Episode 1 A Question of Taste

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, I'm Kirsty Wark. Welcome to a Question of Taste,

the food show that puts the quiz into cuisine.

As always, we have two teams of gastro-enthusiast friends

who battle it out over a series of rounds designed to test

their foodie knowledge to the limits.

We'll be quizzing them on a mezze platter of subjects, from ingredients

and techniques, to equipment, recipes and history.

Only one team can win, so before we serve up

the first course of questions, let's meet our culinary quizzers.

First up, we have Pick and Mix and their team captain, Hugh.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hugh, can you introduce your team and tell us a bit about yourselves.

I would love to. I'm Hugh, I'm a restaurant blogger

and food writer.

Rachel is an expert on Spanish cuisine

and runs Spanish cookery classes.

Andre is a luxury food and lifestyle PR.

We all met through Twitter and we're called Pick and Mix

cos we're from different parts of the country, different backgrounds, all in London now.

Rachel came to London from your homeland, knowing nobody

and found myself and Andre.

-Now you're firm friends?

-Yes.

-Fantastic.

Pick and Mix, ladies and gentlemen.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And taking them on this week, we have the Leeds Foodies

and their team captain, Neil.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So, tell us a bit about your culinary connections.

I'm Neil. This is Andrew and Dave. These two are brothers-in-law so knew each other anyway.

We met through mutual love of food, a few foodie events in Leeds.

That's where the name came from, Leeds Foodies.

And how do you express your love of food? Do you cook? Do you eat out a lot?

We're both bloggers as well.

I do more beer and food matching and recipes, things like that.

I hope you're very well matched tonight. These are the teams.

Of course, there's one more person I need to introduce.

In Kitchen Corner, the man behind one of the UK's most popular culinary publications

with epicurean expertise to spare is Mr William Sitwell.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now, William, your role is to prepare some takeaway information.

I'm here in Kitchen Corner to elaborate on some of the finer points of the questions

and to hopefully garnish the show

with some extra tasty titbits of information.

So let's get quizzing with round one, See Food.

This is a fingers on buzzers round.

I'm going to ask you 15 questions, each one relating to a picture.

If you buzz in with a correct answer, you will score a point.

However, an incorrect answer means the question will be thrown over to the opposing side.

So, everyone, it's fingers on the buzzers, here is your first question.

What is the name of this sweet Spanish snack? Pick and Mix.

Churros.

Of course, you know your Spanish cooking. Churros is correct.

Now, another picture for you.

In what month are these three all in season?

-Leeds Foodies.

-September.

That is incorrect. Pick and Mix, you have a chance of a point here.

June.

June is incorrect.

I'm afraid that plums, sweetcorn and celery are all

in season together in August.

What is the technical term for the fine culinary knife cut shown here?

-Pick and Mix.

-Is it mirepoix?

Mirepoix, said so beautifully...

is wrong.

LAUGHTER

Leeds Foodies?

It's not brunoise, is it?

It is Brunoise. You're absolutely right.

APPLAUSE

What is the name of this South Indian fermented pancake?

Leeds Foodies.

-Dosa.

-That is correct.

APPLAUSE

Containing aubergine, what is the national dish

of this country? Leeds Foodies?

Moussaka.

Moussaka is right.

-William, aubergines, moussaka?

-Yeah, that's right.

Moussaka, interestingly enough, isn't a Greek word, it's an Arabic word.

And it's not actually a very old dish.

It was invented in Greece in the 1920s by a chef called Nicholas Tselementes.

Thanks for that, William.

These are four basic ingredients of which famous dish

invented around 1896?

-Pick and Mix?

-Waldorf salad.

-That's absolutely right.

APPLAUSE

William, Waldorf salad, name or place?

It actually comes from the Waldorf Hotel, the famous hotel.

But it wasn't invented by a chef, it was invented by the hotel's maitre d',

a guy called Oscar Tschirky.

Now, what type of noodles are these?

-Pick and Mix.

-Soba.

Soba is incorrect. Leeds Foodies, chance for a point here.

Out of time. Udon noodles.

Who is this chef?

Leeds Foodies.

Anton Mosimann.

Absolutely right.

APPLAUSE

The force-feeding of which two animals

can produce the food pictured here?

Pick and Mix.

Geese and ducks.

Correct.

-Of course, it's very incorrect now to have foie gras.

-It's very controversial

mainly because of the force-feeding. But this is a very ancient practice.

You can see the force-feeding of ducks depicted on some tombs

in ancient Egypt, so it goes back a long way.

-And of course, ducks do it for themselves.

-They do it to themselves up to a certain extent.

Before they migrate, they feed themselves.

They pack their bags with extra fat and goodies

so they can last the journey of migration.

What they don't expect, of course, is to get chopped.

What is the British name for this cut of beef?

Leeds Foodies.

Rump.

That is incorrect. Pick and Mix?

-Flank.

-I'm afraid it is sirloin.

What is this the chemical equation for?

Out of time. It's something you probably all put liberally in your cooking.

It is alcohol.

Who wrote this cookery book?

Leeds Foodies.

It's not Lorraine Pascale, is it?

It's not Lorraine Pascal. Pick and Mix?

-Mary Berry.

-Is the correct answer. Very well done.

Name this Jamaican fruit.

Leeds Foodies.

I was going to say ackee, but it's not.

I'm afraid it's not but I can pass this over to Pick and Mix. No?

It is the ugly fruit. William, it's got quite a strange provenance?

It has grown wild in Jamaica for many years

and it came from the accidental crossing of a Seville orange,

a tangerine and a grapefruit.

How you do that accidentally is beyond me.

Now, what foodstuff have we zoomed in on here?

Pick and Mix?

Star anise.

Star anise is the correct answer. Well done. Very quick on the buzzer.

For the final question in this round, name this herb.

Leeds Foodies.

-Is it oregano?

-It's oregano or (AMERICAN ACCENT) oregano,

depending on where you come from. Well done.

At the end of that round, William, what's the score?

-Leeds Foodies are on five. Pick and Mix are also on five.

-Ooh!

APPLAUSE

An exciting first round. The next round is TV Dinners.

Well, a culinary treat for you,

because in this round we'll be showing you six classic

culinary clips from the TV archives past and present.

The first clip is Gary Rhodes from 2002.

In this extract, we've bleeped out a keyword.

All we want to you to do is buzz in and identify that word.

Now you'll notice here that this is a very thin liquor.

I want to turn this actually into a sauce.

What I'm going to do is just take a teaspoon of plain flour

and add to that about a teaspoon of butter.

-This is something that we call

-BLEEP.

Now, this is a thickening agent.

Right. Leeds Foodies. What was Gary Rhodes talking about?

-I think it's beurre manie.

-Let's see if you're right.

This is something that we call beurre manie.

APPLAUSE

So, you know a lot about culinary terms?

I wouldn't go that far but I knew that one!

Well, that was good enough!

Next up is another missing word for you to identify

from the irrepressible Keith Floyd in 1988.

But is there not, could there not be,

in this sombre castle behind me, a culinary Merlin

who could cook for me an oxtail like you would like to see?

-All we need is some

-BLEEP

-vegetables

-BLEEP.

Hold on. I'm going to take you to task now.

-We're cooking a British meal and you're using French words like

-BLEEP

-for chopping vegetables.

Pick and Mix, you buzzed in on that.

Mirepoix.

Let's see if you're right.

I'm going to take you to task now. We're cooking a British meal

and you're using French words like mirepoix for chopping vegetables.

APPLAUSE

-Well done. William, mirepoix?

-It's a combination of vegetables

that comes from the 18th-century

and it's named after a guy called the Duque de Mirepoix.

It was his cook who came up with this great combination.

Mirepoix himself was once described in the 19th century by an author

as an incompetent individual whose only claim to fame was to have sauces named after him.

No incompetent individuals here.

This time, it's a clip from 1957 and we are watching Fanny Craddock

do something rather extraordinary with eggs.

This time, I want you to watch the clip and a question will follow.

An illustration of how a most uninspiring subject

like the much maligned hard-boiled egg

can be turned into a romantic work of art by a little ingenuity.

Simple, isn't it? Let's hope most husbands don't mind

their pipe cleaners being turned into swans.

Here is the question.

Fanny was actually a pseudonym she adopted at an early age.

But can you tell me what her real Christian name was?

Out of time.

She swapped Phyllis for Fanny.

Up next, it's Two Fat Ladies from 1996.

See if you can guess the bleeped out word.

-I'm going to make a thing called a

-BLEEP

-sandwich

which in fact is a hollowed out loaf

stuffed with a great big thick bit of rump steak

and delicious field mushrooms.

Go for it, Leeds Foodies.

-I'll guess at a huntsman's sandwich.

-I'm afraid we can't accept that.

-Pick and Mix?

-Hunter's?

Let's see what the Two Fat Ladies were talking about.

I'm going to make a thing called a shooter's sandwich.

So there it was. It wasn't a huntsman's,

it wasn't a hunter's, it was a shooter's sandwich. What does that originate from?

It was invented during the Edwardian era.

It's really the early posh convenience food.

It's basically a beef Wellington to go.

What you do is during your break from shooting,

you slice it up and wolf it down with a nip of King's Ginger or sloe gin.

Clearly no shooters here. Here's the wonderful Mary Berry from 1996.

Again, you're looking for the missing word.

Fry onion, bacon and garlic in some olive oil until softened.

Add the curry powder and chilli

and then some raw chicken.

-BLEEP

-is an Indonesian speciality

and it's one of the best rice dishes that I know.

It's traditionally served with shredded omelette on top...

Now, Leeds Foodies?

-Nasi goreng.

-Let's see if you're right.

Nasi goreng is an Indonesian speciality...

APPLAUSE

Our final clip is a very youthful Marguerite Patten from the 1950s.

Watch the clip and a question will follow.

The cake I'm showing you today is rather different

because we don't bake it, we mix all the ingredients together

and let it set.

You know, it's so easy, I feel sure that even a man

could walk into the kitchen and make it. Not a bad idea.

I wonder if we might get a man from the studio to try his hand at it?

Any volunteers?

No?

"No?" Weren't those curtains fantastic? Talk about mid-century modern!

Marguerite became one of the first ever television chefs in a BBC show called Designed for Women.

But in which year did she make her debut on the show?

Out of time. It's 1947.

At the end of this round, where do we all stand?

OK, we stand like this. Pick and Mix on six.

-On seven points, Leeds Foodies.

-Creeping ahead.

APPLAUSE

Moving on now to round three, Smorgasbord.

In this round, each team will take it in turn to be in charge of a question board.

First up, Pick and Mix, let's have a look at your board.

We can see ten pictures of food and all we want you to do

is identify the five foods which originated in South America.

You will get a point for every one you get right.

However, get one wrong, your go is over.

We'll throw the whole board over to the other team.

They have to get one right to eliminate all the points

you've earned in this round and score a point themselves.

Could you enlighten us a bit more about this, William?

There's a maximum of five points on offer. It's very simple.

You're looking for the five foods

which are native to any of the 12 South American countries.

All right. Now, Pick and Mix, can I have your first Pick and Mix selection?

Tomato.

-Tomato?

-Definitely.

-OK, tomato.

Did you hear that? Definitely. Are you right?

APPLAUSE

Is that the easy one? Next, please.

-Potato.

-Potato.

Potato, native to South America? Right or wrong?

APPLAUSE

Three more to go.

Is peanut African?

I think peanut came from China...

Right, what do you think is your third...

So, we're going for quinoa.

You're going for quinoa.

South America, quinoa. At this stage, you really don't want to make mistakes.

You've two left to get right.

-Avocado.

-OK, try avocado.

Do you think if we say it in a Spanish voice...

It'll be right if we say it in a Spanish accent!

-Avocado.

-You're going for avocado. Is avocado right?

GROANING

Now, the Leeds Foodies have to get the next one right

and you lose the points you've accumulated.

-Leeds Foodies, what do you think?

-I reckon peanuts is a good shout.

-Confident?

-No.

-Yeah.

LAUGHTER

-What do you think?

-We're going for peanut.

Sounds quite sure but let's see if that certainty is misplaced or not.

You have got one point and you have destroyed Pick and Mix's point.

The last remaining one is cassava.

Native to South America. Very well done with peanut.

Now, Leeds Foodies, it's your smorgasbord.

What we want you to do is identify the five foods that are worth

more than £1,000 a kilo. Do you like rich, expensive food?

It depends who's paying.

All right. Over £1,000 a kilo.

What do you fancy?

-Saffron?

-Let's go for that first.

-Saffron.

-Let's see if you're correct.

APPLAUSE

White truffle?

That's one down, four to go.

I think white truffle.

You think it's white truffle? Let's see if you're right.

APPLAUSE

-William?

-That's right. At an auction in 2010,

a casino owner called Stanley Hope paid 330,000

for just two white truffles which weighed 1.3 kilograms.

So that definitely makes them the most expensive item on the board.

So, Leeds Foodies, you have two correct.

There are three more items over £1,000 per kilo on your smorgasbord.

I think we're going to go for sea urchin roe.

Sea urchin roe.

I'm afraid, it's not. See urchin roe is a real delicacy.

Yeah, it's expensive, but you can pick it up

for between £200 and £400 a kilo.

With that then...

-I had it last week.

-You had it last week?!

-Somebody bought me dinner. I didn't realise he was quite so generous.

-He certainly was!

Pick and Mix, you have a chance to do to the others

-what they did to you.

-Do you think it's the civet coffee?

Caviar is expensive. Almas caviar?

-We're going to go with almas caviar.

-Let's see if you're right.

Very well done.

I'm afraid you've lost the points you had, Leeds Foodies.

And you have a point to play. There are two more here.

The first, William, is Chinese bird's nest.

The Chinese bird's nest soup is interesting because

there's a bird called the Swiflet and it makes its nest from saliva.

The saliva hardens and that saliva is then foraged

and used as an ingredient in the soup.

And the fifth one is the chocopologie truffle.

The truffles were invented by a guy called Fritz Knipschildt

and you could only buy them on a pre-order basis and they cost 250 per truffle.

At the end of that round, William, what are the scores?

-OK, Pick and Mix are on seven. Leeds Foodies are on eight.

-Crept ahead!

APPLAUSE

The next round is called Food Clues.

So, how does it work? There are two questions in this round.

For each question, I will reveal a series of clues

all related to a particular food.

Obviously, the more clues we have, the more apparent the answer will become.

You can buzz in at any time and guess.

You're only allowed one guess per team.

If you get it wrong, the other team can have all the clues that remain.

Each question is worth two points. Will you be brave, go in early to steal the points?

Or will you sit back and potentially get beaten to the buzzer?

Here is your first set of clues.

And as always, the number one clue is actually on your desks in front of you.

Remember, you are trying to identify the food associated with the item,

not the item itself.

OK, let's reveal.

Any ideas? Feel free to pick up.

It's definitely not coffee?

Oven and microwave-proof.

You'd have to press it down.

Coffee something?

All right, I'm going to give you another clue.

It was first sold in London at around 1657

as a cure for many ailments.

Hot chocolate?

Here is the next clue.

In 18th-century Madrid,

there were 150 skilled grinders

who went house to house selling this to people

who wanted to be sure of the quality.

Now, Pick and Mix are going for it.

We're still trying to decide.

We're going to say, and if we get it wrong, I'm very sorry,

gentlemen, it's coffee.

Now, Pick and Mix...

-I'm very sorry, it is wrong.

-Then it's the other one.

I'm going to give this over to the other side. I'm going to carry on with the clues.

In 1937, it was included in US army rations under the name, ration D.

West Africa accounts for roughly 80%

-of the world's production of it in its unrefined form.

-Cocoa?

Bars of this were first sold in the UK around 1847.

That is your final clue.

-We're going to go for chocolate.

-You think it's chocolate?

-Yep.

-Well, Leeds Foodies, it is chocolate.

APPLAUSE

So, tell me, William...

how does this get to chocolate?

The physical clues you had there is actually a chocolate pot.

It dates back to the early 17th century.

When the Spanish conquistadors discovered chocolate

in New Mexico, South America, they brought it over to Europe,

it became very, very popular, very, very fashionable,

and individual porcelain makers would produce these chocolate pots.

The point is that it enables you to froth it up

so you could drink it, like the great Aztec ruler did, Montezuma,

-all frothed up.

-After that sweet-toothed answer,

here is your second set of clues.

Please reveal what's under your cloche.

What do you think that might be?

That's a spoon for something.

It's got a hallmark.

Is the plate involved as well, do you think? Or are we purely looking at this?

One end is for something and the other end is for something else.

Any ideas?

Serrated edge.

It looks like some kind of drug-related implement again.

I'm going to give you your second clue.

Traditional Italian risotto contains this.

What would you do with that?

I'm going to give you another clue now.

Heston Blumenthal once famously made a Tudor-style rice pudding containing this.

I think you're a bit stumped. Here is another clue.

It's one of the traditional ingredients

in the famous Vietnamese dish Pho.

Beef stock?

As we get down, more chances, there's going to be a buzzer,

the further we go...

And we've got one. Pick and Mix.

We going to take a stab at... We think it's bone marrow.

You think it's bone marrow? Why do you think it's bone marrow?

Well, first of all, when we saw this rather beautiful, solid silver item...

LAUGHTER

..we just thought, this long low spoon looks like it's designed

for scooping something out and there's a longer thinner one for smaller bones.

Well, your instincts and your culinary knowledge

are both excellent.

It is indeed bone marrow.

APPLAUSE

And the other clues were...

It's believed this is one of the main food sources of prehistoric man.

And there are two types of this, bone and spinal. William.

You're absolutely right. It's called a marrow scoop.

It was invented in the late 18th-century

at a time when manners were becoming refined.

How did you get that magnificent jelly out of the bone

without looking unkempt and untidy? You had a marrow scoop. Well done.

Very well done indeed.

APPLAUSE

Now, William, the scores at the end of that round?

At the end of the round, Pick and Mix are on nine. Leeds Foodies are on 10.

Still very, very close.

Just a gelatine leaf between you. It's time for the final round.

All to play for now in Gastroknowledge.

Now, there is only one point in it. You're going to have two minutes of questions on the buzzer.

So lots of points on offer here. Can we have two minutes on the clock, please?

What O is the study of wines and winemaking? Pick and Mix.

-Oenology.

-That is correct. What type of curry derives its name

from the Portuguese words for wine and garlic? Leeds Foodies.

-Vindaloo.

-Correct.

Meaning crunch in the mouth, what is the name given to... Pick and Mix?

Croque en bouche.

..the French pastries whose parts are glazed with sugar. Croque en bouche is right.

Charente, Charleston grey and green winter are all types of what?

-Pick and Mix?

-Melon.

-Indeed, watermelon. Very good.

What Q is the bug repellent chemical in tonic water? Leeds Foodies.

-Quinine.

-correct.

What was the first of the Heinz 57 varieties? Leeds Foodies.

Tomato ketchup.

That is incorrect. Pick and Mix?

No idea.

It's horseradish.

What meat is used in the dish osso bucco?

-Pick and Mix.

-Oh... veal, veal shin.

-Veal is the right answer.

Boudin blanc is a type of what? Pick and Mix.

-Sausage.

-Sausage, lovely sausage.

What is the name of the French whipped cream used in desserts usually flavoured with vanilla?

-Leeds Foodies.

-Chantilly cream.

Correct answer.

Which wine is principally made by the Gamay grape?

Out of time. It's Beaujolais.

Ruth Rogers and Rosie Grey are synonymous with which restaurant? Pick and Mix.

-The River Cafe.

-They are indeed.

From which hotel does the famous Singapore Sling cocktail come from?

-Pick and Mix.

-Raffles.

-Is the right answer.

Which R is another name for horseradish sauce?

Difficult one this. Raifort.

A skillet is another name for a what? Pick and Mix.

-A frying pan.

-Correct. The Stellenbosch is a major wine producing area...

Leeds Foodies.

-South Africa.

-That's the right answer.

What name is given to onion puree or a dish containing an onion sauce?

GONG

Soubise. So that's it, time up.

William, can you tell us the all-important final scores, please?

The final scores are... Leeds Foodies are on 14. Pick and Mix on 17.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

So that means that footing the bill this week are the Leeds Foodies

and today's winners, who can have their cake and eat it, are Pick and Mix.

APPLAUSE

Please join us again next time where we'll meet some more food fanatics

hoping to prove themselves on A Question of Taste. From all of us, goodbye.

E-mail [email protected]

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