0:00:03 > 0:00:06Posing as a fisherman in my ultimate country kit,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10I walked through Somerset on this crisp morning
0:00:10 > 0:00:15looking for my lunch, which I hoped would be pike in a creamy red pepper sauce.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Sounds delicious, doesn't it?
0:00:17 > 0:00:23Notice I scan the water like a heron for the signs of a shoal of roach,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and where there's roach, there'll be pike.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02I've got more chance of being struck by lightning than catching pike.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06So rather than go hungry, I've enlisted some specialist help.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Here we go. This is the tense bit, isn't it?
0:01:09 > 0:01:12You can easily drop it, you see.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17When are you going to give him the gum? You have. My goodness, it's big fish, isn't it? Yeah.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Boy-oh-boy-oh-boy.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27You aren't going to believe this but this is not set up in anyway.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32It's real, we're actually catching fish. It's unbelievable.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35That's his head.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42You don't seem to be applying any... You're letting him tire himself out.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47You're not forcing him to do anything, is that the technique?
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Well... You're letting him go back a bit.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55I'm anxious to land it, it's me first pike this morning.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Ooh... Oh, yes, indeed.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11Try and make a special effort to land him...
0:02:11 > 0:02:13HE MUTTERS
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Just keep him...
0:02:15 > 0:02:20Wind up. Wind up. Straight up. Wow.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Yes, that's 10lbs, 11lbs. It may be more.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Well done, well done!
0:02:30 > 0:02:34That could be, that could be 12 or 14lbs. Splendid.
0:02:37 > 0:02:43Well, this one's going to have quite dangerous teeth. He's very...
0:02:43 > 0:02:46How nice. That's splendid.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This fine specimen is far too big for my lunch.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54I haven't got the heart to kill a fish of that size.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Let's put it back and catch another. This is my biggest pike, 16.5lbs.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03We'll put him back to fight another day.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Mind you, our French neighbours aren't so sentimental.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17They'd have had that beauty skinned and pounded into quenelle
0:03:17 > 0:03:19before you could say, "Bon appetit!"
0:03:19 > 0:03:21And even the medieval monks would not have been
0:03:21 > 0:03:25so compassionate, for on Fridays, they feasted on fish.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Refectory tables groaned with pewter platters piled high with
0:03:28 > 0:03:34braised carp, fried perch, steamed tench, stewed eels and baked pike.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37You all thought I was a complete and utter poser
0:03:37 > 0:03:41but I have actually caught one and you can't do any better than that.
0:03:41 > 0:03:42It is quite... Whoops!
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Let it go a bit, right. Such a little fish.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51How can they say that to me on the first ever pike I have caught?
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Colin is saying it is only a little one.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58It is a Jack, isn't it? Like the first one actually. Yes.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59But they are very lively. Yes, they are.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05I do think he is ready to come in actually. Ah! I have lost him.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11Argh! He is gone! Oh, dear! My absolute moment of glory is ruined.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15I want to go home! I hate fishing! Oh, I have had enough! Cheerio!
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Oh, heavens above.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23I will just have to show you a photograph of a pike at this rate,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25which, by the way, is on page 27 of my new cookery book.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32He is definitely taking it though. He has run across to the other side.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36I think we are about ready now. Mind your head.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44There is another one moved over there. There's another one we just disturbed.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Well, well, well. This is called playing the fish, isn't it?
0:04:49 > 0:04:54You tire it so that you don't bust... It's only a small one.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Yes, because what would be the biggest one you could expect to get?
0:05:01 > 0:05:05We have had them 20lb. What is this one going to be, about 4-5lb?
0:05:05 > 0:05:12This is about 4lb. Maybe four or five. What a handsome-looking thing.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16But they are evil, aren't they? They can be, yes!
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Put your hands anywhere near their mouth, yes, they could do a lot...
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Oh, possibly six.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26A little bit bigger than I thought he was actually. Well, well, well.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Is there a size limit that you can... Yes, there is, yes.
0:05:32 > 0:05:3721 inches long. So that is well over... Nose to the tip of the tail.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42So he is well over... Yes. ..the limit for taking.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Great! Thanks to Colin and Malcolm's skill, we have got the lunch
0:05:45 > 0:05:49and the right size too. What a fine morning it has been.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52The excitement and the fresh air have given me quite an appetite.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I think it is time for a spot of breakfast
0:05:54 > 0:05:58and a glass of cider or two before I get back to the hot kitchen to cook.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Are you both married by the way? Yes.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Do you get into trouble with the wives? No, I think we are both fortunate.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Glad to have us out the way sometimes. Yes!
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Colin and I get out regularly.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16There is this big secret you are keeping from me
0:06:16 > 0:06:18about how you can spend so much time fishing.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22I take it you are just millionaires. THEY CHUCKLE
0:06:22 > 0:06:27No. That would be the job of the century that!
0:06:27 > 0:06:32Poor as a church mouse. Yeah, we know...
0:06:32 > 0:06:35We are just enthusiastic about our hobby.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Other things have got to take a back seat.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40It is not a hobby, it is a passion with you then.
0:06:40 > 0:06:46It is. Very much a passion. It has to be. We cannot resist a nice day.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48What is your dream?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50You must have lots of sort of ambition in this
0:06:50 > 0:06:53for the biggest pike, the biggest tench.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57It is not necessarily the biggest, you are not hunting the biggest, are you?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00What is it that you dream of doing? It is the company, it is the environment.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05You are with nature, you are competing your wits against nature.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10We have been fortunate today, but days can be when you won't
0:07:10 > 0:07:14catch fish, they just don't want to feed and they won't feed.
0:07:14 > 0:07:15I think you are being modest.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18I think you have then watching the river very carefully,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21watching the migration if that is what roach do.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26You are using years and years of country lore and understanding,
0:07:26 > 0:07:32aren't you? Even that side of it alone... It could still fox you.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33Yes, it could still fox you.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I think that you, for me, have relived some of my most
0:07:37 > 0:07:40important and imagined boyhood moments.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43I told you earlier that I spent months and years trying to
0:07:43 > 0:07:48catch a pike when I was 12, 14, 15 in this area and I never did.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52You have brought back for me all the wonderful memories that are
0:07:52 > 0:07:56associated with fishing - farmhouse cheddar cheese and cider and stuff.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59For my part at least, I'd like to say to you both,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03thanks very much for a really wonderful day. It has been magical.
0:08:03 > 0:08:03We have enjoyed it.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It seems to be a terrible thing to do to your family, but I always
0:08:08 > 0:08:11wanted my mother-in-law on one of my programmes
0:08:11 > 0:08:15and it's taken me 25 years to catch her, actually!
0:08:15 > 0:08:18When I was a small boy I tried to catch a pike.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23I didn't. It's taken all of this time to catch this fish.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27In the Loire, in France, pike is an esteemed gastronomic delight.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30A beautiful pike - brochet de cannelle,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33or pike steamed with paprika sauce.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37What do we do with it? Practically nothing, although my fine fisherman friends eat it all the time.
0:08:37 > 0:08:45I'm going to show you how to cook this magnificent beast, and the first thing to do is cut him.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50It's already been gutted. We're going to take a superb fillet off.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55Run the knife, hopefully, up the bone... I'm sorry.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59I have just done that completely the wrong way round.
0:08:59 > 0:09:05You must always fillet a fish from its head and run with the flow of the fish.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08This is actually a live programme.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12We do borrow kitchens, we do come in,
0:09:12 > 0:09:17we don't take things out of the oven and say, "This is already cooked."
0:09:17 > 0:09:20In the passion of the moment, I made a rick.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25But I'll do it properly from here on in, and before I do that, I'm going to have a little slurp.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30I'm nervous, hot, tired and making mistakes. Please excuse me.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36Anyway, all that said, I've now got the fillet we're looking for, OK?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40A perfect fillet, cut from the flow of the fish.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41PHONE RINGS
0:09:41 > 0:09:44The telephone's ringing, but that's because we're in a real restaurant
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and people are booking tables.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54The other ingredients I'm going to use are red peppers, onions,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57garlic, fennel, fresh parsley,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01my veloute - it's a kind of a roux really.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05It's butter and flour thickened with a little water.
0:10:05 > 0:10:11I'm going to use that to thicken my sauce, which is going to be made from my fish stock here,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15which is made from the head of the pike poached in water.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21And my red pepper sauce, which is peppers poached in a little fish stock and liquidized.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I did those in advance to make this a sensible lesson.
0:10:25 > 0:10:31I'm going to finish off the sauce with some double cream - you know what that looks like -
0:10:31 > 0:10:34and supreme egg yolk at the end.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35OK.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go over to the stove and start cooking.
0:10:41 > 0:10:48I do want you to forgive me for doing the unforgivable and cutting the fish the wrong way round.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01So, there we are. I'm back at the piano, which is what we gastronauts call a cooker.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06Sorry for the cock-up earlier, but now to the business of the pike,
0:11:06 > 0:11:13a fish which some people just throw to their cats, or even throw back into the river.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17If you'll come back to the stove, I'll show you what we're doing.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22As with all fish, if you're poaching them, the liquid must be still.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27This is cooking, it's not bubbling away. Bubbling destroys the fish.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32It's been on for a little while. Stick your finger in. It's firm.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36We can go over to the sauce now, which is the most important bit.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41Our little red pepper sauce. Add in a teaspoonful...
0:11:41 > 0:11:43You've got to come close here
0:11:43 > 0:11:49because the director always makes us do it again if people aren't seeing what's happening.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Our veloute is thickening that sauce.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57You'll notice throughout the shows that sometimes we use veloutes
0:11:57 > 0:12:01and sometimes we use egg yolks to thicken sauces.
0:12:01 > 0:12:07Today, we're going to use the veloute and enrich it with the egg yolk.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12The gas is low. No real bubbling must take place otherwise it's going to separate.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Stir it round. OK, we can let that reduce a little.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Now, if only one of my assistants - they've gone away - can find my...
0:12:20 > 0:12:22BANGING AND CRASHING
0:12:22 > 0:12:28That noise was just the cameramen tripping over their equipment. It's a very hot, tight kitchen.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34We're going to take out our fillet, slip it into this elegant plate. I always insist on white things.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39The fish is the star, the plate is the extra. I'll say that a lot.
0:12:39 > 0:12:45Taste the sauce. Coming quite good.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Actually, it is nice, but it needs to be reduced a little more.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54A little grind of pepper for seasoning purposes.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59And now I've got to turn it down because we're going to add the egg yolk, not for thickening,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04but for flavouring this particular dish, and that mustn't bubble,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07otherwise you'll get scrambled eggs.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12So, one egg yolk in. Plop! Come on in. Then whisk like mad.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Don't give it chance to congeal into lumps.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19You don't want scrambled eggs. You want a smooth sauce,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23which, I'm pleased to say, we've achieved.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24We'll, what the French would call "nappe", which is a lovely word, we're gonna coat the fish.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33And you see the importance of the right plate here.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36That beautiful light pink...
0:13:36 > 0:13:38salmon pink sauce,
0:13:38 > 0:13:43covered with a little bit of parsley.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And there, my freshwater gastronauts,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50you have what the French call, "brochet a la canotiere,"
0:13:50 > 0:13:55which means, "the pike cooked by the wife of the pike fisherman."
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Isn't that pretty? And what a wonderful way to celebrate spring.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02What a wonderful way to celebrate fresh-water fish.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06You can do this with perch, trout,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11you can do it with carp, with pike. You can do it with anything.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16There's only one thing to do. In one little mouthful...
0:14:20 > 0:14:25For you fishermen, who might catch a pike and throw it back or feed it
0:14:25 > 0:14:28to your cat or say it's inedible as it's full of bones,
0:14:28 > 0:14:30you are wrong.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34This fish is almost as fine as a bass. And that is saying something.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37It's a beautiful firm-fleshed fish,
0:14:37 > 0:14:42with this delicate sauce I prepared. I almost caught the fish myself.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47I can tell you, you can have a fine gastronomic delight.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH
0:15:11 > 0:15:19'OK, we take the point, Floyd can't cast. Most people can't afford to eat salmon let alone fish for it.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21'I've got it all here on the River Exe.
0:15:21 > 0:15:27'And Derek Bowdler, unlike my producer, is a courteous man who explains everything with patience.'
0:15:27 > 0:15:34Perhaps years trying to catch a salmon and they lose it in a minute. Yesterday, we were pike-fishing,
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and we actually caught pike and today we've got salmon.
0:15:39 > 0:15:45As it comes back towards us, wind. Keep bending the rod and wind. This is just so exciting.
0:15:45 > 0:15:52Now, so that we don't have any problems with this, I want to get this as quickly as possible. OK.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58He wants to run. You keep a good bend in the rod, keep it up, now he's off again.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00He's like a train, an express train.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05Look at that! You'll have to move, cameraman. Keep the rod down, that's right.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Wind. Wind...hello.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Your clutch has slipped a little bit. That's it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14There we go.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17We're in trouble now.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Could I just take it for a sec? Yeah.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27There we are. I think we'll get him back just to get him under control.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31He's a bugger, isn't he? He's a fighter, oh, he's gone. Damn!
0:16:33 > 0:16:35We did our best.
0:16:35 > 0:16:42Well, I'll be damned. Isn't that a shame? He's broken that. He's broken the lot. Good God.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44That was a big fish too. Yes, it was.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47OK, let's have a bash then. Right.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52I know a lot about salmon from an eating point of view but fishing...
0:16:52 > 0:16:56and catching them is where I'm entirely in your hands.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01I've never put wadders on! We must be careful as we wade.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Actually we should point out that wading can be dangerous. Yes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11A quick slip and you've had it, haven't you?
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Is this really...
0:17:13 > 0:17:21Is salmon fishing really for a privileged few or is that a myth these days?
0:17:21 > 0:17:25I think that's a myth these days. A few years ago, yes, it was,
0:17:25 > 0:17:32but today, there is salmon fishing available almost right through the southwest waterside.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36They've got a stretch of fishing down below.
0:17:36 > 0:17:43That agonises me, the fact that you don't hit the trees on the other side.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45The essential part is...
0:17:45 > 0:17:50is to put that mineral right across in front of his nose. Yes.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56That's not going to drive the fish away? No, it doesn't seem to disturb them at all.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01I think, if you get into a small pool that...
0:18:01 > 0:18:06you must separate wading and fishing because they're two different things.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11If you disturb the water too much, then you're going to drag the fish.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15That is one thing you've got to be very careful about.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21Well, I hope that had a few casts on it. Would you like a go? Well...um...
0:18:21 > 0:18:26I'd rather have a go of watching those trees being uplifted
0:18:26 > 0:18:29but the equipment's a bit expensive to lose!
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Right. We will try here a little bit. OK.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Eek! Can you feel it getting deeper? Yes, I can.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43I should just keep out slightly
0:18:43 > 0:18:46because it does shove away quite deep.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Oopsie.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Once I had lost that salmon and whatever
0:18:55 > 0:18:58he thought Derek didn't tell me, though I heard him mutter something
0:18:58 > 0:19:01about a turnip top - I imagine some kind of fishing expression -
0:19:01 > 0:19:04we all knew that we had lost the golden opportunity for the day.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07We didn't get another bite and I, like so many other fishermen before
0:19:07 > 0:19:10me, had to resort to the fishmonger to complete the day's schedule,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and a cognac here in Dartmouth, purely for medicinal
0:19:13 > 0:19:16reasons of course, after being up to my neck in the Exe, calms the nerves that are
0:19:16 > 0:19:21still tingling from the thrill of that salmon going like a train AWAY.
0:19:22 > 0:19:28They say that salmon is the king of fish, so to cook the king of fish, we ought to ask one of the queens
0:19:28 > 0:19:33of British cookery, and I'm sure foodies will need no introduction
0:19:33 > 0:19:38to Joyce Molyneux here, who is one of the best cooks in the land.
0:19:38 > 0:19:45She's operating in Dartmouth. What are you going to do with the salmon? I thought we'd do it two ways.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51A classic way, served simply with Hollandaise, cooked with a little white wine and seasoning,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55which is just a very simple, classic way of cooking it.
0:19:55 > 0:20:02The other alternative is salmon in pastry, which is an old favourite of the Perry-Smith family of cooks,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06and I think it's a delightful way as well.
0:20:06 > 0:20:12Incidentally, I'll tell you how to make the sauce because we've got it ready to make life easier.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16We'll let you know how that happens. What are you doing now?
0:20:16 > 0:20:22A bit of salt and pepper on these, tossed lightly in butter, pour a little white wine on, cover and cook,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26as lightly as possible. Fine, you go ahead with that.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31Do you think that salmon of all fish needs to be slightly undercooked?
0:20:31 > 0:20:37There's been a revolution in cooking, which came from France and is now firmly with us here.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41And fish needs to be slightly undercooked. Yes.
0:20:41 > 0:20:47It is preferable to be slightly undercooked, it's just nice to eat, you get more of a taste of the fish.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52I've got a little melted butter in a copper tray there,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55on a solid hot stove.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00And that's going to cook away for... Just very gently start it off.
0:21:00 > 0:21:06I shall turn them over with a fish knife, pour a little white wine over then put them in a cool oven.
0:21:06 > 0:21:12Do you find that here by the sea, you've got access to every kind of fish, do people appreciate fish?
0:21:12 > 0:21:19Yes, they do indeed. I think they actually appreciate unusual sorts of fish but we're most happy of course,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24to serve the salmon that comes out of the Dart river here. It's lovely.
0:21:24 > 0:21:30You feel that every salmon you serve has just come out of the river. Driven past the front of the shop.
0:21:30 > 0:21:37It's gone past us! You may not have seen it, but there it is, it has gone past us.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39A little white wine on that.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And some tinned foil. If you may.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Did you see that all right? That's just a drop of white wine.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52There's a huge myth that you've got to swamp things in white wine.
0:21:52 > 0:21:58You're just using wine there to get the natural juices from the fish to combine with that.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04That juice is lovely to eat with the fish. You could just finish the juices off with cream.
0:22:04 > 0:22:11It's nice to have the natural juices because you have the lovely salmon flavour with the Hollandaise sauce.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12We'll cover that with tinfoil.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21And we're just going to pop it in the oven here. There's been a radical change towards cooking and eating
0:22:21 > 0:22:28throughout the country in the last ten or 15 years. People are more interested but I have a feeling
0:22:28 > 0:22:33that they're over-complicating things and they're not following the basic principles.
0:22:33 > 0:22:39They're too eager about having a piece of salmon just because it's salmon, then covering it with cream,
0:22:39 > 0:22:45when in fact, they would be better off with a very simple but fresh herring. Yes, indeed.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47There isn't anything nicer than fresh herring, it's so lovely and moist. I think it's absolutely delicious.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52There isn't anything nicer than fresh herring, it's so lovely and moist. I think it's absolutely delicious.
0:22:52 > 0:22:59Perhaps sometimes people feel that the more they add to fish, or the more they do with things,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03the better it's going to become, and it isn't always so. It's like...
0:23:03 > 0:23:10You feel they're paying... particularly in a restaurant, that they're paying a lot of money
0:23:10 > 0:23:15so they want something that's been very well worked on, whereas, what they should be paying for
0:23:15 > 0:23:20is the best ingredients cooked simply. And a great deal of love.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25Love's the most marvellous thing. Fantastic, yes.
0:23:25 > 0:23:32I was shocked the other day, I was at a point to point and we were all talking about Range Rovers...
0:23:32 > 0:23:37and I was talking to a young lady, the wife of a well-known actor,
0:23:37 > 0:23:44and she said, "The great thing was I went to cordon bleu, it was great," and I expressed my provocative views
0:23:44 > 0:23:47about cordon bleu cooks.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53And I put the idea that she could have in fact learnt just as much or more from her mother, and she said,
0:23:53 > 0:23:59"Girls of my class don't have mothers who cook, we don't do such things." It's appalling.
0:23:59 > 0:24:06It is. I'm sure it couldn't happen in France where it's, as you know, quite different.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10In general, people are more interested in food nowadays.
0:24:10 > 0:24:17This is a new thing. Before the war, one didn't talk about food. It was like not talking about sex.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Or death nowadays. Yes.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25These unmentionable subjects, but now everybody enjoys food much more.
0:24:25 > 0:24:31And perhaps it's gone to the other extreme with so many cookery books about. There's too much.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37Too many colour supplements telling how us how we ought to live without going into the nitty-gritty.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43Nitty-gritty as you said is the freshness, and the cooking... We are cooking aren't we? We are indeed!
0:24:43 > 0:24:50How's that going on? We're going to try and get this out the oven if you don't mind staying with us a bit.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55The thing about meeting one of these super cooks like Joyce
0:24:55 > 0:25:01is that... Not quite ready. Not quite? In again for a second? A couple of minutes.
0:25:01 > 0:25:08Can I show you what it means by "not quite"? That's a little too pink. You want it like that.
0:25:08 > 0:25:15When it's all like that, it'll be ready. But a little pink in the centre. A little pink in the centre.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17There we are. Another five minutes in the oven.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Joyce, you've done a marvellous job of that.
0:25:21 > 0:25:27You've put Hollandaise over it and a little fennel to give it a hint of aniseed... Yes.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31..which is nice. I'm looking forward to the first salmon of the season.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Splendid. You eat because I've got to explain to my fans -
0:25:35 > 0:25:39hello, gastronauts, haven't seen you for a while.
0:25:39 > 0:25:45The Hollandaise sauce is terribly simple, I do hope Joyce won't contradict me.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51As long as you've got a food-processor, break in the yolks of three eggs into it,
0:25:51 > 0:25:58whisk it up till they're frothy and then pour in a half pound pack of melted unsalted butter,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02very slowly whizzing the food-processor the whole time.
0:26:02 > 0:26:09It'll turn into a nice thick yellow custard which you can pour over salmon, hard-boiled eggs, asparagus,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13new-boiled potatoes, anything you like.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17It's a versatile sauce, very simple and it's brilliant.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19See you in a minute.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Mm. Mm!
0:26:22 > 0:26:29I think you know me well enough by now after the last five weeks, for me to let you into a little secret.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34I'll quote the Bard who said, "A surfeit of the sweetest things,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37"to the stomach a certain loathing brings."
0:26:37 > 0:26:42Fish, I've had enough. I could murder a steak and kidney pie or even sausage and chips.
0:26:42 > 0:26:48But Joyce, bless her heart, has made a wondrous dish of salmon and raisins and ginger. Oh, well.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Once more unto the breach, dear friends!
0:26:52 > 0:26:55I'm glad you're enjoying it. Superb.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59How precisely did you make it? Lots of people will want to know.
0:26:59 > 0:27:05Good. The salmon is filleted and skinned and layered with a ginger and currant butter,
0:27:05 > 0:27:12and wrapped in pastry and baked. Can I interrupt? Is that powdered, whole, or crystallised ginger?
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Crystallised ginger. Crystallised.
0:27:14 > 0:27:21Crystallised ginger or ginger out of syrup. It's an adaptation of a medieval recipe.
0:27:21 > 0:27:27That's the origin of it. Wrapped in pastry and baked, then served in a herb and cream sauce,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30which is delicious hot or cold.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35The... Sorry to interrupt, we need to get the cameraman involved.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Clive, this sauce is too good to miss.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44While he's looking at that, can you explain how the sauce is made?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47A few shallots, sweated down in some butter,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52chopped tarragon, chervil and parsley added, a little flour,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57cream and finished off with mustard and lemon juice. Over a low heat?
0:27:57 > 0:28:03Yes. You've been very good camera, and haven't I been gentle to you?
0:28:03 > 0:28:08We'll get on with our eating. I don't know what we're doing next week, something really good,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12probably tinned sardines. See you then. Bye now.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17So, they've gone away. I get so bored with the lights and the heat.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22You can't get on with the whole business, which is eating and drinking and enjoying yourself.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Subtitles by Rebecca Rahman and Laura Cole, BBC Broadcast - 2003