0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hello and welcome the show that dishes up famous lives on a plate.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31Like DNA, the food of one's life can paint a revealing picture of who we really are.
0:00:31 > 0:00:37By tasting and smelling the foods of our past, a world of memories can come flooding back
0:00:37 > 0:00:40which is why I'm going to be taking today's guest
0:00:40 > 0:00:42on a culinary trip down memory lane.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Now, he first beamed into our living rooms as an alternative
0:00:45 > 0:00:50to watching the 9 O'Clock News, winning audiences of 18 million.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00He then went on to become half of one of the most popular comedy duos in television history.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Course, the way to make money nowadays is to get into property.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Yeah, I know, yeah, but I haven't got the temperament for it.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- How do you mean?- Well, I couldn't be a burglar, you know...
0:01:10 > 0:01:14More recently, however, he's opted for the more civilised job
0:01:14 > 0:01:17of preserving the country's architectural heritage.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23You can make a difference by voting for your favourite building.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26And you can vote as often as you can and do.
0:01:26 > 0:01:32Yes, today's guest is actor, comedian, all round entertainer and businessman, Griff Rhys Jones.
0:01:32 > 0:01:39And coming up in today's show - Griff's mum tells us what a naughty boy he was over bangers and mash.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Oh, yes, of three children he would be in more trouble
0:01:42 > 0:01:43than the other two.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I've said I'm a mummy's boy and she said, "Yes, and what trouble he was."
0:01:46 > 0:01:53His daughter challenges us both to make sushi which proves to be much trickier than either of us thought.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Darling, you would want something annoyingly fiddly, wouldn't you?
0:01:57 > 0:02:04And college friend Clive Anderson makes a few pots of marmalade even though Griff doesn't eat it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I've a funny feeling he doesn't like marmalade!
0:02:06 > 0:02:08That figures!
0:02:11 > 0:02:15- Griff Rhys Jones, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.- Thank you.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17- Now, you were born in Cardiff.- Yes.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Tell me a little bit about your childhood.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23What do you think of when you think of being at home?
0:02:23 > 0:02:25My first memories being brought up
0:02:25 > 0:02:28in the grounds of the Edward VII Sanatorium.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31My father was a doctor. He was a hospital doctor.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35So as hospital doctors do, they're a bit like being in the RAF,
0:02:35 > 0:02:36they get new appointments.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41Now, you've described your childhood, I think, as one scurrilous outrage after another.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Scurrilous to my mum and dad.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46I don't have enough skeletons in my cupboard.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50I always think it would be better if I spent a little spell in clinic.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53What was the sort of food that Mum would have cooked at home?
0:02:53 > 0:02:55She took great pride in her cookery
0:02:55 > 0:02:58but I wasn't a great fan of the experimental food.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03I didn't like casseroles. I preferred the sort of more standard.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06- Chops and peas? - Yeah, chops were a great thing.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08- Chops.- Fantastic.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11- Chops with a little bit of Lea & Perrins.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16A good lamb chop is all about choosing the right cut of meat.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18So here's a few ground rules.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20The smaller the chop, the younger the lamb.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23The younger the lamb, the milder flavour.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Thus the more tender the meat will be.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Whilst I'm grilling these,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32you can marinate them with mint, oil or garlic.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Griff, was there any particular dish
0:03:34 > 0:03:36that you have a very sort of soft spot for?
0:03:36 > 0:03:41We ate quite a lot of shepherd's pie and rissoles and I love those things.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Shepherd's pie - although it might have aficionados dashing for
0:03:45 > 0:03:50the nearest exit, a splash of red wine will add some richness
0:03:50 > 0:03:52to what is simply a recipe for leftovers.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Essentially they're a recycling process, aren't they?
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- Yeah.- You had a lamb.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02I've never been so enormously fond of an ordinary roast lamb dinner
0:04:02 > 0:04:10but lamb minced, cold lamb minced and then reused is the most delicious.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It's the basics, isn't it, of kebabs and things like that?
0:04:13 > 0:04:17It's the basis of rissoles. It's the basis of a good shepherd's pie.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Good sort of lamb shepherd's pie.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And whilst convention says to top your shepherd's pie with
0:04:23 > 0:04:26mashed potato, you could make a parsnip or celeriac mash.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Of course, when I was six, I think shepherd's pie was probably my ideal.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35That and rissoles.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39My mother used make rissoles which I assume were made with already cooked lamb.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Yeah, cooked lamb. Faggots are made with raw meat.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46And the rissole is made with yesterday's roast lamb.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51And there are simply 101 ways to make rissoles.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54For these I'm using parsley, rosemary and garlic.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Let the egg bind them together.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00For a healthier option you could try using turkey mince.
0:05:00 > 0:05:06And for vegetarians, try using Swiss chard and oat flakes.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I suppose I just rather liked rissoles because they were a
0:05:09 > 0:05:13bit like sort of Mum's hamburgers, I suppose, or the equivalent of them.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Like savoury rock cakes.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Yes, delicious.
0:05:21 > 0:05:27Rissoles in French means to brown by frying and essentially these are glorified meatballs.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34So, Griff, can I offer you some shepherd's pie or a chop or some rissoles or...
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Is it "or" or am I allowed to try a little bit?
0:05:37 > 0:05:41I'd love to try the shepherd's pie and I'd love to try the rissoles because, you know...
0:05:41 > 0:05:45- Well, I mean, I'd love to try the chops as well. - Picturing your family
0:05:45 > 0:05:49at home eating round the table, it would be this sort of food...
0:05:49 > 0:05:50And it would be noisy.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Who would be making the most noise, I wonder?
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- Everybody.- I wasn't allowed to speak at the table, I'm jealous.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58I was absolutely standard for us.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03Not only speak, shriek, because obviously because everybody was talking at once and eating,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and you couldn't hear quite what everybody was saying,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08so there'd be a constant barrage of instruction.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Did you get on well with the rest of the family?
0:06:11 > 0:06:15We were relatively close family but I don't think of ourselves as being
0:06:15 > 0:06:19one of those New Age families who sort of talk to each other
0:06:19 > 0:06:20and have things to say.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25My brother and I will grunt at each other perhaps, if we see each other.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- Yeah, but you know what you mean? - Exactly.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- Now, you describe yourself as being a mummy's boy.- Hmm.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36What exactly did you mean by that?
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Are we talking knitting and things?
0:06:38 > 0:06:43I don't have any of the sort of masculine hobbies or virtues.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44Putting up shelves.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48I don't play golf. I don't go to pubs and drink.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50I collect textiles, things like that,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54and I'm really interested in home furnishings.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Mum was a stay-at-home mum, she was a housewife, quite a rarity these days,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01so, you know, we spent a lot of time being ferried about,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04looked after and pampered by my mother.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Well, I've got a very special message for you.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08- Right.- Right now.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09- You have.- I have.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Sausage and mash. Bangers and mash.
0:07:20 > 0:07:26Which is obviously a family favourite, rather than I didn't think it was Griff's favourite,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28but he's changed and I shouldn't think
0:07:28 > 0:07:30he'd know a sausage now if he had one but...
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Oh, yes, I suppose of the three children
0:07:33 > 0:07:38he would be more in trouble than the other two, yeah.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Well, I'm astounded.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45But we did have bangers and mash and peas.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Griff didn't like cabbage and he wouldn't eat sprouts
0:07:48 > 0:07:52because he said they were little cabbages on sticks.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Looking quite good, aren't they? Nice fat sausages.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Even as a child he worked hard and played hard.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Always with his head in a book, he read a lot.
0:08:01 > 0:08:07Always scribbling of some sort, drawing. He also could be trouble.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Got lost on a beach down in Sussex, when we were in Sussex.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16When he says he's a mummy's boy, I always feel that we're fairly close
0:08:16 > 0:08:21but of course now his life is so very different from mine.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Very different. Different from us as a family, really.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27So, you know, he's moved on.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31I think he's still very family-orientated really.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36You see, she said you were naughty.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42Yes, she did. All the time, on and on about how much trouble I'd be and I couldn't believe it.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45What sort of betrayal is that when I've said I'm a mummy's boy
0:08:45 > 0:08:46she said, "Yes, and what trouble he was"?
0:08:50 > 0:08:54At 18 years of age, Griff left home to go to Cambridge University
0:08:54 > 0:09:00where he first discovered the joys of performing in the Cambridge Footlights.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I threw myself at the place. It was great.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Suddenly I was free of family and so I had a rather good time.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Tell me a little bit about the Cambridge Footlights.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16I was in the Footlights as a sort of spare time activity really.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I wanted to be a director. I wanted to be Cecil B. DeGriff!
0:09:20 > 0:09:26So I used to sort of do a turn which involved fooling around a lot.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29And so your mates there...
0:09:29 > 0:09:33- were who?- I spent a lot of time with Jimmy Mulville who runs Hat Trick.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Rory McGrath, Clive Anderson.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Well, I've got another little surprise you.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Oh, my goodness.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42PINK PANTHER THEME
0:09:42 > 0:09:44GRIFF CHUCKLES
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I'm making marmalade.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49I've inherited, as I have, a lot of things from my father.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Every year, he would make marmalade and I find myself doing it.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58I know I'm cooking for Griff, I have a funny feeling he doesn't like marmalade.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01That absolutely figures that he would make something that I don't like.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03He used to eat masses of food. He used to have everything.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09Cook food, go out to restaurants, lashings of seafood, meat, cream, cakes. Everything.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Then, over the years, he's pretty well abolished everything
0:10:13 > 0:10:16except decaffeinated water. I could learn to like this.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20This is what it must be like being Nigella Lawson.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23I'm not sure how these work, but I'm fairly certain.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26So, here goes...
0:10:26 > 0:10:27Oh dear!
0:10:29 > 0:10:31No, don't stick a spoon in it, Clive!
0:10:31 > 0:10:34I'll go for broke on this and put a heavier weight of orange down there.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37- See if that works. - Don't put your hand in it!
0:10:37 > 0:10:43What I've got is a good marmalade mix at the bottom and, basically...
0:10:43 > 0:10:46whole oranges at the top. Try and put a bit of water in it.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Ah.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53Whoever screamed out from home, "Put some water in it, you idiot!" was right.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59I can see why they and their money doing cookery shows.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I know what you're like in television.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05All these ones that are successful you won't be showing.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09You'll be showing the couple that were tricky at the beginning.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14It is quite satisfying. The whole room, the whole kitchen,
0:11:14 > 0:11:20smells of orange and also all the floor is now sticky cos there's bits...
0:11:20 > 0:11:23The kitchen table has got dribbles of marmalade juice.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27When you're making marmalade for Griff, always use a long spoon.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31That's a puddle of marmalade cooling off. It is like paint drying really, isn't it?
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Griff, my old mucker, I hope you enjoy this marmalade
0:11:35 > 0:11:40and you think of me every time you eat it or at least look at it and say, "I don't like marmalade.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43"Why has Clive given me marmalade? I can't stand it".
0:11:46 > 0:11:49It's fascinating to see Clive doing that.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- I've got some of Clive's marmalade. - Yes, cos that's real bloke cooking, isn't it?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55There's something about men and marmalade.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59It looks a good consistency, doesn't it?
0:11:59 > 0:12:00It looks perfect.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08It's marmalade! It's great! It tastes like marmalade. It's got marmalade flavour.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Still to come on A Taste of my Life, Griff is simply horrified
0:12:12 > 0:12:17as best mate Bob trashes Griff's prize boat making breakfast.
0:12:17 > 0:12:24- Get that out the way.- We're both thrown in at the deep end with a very fishy challenge. I think...
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Should you say, "I think"?- Well...
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- Have you done this yourself?- No.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34And Griff talks about his long-lasting partnership with Mel Smith.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I found increasingly that I would take on the feminine role.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39I would have to be the one who did the cooking.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Not long after graduating, Griff joined Mel Smith,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Rowan Atkinson and Pamela Stephenson in Not The 9 O'clock News.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52It was a runaway hit.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54It was massively successful.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It had about 18 million viewers.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Yes. For some of the repeats, yes. It was terrific. A great big phenomenon.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04How do you make that leap from university into something as successful as that?
0:13:04 > 0:13:07It was just a form of what I had been doing really,
0:13:07 > 0:13:14which was doing sketch comedy from the age of 18, and here I was at the age of 26 still doing it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17You don't acknowledge a change,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19you just sit back slightly and go,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26"Those people on the other side of the road are all pointing at us. "Ooh, that's a bit funny!"
0:13:26 > 0:13:32I've spoken to people who say that there was one particular thing they ate that they suddenly sort of
0:13:32 > 0:13:38connected it with success and with their life working out or going in the direction they wanted it.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- Cos you're very fond of Eggs Arnold Bennett, aren't you?- I am, yes.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Not my sort of dish because I'm not fond of eggs.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50I do like the taste of eggs and fish together.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55I think they're a fantastic combination and is quite a complicated dish
0:13:55 > 0:14:00to get right, so if I eat out and I see it on the menu, I'll eat it.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Eponymously named after the novelist,
0:14:03 > 0:14:09Eggs Arnold Bennett is essentially a flat but fluffy open-faced omelette made with smoked haddock.
0:14:09 > 0:14:16Firstly, you need to cook the fish and create the sauce that will eventually join the egg whites.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I'm poaching my haddock in milk.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25The difficulty with egg
0:14:25 > 0:14:31obviously is...the problem with eggs is getting it absolutely right when it comes to the table.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Because it's very easy for egg to turn into a sort of jelly.
0:14:35 > 0:14:41With the milk, I then make the bechamel sauce but you could use creme fraiche.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44But make sure you watch the amount of salt in your seasoning.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Don't forget the haddock is already salted.
0:14:47 > 0:14:53The knack is getting enough air into your egg whites to ensure the lightest of omelette finishes.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58It's actually very complicated to cook properly and so I love Egg Arnold Bennett if it's done well.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Is almost like a test of the restaurant.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's a test of the restaurant and also a test of the waiter.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08I remember being a waiter at the Savoy and people used to come in for a pre-theatre supper
0:15:08 > 0:15:13and you had to rush it from the kitchen and put it in front of the customer very quickly
0:15:13 > 0:15:19so that it didn't congeal or set and that it was served at that perfect texture and perfect consistency.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23People get very fussy about that quivery egg thing.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28You're looking for a perfectly browned and mottled underbelly before popping under the grill.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33And, oh yes, if you're not rushing to get this in front of your guests, you're sure to fail.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36There's no specific set recipe.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- Oh, I think there probably is, it's just that people like to stray from recipes.- Right.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Tell me, I'm intrigued to know about...
0:15:44 > 0:15:47I mean, you went on to work with Mel,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and very famously in Smith and Jones.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Do you miss not working with Mel?
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Well, it was...
0:15:55 > 0:15:59No, is the honest truth. The reason is not because...
0:15:59 > 0:16:01- Because we did it for so long. - Dr Jekyll!
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Dr Jekyll, are you all right in there? Dr Jekyll?
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Did you ever argue?
0:16:12 > 0:16:17No, not specifically. But Mel is very fascinating because although there's a sort of...
0:16:17 > 0:16:21almost Tony Soprano element about Mel - he's a big bloke
0:16:21 > 0:16:24and you don't argue with him - he doesn't like quarrels.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28And me, I'm somebody who comes from - as I explained - a family
0:16:28 > 0:16:31who liked to shout and scream and generally let it all hang out.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35That should have been a recipe for disaster, but on the contrary.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Who the hell are you?
0:16:40 > 0:16:45- What are you doing in my surgery? - Jekyll, I'm very worried about the prescription you've been giving me.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49When we went away to write a film together, I found increasingly that I would take on the feminine role.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53I would have to be the one who did the cooking and the clearing up and Mel...
0:16:53 > 0:16:58I think the only time we got close to splitting up was when they stuck us in a caravan together.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59Ah yes, but that...
0:16:59 > 0:17:06That was a mistake because gradually Mel's stuff was sort of spread out everywhere.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08I was sitting there thinking,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12"Well, this isn't going... Whose caravan is this?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15"I thought it was both our caravans".
0:17:15 > 0:17:18But everything was great. The sex was good...
0:17:23 > 0:17:27You cook for yourself but do you ever cook for your kids?
0:17:27 > 0:17:29- For my kids?- Yeah.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32I'm trying to think if I ever have very much.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Not really, No. No, that's terrible, isn't it?
0:17:34 > 0:17:38- I've got a little surprise for you. - Right.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44Dad, you introduced me to sushi and seeing as you haven't eaten carbs for the last five years,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49I think it would be worth you handling some rice and making some sushi for me.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- Oh really?!- There's a challenge.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54Are you up for it?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Yes, I can have a go at making sushi but it's hardly...
0:17:57 > 0:17:59I mean, I wouldn't say that...
0:17:59 > 0:18:05- it was a great test of my culinary skills apart from using a knife properly, isn't it?- We'll see.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Oh really.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Don't tell Griff but this is my first attempt at making sushi.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16So this is Katherine's challenge for you to make some sushi for her.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- Right.- Have you meet sushi before? - No, I haven't actually.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22- Well, I think we should have a go even though...- Of course.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- I don't know how authentic clingfilm is but we're going to use it.- Right.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33We are making a roll here. What are they called?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35- Maki rolls.- Maki rolls.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38It's a gorgeous thing.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Isn't it beautiful? Your toasted seaweed.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46This is this very sticky sushi rice. It has sat in a bit of rice vinegar.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50- Now, I think...- Should you say, "I think"? Have you done this yourself?
0:18:50 > 0:18:54No. Do you want to spread that rice over your...
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- Right.- There's always an orange bit down the middle, isn't there?- Ye-es.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01So we need to cut very slender pieces of fish
0:19:01 > 0:19:03which we then lay into a sort of sandwich effect.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05No, I think we just need one.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08It's just a little orange thing in the middle.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Yeah, like a sort of spiral.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13But we need to make sure that it goes all the way along.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17No, because I think the orange bit is always in the middle, isn't it?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Think about the last sushi you ate.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- Didn't it have a core of stuff in the middle?- Yes.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24I'll take your word for it. I can't work it out now.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Where's that going?
0:19:26 > 0:19:30- In the middle too, I think. - OK. Is it like a sort of roulade?
0:19:30 > 0:19:34- It's like a roulade.- In, in, along? Like this? Anywhere in particular?
0:19:34 > 0:19:38- Just in the middle?- I guess so. - Oh, you're going that way?
0:19:38 > 0:19:42- I thought we were going that way! - You changed your mat round.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43No, I haven't. I probably have.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47I have to say, anybody watching at home wouldn't have followed at all,
0:19:47 > 0:19:52this cookery demonstration. They'll be thinking - what have they done?
0:19:52 > 0:19:56- You take the whole mat.- Oh, do you? Oh, I see.- I think so.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Hang on, it's going round that way. It can be done.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02- I hope nobody Japanese is watching this.- I know.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07And all for the benefit of my daughter. You would want something fiddly, wouldn't you?
0:20:07 > 0:20:12- You don't want the bit of cloth? - You're not not using your mat.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- I'm not using it, no.- I've ended up with a huge roulade.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21An enormous one with rather too much rice, actually. Ooh.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Ooh?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Come on. That's fantastic.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Oh good. Here we go. Where is your conveyor belt?
0:20:30 > 0:20:37- The real skill is in knowing when your fish is ultra fresh.- It's got be absolutely spanking fresh.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- Because, a bit manky, and you wouldn't want it.- You'd be dead.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- A bit of sushi. - Yes, thank you very much.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Mm. Jolly good.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Now, we'll see.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Um... I've dropped it.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Sort of nearly.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56It is sushi. Recognisably sushi.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58- First attempt.- Mm.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02There's definitely more of a kick of salmon in that.
0:21:02 > 0:21:09Whereas I think in the one we've made, we've slightly ended up with a bigger, more mass of rice.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12That looks more like a maki roll, I have to admit.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- You didn't roulade yours. - I didn't really, did I?
0:21:15 > 0:21:20- No, you managed to stuff it with enough stuff.- Too much rice. I think that might be budget sushi.- Yes!
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- Your dad was a great sailor, wasn't he?- He was.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- Have you followed in his footsteps? Is it something you've taken up?- Very much so.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- Are proud of your boat?- Very. - Do you polish it?
0:21:34 > 0:21:39Very. Very. I try to get other people to do it for me.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41But I am absolutely obsessive.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Well, I've got a little surprise for you
0:21:44 > 0:21:46which I hope you'll enjoy.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Oh gosh, so do I!
0:21:48 > 0:21:54Yep, his travel companion is about to trash Griff's beloved boat.
0:21:58 > 0:21:59No, no, no!
0:22:02 > 0:22:07- I can't bear to see him. - We'll have a lot of delicacies, a lot of interesting bits of food.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10No plan to a menu whatsoever. Minimal cooking.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13And make do with what you've got. Throw that out the way.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16It's basically a breakfast I'll be making in here.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20One of Bob's breakfasts. Get a bowl out. Start the olives.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21Thank you.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26And take some more of those out. The best Roquefort you can get, as you know, Griff.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31Saucisson de Toulouse. Very good. I'll find the name of that later when I remember.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34A typical breakfast. I've got some eggs. Several eggs, in fact.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Quail eggs here. I love them.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39I'm afraid they're going in the egg collection.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42The 100 year-old pidan. Pidan.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Take a little bit of olive oil.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Thrust it here.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53- Chuck that!- Aargh!
0:22:55 > 0:22:57No!
0:22:57 > 0:22:59I can't bear to see this.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01I haven't seen one that colour before.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05You're being a very naughty egg!
0:23:07 > 0:23:08There you are.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Buried in the ground for 100 years.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17We'll put that down there.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Then we just put it... Oops!
0:23:22 > 0:23:24No, not really, no.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26No problem.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27And there we have it.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29One of Bob's breakfast.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Basically as you can see, sausage, bacon and egg.
0:23:32 > 0:23:38I can't believe that you let him loose without me being there.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41The meal that Bob cooks there is representative, yes.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Everything on one plate.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Everything he can lay his hands on. A lot of capers.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53So, let's reflect on Griff Rhys Jones's life
0:23:53 > 0:23:58in the best way possible over his final feast.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Griff, your final feast...
0:24:01 > 0:24:04I didn't know I'd ordered quite so much.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08That's the story of my life. My eyes have always been bigger than my stomach.
0:24:08 > 0:24:15- Tell me about this lovely shoulder of lamb?- OK, this comes from a recipe which my wife cooks.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17It's absolutely delicious.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Dry roast, slow roast lamb.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24- One of those which almost falls apart?- Yeah.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25And if I'm serving it,
0:24:25 > 0:24:30because I play the manly role, and dish it out, it falls to pieces.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34It's fantastic and delicious. People absolutely adore it.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35Pumpkin soup?
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Well, I have lived on this pumpkin soup for the last two years.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41It's a terrific thing.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Apart from being a terrific colour, they look like a sort of a curling.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49- Something you use in a Scottish ice rink.- Oh, yes, one of those...
0:24:49 > 0:24:53- Robust, sort of.- I'm glad you call it "robust".
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I like to use words like "robust".
0:24:56 > 0:24:58That's what it is. As you can see, it's quite
0:24:58 > 0:25:01a strong sort of... It's not a soft option.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Look at that!
0:25:04 > 0:25:06This is the sign of a good pumpkin,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10when its flesh is really, really firm,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13it's not watery, it's not woolly.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15That's a beautiful, beautiful thing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- Smoked eel?- Smoked eel, I still think it is the food of the gods.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23We're surrounded by the food of the gods. It's just godly food.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Griff, we are surrounded by Brussels sprouts.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Yes. We all know the secret of Brussels sprouts which is not to
0:25:29 > 0:25:32cook them for too long, so they're still reasonably crisp.
0:25:32 > 0:25:33But you could have any vegetable!
0:25:33 > 0:25:36But what vegetables are better than Brussels sprouts?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- Well, most of them. - No, no, I don't think so.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Are you very fussy about your bread and butter pudding? Do you have to have a certain type of bread in it?
0:25:44 > 0:25:49No. And what I like about bread and butter pudding is it's improved a great deal.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It has changed because it's always be dish of using up leftovers.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56And now, people have realised that it's so gorgeous if you make it
0:25:56 > 0:26:01with bread or Italian panettone or French brioche, whatever you like.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04And make a proper egg custard, quite a rich one.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09The currants retain the heat and when the rest of the bread and butter pudding is cooled down,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12you spoon it in and think this is the ideal temperature until
0:26:12 > 0:26:15you find you've burnt your tongue on an over-hot sultana.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It's an experience we've all had.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20- Would you squeeze a little lemon over there?- Yes.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- I'll look to see if the lamb is done.- Right.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Look at that!
0:26:32 > 0:26:37Griff Rhys Jones's final feast, including succulent lamb,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41simply prepared crab, and bread and butter pudding.
0:26:43 > 0:26:49You've done comedy, serious acting, and you've been hugely successful as a businessman.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53And yet, I've read you describe yourself as a bit of an opportunist.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55I have to be careful what I say
0:26:55 > 0:26:58because people always say I'm always trying to run myself down.
0:26:58 > 0:27:04All I meant by that... If you have a great talent for something,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06and that's what you do and it's really brilliant,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10you're top at that, then you do that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13I've not really been top at any of these things I've done.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17You see, we're sitting here, and you tell me I'm not greedy, even by
0:27:17 > 0:27:21comparison with other people you've had on the programme. But I think I am.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I'm greedy for virtually everything that comes along.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Have you any regrets?
0:27:27 > 0:27:31At the moment I've got a regret this is my last meal for some reasons.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Obviously, I've done something... I've done something terrible!
0:27:35 > 0:27:39And I do have numerous numerous regrets.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44But I've also got a very understanding wife who's sensible and tells me
0:27:44 > 0:27:48there's no point in brooding on that or worrying about that.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53So I'm more likely to be regretting things which I think are going to go wrong in the near future
0:27:53 > 0:27:56than I am about things that went wrong in the distant past.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- I tend to forget about those. - This is the worrier.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Yes. The great thing is it's my last meal, so I don't have to worry about it any more.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- Have you had a good day? - I've had an excellent day, actually,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10because we've combined two things which I like a great deal -
0:28:10 > 0:28:14smoked eel food, a big choice of food, and talking about myself.
0:28:14 > 0:28:21- Griff Rhys Jones, thank you so much for the my guest on A Taste Of My Life.- Thank you for having me.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22We've got a lot of eating to do.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Cheers. Look at us, the two of us with our shared glass of water.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:37 > 0:28:39E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk