0:00:03 > 0:00:06- Good morning.- And would you very kindly wish my daughter
0:00:06 > 0:00:08- a happy 18th?- Of course. Happy 18th.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09- Thank you.- Happy birthday.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11- I think that's really lovely. - Nice to see you.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Listened to you growing up.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16- Still got it. - You've still got it, mate.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17It never went away.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23It's taken 50 years in broadcast, but I finally cracked it.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26A chance to meander around the country,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28see the sights, meet the people.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32And, oh, yes, eat and drink.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Is melt in the mouth a suitable phrase?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38I've hailed a cab with one of London's finest cabbies,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Mason McQueen,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42to steer me around Britain's highways and byways.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I'm looking forward to a decent meal, are you?
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Oh, I'm starving, I can't wait, Tel.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Our route has been mapped out by an adventurous gourmand,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Samuel Chamberlain, in his book,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54British Bouquet.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Almost 60 years later, we're following in his footsteps...
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I'll do all the work, Tel.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03..To seek out weird and wonderful regional British cuisine
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and discover how our tastes have changed over the years.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07Do it right, son.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Apparently, when they had tea here, they'd have a dish of tea,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18because if the tea was too hot, they'd drink it off the saucer.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Mm. So much better.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Our wanderings have brought us
0:01:36 > 0:01:39to the venerable spa town of Harrogate, in Yorkshire.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43A place so chock-full of gourmet delights
0:01:43 > 0:01:46we may never need to eat again.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Well, here we come but we're in Harrogate.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55"Harrogate can be charming to the loveliest of gardens,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58"an astonishing large stretch of immaculate green lawn
0:01:58 > 0:02:00"known as The Stray."
0:02:00 > 0:02:03This is probably The Stray that we're going through at the moment.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07I'm only surprised that I don't see anybody playing cricket.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10I thought that you couldn't live in Yorkshire unless you played cricket.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Michael Parkinson assured me of that and so did Geoffrey Boycott.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Our guide, Sam Chamberlain, didn't mention any sign of cricket either
0:02:23 > 0:02:26but being an American, maybe he didn't know what to look out for.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29He was, however, fulsome in his praise of what he called
0:02:29 > 0:02:31"the most comfortable city in Yorkshire,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34"possessing the loveliest of gardens."
0:02:35 > 0:02:38This is the best kept town we've been in, isn't it?
0:02:38 > 0:02:42In terms of green space, flowers.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43And you know what else they say?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46It's one of the most desired places to live in the country.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49- Is it? I can believe that. - Harrogate.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53You don't think somebody said, "The place is looking a bit scruffy,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55"Mason and Terry are coming, we'll tidy it up?"
0:02:55 > 0:02:58I think it's like it all the time here.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07First stop on this Harrogate food trip is best described
0:03:07 > 0:03:09as a Yorkshire icon.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Bang in the centre of town, Betty's
0:03:11 > 0:03:14welcomes two and a half million customers every year
0:03:14 > 0:03:17through its glamorous Art Deco front doors.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20And here we are. Betty's.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22- Hm, famous place, this.- Oh, is it?
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Yeah, old Betty's tea rooms.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- Shall we go in?- Yeah.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28You think they'd welcome us?
0:03:30 > 0:03:32You may be surprised to hear that Betty's was founded
0:03:32 > 0:03:35not by an apple-cheeked Yorkshire lass
0:03:35 > 0:03:38but a moustachioed Swiss gentleman called Frederick Belmont,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42who fetched up in Yorkshire in 1907, got a job as a confectioner,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and the rest is history.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47- Hello, good morning.- Good morning.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- Wow.- So this is Betty's.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- This is it. You've arrived. - And what's your name?
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- My name's Karen. - Karen, we're delighted to see you.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- What a selection. - Yeah.- What are these here?
0:03:57 > 0:03:59- These are our fat rascals... - Do you know what she called you?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01- Oh, that's a fat rascal... - That's a fat rascal.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Karen, would you mind not giving him opportunities like that?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- No. - What's the fat rascal made out of?
0:04:06 > 0:04:10It's a mixture between a scone and a rock cake.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12- Beautiful.- What are these?
0:04:12 > 0:04:14They're our Yorkshire curd tarts.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15That's a baked cheesecake with lemon curd,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19currants and nutmeg in there, so those are fantastic.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21So how long has Betty's been open, Karen?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Since 1919, it set off as a shop in Harrogate,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28and we've now got six branches right throughout the north of Yorkshire.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Have you put on weight, Karen, since you started working here?
0:04:31 > 0:04:32Have I put on weight?
0:04:32 > 0:04:34I tend to lose weight.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36That was, if you don't mind me saying so,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39the most ungallant question of the entire series.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41The woman is as thin as a rake.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Slim is a rake I think is what you're looking for.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46Got it wrong again.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50'Time, as they say, for a swift exit.'
0:04:53 > 0:04:56The thing that Harrogate is really famous for, of course,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58is the mineral-rich springs.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59From the 17th century onwards,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03people have been coming here from far and wide to take the cure
0:05:03 > 0:05:06and, in the process, make Harrogate one of the most prosperous towns
0:05:06 > 0:05:07in the North of England.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Now, sulphurous water isn't normally high on my list of must-tries,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and it looks like it's been a long time
0:05:16 > 0:05:19since anyone else was tempted either.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20God, I can smell it.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Oh. "Do not drink or consume.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26"This water is not fit for drinking or consumption."
0:05:26 > 0:05:28I can believe that when you smell it.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Cor, smell that.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Terry, you let one go?
0:05:35 > 0:05:38With the faint whiff of drains still lingering in our nostrils,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41we happily return to the job in hand -
0:05:41 > 0:05:44our quest to seek out and scoff Harrogate's signature dishes.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And our next target is just around the corner.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It has everything here. Look at this.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56This is the most incredible sweet shop I've ever been in in my life.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Farrah's of Harrogate was established in 1840,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04and they currently stock over 250 different sweets and chocolates.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- Look at all that liquorice. - This is dental bills.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Salt, honey.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- Coconut, oh, they're my favourites. Look.- Honey liquorice.- Coconut rolls.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- Yeah, never get them out of your teeth.- Yeah.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19But the flavour we've come in search of is Harrogate toffee,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22the original and most famous creation.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24It's been made the same way since 1840.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27And if you've tried the...been across to the...
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- tried the water, the Harrogate spa water...- Yeah.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33..historically had healing properties
0:06:33 > 0:06:34and doesn't taste very nice,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38so the Harrogate toffee was designed to combat the taste
0:06:38 > 0:06:40of the spa waters.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Where's your toffee?
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Well, this is the toffee, that's the Harrogate toffee there.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46Like to try a piece?
0:06:46 > 0:06:49It's a cross between a butterscotch and a barley sugar.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50And why is it so special?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53What's it made of that makes it different from other toffee?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Well, there's three different types of sugar in it.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57- There isn't any... - Three different types of sugar?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Three different types of sugar, yeah.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01But it doesn't have any condensed milk,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03which normally makes a toffee chewy.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06The Harrogate toffee is unique, it's more like a boiled sweet.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08- It's a cross between... - So it is, I'm expecting to chew it.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- Absolutely, yeah. No, it's... - Is that one of the original tins?
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Yeah, that one there is about 100 years old.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18These things, though, you know, the men of Harrogate
0:07:18 > 0:07:20would have gone off to war with these, wouldn't they?
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- Yes.- A bit of a reminder of where they come from and home...- Yeah.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- A taste of home. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29There is a story about one of the tins saving a man's life,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34that he got...he was shot, but the bullet went into the tin.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35And then he might have opened it and gone,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37"Oh, that's hard, this toffee."
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Have you ever been to Harrogate before, Mason?
0:07:47 > 0:07:48No, I've been to Haringey.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Oh, Haringey, yeah, not quite the same thing.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52Not been to Harrogate.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55The Eurovision Song Contest was here in 1982.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59The Eurovision Song Contest was in Harrogate?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Yeah, 1982.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I kind of remember it was won
0:08:03 > 0:08:06by either a German or an Austrian girl,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and the song was called Ein Bisschen Frieden.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11A Little Freedom. That's what it was called.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Did you have that little mic? You know that little mic you...?
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- No, that's Blankety Blank, you eejit.- Oh, sorry.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22While I was performing my onerous Eurovision duties,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26I stayed at a famous Harrogate landmark, The Old Swan inn,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29which has one very remarkable claim to fame.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37In 1926, it was the chosen hideout of world-famous crime novelist
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Agatha Christie.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Then just 36 years old, she'd run away from her home in Kent,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45sparking a media frenzy.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49There is, of course, the tremendous story, isn't there,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51of the great disappearance of Agatha Christie?
0:08:51 > 0:08:53And she was discovered here, wasn't she?
0:08:53 > 0:08:55In 1926, yes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Why did she run away, do you think?
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Well, there were several stories that were put about,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03but what seems to be the truth was that she had just had enough
0:09:03 > 0:09:04of conditions at home.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07She'd found that her husband was having an affair,
0:09:07 > 0:09:08and she was devoted to him.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12So she came up here and hid.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Surely she would have known that she'd be spotted?
0:09:14 > 0:09:16They did recognise her, yes.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20But because of the tradition here of respecting privacy,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24of not impinging on the guests' presence in Harrogate,
0:09:24 > 0:09:25people kept quiet.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30But there was this tremendous nationwide hunt for Agatha Christie,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and people still kept quiet up here.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35People kept quiet in Harrogate because they knew the value
0:09:35 > 0:09:39of encouraging important guests to come back again and again
0:09:39 > 0:09:41and bring their money into the town.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Do you know?
0:09:43 > 0:09:46My opinion of Harrogate gets higher and higher all the time.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53Discretion may be Harrogate's watchword, mine is lunch.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57This is Dan, who is the chef here at The Old Swan.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59What have we got here?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01What concoction are you going to do for me?
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Today, we're going to do some Harrogate blue cheese beignets
0:10:05 > 0:10:07with rhubarb jam.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10For those of you who don't get out much,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12a beignet is basically a fritter -
0:10:12 > 0:10:15tasty enough in it's own right, but Dan's upped the ante
0:10:15 > 0:10:17with melted cheese.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- Harrogate blue, is that famous? - It's quite a young cheese.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23I think created in 2012.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Excellent. So tell me what you're going to do.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28OK. So we've made a basic choux pastry.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30This is the raw dough.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34And into that, we add some of the blue cheese.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40So, I hear about when people were coming here for the waters to
0:10:40 > 0:10:43purge themselves of all impurities.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45I hear that they would have...
0:10:45 > 0:10:48the good menu, which would keep them on the straight and narrow.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51But if they felt a bit hungry, they would have menu B.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Yeah, I believe so.- Do you still do that?- No, no. We just have...
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- indulgent menus these days. - Do you?- Yeah, it's not about health.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00- You're not obsessed with health?- No.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- And then we just deep fry them. - And how will you serve these?
0:11:04 > 0:11:09I'm going to serve them on a rocket and toasted pine nut salad.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11With a little pot of rhubarb jam.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13I should be trying to eat it myself, of course,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and force a little down for Mason McQueen.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18But he's a man of slightly unsophisticated tastes,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22so we may have to instruct him how to eat it properly.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26The important thing about a beignet is to eat it hot.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Which means a quick sprint to the dining room table.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Good afternoon.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34This is the Harrogate blue cheese beignet with rhubarb jam.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- Thank you, Dan.- You're welcome. - Did he make these, Dan, or...?
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- He oversaw production. - He oversaw production.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42That's good enough for me.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Good man.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- This is Harrogate blue cheese. - Yeah.- In a beignet.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Which, as the world knows, fried French thing.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54HE LAUGHS
0:11:56 > 0:12:00- Lovely. That's an unusual mixture. - Oh, it's fantastic.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01It goes well, doesn't it?
0:12:03 > 0:12:04I'd eat this for breakfast.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Having stuffed our faces on cheese doughnuts,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16it's time to do as the Victorians would have done
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and pay a visit to the Royal Turkish baths.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Built in late Victorian times, it's one of the most recognisable
0:12:22 > 0:12:26buildings in Harrogate, even if it wasn't to our guide's tastes.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33"The Royal Baths, a building completed in 1897,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36"is an absolute museum of architectural horrors."
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Is that what he said?!
0:12:38 > 0:12:40TERRY LAUGHS
0:12:40 > 0:12:42He didn't hold back, did he, Chamberlain?
0:12:42 > 0:12:44We'll be the judge of that, Chamberlain!
0:12:46 > 0:12:49A quick look around inside and any qualms about the baths'
0:12:49 > 0:12:51exterior are banished.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53And the people who work here seem to love the place.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Have a look at this. What do you think? Isn't it fabulous?
0:12:59 > 0:13:03I mean, look at the floors. All these Italian marble floors.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08And who did the Islamic drawings and...?
0:13:08 > 0:13:12There was a competition to design the Royal Baths building,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14and this was the outcome of it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19The idea was to replicate Turkish baths in Turkey, of course.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22When the baths were opened in 1897,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26they offered a range of different, rather unappealing looking
0:13:26 > 0:13:29therapies involving a lot of water and mud.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Not forgetting those malodorous, medicinal waters.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40The reason Victorians came here was mainly to purge them.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43The sulphur water was known as a purgative, which is
0:13:43 > 0:13:47precisely why all the hotels were clustered around the pump room.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52It was a very explosive purgative, so you had to run very quickly.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- Many an accident on the road? - Oh, probably.- Ooh.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00- So, Christine, who were the main users of the baths?- Very rich people.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Probably mill owners and their families from Bradford and Leeds,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08of course, because that's where the money was in the North of England.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But you had to be very rich. It cost two shillings to come in here.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- As much as that?- Which was half a working man's wage for a week.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20We may have passed on the purge, but I'm well up for the Turkish baths.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23But viewers of a nervous disposition can breathe easily
0:14:23 > 0:14:26because we shall be remaining fully clothed.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Right, if you come this way now, we are going into the main
0:14:30 > 0:14:33part of the building. And you'll feel it's getting much hotter.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- Oh, the heat in here... Look at all that wonderful tiling.- Yeah.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- Beautiful tiles.- Terrific! - Now you're going to get even hotter.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- Whoa!- Come with me. - This is hot stuff, Mason.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- This is what you've been looking for.- Wow, this is...
0:14:46 > 0:14:50- I can feel the heat. Ah, lovely.- I'm losing weight even as I stand here.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54This is only the tepidarium. 45 degrees Celsius.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- It's going to get warmer?- Oh, it is.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59The walls are all made of glazed bricks which retain the heat.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- If you feel them, you can feel how warm they are.- They certainly are.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06This is the laconicum and this room is 70 degrees Celsius.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11And the noise that you can hear is the heat being blown up that
0:15:11 > 0:15:14empty wall from the basement with a boiler.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17It used to be coal-fired, it's now gas-fired.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20- How are you feeling after this? - I'm feeling purged.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I must've lost half a stone.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25So that means there will be more room for eating a little bit later.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- Oh, yes.- What you think?
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Finally, we arrive back at our starting point -
0:15:29 > 0:15:31the frigidarium.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Which is actually a very pleasant 27 degrees.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- So, Christine, we've been through the mill, haven't we?- Very much so.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41- We've been through the heat.- Yes. - And now back in relative cool.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42Do think we should be lying down?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I think you should certainly have a lie down.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- I think we should get you a robe and make you comfortable.- Please.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- Well, this has been restful, hasn't it, Mason?- Yeah.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I could do with a break. It's been go, really.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Go, go, go in the all-black taxi, and forcing food down.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02You've done nothing, Wogan.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04You've sat in the back and I've done all the driving,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06so what are you moaning about?
0:16:06 > 0:16:08I should be relaxing.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10HE LAUGHS
0:16:10 > 0:16:12No danger you'd stay quiet for a while, is there?
0:16:12 > 0:16:16- So we could all relax.- I know that I'm getting peckish, though.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- You hungry too?- You think there's a prospect of more food?
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Then we'll have to come back in here and get re-purged!
0:16:22 > 0:16:24LAUGHS: The process starts again.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Oh, God! It's endless!
0:16:27 > 0:16:30We're going to spend the rest of our lives in Harrogate.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31In the Turkish baths.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Where are you bringing me now?
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Taylors of Harrogate, since 1886.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- Oh, big tea people. - IN COCKNEY ACCENT:- A nice cuppa tea.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49A nice cuppa tea. Do I say... Do I talk like that?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51- I don't talk like that. - You talk exactly like that.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53I don't talk like that!
0:16:53 > 0:16:56That was my Mason McQueen impersonation there.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58There's one thing I can do - I can drive a cab
0:16:58 > 0:17:00and I can drink a helluva lot of tea.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02As you well know, we are
0:17:02 > 0:17:05on a mission to seek out the finest flavours this town has to offer,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and nothing, nothing due here is going to stand in our way.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11The only problem is I'm not too keen on tea.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I am a bit more of a coffee man myself, but you won't catch me
0:17:14 > 0:17:16complaining.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19How could we possibly come to Harrogate without going to see
0:17:19 > 0:17:21and taste Taylors?
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Taylors of Harrogate, teas famous throughout the world.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And you're the man who knows all about it, Will.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29- A little bit, yes. A little bit. - I bet you know it all.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Charles Taylor, who started this company,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37made his name by instructing people on how to make the perfect cuppa.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Which apparently depends as much on the type of water coming
0:17:40 > 0:17:43out of the tap as the type of tea you put in the pot.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48So, the water here, just to get it clear, is soft?
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- Soft water Harrogate.- Yeah. - Yeah.- Excellent.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Now going to show you teas in both hard and soft water.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54Come on, you love it. You love the stuff.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Hopefully you will see a stark difference.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00You see these first two teas? These are exactly the same teas.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- One is in hard water, one is in soft water.- What a difference!
0:18:03 > 0:18:05This one is a soft water. Very bright and golden.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- This one is a lot darker. - Extraordinary.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10The hard water strips away a lot of the brightness and briskness.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12It's important to get a tea to suit your water,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and that's basically the principles we've built the business on.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17- See if it suits your water. - So when we are tasting teas,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20basically 98% of the UK take milk with their tea.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21When we are tasting teas, we taste with milk
0:18:21 > 0:18:23- cos that's the way people drink it. - Yeah.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25I'll demonstrate first and explain.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Excuse me, are you going to be doing a bit of spitting?
0:18:28 > 0:18:30- Yeah, I am going to do a bit of spitting.- Hang on.- Excuse me.
0:18:30 > 0:18:31Keep it away from my trousers.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33HE SLURPS
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- OK, so that's how we taste. - He-hey! That's good. I like that.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40I'm standing well back here.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48- So, yeah, you can drink it if you like.- Missed. He missed!
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- Sorry!- Yeah, you got to be careful with your shoes.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52There could be six of us around this.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Excuse me, I'll just clean that up if I may.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01LAUGHS: He don't even like tea. He told me.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02But I can spit straight.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05THEY LAUGH
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Having recognised our obvious talents as tea tasters,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Will quickly moves on to more sophisticated brews.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16- So those first ones you tasted were CTC teas, tea bag teas.- OK.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Now we're onto orthodox. You can see the leaf's a lot bigger.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21We've got a black tea, green tea and a white tea.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Usually people thought they came from different plants, but no.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27They all come from the same bush, the Camellia sinensis bush.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30HE SLURPS
0:19:30 > 0:19:32You might get some fruity aromas on that.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34I like that and I don't even like tea.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38That looks like wine, that's why he's good at drinking that one.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41And this last one, so very rare this last tea - the white tea.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44It's only picked for the first few weeks of the year.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46God, this is the most dangerous job we've ever done.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48I'll never look at a cup of tea the same, Will.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Having drunk enough of our national drink to sink several battleships,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56we leave town and head north in search of fresh curiosities,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58and we find them...
0:19:58 > 0:20:02on the banks of the River Nidd in an ancient limestone cave
0:20:02 > 0:20:06famous for being one of the oldest tourist attractions in England.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Oh, we've been to some funny places, Mason, in this particular tour.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15- What's this?- What is this?
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Well, apparently it's water that calcifies things
0:20:18 > 0:20:22so they hang things up, and the things here calcify.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- Like that bicycle.- What?- Yeah.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Unusual, Tel, eh?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Mother Shipton's cave is named after an old crone who lived
0:20:30 > 0:20:33here in the 15th century and prophesied, among other things,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37the Armada, the Great Fire of London and the invention of iron ships.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41But could she have predicted she would one day get a visit
0:20:41 > 0:20:44from an Irishman and a Cockney on the lookout for the next meal?
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Ooh, who have we here?
0:20:50 > 0:20:52- Welcome, sire.- Gracious madam.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Mother Shipton is my name.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- I welcome you to my cave. - This is Mason McQueen...- Hiya.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00- How you doing?- Very well, sire.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02..whose already frightened silly of you.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06- Well, I haven't told you anything yet, have I?- That's a big blackbird.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Yes.- Do you predict the future then, Mother Shipton?- I do.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11I have been known to.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- And other things? - And other things, too.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20Some say I'm a seer, some say I'm a witch. Especially as I have a raven.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24I may be neither, I may be both.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Would one of you gentlemen like to hold the raven?
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Yeah, my doctor told me not to hold any ravens.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32- This is all very Game Of Thrones, isn't it?- It is.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34Just clench your fist.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Turn it that way. Go straight so she's very near you.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- We don't want the raven taking your eye out.- Ooh!- Oh, look at that.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42- She likes you.- Ooh.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43She likes you.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47As well as raven petting, Mother Shipton's cave also offers
0:21:47 > 0:21:50an opportunity to have your dearest wish granted.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54But it's quite an involved process.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56You need to squeeze into a crevice, dip your hand in the water
0:21:56 > 0:21:58and memorise a poem.
0:21:58 > 0:21:59All at the same time.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- Use your right hand.- OK. - All right?- Right.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06You go first.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12So by this wish I made...
0:22:12 > 0:22:13I'll do it again.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19And so a wish...
0:22:19 > 0:22:20No, I can't do it.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26And so a wish by Shipton's well
0:22:26 > 0:22:29I make but will never tell.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34That's good. That's good. Don't dry...don't dry it.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- You mustn't dry it.- Oh, sorry. - You got to let it dry naturally.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40HE EXHALES AND BLOWS
0:22:40 > 0:22:41Done.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- What was the wish? - You can't tell anyone!
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- It says on there you can't tell anyone.- OK.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- No, you can't tell anyone your wish. - All right, all right.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55You'd never believe me, but it turns out we both
0:22:55 > 0:22:59wished for the same thing because, as if by magic, more food appeared!
0:23:00 > 0:23:03In the form of sloe gin and squirrel pate,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06straight from Mother Shipton's larder.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- That will be the locally caught squirrel.- Yeah. Would you like some?
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Yeah. A great British tradition, sloe gin.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18As is eating squirrel.
0:23:18 > 0:23:19Mm.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23- It's tasty.- Yeah. Put a little raw garlic on.- Tel.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25They've got it all here. Wow.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Nice.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30Sloe gin to you, son.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41One of the finest of sights in this fine country of ours
0:23:41 > 0:23:45is the glorious vision of a rape field in golden bloom.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48The one we are actually looking at could one day rival the olive
0:23:48 > 0:23:51groves of Italy because cold-pressed rapeseed oil is fast
0:23:51 > 0:23:54taking over as the chef and foodies' oil du jour.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01The final stop on our Harrogate food journey brings us to the
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Wharfe Valley, ten miles south of the town,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08to meet Jeff and Sallyann Kilby, newly minted rapeseed oil barons.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16We started off with Jeff taking the orders on the tractor,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19and then I'd come home from work, and we'd bottle the oil
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and send it out and we've sort of grown from there.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23- This is how great businesses are built, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27So, I'm seeing more and more rapeseed oil on the shelves and that,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29and it's become more popular.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32If you look on, I would say, 60% of foods,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35you'll find that it contains rapeseed oil.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36If it says vegetable oil,
0:24:36 > 0:24:42- then nine times out of ten, it'll be rapeseed oil.- Is it good for you?
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Absolutely. Ten times more omega-3 than olive oil.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47- Half the saturated fat. - Half the saturated fat.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49And a much higher burning point.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- And would you use it in cooking? - Absolutely.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And would you use it the way that they do olive oil? Could we put it
0:24:55 > 0:24:58in a little bowl and have some bread with it before dinner?
0:24:58 > 0:24:59You can.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00- Instead of butter.- Absolutely.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03- You'll be having some shortly, I'm sure.- Yeah.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07With my appetite well and truly whetted,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11we head back to the farmhouse, where local chef Katie Holmes
0:25:11 > 0:25:14is in mid-preparation of our farewell to Harrogate dinner.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19There's beef - slow-roasted ox cheek to be precise.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Crisp onion rings, chips, roast cherry tomatoes.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Just the words are making my mouth water.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28But there is one fly in the ointment.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32As we are in Yorkshire, I was thinking about doing some
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Yorkshire puddings.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Yorkshire pudding, ey?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37OK.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- I'm not enthusiastic about Yorkshire pudding.- Really? Why not?
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Well, it's kind of dough and a bit of...
0:25:44 > 0:25:45..thick gravy.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47You've got to be very careful about what you say
0:25:47 > 0:25:50cos we are quite patriotic about our Yorkshire puddings.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53- How can you be patriotic about a pudding?- Well, you'll see.- OK.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Well, go on, do your worst.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59So, I use my grandma's recipe for Yorkshire puddings.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Lots of people, I'm sure, would have a modern recipe,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04- but why improve on perfection? - Absolutely.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10- So I do one egg to 1oz of flour, to 2oz of milk.- Excellent.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- You need a strong wrist for this, don't you?- Yep.- Good.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17- I'm a good farmer's daughter, though.- You are.- Great.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20We would traditionally do this in beef dripping,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23but the rapeseed oil is a fantastic substitute.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24Now that's interesting.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29It also gives it a really gorgeous shine on the Yorkshire pudding.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- So, Katie, can I leave you to do this?- I think I'm...
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- Without me helping you. Will you be all right?- Ooh, I'm not sure.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36I'll give you a shout if I need you.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41What finer way to end this Harrogate food trip than a slap-up meal
0:26:41 > 0:26:43around a farmhouse table.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Katie has done us proud.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Katie, this looks almost good enough to eat.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- And the cheek is lovely, isn't it?- Is it tender?- Oh!
0:26:53 > 0:26:55You could eat it with a spoon, couldn't you?
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Do you know what I really like about this?
0:26:58 > 0:27:00A complete lack of Yorkshire pudding.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Well, the Yorkshire pudding is coming for dessert.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04We have pudding for dessert.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- The world has gone mad. - THEY LAUGH
0:27:11 > 0:27:17Oh, fantastic. Look at that. Yorkshire pudding and rhubarb. Ha-ha!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19I'm going in with fingers here, Tel.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21We eat Yorkshire puddings all the time.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Mm. Wow, this is really tasty.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Wouldn't put these two together - rhubarb and Yorkshire pudding.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Well, nobody sensible would. Outside of Yorkshire.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37You make no mistake. That's absolutely delicious.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- Harrogate.- Beautiful. Utopia. - I liked it, yeah.
0:27:42 > 0:27:43Very nice and tidy.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Just shows how old-fashioned we're getting, doesn't it?
0:27:46 > 0:27:49- Too tidy for the likes of me and you. - Yeah. Where are we off to?
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Who knows? Look, whatever you're going to do, take this away,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53- will you?- OK.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55And I'll go and make my own way home.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Off to pastures new.