0:00:03 > 0:00:06It's the fellow with the horns I don't trust.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09- Wow.- He's coming for you. Look out, Mason.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12He's telling you to clear off. Get away from his wives.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14I can't pull the wool over his eyes.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16THEY LAUGH
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Naah!
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Every one a gem.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25It's taken 50 years in broadcasting, but I've finally cracked it.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27HE LAUGHS
0:00:27 > 0:00:29A chance to meander around the country, see the sights,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31meet the people.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34And, ah, yes, eat and drink.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Is melt in the mouth a Seussical phrase?
0:00:38 > 0:00:41I've hailed a cab with one of London's finest cabbies,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Mason McQueen, to steer me around Britain's highways and byways.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48I'm looking forward to a decent meal. Are you?
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Oh, I'm starving. I can't wait.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Our route has been mapped out by an adventurous gourmand,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Samuel Chamberlain in his book British Bouquet.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Almost 60 years later, we're following in his footsteps...
0:00:59 > 0:01:01I'll do all the work.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05..to seek out weird and wonderful regional British cuisine
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and discover how our tastes have changed over the years.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10Do it right, son.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13- Uh, uh!- Ooh!
0:01:13 > 0:01:14This is made from?
0:01:15 > 0:01:19- Watercress.- Don't have any vodka, do you, that we could mix with it?
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Make a little cocktail before lunch.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Today, we are heading to Salisbury in Wiltshire
0:01:31 > 0:01:34where the delicacies of the South West await us
0:01:34 > 0:01:35to tickle our fancy.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41You know this book that we are following,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43the British Bouquet by Samuel Chamberlain.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45- Sammy boy.- A good man.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47And he says, "The traveller who approaches
0:01:47 > 0:01:50"Salisbury for the first time, guided by the towering
0:01:50 > 0:01:54"spire of the cathedral, is due for a thrilling experience."
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Wise words from Sam Chamberlain.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Have you ever been here before, Mason?
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It's my first time in Salisbury.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03I can see that from the way you're driving around in a concentric
0:02:03 > 0:02:07- circle here. - LAUGHS: I'm trying to look relaxed!
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Yeah, you're not fooling me.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12We've been down the street three times already.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14THEY LAUGH
0:02:21 > 0:02:25In our role as official BBC-appointed food connoisseurs,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28we've come to Salisbury's 13th-century marketplace
0:02:28 > 0:02:30right in the centre of the city
0:02:30 > 0:02:33to start our gastronomic voyage of discovery.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35- Morning, Terry.- Good morning.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Which roughly translates as - get in there,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41annoy the locals, eat anything we can lay our hands on.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Don't think of the produce.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44For goodness' sake, man.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- Hello, mate. You all right? - Hello, sir.- How are we?
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- We're very well, thank you.- Good, good.- Are you in charge of this?- No.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52- Good man. Neither am I. - Where's the boss?
0:02:52 > 0:02:54MASON LAUGHS
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Despite there being no less than six large out-of-town supermarkets and
0:02:59 > 0:03:01four smaller ones in the centre,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04this twice weekly 800-year-old market is thriving.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Thank you.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12And it's good to see some traditional Wiltshire offerings
0:03:12 > 0:03:13taking centre stage.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Is there anything that is... Oh, lardy cake. What's that?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Lard, sugar, currants baked on a bit of bread.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- Completely non-fattening. - Non-fattening.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- I could eat plenty of that.- It's the best seller in the town.- Is it?
0:03:29 > 0:03:32And is it traditional to here? Give us a bit of lardy cake.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Don't be so mean. Goodness' sake, man.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Mm. This is fantastic.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41- Thank you.- It is fantastic. It's a credit to you gentlemen.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Yes, it's true, dear viewer. Your ears don't deceive you.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Lardy cake really is made out of pig's fat.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51We all have a big bowl of bananas today...
0:03:51 > 0:03:53And if they're putting pig in their pudding,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56we better find out what's going into their sausage.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- Hello!- Hello, mate. How are you?- How you doing? All right?- Yeah, good.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Things are better now I'm tasting your sausage.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03It's a tough job but someone's got to do it.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- Someone's got to do it, don't they? - These are all local sausages?
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- Yeah, all made with chicken, they are. All low in fat.- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I must say, it's delicious.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- Well, these chickens have not died in vain.- No, they haven't.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Since our Samuel Chamberlain was browsing these market stalls,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25the sights and smells of the Continent have come to Salisbury,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28including the national dish of Spain - y viva Espana!
0:04:31 > 0:04:36How do you fancy a real traditional Wiltshire paella? Buenos dias.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- Buenos dias.- Paella, I wouldn't associate that with Salisbury.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The paella we've got here has got Wiltshire chicken in it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45The vegetables are...
0:04:45 > 0:04:48I generally buy them in this market or if I'm working elsewhere,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- I always buy locally. - The locals obviously love this.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55You've got the traditional chicken, chorizo -
0:04:55 > 0:04:57fantastic.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00- Me gusta mucho.- Gracias.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03- Mm.- That's lovely, Steve. That's really good.- Yeah.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- You keep talking and I'll keep eating.- OK.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Paella is now so popular in this country, it even rivals lasagne
0:05:10 > 0:05:12as the nation's favourite ready meal.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15And those of you with an inquiring mind may be interested
0:05:15 > 0:05:20to know that the name comes from the Arabic word meaning leftovers.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22No, I didn't think that would put you off.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Leaving the market behind, we head gamely into the back streets
0:05:28 > 0:05:31of Salisbury in search of even more food.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34With any luck, we might even burn off a few calories along the way.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- Where would you like to go? Let's go left.- OK.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43- Now this is old town stuff, isn't it? Look at the architecture.- Yeah.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46This is what must have brought Chamberlain here, yeah?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49This is what he must have thrived on. He loved this stuff.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54In the 1960s when Chamberlain was here,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56they were hardly any supermarkets in Wiltshire.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Most people still shopped in small family food businesses.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- Fish Row,- Tel. That's caviar.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Butcher Row.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Pritchett Butchers. Terry, look at that signage.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11"Home killed only. Family butcher."
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- You couldn't put that up in a sign these days.- No way. No way.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17"What, you kill animals in your home?"
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- Shall we have a chat with them inside?- Let's go and have a look.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- Hello!- How are you doing? - Very well, thank you.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- We've just seen your sign, "Home killed only."- Yep.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- Could you explain that a bit more for us?- Um...
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Obviously many years ago,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36most butchers actually had their own abattoir in the back and they
0:06:36 > 0:06:39were allowed to kill their own animals and then go on to sell them.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Unfortunately, laws have changed these days
0:06:42 > 0:06:43and we can't do that any more.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- I blame Brussels!- So do I.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47THEY CHUCKLE
0:06:47 > 0:06:51They may change the rules, but tastes in Salisbury stay the same.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54The bestsellers here are traditional Wiltshire faggots,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57still made to their original 100-year-old recipe.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02You see, faggots are slightly foreign to me.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Nobody has ever eaten a faggot in Ireland.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06What are they made of?
0:07:06 > 0:07:11We have minced pork, liver, bacon, bread crumbs, onions.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13I bet there are delicious. How would you cook them?
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- Just roast them in the oven for 40 minutes.- In a gravy.- Gravy.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- With a bit of veg?- A bit of veg, bit of gravy. Absolutely delicious.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- You don't want to spoil it with veg. - No?- Are you a bit of a veg man?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- I didn't know this about you. - I like my meat and two veg.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28MASON LAUGHS
0:07:28 > 0:07:29Traditionalist.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35What's your first impressions of Salisbury, Terry?
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I think it's a lovely place to live
0:07:37 > 0:07:40and old Chamberlain speaks very highly of it.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44It's changed a hell of a lot since Chamberlain came through here anyway.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I've changed since 1963 myself. I know that's hard to understand.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49HE LAUGHS
0:07:49 > 0:07:51I think I was probably at my best in '63.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It's been a downward spiral since then.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I can see you living here, Mason.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02I can see myself in a nice bright pair of corduroys, a tweed gilet.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05So you'll be getting into a pair of yellow corduroys very shortly,
0:08:05 > 0:08:06will you?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08I wouldn't go that far. Maybe light pink.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Even a couple of the greedy guts like myself and Mason need
0:08:15 > 0:08:18time away from the trough, so the next phase of our Salisbury
0:08:18 > 0:08:21journey takes us to the local museum for some serious
0:08:21 > 0:08:24research into our specialist subject of food.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27It's not all beer, women and skittles for us, you know.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30- We are getting out of the cold. - A bit of culture, Terry.- Oh, yes.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32- A museum.- That'll make a change.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Suits me too at my age.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- Wow, look at these lovely birds. - Where?
0:08:38 > 0:08:39LAUGHING: These ones here.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43- Oh, I see. Yes. - Boostards.- No, bustards.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47- Bustards.- Great bustards.- Oh, I've know some bustards in my time.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Oh, for goodness' sake.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51You must meet them on the roads all the time in the old black cab.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- It's good eating.- The size of them. - It's bigger than a pheasant.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57The poor, old great bustard,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59heaviest of all British flying birds,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01used to live happily on Salisbury plain,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05but sadly, they were eaten to extinction in the 19th century.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Now one reason for that may be its inclusion in the 1803
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Almanach des Gourmands, which describes the ultimate Sunday roast.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17A deboned garden lapwing is stuffed into a lark,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20followed by a thrush, and so on until it all ends,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23some 13 birds later, in the poor, old great bustard.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27They've try to reintroduce them since 1970.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Let's hope it's successful
0:09:29 > 0:09:33- because there's plenty of eating on this great bustard.- Amazing bird.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35- Size of it.- Oh, lovely.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Just stuffed in a cabinet like that. You know,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41you being a national treasure, you know you could end up like this.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I'd be very lucky to end up like that.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Rather than in an open grave somewhere. Bring it back.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- Bring back the bustard. - Bring it back.
0:09:50 > 0:09:51We can all have a good square meal.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Feasting has always been on the menu here in Salisbury.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Whenever there was anything to celebrate,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02be it the end of the Crimean War or a king's coronation,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06locals would gather in the marketplace and get stuck in.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Now, this curious figure known as the Salisbury giant was
0:10:09 > 0:10:12brought along too. He made his first appearance in 1400.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15He hasn't missed a feast since,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17which is evident from the size of him.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21The outfit reminds me of the late Demis Roussos cos I always
0:10:21 > 0:10:25maintained that there was a Greek party going on under his frock.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- Oh.- People throwing plates around.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30A good doorman. TERRY LAUGHS
0:10:36 > 0:10:39- Salisbury Cathedral. What do you think, Mason?- Wow.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41That's incredible, Terry.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43It's worth the journey in the old black cab to see that.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44Most definitely.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48The first time I've seen this, in the depths of my ignorance.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53- It's fantastic.- It's beautiful. It is beautiful.- I'm going to go in.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57- You going in, yeah?- Yeah. I'm entitled. I'm the right religion.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- Can you get in? Will they let you in?- They won't let me in there.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- I'll wait here for you. - I didn't think they would.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07No right-minded person could come to Salisbury
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and not take in the glories of its most famous building.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Back in the '60s, our own Sam Chamberlain waxed
0:11:13 > 0:11:18lyrical about this magnificent cathedral set in an emerald close.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24I'm not here, though, to speak to you in hushed tones of niches
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and quatrefoil motifs,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I am on the trail of a hot local food story.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32And by all accounts, feathers were ruffled at the highest level.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- Hi, Gary. How are you doing? - Nice to meet you.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Gary is, as we can see,
0:11:39 > 0:11:40the clerk of works.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Now, they tell me, Gary,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46- that you have been up the spire. - I have.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- Stands back in astonishment. - Four times now.- On a ladder?
0:11:49 > 0:11:52On a ladder on the inside.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56- 30 foot from the top, you climb out of a little weathered door.- Please!
0:11:56 > 0:11:582ft by 3ft.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Then you climb the final 30ft on the outside,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05on bronze rungs that were put there in 1950.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08- You don't look down much, do you, when you are doing that?- No. No.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13And when you're on the top of the capstone and you do look down,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17you can't see the spire because the capstone is wider than
0:12:17 > 0:12:20your point of view, and it feels like you are floating, actually.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22It is really quite a surreal experience.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Does that not frighten you to death? I couldn't do it in a million years.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27- It is still scary.- I could not do that in a million years.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29For some reason, the spire seems to get thinner
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and thinner every time I go up there.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I don't know if it is me being more mortal.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36There was a famous chap called Old Hayley the Plumber
0:12:36 > 0:12:40who apparently climbed to the top of the spire and roasted a pheasant
0:12:40 > 0:12:44in, I think, it was the 1780s or something like that.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47I think it was a brace of pheasant he cooked and roasted
0:12:47 > 0:12:48on top of the spire.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50I like the sound of that!
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Roast pheasant at Salisbury's top tip.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Now, what a plumber called Hayley was doing up
0:12:55 > 0:12:58there in the first place, we'll never know.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02The Cathedral's most prized possession is the best
0:13:02 > 0:13:03surviving copy of the Magna Carta.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06This year it celebrates its 800th anniversary.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Now, you wouldn't normally associate the foundations of modern
0:13:09 > 0:13:13democracy with a cheese sandwich, but trust us to sniff out
0:13:13 > 0:13:17some tempting morsels to eat, even in the most unlikely places.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Here we are, backstage, Salisbury Cathedral.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25A vestry.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30And who..who have we here?
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Oh. You shouldn't have dressed just for me.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39When I came in, I noticed you were filling your faces with
0:13:39 > 0:13:41all sorts of things. What is this?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44This is our new Magna Carta chutney.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Magna Carta. Do you mind me saying,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49it is a fairly pretentious name for a chutney.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- It is, absolutely. - And why is it called Magna Carta?
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Well, it is Magna Carta
0:13:53 > 0:13:55because this is the year of Magna Carta.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57And because it was that,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00I wanted to use ingredients that were available then,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02not necessarily in a chutney,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06which probably wasn't known about then, although the spices were
0:14:06 > 0:14:08known about and the raw ingredients -
0:14:08 > 0:14:10plums, damsons, apples, burdock.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14And I managed to locate some unusual ingredients.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17This is the big one. This is called grains of paradise.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Grains of paradise are a member of the ginger family,
0:14:22 > 0:14:23grown in West Africa.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25They first arrived in Europe in the Middle Ages,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28carried by camel train across the Sahara.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Their pungent peppery taste was sometimes used to disguise
0:14:32 > 0:14:34meat that was, well, on the turn.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37But I'm sure the kitchen here more than meets
0:14:37 > 0:14:39current food hygiene standards.
0:14:39 > 0:14:40So, obviously, the servers
0:14:40 > 0:14:42have already been filling their faces with it.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- So can I try a bit? - Oh, please do. Please do.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47Do you mind if I use fingers?
0:14:47 > 0:14:49No, absolutely not.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52But make sure you get a good big wodge on it,
0:14:52 > 0:14:53and then you get all the flavours.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56We'll offer it up, your chutney.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57- LAUGHING:- Right.
0:14:59 > 0:15:00Delicious.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03A true taste of medieval Salisbury.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06Setting is not bad either.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16This is lovely. I can see what Chamberlain...
0:15:16 > 0:15:18He must have loved coming to England.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21- It is full of character, isn't it? - Yeah, it is full of character.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24There is a pub on nearly every corner, which I really like.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Can you imagine taking the dog out for a walk?
0:15:27 > 0:15:28"I'll see you in a couple of hours."
0:15:28 > 0:15:30THEY LAUGH
0:15:36 > 0:15:41So, referring to Sam Chamberlain's epic tome,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44he says, "The enquiring gastronome would do well to seek out
0:15:44 > 0:15:47"a restaurant called Haunch of Venison,
0:15:47 > 0:15:48"an old English chophouse.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52"If you are in Salisbury for the day only, the Haunch of Venison seems
0:15:52 > 0:15:57"destined to fill your time with a full measurement of contentment."
0:15:57 > 0:15:59I'll be the judge of that.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- Ah-ha!- Hello. - Here we are... Look at this place.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13It is just a wonderful old pub. Fantastic! How old?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15It's five years short of 700 years old.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17The building used to be a brothel.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22- Did it?- Yes, we have the gorgeous St Thomas' Church at the back.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26And we have a tunnel between St Thomas' Church and our cellar.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Would this facilitate the local clergy?
0:16:29 > 0:16:32It would, to save their embarrassment.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35What's this? Raunch in the Haunch?
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I should probably make my excuses and leave.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40But in the interest of gastronomy, I'll just pop my head upstairs
0:16:40 > 0:16:42and see what is going on.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Is that a haunch of venison you have got there?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Yeah, it is a rolled haunch.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Do they appreciate a decent haunch around here?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51- It is by far the best seller here. - Is it? Is it locally shot?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- That's what I want to know. - We get ours from the New Forest,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57so it is probably about 20 miles, 20 miles out.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Probably about as local as you're going to get.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00Now, what are you dressing it with?
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Salt, pepper, a bit of olive oil and some chopped rosemary on there
0:17:04 > 0:17:06just to give it a bit of flavour on the outside.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- So, you have dressed it.- Yep. - And now what do you do?
0:17:09 > 0:17:10- Stick it on the frying pan?- Yep.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Just going to put it into a nice hot frying pan.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- Yeah, I thought so.- Just going to seal it on the outside.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I'm not completely ignorant in these things, you know.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22How long do you cook it for?
0:17:22 > 0:17:25This will cook in the oven, after it has been sealed,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28for about 45 minutes, so it's nice and pink in the middle.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I'm not in the mood for a roast, so instead, I'm going
0:17:36 > 0:17:40to toy with a venison and smoky bacon casserole,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43completed by a medley of fresh vegetables.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49The sun is beaming through the latticed windows
0:17:49 > 0:17:54and I feel like an ancient Tudor gentleman.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Oh.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Mm.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Is melt in the mouth a suitable phrase?
0:18:04 > 0:18:06From the Middle Ages to the 19th century,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Salisbury was an important coaching town -
0:18:09 > 0:18:11hundreds of thousands of travellers a year passing through.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Many stayed here, and occasionally,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16they left some of their personal belongings behind them.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23You can't come here without talking about the hand,
0:18:23 > 0:18:24- which is in the case.- Oh, I see it.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26A mummified hand.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29And the story goes, Terry, is that in the 1820s,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33a stranger came into this pub, walked in through the door.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35All the locals looked round. There was a silence
0:18:35 > 0:18:38that traditionally happens when a stranger walks into a pub.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- Yeah, I had it myself when I came through the door.- Exactly, yeah.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42Anyway, I'm still here, go on.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44He walked to the bar and said, "Drinks all round."
0:18:44 > 0:18:48He was then invited to join in a game of cards,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51of which he actually started to lose, heavily.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53And then he started to win.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58Unfortunate for him, just sitting to his right was the local butcher,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02who had a sneaking suspicion that he was cheating at cards.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Reaching inside his bag, he pulled out a meat cleaver.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09And as the stranger held his cards at the table,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11one fell, expert chop...
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Chop!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15..cut his hand off at the wrist.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17And that hand was mummified
0:19:17 > 0:19:20and put into the wall of actually this area here.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24- Did you make all that up?- No!
0:19:24 > 0:19:26That is the truth. Honest.
0:19:33 > 0:19:39Do you know what I really like about you? I hate stopping a journey.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42I have run out of petrol in the past
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- because I didn't want to stop the car.- Yeah.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47And so I am so grateful you didn't say,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49"Let's stop and have a cup of tea."
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Cos it might have ruined our friendship early on.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54You don't want to empty your bottle, do you?
0:19:54 > 0:19:56THEY LAUGH
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Our exploration into the fine fare of Salisbury would not be complete
0:20:05 > 0:20:07without mentioning its prime crop.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13- This, apparently, is the home of British watercress.- Oh, yes.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16It used to grow around Salisbury Cathedral, you know.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Are you a great watercress eater?
0:20:18 > 0:20:20It has never really appealed to me before, but, you know,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22it's going to take...
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Somewhere like this is going to get my interest.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28People keep telling me... "It's very good for you," they keep telling me.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- "It's full of iron."- Yep.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Have you tasted iron lately? - No!- Yeah.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Well, honestly, I think it is
0:20:34 > 0:20:37the most overrated thing in the world, to be honest.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39So don't ask me what we are doing here.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41What are we doing here?
0:20:41 > 0:20:42We're about to find out.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50So, Keith Hitchings, you are the man.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53You are the man to talk about watercress, I hear.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55And we are surrounded by this stuff.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I'm not a great fan, to be honest with you.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59What is so great about watercress, then?
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- It is a wonderful product. - Well, you'd say that.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05It has got lots of history. It has been eaten for many, many years.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- It was a staple in the diet of Victorians years ago.- Really?!
0:21:08 > 0:21:11People would eat watercress just held in a paper cone.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Now stop it. So like chips?
0:21:14 > 0:21:17They'd get a paper cone of watercress and eat it?
0:21:17 > 0:21:20It was a very cheap food at that time.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23And it was eaten just readily in the streets, I'm told.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28My great-great-grandfather moved to the village back in the mid-1800s.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31And by 1880, he had actually established a watercress business
0:21:31 > 0:21:32here at Broad Chalke.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35So, it has been very popular for years and years and years.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37The fact that I don't particularly like it
0:21:37 > 0:21:40sprinkled all over my food, that is neither here nor there.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42I'm going to change that before the day is out.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- Are you going to convert me? - I'm going to convert you.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Not only am I going to be forced to eat the stuff, we are
0:21:48 > 0:21:50being roped into picking it as well.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54I'm sure Chamberlain never had to do things like this.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- So, Keith, this is the traditional way of cutting watercress?- Yeah.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00What I am doing now is cutting a hand of cress,
0:22:00 > 0:22:01what we call a hand of cress.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04So I'm going to fill up the compartments of my fingers,
0:22:04 > 0:22:05five fingers' worth.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08If there is not five, you have done it wrong.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I'll eat more of it now that I see the effort that goes into
0:22:11 > 0:22:12cutting it.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- Oh, yeah, oh. - Because we used to cut for hours.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17We were starting sometimes 7.00, 7.30 in the morning,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19cutting right through to 4.00,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- especially at Easter time, when the demand was extremely high.- Wow.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26This is how it was done. I mean, most watercress was cut in this
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- fashion for hundreds of years, really.- Like every expert,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32you have made what is actually quite difficult look really easy.
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Thank you, Terry.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Ladies...and one gentleman.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46So this is the sharp end.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50So, have you any idea where this watercress is going?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52It is going up to markets up in London.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54What is the order today, how many do they want?
0:22:54 > 0:22:5693 boxes.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00- 93 BOXES?!- So...- So you have got to be here for quite a while.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Do you ever make the mistake of eating any of it?
0:23:02 > 0:23:04- THEY GIGGLE - No.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- Yeah, I mean, do you like watercress?- Yes.- Come on, be honest.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11- Yes.- What you like about watercress? - It's good for you.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14You see, soon as somebody says that,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16you realise it is going to taste like hell.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- No, it's not, as in the kids love it.- Do they?- Our kids love it.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21- Your kids love it?- Yep.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26There is no putting it off any longer, time to sample the cress.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31First up, a rather dubious looking beverage
0:23:31 > 0:23:33made to a secret recipe, I'm told.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36You don't have a vodka, do you, that we could mix with it?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40- LAUGHTER - Make a little cocktail before lunch?
0:23:40 > 0:23:42- And this is made from...? - Watercress.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- Oh, that's great. - That's OK! That is very good.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52That's EXCELLENT.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54I can only tell you, I'm surprised.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- Watercress lasagne.- This is it.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02I'll risk it.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09- I am bound to say, Keith, this is damn tasty.- Thank you.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13It goes against the grain to think that watercress can make
0:24:13 > 0:24:15a decent lasagne, but it does.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16So when you were a kid,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I mean, you were literally forced to eat watercress.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22You could say that, I guess. But it is just in the veins now, isn't it?
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Watercress in your veins. You'll live forever!
0:24:34 > 0:24:37- Do you know what Stonehenge looks like?- Yeah.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39Are you sure?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I'm just looking out for coach loads of Japanese tourists,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44that's what I'm looking for.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47That is a rotten way to navigate.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Chamberlain devotes a whole page in his book to the mighty
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Stonehenge, praising this dramatic monument standing
0:24:54 > 0:24:57isolated on its timeless plane.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01But our search for the final piece of this Salisbury food puzzle
0:25:01 > 0:25:04bypasses such well-trodden territory.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07We are headed a mile east to a mysterious wooded glade
0:25:07 > 0:25:11where a team of archaeologists have uncovered evidence of how
0:25:11 > 0:25:14our earliest ancestors lived 9,000 years ago.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19There is only one question we want to know the answer to.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21- What were they eating, do you know?- They were eating
0:25:21 > 0:25:24a brilliant diet, actually. They were eating aurochs.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27But these aurochs would've been about three times
0:25:27 > 0:25:30- the size of a Jersey cow. They're enormous.- Aurochs?- Yeah.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33The taste would be something like between the best piece of beef
0:25:33 > 0:25:35and venison. Really delicious.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38But if you got one of them down, got an adult down,
0:25:38 > 0:25:39that would feed 100 people.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42So they ate aurochs, what else did they eat?
0:25:42 > 0:25:43You've got everything.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It is a sliding scale from massive aurochs, red deer,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49all the way down to frogs and toads' legs.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52So we were eating frogs' legs long before the French.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53Definitely, I think so.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55What about the river? Did they eat fish?
0:25:55 > 0:25:58They were eating fish, lovely salmon and trout. Gorgeous.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01But they were also eating eel as well.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It seems the way they were catching the eel -
0:26:03 > 0:26:07cutting the head off a really big animal, sticking it in the spring.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Then you get the eels coming in through the eye sockets,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14gorging themselves on the brain, they can't get out, give it
0:26:14 > 0:26:17a couple of days, pull the head out, and there you've got an eel trap.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21It is a no-brainer, Tel. Hello, you all right?
0:26:21 > 0:26:23I thought I was going to throw up there for a moment.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26You wouldn't survive out here, I'd have to look after you.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27Eels on Wheels for you.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- Eels through Skulls.- Yes. - Oh, come on.- Yeah.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Come on, you're trying to put me off.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And all these various little artefacts that we see here?
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Yeah, we've got... These are the tools used,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41from very big type of axes which can penetrate anything
0:26:41 > 0:26:44to the tiniest tools, the type of tools here that could well have
0:26:44 > 0:26:47been used to take a little toad or frog down.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Can you just see the way they've very skilfully taken planes off?
0:26:51 > 0:26:52Extraordinary!
0:26:52 > 0:26:56The last aurochs died in Poland in 1627.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59But other pre-historic ingredients are still available.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01To celebrate these exciting revelations about Salisbury's
0:27:01 > 0:27:03earliest known cuisine,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07local curry house owner Burhan Uddin has come up with a new dish.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14- So, Uddin.- Yep. - You've created this venison curry?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17This is a venison curry. It is what we call venison bhuna.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20And that is in honour of the dig, is it?
0:27:20 > 0:27:23In honour of the dig, yeah, that's right.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28As the smell of Uddin's curry wafts across the glade,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31the archaeologists gather gratefully by the fire as we all enjoy
0:27:31 > 0:27:35a last lingering taste of Salisbury.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Poor old Stone Age man.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Never got any of this.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- So, Salisbury was OK, wasn't it? - It was amazing, Tel.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52- Can we hit the road?- Let's go.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Do you know where you're going? - No, but don't let that scare you.