Angela Griffin A Taste of My Life

Welcome to A Taste Of My Life,

serving up famous lives on a plate.

Whether we cook them or eat them,

the dishes of our lives help paint a tasty portrait of who we are.

Which is why I'm going to be taking yet another special guest

on a culinary trip back in time.

Today's famous face hit the big time

at the ripe old age of just 16,

starring in Coronation Street.

Then, what's going on?

Look, I just want to be left alone.

All right?

Come on. I think we'd better get out of here.

Having been a huge hit as the Street's hairdresser,

she went on to star as a nurse

in the medical drama, Holby City.

That's what you get for fighting.

I heard he fell off his tricycle.

They want to open you up and take a look.

She really cut it as an actress

when she took on the role of the bunny-boiling beautician

in yet another hit drama.

You want her to love you?

You actually wish

for the love of a lard like that?

-Why not?

-Because she's obscene!

Yes, today's guest is actress Angela Griffin.

Coming up in today's show...

Angela's husband, Jason, cooks up a romantic surprise in our kitchen.

It was the first meal I ever cooked for Angela.

Co-star from Holby City, Lisa Faulkner,

reminisces over Angela's signature lobster dish.

Something she does brilliantly.

Amanda Holden issues Angela with a tasty challenge. Chocolate mousse.

Am I just supposed to know how to make a chocolate mousse?

-Angela Griffin, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.

-Thank you.

-You were born in Leeds.

-I was.

-Tell me about Mum and Dad.

I was brought up by Mum and my step-dad.

My dad went to live in America when I was four.

So I was with my mum and my step-dad, Wallace. Lovely Wallace.

We lived in a place called Cottingley.

And you know what? It was nice. I quite like estate living.

-And Mum did all the cooking?

-Mum did all the cooking.

It was all about meat and vegetables and potatoes. Every meal.

'Roast lamb is all about the cut of meat.

'Buy young lamb under a year old

'and make sure it looks bright and moist.'

So, tell me about the big roasts that Mum used to cook.

Big roasts, you're talking Sundays. We'd have lamb, pork or beef.

'For roasties, I always use King Edwards.

'For the best results, par-boil them before roasting.'

Mashed and roast potatoes

because our Steven and Kenny used to hate mash.

We'd have vegetables. They didn't like most of them,

but me and Mum did.

We'd have at least four different vegetables

and loads of gravy.

There was always loads of different things and that's my favourite thing.

I like as many different things on a plate as possible.

I get really bored if there's just one thing.

'Rub the meat with garlic.

'Season and cover with oil.

'Although I'm garnishing with rosemary,

you could try rubbing with lemon, or even using marjoram.'

As many different things on my plate as possible.

So roast is best cos you have loads. You get nine different things on your plate!

'Drain and then gently shake the potatoes. Bruising the edges

'will make them crispy when they come out of the oven.

'Whilst legs and shoulders are the most popular cuts of lamb,

'remember that though cheaper and sweeter,

'shoulders contain more fat.'

-You don't always want a lean piece of meat, do you?

-No.

Mind fingers!

-I feel we're friends!

-Absolutely.

-You don't remember your dad, do you?

-Very few memories of him.

We've spoken. We speak on the phone. He's very proud of what I do for a living and so on.

Which I always find quite amusing, cos it's like, "I'm glad you're proud of me.

"Not really anything to do with you, though, is it?"

From as young as five, Angela's acted.

But at just 16 years of age, she was spotted and picked up by Coronation Street.

You were barely out of your teens before you were actually a success.

This is every teenager's dream!

I know, but I didn't know that.

I'd never really watched Corrie before I got into it.

They are paying me phenomenal amounts of money

to go in and do my hobby!

-Go on, then!

-I could smack you!

-Go on, then!

Just goes to prove a point, doesn't it?

'In my day,'

we didn't go out all the time. Literally, it was a job.

I remember Coronation Street when it was black and white. Some of the first episodes!

-You say, "In my day", as well!

-I'm afraid I do!

When you were a teenager, did you eat well

or did you eat the rubbish people do at that age?

Were the things you liked Chinese and Indian food and so on?

Oh, Chinese food!

Do you know, I did, in fact me and my mum used to go on a Saturday,

we'd go to this Chinese restaurant.

We'd have the businessman's lunch.

We'd have tomato soup starter - this was the Chinese! -

and I thought it was normal!

Then it would be prawn curry or chicken and mushroom. I loved that.

'Well, I'm going for something a bit different.

'And without chicken.

'Sweet and sour mushrooms.

'Sweet and sour is the most famous dish to have come from China.

'As with all Chinese cooking,

'make sure your pan is frighteningly hot.

'If you're not scared of it, it's probably not ready.'

I loved it. I loved the mushrooms.

I'd eat the chicken first and leave the mushrooms.

Then get annoyed cos I was quite full.

Chicken, mushroom, chips, a well-known Chinese dish!

That was as international as it got in our house!

'The infamous sweet and sour taste

'was simply achieved by adding sugar and vinegar.'

Did you ever have the classic sweet and sour?

I didn't have sweet and sour till I was about 19.

I had chicken, mushroom and chips. That was it.

My taste didn't spread much further than that till I was a lot older.

'It might sound strange, but use wooden utensils rather than metal when stirring.

'Wood won't neutralise the subtle flavours of Chinese food

'in the way that metal does.

'To thicken, use cornflour

'and simply sprinkle some coriander for a fragrant taste of the Far East.'

We had pizza. International, isn't it?

Those stupid French bread beige pizzas.

-French bread pizzas?

-Yeah.

'Well, it's not pizza. And it's certainly not curry sauce.

'So we should serve up a little of Angela's childhood.

'Some chunky organic chips.'

There's some unusual smells going on here.

Just great!

It takes me right back.

-Tuck in.

-There's a way to do it. You have to have the chips on first.

They go in the middle and you put that on top of it. Not telling you what to do!

-You've stuck to your roots, haven't you?

-Yeah.

Not intentionally.

Every so often, I disappear away from my roots and look into a different life.

The posh party-drinking blinis,

you know, famous people and seeing headlines appear.

-Are you happy with the headlines?

-You know what you're doing. I hate whingers!

It does my head in! If you don't like it, go do something else!

-It's part of the deal?

-It really is part of the deal.

It means you can't go and do some things, cos it'll be written about.

If you don't want that, don't do it.

Now, you have a baby girl.

-I do.

-Tell me.

She's called Tallulah. Tallulah Jay.

How does this fit in with your job?

I've no idea!

I've absolutely no idea!

I'm really, really lucky

because my now husband is the most hands-on dad I know.

In fact, he does things a bit better than me.

Don't tell him I said that!

So he's fit and he's funny.

Fit, funny and the best dad in the world.

I have a little surprise for you, actually.

Jason's here, and he's going to knock up a little meal for you.

Oh, is he? My limelight stolen again!

Can you believe he's here?

No! But then, yes, I can, actually.

-Sorry!

-Always trying to get me out of the kitchen!

I'm going to cook Angela a risotto,

which is the first meal I think I ever cooked for Angela.

I thought, "If this doesn't get her in kip, nothing's going to!"

Arborio rice is quite a slow rice to cook, isn't it?

-It's got to take up all the stock.

-It needs a lot of attention to cook a risotto. Lots of stirring.

And Angela needs a lot of attention!

SHE LAUGHS

-Now, why risotto?

-I lived in Italy for a year.

One of the words I picked up was a word, "Il sospiro",

which means "the sigh".

Basically, that's what Italians call the first ladle of stock

to hit the rice.

And that "Sssssss" sizzle, is called Il sospiro, the sigh.

I feel there's some romantic connotations, there.

I love being in the kitchen with you. It's nice. You're the calmest chef I've ever seen.

In fact, if you were a band, you'd be The Lighthouse Family.

Gordon Ramsay would be Black Sabbath and Jamie Oliver would be Steps!

Let's rock!

So you start yours in olive oil?

In with the rice.

-This is arborio?

-Risotto rice.

So it's the short, dumpy...

The short, dumpy stuff.

Are you looking forward to "Il sospiro"?

I'm certainly looking forward to "Il sospiro".

-Angie, looking forward to it?

-I just sighed.

Here it is.

SIZZLING

Huh?

How about that for a sigh?

-I'm going to pour more stock in. Do you mind?

-You be the stock man.

The thing is, you want the rice to be cooked

at exactly the same time as the mushrooms.

-That's a tricky one to judge.

-A very tricky one to judge.

My timing's all out!

The old knob of butter at the end?

Yeah. I think so.

There's also a name for that.

But I can't remember it.

Il knobiro!

Oops! Crikey.

Salt.

..Cos I just cane it.

I can't wait to eat this.

-Oh, really?

-I assume I'm getting some?

You can have a small portion.

The piece de resistance...

is that.

It just melts in.

Help yourself, Nigel.

You've got a panful!

Smells good. The Parmesan. Are you looking at me lovingly?

-I always look at you lovingly.

-Bless you.

Baby, that's absolutely beautiful.

Well, Nigel stirred.

-Nigel, it's beautiful.

-Great stirring.

Jason made it.

Are we like Jordan and Peter Andre?

No. We're like the Two Fat Ladies!

Still to come on A Taste Of My Life...

Friend and actress Lisa Faulkner rustles up a lobster spaghetti.

I did Ready Steady Cook and I lost.

Amanda Holden remembers food and frolics

on the set of Cutting It.

We'd sit in each other's flats, wearing new underwear, nothing else,

with an Indian takeaway, watching Sex And The City.

And I pull together Angela's final feast,

including the most dangerous of banoffee pies!

Mine's the best final feast, isn't it?

How are you as a friend? Do you cook for friends?

They do like my cooking.

Our friendship was based a lot around food!

Are these Holby friends?

My Holby friends, yes.

Lisa Faulkner and Nicola Stevenson are the two bestest friends ever.

And I met them in Holby.

I've got another little surprise for you. Or rather, someone else has.

Oh, my God!

I love cooking. I love cooking.

I'm not bad at it.

I'm just not sure if I do it right. So now I feel I'm on display

and that Nigel could be telling me off.

It's all arranged so I look like a proper celebrity chef.

What I'm going to make is lobster spaghetti.

The reason I'm making that is that it's Angela's signature dish. It's something she does brilliantly.

She always phones up for this recipe.

-Glad she's written it down.

-She's my best friend.

It's not reducing very well. It is, but not as fast as I thought.

I did Ready Steady Cook and I lost!

I'm putting in my cherry tomatoes.

I'll never forget when we were going out in Leeds,

and we stood outside a kebab shop, and there was a great big queue.

There were people shouting at her,

cos she'd just come out of Corrie,

and there she is, all glamorous in this kebab shop,

and she's like this with this great big kebab, "All right?"

I thought, "This is why I just love her."

I hope it works and they're soft enough

cos I'm gonna crush them with a potato masher.

They're getting a bit stuck.

A bit of sugar to cut through the acidity of the tomatoes.

I sound like such a proper person!

Do you think it works with this as well?

-Look at her throw that!

-It stuck!

Well done, Lisa!

She always makes me feel better about situations

that I might be crying or screaming about.

When I see her with Tallulah, I think, "I'd love her to be my mummy!"

Because the way she looks after her is amazing.

She's the same with her friends. She's great.

I love you, Ange.

-Are you hungry?

-Oh, yeah.

I just love it.

It's weird. The pasta takes on the flavour of the lobster.

I love today. I can have lobster spaghetti!

So, such early success

with Coronation Street and Holby City.

Did things, on a practical sense,

like eating out and things, did that alter?

Yeah, stuff like that did. And having money.

That was possibly the major change,

all of a sudden you go from £57 a week at Burger King

to £1,000, Coronation Street.

I'd go into restaurants and have things like goat's cheese starters!

And chicken in sauce. It's got to be a posh sauce.

A white wine sauce, or just sauce!

Got a bit of sauce in one of those little pots!

'There is something very humble about Angela's taste of success.

'But I have a pet gripe with chicken in white wine sauce.

'When people say to use cheap plonk, they're wrong.

'Wine is, after all, the principal flavour.

'So even if you don't put in expensive wine,

'make sure it's the wine you like to drink.'

Chicken liver pate with marmalade and brioche.

I didn't even know what brioche was, but here I am, I can order it!

Just anything like that, anything that you can't make at home.

Or what you didn't think you could make at home.

'And chicken liver pate is precisely the kind of thing

'we'd rather buy than make.

'And yet it's so simple.

'It's essential that your butter is very hot.

'The aim of frying them first

'is to seal the outside of the livers

'and keep them pink at the centre.

'If you don't, your pate will lose its hidden magic.'

There's something I've always had where I love

kind of a decadence of doing stuff and eating stuff and being places

that I kind of know I shouldn't really be going to.

-Sure.

-Angie from the block

should be still in Burger King working.

But Angie from the block is actually

on the 37th floor of a seven-star hotel

and ordered a £200 meal!

'Cover the pate in butter

'and place in the fridge.

'Angela Griffin's taste of success.'

So your favourite chicken liver pate

with onion marmalade and toast.

-Are you having some?

-It really pains me to say no!

-Why not?

-I can't. I'm pregnant.

OK!

I'm up the proverbial duff! I am with child.

-Your series, Down To Earth.

-Yeah.

-Tell me about it.

-Cos I absolutely love it.

-It's such a lovely series. Such a lovely series.

'Doing the first series of that was possibly my favourite job.'

No, it's fine.

-Look, maybe I can...

-No, no.

It's so very, very different from Waterloo Road.

Oh, on the opposite scale of Waterloo Road.

Waterloo Road - urban, Rochdale, middle of winter!

Did you enjoy it, though?

Yeah, I did enjoy it. It was very different.

The storylines are just so interesting, dealing with a school

'and the pupils.'

Hi, I just thought I'd introduce myself. Kim Campbell,

head of pastoral care.

Welcome to Waterloo Road Comp.

'Now school is so pressured. You've got to do this, got to do that.'

Parents are going, "Go to school and study and do this."

Tell me. On my first day at school,

they tied my tie to the railings, so when the teacher blew the whistle,

and the other kids lined up,

I was at the end of the yard, tied to the railings!

From then on, I just waited to be beaten up

or something, every single day. I hated being at school.

You've actually told me quite a lot about your cooking.

-And you sound pretty good at it.

-Oh...

But I've got a little challenge for you.

In fact, someone else is going to give you a challenge.

I thought Angela, when I met her, was really sassy.

She, on the set of Cutting It, was the "psychologist"

and the person that gave us all our advice.

When she used to pick me up from school, I used to hide,

I was that ashamed of her.

'Every single Wednesday,'

we'd buy brand-new underwear, I don't know why,

and we'd sit in each other's flats wearing this underwear.

Nothing else! With an Indian takeaway, watching Sex And The City.

I still don't know why we did it in our underwear. Nothing going on!

Oh, God, this is a family show. Sorry!

-Angela...

-Oh, what?

-This is a big challenge.

You haven't got a Magimix in the kitchen, but you've got Nige.

I want you to make a chocolate mousse.

And you can give some to me, as well!

Am I just supposed to know how to make a chocolate mousse?

Doesn't everybody?

No, they bloody don't!

Bless her! They used to call me the Buffet Slayer!

Amanda Holden renamed me the Buffet Slayer!

Nice.

Offended? I was!

'Time for a chocolate mousse,

'Amanda and Angela's favourite dessert from the buffet.'

-So, Amanda's challenge.

-Yes.

-Miss Holden.

-Are you up for it?

I'll have a crack at it.

-A bit of butter in.

-Bit of butter.

Chocolate! Decadence again.

She's so strong!

-It's good chocolate. It's that snap of good chocolate.

-Lovely!

You can just leave them big.

I remember melting chocolate when I was little.

I always let chocolate do its own thing. If you play with it sometimes

-it'll seize on you.

-I could ruin it with one stir.

No. Just stirring's OK

but if you really play with it too hard, it'll seize and thicken up.

-I've learnt a valuable lesson.

-There's a point where chocolate melts and it still looks solid.

If you whisk that too soon, will it droop?

It droops. It goes back to being egg white.

It goes back and it won't whip up again. A curious thing of cookery.

This is a very purist chocolate mousse. No sugar, no cream,

this is the real thing, isn't it? Chocolate, butter and eggs.

Look at it.

-Can I whip these whites for you?

-Yes, please.

Stir them in before they sort of cook.

Gently all mixed in.

You can take the whites to the chocolate or the chocolate to the whites. Do it this way.

Chocolate is one of those things that you have to treat with respect.

-And gentle.

-Anything with air in it, like egg whites

or anything you're folding in,

-I think it's best to be tender.

-Yeah.

I wonder if Amanda's watching this?

I think your mousse is looking pretty good.

Just a wee dram!

I'm gonna just break it open.

What's all this about you watching...

..Sex And The City in your underpants?

I hate the word "underpants"!

-Like a slumber party, but an underwear party?

-Exactly.

Girls in their knickers party! That's fine.

'So, what does Angela eat when it's time to relax?'

This is my idea of culinary heaven.

I mean, oh...

-Cheese on toast, best thing on earth.

-So simple and you always have the ingredients in.

-Crumpets!

-Look at this!

-And butter and jam.

-Honestly.

-And what's that?

-Cherry tomato pasta.

Again, always have the ingredients in.

What's that?

That is heaven.

That's cold rice pudding straight out of the can.

This, I could just sit...

It's just the best. This is full-fat as well. Wa-hey!

What do you think of Size Zero?

It infuriates me. It makes me so angry.

I don't want my daughter growing up thinking that's what's meant to be.

These are things I have when I'm just having a bit of a chill-out.

I'll have a couple of crumpets or I'll have that.

-That's fine.

-There isn't bad food. There are bad diets.

Exactly. But crumpets, apart from the butter,

are really quite healthy.

No point in a crumpet without the butter!

But you can still have a crumpet, though. That's the point.

-Do you want a crumpet?

-I'll have a crumpet!

'So let's celebrate Angela's life so far

'with a huge slap-up final feast.'

Tempura prawns. That's part of my Japanese feast.

'My advice with all fresh prawn dishes

'is to de-vein the prawns first.

'However, always leave the tails on.

'Not only are they prettier, but they give you something to hold onto.'

I just love them. I love the really lovely light batter.

That quick-frying thing.

I kind of think it's not actually unhealthy.

'Now, when it comes to the batter,

'you can use beer.

'But my preference is fizzy mineral water.

'The bubbles of both will make your batter lighter.

'And don't overcrowd the pan.

'Too many prawns vying for space

'will bring the heat of the oil down and they won't cook properly.'

-Scallops.

-And what are they on?

On mash with truffle oil. I love truffle oil.

'The catch-phrase with scallops is, "Less is more".

'Virtually show them the griddle pan for a matter of seconds

'to give them that dark, nutty pattern.

'There's a good tip for making great mash.

'Use hot milk for a smooth and velvety finish.'

I just love mashed potatoes, so everything's all in one there.

And then...

-It's the naughtiest pudding I've ever seen in my life!

-It's obscene!

'Banoffee pie.

'Simply named as the two halves of the main ingredients,

'banana and toffee.

'Traditional recipes for this dessert

'used to involve unopened cans of condensed milk

'to create the caramel sweet filling.

'Not surprisingly, this has resulted in many explosions

'and some injuries.

'So to ensure your health and safety,

'I suggest you buy some pre-made caramel mixture.'

So naughty!

I think it is actually the naughtiest.

Apart from maybe triple chocolate, double chocolate with chocolate custard cream.

'Of course, don't forget your bananas.

'They're about the only whiff of healthiness in this beast!

'After you've whipped your cream,

'cover the bananas and shave dark chocolate over the top.

'You could use cocoa.

'Once you've eaten this,

'it will almost certainly have been your final feast!'

Mine's the best final feast, isn't it?

-It's a fabulous final feast.

-It's your favourite, isn't it?

This is just amazing.

You're not eating your feast alone. You can have friends and family.

Got to have Jason.

Got to have my husband.

I'm gonna have Lisa and Nicola as well.

I'm also gonna have Jonathan Ross.

Are you?

I've got a little, tiny crush on him.

Nothing I'd ever act upon because I'm very, very happily married.

I'm gonna have Victoria Beckham.

-OK.

-OK?

-Mm-hmm.

-She might like the sushi.

-Yep.

She'll love it.

You've got a wish as well.

One wish.

My wish would be that all my friends could have one wish.

I've got everything I need.

I've got my husband, and my baby

and everything's quite nice in my life.

I'd like... Yeah, I'd give my friends one wish.

Angela Griffin, thank you very much for being a guest

on A Taste Of My Life.

Thank you very much for having me as a guest

and giving me this lovely food.

Especially the banoffee pie!

-Cheers!

-Cheers!

Subtitles by Moira Diamond Red Bee Media Ltd - 2007

What's the point at which you think, "I need crumpet"?

I mean "comfort"! Sorry!

Oh, Nigel, Nigel, Nigel!