0:00:03 > 0:00:09It's nearly midnight, March, and it's cold! I'm by the River Parrett, which is rising.
0:00:09 > 0:00:15You can FEEL the ghosts of the Pitchfork Rebellion, from Sedgemoor.
0:00:15 > 0:00:21This IS the kingdom of the eel. And THIS is an elver net.
0:00:21 > 0:00:27Richard, observe it closely. Also, observe me, dressed traditionally,
0:00:27 > 0:00:34in the fine gentleman's attire of an elver fisherman - the jacket, full-length waders, survival kit,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and this essential thing.
0:00:37 > 0:00:44Back to the net. It's important. You can't just whop along and elver fish with a television crew!
0:00:44 > 0:00:51It's something handed down - the noisy experience - from generation to generation.
0:00:51 > 0:00:57So, although I plunge this in, be patient. You have to be strong!
0:00:57 > 0:00:59GROANING
0:00:59 > 0:01:04They've swum a long way to get onto "Floyd Over Britain".
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I'm a straight guy. I DO tell the truth.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55This is now one o'clock in the morning. It IS March and freezing!
0:01:55 > 0:01:59We don't have a caravan full of home economists.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04We could've used the pub's cooker, but we caught them so we cook them.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07You beat up some eggs, like that.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12I've already blanched these little elvers in boiling hot water.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16So they go into the egg mixture as well.
0:02:16 > 0:02:23I'm having to stand in this curious, cramped position, not because I've a bowel disorder,
0:02:23 > 0:02:28but because I'm trying to stop the wind from blowing the gas out.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34Anyway, you whisk those round, like that, season with a little pepper.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38This is not a joke, at all! I've thrown it in the cameraman's eyes!
0:02:38 > 0:02:44And a little bit of salt... Look, that is how the wind is. See?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Whisk that up a little bit...
0:02:46 > 0:02:51and then, if this pan is hot enough, and... Up to me, Richard.
0:02:51 > 0:02:59Bacon fat, traditionally, was best to fry these in. It should be piping hot, as they cook quickly.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Ah, they sizzle! THEY sizzle.
0:03:02 > 0:03:08That will form a beautiful little elver omelette!
0:03:08 > 0:03:15Many of you will be wondering, cos I spoke earlier about the elver fisherman's survival kit.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18There it is. You see, out it comes.
0:03:18 > 0:03:26That is the water, that is whisky, and that is the gin. Only for emergencies, I hasten to add!
0:03:26 > 0:03:33What you really drink with elvers, at one o'clock in the morning, is a glass of cider.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Good Somerset cider!
0:03:35 > 0:03:40Now, you also wondered... No, they're not quite ready yet.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45So, hold on a second and I'll put a lid on those
0:03:45 > 0:03:50and tell you something, and break from a kind of tradition.
0:03:50 > 0:03:57I want to tell you that, on this river, there are 40-50 people fishing elvers -
0:03:57 > 0:03:59all providing happy plates of food
0:03:59 > 0:04:04for people in Spain, Holland, Germany, everywhere except Britain,
0:04:04 > 0:04:11and they won't and can't appear in this film because they're afraid of the excise man.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16You'd have thought they were smugglers, not fishermen!
0:04:16 > 0:04:20There we are! A little dish of lovely elvers!
0:04:20 > 0:04:26It looks like spaghetti and eggs. I'm going to eat it out of the pan.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28What better on a cold, March morning?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Oh, boy! They are superb!
0:04:46 > 0:04:48I don't paint myself with woad
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and sit around on hills like some people
0:04:51 > 0:04:54but there is a powerful serenity about this place.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56In fact, Somerset, my boyhood stamping ground,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58has a timeless attraction for me
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and Brendan Sellick typifies the mood of the county.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04This ancient fashion of fishing
0:05:04 > 0:05:07with a sledge between the fierce tides of the Severn goes back centuries.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Notice the elegant way I skip across this thick mud
0:05:11 > 0:05:14whilst poor old Brendan struggles manfully with his sledge.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16He told me not to wear waders.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19But the juxtaposition of Brendan
0:05:19 > 0:05:23ploughing his ancient craft under the shadow of a nuclear power station is ironic -
0:05:23 > 0:05:25in fact if I was the boss of Hinkley Point,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28I'd leave the odd sack of silver coins outside his front door.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30He is, after all, quite unwittingly,
0:05:30 > 0:05:35giving them the best publicity they could have!
0:05:35 > 0:05:37people think I'm a bit strange.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41But, look...Gordon Bennett, it isn't easy!
0:05:41 > 0:05:42What I am is a cook,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44not a mud tobogganist or whatever.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46It is horrible conditions
0:05:46 > 0:05:50but there you are. It's all mudflat, 6,000 acres of it
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and it's like this all over - right the way all over.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Why don't you have a boat like everybody else?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It would seem to be nice to have a boat
0:05:58 > 0:06:00but the treacherous conditions here
0:06:00 > 0:06:03with the tide ebb and flow as it does,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05we found it doesn't work.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07So this is the only answer?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09It's very primitive but very effective.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12How long have you been doing this? I've done it all my life.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14My father did it all his life
0:06:14 > 0:06:16and his father and the great-grandfather
0:06:16 > 0:06:20and of course it was going on long before that.
0:06:20 > 0:06:21As far as we can go back,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24they've just used this same kind of implement.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26It's extraordinary.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Listen, on the bottom line,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30if this is fishing I'm a Dutchman but I am a cook.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Can we go and try and catch something? Yes.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34What do you think we might get?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Well, we could have anything.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Cod, skate or bass or mullet.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Let's hope. We had a nice catch yesterday
0:06:41 > 0:06:43but you know what fishing is...
0:06:43 > 0:06:45let's hope we get something nice.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47OK, let's go for it.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Are you all right? Of course, I'm all right.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51I'll have to put you on and push you.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54I think that would be the answer!
0:06:54 > 0:06:57If I get back, I'll cook you something nice to eat.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Tell me, Brendan, how old are you?
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Oh, 53.
0:07:01 > 0:07:0353? Yeah. Ten years on me...
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Never.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10..and you're skipping across the thing like a Weston-Super-Mare donkey.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Ridiculous! Yeah, well, you drink too much.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Only when I'm with fishermen telling me tall stories. That's it.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Take it out of there, then, Keith.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22He's a bit difficult to get out of there, I expect.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24How does that work, then?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Right here, look. I'll take it out.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31He went in there for a few shrimps.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32Yeah.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Cos he was a greedy little monkey.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Yeah, that's it. He feels quite plump.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39This is so fresh, it's unbelievable.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43I'll cook you this one when we get back, if we get back.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45There's a couple there, look.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Are you going to take a look there? All right, yeah.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51The point is,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55here we're actually not going to hang around too much.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58We're helping this man - actually we're hindering him doing his job.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01But the tide is going to come whizzing in in a minute.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04And we have about 15 minutes to get...
0:08:04 > 0:08:06to get out of it.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Oh, I see.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11That was one of the most strenuous bits of filming
0:08:11 > 0:08:12I have ever done.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16It's OK for Brendan. He's been doing it every day for how many years?
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Oh, 45.
0:08:18 > 0:08:2345 years! Like a little fairy, he hops over the mud like a sandpiper...
0:08:23 > 0:08:25I find it really heavy going.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Anyway, it does make you hungry, this fresh air,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30and we could have gone into his little cottage
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and done it all in a nice Creda oven and extractors and things like that
0:08:34 > 0:08:36but we felt like a really good snack
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and you couldn't have a fresher piece of cod than this.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41You saw us pick it off the net, Brendan's filleted it.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43So just fry that in a bit of butter.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Brendan, what about that huge monstrosity over there -
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Hinkley Power Station?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Well, yes, we've got to live with that.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51It would be better if it wasn't there
0:08:51 > 0:08:55but it gives employment to several thousand people.
0:08:55 > 0:09:01Has that taken away your living in any way at all?
0:09:01 > 0:09:07It hasn't improved the fishing but we still get by, just about,
0:09:07 > 0:09:08that's the main thing.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14If you weren't this mud fisherman, this mud skater,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16what would you do?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18I know you've done this all your life,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21and your father before you, but do you ever wish,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23"Oh, I wish..."?
0:09:23 > 0:09:27No, I don't think there is, really.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31There's something about this fishing that kind of gets hold of you
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and then it's the element of surprise
0:09:33 > 0:09:37and what you're going to get on the next tide...
0:09:37 > 0:09:41like you said, if you won half a million. We all wish that,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43everybody on the land wishes that,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46but I still think I would like to go out there
0:09:46 > 0:09:49and see what was on the next tide, like.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Something about it. Maybe if you was working in a factory,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53you'd run from the back door
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and you wouldn't ever want to go back there again
0:09:56 > 0:09:59but with the fishing, it's just one of those things
0:09:59 > 0:10:00that gets hold of you.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09My unceasing search for regional culinary excellence
0:10:09 > 0:10:13has become almost like the search for the Holy Grail!
0:10:13 > 0:10:17So I thought I'd come here and see if I'd get a little assistance.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20But, as Richard Harris said, "There's not a lot in Camelot".
0:10:20 > 0:10:27But could there not be, in this sombre castle, behind me, a culinary Merlin,
0:10:27 > 0:10:33who could cook, for me, an oxtail you would like to see?
0:10:35 > 0:10:40First order, five covers... one sardine, three cream, one broth.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Four liver, one veal for Mrs C of Five Edge.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49'When I have my second million, or my palace,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53'Gary Rhodes, chef at the castle in Taunton, can have my job.
0:10:53 > 0:10:59'His skill and passion has put British food where it belongs!'
0:11:02 > 0:11:08Gary was recently a finalist in an important gastronomic competition,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10and it had a French name.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15I think that's appalling for a British cook.
0:11:15 > 0:11:22Why do we have to be called "Meuniers Ouvriers Gastronomiques de Grande Bretagne"
0:11:22 > 0:11:26when we could be "a good British cook"?!
0:11:26 > 0:11:30What I'm going to do is quickly prep this up.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34I take off all the fat from the oxtail, and retain it,
0:11:34 > 0:11:39as I believe in putting as much of the flavour into things as we can.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44I've got some oxtail fat that's been rendered. Close up!
0:11:44 > 0:11:52Oxtail fat. I cook that down to keep the maximum flavour, so we put oxtail flavour back into the oxtail.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57If I stick a little fat in here, we can get these oxtails on. OK.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02Notice, all trimmed of fat now, but the fat's been rendered down.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07These have been seasoned with salt and pepper, and in they go.
0:12:07 > 0:12:14And we just brown those off? Yes. Almost like roasting them on top of the stove.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19Get a nice, good colour off those, seal the flavour in,
0:12:19 > 0:12:27and, using that oxtail fat, keep as much flavour in there as possible.
0:12:27 > 0:12:34What we need is some mirepoix of vegetables. Now, hold on! I'm going to take YOU to task now.
0:12:34 > 0:12:42We're cooking a British meal, and you use... Oh, dear! French words like "mirepoix" for chopping veg!
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Chopped root vegetables. We've some onions, celery, carrots, leek.
0:12:47 > 0:12:54All that flavour that we're going to put into these braised oxtails. So we'll just quickly turn these.
0:12:54 > 0:13:01We're getting a nice bit of brown colour onto these, sealing all that flavour inside.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Beautiful, meaty oxtails.
0:13:04 > 0:13:12So, as soon as these are actually browned off, we'll put them into a colander to drain off excess fat.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16One thing I don't want is to put the excess fat into the sauce.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23I'm just going to turn those. You go ahead. You're the guv'nor!
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Once these are just nicely sealed,
0:13:26 > 0:13:33we'll get the vegetables in the pan to bring off any of the residue from the base of the pan,
0:13:33 > 0:13:41putting that into the sauce itself. We strain the oxtail in here, then tip the fat back in there? Well...
0:13:41 > 0:13:48There'll be enough fat to bake in the bottom of there. I may need a little bit. OK.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53When we cook our vegetables... Sorry, Richard, were you asleep?
0:13:53 > 0:13:58The point is, we're going to cook our vegetables in the oxtail fat.
0:13:58 > 0:14:05At the same time, Gary's making the point, for those who are cholesterol-conscious,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09that the fat's going to be drained away from the meat itself. The fat doesn't go into the ultimate sauce.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15The fat is used for enhancing flavour. And, by God, it's hot in this kitchen!
0:14:15 > 0:14:20I'll get enough vegetables to take the residue off the base.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24We'll fry those for a couple of seconds,
0:14:24 > 0:14:30then swill in a little white wine to lift everything off the base.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Do we want these to take colour?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Just a slight colour.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39It's really just to moisten them.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45The most important thing here. Cooking oxtails seems to be a three-day event.
0:14:45 > 0:14:53It's not something you throw into a pan and neglect and leave. It has to be mothered.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58So we start by making a good oxtail stock, which we have on here.
0:14:58 > 0:15:06It will cook for at least a day, and then we'll reduce it down until we've a good shiny glace.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08It's reduced down, like that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:16For those of you who don't know what a three-day event is, don't go phoning up Princess Anne!
0:15:16 > 0:15:22So, if we put those vegetables now... If we take them from the pan,
0:15:22 > 0:15:29we can put them into here... On top? Yes, on top, draining off that fat.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33And if we can just take a little more white wine. Oh, right.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38And this is called rinsing out the pan with white wine, or as they say, "deglace la poele".
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Just, pretty much now, draining off the base.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49This makes sure, in our economical way, we're not losing one smidgeon of flavour.
0:15:49 > 0:15:57We've had the fat and the wine to make sure it all comes out. It's all there. Economic and delicious.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Pull the pan off.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Now we've drained out... All the fat. All the fat's gone.
0:16:06 > 0:16:13The fat is now drained from there into another pan, which is slightly warm. Don't use a cold pan.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17And, in there, with our deglaced wine. That's enough.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Now...
0:16:22 > 0:16:24what I actually need is...
0:16:24 > 0:16:30Can you just see him there, on bass guitar, laying it down?!
0:16:30 > 0:16:33What we've actually got here is some tomato.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39Again, I only like to use the flesh of tomatoes, no puree. You could leave the skins on if you want to.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44I just want to get the flesh flavour from the tomato into the sauce.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47So we can add a little tomato now.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51In terms of rock'n'roll, though,
0:16:51 > 0:16:58is this "Maybelline"? I mean, where is this dish in your feelings?
0:16:58 > 0:17:04Is that the heart of the British stomach, or is that em...?
0:17:04 > 0:17:09Tell me about this dish. I really do believe that this IS the heart of British cooking.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14I think this holds all the fundamental elements of good cooking.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Cooking things on the bone, particularly a thick bone like this,
0:17:19 > 0:17:24there is far more skill in cooking this, than in cooking any duck or chicken breast you get in France.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28With this, the degree of cooking has to be absolutely perfect.
0:17:28 > 0:17:34It mustn't be too tender or too tough.
0:17:34 > 0:17:41And all that takes three hours.
0:17:41 > 0:17:47My director will dream up some little interlude, we'll have a glass and maybe even a cup of tea
0:17:47 > 0:17:49and we'll be back when this is beautifully cooked.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Look in there, Richard.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Slow-cooking in the oven.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57# Every morning, true as the clock
0:17:57 > 0:18:00# Somebody hears the postman's knock
0:18:00 > 0:18:03# Every morning, true as the clock
0:18:03 > 0:18:05# Somebody hears the postman's knock!#
0:18:11 > 0:18:13FRENCH COMMENTARY
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Un, deux, trois!
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Whack the thing on the plate! What have you done, in the meantime?
0:18:32 > 0:18:36I've strained out the sauce into there, added a little diced
0:18:36 > 0:18:39veg, nice and small and cooked in butter,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43a little bit of onion and tomato, and also thrown some parsley in.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48I think it's a nonsense to start sprinkling things with parsley.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53So, here we have typical British cooking, very rustic on the plate,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57full of colour, and a lovely shine to the sauce.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03This is what oxtails can do for a sauce.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Here, I hope, we have Britain's signature dish...
0:19:09 > 0:19:14Braised oxtails. Brilliant! Sniff! If only the camera could sniff!
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Oh, boy! It smells SO good!
0:19:17 > 0:19:24But, I tell you what, if food were paintings, this wouldn't be a Van Gogh, this would be a...
0:19:24 > 0:19:26a Joshua Reynolds, wouldn't it?
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Difficult to find, a bit in the attic, brilliant and truly British!
0:19:37 > 0:19:42'In my Somerset jaunt, I couldn't resist visiting the old alma mater, Wellington School.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45'I last came round here on a push-bike, and they gave me 50 lines!'
0:19:47 > 0:19:49PUPILS SING: "Ye Holy Angels Bright"
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Great, showing off! Of course, you've got to be in the sixth form before you can drive on the grass!
0:20:01 > 0:20:06But actually I'm a bit nervous because I'm going to meet my old masters.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09They'll probably be about 104 now.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11# Ye blessed souls at rest
0:20:11 > 0:20:15# Who ran this earthly race
0:20:15 > 0:20:19# And now, from sin released
0:20:19 > 0:20:25# Behold the Saviour's face
0:20:25 > 0:20:29# His praises sound... #
0:20:29 > 0:20:34You may think it's self-indulgent, nostalgic, or wet, but it's not.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37This is where, 30 years ago,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40I developed my first real, passionate interest in food.
0:20:40 > 0:20:47After a hard day, the school dinner was what you looked forward to.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49But, my God, times have changed!
0:20:49 > 0:20:56We used to have a drum of baked beans, or butter beans, a vat of stew and that was it. But now look!
0:20:56 > 0:21:02You can have baked gammon, roast chicken, smoked mackerel, tuna,
0:21:02 > 0:21:08cheeses, coleslaw, potatoes, melon, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12chicken casserole, seafood au gratin, cheese and broccoli quiche,
0:21:12 > 0:21:18beefburger and rolls, three veg, apple tart... Wine's extra!
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'But I tell you one thing - never mind the vegetarian stews,
0:21:24 > 0:21:29never mind the quiches. One thing hasn't changed. Yippee!
0:21:29 > 0:21:31The steamed pud and chocolate sauce!
0:21:31 > 0:21:37Now that is a part of a real school dinner! I'm going to have three bowls! So it's not all bad.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44'I felt tearful after that morning, but I cheered up when I met my old baker chum, Margaret Vaughan.'
0:21:46 > 0:21:49How have you been? I haven't seen you for, what, a year?
0:21:49 > 0:21:50Too long, dear friend!
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I've been very well, I've missed you. Have you been busy?
0:21:53 > 0:21:54I've been absolutely frantic.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56I've been really busy.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59You've become very popular.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00You are so smooth!
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Be careful with this - you'll fall in it.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Isn't it pretty? Isn't it lovely?
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Never dries up. Very cold.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10The extraordinary thing is my bakery used to be a fishmonger
0:22:10 > 0:22:11for about 180 years
0:22:11 > 0:22:17and the fishmonger would come out and wash the fish in the stream.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18But this isn't a history lesson.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21This is not Look At Life, it's a cookery programme,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24you silly old bat. So have your flowers cos I love you
0:22:24 > 0:22:32and take me to your hot, steaming kitchen. I can't wait! That will fade on a flirt's bosom!
0:22:36 > 0:22:39'An old Somerset dish is cod's cheeks and tongues.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42'We British are so wasteful - all this wonderful flesh usually gets fed to the cat.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46'But Margaret rolls them in fresh breadcrumbs and fries them
0:22:46 > 0:22:47'in butter for a few moments.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52'They taste as good as fresh scallops at a fraction of the price.'
0:22:52 > 0:22:55He's nice, isn't he? He's lovely. You shouldn't shout at him so much!
0:22:55 > 0:23:01You can come here. This is what he says. He says, "Down here, Richard."
0:23:01 > 0:23:07I've seen him on some of those programmes. He's quite rude to you. Where are you, dear heart? I'm here.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10You're meant to help. I know.
0:23:10 > 0:23:17You're drinking all that cider behind my back. That is all going to fry gently away.
0:23:17 > 0:23:24Only for, please, about a minute and a half. Right. Turn them over. I mean, really, hardly any at all.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28They need very little. OK.
0:23:28 > 0:23:35What is this lovely, green, onyx-looking liquid in here? Onyx?
0:23:35 > 0:23:39It's gooseberry and tarragon sauce. Be careful, sweetheart, it's hot.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Isn't it lovely? It's beautiful!
0:23:42 > 0:23:46And that goes with the... That is a lovely piquant sauce that we serve with these.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51And, to go with it, because these are all very soft and gentle...
0:23:51 > 0:23:56The housewife should buy these. They're SO inexpensive!
0:23:56 > 0:24:01They needn't buy the whole head. Look at that lovely white flesh!
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Doesn't it make your mouth water?
0:24:03 > 0:24:08And they're almost done! Oh, I'm sorry, am I...? It's fine.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13I recognise when I'm in front of a real trouper, you know(!) Listen.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17I didn't mean to do this. She's going to do that.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23We've got eight beautiful maidens upstairs, who work in this fine restaurant.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27I've to cook the other half of their lunch - rabbit.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32I don't want a little bunny-wunny in my wow-boat. Bunny?!
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Anyway, it's back to the real business.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46The imperial spin-round of the ingredients...
0:24:46 > 0:24:53Fresh field mushrooms, chopped, parsley, root vegetables, in this case, onions and carrots,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57fresh thyme, good bacon, tomato puree, garlic,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01rabbit, dredged in seasoned flour.
0:25:01 > 0:25:07The star of this little show is the sparkling gooseberry champagne.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Mushrooms, at this stage, can go into here, with the bacon...
0:25:14 > 0:25:17..fat and the carrots and onions.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20And they can all brown off quite nicely. No problems there.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22FRYING NOISES
0:25:22 > 0:25:32The sound man, in television programmes, doesn't like frying noises
0:25:32 > 0:25:36A bottle of champagne should be opened so that it makes no noise.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40Right. That's going well. Flip over here. These are browning nicely.
0:25:40 > 0:25:47Free-range... Well, not free-range. Wild rabbit, doing very well.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Flip them over like that.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53My little fingers... have to be used.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Turn these things over.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Those are browned, those are sealed. OK.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01MUFFLED VOICE
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Who's talking to me?
0:26:03 > 0:26:08I'm back. I've brought a loving cup. You're not having it all your way! You've been to the junk shop!
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I thought you'd gone to Marks Spencer's.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16Ooh, I say! Keep an eye on them. Isn't this gorgeous! Can I help?
0:26:16 > 0:26:19You can help by being quiet cos...
0:26:19 > 0:26:24You always give me the difficult things to do! I'm busy, OK?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29You don't want me to touch it? Stand here... Hold that.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30And shut up.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32SHE GIGGLES
0:26:32 > 0:26:37What are you doing tonight? I'm cooking, Margaret... I know.
0:26:37 > 0:26:44I'm not a TV presenter, I'm not an interviewer, I don't work on "Tomorrow's World"!
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Actually, I'm a cook. It smells heavenly.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53I wish you could have a smelling television. Smellyvision.
0:26:53 > 0:26:59They used to have it in "1984". That's all our nice bits, in there.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02A bit of thyme. I don't have enough of it, to be honest with you.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Get the dreadful pun, there?
0:27:05 > 0:27:12Some parsley. Then we add our tomato puree, which we'll stir well in.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15That'll all mix in, in a moment.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Like that.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18And then...
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Oh, no! English!
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Goosegog sparkling wine. Isn't this lovely?!
0:27:25 > 0:27:30What will have to happen now, you'll go walking round the Somerset Levels
0:27:30 > 0:27:33or go combine harvesting or they'll play an Adge Cutler....
0:27:33 > 0:27:36He's quite clever at filling up little interludes!
0:27:36 > 0:27:43The next time you see this dish... It goes into the oven, covered with foil.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48It'll be in there for about an hour and a half. Not much longer.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54Look at that lovely fleshy piece! Nice. I bags that bit. 1? hours.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Amuse yourselves with whatever the director dreams up.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06'I couldn't come to Somerset without telling you how Cheddar cheese is made.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'Are you sitting comfortably? I'll begin.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13'After the milk has been heated and the rennet has been added, it goes all thick.
0:28:13 > 0:28:19'It's paddled into curds and whey. The whey is drained off, leaving a crumbly curd.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22'The curds are drained of moisture
0:28:22 > 0:28:29'and then compressed and packed into these moulds, lined with cheesecloth.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35'Hence the Monty Python line, "Blessed are the cheesemakers"!
0:28:35 > 0:28:43'Finally, the moulds are stacked together, pressed again, to eliminate remaining moisture.
0:28:43 > 0:28:51'Then they are turned out to be stored in the churn. Thank you, moo cows, for a fine cheese!'
0:28:51 > 0:28:57What do you think of my "Somerset on a plate"? It reminds me of fields.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04Ah! Somerset! You're brilliant! I'm not only brilliant about cooking,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I ought to be running business management programmes as well!
0:29:07 > 0:29:10SHE'S taken my correspondence course!
0:29:10 > 0:29:17She surrounds herself with caring, helpful staff. Absolutely.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21And that's where it's at, isn't it? Especially caring. Let's serve. They're hungry.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23They've deserved it.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26MUSIC: "Peaches" by The Stranglers
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd