0:00:02 > 0:00:04He's Brian Turner.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07And she's Janet Street-Porter.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09I'm passionate about walking.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13These feet have taken me the length and breadth of Great Britain.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I've been privileged to cook all round the world,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19but it's Britain that I love - fabulous produce,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22great ingredients, right here on the doorstep.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27We're joining forces to explore Britain's rich heritage.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32And the landscape that's given us such wonderful produce.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34He's in charge of the food.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38And guess what, she's in charge of everything else!
0:00:38 > 0:00:39This is...
0:00:39 > 0:00:41A Taste of Britain.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Today we're exploring beautiful Norfolk.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Situated in the eastern corner of Britain,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56it's a county where scenic countryside, arable farmland
0:00:56 > 0:00:58and miles of stunning coastline
0:00:58 > 0:01:01combine to make a gourmet's paradise.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Norfolk's packed full of historical sights, so I'll be indulging
0:01:05 > 0:01:10my passion for all things old with a visit to a restored windmill.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11You'll see these big things there,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14these are what actually drove the millstones, so it turns...
0:01:14 > 0:01:17- So the millstones would have been on the floor above.- Absolutely.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Fabulous!
0:01:19 > 0:01:22'We'll be getting to know some of the local wildlife...'
0:01:22 > 0:01:23Brian, there's a seal.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26What are they thinking about?
0:01:26 > 0:01:28"I wonder what that funny looking woman is on the boat."
0:01:30 > 0:01:34'And after sampling the region's rich variety of flavours...'
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Just smell that, Janet, go on, smell that.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Oh!
0:01:38 > 0:01:42'..I'll be cooking a celebratory dish to sum up a taste of Norfolk.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45'That's if Janet can keep her hands off the ingredients.'
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Brian, I've messed this up, so I'm eating it.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Mmm...
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Well, here we are in fabulous, breezy Norfolk,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Wells-next-the-Sea.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05It's been a port for 700 years, but the sea is actually
0:02:05 > 0:02:09a mile down there, but when you get there, to Holkham beach,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11it's the best beach in Britain,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14according to the travel writers, anyway.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17They all think that Norfolk is famous only for turkeys, but
0:02:17 > 0:02:20it's not true at all. As you say, the sea's down there, fantastic,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23wonderful, fresh fish and there's a really great chef near here
0:02:23 > 0:02:26I've known for years, lovely man. I'm taking you to his restaurant.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29You know what we're standing on, as well?
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The Norfolk Coastal Path,
0:02:31 > 0:02:3342 miles of fabulous footpath.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Do you fancy joining me for a bit, a little bit? Come on.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38A little bit, all right, then.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'Well, as long as you're not taking me all 42 miles, Janet.'
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Chefs like me are always on the hunt for more exciting new flavours,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52so what better way to begin our discovery of the culinary delights
0:02:52 > 0:02:57of Norfolk than with a visit to a specialist food producer?
0:02:58 > 0:03:01While working as a chef, Alan Miller saw a gap in the market
0:03:01 > 0:03:05and began growing a fantastic range of micro herbs.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07I do like my greens, and things have certainly
0:03:07 > 0:03:10moved on a lot from watercress and rocket leaves.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14- Hi.- Pleased to meet you. - Very nice to meet you.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16- Morning, sir, you all right?- Hello.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18What's... Is this water that's going onto these?
0:03:18 > 0:03:21- Er, yeah, they're just pre-watered...- Pre-watered.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24- What is actually being planted? - This is coriander.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Coriander, you know, it's so hard to plant these seeds.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31I do it with tweezers, but I'm only growing one tiny patch of it.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34You can smell the seed.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38- You can actually smell the... - Wow, this is amazing.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40- Do you want to come round and have a look?- Yeah.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I can see plants as far as the eye can see here.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Micro herbs are the seedlings of herb, or vegetable plants,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50that are harvested soon after germination
0:03:50 > 0:03:52when the first leaves appear.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54They have surprisingly intense flavours,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58considering their small size, and are now widely used
0:03:58 > 0:04:01by chefs to enhance the taste of their dishes
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and to make them look pretty.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07This is coriander that you saw us planting when you came in.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Coriander, yeah.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11From the day it was planted over there to this stage
0:04:11 > 0:04:12is probably about 11, 12 days.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16So when does a herb stop being a micro herb
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- and become a normal, boring... - Good question.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21..herb that a Michelin chef wouldn't want?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24As soon as they've produced one true leaf,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26that's as big as they get for us.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29We will have chefs that just want the first two leaves.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32And then we will have chefs that won't buy that coriander
0:04:32 > 0:04:35unless it's got its first leaf.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Then we'll have chefs that want it slightly bigger.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40So, there is a fairly broad spectrum of requirements
0:04:40 > 0:04:43for one herb like that, as in...
0:04:43 > 0:04:46You mean, Heston Blumenthal might want two leaves.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- Believe it or not...- Gordon Ramsay might want three leaves.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- That is very true.- And Marcus Wareing might want no leaves at all,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- just...- Excuse me, what about me?
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- We haven't got around to you! - I want tea leaves.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09- Right, this...- This is your butterfly sorrel, which is there.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11You can see why, can't you, though? Just look at that.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13That's a real sharp flavour.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- Oh, my God, that is so strong.- Yeah.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20And you've got it in the flower, as well as the leaf,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- the flower's got this excellent... - That's like leafy lemonade.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24It's so lemony.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Is this an English plant?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It's basically a woodland plant.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30So what you've done is you've taken foraging
0:05:30 > 0:05:34and elevated it to, like, 21st-century production.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- I mean, we grow a lot of chickweed, er...- Yeah.- Chickweed?
0:05:37 > 0:05:38..and sell a lot of chickweed.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41That's something that foragers have always gone out for.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44But there's times of the year when chickweed's not available outside.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53Do you think sometimes that chefs just want the dish to look
0:05:53 > 0:05:55arty-farty and they're coming along and saying,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59"Alan, make me a purple this, grow me a purple that,"
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and, actually, if I was blindfold and I ate that dish,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- I wouldn't taste it?- Erm...
0:06:06 > 0:06:08It's a very cynical view, Miss Street-Porter.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- What I'm saying is there are chefs... - There probably are a few...
0:06:11 > 0:06:14..that should have been landscape gardeners or artists,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16because that's what they're going over into.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I think it's inherent with most chefs that they have
0:06:19 > 0:06:22a sense of art in what they produce anyway.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Quite right.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26That's what the chef has inside him.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29They want a dish to look good, they want it to taste good,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31they want perfection on a plate, basically.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- This is your ice plant, ice... - Ice plant?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44..ice plant, ice lettuce, glacial, depending on what you...
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- Oh, right is that because of...- It's the crystallisation on the stems
0:06:47 > 0:06:51that you get and we give it salt water solution every now and again.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Where does it normally grow?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Well, it's classed as a sea herb, basically.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57- It is something that... - I've seen it on the beach.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01- You've mimicked the conditions on the seashore by...- Yeah.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03- ..feeding it with salty water. - Yeah, yeah.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I think the texture and the balance of flavour
0:07:06 > 0:07:10is the nicest I've tasted. It's just got a real balance to it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16After humble beginnings in a tiny greenhouse,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Alan's nursery now covers two-and-a-half acres.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23He also cultivates a range of unusual miniature vegetables.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27These are relatively new.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Cucumelons - you probably won't spot one, but if you get your eye in...
0:07:30 > 0:07:31Oh, I see those little things, yeah.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34They're a cross between a cucumber and a melon.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36- And obviously the melon... - And is that...
0:07:36 > 0:07:37..is the visual.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40But taste wise, they're just like a cucumber.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42And is that the size that you sell them at?
0:07:42 > 0:07:44- They're ready to go now, that size. - These are ready to go?
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Yeah, try them, they are literally just like bite-sized cucumber.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Alan, it looks like a kind of designer gherkin.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56- Doesn't it?- Fantastic, aren't they? - A smooth gherkin.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59For me, if those were just plunged into a little sweet pickle liquid.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- Yeah.- Just add that little something of a sharpener to them.- Yeah.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I think, at the moment, they're relatively new.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08I think some of the products we have are so new that people think,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11"What are we going to do with that?" You find a year later,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14somebody's come up with a dish, or an idea,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and then it develops and other people follow on.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Norfolk is a county blessed with around 160km
0:08:23 > 0:08:27of unspoilt coastline and some has rightly been designated
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Our visit here wouldn't be complete without sampling
0:08:33 > 0:08:36some of the county's abundant range of seafood.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38I found just the thing.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Grey mullet is a common breed in these waters
0:08:41 > 0:08:44and you can't get fresher than this morning's catch.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46With the help of a few of Alan's micro herbs,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48I think it's a perfect way to capture
0:08:48 > 0:08:51a flavour of the Norfolk seaside.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54'And what better setting for our first cook than
0:08:54 > 0:08:58'at one of the many windmills that dot the landscape in this region?
0:08:58 > 0:09:02'The restored Dereham Windmill is the perfect spot.'
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Brian, right, what have you got for me here?
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Well, I've got a lousy day already, the wind's blowing everywhere.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- I'll shield you, Brian. - You are nice, darling, you are.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13- We've got the Windmill Committee with us here.- Yeah.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17We've got Alan, and I'm cooking the most wonderful piece of
0:09:17 > 0:09:21grey mullet with shrimps, potatoes and micro tarragon.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- But what you've got to do is make sure that it's pin boned.- Yeah.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Those are all out, get your fishmonger to do that.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32- The scales do seem to... There's one there, look.- It's got big scales.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Yeah, it's got big scales and we'll cook it with the skin on.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I'm going to choose a really nice piece here
0:09:38 > 0:09:41and I'm just going to cut a really nice steak.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43There we go, that belly is delicious.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- OK, right, this is, er, local rapeseed oil.- Yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49We're going to put some butter in there, as well.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52You want to spend as much time as you can cooking this dish,
0:09:52 > 0:09:53you don't want it too fast.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Once that butter's started to melt,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59we just put it in, skin side down.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I don't think you need to score it on this occasion.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04I think we'll be OK.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09But just hold it there so it stays nice and flat.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Better season it - a bit of salt.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16I'm just going to baste it, occasionally.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The heat will cook it and I'm going to try and cook it on its skin.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25It's going to cook nicely, so let's leave that for a second there.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27The garnish, I thought, would be really simple.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- We want to combine the flavours... - Yeah.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31..but we don't want to cover up any of these flavours.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35I'm going to take the new potatoes and cut them into slices.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Then I'm going to cut them into a small dice.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41You'll notice that we haven't peeled them.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Just rub the skin a bit, got it off as much as we can.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47A lot of goodness in potatoes, in the skin.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Right, that's lovely now.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Just see how that butter's starting to change colour there.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Put it on top there.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55Grand.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Here's a little trick. I'm going to take a bit of butter, nice and hot.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Got those fishy flavours in there and put these in here.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Let's have a quick look at this skin.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Just gently have a look, just look at that.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14You could serve it like that,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17but I just want to keep it on the skin and let it sit there.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Right, now, new potatoes.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23You just colour these lightly in that butter
0:11:23 > 0:11:25and then what I'm going to do,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28I'll take this tarragon here, this micro tarragon.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29I'm going to shred it a little bit.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33And the micro parsley, as well.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Shred that just a little bit.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Right, so that's coming on nicely.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41A bit of salt.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44A bit of pepper in there, nicely seasoned.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Local brown shrimp.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48- Better give them back to you.- Yeah.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54You do remind me that when you're doing this recipe, get some extra.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56- Oh, yeah, because they're so tasty. - Cos they're so tasty.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- It's hard not to eat them all. - It is, you're quite right.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01They go in here, now we're ready to do this.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It's going to come together extremely quickly.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07And as many as you can afford.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Huh, you left one in the bowl.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16- You see, lovely, it's eaten up that butter already.- Yeah, they have.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19And the smell - just smell that, Janet, go on, smell that.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Oh!
0:12:22 > 0:12:25It is like paradise, is it not, at the seaside?
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Now as soon as this fish is ready, we are ready to rock 'n' roll,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32and I think that's perfect, is that.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Remember, parsley and tarragon.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Chopped together.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42It looks majestic.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Take that, just put it down...
0:12:48 > 0:12:50the middle of the plate.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Next, we turn that off,
0:12:55 > 0:12:56just take it over here.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59All we need now is to be very careful.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Just take the skin at this edge here.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Separate it.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09And just very carefully...
0:13:09 > 0:13:11very carefully lift that off.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17I'm going to put it just across there.
0:13:18 > 0:13:19Just a little bit on top.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Lovely. A squeeze of lemon juice.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Janet, ladies and gentlemen,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32the best bit of grey mullet you're ever going to eat,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36with shrimps, potatoes and micro tarragon.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54So, the fish, the potato and shrimp, salad as a cleanser.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57The fish is so fresh, it's unbelievable.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58I think it's still moving.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01Come on, team, let's have you.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Come on, team, you've sat there, you've watched it.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08- Right.- Sir...
0:14:08 > 0:14:10- That is good.- Mmm.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13It's the freshness that makes it work.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15- Great products.- Lovely.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Leave some for us.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Well, it's much cheaper than sea bass.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31- That is very good.- Well done.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Now we're here, it would be a crime not to find out
0:14:34 > 0:14:37about Dereham Mill's history.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Windmills were a common sight in Norfolk in the 1800s
0:14:42 > 0:14:47when they were used for both grinding grain and powering drainage.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50But, with the invention of modern farming machinery,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52many fell into disrepair.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57As a lover of all things historic, I'm pleased to say that
0:14:57 > 0:15:02Dereham Windmill has recently been restored to its former glory.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07The renewal project was sponsored by the local Dereham Windmill charity,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11and Head of Fundraising, Alison Webb, has offered to give me a tour.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15So, how much money did you raise to save the windmill?
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Nearly £100,000.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18My God. Quite a lot of money.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Obviously, it's an amazing sight,
0:15:21 > 0:15:26but 200 years ago, Norfolk was covered with windmills, wasn't it?
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- Of course, yeah. Norfolk's flat. - Yeah.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32- I don't know if you've noticed, it's very flat.- I have noticed it's very, very flat indeed.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35We have the winds come along, the east coast brings them in,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and basically, that makes the windmills go round.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43- So, how old is this windmill? - 1836.- And when did it stop working?
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Oh, 1937, so, you know, quite a long while.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- And was it grinding corn and stuff? - Ah, well, during World War I,
0:15:51 > 0:15:541914-18, it was doing the food for the animals.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59- What happened?- Oh, well, the Government basically said
0:15:59 > 0:16:02that the bigger mills, the roller mills, have got to produce the flour.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Health and Safety came in and all these small mills were left to ruin.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Which is a shame, really.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The sails weren't there anymore, the windows were rotten,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12everything was boarded up.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16So, in 2010, what we did is we started doing fundraising,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19to make it into the community exhibition centre it is now.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27We've got a meeting point, we've got the children from schools...
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- So it's like a community centre? - Absolutely.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31- But it's a windmill?- Absolutely.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34You get the history of the wind power,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37but you also get what people want to display in it.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- We had a wedding last month. - Shall we have a look inside? - Yeah, of course we can.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43It's 18 metres high,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47so reaching the top of Dereham Windmill is quite a climb.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49Here we go.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Oh, my goodness.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54This is where the corn went out at the very end
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- when it's all ground up...- Yeah. - ..into a cart, onto the floor.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- This is the end of what's happening. - Where did the corn start off?
0:17:00 > 0:17:03- Right at the very, very top. - How on earth did it get up there?
0:17:03 > 0:17:05On the outside, they had a hoist from the outside.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09- All right, so, hoisted up the corn to the very top.- Absolutely.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Then it goes down into where they have the big grain stores
0:17:13 > 0:17:15and they stored them in there.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17From there, it went down to the stone floor, where it was ground up.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20You'll see these big, erm, things there,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23these are what actually drove the millstones.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- So it turns round...- The millstones would've been on the floor above.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Absolutely.- Fabulous.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Of course, over here we've got the hopper chute.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37The grain would come down the hopper chute and then it would be put into bags and then put out of the door.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39It's the old-fashioned way, but it worked.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Now, I'm not going down the quick way down the chute.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47I'm going to very carefully make my way down the stairs.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Now I've had a history fix, I'm keen for us
0:18:06 > 0:18:09to explore more of Norfolk's beautiful coastline.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Blakeney Point is 6km long.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20A sand and shingle spit that forms part of the Blakeney National Nature Reserve.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It not only attracts thousands of migrant birds,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28but it's also a well-known breeding ground for common and grey seals.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39'We've hitched a ride with local seal expert Jimbo Temple,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41'who's taking us out for a closer look.'
0:18:43 > 0:18:46What is it about the Point that attracts the seals,
0:18:46 > 0:18:47as opposed to other places?
0:18:47 > 0:18:50If they're pregnant and they're coming onto the beach,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- they're going to get pounded on the shore with the...- Yeah.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54..you know. Here, they're not.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58They tend to pick the calmest beach they can and they get on it,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02and the grey seals have their pups actually on Blakeney Point
0:19:02 > 0:19:05because they need to keep their pups out of the water
0:19:05 > 0:19:07for up to six weeks.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- There's a couple of seals there, look.- There's a seal.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- Oh, give us a wave.- Oh, there's one in front of you, look, Janet.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- There's two more here. - Over here, look.- Oh, yeah.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- Er, Jimbo, have you got any light snacks for 'em?- No.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- What are the birds we can hear? - They're terns.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28At Blakeney Point, there's one sitting on this buoy, look,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30- with a sand eel in his beak, see him?- Yeah, yeah.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Normally they'll have the other bird on the nest. They eat so many,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38and then they get the last one in the beak and then they go back and
0:19:38 > 0:19:42they regurgitate what they've eaten, and they feed the bird on the nest,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45or the two of them are backwards and forwards, feeding the chick.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- Look at those, there. - They look fat, don't they?
0:19:52 > 0:19:54It's common and greys there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56What are they thinking about?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Well, they wonder what that funny looking woman is on the boat.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Jimbo, what are they thinking about just lying there?
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Look at that one lying on his side.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- Fat loafer.- He's a big old bull, that big one, you can see the big...
0:20:07 > 0:20:10- There's three big old bulls there. - Yeah, yeah.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12It's a great life, isn't it?
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Flop up there, lie on your backside all day, go in, have...
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Look at that one, stretching!
0:20:17 > 0:20:21'Grey seal pups arrive here on Blakeney Point
0:20:21 > 0:20:23'between November and December,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27'while common seals give birth in the summer between June and August.'
0:20:27 > 0:20:29- How many pups do they have at a time?- Only one.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- They only have one, yeah.- Only one.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34This beach at Christmas, from here, right round,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36- down there for a mile...- Yeah.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37..there's nothing but pups.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41- I mean, it was a real sight to see. - Yeah.- Yeah, a real sight to see.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- Thank you, Jimbo, that's very kind of you.- OK, it was a real pleasure.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Thank you, Jimbo.- All right, my love.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- Thank you.- Nice to see you.- Very nice to see you.- That was good fun.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02- Right, I've communed with the seals. - Communed!
0:21:08 > 0:21:12I've always been envious of chefs who work close to the sea.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16They have a plentiful supply of unusual organic ingredients
0:21:16 > 0:21:18that grow along the shoreline all year round,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20and the Norfolk coast is no exception.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26At Morston Quay, foraging for plants like sea purslane,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28samphire and sea aster is a popular pastime.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I'm keen to sample some of this tasty produce.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37The Michelin-starred Morston Hall restaurant nearby
0:21:37 > 0:21:42is renowned for using many of these intriguing local flavours on their menu.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44'Its owner, my old friend and Michelin-starred chef
0:21:44 > 0:21:48'Galton Blackiston, has invited me along to meet one of his team.'
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- Hello, sir.- Good morning, sir. - Absolute legend.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Oh, you are sweet. Do you know, I feel so embarrassed
0:21:56 > 0:21:58that I've never been here before, it is just beautiful.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Well, I must admit I'm very biased, but North Norfolk,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03there's nowhere better.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06You'll disagree with me because you're from Yorkshire.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08- So, you're a Norfolk boy?- Yeah.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09- Born and bred?- Yeah.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11And how did you find this place?
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Well, my parents have to take credit for that.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15- They'd retired back to Blakeney... - Yeah.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18..and drove past this place and saw it up for sale
0:22:18 > 0:22:20and by hook and by crook, we got it.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23- And how many years have you been here?- This is our 22nd year.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25- 22nd year!- I know.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29I'm going to be fortunate, I'm going to meet your head chef today.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31- Yes, you'd best come and meet Richard.- Looking forward.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Absolutely, come on.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Richard, look who I've got.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- Blimey, the legend who is!- Yeah.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- Nice to meet you.- Richard, nice to meet you.- Nice to see you.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48I'm going to leave you two to it, unless you want me to go and pick samphire or anything, do you?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51No, we've got some this morning, so we're all set and organised.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54- Fantastic, off you go. - Leave you to it.- See you later.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56OK, what are you going to cook for us?
0:22:56 > 0:22:59I'm going to do my interpretation of Morston Quay,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03because I love Morston Quay and it's literally just down the road.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Erm, it's got everything that I can see,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07smell and taste when I'm down there,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09and I've just kind of put it into a dish that I think just
0:23:09 > 0:23:13- represents Morston as a whole. - OK, what's in it?
0:23:13 > 0:23:17So, what we've got is a parsley sponge,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19which represents, kind of, the marshland.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Everything else after that is quite traditional, where
0:23:21 > 0:23:25we've got the lovely sea aster, some sea purslane, some samphire.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27- Say it again one more time, - samphire. Samphire.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31- Yeah, we'll get the nation to understand it's not sandfire, it's- samphire. Yeah, yeah.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34You might have to do it with a Norfolk accent a little bit, erm...
0:23:34 > 0:23:36We're going to start off by
0:23:36 > 0:23:39just putting a little bit of North Sea Cod in the water bath
0:23:39 > 0:23:40at 52 degrees for eight minutes.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Then we'll finish that by just blowtorching it,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46instead of pan frying it, so you get more of a carbony flavour,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48but without that awful.. you'll see later.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50If you say so, if you say so, Chef.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52And then, we're now going onto the parsley sponge.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I like this because it's quite, its quite simple,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57but when you then taste it, it'll all pack a punch.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- And you're using flat leaf parsley. - I like it more than curly parsley.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04I think it's got more of a rounded flavour to it than curly parsley.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06And plus, curly parsley, I think...
0:24:06 > 0:24:08- I've got a thing of when I used to work in pubs.- Yeah.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- Putting it on as a garnish... - With everything.- Yeah.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13So, then from there, add some sugar.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I think the natural sweetness, because, obviously,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19everything is really earthy, so I want a bit of sweetness on there
0:24:19 > 0:24:22but not too much so it kind of becomes sickly sweet.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Erm, then we've got a little bit of plain flour,
0:24:24 > 0:24:26which is sieved, goes in there, as well.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28And then we've got the egg white.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32This is the thing that'll aerate it and help it stay up.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34So, they'll go in.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Blend it until it's nice and fine.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41MACHINE WHIRRS
0:24:52 > 0:24:55So then we've now started to get a nice kind of puree coming from it.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57- That colour already is just fantastic.- Exactly.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Again, when you go down to Morston Quay,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03you'll see all that colour and that's what I'm trying to get the essence on the plate.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Then all you do, is you then pass it through a chinois.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Do you remember the days when we used to put it in a muslin cloth and then twist it,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13and twist it, and twist it and then strain it all through?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- Yeah, and wash it and then twist it.- Yeah.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Used to do a bit of that, as well. Oh!
0:25:17 > 0:25:21- Then we're just going to season it with a little bit of sea salt.- Yeah.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Just a little bit, because everything is quite salty
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- with all these sea vegetables.- Sure.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28I'll just pour that in the jug.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31So, then it'll just make it easier to go in.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- Then all you do is pop it in the whippy gun.- Yeah.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41There's probably a more technical term than a whippy gun, but in Norfolk, we're...
0:25:41 > 0:25:44It's probably like samphire, we call it a whippy gun.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Pour that in.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51And then we just charge it up, we charge it up two times.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55I always turn it upside down, just to make sure that the gas then
0:25:55 > 0:25:59goes all the way through it, whereas sometimes people just do it down.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02So there's not too many elements in the dish, but I think it...
0:26:02 > 0:26:05it just works because it's so simple and so elegant.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And then, what we made a little bit earlier,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12- which I've always wanted to say.- Yeah.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Erm, we've got a little sea aster nage that we've just made, erm...
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- Sea aster? - Sea aster, I'll bring...
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- I don't know sea aster.- Well, let me bring the sea vegetables over,
0:26:21 > 0:26:22- what we've got.- OK.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- So, I assume that's the sea aster? - Yeah, this is sea aster.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- It looks wild garlic leaves, do you think?- Yeah, and if you feel it,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- it's slightly more leathery. - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- We've also got the- samphire. You've picked it?- Yes, we've picked it.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38So, kind of big bits, and then we just pick down the nice, tender leaves.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Erm, so all we're going to do is cook these really simply,
0:26:40 > 0:26:41just by blanching them.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- With any sea vegetables, no salt in the water.- OK.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Then we've got some, just to garnish,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49we're going to just pop on a little cucumber.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52This is a cucumber flower, then cucumber in the bottom.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54I've never seen the cucumber flower like that.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- I think that is just, it's beautiful.- Yeah.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- And it's spiky, you can feel it there.- Yes, yeah.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59It's quite amazing, that.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02And it adds texture to it, and especially at Morston,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05we don't put anything on the plate. I'm not one of these chefs
0:27:05 > 0:27:07who creates a bigger dish for the sake of creating it.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Everything on there has got to be there for a reason
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and to add something to the dish.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- OK, so, next job is...?- Right. - That fish must be cooked now.- Yeah.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17So, I'll just get the fish out the water bath.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19If people haven't got a water bath,
0:27:19 > 0:27:21it's not easy to control the temperature,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24- you'd just suggest they do it in a pan of boiling water?- Yeah.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30So, now all we're going to do is just lightly blowtorch this.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40So, now you've scorched it, next job is...?
0:27:40 > 0:27:43So, now the sea aster is just going on, to start to warm up.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And then, we're now going to go for the sponge.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Give it a shake.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50You might want to go somewhere else.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- So, that's just...- Quite amazing.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- So, it just goes in there like that. - Yeah.
0:27:58 > 0:27:59It goes in the microwave.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03So, 30 seconds,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and then I'll start to blanch some of my vegetables.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Again, like I was saying earlier, no salted water, just plain water.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12- You put them all in together?- Yes.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14MICROWAVE PINGS
0:28:14 > 0:28:17So we'll then just have a look, it'll be quite warm.
0:28:17 > 0:28:18Lovely.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And then you'll kind of see there, we've got a really light sponge.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- You'll see all the lovely bubbles. - Yeah, lovely, isn't it?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29But then, just with these, these have now just been cooked enough.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33- Because you kind of want that semi-raw taste to them.- Yeah.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35So, they'll just now go out onto here.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41I just love the way the colours stay, that's really...
0:28:41 > 0:28:44- Exactly. - ..part of the secret for me.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45What's that?
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Erm, we've just got some little fennel flowers that are
0:28:48 > 0:28:51going to go on there, as well. Erm, these are really intense,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53they almost taste like liquorice. I'm only going to give you one.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Actually, you're quite right, it's amazing.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00We sometimes we make an ice cream out of that, erm,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02and then sprinkle a few of the flowers over the top
0:29:02 > 0:29:04- and it's like a liquorice ice cream.- Lovely colour.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Everything's now coming together. Our sea aster nage is now coming up.
0:29:12 > 0:29:13Ah!
0:29:13 > 0:29:15It's a little swirl.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Oh, that's what makes a Michelin star.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Then we've just got our cod.
0:29:20 > 0:29:21Just go on there like that.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23A few fried onions, as well.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27So they'll flick around, and then we've got our sponge.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33- And that just...- It does look like a sponge, or a loofah.
0:29:33 > 0:29:34Yeah, exactly.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38- We've now got that Morston samphire now going on there.- Yeah.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41The old cucumber flower will just be tucked in there.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Adds that flavour, adds that texture.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46And then a few of the onions.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49And this kind of represents the quayside.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52So just a few of the, the fennel flowers on there.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55And then, that is what I would call
0:29:55 > 0:29:58my interpretation of Morston Quay.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00I'll tell you what, I bet Morston Quay is very proud
0:30:00 > 0:30:01of how it looks on a plate.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04- I hope so.- Thank you, Chef. - No, thank YOU.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11Let's take it and show my mate, Janet.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13- Right, then, let's go. - Off you go, good luck.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19I love nothing more than sampling locally-foraged produce,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23and with chef Richard Bainbridge's reputation for doing great things
0:30:23 > 0:30:27with local seafood, I can't wait to see what's on the menu.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33- Hi, Richard.- Hiya, how are you?
0:30:33 > 0:30:36- Fine.- Good. What we've got here is my interpretation of Morston Quay,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39so, kind of, when you walk down there and you see all the colours
0:30:39 > 0:30:41and the smells and the flavour, erm, that's what I've tried to
0:30:41 > 0:30:46- encompass on a plate, so, hopefully, you'll enjoy it.- Thank you. - Don't tell me if you don't, though.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48- LAUGHTER - Thank you.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52- What fish is this?- It's cod.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It's been cooked in a water bath
0:30:54 > 0:30:57and then it's been charred afterwards just to finish off.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02I can see samphire. And what's this spongy thing?
0:31:02 > 0:31:04I want you to taste it and see what you think it is.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09- It's quite sweet. So, it... - What do you think it is?
0:31:09 > 0:31:11Sponge. I don't know. LAUGHTER
0:31:11 > 0:31:13I've got no idea.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Is it something he picked up on the seashore?
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Er, not quite, it's parsley sponge.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21It's almost like marshmallow.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- But I like it.- Good.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25I've eaten all my sponge.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29And have you seen this here, look at that, do you know what that is?
0:31:29 > 0:31:30It's a baby...
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Oh, it's a flower of...
0:31:33 > 0:31:36- It's a cucumber flower. - Is it edible?
0:31:36 > 0:31:41- Yeah, yeah.- Give it to me.- It's raw.
0:31:41 > 0:31:42I love this.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- Because it's a bit like going for a walk along the seashore... - But it's even...
0:31:46 > 0:31:48..and encountering all different flavours in one.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52So all of these things, you'd find somewhere near Morston Quay.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55I like the idea of making a dish that's about a place.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58- Yeah.- That's clever. - It's clever, isn't it?
0:32:10 > 0:32:15I'm still on the hunt for a main ingredient for my celebratory cook.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Norfolk may be famous for its turkeys,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21but they could be about to have their feathers ruffled.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27At Highfield Farm, John and Ellie Savory are poultry farming pioneers.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30They're one of the first producers in the country to introduce
0:32:30 > 0:32:34a flock of quail to the wide range of other animals they breed.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- Hello, Brian. - Brian Turner, pleased to meet you.
0:32:37 > 0:32:38- Hello, hi, hi. - Hello, Janet.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Now, you're our quail farmer.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42I am indeed, yes, would you like to come and look around?
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- We would indeed, desperately. - Come this way.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Quails aren't native to Britain, so it's illegal to keep them outside.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Here, they're reared in special temperature-controlled barns,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57with enough space to fly.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Their chicks are highly susceptible to outside diseases,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03so we need to get kitted up before we can pay them a visit.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07So, how long have the family been here now?
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Er, we came here... my great-grandfather came in the 1890s.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Erm, and then my... so, then my grandfather and my father, erm...
0:33:14 > 0:33:16And they obviously weren't quail producers?
0:33:16 > 0:33:19No, back then, er, it was arable and we went into dairy farming,
0:33:19 > 0:33:23we were one of the first dairy farms in the country doing Friesian cows.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Erm, but then since then, we've done beef cattle, erm,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29organic line chickens, which we still do now, and quail,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32- we've been doing the quail now for about three years.- Quail! Why?
0:33:32 > 0:33:36Erm, there's nobody else in the country doing it, to the way we are.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39A lot of the new, a lot of chefs like to use it, and it replaced
0:33:39 > 0:33:42- the import from France, because most people were importing from France. - Right.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Did you go out to dinner one night and think, "Quail"?
0:33:45 > 0:33:47- Exactly. - Is that how you got the idea?
0:33:47 > 0:33:49- We did, yeah. - BRIAN CHUCKLES
0:33:49 > 0:33:50And then you thought, "Hm, I like quail"?
0:33:50 > 0:33:53No, what you thought was, "They're charging £35 per portion..."
0:33:53 > 0:33:55LAUGHTER
0:33:55 > 0:33:56"..we can make a profit here."
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Do come in and have a look at these chicks.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04My goodness, it's hot in here.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Yeah, it's about 32 degrees at the moment.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09Er, we start them, cos these are now a week old.
0:34:09 > 0:34:10We start them at 36 degrees
0:34:10 > 0:34:13and we bring the temperature down over the first week to about 32.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18But, you see, they're already starting to get their feathers.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20They're half-feathered on their wings.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22They don't appear to be frightened of anybody, they just...
0:34:22 > 0:34:24No, they're very quiet, there's no... they're not,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27not the same as chickens, they are very quiet and they're
0:34:27 > 0:34:30quite used to me, I spend quite a lot of time looking after them.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33- They're not indigenous to this country.- No, they're not.- Where do they originate?
0:34:33 > 0:34:36These are called Japanese quail, so they're from Asia.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38These are the quail that you'd find in restaurants around Europe.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41So, who are you selling them to? Restaurants?
0:34:41 > 0:34:43- Direct to restaurants, yeah. - Right.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Er, we go into quite a few of the Michelin-starred restaurants
0:34:46 > 0:34:49now, and a lot of local restaurants as well, some very good local restaurants.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52You see they're getting quite feathered now, already,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55considering they're only a week old. We've got virtually a full set of feathers on the wings,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58we've got some feathers coming through on the back already.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Which will be faster than chickens, cos they do mature really quite quickly.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06They're lovely, aren't they, eh? So, do you actually sex them?
0:35:06 > 0:35:07Yes, we do.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11- The cocks and the hens, you can't tell, cos these are too young so far.- Yeah.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13But you'll see the hens have a speckledy front and the cocks
0:35:13 > 0:35:16have, like, a red-coloured front, a rusty-coloured front.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19- Are you bonding with it, Brian? - I am, I'm bonding with this one,
0:35:19 > 0:35:23it's lovely. As they say in Italy, "Quail sera, sera."
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- Oh!- Do you get it? - LAUGHTER
0:35:26 > 0:35:29So, from here, we might as well go and see the hen birds and, er,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- where they lay the eggs.- OK.- OK.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36'John's flock numbers around 10,000 females bred for laying eggs.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40'And roughly the same amount of males that are reared for their meat.'
0:35:40 > 0:35:44Oh, look at them. And there's, there's lots of different colours here now, aren't there, eh?
0:35:44 > 0:35:47There's quite light ones in here. Light ones and dark ones.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49There's a... Hey, look, there's an egg there, look.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53- Where? Oh, yeah, there's an egg. - If I just catch one. - There's one here, look.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56You see, these are the hen birds, they've got a speckledy...
0:35:56 > 0:35:58- Oh, right, yeah. - ..a speckledy front on them.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Whereas a cock bird has a... has a rusty front.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04I'm just intrigued about these eggs that they lay, they're laying them
0:36:04 > 0:36:07and then they move on, they don't actually try to hatch them at all?
0:36:07 > 0:36:10No, no, they just lay them sort of willy-nilly and walk off,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13you can see down here we've got four eggs beside the feeder.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Er, but you can tell from the eggs that, er,
0:36:16 > 0:36:20they can camouflage them more. So, they're quite a light colour in here, which is a good sign,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23because that means the litter is clean.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25If the litter got very dirty, after a few days they can, they can
0:36:25 > 0:36:30- turn them to a lot, lot darker, they could be mostly this colour. - And how do you collect them,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32does someone just come in and go round picking them up?
0:36:32 > 0:36:34- Hands and... hands and knees. - Hands and knees.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36So, would you say they were free-range?
0:36:36 > 0:36:38No, they're not free-range, they are free to fly.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Er, in this country, we're not allowed to let them out
0:36:41 > 0:36:44because they're not indigenous, whereas they're free to fly,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47whereas most eggs brought into this country are all from caged birds.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49As you can see, they fly around the shed, erm,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52they've got all the room they need in here.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57Quails are well-known for their slightly sweet, gamey flavour.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00And as this county is famous for its game, I think
0:37:00 > 0:37:03these relative newcomers will make the perfect main ingredient
0:37:03 > 0:37:06for our celebratory dish to capture a taste of Norfolk.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10I'm making barbecued quail with pearl barley
0:37:10 > 0:37:14and local micro herbs, with a spring onion dressing.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17And we've invited a few of the locals we've met
0:37:17 > 0:37:19to give us their verdict.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22We've got all our friends over here that we met on our trip round Norfolk,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25and look at this lovely local produce.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28I love rosemary, of course we always eat rosemary with lamb.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- Yes.- But this smells so good.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32- It's so strong. - I just couldn't resist it.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35So, just pull all those little spears off there and then we just,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38we chop that up, roughly.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47- And then, a nice bit of rapeseed oil in there.- Yes. A fabulous colour.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52A bit of salt brings it out. I think that sort of makes it work, salt and pepper.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54That's all we really wanted for our marinade.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57And only for about 20 minutes, we don't want to marinade too much.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00So, what I'm going to do now, quickly, is take these quails.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Now, this is what they call spatchcock.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Just going to cut through the breast bit there, but just to the bone.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10And then turn it over and then just bash it down carefully, OK.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13- Oh, God, is that how you do it? - That's how, it's so simple.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15I've always made a right mess of it.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18It's so simple, and I'm just going to dip that in there.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21And to put it onto the barbecue, we're going to just stick
0:38:21 > 0:38:22a skewer through it.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26And keep it, just to try and keep it straight,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29keep its configuration nicely there.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33So, lift this up here... Oh, er....
0:38:34 > 0:38:36I'm going to cook them skin side down.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44And I'm going to close the lid and leave those in there.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46So, we've got lots of barley growing around here
0:38:46 > 0:38:48and I've got some pearl barley here.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50All I'm going to do is take some leek.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Shred it up and then in here with plenty of butter.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55So, now I've got a bit of heat in there,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I'm going to put the barley in.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59And give it a bit of a stir.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Right, so what I'm going to do now -
0:39:03 > 0:39:05I've got it now covered in a bit of butter.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07So, I'm going to use chicken stock.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13And it absorbs now the liquor, and I'm just going to keep adding
0:39:13 > 0:39:15chicken stock until you've got that texture I want.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19So, all we need to do now is to make a nice salad dressing.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22And I've got my lovely spring onions which are still in season,
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and I've got some quails' eggs.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Now, look, I want to see if you can peel one of these, OK?
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- Hand it over.- OK, good girl.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Whilst you do that I'm just going to shred a spring onion.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36God, they're a nightmare to peel.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37BRIAN CHUCKLES
0:39:37 > 0:39:40OK, let's have a quick look and see how we're getting on here.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46I'm going to turn them over now, just to seal the other side.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48- Brian?- Hello, my dear.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52- I've messed this up, so I'm eating it.- OK... right, fine.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54- Mm!- OK, look, a bit of mustard.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57- Hm, hm.- Now, spring onions.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02I found some local cider vinegar, fantastic.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Yo-ho!
0:40:06 > 0:40:08And then, rapeseed oil.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11That looks... delicious.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16Now I've got the salad over here.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19We've got to just put our quails' eggs in there, so we'll just do a...
0:40:19 > 0:40:21half a quail egg.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24- Look at that, did you peel that one? - Yeah.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28It looks brilliant, fantastic. Just a lovely colour.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32On top of there.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35And now I'm just going to get these onto the board here.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Right, so, I'm just going to take a cloth here
0:40:38 > 0:40:41and just quickly pull the skewer out.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43We don't need the skewer on there.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46So what we'll do is we'll take our barley.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49And stick it...
0:40:49 > 0:40:50up the middle of the dish.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57So, we'll put these...
0:40:57 > 0:40:58just lay them...
0:41:00 > 0:41:01..on top there.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09- Right, I'm just going to put a little bit of this dressing...- Yeah.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11..over the top, just to add that little bit of colour,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13that rapeseed oil and the spring onion,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16I just think it makes it look that little bit more attractive.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18And then the rest...
0:41:18 > 0:41:20goes in here.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23We'll just give that a little, er, stir around.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25And there you've got it, young lady.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30Local quail, barbecued with rosemary, pearl barley, spring onion dressing
0:41:30 > 0:41:35and lovely local micro herbs in a salad, with quail egg.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37It's the taste of Norfolk.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45Mm...
0:41:45 > 0:41:46that's juicy.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- Very good, Brian. - Please don't sound so surprised(!)
0:41:51 > 0:41:53LAUGHTER
0:41:53 > 0:41:57Right, I'd like everyone to come up and taste some, you deserve it.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02All right, OK, here you are.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10- A bit of leg there.- Do you want a bit of leg?
0:42:12 > 0:42:16It's beautiful and, erm, I'm having some people round for supper on
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Friday and this has inspired me and I'm going to do the pearl barley.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22- It's lovely, yeah, very, very nice. - So, what do you reckon, Richard?
0:42:22 > 0:42:25I think it's delicious, really taste of Norfolk.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34What a breezy time we've had in Norfolk.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37We've had coastal path walking,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41I've interacted with two living things, other than you.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Seals.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45And quails.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48- And you've cooked a fantastic meal. - Yeah, well, quails were perfect,
0:42:48 > 0:42:51but we, we went into that lovely restaurant at Morston Hall.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54And Richard did a fantastic job there.
0:42:54 > 0:42:55The micro herbs.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59- Oh, that was incredible.- They were, they were just...- Plants I'd never even heard of.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01Yeah, me neither, I still can't remember all of them.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04And the Norfolk quail with that little flavour of rosemary
0:43:04 > 0:43:07and that barley underneath,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10I think, says it ALL about the taste of Norfolk.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12Fabulous.
0:43:12 > 0:43:13SEAGULLS CRY