0:00:03 > 0:00:04MUSIC: "Green Onions" by Booker T The MG's
0:00:25 > 0:00:30I am driving the ultimate "dream machine" - a Corvette Stingray 67.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Seven litres under the bonnet!
0:00:32 > 0:00:37I've got my pots and pans and my knives because I'm on the BBC maxi-break of a lifetime!
0:00:37 > 0:00:41I'm going to take you to Louisiana, Memphis, New Orleans, Florida,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45California - from shining sea to shining sea!
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Try the food, the music, the blues, the rock'n'roll,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52the a-whop-bop-aloo-bam of American gastronomy! Let's go for it!
0:01:02 > 0:01:04MUSIC: "The Star Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix
0:02:25 > 0:02:30The Bayou, Louisiana - gastronomic heartland of the southern states,
0:02:30 > 0:02:36home of crawfish and file gumbo, and lots of other dishes immortalised in rock'n'roll songs.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41Amongst these stunted trees, destroyed coincidentally by Hurricane Floyd,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43you can feel the spirit of General Jackson,
0:02:43 > 0:02:48who beat the living daylights out of the Brits at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58That curious machine is a mud-bug harvester!
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Mud-bugs are what the locals call crawfish - an aggressive, lobster-like crustacean
0:03:03 > 0:03:08that lives in the same swamps that produce the wild rice they ultimately meet on a plate.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12This symbol of Louisianan cuisine is farmed in vast quantities here in the Mississippi Delta,
0:03:12 > 0:03:19and those not eaten by these winged predators end up in pots with Cajun spices and garlic,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22spreading the gastronomic spirit of Louisiana right across the States.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27As my Cajun chum explained so succinctly...
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Keeping them away.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34He was only scaring those birds, though he eats the occasional one.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Our first cooking sketch now, with a guy who really irritated me.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41He cooks a great jambalaya, so he can't be all bad!
0:03:41 > 0:03:43I've got trouble on my hands here. This so Chris.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46He knows everything about Cajun cooking and he's going to teach me
0:03:46 > 0:03:50how to make a jambalaya, the classic dish of this Louisiana swamp region.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55What are all these ingredients? Floyd, I want to tell you something.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Jambalaya's an important part of our diet
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and I want to tell you something before you go too far. Trouble!
0:04:02 > 0:04:07If you mess up, I got something to handle you! Fair enough?
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Fair enough! Mess up my jambalaya and we are going to settle the odds up.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17That's all I wanted you to know. Let's talk about the ingredients.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23Remember what I dropped in here? You thought it was lard. I did.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27It was alligator fat. Alligator fat? That's all. No, really, it was lard.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Lard has a good flavour. SIZZLING
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Can you hear that pot sizzling?
0:04:32 > 0:04:38Drop that sausage in. All of it? Yeah. I'm going to give you the spoon and you can do the work.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43How's that? This is good! Somebody else is doing the cooking!
0:04:43 > 0:04:50How long do we cook this for? We cook this until we get some of the oils out of the sausage.
0:04:50 > 0:04:56This is hot sausage. Good.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01The flavour of this sausage is going to carry this jambalaya. Right.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07Don't break 'em all up! Just hit 'em lightly. There you go.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Let it saute for a few minutes.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16By getting the oils out, it lubricates something you don't know nothing about.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20What's in there, then? You really want to know? Yes.
0:05:20 > 0:05:28Mississippi river water. Good chemicals come down our river. This has very good flavour.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33Is that a good shot? No, let me tell you what I've really got.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I've got chicken stock and a little kitchen bouquet.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42I know you're familiar with that. That's a bouquet garni. Right.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45They give great colour and flavour.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48We're going to add a little trinity.
0:05:48 > 0:05:54You know what trinity is? It's green peppers, celery and onions.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59Right. This is a basic seasoning group we use in South Louisiana,
0:05:59 > 0:06:05whether we're making a jambalaya, a gumbo or Creole.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10We're going to add this to the pot. I'll tell you what else you can add right now.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16You can put chicken in. Already? Go ahead. Heat it up real good.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21Does that look like chicken to you? Well, I don't trust you any more...
0:06:21 > 0:06:26Would I lie to you?! I think you might!
0:06:26 > 0:06:30This is what we had the back part of.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35That was a little bit we had left in the freezer. It's a big chicken!
0:06:35 > 0:06:39How do you like the looks of this baby? Can you open him up?
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I wouldn't think so. Go ahead. Oh, my word!
0:06:42 > 0:06:47I would not put alligator meat in this pot. Why?
0:06:47 > 0:06:52Alligator is $6.95 a pound! Right. Pretty expensive.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58We're using raccoon today. Raccoon! Don't you prefer raccoon? Oh, dear!
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Rocky Raccoon! Rocky Raccoon!
0:07:02 > 0:07:05How's that looking? Very good.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Fa-a-antastic! How about dropping a little garlic in there? Garlic...
0:07:09 > 0:07:15This guy's learning how to cook. He's finally learning real food.
0:07:15 > 0:07:22Hey, this stock's boiling away here now. You see how the chicken base has come to the surface? Sure.
0:07:22 > 0:07:28Now it's time to pour it in the pot. The handles aren't hot.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Just to recap on this, if I may.
0:07:30 > 0:07:38It's spicy New Orleans sausage fried in lard. Then add the trinity of celery, peppers and onions.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44Then the chicken or, in this case, raccoon meat went in. Alligator is too expensive.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48And now in we go with the stock.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Do you know a Cajun philosophy for making a jambalaya? No.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57If it walks, crawls, swims or flies and you can catch it,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00you can put it in that pot! How's that, huh?
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Right, what about the rice? When does it go into the whole thing?
0:08:03 > 0:08:04We have to bring this to a boil,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07but we need to add a little salt in there. Salt.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Put about two teaspoons of salt in there. Is this the salt?
0:08:09 > 0:08:12No, leave that alone, don't even touch that.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14This is called Joe's stuff. No, that's salt. Salt.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Yes, I just use Joe's bottle.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20That's pretty close. I'd put a little bit more in.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21You're cooking five cups of rice.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Right, OK, well, it needs a little bit more, then.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27That's what I'm getting at. We'll stir this in.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Bring that to the boil.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Get back to the alligators. I'd love to get back.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35They eat anything that get in their way. Female alligators that
0:08:35 > 0:08:37have baby alligators, that is
0:08:37 > 0:08:40probably the meanest creature you ever run across in your life.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Worse than a mother-in-law, in fact.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Well, I don't know, my mother-in-law,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47the first job I ever had was taming alligators.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49You ever tried to tame alligator?
0:08:49 > 0:08:53I used to have to stand there and run my hands through the mouth,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56once I got it open. You know who got me the job? My mother-in-law.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I quit that right quick - I realised what was going on.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Shall I put the rice in? Yes, that's boiling.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07We just going to put the lid on it. Lower the fire, though it real low.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11I'm not looking to bring it back to a boil. How are we coming?
0:09:11 > 0:09:16Let's see how what you've got here, Floyd. Very low. Yes. About there?
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Oh, there you go, all I want was a simmer. That is perfect.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23I'll tell you what. Have you cooked before? No. No?
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Well, why do they call you Floyd On Fish?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28I'm just curious, that's all.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32What we have to do now, Floyd, we have to time this for 10 minutes.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Can you tell the time? Nine cans of that and that's ready?
0:09:37 > 0:09:40No, one can and this is a quarter can. I need a whole can of Dixie.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44How much did you have in yours? Oh, yeah, we can time it -
0:09:44 > 0:09:47by the time you finish that and I've finished this, 10 minutes will be up,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49then we're going to turn our jambalaya off.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51At that point right there,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53we have to let this thing sit for about 20 minutes.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56This rice will cook itself. Right. Right in the pot,
0:09:56 > 0:09:57and that's what's nice about it. OK.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09They call New Orleans "The Big Easy", it's a city
0:10:09 > 0:10:11that likes to sleep late and party hard.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15Once extremely prosperous, the failing oil and shipping industries
0:10:15 > 0:10:18have left their scars on this most European of American cities.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22It reminds me of a cross between Avignon, Seville, and Liverpool.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25The streets rattle to streetcars and rock with the jazz
0:10:25 > 0:10:29that fills the food-scented air in this humid city.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32'Three pizzas, one with anchovies, one with mushrooms...'
0:10:32 > 0:10:36These flags flying for Mardi Gras owe their colours
0:10:36 > 0:10:39to a British Victorian touring theatre group playing Lear,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41dear, dear, dear Lear at the local theatre.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44The organisers of the first carnival borrowed their costumes for
0:10:44 > 0:10:47the carnival king and queen, so it's all down to Shakespeare, really.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55"Laissez les bon temps rouler", "Let the good times roll," is the motto
0:10:55 > 0:10:58of this naughty place, the home of Tennessee Williams,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, etc, etc.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03I could go on but I'm more into Faulkner,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06another great Southern writer.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10New Orleans is a superstitious city, palm readers, witches,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13diviners and clairvoyants of all kinds hang out on the streets
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and dubious little studios, but with its Indian, French, Spanish
0:11:17 > 0:11:19and slaving heritage, it's not surprising.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24# I love, I love you, baby and I want you to be my girl... #
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Along with fortune-telling and music,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30your Big Easy native is never happier than when eating beignets,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32a French-style doughnut in the Cafe Du Monde, the hangout
0:11:32 > 0:11:34of musicians, artists, tourists
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and the potpourri of New Orleans' demimonde.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Ah, I hope you like these little jewels of commentary,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46they're quite important really.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Anyway, the central grocery store at the turn of the century
0:11:49 > 0:11:52or thereabouts created the famous muffaletta sandwich,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54presumably by Senor Muffaletta.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56They're sliced salami, ham, and Swiss cheese
0:11:56 > 0:11:59smothered in olive oil and pickle. Do you really like them?
0:11:59 > 0:12:03# Yes, I do, yes, I do
0:12:03 > 0:12:06# Yes, I do
0:12:06 > 0:12:12# And I want you to be my girl... #
0:12:21 > 0:12:24I'm not keen on being a tourist and wild horses couldn't drag me
0:12:24 > 0:12:26on to anything called a Creole Queen.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29I should be telling you all about the Mississippi,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32but this isn't a look at life and all I know about it is,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35it's very long, very wide and the Americans like it very much
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and if it wasn't here, there wouldn't be jazz in the world.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42In the French Quarter,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45you can't move two paces without being tempted to eat something.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48The Creole and Cajun dishes of this place make it
0:12:48 > 0:12:50the Mecca of American cuisine.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Louisiana is rich in produce of all kinds,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56a bit like Provence, really, and its spicy, tasty, uncomplicated dishes
0:12:56 > 0:12:58are a menu-weary gastronaut's dream.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Now, take, for instance, the oyster po' boy, prepared by my chum.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08"A po' boy," I hear you cry.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10People say, "That's for a po' boy,"
0:13:10 > 0:13:12because he doesn't have much money
0:13:12 > 0:13:16and he has to buy something that is a lot of food and cheap
0:13:16 > 0:13:21and can go far and the po' boy was a kind of cheap sandwich, you know.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28That's good.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32And you want to put just a little pickle on there,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34give it a little dash here.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Nobody comes to New Orleans without getting an oyster po' boy.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39They'll come here to get it when they hear.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Sometimes I've had people right off the plane, right here,
0:13:42 > 0:13:43"Give me my oyster po' boy."
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And when they're going back, take your oyster po' boy with them.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48When my daughter was pregnant, she's in Los Angeles,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50"Send me an oyster po' boy,"
0:13:50 > 0:13:51what we call an oyster loaf, you know,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54we put the whole bread and ship it to her.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58People never go home without them and they're really typical New Orleans.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00You haven't come to New Orleans unless you eat oyster po' boy.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05SIREN WAILS
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Because the BBC couldn't afford a taxi,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10I've flagged down this passing police car and later hitched a ride
0:14:10 > 0:14:13on this fire engine to visit one of New Orleans most famous
0:14:13 > 0:14:16restaurants, K-Paul's Kitchen, run by my new chum,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Paul Prudhomme, who believes passionately that cooking
0:14:18 > 0:14:22is not only good for the soul, but for the sanity of America.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Many of our psychiatrists in this country recommends that
0:14:26 > 0:14:29a family that is under stress, that both members are working,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32that are under tremendous stress during the week
0:14:32 > 0:14:34to cook together on weekends, so...
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Because it's relaxing, it's enrichening
0:14:36 > 0:14:38and you can make your life better
0:14:38 > 0:14:42and there's nothing in the world that you do more than eating.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44You don't change your clothes more often,
0:14:44 > 0:14:45you don't brush your teeth more often.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I mean, you eat more than you do anything else
0:14:48 > 0:14:51and I think America is finding its eating sphere,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56its eating enjoyment and its eating love and we're the head of it
0:14:56 > 0:14:58because in Louisiana we've been doing that,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00we've been living that way for the last 100 years,
0:15:00 > 0:15:05so we have this huge amount of different dishes that we have
0:15:05 > 0:15:10to offer America and the whole world, so Cajun and Creole is where it's at.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12There's always a time in the programme when
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I have to try to convince my hosts, in this case Paul,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18that I DO know a bit about cooking myself. He said, "OK, since you're so smart,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21"just make me some smothered Cajun style okra. Just go and do it."
0:15:21 > 0:15:25So, I have. I've prepared for myself here a sunshine tray
0:15:25 > 0:15:27of Louisiana food.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Starting from your left, Clive, we've got onions,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32we've got lovely mixed bell peppers, red, yellow, and green,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36we've got chopped okra, or ladies' fingers as we call them in England,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39we've got skinned, depipped - largely - and chopped tomatoes,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42we've got chicken stock at the back,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45we've got Louisiana sausage here, and we've got some butter.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Swing to the left of the pan,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50you'll see the first stage of my dish going along here.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Onions, peppers and okra going ahead in butter.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Into that, we put more of this magic Cajun mixture.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03The pink wonder, as it has become known amongst our crew here.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Stir that round a little bit so this dish starts to absorb the flavours.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I think I'd still like to put more butter in that.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Paul - you can't see him at the moment -
0:16:11 > 0:16:15but he's watching me with an eagle, eagle eye.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20With great interest. So, into that some tomato.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Now...
0:16:24 > 0:16:28What we're trying to do here, we've got that lot starting to cook.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32We're going to relay it all again on top so that the food
0:16:32 > 0:16:36is going to cook in different sort of textures and flavours.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Hopefully. So, more onions in,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42peppers in, and now some more okra in.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46And now some more of the Cajun magic.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51I've probably put a bit too much of that, doesn't really matter.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Stir round.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I'm going to have to employ some magical television stuff here
0:16:56 > 0:16:59because, obviously, if I let this cook on camera,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02it would last 35 minutes, which would be far too long.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05So right now, can I have a quick word with my viewers?
0:17:05 > 0:17:08OK, lots and lots of minutes have gone by now. Back to the pot again.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Bit of sausage. This is a spicy sausage.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15We put that in. OK.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Then we're going to add a bit of this wonderful chicken stock.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24And how heartening. Back to me again, please, Clive, if you would.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I was amazed of the sophistication of the cooking
0:17:27 > 0:17:29when I came to America.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31I didn't expect to find reduced chicken stock.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33It's really good news. It's wonderful. Right, back into there.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43OK. Now, that has been bubbling for not long enough, but I want to add
0:17:43 > 0:17:47some more tomato because this is okra smothered in tomato.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52Put that in. Plenty of tomato in this. Right.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54If you can just stay with that, Clive,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58just keep looking at that for the next 35 minutes, OK?
0:18:03 > 0:18:05So, there we are, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Mine is the one with the wooden spoon in it,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and Paul's, the sort of more mature,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12more reduced-looking one is that one with the metal spoon.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15All we have to do, Paul, to see where I've gone wrong,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17where I've gone right, is to taste it, I suppose.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Can I try yours? Yes, and I'll try yours. OK.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26You really did a wonderful job.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Matter of fact, I think since we've identified whose is whose with the spoon,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33I think we'll switch spoons there.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37The taste comparison is very, very close.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39There's...
0:18:39 > 0:18:41There's a little more depth in the one that's cooked a long time,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45but this is... This is good. Really, you've done a super job.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49What a nice chap! And how wise he is.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56You might think I'm shopping. But I'm not going shopping.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59I'm making the groceries, as they say here in New Orleans,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01in this French market established in the late 1700s
0:19:01 > 0:19:04where the French immigrants brought their own typical produce to make
0:19:04 > 0:19:07the wonderful American dishes you can get.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10There are yams and sugar cane, and wonderful plump tomatoes,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13garlic, peppers, courgettes. You could be in Provence.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16And I'm making the groceries for the classic New Orleans
0:19:16 > 0:19:18signature dish, shellfish gumbo.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Shellfish gumbo was invented by the people who lived here when
0:19:21 > 0:19:23they tried to sort out how to make French bouillabaisse.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26They didn't have the proper spices. But the West Indians did.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28They had a spice called ngombo.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31So they stuffed that into their shellfish stuff,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and, eventually, it was called gumbo. File gumbo.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41To make the perfect shellfish gumbo, you need a fistful of dollars,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Thank you. Isaac, how are you doing?
0:19:43 > 0:19:46What do I need for a really good shellfish gumbo?
0:19:46 > 0:19:49First of all, sir, we have some lovely shrimp.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54I'm cooking for 12, so whack them in there, if you would. Brilliant.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Beautiful. What's next? Next up, we have some combo file.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02What exactly is this spice? It's ground-up sassafras leaves.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08I've got that sussed at last. Then some Cajun sausage.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11That's a spicy sausage? That's right. We have some Towson.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13And that's what, smoked pork? Yes, sir.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16And we have crabs to go with it. Great, chuck in some crabs.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23How many of those do I need? About half a dozen. Good-oh.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25We also have some Creole seasoning.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Right, that's spicy food, in that goes. How about some oysters?
0:20:29 > 0:20:32You bet. Brilliant. How about some crawfish?
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Crawfish, I like it. Now this thing here, what is this?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37This is Cajun Boudin.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Crawfish Boudin. That's very stylish, isn't it?
0:20:39 > 0:20:42This is what French nouvelle cuisine chefs are making these days.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Really brilliant. Anyway, jambalaya, crawfish pie, and file gumbo.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48We're going to have some fun on the bayou.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Well, not exactly,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52but at the New Orleans Cookery School run by Joe Con.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53There it is at the bottom of your picture,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55on the corner of that building where the pink is.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Food is more important than just sticking something in your mouth,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00chewing and swallowing.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Food is what social is about. Food is what family is about.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07Food is such a passion with local people, be it Creole or Cajun,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09that people will say that their mother
0:21:09 > 0:21:10is the greatest cook in the world,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13their grandmother is the greatest cook in the world.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16That's one of the things about Louisiana restaurants.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It is hard for a restaurateur to compete
0:21:19 > 0:21:21against somebody's home cooking.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Because as you taste it, the people will say about a gumbo,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28"My grandmother did better than this." Or "I did better than this."
0:21:28 > 0:21:30And that's the fun part about it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32But all of our food, we have a passion for eating.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34We have a passion for life.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I'll tell you what, I... I mean, actually, this is my show,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41my viewers expect me to cook... This isn't my show?
0:21:41 > 0:21:44This isn't your show, and as Fats Domino said, Big Bad Joe,
0:21:44 > 0:21:49you've got to go, me-oh-my-oh.. But, wait, wait. Go, out!
0:21:49 > 0:21:50I'm going to get out of the kitchen,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52but here's the thing about the English.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55You have a beer in front of you. Yes, what have you got? I have a beer.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58But you have learnt how to only cook with one hand
0:21:58 > 0:22:00because you have to drink with one hand.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05In Louisiana, we're probably the only people who have a beer holster.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08So what I've got to say is goodbye Joe,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11we've got to go down the bayou...
0:22:13 > 0:22:17You have been watching, or just missed, Big Bad Joe.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20That's great, but we have actually got to get down to business.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22I've asked Joe, I've asked Paul,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24I've asked old ladies in the street, I've asked
0:22:24 > 0:22:26every kind of person how I make a file gumbo,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28this is going to be my interpretation of it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I'm going to try very hard,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I'm going to give it to Big Bad Joe afterwards.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35So, no furthermore ado, as we say, and, Clive,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37the routine, spin round the ingredients.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39This is going to be a shrimp gumbo.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42So we've got fresh shrimp, lovely, lovely prawns,
0:22:42 > 0:22:43as we call them in Britain.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48We've got oysters, we've got gumbo crab meat taken from the shells.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52These are the actual gumbo crabs here. We've got crawfish.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Remember the Elvis Presley thing? Crawfish, crawfish. These are they.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58In fact, they're crayfish, as we would call them.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59OK?
0:22:59 > 0:23:02We have got the Cajun spices, the Louisiana spices,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04we've got the tomato sauce,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08we've got rice, we've got this wonderful sausage,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10which I'm going to speak about much later, just check it out for now.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14We've got peppers, and onions, and parsley.
0:23:14 > 0:23:20And the dish takes its name from the okra, OK? Or ladies' fingers.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22This is the gumbo.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26In fact, ngombo from the West Africans, West Indians,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28who were imported here in those dreadful years of slavery,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30they brought this kind of stuff with them.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33But, in fact, a gumbo doesn't have to have okra in it.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35And mine is not going to have it in.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37So that's the beginning of it all.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40But before we can even start to cook, we need some fish stock.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Clive, if you can zoom over here, I've got a regular fish stock
0:23:44 > 0:23:48of carrots, leeks, onions and stuff like that and a fish head.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Also, I'm going to put in all of the shells from the prawns.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53We let that simmer and bubble away for a second,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57and we get on with the real business. This is cookery school,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59and he'd be waving at all the people up there, I suppose.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Anyway, fat in the pan, oil.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Some people say you should use margarine AND oil.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Right, no problem, into our hot fat,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10the very first thing that I believe we should do is throw some onions.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13You might get a bit of smoke in your eyes, but don't worry about it.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16We then need a few of these peppers.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19They called them bell peppers, I just call them green peppers.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22They do like to take the whole thing to the maximum.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Then I need some chopped celery.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26It's a very unbalanced knife,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29so I'm not going to do it quite as fast as I normally do it.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32We have some chopped celery. OK.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37And we sweat all these vegetables down for a second or two. Right.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39The next thing I'm going to do is put in Joe's mix.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41I mean, this is a mixture of -
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and here I have to refer to my notes because, I told you,
0:24:44 > 0:24:46I don't know all of these things - this is...
0:24:46 > 0:24:48You can be looking at that while I'm reading it out.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51It's a mixture of freshly ground red pepper,
0:24:51 > 0:24:52sweet paprika, salt,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56white pepper, black pepper, dried thyme leaves, o-RE-gano leaves...
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I'm getting American, I meant ore-GA`no. I'm terribly sorry.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And a bay leaf, all stuffed into there.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05And this goes now, we've sweated these vegetables down a bit,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07that goes in there as well.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And this is going to help us to make a bit of a roux.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14OK, we've got that.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Then something brought to the gumbo by the Indians,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22the indigenous American Indians is the file.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24This is a safassas seed...
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Sassafras leaves pounded up. So we have to put some of that in.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31There's a school of thought here, some say it goes in later,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35at the end, in which case file means string,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39and it turns into a kind of stringy thing in the pot and that goes in the end.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Another school of thought says put in that the beginning.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43I'm putting it in right at the beginning.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46That feels more comfortable to my European way of cooking things.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Then we also need, cos they like these things a little hot,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54but not too hot. And, don't forget -
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Cajun, New Orleans, Louisiana cooking
0:25:56 > 0:25:59is not just a question of chucking in a great
0:25:59 > 0:26:02handful of spice onto something which hasn't been prepared,
0:26:02 > 0:26:03the same rules still apply.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Freshness, honesty, integrity in the ingredients and all that
0:26:06 > 0:26:10kind of thing, so a bit of Tabasco, or chilli sauce, into there.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16OK. Like all sunshine cooking,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19we need some tomato sauce.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21This is just pureed fresh tomatoes,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24strained through so there are no pips and skin in them.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26So we'll put a bit of that in.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33All right?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Now, you will hear it said the whole time in this programme,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40this Louisiana programme, this New Orleans programme,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43that anything for a gumbo goes. You put in what you like.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46We're making this for a party so there are no precise ingredients.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49You can buy my book, if I can be bothered to write it, for
0:26:49 > 0:26:52the exact quantities, but it is a party dish so you just chuck things.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Stay there, because I need the fish stock now.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Right, sorry about this, you might get some steam on your lens,
0:27:01 > 0:27:02I hope you can cope with that.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04The fish stock goes into there.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10You can see all the lovely ingredients I've used
0:27:10 > 0:27:12to make that stock. That's trout heads,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15trout are quite different here from other parts of the world.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18It is trout, for sure.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23Then we have now our basic gumbo mix.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27You have to take a close-up on that.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30The director has to dream up a lovely cutaway because that must
0:27:30 > 0:27:34now simmer for at least 45 minutes before I can continue the process.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Because you all read the Sunday Times,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49you will know that Carnival means "farewell to the flesh".
0:27:49 > 0:27:53That is the season from Twelfth Night or if you prefer,
0:27:53 > 0:27:55the Feast of Epiphany - I hope I said that right.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59January 6 or the first Wednesday after Pancake Tuesday.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01That was when the Three Wise Kings visited young Jesus
0:28:01 > 0:28:05and the king carrying the gold said, "Oh, dear, my camel has a stone
0:28:05 > 0:28:09"in its paw, you two go on ahead and I will be along later." Honest.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Now, 45 minutes has in fact gone by.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35At least 45 minutes.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39It has given me time for a few arrieres pensees, second thoughts.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42What I forgot about was this wonderful chopped
0:28:42 > 0:28:46and smoked Louisiana ham, which they think should go into
0:28:46 > 0:28:49a file gumbo, even if it is meant to be a fish one.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Also I forgot this lovely andouille,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54which is a kind of spicy smoked sausage.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59We will pop a bit of that in as well. OK, that's for sure.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01The other thing is we can put these now,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04we can put just the shells of the gumbo crabs in,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07because they'll add more fish flavour to the soup.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10In they go. They are beautiful colour, aren't they?
0:29:10 > 0:29:14They go in. They will be left in the plate just as a signature.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17You would not eat that bit, that is just for flavouring it.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Then we've got the magnificent shrimps, OK?
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Or prawns, as we call them.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Lovely fat, plump, fresh prawns.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27Oysters.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Taken out with their juice, in they go.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36That's the oysters. The wonderful crab meat from the Cajun crabs. OK.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Because the Americans don't like particularly to eat shells and bones
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and stuff like that, so all this stuff is taken out of the shell.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48Then finally we have our crawfish or crayfish. In that goes.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50This is a feast and a half.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55Hold that moment while I get a spoon and stir that in.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Now we have, we are cooking on gas, as they say.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00But what was it those of you who were paying attention
0:30:00 > 0:30:03at the beginning of this cooking sketch
0:30:03 > 0:30:05have realised I haven't talked about?
0:30:05 > 0:30:10It is the Crawfish Boudin. This is so stylish.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14This is a real skin, and inside is minced up crawfish, spices
0:30:14 > 0:30:18and bread. Stuff like that. It's really classically French.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Modern cooking, but here it is right in Louisiana.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24So to make this dish absolutely sumptuous
0:30:24 > 0:30:27and really a rock 'n' roll dish, in they go.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32They simmer and poach in there for about another 10 minutes.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35The lid goes on.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38The lid goes on and the beat goes on.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40The next time you see that, we'll be eating it.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47OK. We take the top off. Put the top down on the floor.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Can I give you some? Do you want to have this with rice or not?
0:30:50 > 0:30:54With rice is the traditional way. OK.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57That was for one reason - rice was a filler.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05Now, one of the things is with all the shrimp
0:31:05 > 0:31:08or the prawns, and the crawfish and everything else,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12it is hard to imagine anything like this could not taste good. Right.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14So for yourself, sir.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17'He couldn't bring himself to say it was absolutely brilliant.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20'He was wittering on so much about the American War of Independence
0:31:20 > 0:31:24'and stuff like that, he didn't realise that my thing was rich and delicious and wonderful.'
0:31:28 > 0:31:31He does know that he is free to be edited out.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39This is a biggie. Here I am, the Queen...
0:31:39 > 0:31:42'Here we go again - the Queen is watching him in New Orleans.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45'He gets all this muddled as well. He is talking about New Orleans, not America.'
0:31:45 > 0:31:48OK, it is about America, we lost the war.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52But they're watching America because we are not part of America.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Who cares about Andrew Jackson and Pakenham?
0:31:56 > 0:31:58We've forgotten those little things.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00'Come on, out with it.'
0:32:00 > 0:32:02CAJUN MUSIC PLAYS This is good.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Anyway, back to the Bayou where we started
0:32:11 > 0:32:13for a well-deserved glass of fresh air
0:32:13 > 0:32:16and to do a bit of catfish fishing with my crazy chum,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19powerful Pierre, who by the way is a real Cajun.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22And also you should know that Cajun is a corruption of Arcadia -
0:32:22 > 0:32:24the name given to the French who settled in Louisiana
0:32:24 > 0:32:28after being booted out of Canada by the Brits, so there.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37There is something here, I can feel it. Can you feel it?
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Good, that might be our supper for tonight.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41What does Cajun really mean?
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Oh, closest I can tell you is about my family.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47My grandfather... Let's see what you got?
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Raise it up. See how nice that is.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Oh, yeah! That's a nice one.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55A little catfish on a pole. Yeah!
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Look at that one.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01That looks like a good one there, you see. It is a nice one.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05We got to get the hook out. How do we get him out?
0:33:05 > 0:33:07We have to cut the line off.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09HE MUTTERS
0:33:09 > 0:33:12That's good. About two or three pounds.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15That's a little blue cat, it is going to be very tasty.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24CAJUN MUSIC PLAYS
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Hey-yah!
0:33:38 > 0:33:44SINGING
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Pierre likes to dredge bits of catfish in cornmeal,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05season with Cajun spices and then fry them until they are crispy.
0:34:05 > 0:34:06It is delicious.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Jim, so my people at home can really understand
0:34:13 > 0:34:16what is going on here, you've got lemons, you've got oranges,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18sausage, celery, sweetcorn,
0:34:18 > 0:34:23bell peppers, garlic, spices... I mean, crabs.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Cajuns never throw nothing away.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Whatever we got left in the refrigerator or the deep freeze,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34in the cupboard or in the garden or whatever,
0:34:34 > 0:34:39some oranges left over from Christmas, we don't throw it away.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43We put it all in the pot, it all adds seasoning.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45That's good, putting in the pot, but
0:34:45 > 0:34:49I mean, you can't really call this a pot, you could cook people in this.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51What's the excuse for cooking on this vast scale?
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Oh, that's when we have parties down here, we cook big like that.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56We might have 500, 600,
0:34:56 > 0:35:001,000 pounds of crawfish, shrimp, some crabs,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02you know...
0:35:02 > 0:35:05We party hearty. We work hard and we play hard.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13MUSIC CONTINUES
0:35:17 > 0:35:19CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:35:19 > 0:35:22INDISTINCT CHAT
0:35:22 > 0:35:24'Yes, you can do this at home.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27'All you need is a hundredweight of fresh crawfish, half of Sainsbury's
0:35:27 > 0:35:30'fruit and veg department and a 50-gallon oil drum,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32'preferably unused.'
0:35:34 > 0:35:37It's just like hee-haw on the dancing.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39MUSIC CONTINUES
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Ay-ee!
0:35:44 > 0:35:46'I hate to think how much this lot cost,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49'but I was really impressed by the serving arrangement.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52'Good solid serious newspapers are essential for a crawfish boil
0:35:52 > 0:35:55'as is a truckload of ice-cold Dixie beer.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58'This is a traditional Cajun way of making newcomers feel welcome,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00'and we didn't set this party up.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04'It was just typically spontaneous Cajun hospitality.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06'It's the one place in the world where I do like to see
0:36:06 > 0:36:10'the evening sun go down, because that's when your parties begin.'
0:36:10 > 0:36:13CAJUN DANCE MUSIC CONTINUES
0:36:18 > 0:36:20The other thing about this place has really touched my heart -
0:36:20 > 0:36:23because despite my flash approach sometimes,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25I do have one and things do touch me.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27This does remind me of the Dordogne.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31It does remind me of the Somerset levels and Provence.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34It is not brash and crazy and over the top.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39It is inhabited by people who love the Bayou, who care about it,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43its culture and its food. That's right, isn't it?
0:36:43 > 0:36:47This is a real, real place. It is easy enough to remember.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Generation after generation of people grew up on this bayou
0:36:52 > 0:36:55and never leave. This is our home.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59You were fortunate enough today to come in here.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I know you've had a great time.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Jambalaya ain't too bad either, is it?
0:37:04 > 0:37:08The Jambalaya is great. This is the dish of the area.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Just like eating this Jambalaya today,
0:37:10 > 0:37:12that's how the people feel about their area.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14You put your heart and your soul into it.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18People you met today, the little while you've been here,
0:37:18 > 0:37:20they consider this their home.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23The one thing I've learned about South Louisiana,
0:37:23 > 0:37:27you come in here as a friend, you leave as a friend.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29You come in here as an enemy, you leave as an enemy.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32The people here are real people.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35They do what they can for you.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37They'd give you the shirt off their back.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Only thing they ask is one thing,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42that's that you respect them when you leave.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Our culture is different,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46we know it's different from anywhere else in the world
0:37:46 > 0:37:50and we thank the good Lord he gave that to us because we are Cajuns.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53We were born and raised that way.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56I think it is superb, isn't it? Doesn't it say it all?
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I've been around. I am a cynical old fool sometimes.
0:37:58 > 0:38:05This is Louisiana, this is Jambalaya on the Bayou. It's good.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10MUSIC PLAYS
0:38:10 > 0:38:13# Jambalaya, crawfish pie, file gumbo
0:38:15 > 0:38:19# For tonight I'm going to see my cher ami-oh!
0:38:20 > 0:38:24# Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
0:38:24 > 0:38:29# Son of a gun I'm gonna have big fun on the bayou! #
0:38:29 > 0:38:30How are y'all?!
0:38:30 > 0:38:31Yee-ah!
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd