0:00:04 > 0:00:07- Are you ready, Tel? - Yeah, I'll follow you anywhere.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Ring the bell, here we go.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11- Where are we going?- I don't know.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12THEY CHUCKLE
0:00:15 > 0:00:19It's taken 50 years in broadcasting, but I've finally cracked it.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22The chance to meander around the country, see the sights,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25meet the people, and...
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Ah, yes, eat and drink.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Is "melt in the mouth" a suitable phrase?
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I've hailed a cab with one of London's finest cabbies,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38Mason McQueen, to steer me around Britain's highways and byways.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I'm looking forward to a decent meal. Are you?
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Oh, I'm starving. I can't wait, Tel.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Our route has been mapped out by an adventurous gourmand -
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Samuel Chamberlain, in his book, British Bouquet.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Almost 60 years later, we're following in his footsteps...
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I'll do all the work, Tel.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58..to seek out weird and wonderful regional British cuisine
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and discover how our tastes have changed over the years.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Do it right, son.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Music while you grind your chocolate beans.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Who says I don't help in the process?
0:01:23 > 0:01:28York - ancient capital of the North, where 2,000 years of history
0:01:28 > 0:01:31can be glimpsed around every corner.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34But it's York's food heritage that has brought us here today,
0:01:34 > 0:01:35and we leave no stone unturned
0:01:35 > 0:01:39as we seek out the true tastes of this fine city.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48You know, Mason, York's been a walled city
0:01:48 > 0:01:51since the days of the Romans.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56"Four great fortified medieval bars and gates in fine condition."
0:01:56 > 0:02:00- and, of course, York Minster. - York Minster.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05A superb building. Look at that.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Wow. Got some detail on there.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10"A heady experience" seeing York Minster,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13according to Chamberlain. He's right.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14Magnificent.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Having parked up, we head off to mingle with the populous.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Yorkshire people are famous for their hospitality,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27but we're not taking any chances.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Mason's been working on his Yorkshire accent
0:02:29 > 0:02:32and I'm adopting traditional regional dress.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Time to put on the cap.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Forward.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45The broad expanse of the River Ouse.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48I had no idea it was as wide as this.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I've never been this far north. It's freezing.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53I'm a soft Southerner.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57It's never grim up North, but it can be chilly.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Let's go.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Our food adventure starts in a street that lays claim
0:03:03 > 0:03:06to being one of the oldest in the country.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09- This the Shambles. - It's an absolute shambles.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11- A shower.- The shower?
0:03:11 > 0:03:15These houses are nearly touching - the roofs, Terry. Look, have a look.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19This is one of the strangest, weirdest streets.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23- Everything looks like it's about to...- Fall down.- Fall over, yeah.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29The Shambles used to be lined with butchers' shops.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33We only found one, but I've heard that it does make its own pies,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35which is music to our ears.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39You're a traditional Yorkshire lass, are you?
0:03:39 > 0:03:41I'd like to think so, yeah.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43You've learned a bit of Yorkshire, haven't you? Go on.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46- Everyone says "Ey up." - Ey up, lass.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48That's a fine pie.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53There's still some work to do there, I think, Mason.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We've got enough on our plate tasting all these pork pies.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58There's chilli, black pudding,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and the house speciality - confusingly called savoury duck.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05- Where's the duck? - It doesn't have any in it.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It's just an old English name and I can't even tell you why.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10You'd be QUACKERS not to try that. Go on, Tel. Get it down you.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I think you're marketing this under false pretences.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Savoury duck? But there's no duck in it.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17It's delicious, though.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19- Who says?- Oh, that is good, Tel. - She could be right.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21SHE LAUGHS That's good.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Kylie, can you tell us about the Shambles? Cos it's an amazing street.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Back in the day, there was a lot of butchers.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28I've heard there was more than 30.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31The Shambles is named after "Shamel",
0:04:31 > 0:04:34which is an old Anglo-Saxon word for the shelves.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37That's where they actually used to butcher the meat.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39The streets ran with blood back in the day,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43cos everyone slaughtered all the animals outside.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45It's a far cry from health and safety, isn't it?
0:04:45 > 0:04:47It's a whole new meaning to parking on the red route.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- Da-dah! - I'll have another one of them.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Have you ever received a personalised pie before?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Look at this! Hey, Mason.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57- I'll help you with that one. - No, you can't.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- Come on.- No, it's got my name on it.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- Don't be like that.- It's MY name. And it says "Sir Terry" as well.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Wahey.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Only a Knight of the Realm can eat this.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10I shall flaunt it in front of the present Lady Wogan.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Thank you very much.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16No self-respecting foodie can come to York
0:05:16 > 0:05:19without tasting the city's famous regional speciality.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- Look at all this.- Beautiful. The Hairy- Fig? The Hairy Fig.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- We'll give it a go. - Give it a go.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Ham cured in the York style used to be found
0:05:30 > 0:05:34on every charcuterie counter in Europe, alongside the best
0:05:34 > 0:05:37that France and Spain had to offer.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42Our Chamberlain was very partial to a slice in his ham sandwich.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43Would you like to try?
0:05:43 > 0:05:45I am prepared to sacrifice myself.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47This is York ham.
0:05:49 > 0:05:50- Very nice.- Yeah.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It's the white pig, the female pig, gets older
0:05:52 > 0:05:55and fatter than normal pigs.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59It's butchered a different way - using four muscles instead of three.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02It gets a pear shape. It has to have a pear shape.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Then it's hung for at least eight to ten weeks,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09always in the winter, when the flies aren't about.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14The York ham is sort of lost nowadays.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16It takes a master butcher, so you only have them
0:06:16 > 0:06:22probably age 60-plus, butchers that maybe dealt with York hams.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24So I feel very privileged.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27You're very privileged, yes, very privileged.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32After so many salty taste sensations,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35we've worked up a bit of a thirst.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Yorkshire has more breweries than any other county in England.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42So leaving the driver to fend for himself,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46I head to a likely looking hostelry for a refreshing drop.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50So here we are in the House of Trembling Madness.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- Yes.- Did you just make that up, or...is there a reason for this?
0:06:53 > 0:06:58- There is a reason. The building dates back to 1180 AD.- Really?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00You're actually sat in a modern extension,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02which is about 13th, 14th century.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07In the Medieval times, we all had to drink ale to stay healthy.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Of course, cos the water was all terrible, yeah.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12So you used to get the trembling madness.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14The trembling madness being delirium tremens.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Delirium tremens, the DTs from drinking too much.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18So it's all right if I have a drink here
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- in this House of Trembling Madness? - Of course.- What's that?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25This one here is an award-winning local vanilla porter
0:07:25 > 0:07:26called Bad Kitty.
0:07:26 > 0:07:32- It wins all the gold medal awards in the region.- That's a great taste.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35I'm not a beer drinker, but that's really nice.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Then we have a breakfast beer here. It's marmalade and Assam.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Marmalade and Assam.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Again, it's another local brew.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Oh, I like that marmalade and Assam.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Now, it takes a good one to get past me,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55but I've noticed you've put a platter of cheese and bread
0:07:55 > 0:07:58in front of me. I've never seen a cheese like that before.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01This one here is a black charcoal cheese.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It's good for your digestion. It's a healthy cheese to have.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I hadn't realised you were such an advocate
0:08:06 > 0:08:08of healthy eating and drinking.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- Second to London, loads of history here,- Tel. Yeah, indeed.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22Medieval.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27To think, Tel, New York started from here, right?
0:08:28 > 0:08:33- Well, it was New Amsterdam first. - Oh, was it?- Then it became New York.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36OK. Are you pulling me up on my history?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39No, we won in the end.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44The next stop on this Yorkshire food adventure
0:08:44 > 0:08:48takes us back in time to York's industrial past.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Unlike other Northern cities
0:08:50 > 0:08:53whose fortunes were made out of cotton, steel or mining...
0:08:54 > 0:08:56..York's story is altogether sweeter.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Here we go, Tel.
0:09:00 > 0:09:01York Cocoa House.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- Will we give this a shot? - Yeah, why not?
0:09:04 > 0:09:08York's very famous for chocolate, so it should be worth our while.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11The most famous names in British confectionary,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13like Terry's and Rowntree's,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17started mass production of chocolate in York in the mid-19th century.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Great Quaker families,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21they were followers of the temperance movement,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25and advocated chocolate as an alternative to the demon drink.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Sadly, most of these factories have now closed,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33but enthusiasts like Sophie are keeping the flame alive.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38We are chocolatiers and we're also chocolate makers.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40That's a bit of a skill that's been lost.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42That's what Rowntree's and Terry's did -
0:09:42 > 0:09:44they would get the cocoa beans themselves,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46they would be shipped in from countries like Venezuela,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48up through the River Ouse.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Eventually they would roast them and grind them
0:09:50 > 0:09:52and make them into chocolate.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54So what we do here at the Cocoa House is
0:09:54 > 0:09:57we show people actually how to make chocolates from the raw cocoa beans.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Are you going to be showing us?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Well, no, you're going to be doing it, I'm afraid.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- No, Mason's going to be doing it. - Oh, OK.- Me again?
0:10:04 > 0:10:08To demonstrate her craft, Sophie is harking back to the origins
0:10:08 > 0:10:12of chocolate-making as practised by the Indians of South America.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17So the cocoa beans, they get roasted and we get our cocoa nibs.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19- That's what these are.- Nibs?- Yes.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23So these have been chopped up and the shell's been removed.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Can you eat those?- You can eat those. We use those in our cooking.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28They're a bit like chocolaty nuts.
0:10:28 > 0:10:29Yeah, nibs.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30Mm-hmm.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34So what you're going to do is help ground our cocoa nibs
0:10:34 > 0:10:36and help make them into chocolate.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38This is our metate.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41This one is about 160 years old, from Guatemala.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Presumably this is not the way it's done in the bigger producers.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47No. They do it in big factories
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and they're doing it on a really large scale.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Put some elbow grease into it.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Put a bit of body into it, for goodness' sake, man.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- Come on, move yourself. - Sorry, sorry.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Oh, that's hard work.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10I always think a bit of music helps with the making of chocolate.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18- No, you've got to try harder. - Yeah, keep going.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Put him out of his misery, for goodness' sake.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- Would you like a hand?- Yeah, go on.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25It's not a surprise this was traditionally done by the women.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27They would make chocolate for the warriors
0:11:27 > 0:11:29before they would go out to battle.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- And lose against the Spaniards.- Yes.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35So the chocolate wasn't much good, really?
0:11:35 > 0:11:39There's about two buttons there, if that.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44If only the ancient Aztecs had known that chocolate tasted a lot nicer,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47the more sweetness you added, then those conquistadores
0:11:47 > 0:11:50might have been sent home with a flea in their ear.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Bitter.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57So these are our finished products.
0:11:57 > 0:11:58This is dark chocolate?
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- So this is a 60% dark chocolate. - Very good for you, apparently.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04It is. It's got our cocoa nibs.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06So our cocoa nibs that we were grinding earlier,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08so they've got that extra chocolaty hit with it,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10but we've combined this with sugar.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13That makes it more palatable.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14- I can eat that.- Yeah?
0:12:14 > 0:12:16That's a lot better.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Very good.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Really nice.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- Everywhere you look you've got the walls, the battlements.- Yeah.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Remarkably preserved town, isn't it?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- Have you ever walked the Great Wall of China?- No.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36- I have.- Not lately.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38It's a bit of a slog, let me tell you that.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- I went to a Chinese in Lewisham once called that.- Yeah?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- What, the Great Wall?- Yeah.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55York's medieval walls run for two miles, circling the old city
0:12:55 > 0:12:59and are the most complete example of their kind in the country.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04Isn't it extraordinary the way, in Medieval times,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07everybody felt that they had to protect themselves
0:13:07 > 0:13:09from marauders and bandits?
0:13:09 > 0:13:13- It was a rough, old time to live, I suppose.- This was put up...
0:13:13 > 0:13:15- Yeah, to keep the outsiders out.- Yeah.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Keep people from charging in, stealing your granny.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21I love the old battlements.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Loosing the arrows, you see, at the foreigners.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27At the motorists that are downstairs.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Or a canoeist on the River Ouse.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Loosing the arrows at the Lancastrians
0:13:31 > 0:13:33and those from the soft South.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Have some of that.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43It was all a bit like Monty Python, wasn't it, really?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Shouting insults down from the walls.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Yeah, clear off.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Go on, clear off out of it.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Our guide Sam Chamberlain was a big fan of York's history
0:13:53 > 0:13:54and architecture.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59But it seems he wasn't so keen on the food
0:13:59 > 0:14:01he was given in its restaurants.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Old Chamberlain says that he found it "quite melancholy",
0:14:07 > 0:14:09York's indifference to fine food and wine.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- That's harsh.- Let's go and prove the old boy wrong.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13- Let's give it a go.- Come on.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19To find out if things have changed since Chamberlain's day, we're off
0:14:19 > 0:14:21to one of York's finest restaurants,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24where the chef has promised to serve us the true taste of the city.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30- Andrew Pern, proprietor of the Star Inn.- Indeed.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31Good place.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34It's a beautiful corner of the city, you know,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36on the banks of the River Ouse here.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It used to be the old offices for the Yorkshire Water Authority.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42When we bought it a couple of years ago, it was this derelict building.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44But you have an outside place.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48This is York - how often do you get a chance to sit outside and eat?
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The sun shines in t'North.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52It's all right.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54You've got a jacket, sit outside.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Quite hardy folk. Yeah, exactly.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- What's the food scene like in York at the moment?- Food scene's good.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02It's a great pantry of local food.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Actually, Yorkshire itself has got more Michelin-starred restaurants
0:15:06 > 0:15:08than any other county outside of London.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11So take that, Chamberlain.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Back in the kitchen, Andrew has chosen duck as the centrepiece
0:15:14 > 0:15:17of his dish, alongside other local ingredients,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20and, in what can only be described as a culinary coup,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24he's even unearthed a piece of York's food history.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28- OK, we're going to cook duck today. - Is that a locally caught duck?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- It is a locally reared one. - A Yorkshire duck?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35With that, I'm going to partner a Yorkshire sauce. I was looking up in
0:15:35 > 0:15:39the famous bible of French cuisine called the Repertoire de la Cuisine,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41in there I saw a sauce yorkaise.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43I thought, "That's it, we've hit the jackpot."
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- Sauce yorkaise?- So it's like a warm Cumberland sauce.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50You've got port, orange zest, some rendered-down game stock,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53and we add a little bit of star anise as well.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- Ah, star anise.- It gives it a little bit of depth of flavour to it.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So we're just going to fry this off. We're rendering down the fat.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Don't render the fat too much. I like a bit of fat.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- We've got to look after the figure, you know.- Do we?
0:16:04 > 0:16:07If you don't have the fat, you're going to lose some of the flavour.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08Exactly.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Perfect. Of course the piece de resistance - we've got the rhubarb.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Don't start with the rhubarb.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18This county is obsessed with Yorkshire pudding and rhubarb.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20It's a tart little number, isn't it, a rhubarb?
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- It is a tart little number.- Yeah.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25It's good. Obviously this day and age a lot of people are diabetic
0:16:25 > 0:16:28and things like that, so it's becoming quite a popular fruit.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Having set Andrew off on the right course,
0:16:34 > 0:16:35I rejoin Mason in the dining room
0:16:35 > 0:16:39to discuss some of the more important questions of the day.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Do you tuck your napkin into your shirt ever?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Yeah, I've been known to do that. - Have you?
0:16:46 > 0:16:49And what happens? Mrs McQueen says, "Don't do that.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52"You look like an eejit."
0:16:52 > 0:16:53OK, I'm ready.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55I see food approaching, Terence.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59- On the starboard bow. - There you are, gentlemen, the duck.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Oh. Beautifully cooked. This is a magret of duck.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Not Inspector Maigret. Magret.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07What's a magret of duck, Tel?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10The breast.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Wow.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Delicious, isn't it?
0:17:13 > 0:17:14Cor, that is very nice.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I like rhubarb done this way, don't you?
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Rhubarb?
0:17:20 > 0:17:22Mm.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Give me a Yorkshire duck and a little Yorkshire rhubarb
0:17:25 > 0:17:27and you'll hear nothing bad from me.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41We're heading roughly for the Yorkshire Dales, aren't we?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Have you been around the beauteous Yorkshire Dales?
0:17:44 > 0:17:47I haven't. I'm looking forward to it.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49If you can find the right road, of course.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52There's always an element of doubt about that.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53We're going to go to Ampleforth College,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55which is a very distinguished college
0:17:55 > 0:17:57run by the Benedictine fathers.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59They make a pungent cider there.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- Oh.- But, do you see, that lets you out again.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Well, that's all right.- But I'm sick to death drinking for you.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Well, I don't think you're THAT sick to death about it.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Dammit, you can see right through me, can't you?
0:18:10 > 0:18:12MASON LAUGHS
0:18:16 > 0:18:19There's been an abbey and a school here at Ampleforth
0:18:19 > 0:18:21since the very beginning of the 19th century.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23For all that time,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27the monks have been cultivating apples with some success.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29These days, Ampleforth Abbey Orchard
0:18:29 > 0:18:34is one of the largest commercial orchards in the North of England.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36- Are you Cameron?- I am. How do you do?
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- Good to see you, Cameron. - Nice to meet you.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- So are you in charge of the apples? - Yes, I am.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43I look after the orchard and the production.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44How many acres of apples have you got?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Seven acres on this site,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48then there's another three sites where there's some more apples.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Altogether, there's 42 sorts of dessert apples on this side of...
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- 42 dessert apples?- Yes.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Do they make the best cider?
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Well, we do something different.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02We don't use cider apples per se, we mix and blend cookers and desserts.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05So to be able to do that, you need a lot of varieties -
0:19:05 > 0:19:07aromatic apples, very sweet apples.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Across the way, there's another seven sorts of cooking apples.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Do you eat a lot of apples, Mase?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14An apple a day.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16No, I don't, actually.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17I like a tangerine.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22There's no fruit to harvest yet,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25but making cider is a year-round operation.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30In winter, it's all about washing it, pressing it, turning it into
0:19:30 > 0:19:33juice, pumping it into big, black barrels that you can see down there.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35In summer, it's a bottling plant.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37How do you stay sober working in here?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- It's difficult.- With the fumes? - It's very, very difficult.
0:19:39 > 0:19:40It's invigorating.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Right, this is our strong cider. It's 8% proof.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47To get it to 8% proof, we actually triple-ferment it.
0:19:47 > 0:19:498%, does that mean it's very strong?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51It's very strong.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54My very first alcoholic drink was cider.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Cheers.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02He won't spit it out, don't worry.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04No, I was gargling with it.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06- That's really nice. - It's not too shabby.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Big difference to a factory side or artisan side,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11the factory side is made in a day,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14this stuff takes six months to get to where we are today.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Mason, would like to fill a couple of bottles?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- Yeah.- I'll show you one, then.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21It's like the cider cow.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23It is. It's milking.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25How many of these a day if you worked here, Cameron?
0:20:25 > 0:20:29You can do about 1,200 - 1,500 bottles a day.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- Tel, pace yourself.- Yeah.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34- SLURRING:- I don't think I'll drink any more.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36I'll just take it easy for a moment.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39Best keep my wits about me,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43because our next appointment is with Ampleforth Abbey's main man.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45More drink may be involved.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50So we find ourselves in Ampleforth Abbey School's pub.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Father Terence, you're the prior. - I am.- How do you allow this?
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- Do the boys drink here? - Boys and girls these days.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01- Of course.- Yes.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04This is not really in the Benedictine tradition, is it?
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Well, I think it's actually right that the students should learn
0:21:06 > 0:21:09how to drink sensibly, to drink with moderation...
0:21:09 > 0:21:10This school sounds brilliant.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12This is the school we should have gone to, isn't it?
0:21:12 > 0:21:14This is the school we missed.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16So, I mean, how do you supervise them?
0:21:16 > 0:21:19They do have very much a limit on them, the amount they drink.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Of course there are staff down here monitoring all that.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26The parents themselves actually have to buy the drink for them.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- Oh, I see. - So that's the way it works.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33So do the profits go into the great bank of Benedictine?
0:21:33 > 0:21:35They go in to support the monastery,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38to support all the activities that happen here.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- Cos it's a huge school. - It's about 600 in the main school.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45The students may get to enjoy the odd glass of cider,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48but they're kept away from the strong stuff,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50which means all the more for us.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- Cider brandy.- Good. You can't drink this. Put that away.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- I've got apple juice.- Good man, yes.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57- Good health.- Good health.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- Nice to meet you.- Here's to us. - Nice to meet you too.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- Here's to Ampleforth.- Thank you. Same to you.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06- Don't spit it out.- It's great. It has warmed my cockles.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Good. Good.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15We're going on to a Viking village.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Now, the Vikings, they made this town their capital.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22In fact, they called it Jorvik, which is where York comes from.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24- Right?- Yeah.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Basically we're all from Viking descent, right?
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Well, no, I don't like to think that.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Well, where do you think YOU'RE from?
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I'm pure Celt, me.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Well, my ancestry is from the Isle of Skye.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37That's where the Vikings landed.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- IN SCOTTISH ACCENT:- # I've just come down from the Isle of Skye
0:22:40 > 0:22:42# I'm no' very big but I'm awful shy... #
0:22:42 > 0:22:43I know.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52The final stop on this York food adventure takes us
0:22:52 > 0:22:57to a reconstructed Viking settlement on the outskirts of the city,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00where we'll be uncovering the truth about how those fearsome
0:23:00 > 0:23:03people lived and, more importantly, ate.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07We come in peace.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09We are strangers to your land.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11- Well, good- og. Good og to you, sir.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14- Your name?- I am Leif.- Good og.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15Yes.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17So, Leif, you're taking us through this...
0:23:17 > 0:23:21What looks like a fairly basic village.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24It is not a real Viking settlement,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26cos we don't know what they looked like.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29- They're built in wood and straw... - That's very honest of you.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33I'm being honest from the start. Educated guesswork. Come on in.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- Behave yourself in here, right. - OK.- Don't upset anyone.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Don't give them any of this nonsense
0:23:38 > 0:23:40about being descended from Vikings, all right?
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Although life in the 10th-century York could best be described
0:23:44 > 0:23:47as nasty, brutish and short,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49that hasn't stopped a load of enthusiasts
0:23:49 > 0:23:51trading central heating and running water
0:23:51 > 0:23:54for the chance to live like Erik the Red.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57- Hello.- Hello there.- How are you?
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- My name is- Ragner.- Ragner? Yes. - Nice to see you.- Nice to meet you.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- And this is your son? - Peter.- Peter.- Peter.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05What's his Viking name?
0:24:05 > 0:24:06We're still working on that one.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10Good for you. So this is your house where you live?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14We're actually coming here on a weekend, on a time-share basis.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16And in the winter as well, you stay here weekends?
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Yes. Three, four years ago, it was minus-16.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23- We've actually been here for a whole week.- And freezing to death.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25No, not really.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27We had a fire going inside, plenty of wine to keep us warm.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Sky Sports, hot tub.
0:24:29 > 0:24:30No, nothing like that.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32- Nothing like that. - And it's comfortable, Ragner?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- Very comfortable, yes. - You wouldn't lie to us, Ragner?
0:24:35 > 0:24:36- No, I wouldn't.- Good.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39Ah, look.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45The fire's not on.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Turn it in. It's freezing in here.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Oh, I don't know, Tel. It'd be a long weekend.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53- OK, that's enough. I'm out of here. - MASON LAUGHS
0:24:53 > 0:24:55- See you, now.- OK, enjoy the sauna.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02What we're really interested in, of course, is the food.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03And as luck would have it,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Leif and the gang are throwing a bit of a Viking feast.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09- Hello.- Hello.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10God save all here, barring the cat.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Yes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Wow.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Although we know them as savage marauders,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18the Vikings were basically farmers
0:25:18 > 0:25:20and would have lived off the land and the sea,
0:25:20 > 0:25:26so curd cheese, oysters and simple roast meats may be involved.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Leif, is there any influences from Viking cooking
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- in British cuisine today?- Definitely.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37For a start, any smoked meat that you might eat - smoky bacon,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40kippers, smoked mackerel - that all comes form a time
0:25:40 > 0:25:42when people had to preserve their food.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Anything that's been preserved in brine or vinegar, or smoked,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- or salted.- The diet would have been very limited on the boats.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50On the boats, yes.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52That's where this comes in. These are oatcakes.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54This would keep for a while.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57It's just basically flour and butter with some milk.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01- So they wouldn't have butter and marmalade.- Not marmalade.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Apart from a lack of anything decent to spread on your oatcake,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07it was all looking pretty tasty, but I haven't reckoned on one
0:26:07 > 0:26:11particular Viking delicacy known as ratfisk,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13which literally means rotten fish.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Now, this is a speciality.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21It's shark that's been preserved by burying it in the sand.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Mm.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- The effort again has been repaid a thousand-fold.- Oy!
0:26:26 > 0:26:28It's a flavour sensation.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31They must have had pegs on their noses as they were eating it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Luckily, there isn't quite enough shark to go around,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37so we're served something a lot more palatable.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- Would you like to start with some soup?- Certainly.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41There's a pea soup over the fire,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44which is peas and bacon with onions and cream.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45There you are, there's one.
0:26:45 > 0:26:46Very good.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- Do we wait for...?- No, there's no grace, you just get stuck in.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Did the Vikings not wait for Mr Manners? Very good.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56Excellent soup.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59This is proper Viking mead.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02As our esteemed guests, we say, "Skol!"
0:27:02 > 0:27:04- ALL:- Skol!
0:27:04 > 0:27:05I say cheers.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- That'll do. - Would you like some apple juice?
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Yeah, that'd be great, Leif, thank you.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13If you were getting married,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16you celebrated your wedding for 28 days -
0:27:16 > 0:27:18from one full moon to the next full moon.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Both families drank beer with honey in it,
0:27:20 > 0:27:21cos it made the beer very strong.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24So they call the month after your wedding the honeymoon.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- Wow. It's still going.- It is.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30That's another skol.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32- Skol!- Skol! - ALL:- Skol!
0:27:34 > 0:27:37- Hey.- Hey.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42So how was it for you?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Well, that was good meeting Vikings. I enjoyed that.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47- And York. Fantastic. - York is nice, isn't it?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49- Yeah, interesting place.- Fantastic.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50- Where are we off to now? - I don't know.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54- Never any idea where we're going. - People to meet and food to eat.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55You think there'll be something to eat?
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- I hope so.- Let's go.- Let's go.