Somerset A Taste of Britain

He's Brian Turner.

And she's Janet Street-Porter.

I'm passionate about walking.

These feet have taken me the length and breadth of Great Britain.

I've been privileged to cook all around the world,

but it's Britain that I love! Fabulous produce,

great ingredients, right here on the doorstep.

We're joining forces to explore Britain's rich heritage.

And the landscape that's given us such wonderful produce.

He's in charge of the food.

And guess what, she's in charge of everything else!

-This is...

-..A Taste Of Britain.

Today, we're in sunny Somerset,

which claims to be the jewel of the south-west

and it's easy to see why.

From rolling hills to quaint villages,

this county is home to some of the most beautiful countryside

Britain has to offer.

Not to mention some of its best produce.

We learn that sometimes it takes more than feed and straw

to keep animals happy down on the farm.

They get music every day. They get Radio 2.

You play them Radio 2?!

Their little tails flick away.

Janet visits an estate

where the gardens are literally pretty as a picture.

This is the rustic seat.

When you sit on the middle seat in there and you look out,

you get a living painting.

And I take Brian for the drive of his life.

So, I shouldn't worry about giving you these, then?

-Matt, give me those keys.

-Right.

-Where's the seat belt?

-Ha-ha, there aren't any!

-There are no seat belts.

-Oh, my giddy aunt...

Along the way, we'll be on the hunt for the perfect ingredients

to help sum up Somerset.

I love the cider and I love the fruit, the raisins, as well.

Brian, very, very nice.

Brian, here we are on Ham Hill.

What a fabulous view out over Somerset.

Now, this hill is made of famous hamstone,

which is gorgeous honey-coloured limestone

and all the villages around here are made from it.

Somerset's full of beautiful areas, the Quantocks, the Mendips,

but I want to see three centuries of garden design at Hestercombe House.

The typically British countryside of Somerset

is really just a massive agricultural landscape

famous for scrumpy cider

and, of course, Cheddar cheese.

It's cider-making that I really want to see,

but there's an interesting farmer, who's got some really fabulous meat,

which needs a dangerous wild animal licence.

I've saved a treat for you.

There's a fantastic motor museum in Somerset, Haynes,

and I'm going to go there and see my dream car

-and I think they've got a motor for you.

-Let's go find out.

Our first stop in Somerset is Woodentop Farm in West Coker.

It might look like a traditional farm,

but most of the animals here are far from traditional.

I'm not sure I like the sound of this, Brian.

Relax, Duchess! Farmer Paul Richards will keep us safe.

Erm, probably.

Come on, my lovelies.

Hi, Paul.

-Hi, Janet. How are you?

-Nice to meet you.

-And you.

-Hi, Paul.

-Hi, Brian.

-Good to see you.

-What do you farm here?

Well, I started conventional, sheep and organic.

-You STARTED conventional...

-Yeah.

-..and then what happened?

And then I realised that I couldn't compete

-with the big farms in the market.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Every time, I wanted to sell stock the price was useless.

-Every time, I wanted to buy stock the price was high.

-Yeah.

So, I thought we needed our own niche market, so we went in for...

-Yeah?

-..bison.

-Ha-ha! Bison!

You just thought, "Oh, I won't do cattle."

But with that you need a dangerous wild animals licence,

like a zoo licence.

And you're rearing them for specific restaurants, you know who...

Exactly what the market is?

Yeah, supply and demand. Demand outstrips the supply.

We have...we have a waiting list for...for the meat.

We have people that want it quicker than we can...

-And you've got wild boar, as well.

-Yeah.

-So, Paul, can we see these fantastic creatures?

-Oh, I'd love to show you.

It's always my pleasure.

Right, I'll have to let you through the second gate.

It's a bit like a safari park, like being at Longleat.

Yeah, there must be very strict rules.

Bison died out in Britain around 25,000 years ago.

Paul's part of an emerging farming community

trying to reintroduce them to our hillsides and our plates.

In the UK, there's probably only about 600

and then in Europe,

you've probably got somewhere in the region of 2,000.

Oh, really rare, then.

Ah, what about the meat? You obviously see the meat.

-It's a deeper red colour?

-Yes, it's...

-It's a stronger flavour?

-Yes, exactly.

-No, but it's bigger in protein than beef,

-I understand.

-Yeah.

-And it's got less cholesterol.

It's the most healthiest meat you can eat.

Normally, walking this close to a bison's a bad idea.

But Paul has reared his since they were calves

and has made sure they're friendlier than your average beast.

-Who's this?

-This is Clem, named after my father.

Come on, then. You coming up? Good boy.

-Big, ain't he?

-Amazing face.

Yeah. Hello! What's that in there then, Clem?

-It's amazing, innit?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Bison bull, you feed him by hand. He's incredible.

-Come with me. Come on.

-No, no, no!

Come on, Janet. Come and have... Meet...meet Clement. Come on.

-Shall I? Will I meet Clement?

-Come and meet Clement.

-He's got a lot of dribble, though.

-Yeah. Come on, Clement.

-Clement.

-84, look. Come on.

-84? That's not a very feminine name. Come in, 84.

-Come on, girl.

-Come on.

My God, this animal's tongue is...

Well, Janet, I think you've...

-Oh, my goodness!

-You've cracked it, girl.

-Yeah.

You've pulled, Janet.

Well, better than a lot of what I have pulled!

Right, I've done me animal husbandry.

-OK, let's go and see the wild boar, shall we?

-Yeah.

From one low fat meat to another,

wild boar is also a good, healthy option

with around 30% less fat than pork.

Look at this one!

Yeah, making bacon, as they would say.

So, wild boar are very different from pigs?

Erm, very different. Yeah, they react different.

-They think different.

-Do you think they're smart?

-Oh, incredible!

Just while we're talking here,

-they're very, very curious, aren't they?

-Yeah.

I think it's fair to say that they look happy, don't they?

-Oh, absolutely, yes.

-Yeah.

It's not just the feed and the straw. They get music every day.

-They get Radio 2.

-You play them Radio 2?!

We've got the speakers up on the wall

and we blast it out and their little tails just flick away.

And where do you sell these to?

Straight off the farm. We've worked it out that a normal pig,

-you probably would get £70 or £80 for.

-Yeah.

We're looking at £200, £225 per boar here.

-Yeah.

-You know, our prices are not low, but it's the best produce.

We make Aston Martins, we don't make Skodas.

Not that Skodas are bad.

So, I'm looking at an Aston Martin on four legs.

Well, they certainly look healthy and happy, this lot,

but I think it's probably time for me to cook with wild boar,

-so can we do that?

-Oh, I'm glad you asked.

-Yeah.

Happy boars mean tasty meat.

I'm cooking loin of wild boar with beetroot and cumin seeds.

Sounds delicious. I wonder if beetroot grows better with music.

What a beautiful place this is to cook.

Well, we're on Paul's farm, the second highest spot in Somerset,

441 feet to the top of my sunglasses.

There is Devon. There's Dorset.

-And here we are in Somerset. Three counties.

-Fantastic.

And we've got lovely local produce.

Look at this. It's the wild boar produced here on Paul's farm.

It's slightly lighter than I thought it would be.

I thought it might be a darker meat, but no. That looks lovely.

I've got some beetroot here. Got lovely red beetroot

and then we've got golden beetroot and candy beetroot.

I've par-cooked them rather than just roasting them in the pan.

-They take too long outside here.

-OK.

But you can just roast them in the oven.

And then look at these, I think these are fantastic. Red little gems.

-Yep.

-I love those! Really super looking, very simple dish.

Let's get on with it. Local rapeseed oil.

And then very carefully just...

The trick here, I think, is once again, is not to play with it.

It's just to leave it in the pan and we won't even season it

until I've really got it... I've got a bit of searing on the outside.

I'm then going to season it and then, I know you're not going to like it,

but I'm going to put a little bit of butter in there for flavour.

-Butter?

-Yes.

-What on earth are you adding the butter for?

Cos I just want to get that magical flavour.

Whilst that's happening, let's get our beetroot on over here.

-So, I'm just going to cut these...

-Yeah.

-..in quarters.

I just love beetroot.

So, let's put that in there.

But I'm going to cook the others separate.

Put a bit of butter in there.

So, let's have a quick look here now.

-Oh, look at that lovely colour.

-Yeah.

-That really is.

Oh, that looks even better.

I'm going to season it. I mustn't forget to season it

and a little bit of butter in there.

And now, we're just put a bit of cumin seed in there.

There we go, there's my cumin seed.

And once again, bit of salt and pepper.

So, I'm just going to get that on it's go.

And it is interesting over the years how we've got these wonderful

different-coloured, different-looking beetroots.

All tasting quite similar,

but actually make it look really attractive.

So, let's trim that off there.

-Just look at that lovely golden colour there.

-Yeah.

And then the candy ones there as well.

I just think they look really different,

and people wouldn't think that they were actually beetroot.

So, what I'm going to do now,

I'm going to just put a little bit of balsamic vinegar

as a sweetener in here.

You can smell that vinegar now. That smells really good.

But then, the sweetness as well, that you talked about,

which works well with the beetroot.

So, put that out of the way, over here.

They can sit now, those are ready. I've got another pan here.

I just don't want to mix them, as I say,

cos I just don't want the colour to bleed from there into this.

-Yeah, cos it bleeds onto everything.

-Exactly, that's right.

This is very cholesterol-free, is this meat, so you'll be OK.

So, I'm going to take the meat out now and let it sit for a little while, OK?

Just to let it soften up a little bit.

So, just shred some lovely, local chives.

Nice and small.

We just need to build the dish now.

I'm going to take these first.

I just...I just think it's such a spectacular colour.

These are looking good now.

So, I'll just use a few of these, to just break up the colour.

This should have a chance just to sit.

So, I'm just going to just slice this now.

-Perfect! I'm really happy with that. What about you?

-Yeah.

We'll see...

how nice it is.

We don't need to put it all on there.

It...it feels so tender to the knife, does this.

Look at that.

Add it on top there. Lovely lettuce.

Bit of salt and pepper on there.

Don't want to eat that too raw.

Bit of oil on it.

-Bit of chives on there.

-Yeah.

I just think that looks a really nice, simple plate.

We've got local loin of wild boar.

We've got local beetroot, local lettuce.

It's a local dish.

Brilliant. Well...

-Going to have a taste?

-Yeah.

It's got a different texture to pork.

Mm.

It's got a good flavour, ain't it?

Delicious.

That beetroot is bliss.

Paul? Please, come and have some before I eat the whole lot.

Get stuck in! You want to get your rugby team on this.

Saved a bit there. Get some of the beetroot as well.

"Ongelooflijk". That's unbelievable in Dutch.

It's the only word I know.

You want to get your rugby team on that.

Yeah. Oh, it looks lovely, Brian. Wonderful.

Mm!

Would you like a job?

-You're as good an actor as you are a farmer. Well done.

-Thank you.

That boar's given me the appetite for more Somerset produce

and I know just the chef to ask for advice.

Good! That'll keep you occupied, Brian,

while I take a stroll around one of the county's most beautiful gardens.

Unless you want to join me?

"Strolling" sounds dangerously like walking,

I'll leave that to you, Duchess.

Well, it's your loss.

Hestercombe is a 50-acre site near Taunton,

which offers a unique glimpse

at three very distinct eras of garden design.

I'm meeting head gardener, Claire Reid, who's going to be my guide.

Claire, so when the original gardens were laid out,

erm, what... When would that be, the 18th century?

-Yeah, in the 1750s.

-Yeah.

The Warre family lived in the house and had this estate,

and it was Coplestone Bampfylde Warre,

who designed the layout of the garden

and he was friends with Henry Hoare at Stourhead

and I think they discussed quite a lot

and had intellectual conversations about how it should be

and how it should work.

So, the idea of...of that kind of landscape gardening

was to move nature around,

so the end result still looked really natural,

-but in fact is completely man-made.

-That's right.

This type of garden was part of the Picturesque Movement.

Designers saw themselves as artists,

creating a painting from the landscape.

So, you can see we're high up and the landscape drops right down,

but what's this building opposite us?

That's the mausoleum.

There's several sort of follies dotted around the garden,

so every building is set up so that it frames a view,

so it's like a living painting.

-So, they diverted this river.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-This little stream.

-And then it makes this cascade.

-Wow!

And we've actually got like the... Bampfylde did loads of paintings,

so we've got a watercolour of this.

So, we knew exactly the curve of the stream,

where the rocks should go. Exactly how it should be laid out.

And what's this little house?

This is the rustic seat

and the idea being that when you sit on the middle seat in there

and you look out, these struts totally frame your view.

So, you get like a living painting.

-So, when we've finished in the 1750s...

-Yeah.

-..we're now going to move to the Victorian period.

-Right.

This Victorian terrace garden was added by the Portman Family,

who took over the house in 1873.

It's characteristic of the period with regimented lines

and would have been a symbol of the family's wealth.

But the real show-stopper is this garden

designed by legendary horticultural duo,

Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll in 1903.

-So, this is the Edwardian garden down here.

-Yeah.

Lutyens does all the hard landscaping

and Jekyll, I always describe it,

she sort of lays a blanket of flowers over the whole lot.

And they work quite closely together.

You can see sort holes in the walls

that he's left for her to plant into.

So, I can see the geometry of the garden.

I mean, it's really formal. It's really architectural

and it's really Lutyens, as well.

He was one of my favourite architects.

But it kind of takes your eye away from the house behind you.

Yeah, very purposefully from his point of view.

He thought the house was incredibly ugly, quite rightly

and he wanted the commission to remodel the house.

But he, for whatever reason he didn't get it,

so he rebels instead and takes your eye away from it.

So, the pergola frames your view and on the reels at each,

either end is a really lovely water feature,

so your eye is drawn to those instead of to the house.

It's clever.

Gertrude Jekyll was an accomplished artist,

but when her eyesight failed, she turned her talents to gardening,

so she could still play with colours.

So, I've got some images here that you might like to see.

So, this is a plan of Jekyll's.

So, this is the layout here with all her handwriting

and exactly what plants should be where,

so we were able to use these plans to recreate this garden.

And this one's interesting. This is...

This is the Victorian terrace put in,

but the Edwardian garden not quite there yet.

Oh, my goodness!

-So, that's what we're standing on now.

-Yeah.

And that is that down there.

Yeah. A lot of work.

Well, that's fantastic. I'm going to go and wander round.

-So, thank you for showing me those.

-It's a pleasure.

-Can't wait to go and see it. Thanks.

-Bye.

This garden's so inspirational. there's a lot to take in.

Take your time, Duchess.

I'm keeping myself busy visiting Chef Brett Sutton,

who's spoilt for choice when it comes to local ingredients.

-Chef!

-Good afternoon. How are you?

-Great to see you again.

-And you.

-I'm good, and yourself?

Yeah, very well, thank you. Very well.

-OK, so, what you going to cook for us?

-Bridgehampton lamb

with a braised belly croquette and some summer vegetables.

Sounds perfect. What do we do first?

We're going to sear the lamb,

so we're going to score it, sear it,

put that in the oven and whilst that's in the oven,

we'll do the rest. OK.

So, that's going in the pan

and we're just going to sear that for about a minute either side.

We're going to season it at the end.

Meanwhile, whilst that's happening,

we're going to make a lamb croquette.

So, we've got some mash that we've previously made.

And into that we've got some lamb that's been cooked for 24 hours.

-That looks quite fatty. What is it? Is it belly?

-Belly of lamb, yeah.

So, just some basil's going to go into the croquette.

So, you're quite happy to shred it?

You're not one of these who says you have to tear it

otherwise you bruise it?

No. Well, it's going to get deep-fried in a minute,

-so it's all about the flavour.

-Yeah.

So, tell me where is the lamb from again?

Bridgehampton. So, literally, a mile and a half down the road.

So, I need to ask the question, is that in Somerset or is it in Dorset?

That's in Somerset.

Cos where we stand now, this pub is quite unique, I understand.

It is, yeah. No, it was a big selling point for us

that we sit right on the Dorset-Somerset border,

so it runs plumb through the middle of the restaurant.

-Seriously?

-Yeah.

So, we serve drinks from Somerset and pass over to Dorset.

So, that croquette, the potato, the mashed potato looked quite dry,

so you haven't added egg or any butter to it at all, no?

Nothing at all, no. No butter, no cream, no egg, no nothing.

Whereas normally, we probably put 30% butter in,

but, yes, that's a really dry mash.

The good news is Janet will prefer it that way, trust me.

So, the croquettes...

So, croquettes.

So, you just pop those in a fryer?

Yeah. Fryer full of beef dripping.

Good man!

So, you're just rendering the fat out of that piece of meat, yeah?

Indeed, yeah.

Now, just going to go on a tray.

Now, this is something that intrigues me, as well.

British black garlic,

which, erm, basically is picked, cooked very slowly

and dried almost to fermentation

and then it gives this kind of treacly, wonderful, black garlic.

We're just going to do a smear on the plate,

so you've got that flavour coming through

and we're just going to shred a little piece,

just to go through our vegetables as well.

So, our carrots, and I'm going in the lamb fat pan,

just to carry on that lamb flavour.

So, we just got the garlic going in.

We've got a simple red wine sauce

made with lamb bones, chicken stock, reduced down to...

Kind of three days to get that stage as any good sauce is.

That's our lamb.

We'll get the liver going.

So, it's all coming together.

And tell us about the carrots you've got there. Are those grown locally?

They're from Red Barn Farm, which is just down the road.

-So, you're ready to go.

-I am.

So, our croquettes, our lamb.

So, our black garlic paste we've just done the black garlic,

that we saw earlier on, emulsified with some oil.

Although it looks a mess, it just really...

-See? I know.

-Yeah.

I know what you're thinking, Chef.

I come from a day when you had a plate like that,

you used to send it back to the wash-up to get it cleaned.

So, we've got one of the croquettes and then some of the carrots

and the broad beans, and the black garlic.

-Nicely cooked, Chef.

-Thanking you.

So, sliced lamb.

A little skewer of the liver.

Some of the little wild garlic capers,

just for that piquancy that come through.

And that's our dish, Chef.

Bridgehampton lamb on a braised belly croquette

with liver and summer vegetables.

Well, it looks delicious to me, but let's see what Janet thinks.

-There you go, Janet.

-Hello.

Bridgehampton lamb, liver, belly croquette, summer vegetables. Enjoy!

-Thank you.

-You're very welcome.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Looks good.

Excellent. So, nice-looking plate.

-Excellent.

-Local produce.

-Yeah.

I love the way the liver's been presented on a skewer.

-And this...

-So, yeah?

This croquette's got belly of lamb in there, as well,

long, slow-cooked.

-So, he's cooked the belly.

-Cooked the belly of lamb.

-Mm-hm.

A long, slow-cook, cool it down, chopped into a dice

and then put into there with a dry mashed potato, bit of basil.

-Very good.

-There's no butter in that.

-I'm not listening.

-There's not. I thought you'd like that.

That's a good dish.

Now, I've got a bit of a treat for you.

I bet you like driving and cars.

I do. I'm not fanatical, but I love driving.

How long can you spend in one of the best motor museums in Great Britain?

Oh, I'm up for that.

I'm taking Brian to Haynes Motor Museum,

which was established in 1985

by John Haynes of the Haynes Manual fame.

I only ever had one driving lesson from my father.

We were in Harborough in a caravan and we had an A40 car.

He offered to teach me to drive.

I got in the car, I drove around a field and straight into a hedge.

And he got out and he went,

"That's it! I'm never giving you another lesson"

Well, that's just like my dad.

I went down Water Lane in Hunslet and he...

I didn't stop at a red light and he'd told me to stop,

and that was it, he said,

"That's it, no more lessons, lad. You can go to a school."

-We got that in common.

-Yeah.

-Terrible driver.

Did you pass first time?

-No, I wrote a car off on the way to the driving test.

-Oh.

Let's hope they don't ask us too much about our prowess

before they let us behind the wheel.

This is the biggest collection of its kind in Britain,

with over 300 cars and 100 motorbikes.

Curator, Matt Piper, is going to show us one of the cars

from the original collection, a Jaguar E-Type.

It's a very special car.

This car was bought new in 1973 by the Chairman of the museum,

John Haynes OBE.

-We've actually got the bill of sale for this car.

-Oh, can I get in it?

Would you, yes, you can, yes.

Because I have travelled in them.

Ah, right.

But only as a passenger because I can't do gears.

Right, well, this is a manual car, so...so this isn't...

Yeah, I'm not going to try and drive it, don't panic, Matt.

-Well, this one does run. I've driven this a...

-Runs where?

Well, I've driven this a few times myself.

-It's a V12, by the way, this one.

-How do I get in?

That way. You're doing very well.

So, what percentage of cars that you have in the museum

actually are roadworthy?

When the museum first opened, we had around 30 cars

and they all ran and as the years went by,

and the museum became more popular and grew,

erm, obviously, you can't start over 300 cars every day.

Matt, will you show us another car?

-Yeah. I'll have to get you out first, though.

-Yeah.

-Allow me.

-Still mobile. Still mo...

-Steady with the door.

Beautiful. Right, come with me

because what I would like to do now is to show you the jewel

in the museum's crown. This is our most valuable car.

This is a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Derham-bodied Tourster.

Isn't it a wonderful thing?

-Have you ever seen a car like that before?

-It's spectacular!

-Beautiful!

-What's this car worth now?

-Well, the thi...

-Are you going to make an offer?

-Have you got your chequebook with you?

-She might make an offer.

-What I can say is that we suspect

it's probably worth several millions.

What's the whole collection worth, then?

Cos that must be worth a tremendous amount of money.

Erm, yes, many more millions.

-Yes, right, OK, fine.

-Yes.

-Can I show Brian some of the cars...

-You certainly can.

-..from my past?

The first car I owned in Britain was a Jaguar Daimler.

What colour was the one you had?

Ice metallic blue and it was always boiling over,

so I had a cardboard box in the boot full of mineral water

and I remember halfway up Highgate Hill, for example,

-I...all I knew how to do under the under the lid...

-The radiator.

..under the lid, was put more water in the radiator.

-It's called a "bonnet".

-Whatever.

Anyway, show me your car.

Well, my first car wasn't quite as glamorous.

I think this is it here.

Austin A40 Farina Saloon, that's what it said, that's right, yeah.

It's an Austin A40.

It does take me back to the days.

I bought this car from my brother, who was younger than me

and I was really hacked off

that he'd passed his driving test before I did.

So, how old were you when you got one of these?

I would have been 23, I would think.

-Oh, it's fabulous in here.

-It is memory corner though, ain't it, eh?

And you look at the progress that's been made.

Outside, Matt's got a car that really takes me back.

-Ooh, yes!

-Look at this car!

-That is the car I learnt to drive with.

-Hello.

-When was the last time you drove one of these, then?

-1975.

-'75.

-What? Oh, that's it, I'm out of here.

I...I had three driving lessons in California.

-Just three?

-Yeah.

-Right.

And then I passed my test. OK.

I learnt to drive up and down Sunset Strip.

Waving at people.

So, I shouldn't worry about giving you these, then?

-Matt, give me those keys.

-Right.

-Where's the seat belt?

-Ha-ha, there aren't any!

Oh, my giddy aunt...

Right, Brian.

ENGINE STARTS Ho!

-Cheerio, Matt.

-Have fun, you two.

-Cheers, boss, thank you.

-Don't drive too quickly.

Woohoo!

It's quite pleasant this, ain't it?

HE HUMS

Was that a tractor just went past us?

I'm sticking my hand out OK, so we're turning right.

Now, turn right, turn right. That's it, OK love.

-Brian!

-Keep going.

-You're not a driving instructor!

-Turn right now.

This is a far cry from Sunset Strip.

Right. How do you feel?

That was the nicest thing I've ever experienced.

Thank goodness it doesn't end like Thelma and Louise is all I can say.

That was wonderful, but I think this is more my style.

-See you later.

-Typical!

I'm off in pursuit of the county's finest cider

for my taste-of-Somerset recipe.

While you're scrumping apples, I'm going to meet Alice Workman,

senior director at the brand-new Hauser and Wirth Gallery

near Bruton, Somerset's latest cultural hub.

-Hi, Alice.

-Hello, Janet.

-Great to meet you. What a fantastic place!

The gallery is a rural outpost for modern art.

This is somewhere where we can do things a bit differently.

This is a place where our artists can come,

we can slow down the kind of the pace of the exhibitions,

of the events. We can engage lots of different audiences.

It's a place where we can really develop

an education programme, as well.

What's that? The giant pail.

This is a work by the Indian artist called Subodh Gupta

and it's a five-metre-high bucket made out of stainless steel,

and we thought it'd be a really great place to put the bucket,

in relation to the original cowsheds on the farm.

Can I look at your opening exhibition now?

Absolutely. Let's go inside.

Contemporary art isn't everyone's cup of tea,

but it's a passion of mine,

and I'm really pleased there's now a serious gallery here in Somerset.

Phyllida Barlow is a renowned sculptor,

known for her work with everyday objects and cheap materials.

She's created a series of works to mark the opening of the new gallery.

So, Janet, this was our first exhibition by Phyllida Barlow.

-She's created work for four of our five galleries.

-Yes.

-And she chose the theme of the country fete, the carnival.

-Yeah.

It's a great celebratory exhibition to open the new galleries.

She suspended around 45 of these incredible, fabric pompoms

from the structure.

OK, so here's another gallery of work by Phyllida Barlow.

She's squeezed in three large sculptures into quite a small space.

They're all untitled

and they're made from her very typical materials,

cardboard, tape, paint, cement, wood.

And here's the second piece by Phyllida Barlow in this space.

It's great the way they fit in such a tight space.

And she really worked with the architecture

and created a kind of mock up in her studio

to make sure all the work would fit into the galleries.

Phyllida's also created work

for some of the gallery's outdoor spaces.

These are chairs, a theme that she's revisited over the years

throughout her work, and she's positioned these chairs

so it's almost like an audience have just got up and left,

and partly stacked the chairs or they've kind of fallen together.

It feels like something just happened.

This new gallery at Bruton is a great place to see the countryside

used as artistic inspiration

and it will be wonderful to see how artists take advantage

of the fantastic rural spaces they now have to play with.

Modern art might be new to rural Somerset,

but cider making certainly isn't.

Perry's, based near Ilminster, have been making cider since 1920.

Nowadays, young George Perry's at the helm

and I'm hoping he can help with ingredients for my celebration dish.

-So, let me show you the orchards.

-Yeah, yeah.

So, this is one of our traditional orchards.

So, it's got big sort of traditional, standard trees.

-How many orchards do you have?

-We've got three orchards, so...

-Right.

And this is the smallest of the three.

We've got another two orchards, which are more intensive orchards.

They're smaller trees, more tightly packed in

and they're more sort of commercial,

so they produce higher crops basically per acre.

And how do you judge when the apples are actually ready to pick?

-Is it by taste? Size? Or...?

-It's really easy

-because we harvest off the ground.

-Right.

We basically wait till they fall off of the trees.

-Oh, right!

-So, it's as simple as that.

-Now, I didn't know that.

-Yeah. So, we're not hand-picking.

We're not worried about the condition of the apple

so long as they haven't got rot on them.

So, are all the apples in here of the same variety?

No. This, this orchard's planted out really sporadically, actually.

It's... Each... Most of the trees are different next to each other.

Cos it was planted out sort of 30 years ago or so, you know,

people weren't thinking about picking single varieties.

Thinking about harvesting all the apples in one go

and...and pressing them blended

The juice we press off them isn't the nicest juice.

It's when we start fermenting it and doing bits and pieces

that you start creating better flavours

and more interest in the actual characteristics of the juice.

You talked about single variety.

So, has that been going for a long time or is that a new thing?

Single-variety ciders are quite a modern thing.

Probably, in the last sort of 20 years or so,

they've grown in popularity.

So, we've taken some of the ideas that winemakers were using,

so they were doing single-variety wines.

We've taken that idea and started to make ciders with one type of apple

and that's something we specialise in, really.

That's where we built our name over the last 20 years.

All that's left to do is to choose cider for my taste of Somerset.

And, after some very difficult research...

..I think I've found one.

Well, that's settled it!

My taste of Somerset is going to star its world-famous cider.

My dish is going to be a simple dessert,

baked, stuffed apples in cider.

What a lovely place to be. Just look at this orchard here,

where all these wonderful cider apples grow.

We've got all our friends over here.

-The young ladies from Hestercombe Park.

-Yeah.

-You went there.

The gardens, fantastic. Who have we got at the ba...? Oh, look!

-We've got the boys from Haynes there.

-Yeah, that let me drive the car.

-And I drove the elegant one.

-Oh, yeah!

There you go, so we've got Paul as well, with our wild boar.

-Wild boar man.

-That tasted brilliant, thank you very much.

And of course, young George. How are you, sir, all right?

-Very good thanks.

-We've had a good morning, haven't we?

-We have, yeah.

It's all gone fantastically well. Here we are in the orchard.

What are we going to do? We're going to do apples.

And just for you, local cream, local butter, sugar, a butterscotch sauce.

I have got some fantastic cider that I'm going to have to drink

to be able to get through that sauce.

So, if it's all right with you, I'll just have a little, erm...

Are you topping anybody else up there or are you going to stick as you are?

-Delicious! Excuse me.

-Don't let it go to your head, lass.

Yes. Anybody want a top up? Oop!

Thank you, Janet.

SHE LAUGHS

-Can I start cooking now?

-Please, cook.

Right, so I'm just going to... A very classic, old dish

-and everything concentrates on apples and cider.

-Yeah.

And we've got these Bramley apples here.

We've got some mincemeat, we've got some raisins

-and we've got some ground almonds,

-OK? Yeah.

Just to make a nice little mixture. So, we're going to make that first.

This is the recipe my granny made, then my mother made it.

Well, I have to say, when I spoke to your granny,

she did tell me that it was exactly that I was doing, so we're all right.

-Yeah.

-So, there we go.

-I make it,

but I'm interested in your version of it.

Well, I think it's one of these classic dishes

-that everybody has a little twist or a turn on, if you like.

-Yeah.

-And ground almonds.

-Do you score the apple skins?

-We do, yes, yeah.

-Cos that stops them exploding.

-A lot of people forget that, don't they?

-They do, yes.

And then it looks a bit of a mess at the end of it.

You're absolutely right, but they shouldn't look pristine.

They should looked baked. OK, right, so we've got that ready there.

Next is the big jobby. Here we go. This is a corer. It's a modern corer.

So, you just push it in and you go, like that, twist.

Yeah, and there's quite... You have to be careful you don't miss the...

-You ready?

-Don't shove it at me.

It's quite good fun. You can get the kids to do this at home.

-Yeah.

-If you've got kids at home. Are you ready?

Useless. So, I think the trick now is just to make sure...

Take a little bit off the bottom, so they stand there.

They don't rock about cos they're quite uneven are these Bramleys.

But they're lovely apples.

-Not, of course, cider apples, are they, George?

-No.

But there's room for everyone in the world.

And you wouldn't want to do this with cider apples either, would you?

No, you definitely wouldn't, no.

We have to fill them up now. Here we go.

So, remember what we've got in there. We've got mincemeat,

we've got ground almonds.

Yeah, remember to put your finger over the bottom

otherwise it'll drop out the other end, yes.

Yeah, yeah, exactly, yes, yeah. It's a bit of a laborious job,

but it's well worth it and it gives that flavour.

And plus the fact, if you leave them for half an hour

before you put them in the oven,

it just allows that mincemeat-y flavour in the middle, there.

So, now, you just want a sharp knife and halfway round,

just make a little

Try and line it up.

Not a problem.

Perfect, yeah.

And then they go into an oven about 180 degrees,

a medium-ish hot oven, for about 25 minutes, these are.

But the whole idea today is to use apples and to use the cider

and just get that nice little mix.

And we're going to use some of the cider, then,

in our butterscotch sauce.

So...

We've got here a little bit of cider.

-Yes.

-I've tasted it, it's got a slightly sweet taste to it.

It's got plenty of fruit in there

and it went straight to my head.

-Yes, Brian.

-OK. So, that goes in there and it goes in the oven.

You need to check occasionally and stick a fork or a skewer in there,

just to... You don't want to be raw in the middle,

but it doesn't want to mush or it will...it will drop.

So, we'll put those out the way. So, I've got some here.

-See what they look like now?

-Yeah.

-See, they look...

They're rustic.

So, what we do now is we get the sauce under way.

-This juice here.

-Yeah.

-You just want to take out.

And what I've done, I've got it here, look.

-I've just reduced it, so it's nice and sticky.

-Yeah.

And then we're just going to quickly,

every two or three minutes, just glaze these.

It's just pure cider and apple flavour, it's nothing more.

How long have you boiled that down for? Just till it got thick?

Well, it took about five minutes, but just got to get it to that.

-You can see how it's starting to look that little bit sticky.

-Yeah.

OK? And it's got a shine to it all.

Over here, I've boiled my double cream

cos I want to reduce it. SHE LAUGHS

I don't know why you laugh every time I say that.

And into here I'm going to put some sugar.

Just a little bit.

Some butter.

SHE SCOFFS

Just a little bit.

And some cider.

-So, once it starts to caramelise.

-Yes.

But just be careful, it's very hot. I'm going to take the double cream,

going to put that in there as well.

Just shake it all about, bring up to the boil,

and I'm just going to put a little bit more cider in there.

Just to get the consistency that I want.

And then it's just about ready to go.

I mean, just look at that...just look at that colour.

-Look. Toff... Rich toffee colour.

-Yes.

-Just what you wanted.

And only a little bit of sugar, butter and cream in there.

If you can't treat yourself occasionally...

Your idea of "little" is a Yorkshire idea of "little".

-So, if you get rid of those for me, please.

-Yes.

What I'm going to then quickly. I got these raisins

-and we just put them up to... Bring them up to the boil...

-Yeah.

-..in some cider.

-Yes.

-And then just take them off and let them sit there,

so they're nice and soft and full of lovely, cider flavour.

That's ready to go. So, I'll just put that...

on top there. It, as I say, it's a rustic dessert.

It's a classic dessert. But it really is super.

OK, a bit of icing sugar. Stand back. Oh, you're all right.

The wind's blowing the other way. Oh, no, it's not. It's blowing your way.

-Bit of icing sugar on the top.

-Yeah.

-That's goes lovely.

And once again, just be careful with the sauce,

make sure it's not too hot.

And if it's too thin,

you can always put a bit more double cream in there and butter.

Sauce goes in there. That looks delicious, that sauce.

So, there you have it, my dear.

Baked, stuffed apples in cider, just for you.

-Here in Somerset.

-Come on you, lot. I've been working all day.

Wahey! There's a man, there's a man!

Right, I'm not...I'm not applauding till I've tasted it.

Quite right, too.

-It's getting it all together.

-Great expectations.

Mm.

Sweet?

Balances with the apples?

-Yummy!

-And the ci...? "Yummy," she said! The lady said, "Yummy!"

And full marks for the cider.

EVERYONE LAUGHS

I think we should invite all our guests to have some.

OK, everyone, come on over.

-Hey, I've got some here. OK.

-All right.

Sorry you've got a fork. It's not Harborough.

THEY LAUGH

Thank you very much.

-Matt, what do you reckon?

-I love it!

I love the cider and I love the fruit, the raisin, as well.

Brian, very, very nice.

So, Paul, you've got a second plate, so it's obviously going well.

This is the kind of thing that you can eat after wild boar,

but it's about apple sauce. What do you think to it?

I think I like the cider, the cider and the cider.

It's awesome.

No, you've been fantastic with the wild boar

and this as a dessert, incredible!

Thank you.

Claire, what do you think?

-I like the fact I can pretend it's healthy cos it's fruity.

-Yeah.

But I'm sure it's highly calorific, but it's delicious.

-Really, really nice. Really enjoying it.

-Excellent.

Kristina, you're working on Paul's farm

and helping a little bit there.

This is your second plate, I notice, of British food,

-what do you think to that?

-Mm, I love it! It just amazing.

And cider, delicious.

Brian, we're certainly ending our time in Somerset on a festive note.

It couldn't be anything to do with the cider, could it?

-Yeah, maybe, maybe not.

-Might have a good idea, yeah.

But we've had a great time down here.

I've seen three centuries of gardens at Hestercombe House

and then I went to a brand-new art gallery in Bruton,

the Hauser and Wirth Gallery.

So, I found that really inspirational.

-Plus cars!

-That was...

The festival of speed that was Brian and Janet, yeah.

That was fantastic at the Haynes Motor Museum.

-And don't forget, we went to see Paul's bison.

-Yeah.

-And his wild boar, which was delicious.

-Yes.

And then, of course, finishing here at Perry's cider orchard

is just perfection. So, I think once again, we got it right...

-BOTH:

-A taste of Somerset!