't move and just thought,

bring it on, fat lad.

Brilliant! You were brilliant!

Didn't even break a sweat, dude.

-DONKEY HUFFS

-Phwooarr!

Ha! Call yourself a horseman?

-I saw more movement in the Rock of Gibraltar.

-Listen, listen.

Me and Shadowfax were there,

-just letting you break like a wave on a rock.

-No.

-Anyway...

-Yeah.

-The tagine.

The tagine has been bubbling away for 45 minutes

and now it's ready for the finishing touches.

It wouldn't be a chicken, green olive and lemon tagine without

the green olives and the lemon. This is a preserved lemon.

-It's been preserved in brine and they are so tasty.

-Fabulous.

And beauty of it is you'll never waste a lemon,

because it's preserved and pickled.

Just like my friend here.

SI GASPS IN OUTRAGE But thereby hangs another tale.

He said that, didn't he? He said that. Let's have a look.

Oh, wow! It's bubbling like a good 'un.

Look at that. And that chicken is just falling off the bone.

And this is, kind of, the citrus, the high-end flavour.

-Mm!

-And then, you want about 20 green olives.

BUBBLING

And just leave that to simmer for another five minutes.

Some parsley and some coriander...

I think we've gone quite heavy on the herbs there, mate.

And just to cut through that green morass, the preserved lemon on top.

I suspect this may be stronger than they're used to.

Do you know what I mean?

-But it's a Hairy Bikers twist, dude. That's what we do.

-Well, aye.

The tagine is as much a part of Berber culture as their stallions

and a way of cooking a communal dinner in a single pot.

It's as familiar to these guys as roast chicken is to us,

so we can only hope it measures up.

One, two, three...

boooosh!

Dig in, lads!

Tagine is traditionally eaten with flatbread,

with everyone just diving in.

-Oh, it's good.

-Good?

-Yes..

-Do you think it's better than your wives'?

-Right, let's go, Dave.

LAUGHTER

-The chicken is so good, isn't it?

-Mm!

Do you know what, Si, it's going down pretty well.

-It's a nomad's supper, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Just the thing for the end of your journey.

-Good food, good company... You know, we've had a good laugh.

-Brilliant.

-Absolutely brilliant. What a day!

-Yeah.

Now, I may not understand the lingo, Dave,

but by the looks on their faces,

I reckon we've passed the tagine test, you know.

Thank goodness for that, Kingy.

I didn't want to end up the wrong end of that stampede.

CLUCKING

Before the 1970s, chicken was a luxury here,

available only to the rich and the royal.

But I thought it was the most-eaten meat in Morocco?

It is now, but back in the day, chicken was a rare bird.

It had to travel a long way to get to Morocco.

Well, like us.

Yes, but not on bikes, you great lummox!

They arrived by boat, landing at one of the two largest Moroccan ports

on the Mediterranean Sea.

More specifically, by name, the city of Tetouan.

-Get your lips around that, Kingy!

-It's not easy, dude. It's not easy.

Over the centuries, everyone, from the Greeks, to the Romans,

the Arabs, Ottomans and the Europeans, stopped here to trade.

It's a culinary intersection for the influences and flavours that

make Moroccan cooking so special.

It's just a melting pot of yum-yum.

-Yeah!

-LAUGHTER

While there are supermarkets full of frozen chickens, traditional

markets like those are still the way many Moroccans buy their birds.

Oh, yeah, this'll do. Aye, here in the shade.

-Let's change our togs and go for a dander.

-Thank you.

And the chickens are sold live,

so you're guaranteed the meat is as fresh as a daisy come dinnertime.

How do you pick?

It's not like going to a supermarket and going,

"I'll have that one in a plastic bag." How do you tell?

Hinda is a Tetouan local

and regularly buys her poultry in this market.

Do you have any tips for buying chickens?

The right choice make the right dish, at the end.

So everything depends on the right choice that you make

at the beginning.

There are two types of chicken in Morocco.

The Beldi, which are the colourful free-range birds that have

been eaten here for centuries.

And the Rumi, intensively-farmed white birds,

introduced more recently.

The Beldi are smaller and have less meat than the Rumi, but their

free-range flavour means they cost more than three times as much.

-There is a difference between small ones and the big ones.

-Right.

-Right.

Small ones are more delicious, more expensive.

For example, here, when you touch it, OK, here,

you feel that it is soft.

It don't bite you, don't worry.

-Oh, yes.

-It's soft, you see?

-So when you cook it, it doesn't take hours and hours.

-Yeah.

And even in taste, it's really creamy and, you know, so delicious.

Here, dude, I think it's the first time I've ever felt up

a chicken's thigh.

When you choose, the guy who is working here,

they take them downstairs, in order to kill them in our way.

-Maybe you know it as Halal way.

-Yes.

-They cut the neck...

-Right.

They remove the whole blood from the body.

They remove everything that is inside,

because they have to clean it.

The poultry stalls here are doing a roaring trade.

It's hard to imagine a time when the markets weren't full of chicken.

Chickens are thought to have been brought to Morocco by traders

from the Middle East in the 8th century BC.

Hello! We come in peace. Chickens, you want to buy?

For thousands of years, they were kept mainly for their eggs.

CLUCKING

Only the rich and the royal could afford to eat the birds themselves.

Most people made do with occasional lamb or goat.

-What's for dinner?

-But in the 1970s, there was a poultry revolution.

The government introduced modern, American-style, industrial farming,

which made chicken cheaper than traditional meats like lamb,

-goat and beef.

-Yee-ha, honey!

And in just 40 years, it's become Morocco's most eaten meat,

replacing other meats in many traditional dishes.

# Da da-da da da! #

Today, Moroccans eat more than 87 times as much poultry

as they did in 1970.

But how come chickens work so well with the famous Moroccan flavours?

One of the main reasons and, for me, it is the most important,

is that chicken absorbs a lot of the spices.

I will be glad to show you and to give you some samples,

-in order to have more idea how it can become.

-Fantastic!

-Spices!

-Spices.

-Great.

-You can smell it from here!

-You can smell it, yeah, from here.

-Nice.

-Oh, great!

Ahh!

Big whiffs of cumin.

There's the whole cumin, the ground cumin, the black pepper...

To us cooks, this is like an artist with his palette.

Look at that cinnamon bark.

Wow!

Wow, no comment.

Give us a sniff, dude.

-Nice, yes.

-Oh, yeah.

-It is amazing.

-It is amazing.

These fresh spices haven't been frozen or vacuum-packed,

so it's like tsunami of aromas.

Here, dude, did you say Toon Army?

Oh, I give up!

-You got the mixture of the salty and the sweet.

-Yes.

-Sweet, you've got the almonds.

-Almonds, yeah, for sure.

Salt, you've got the turmeric. Cinnamon, sweet.

-And all this is the salt flavours.

-Ginger, sweet.

-Yeah.

-But, see, you can always mix the sweet and salty things.

-Yeah.

-Or cooking salt things, yeah.

-Well, that's the artistry, isn't it?

That's the craft.

If you want to know how taste the right way with the chicken...

-Yeah.

-..you can do that.

-Thank you.

-OK, thank you.

Hey, it's brilliant this!

-It's a culinary journey from heaven, isn't it?

-Aye!

Hinda wants us to meet a type of cook

with a unique role in Morocco's food history.

The secrets of the finest Moroccan chicken dishes

were once only known by the cooks in the king's palaces...

But that's all changed and, today, they're available to everyone,

thanks to a type of cook called a dada.

So, what actually is a dada?

-Dada is a lady, usually...

-Yes.

-..an old lady.

She's the one who's got the right way to make the dishes,

in the right way. Like the one that you find in the king's palace...

-Oh, right.

-..or in the best restaurants in the world.

She can do it the same.

-So, we've got the best ingredients, the best cooks...

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

-Not a bad day out.

-No.

-Yeah!

This charming courtyard is actually a traditional restaurant.

Time to meet the head chef.

-Oh! Beautiful place.

-Yeah.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Dave. Ayesha.

-This is the dada Ayesha

-and this is the young dada, Sihan.

-Sihan.

-Yeah.

Ayesha is cooking us a Tetouan chicken dish called seffa medfouna.

It gets its name from the Moroccan word for "hidden",

as the chicken is served deliciously disguised by its sauce.

Oh, this is great!

Will start by putting olive oil - olive oil...

Do they make seffa all over Morocco?

Yeah, but originally, the first time they made it, was here at Tetouan.

The first one was made here.

It's instinctive food cooking.

What I love about Moroccans and spice

-is, there's none of this, "A pinch of that..."

-No.

-Then, "A quarter of a teaspoon..."

-Yeah!

There's a reason Ayesha isn't following a recipe

or carefully measuring out her spices.

For centuries, dadas were illiterate slaves

kept by the royalty to cook for them.

Because they couldn't read or write, they didn't use recipes.

Instead, they passed down their knowledge

from generation to generation...

..and they became the gatekeepers of Morocco's finest dishes.

-Ah, saffron!

-Saffron!

-Yeah.

-Black pepper and cinnamon...

-Yeah, and the cinnamon, of course.

The cinnamon and ginger help give this dish

it's sweet-meets-savoury tang that Moroccan cookery is famed for.

You love your sweet and savoury, don't you?

-Always have done.

-I absolutely love it.

Absolutely love it.

-Oh, look!

-Chicken absorbs a lot of spices...

-Yes.

So, that's why she must take care

-of it and put it all over the chicken.

-Yeah.

The chicken is stewed with spiced onions.

Hinda, how does Ayesha decide on the blend and the mix?

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

-This is the way that it should be made.

-Oh, OK!

THEY LAUGH

-This is the secret! There is no other answer!

-Yeah...

Look, there's 500 years have gone into that, you know what I mean?!

It's a bit of a stupid question, really!

If you ask her, she will be able to answer,

because her grandmothers, they do it the same way.

Seems like the dadas still keep some things close to their chests.

Why is chicken so important in this part of the world?

SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

-Before, the high-quality people, they used to eat chicken.

-Uh-huh.

It's a sign of pride and that you are rich, at that time.

-At that time.

-Now, everyone is able to eat chicken.

SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

In every celebration and every wedding, we must cook chicken.

-Oh, I can't wait to taste this!

-I know!

-Yeah.

Let's get it... Let's get it going! Come on!

The chicken and spiced onions

are cooked in a covered pot for 45 minutes.

Perfect.

The chicken is served on a bed of couscous, hidden underneath

a delicious sauce and garnished with pistachios, almonds and sugar.

-No!

-What?

-Etiquette.

-Yeah?

-We don't understand Moroccan etiquette.

-Wait and learn. Stop being Mr Grabby.

-I wasn't. I'm just hungry!

Oh, yes, indeedy.

So, Hinda, are there any rules, etiquette, about eating in Morocco?

Yeah. There are so many.

You cannot start before all the table is there...

-OK.

-Right.

-..just by respect.

-And, also, the oldest person should start first.

-Mm-hm.

So, who's oldest?

But now, it's yours, right?

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

Bismillah.

Bismillah, which means... You can start.

-Uh-huh.

-So, who do you think's oldest?

Both of you are young, so just start!

THEY LAUGH

Now, you see, that is Moroccan diplomacy -

that's what that's called, yes?

-Right...

-This looks wonderful.

The Moroccan custom means that everyone gets stuck in

from the main dish.

No individual plates here.

That's gorgeous.

Oh, that's amazing.

-The balance...

-Yeah.

-..is absolutely superb.

You know, that's the word I was going to use.

When you taste sweet and savoury, that is perfect.

-It absolutely is.

-And the sticky onions...

And the salt, though, Dave, as well. There's just a deeply...

Oh! This is just amazing.

Thanks to dadas like Ayesha, the scrummy combination

of chicken and rich spices are now enjoyed by everyone.

It's a marriage made in heaven,

but what's the secret to this harmonious relationship?

Put your science hat on, fella,

because the answer lies in the anatomy of our feathery friends.

Chicken is a lean meat...

I'm so slim!

..and, as a result, absorbs flavours well, so it loves spice.

I love you.

Traditional Moroccan meats, like lamb and goat, are fatty.

Baa! Who are you calling fat?!

Consequently, the flavours don't penetrate the meat

as quickly or easily.

Ah, shame.

It's no wonder chicken has become such a hit in Morocco.

It's the perfect vehicle for the spice flavours.

And, with the mass production of chicken,

there's more eggs laid here than ever before.

Moroccans eat eight times as many eggs today as 40 years ago.

Sold, like the chickens,

in markets like this one, in the ancient city of Fez.

This place used to be the capital city of Morocco,

when the Arabs ruled the roost here.

Inside is the Medina - the world's largest medieval market.

Wow, look at, dude! Look at that Medina! It's awesome!

It's massive, isn't it?!

-Oh, wow, look at that!

-Look at this gate!

That's amazing! That's a gate!

Kingy, look! There's no motorbikes allowed.

We're going to have to find somewhere to park up.

That way.

Well, I guess will have to be the Hairy Walkers in Fez, then, dude.

This is gorgeous, isn't it?

You know, I feel like I'm in a film.

Forget your egg boxes. Eggs are sold individually in the Medina

and carried around in bags.

Oh, no - sounds like a recipe for disaster, if you ask me.

You know what, Kingy?

I think I've spotted a business opportunity.

Really? Go on, mucker.

-Have you noticed how flipping hot it is here?

-I have, dude, I have.

Well, what's the first thing us Brits do

on a hot, sunny day back home?

Erm...

Buy an ice cream!

You're not wrong, dude, but the locals have clearly acclimatised,

cos they're quite partial to a steam bath, called a hammam,

where it's even hotter.

Hey-hey, as I said - gap in the market, Kingy.

Why don't we open an ice cream shop next to every single hammam in Fez?

This could be the answer to outrageous fortunes.

Tutti-frutti semifreddo ice creamo!

Exactly, dude, exactly. It's perfect.

-Come on, then, let's go and get a sweat on. Yeah?

-Get in.

How about a couple of scoops using the local taste

for sugared rose petals with pistachio nuts and the magic of eggs

to create a dessert to help our Moroccan chums chill?

Sha-boom! All the flavours of the mysterious East,

with Ali Um-Bongo's mystery ices.

BOTH SING

Anyway, take these off - it's hot enough.

It's a bit of mixed emotions, really,

because if you think about it, we're in a hammam. Yes, it's hot.

We've got a gas stove - yes, it's hot.

-And yet, we're going to turn fire into ice.

-In a hammam.

Now, you CAN make ice cream with a machine at home,

but that's just boring.

We are going to do it the old-fashioned way -

which, believe it or not, starts with cooking.

So, first off, take milk, whole milk -

-there ain't nothing diet about this...

-No.

..but I tell you what, the weight we're going to lose in here...

Bring that to temperature.

Shaboom...

Now, I've got some sugar here.

About - just a bit more than half goes in at this point.

I just want to heat this until the sugar is dissolved.

Now, we want some finely-ground pistachio nuts.

The thing is, that has to sit there and just...

The flavours need to develop over the next hour or so.

-I tell you what, matey...

-What?

-You go into the hammam...

-Mm-hm.

..and I'll join you in a few seconds.

I'll just check everything is safe. Do you know what I mean?

I don't want to leave a fire on in the bath.

Why are you not coming in, as well?

Well, I am!

I'll be right behind you.

Yeah, it's another, "Follow me, I'm right behind you," moment, isn't it?

-I'll always have your back.

-That's what worries me.

-You look good in the kaftan.

-Shut up!

EVIL LAUGHTER

All right, fellas?

Traditional Moroccan hammam massage

is renowned for keeping your joints supple.

It looks more like a wrestling match to me.

So, just stretch...

-Stretch?

-And relax. Ay!

And relax?!

Look at your face, man!

That looks like it hurts. What's he doing?

What do I do, I just lie flat now, do I?

-Put the towel on your face...

-And relax?

-..and just forget about everything.

-And forget about everything.

Ugh!

Ngh!

I've got a grunter!

What're you doing?!

HE GRUNTS

Ow!

Dirty - dirty man.

What do you mean, dirty man?!

He speaks English, this one.

Ooh!

Whaa!

Oww!

OOOHHH!

HE SPLUTTERS

ALL LAUGH

Bet that feels great, doesn't it?

Get out!

Gah!

He touched me skin.

Oh, come on, I were only having a laugh!

That was disgusting!

That's going to live with me for the rest of my life, that, now -

your skin touching my skin

and our bellies meeting in a cornucopia of belliness.

Eurgh!

-Ugh!

-Ice cream.

Ice cream is a custard

and to make that custard, we're using six eggs.

So, what we need to do is separate them.

We need to put egg yolks in here, egg whites in there.

Egg yolks in here, egg whites in there.

Egg yolks are the crucial ingredient for ice cream.

They don't just make it creamier and more delicious,

but their high fat content stops it melting so quickly.

-And take care not to get shell in.

-Yeah.

Because you know where eggshell comes from, don't you?

-You do. And you know it's been, that's for sure.

-Ohh!

Sugar in the egg yolks,

whisk till a light, fluffy, mousse-like consistency

Sometimes, you know, I admire your strength.

We need to get as much air in there as we can

and that's why we're whisking it like a good 'un.

-That'll do us, Dave.

-That's perfect, mate.

Now, we strain our pistachio and milk mixture into the yolks...

And then, transfer everything back into the pan...

-Look at the colour of that, dude.

-Oh, aye.

-Lovely, that.

-That is, that is.

..and cook it into a custard.

Just stir this gently. It mustn't split.

Top tip, though - if it starts to split and curdle,

stick some cornflour in and it will go back - maybe.

And, as you can see, the colour is intensifying.

It actually begins to look like pistachio ice cream.

That's what you want. Don't overcook it.

That's a wonderful, thin, but even, custard.

Now, I can smell gas, so I think I'd better turn that off, Kingy.

Go on, mate, go on.

-Whoa!

-Phew!

-Wahey.

Now, we have to wait until this cools.

Give it half an hour, until it's down to room temperature,

then add the cream.

Cos it wouldn't be ice cream without the cream.

Now, this is the important bit, because this is the rose water.

Rose water is a traditional flavouring

made from distilling rose petals.

It's used to and fragrant flavour to all kinds of Moroccan dishes,

so it will give our ice cream a local edge.

Rose waters always vary in strength,

so, the best thing to do is have a little shemozzle of it first...

Mm.

It's really, really quite light, this, Dave.

You do have the taste buds of an angel.

Right, let's make ice cream!

This plastic contraption uses the same method

mentioned in the first-ever ice cream recipe,

published in Britain in 1718.

We pour the mixture into the ball.

-BOTH CHANT:

-Oh, frozen ball...

-Ohh...

-..of ice cream making hammamness...

-what will you bring to our cone?

-Ohh...

Ohh...

Put the lid on. HE MIMICS PNEUMATIC LOCK

think it's the heat, dude, I think the heat.

-Drives you mad, doesn't it?

-It does. I've gone a bit bonkers.

Right, check that it's on. Invert...

HE MIMICS ROBOTICS

-Oh...

-Now, in here, pack it with ice.

Oh, that ice feels lovely.

Oh, Kingy, I could just put myself in it.

Oh, that's lovely cold!

Salt.

Something kind of magically happens between the salt and the ice

that speeds down the freezing process.

But the good thing about this device is you can make ice cream

and have fun at the same time!

-Yeah, you can!

-You can do your work-out!

Really catchy, in a hammam, in the middle of Fez.

THEY CHANT

To you!

THEY CHANT

Whoa!

Fun with the boys!

Keep this up for 15 minutes

and you may well lose enough calories to enjoy the ice cream.

THEY CHANT

That's ready.

THEY PANT

Oh, let's have a look.

Go on, mate.

-It ice cream!

-It is!

-Come on, Kingy.

-Right.

Look at that.

You see? You can make ice cream in a hammam.

Sugared rose petals add to the local fragrance.

The crushed pistachios and a drizzle of pistachio puree

finishes off the coolest dessert in town.

All I can say is...

-you want that, don't you?

-You do, don't you?

-You do.

And, if you're as hot as us, you'd want it even more.

I can't wait to try it out on our perspiring pals in the steam room.

-ALL:

-Cheers!

Bismillah.

Mm!

Very, very good.

-I love.

-It's good!

Who needs to go to the pub with your mates,

when you go down to your local hammam and bond over an ice cream?

Well, there's nowt strange about that, mate.

To be honest, I'd have expected a place like this

to be full of women, not men.

This way, dude.

In Morocco, the women hang out together.

And guess what? They like to bond over chicken.

It's like entering a harem!

-Hello.

-Hello!

-Hello, I'm Dave.

-Hi, Dave. Hi, Si.

-Hi!

-Welcome.

-Thank you.

Ooh, hello!

-Hello!

-Hello, ladies. Hello!

THEY ULULATE

I feel like I'm in the Moroccan Beatles

with a reception like this, Kingy.

That's a traditional song to welcome people.

-To welcome people in the house?

-Yeah, exactly, yeah.

-How wonderful.

-Did you like it?

-Yes!

Oh, it's nice!

This is a henna party.

It's a bit like a hen party,

as it's traditionally held before major celebrations like weddings.

The highlight of the evening is a chicken mhamer,

a dish typically eaten on occasions like this.

But, before the food, these parties are about the good old chinwag

and the art of beautiful temporary henna tattoos.

Do men come to henna parties?

-Er, no.

-Just women. No more men.

So, we're very privileged to be here, then?

-Exactly.

-Just to see.

-Just to see.

It's like an exception, today.

-Ooh, thank you!

-I must say, I'm completely fascinated...

-I know.

..at the actual artistry going into that.

Yeah, you can go and see.

-Can we sit here?

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

Can we sit?

Hello, hello. Wow!

Henna dye is made from the powdered leaves of the henna tree.

It's a tradition

across North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia

for women to decorate themselves

for big events, like weddings.

-It's absolutely amazing.

-Yeah.

-How long does it take to dry?

-Between a half hour and an hour.

-And how long would the henna tattoo last?

-Two weeks.

-Two to three weeks.

-Two to three weeks.

-I can't get over how quickly...

-It's absolutely amazing.

And waiting for the tattoos to dry

is the perfect opportunity for some multi-skilling.

Do you think the ladies would like some help in the kitchen

with the meal? Could we help the ladies, the dadas?

-Of course, let's go.

-I think we should.

The mhamer is a chicken speciality,

once only eaten on occasions like these.

Its name means reddish in Arabic

and the spices that help give it its colour tell the story of an

essential influence on Moroccan cooking.

And who better to show us how than a dada?

-The most important person, the dada.

-Oh.

-We know about dadas.

Exactly, so the dadas are our mums.

-Aw.

-It's your mums. Yeah, yeah, it's true.

So what's the first thing in the chicken mhamer?

So she's putting the sauce.

She's doing it, like, all over the chicken.

-Smells fantastic.

-That's why it looks really tasty.

-Yeah.

-We're talking about details.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-What's in the sauce?

-She put salt, pepper, onions, garlic,

-powder saffron, the ginger, oil and olive oil.

-Yeah, OK.

Almost everything. They mix everything.

So she's putting, like, the sauce on the chicken.

And after that, she is going to put the parsley with the coriander,

-the whole of it.

-Yeah.

-OK? And then, olive oil.

-Love the onions.

-This is onions. Aw, that smells good.

Now, I'm getting hungry.

She's going to take a spoon of saffron. Powdered saffron, yeah?

Powdered saffron, or even paprika, is absolutely vital to the mhamer.

They help create the dish's reddish tinge that gives it its name.

Both these spices came to Morocco from Spain in medieval times.

With the Strait of Gibraltar being only nine miles wide,

Spanish flavours have a big influence on Moroccan cooking.

Ginger and black pepper finish off the mix.

Then, it goes on the heat to stew for three quarters of an hour.

Do you know what? I reckon 45 minutes is just the right time

-for you to have a tattoo.

-I'm getting quite excited about this,

it's quite good. I'll have to get my leg out.

I'm not entirely sur...

Hello. Could I have a henna tattoo, please?

Which one? This leg or this leg. Which leg? This one.

-Just one moment, I make things easy.

-What are you doing?

-What are you doing?

-Here, there you are.

There.

Hold on a minute.

-Now, push.

-Ow!

-I can't see it.

-It looks good. You can...

-Oh, it is.

-What is it?

-It's going to bring you money, health and happiness.

-Money, health and happiness.

-Of course.

-Can I just bring you back

-to reality?

-OK.

-The chicken's done.

The mhamer may have finished stewing but that's just half the story.

-Wow. I was not expecting that.

-No, so, basically, you've cooked

-and stewed it and, now, you fry it.

-Exactly.

-This is genius.

-It is, isn't it? We've heard of Kentucky

Fried Chicken. This is Moroccan fried chicken.

-Look at the colour! It's perfect.

-You see the colour?

Oh, dada, whoar, amazing.

-We love you, dada.

-We definitely do.

-Wow.

-That's so good.

-That colour is perfect, isn't it?.

-It's a perfect colour.

-That is, isn't it?

-Oh, wow.

-Oh.

Oh.

Superb.

How wonderful.

And is the sauce, is that the liquid that was left when the

chickens were cooked in the pan?

Exactly. And it's really, really, really good.

So, all those onions and the oils, that's all reduced to that.

-And the spice.

-Yeah.

-It has a lot of ingredients.

-A lot of flavours.

-A lot of spices.

-Wow.

-Dada, thank you very much.

-Thank you, dada.

-Thank you, dada.

-Thank you.

How great, though. You come for a Moroccans' girl night,

you get a wonderful recipe, you have great food

and you go home with a tattoo.

-It's genius.

-Now, that's what I call a night in.

Oh, they're wonderful. Chicken juices, the liver.

-That is good.

-Oh, wow.

It unctuous. It's tasty, it's sweet, it's savoury.

It's got everything it should have and all the goodness

and the flavour of the chickens.

-Amazing.

-Look at him.

-It is amazing.

-You know, I think if you're the sort

of person who likes super-tasty, juicy chicken

but with a mega-crispy skin,

-then this is one for you, isn't it?

-Definitely.

-I love the people of Fez. They're lovely.

-Yeah, me too.

I reckon what we should do is to cook one of their favourite meals,

as a, kind of, thank you, before we leave this city.

You know what? That's not a bad idea, you know, mate.

The time has come, Kingy, to throw our own party - Hairy Bikers-style.

And when you want to treat your nearest and dearest

to something special in Fez,

you cook this city's signature dish - bastilla.

It's a pie that brings together all the influences that make

Moroccan cooking so unique.

Spices from Arabia and influences from Spain,

where this dish was conceived,

help create that sweet and savoury Moroccan trademark taste.

We're holding our party in a traditional Moroccan guesthouse,

called a riad.

-Oh, look, it's magnificent.

-I see they've had the painters in.

-Yep.

-I love what you've done to this place.

-Thanks, dude. Thanks, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Nice.

We're inviting round some of our new-found Fez friends

and treating them to a blistering bastilla.

What we need to do first is to joint the chicken

and we need to fry it on the bone.

We just want the chicken meat, so it doesn't have to be fancy.

No, and the reason that we're frying it on the bone,

it's just a bit more flavour.

Now, we need to cut the big onions.

These are quite small, so I may use three.

Once the chicken's browned,

we can get started on the rest of the filling.

Right, onion. Two big 'uns or three little 'uns.

I've got a mixture of red and white there,

but it's just what I got in the market.

I'm going to put some salt in this, Dave,

cos it helps caramelise and it helps stickiness,

cos it draws all the acidity and sugar.

A little bit of salt.

-Draws the moisture out, doesn't it?

-Exactly that.

And it's important to sweat the onions down slowly,

so you don't burn them.

You know, the flavours we've come across, we're familiar with

quite a lot of them, but I think we understand them more than ever now.

I think what's been very interesting about learning about it

is the alchemy and the balance

between "that's salty, that's sweet, that's savoury".

-Fabulous.

-Yeah.

Right, let's pop the garlic in.

And at this point, we can also add the spices.

Big spoonful of dried ginger.

Oh!

So citrus, as well, isn't it? It's lovely.

Turmeric.

Turmeric's really good for your skin and skin conditions.

It also cools down your system.

And some cinnamon.

And the saffron.

A pinch of.

And just crumble it up.

-More. More.

-Steady.

-More.

-Steady. Steady.

I love saffron.

-Keith Floyd loved saffron.

-Yeah, well...

-Keith is always right.

Get away with it.

And just cook that off for a couple of minutes

and you'll start to smell those wonderful spices.

-They are so fresh here, aren't they?

-Oh, aye.

With the onions sweated down and beginning to caramelise,

back in goes the chicken.

Alakazam!

Give it a coating, you know.

Right, you want 500ml of stock

and then you leave it for half an hour with the lid on...

And it's cooked when the chicken's fallen off the bone.

Once the chicken's done,

we strip all the meat and discard the bones,

but the spicy onions and chicken

are only half the story of the bastilla's filling.

Whisk three eggs and add to the onions and the stock

the chicken has been cooking in.

Here we go.

And it's just going to be like the most silly scrambled,

sloppy, scrambled eggs you've ever seen, but that's what you want.

This dish truly is where chicken meets egg.

Now, to this, I'm putting in 75g -

it can either be chopped pistachio nuts or almonds.

Now, here, it would be almonds but, you know,

a bit of controversial here, I'm going to pop in my pistachios,

basically cos we had a load left over from the ice cream!

So already, we've got sweet and savoury building up here.

But I haven't finished yet.

Some chopped dates add to the sweetness.

And now for my top-end notes,

a good teaspoon of orange zest.

Zest's brilliant. Lemon, orange, it contains all the essential oils.

Don't go too far, don't grind the pith into the dish,

the yellow bit, or it'll be sour.

Oh!

Right, so we sling the chicken in.

-Can I have a bit?

-Yeah.

-Lush, isn't it?

-Yeah.

One thing we are missing,

it's warqa pastry.

At home, you can use filo pastry and that's what we'd recommend,

cos you can buy it and it's easy.

But we couldn't do that now with filo pastry.

We've got to use warqa pastry, which is the local, indigenous pastry,

made by ladies in the market. It's a fiddle to make.

Let's go and try and find somebody to show us how to make it.

Then, we'll come back and we'll show you.

Look at this roof, dude.

The ancient Medina of Fez. How beautiful.

Warqa pastry is unique to Morocco.

It's one of the thinnest in the world,

even thinner than filo pastry.

The ingredients are simple - flour, oil and water -

and it's made on a simple heated metal plate.

-Do you get burned hands?

-Yeah.

Gosh.

Looks like a piece of cake, Kingy.

All you do is, you see,

they call it warqa pastry because the trick is you just whack it on.

Ah!

-Is it hot?

-No, it's fine.

-I have to say...

-FATIMA SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

..Fatima's there. Fatima... It's everywhere, man.

You have a go.

This is Mr King,

demonstrating how to put a string vest on a jellyfish...

..whilst covered in oil.

Ah, it's a twist.

It's a twist, Kingy.

See, she didn't tell me that.

Oh!

Oh!

No, it's not, man. Your dabbing it.

Oh!

Oh!

Oh-oh!

Ooh!

That's too thick.

Oh!

Ooh!

Yaagh! Waagh!

Oh!

Yaagh!

Oh!

Mine made the tray!

-Yes, the sympathy vote.

-I'm not gloating.

-No.

-No.

I'll tell you what, if I did that another 433,000 times, I'd be mint.

I think we have what we need for our bastilla.

We have some of the most wonderful handmade pastry,

but some things are best left to the professionals.

It doesn't do it like that when you try it, though. That's the thing.

-It looks easy at home, but it's not.

-It's not.

Armed with our warqa, we layer up four sheets of the pastry,

each with a brushing of egg yolk.

Then, in goes the chicken filling.

There we are.

One filled bastilla.

Now, what we do is, we begin to roll it up.

So, take the warqa and fold it in.

-We don't want holes in this one.

-Look at that.

Just whack your warqa on

and tuck it underneath,

like so.

All you have to do is pop that into a pre-heated oven,

180 degrees Celsius for a fan oven,

for about 30 minutes, until heated through and golden.

Beautiful. To the kitchen.

The bastilla bakes for 30 minutes

and it wouldn't be Moroccan without a sweet touch,

to match its savoury tang.

On go delicious local almonds,

cinnamon and sugar.

The thing we've got here with this one, it's chicken,

it's egg and it's, kind of...

it couldn't be any more, kind of, representative of Morocco,

you know, than anything else.

-And the final flourish...

-Beautiful.

-..grated orange zest.

The result is a thing of Moroccan beauty.

A painstaking dish to prepare,

but one fit for a fiesta.

Shall we?

-After you.

-To the guests.

We've invited some of our new friends along

and what party would be complete without music?

Take it away, lads.

SINGING

This music is hugely popular here.

It's called a Gnawa band.

They chant ancient spiritual rhymes

over really quite groovy rhythms.

Hello!

Excuse me. Hello. Hello.

-We love bastilla.

-Well, this is our version, so we hope you like it.

Thank you. Thank you.

Bon appetit, everybody.

Thank you. Thank you.

We'll whack that one between us.

Do you like it?

LAUGHTER

-Very good.

-Thank you.

-It's very...

-And it's good? You like it?

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

SINGING

-I think that went down quite well, don't you?

-It did. It did.

Do you know what it is? It's tradition here.

Real old-fashioned values. That, for me, is the thing.

It's that blend of cultures where the people meet,

the food meets and, over 500 years, there's magic on a plate.

Absolutely.

-And that is alchemy.

-Aye.

You dancing, dude?

-You asking, handsome?

-Well, I am.

It'd be rude not to, wouldn't it?

HE SHRIEKS

THEY LAUGH

Next time, we're in America.

Hey-hey! Living the dream, Kingy!

We discover the chickeny, eggy goodness

at the heart of the USA's gastronomic DNA.

-Yee-ha!

-Ho-ho!

Who ever thought you could have such an adventure with chicken?

These are a true taste of America.

Crispy.

-This is perfectly, perfectly cooked.

-Yeah.

Have a nice day, y'all.

MUSIC: The Birdie Song by The Tweets

See, this is the problem about doing the Chicken Dance.

Please, God, let this stop soon.

LAUGHTER

Oh, look. Him's off.

The old wing-walker.

OK.

DONKEY BRAYS

Look! Look! Dave, the donkey's joining in.

Oh, goodness.

-MAN:

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you!