Burgundy

:00:29. > :00:33.MONKS SING IN LATIN No, it's not Songs Of Praise! This is Situ Abbey

:00:34. > :00:36.in France's most prestigious wine-growing area. If these monks,

:00:37. > :00:39.or rather their predecessors, hadn't settled here to tend the vines,

:00:40. > :00:43.Burgundy now would be pretty dry! Strangely enough, the monks were

:00:44. > :00:46.forbidden to drink the stuff. They were probably knocking lumps out of

:00:47. > :00:48.the Benedictine monks down the road! You know, the ones that make that

:00:49. > :01:42.nice liqueur! You've got to admire these chaps.

:01:43. > :01:47.They make light and creamy cheese, named Situ after the monastery, from

:01:48. > :01:51.the milk of Charolais cows. And they're entirely self-sufficient. In

:01:52. > :01:56.fact, my grandmother would approve totally of their attitudes. Early to

:01:57. > :01:59.bed, early to rise. If it wasn't for the fact that women are sadly

:02:00. > :02:01.banned, I wouldn't mind spending a few weeks here myself to cleanse my

:02:02. > :02:09.very weary soul. Here's my producer making an

:02:10. > :02:18.unusually dignified exit to The Dog And Ferret!

:02:19. > :02:23.I thought the best way to see Burgundy was from a boat on the

:02:24. > :02:28.River Saone, which flows through this lush land. The Saone is a very

:02:29. > :02:32.important river and not as wide as the Orinoco or as long as the

:02:33. > :02:36.Mississippi, but the French are very proud of it! I forget how long it

:02:37. > :02:39.is. Anyway, this isn't a geography lesson. Oh, look, there's my

:02:40. > :02:43.900-foot floating kitchen going by! Burgundy food falls broadly into two

:02:44. > :02:46.categories - one where it's stewed in red wine, and one where it's

:02:47. > :02:50.sauted and turned into a mustard sauce. I'm doing the latter, mustard

:02:51. > :02:52.sauce. Very simple. Clive, come down here! Usual routine. Two escalopes

:02:53. > :02:56.of veal, some choice Dijon mustard, some unsalted butter, some wonderful

:02:57. > :03:03.thick double cream - quite rare in France - and all finished off with

:03:04. > :03:10.this wonderful Marc de Bourgogne. It's strong alcohol made from the

:03:11. > :03:14.residue of the wine-pressing. This is for a very important guy who's

:03:15. > :03:21.coming to lunch and who's now looking very bored on the bow of

:03:22. > :03:27.this barge! So...stay with this frying pan! We put a bit of butter

:03:28. > :03:30.in there and hopefully, because I'm not familiar with the equipment

:03:31. > :03:42.here, we'll have the butter melting away there properly. One escalope of

:03:43. > :03:48.veal in. Did you get that? Another escalope of veal in. Fingers in.

:03:49. > :03:55.Turn it over the second it's got a little bit sealed. Season it with a

:03:56. > :03:58.little pepper. Exactly like that. Never add salt to meat, by the way,

:03:59. > :04:03.until it's sealed, otherwise it brings the juices out and spoils it.

:04:04. > :04:06.Look out of the window if you're bored! You'll see beautiful

:04:07. > :04:17.countryside, maidens cavorting on the banks of the canals...!

:04:18. > :04:23.TO THE TUNE OF ALOUETTE: # Floyd's busy down below In the galley

:04:24. > :04:31.cooking veau # Out ze window, Looking out ze window...

:04:32. > :04:37.Now, when you buy mustard, you can buy any kind you like, but for

:04:38. > :04:43.cooking with mustard, use the pale yellow one. Always add it to the

:04:44. > :04:53.sauce at the end because if you make it too hot it takes away the mustard

:04:54. > :04:58.flavour. Now, cos this is a Frenchman, he likes his meat

:04:59. > :05:08.slightly under-done. Turn that again like that. Now this is going to

:05:09. > :05:13.wreck your camera! A little Marc de Bourgogne goes in there like that.

:05:14. > :05:25.The meat goes onto there... Let the juice of the meat reduce a little

:05:26. > :05:29.bit, stir in some cream. Two of those should be fine. Let's put

:05:30. > :05:32.three in. They'll probably be editing this down later, because

:05:33. > :05:42.they can't afford the film to actually cook a dish from beginning

:05:43. > :05:48.to end! Stay on that, Clive, while I get some pepper to put in there.

:05:49. > :05:53.Maximum heat, let it bubble. I'll have a swig of wine meantime.

:05:54. > :05:59.Another glass of Beaujolais. Thicken this excellent sauce with some

:06:00. > :06:06.excellent unsalted butter. Melt that in like that. All this is quite

:06:07. > :06:13.boring, as I say. Feel free to have a walk across the water... That's

:06:14. > :06:21.lovely now. Then about this much mustard. You can always look up a

:06:22. > :06:25.book - preferably one of mine - to see precisely how much to use.

:06:26. > :06:31.That's it. It's glistening yellow. It's golden, it's mustard. It says

:06:32. > :06:38.Dijon, it says Burgundy. Pop it over there like that. Simplicity itself!

:06:39. > :06:44.The last time I cooked on a boat, it was a trawler in a gale! Anyway,

:06:45. > :06:51.there we are. Escalope de veau a la moutarde du Dijon. Je vous souhaite

:06:52. > :06:54.bonne sante et bon appetit. And so to lunch, and a short, meaningful

:06:55. > :06:58.lesson on Burgundy wine from Jean-Michel Lafonte. Those monks,

:06:59. > :07:02.when they established their monastery, they received a small

:07:03. > :07:06.piece of land to produce their wines they needed for their mass. When

:07:07. > :07:09.they arrived at their vineyard, they had a religious attitude, which is

:07:10. > :07:17.based, like any religious attitude, on respect. They decided to respect

:07:18. > :07:26.the soil and the CHARACTER of the soil. So they chose particular vines

:07:27. > :07:29.which were suitable...? Absolutely. Little by little, they have made a

:07:30. > :07:32.selection of the plants - the Chardonnay plant for producing the

:07:33. > :07:39.white wine and the Pinot Noir plant to prodcue the red wine. Did monks

:07:40. > :07:48.drink wine to enjoy themselves or merely to celebrate Jesus Christ and

:07:49. > :07:51.mass? Well, I think both. They were really using the wine for the mass

:07:52. > :07:58.and really enjoying the wine by themselves! But this Cotes de Nuit

:07:59. > :08:02.is very rich and soft and fruity, isn't it? What makes the difference

:08:03. > :08:06.to wine? Wine is made BY people FOR the people and in a group of people

:08:07. > :08:15.you have some great ones and some funny ones. And wine reflects the

:08:16. > :08:18.life of the whole region. Fortunately, some people produce

:08:19. > :08:24.good stuff like this - pretty rich, giving a lot of aromas - and a wine

:08:25. > :08:33.which looks nice. Because remember, if you don't like it when you see

:08:34. > :09:11.it, you won't enjoy it. Like a woman!? Exactly. Exactly.

:09:12. > :09:18.Now the bit you've all been waiting for - the arty bit. There are two

:09:19. > :09:22.reasons for this. One, Clive still hasn't won an award for his amazing

:09:23. > :09:25.photography. And two, the director's really into this strange music which

:09:26. > :09:29.is completely above me! I'd rather have the Dave Clark Five any day.

:09:30. > :09:33.However, it is the first day of the recolte, or harvest, And whether you

:09:34. > :09:36.like it or not, Clive is now going to indulge himself in some dead

:09:37. > :09:40.Moodie shots of people picking grapes. Then, in a minute, I shall

:09:41. > :09:45.give you three salient facts on Burgundy wine. OK, up with the

:09:46. > :09:58.music, please. OK, fade the music again. Right,

:09:59. > :10:02.fact one, what 'ave the Romans ever done for us? I mean, what have the

:10:03. > :10:06.Romans ever done?! Well, they planted the first wines in Burgundy

:10:07. > :10:10.and Bordeaux, it says here. Number two, the prime grape of the Burgundy

:10:11. > :10:15.area is the Pinot Noir or the black Pinot. Number three, Napoleon, on

:10:16. > :10:20.his European mini-breaks, wouldn't leave home without a wagon-load of

:10:21. > :10:24.Chambertin. He loved it so much, he made his army salute the vineyard

:10:25. > :10:26.every time they passed. I think I said that right. And, number four, I

:10:27. > :10:38.like it very much. THEME FROM "MIDNIGHT COWBOY". OK,

:10:39. > :10:42.leave out the cowboy jokes. We take this all very seriously! But look!

:10:43. > :10:45.Is this Paris, Texas or is this Paris, Texas!? On one hand, the

:10:46. > :10:49.French must be one of the most civilised countries and on the

:10:50. > :10:55.other, they build junk like this in the middle of what should be a

:10:56. > :11:03.national park! I think I'll take the high road! Here, in the command

:11:04. > :11:05.module, I've a brilliant view of the vines that produce the superb wine

:11:06. > :11:13.of this golden coast. But if this is the gold coast,

:11:14. > :11:19.where's the sea? Well, it was here. Oh, look, another nice little wine

:11:20. > :11:23.out there! The sea was here about a million years ago but it receded,

:11:24. > :11:31.leaving this fertile valley. On my right hand side, wines are about

:11:32. > :11:35.twice as expensive as 25 yards away! Well, yes, I'm arrogant, yes, I

:11:36. > :11:42.drink a lot, but I don't know much about Burgundy wines. Hugh Johnson,

:11:43. > :11:48.John Arlott, Jancis Robinson - buy books, research it as much as you

:11:49. > :11:53.like. But the best way to find out about Burgundy wine is to drive

:11:54. > :11:59.along, stopping for the odd glass. And I'm going to invent a new game

:12:00. > :12:09.called Vinopoly. Every time you land on an Appellation Controlee plot you

:12:10. > :12:12.get a super glass of wine! Oh, what's this village called? Missed

:12:13. > :12:22.it! Never mind. Imagine throwing sixes and drinking your way through

:12:23. > :12:27.a wonderful part of France. Anyway, I'm rabbiting on and I've got some

:12:28. > :12:28.real work to do. My producer has invited a few of my yet-to-be-made

:12:29. > :12:51.friends to lunch, about 35 of them! Coq au vin is to Burgundy what a

:12:52. > :12:55.Cornish pasty is to Cornwall. It is the national dish of this region.

:12:56. > :13:00.I've had two or three while I've been here and it hasn't been all

:13:01. > :13:05.that good. My avowed aim today is to make the best coq au vin there is.

:13:06. > :13:12.Anyway, let's see the ingredients. The most important thing, my

:13:13. > :13:15.darlings, 70 pieces of chicken! Free-range chicken raised by a

:13:16. > :13:21.farmer. We have some mushrooms - champignons de Paris. We have bay

:13:22. > :13:24.leaves and thyme, parsley, garlic, salted, smoked bacon which I'll cut

:13:25. > :13:27.up into cubes, carrots, onions, and last but absolutely not least,

:13:28. > :13:42.Gevrey Chambertin, one of the finest Burgundy wines. Now, I've got to

:13:43. > :13:50.chop up all these into little bits. Clive, I'm under supreme pressure to

:13:51. > :13:57.chop things up into small cubes. But to help myself, I've done a bit of

:13:58. > :14:01.that already. Have a look. I've chopped up the bacon, carrots and

:14:02. > :14:06.onion and they're frying away. Quite happy about that? Nice and golden

:14:07. > :14:11.brown. Now I've got to dust these pieces of chicken in flour. Just a

:14:12. > :14:18.tiny bit. I have to put a little salt on... A little bit of pepper.

:14:19. > :14:23.And it goes into the pot. Hundreds of those go into the pot! Now, this

:14:24. > :14:28.is where I can't explain exactly what we're doing. You go for a walk

:14:29. > :14:33.round the fields. See how they're picking the grapes, working up the

:14:34. > :14:38.appetite. I must do it properly! See you!

:14:39. > :14:44.TO THE TUNE OF "LOUISE": # Gevrey Chambertin Is the name of the vin #

:14:45. > :14:48.Please understand It's the best in the land # Grape on ze vine Will

:14:49. > :14:52.soon turn to wine # And we'll drink, drink, drink it # Food without some

:14:53. > :14:56.wine Means the sun does not shine # But never mind Everything will be

:14:57. > :15:00.fine # We have a hunch That zis little lunch # Will be vraiment tres

:15:01. > :15:05.bon # We have a hunch That zis little lunch # Will be vraiment tres

:15:06. > :15:24.bon. # Ah, yes, here's one of my new chums, Rene L'Eclair.

:15:25. > :15:30.I know he looks a bit like a player in a Clint Eastwood movie but he

:15:31. > :15:33.makes great wine, and in the old-fashioned way. Like all true

:15:34. > :15:36.creative geniuses, people like me and my prodcuer, he's very

:15:37. > :15:41.passionate for his wine. And also, the ladies that pick the grapes. In

:15:42. > :15:45.fact, his wife told me with a bit of a smile, he married her not only for

:15:46. > :15:48.love, but also for the few hectares of wine that she owned! They're a

:15:49. > :15:51.philosophical lot, aren't they, the French!

:15:52. > :15:58.I'm glad, or at least I hope you enjoyed that little romp around the

:15:59. > :16:02.wine fields! We've had a power cut! I've got half of the coq au vin

:16:03. > :16:06.cooking on the other side of the road. I'm just going to finish it

:16:07. > :16:08.off with the last little drop of beautiful Gevrey Chambertin, the

:16:09. > :16:13.rich Burgundy wine that goes into this fabulous dish. Just, if I may,

:16:14. > :16:18.to recap - here it is, doesn't it look nice? I fried the chicken with

:16:19. > :16:23.smoked bacon and mushrooms and onions and pieces of carrot. I put

:16:24. > :16:26.it into this big casserole and the electricity went, so I fried half

:16:27. > :16:31.the chicken across the road and brought it back. Then I poured in

:16:32. > :16:37.the red wine, added bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic and

:16:38. > :16:42.Gevrey Chambertin... ..which is damn good! But these chaps are about to

:16:43. > :16:47.charge through the fields any moment now. If you thought kir was white

:16:48. > :16:55.wine with blackcurrant liqueur in, you can be wrong! Gevrey Chambertin

:16:56. > :16:59.with blackcurrant is superb and is still called kir!

:17:00. > :17:04.It's twelve o'clock and I'd had a dickens of a morning, trying to get

:17:05. > :17:08.this coq au vin together, so I thought I'd go in and give them a

:17:09. > :17:17.few words of excuse.' Monsieurs, dames, si je peux vous silencier...

:17:18. > :17:23.Ferme ta gueule la-bas! Bon! Je voudrais faire mes excuses pour ce

:17:24. > :17:28.repas degueulasse. Nous avions un coupage d'electricite pendant le

:17:29. > :17:33.truc! Je suis pas habitue de cuisiner pour 35 personnes! J'espere

:17:34. > :17:36.que dans votre petits enveloppes de paie au fin de recolte, il sera un

:17:37. > :17:47.petit supplement pour vous payer d'avoir supporte la merde que j'ai

:17:48. > :17:50.faite aujourd'hui! Je vous souhaite une bonne recolte et une bonne

:17:51. > :17:58.semaine ou dix jours. Merci beaucoup.

:17:59. > :18:06.'My fears were totally groundless! 'They destroyed the tuna and tomato

:18:07. > :18:10.salad, 'they whacked away the celeriac, 'they tucked into the coq

:18:11. > :18:15.au vin, 'and the gratin of potatoes was swooped away! 'In fact, they

:18:16. > :18:17.enjoyed it so much, and Rene was so happy, he invited me for a very

:18:18. > :18:31.special drink. We thought that subtitles would be a

:18:32. > :18:35.bit naff here so I'm going to translate what he's saying as we're

:18:36. > :18:41.going along. First of all, he's telling me to go in ahead of him.

:18:42. > :18:46.And he's got 110,000 bottles here. I just said, I suppose you could hang

:18:47. > :18:49.one on here in a major way with this lot, but he said, yes, only with a

:18:50. > :18:59.couple of really attractive women, no? '76 wine. Ah, here's some stuff.

:19:00. > :19:05.1980. Should be very good indeed. Bien sur. This is the life... I had

:19:06. > :19:08.a really good time here, I have to tell you that. I can feel as if it

:19:09. > :19:18.was only yesterday. Il doit etre un peu frais, trop

:19:19. > :19:23.frais pour...? Non, non. I'm asking him, do you think it's a bit too

:19:24. > :19:26.cool to drink the wine this way? He says, no, this business of heating

:19:27. > :19:31.wine up to room temperature's a bit of a nonsense. And in fact, had a

:19:32. > :19:34.good reason to exist in that way if you lived in a very, very cold

:19:35. > :19:37.chateau. But otherwise, it really spoils the wine to warm it. On

:19:38. > :19:41.approchait la bouteille de le chiminee pour la faire chambree...

:19:42. > :19:48.Et aujourd'hui, bon, souvent on a des... On a des pieces tres, tres

:19:49. > :19:54.chaudes. That was me saying "gosh, this is really good." Mmm. Un tres

:19:55. > :19:59.bon nez. Tros chambre, ca sent moins bon. Yes, and if it's too warm, too

:20:00. > :20:05."chambre-ed" it just wouldn't be up to standard like that.

:20:06. > :20:15.Do you sell this around the place? La, il y a deux ans, Reagan a fait

:20:16. > :20:23.une reunion avec Mitterand... Oui. Et ils ont servi au cours du repas

:20:24. > :20:27.une moins de 80. De vous? De la maison L'Eclair. There's something

:20:28. > :20:30.which is quite good. There's one thing that me and President Reagan

:20:31. > :20:34.have got in common, is Gevrey Chambertin, made by Rene L'Eclair,

:20:35. > :20:37.because when one of the French prime ministers went over for a little

:20:38. > :20:43.entente cordiale, the best way to do it was with his wine. I think that's

:20:44. > :20:52.quite amazing! C'est super-bon, ca. Oui. C'est vraiment bon.

:20:53. > :21:03.This is Dijon, 'the power base of dukes in former times, 'and now the

:21:04. > :21:08.capital of the region. If you think, in the next bit, that I'm a bit

:21:09. > :21:11.grumpy, you're right! I'm cooking for 15 brilliant chefs and I'm

:21:12. > :21:15.petrified!' Actually, I have a problem as the meal's been brought

:21:16. > :21:26.forward by about an hour and I have 15 chefs of very high denomination

:21:27. > :21:32.waiting. I'm trying to make a cream sauce to go with this ham. I've

:21:33. > :21:35.reduced some shallots and juniper berries in vinegar and I added those

:21:36. > :21:48.to some flour and butter and veal stock. Now I'm going to whack in a

:21:49. > :21:55.bottle of white wine. I'll let that simmer away till that thickens and

:21:56. > :22:01.becomes a very special sauce. I'll shift it to a higher gas. Another

:22:02. > :22:08.sauce I've got to make, which is worrying the chefs here, is using

:22:09. > :22:12.the wonderful Gevrey Chambertin. I have to reduce that to almost

:22:13. > :22:18.nothing to go with my fillets of fish, which I will cook later. The

:22:19. > :22:22.man from the tourist office who organised this little party asked to

:22:23. > :22:31.have the meal at four o'clock and it won't be ready till five! I'm quite

:22:32. > :22:34.genuinely a little bit worried. They're gathering round in their

:22:35. > :22:36.dark suits and tinted glasses like vultures sitting on a telegraph

:22:37. > :22:48.wire! I was so busy cooking that I didn't

:22:49. > :22:53.have time to go into the dining room. If I'd known this lot were

:22:54. > :22:57.there, I wouldn't have carried on!' At least that's all right. That's

:22:58. > :23:05.the special piquant sauce for the ham that might be raw!

:23:06. > :23:11.And that's that wine that cost nearly ?20 a bottle just evaporating

:23:12. > :23:18.away to nothing to make a sauce for fillets of fresh perch. I've just

:23:19. > :23:23.invented it and I don't even know if it's going to work! If it doesn't,

:23:24. > :23:43.I'm going home to Mother! # I started out on Burgundy. But

:23:44. > :23:47.soon hit the harder stuff! # My friends said they'd stand behind me

:23:48. > :23:56.when the game got rough # But the joke was on me. There was no-one

:23:57. > :23:59.there to bluff! # I'm going back to New York City. I do believe I've had

:24:00. > :24:07.enough! These guys just walk in, dip their

:24:08. > :24:09.fingers in and say nothing! There must be some imperceptible sign they

:24:10. > :24:15.make between themselves that means you're a total jerk! FLOYD HUMS

:24:16. > :24:28.CHEERFULLY. Can you get me a small ladle from up

:24:29. > :24:43.there, anybody? Il faut que je nappe avec la sauce. Je vais mettre ca,

:24:44. > :24:47.moi. For those of you not interested in the drama of the situation, 'and

:24:48. > :24:51.who still think this is a cookery programme, 'I poached the perch in

:24:52. > :24:55.white wine with a knob of butter and bay leaf. For the sauce, I reduced

:24:56. > :25:04.some chopped shallots and red wine 'and whisked in some butter. Then I

:25:05. > :25:16.waited in the kitchen for the news. The waiter came back - thumbs up! I

:25:17. > :25:19.was so relieved! Whoever you are, a footballer, Nigel Mansell or a

:25:20. > :25:22.cooking genius, 'you need to know what the punters think about it!

:25:23. > :25:26.Then the French TV turned up, with the press and radio, 'and I gave an

:25:27. > :25:34.elegant interview in French and English for the six o'clock news.' #

:25:35. > :25:40.So what is zee verdict? # How do they feel? What do they think of zis

:25:41. > :25:44.wonderful meal? # What do they say? Could it be, "Zut alors!"? # As they

:25:45. > :25:53.taste this fine cooking And cry "Encore!"

:25:54. > :26:00.So they can have a small rest now while I carve the ham. When I first

:26:01. > :26:09.came into the kitchen, they stood away from me, 'but now "Clark Kent"

:26:10. > :26:14.has become my new friend! He'll even talk to me as if I was a cook! I had

:26:15. > :26:19.that ham soaking in my bath last night 'to get the salt out of it,

:26:20. > :26:24.then I poached it for four hours. It should've been five, but it's OK.

:26:25. > :26:28.Then there's the piquant sauce.' You all wish it was Christmas and you

:26:29. > :26:31.had to carve the turkey(!) Well, you come here one day and carve boiled

:26:32. > :26:47.ham for 18 very superior gastronauts and you won't complain again! Want

:26:48. > :26:51.me to take it all the way through? Yeah. Il me demande de le prendre,

:26:52. > :27:06.malheureusement! Highly amusing, isn't it? Ou ils

:27:07. > :27:29.sont? Any cookery programme in Britain

:27:30. > :27:36.cannot top this, I bet you! Look at them - 17 of France's best chefs,

:27:37. > :27:39.particularly from the Dijon area. Je regrette de vous faire attendre,

:27:40. > :27:54.mais le jambon a pris quatre heures a cuire. Je commence a vous servir,

:27:55. > :27:57.juste un petit morceau. To see these great chefs - one has the Legion

:27:58. > :28:01.d'Honneur - tucking happily into this very lusty meal, 'confirms my

:28:02. > :28:04.belief that the best meals are the traditional ones. Burgundy cooking

:28:05. > :28:07.is firmly based in a sophisticated background 'so no-one would dare to

:28:08. > :28:14.muck about with it, despite modern trends.

:28:15. > :28:21.Now it's prize-giving time.' APPLAUSE.

:28:22. > :28:29.Merci, monsieur. I don't really want to put it on because it's got all

:28:30. > :28:32.the signatures of some of the best chefs in France and certainly the

:28:33. > :28:38.best in Dijon. But just for once, I'll show off for a second!

:28:39. > :28:47.ALL CHEFS: # La, la, la, la-la-la-la la # La, la, la, la, la, La, la, la,

:28:48. > :28:55.la-la-la-la, la # La-la-la, la-la-la, la, la, la!

:28:56. > :29:05.Why are you the only person who is wearing your hat that way? Parce que

:29:06. > :29:12.je suis comme Napoleon! LAUGHTER.