Comeback Cuisine Food & Drink

This is the age of reinvention. Everything is back...

..'80s music, platform shoes, flares, tank tops

and best of all, fantastic food and drink.

This show is all about bringing back classic food and drink

too good to be forgotten.

We're going all out to dig out the best in comeback cuisine.

'As part of BBC Two's food season,

'we're cooking up a nostalgia-filled feast,

'made with great ingredients that deserve a revival.

'And who better to reminisce with than Raymond Blanc?

'He always puts good taste above passing fads.'

Hey, Chef!

'He's making the case for a souffle,

'made with a very unfashionable ingredient...'

Semolina was one of my many fondest memories.

I am so sorry for you, because obviously you spent your childhood

having some terrible, bad food, OK?

THEY LAUGH

'..and the heat is on, for me to save an old favourite

'from the history books.'

It's the flavour of lamb, but more.

It's a very cheap protein and absolutely delicious.

'Chef Andy Bates unearths a wartime staple

'that's fallen out of favour...'

-Oh, it's very good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

'..while Joe Wadsack takes us back in time

'with a crazy drinks match...'

I think that would go quite well with the brain.

It's the perfect comeback cuisine, isn't it, really?

'..before we discover whose creation deserves a second chance.'

Another four-star Michelin day.

No less. Absolument.

Welcome to Food & Drink.

MUSIC: Superstition by Stevie Wonder

'Just like with music, clothes and hair styles,

'food fashions are constantly changing -

'but style goes in cycles

'and the old classics are back.'

Never heard of him.

'Nostalgia food is big business.

'Sales of British groceries are growing

'at twice the rate of their international competitors,

'with retro brands leading the way.'

A dozen fresh eggs, please. Thank you.

Amazing.

'So tonight, we're reviving old school recipes,

'as I take on a chef with an OBE for his contribution to food.

'It's my toughest challenge yet.'

It's an honour to have the great chef Raymond Blanc in my kitchen.

What are you cooking?

What I'm going to do today is a beautiful dish, OK,

which is really connected with my childhood, with my mum.

Mum was a great cook and she would do a beautiful souffle of semolina,

with baked apples within it.

Wow, that sounds fantastic -

and you think the Great British apple

and semolina both need reviving?

I think so. Most kids have got terrible views of semolina,

but semolina is absolutely brilliant.

Takes three minutes of your life to cook - plus, it's tasty.

We need a revival of the British apple.

I'm so sad when I go into supermarkets and barely see

one or two British apples,

when there's so many of them which are magnificent.

'So it takes a Frenchman to champion the great British apple,

'with a semolina souffle.

'Touche, Monsieur Blanc.

'This British boy is taking him on his own game,

'with two classics from across the Channel.

'Gratin with a turnip twist and a sauce gribiche

'or posh tartare sauce,

'to accompany my under-loved butcher's favourite, mutton -

'and school dinner staple, cabbage.'

This is a moment I've dreamt of for a very long time.

I actually remember, there was a period

when I first started being a chef.

I was 18 years old and I wrote a letter to the Manoir,

dreaming one day of being able to work with the great Raymond Blanc

and I received a letter back from you, saying that

you're not taking on any new commis chefs for at least 18 months

and my heart was broken.

Oh, I'm very, very sorry.

So, for me, you being here today

is making up for that letter coming 23 years ago.

HE LAUGHS

'But as I get my breadcrumb crust for my mutton ready,

'I'm starting to realise that I should be careful what I wish for.'

-OK, I need a bin.

-At the end, at the end here.

-Tom, can I have a bin, please? Here, Chef!

-God, so slow!

-There you go, there you go. Sorry, Chef.

-I thought I was your guest.

Anything you want, I will quite happily fetch for you,

it's no problem at all.

'I'm finally Raymond's trainee chef

'and his passion is inspiring -

in this case, for obscure varieties of apples.'

I'm creating an orchard with 2,500 trees.

All these apples, which are part of our heritage -

-I should say your heritage...

-You're reviving the British apple for me?

Absolutely, but I want to show you, when you choose the wrong apple,

how they will bake.

They will collapse into a heap

and you'll be miserable and then you'll be blaming me for it.

I wouldn't blame you, Chef. Don't worry. We can blame the oven.

'So, it's two bad apples up against two good ones -

'a Blenheim Orange and Raymond's favourite.'

The Chivers Delight - what a beautiful name.

1920 heritage British variety.

'To stop them exploding, he cuts a steam vent in the top,

'coats them in butter and rolls them in sugar.'

So, is this a method you learned to cook from grandmother, or... ?

-My mum. My mum would put it directly like that.

-It looks beautiful.

It almost looks like a Christmas tree decoration.

Tres bien.

What are you doing, Tom? You never tell me what you're doing.

Yes, so these are mutton chops - like lamb chops, but mutton.

-Are you a mutton fan?

-Yes, it's very, very good.

It's the flavour of lamb, but more - it's more intense,

it's bigger, punchier...

For home, we should use much more mutton,

because it's a very cheap protein and absolutely delicious,

so I'm very much looking forward to your dish.

'No pressure, then!

'Whilst my mutton chops rest in the fridge,

'Raymond gets his apples in for their first bake

'and he's heating milk to make his semolina,

'but with two British blokes in their '40s tasting,

'this could just be his downfall.'

In this country, at my age,

you associate semolina with school dinners -

and that's not always the fondest memories,

I have to be honest with you.

I know. I'm so sorry for you, because obviously,

you spent your childhood having some terrible, bad food, OK?

For me, semolina was one of my many fondest memories.

My mum would put raisins inside,

she would break egg yolk inside and she was absolutely amazing.

I have to be honest,

-Mama Blanc sounds like she was an amazing chef.

-An amazing woman, yes.

'And in keeping with his mum's recipe,

'Raymond is adding some lovely, rich egg yolks

'and soaking his raisins in Calvados...'

Voila - and one for the pot.

'..classic French apple brandy.'

Of course, I should've used British apple brandy.

-Are we any good at making apple brandy?

-Yeah, yeah.

There's some excellent...

-Especially in Kent, Sussex...

-Somerset?

-Somerset is absolutely amazing.

-But you have to say it like...

-WEST COUNTRY ACCENT:

-Somerset.

-Ah! Go away, you!

Somerset and cider -

otherwise no-one will understand what you're saying, Chef.

40 years I've been here and still, people just manage

to understand what I'm talking about.

But I will never get that accent.

'It just takes practice, Chef -

'and few pints of cider helps, too.

'Raymond's might be a recipe handed down from his mum,

'but to go with my mutton,

'I'm reviving a vegetable that fell out of fashion

'way back in the 18th century,

'when the potato arrived and stole the limelight.'

Turnip's got that wonderful kind of peppery kick to it as well,

-hasn't it?

-Delicious.

Actually, you know creamed horseradish -

-when you get the jars of creamed horseradish?

-Yeah?

Most of the substance in that jar is actually turnip, not horseradish.

It works very, very well with those strong, British flavours.

'And it works perfectly with some lovely, rich double cream too.

'Time to get my gratin into the oven and it's a straight swap,

'as after just 20 minutes' baking,

'Raymond's apples are ready to come out.'

Got to be honest, they look lush.

-The best one, of course...

-They look incredible.

-Those two are definitely the best.

-That is the Chivers Delight.

Absolutely amazing, perfect for baking and it's still firm - feel it.

-Yes.

-And the flavour is amazing.

That one is completely out.

Yeah, completely destroyed.

This is definitely not a good baking apple, is it?

From looking at this, I've learnt today, Chef. Thank you.

'Whilst I get au fait with Raymond's apples,

'Oliver Peyton is lifting the lid on an industry

'where we were once the pick of the bunch,

'making top-quality spirits.

'Until recently, craft distilling had all but disappeared.

'He's determined to find out

'if it's a revival worth raising a glass to.

'Inspired by an explosion of artisan spirit producers in the USA,

'more than 20 new small-scale distilleries opened in 2014 alone.

'And as with craft brewing,

'smaller production runs mean a more unique and specialist product.

'At one of Suffolk's oldest breweries,

'Jonathan Adnams turns his beer into top-quality spirits.'

You start off with beer.

Does that mean every spirit you make tastes of beer?

No, but our spirits do have a particular flavour,

because what we're doing here is, we're making our spirits from malt.

You can call it beer if you like -

and you're concentrating that alcohol and in fact,

separating some alcohols out that you don't want.

'This beer is then pumped into the still...'

-It got a bit of a Willy Wonka factor about it, hasn't it?

-Sure does.

'..where it's heated until the alcohol evaporates,

'condenses and is collected as a nearly pure spirit.'

And we're going to separate out the heads and the tails

-and the hearts...

-Whoa, whoa, whoa! "Heads and tails"? "Hearts?"

Stop, stop! Keep it simple for me.

Well, the heads and the tails are the alcohols

that we don't want in our final spirit drink.

What we want is the hearts,

which in the case of vodka is virtually pure ethanol.

-Happy days!

-Would you like to try some?

Ah, well... OK, then.

HE LAUGHS

OK, so what we've got here is ethanol at 96%,

which we really don't want to drink, so I'm going to cut that...

Speak for yourself.

..with some water.

Whoa-ho!

-That'll put hairs on your chest.

-It will indeed.

'And by making small changes to the distilling process,

'Jonathan can make everything from vodka and gin, whisky,

'absinthe and even orange liqueur.

'Impressive, but does this variety mean

'he risks compromising on each drink's individual taste?

'I guess there's only one way to find out.

'It's a hard life.'

I'm sweating already.

This looks very dangerous to me.

'First up, the vodka.'

48% alcohol, so that's quite a strong vodka.

Yeah, really?

After you get over the strength, it's quite creamy,

there's quite a smoothness to it there. So yeah, I really like that.

-Good.

-'Next, a prize-winning gin.'

This has got an amazing sense of balance to it. Loads of very...

I think, quite delicate flavours.

I could definitely knock a few of those back.

Ha-ha!

'And finally, red absinthe, coloured with hibiscus leaves.'

I'm slightly concerned here.

I'm going to start hallucinating after I drink this. Cheers.

Cheers, anyway.

Wow, that's bursting with flavour.

It's a much more rounded flavour than I'm used to from absinthe, you know?

A lot of absinthe is a little bit rougher, isn't it?

Yeah. We don't have a rule book to be governed by

and so, we've been trying to walk our own path.

'And that's where craft distilling really comes into its own.

'The freedom to be creative with flavours and balance

'gives distillers like Jonathan an edge

'over their big commercial competitors.'

MUSIC: It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones

'From one top-quality tipple to our very own whirlwind of wine.

'Bring it on, Joe!'

There's nothing cooler than retro, don't forget.

Nothing cooler than retro.

'Today, he's digging out a selection of classic drinks

'to see if they really should be revived.'

HE LAUGHS

-A Blue Nun?

-Can I just point out that you have Chef Raymond Blanc here

and you've just put...

That is the worst possible wine ever created in the world, ever -

and in the '70s, that one used to be the most popular in Great Britain.

-Is it a different wine now?

-It's a different wine.

It's nearly 100 years old. So this is 30% Riesling now,

which is a major step up to where it was back in the day -

and it's a lot less sweet.

For me, I don't like it.

-To me, a great taste is sour-sweet...

-There's a tension...

There's a tension. I feel I'm not warming up to it.

There are three words here - fresh, crisp and fruity -

and it is all of those things.

It's fresh, crisp and fruity.

For 5.99, it's very hard to find

any dry whites that are any more interesting than that.

I think this is a better drink than it used to be.

-The bottle is nice.

-You're a sweet guy, Tom.

THEY LAUGH

'That one might not make a comeback, then.

'So Joe's going even more retro.'

-Asti.

-Asti, yeah?

-Asti.

I remember this being sold as a classy drink -

as an alternative to champagne, I suppose?

I think it was, back in the day, to be honest.

Have a little taste of that.

Now, it's only 7.5% alcohol,

-which is actually the trick to why I think it's very nice.

-Oh, really?

It comes from Piedmont,

which is the most high production region in Italy

and 75% of the entire production

is run by Germans.

So they send Blue Nun across the world

-and then import Asti?

-Yeah!

I think it drinks very well. It's got this lovely Muscat grape behind.

-It is there, that's what I like.

-I'm not a massive fan.

It's almost like an elderflower cordial,

with lemonade and added sugar and it's very, very sweet.

The thing is, at 7.99, it's extremely high-quality winemaking.

It actually goes really well with desserts, like fruit puddings,

-fruitcakes...

-Yeah, it could go.

That kind of thing, it works terrifically well.

In a nutshell, if you had to bring one back,

make it really, really popular again - which one would it be?

I would go for that one, definitely. Not the Blue Nun.

I would go Blue Nun, because the bottle is cool.

'One vote each for Joe's drinks,

'but I've got a meaty taste test

'that pushes "comeback" to its limits.'

Let me just go to the pantry. I have something for you.

It may just be of interest.

We have here three foods

that have fallen out of fashion.

'Nose to tail is to be a key part of our diets,

'but will offal ever really be popular again?'

Can you tell me what it is?

-It's ox heart?

-Not ox heart, but lamb's heart.

Absolutely delicious. Really delicious.

Heart is popular in France?

Yeah, we've eaten heart.

As you know, the French have eaten about everything on Earth.

THEY LAUGH

That's true.

-OK, Chef Raymond's gone for the second piece.

-OK...

Have a little bit.

Tastes a little bit like kidney?

-Lungs?

-No, not lungs.

-Is it...

It is further south than that.

Am I eating a testicle?

You are eating a testicle. Yeah, this came from a lamb.

This is the first time I've tasted the testicles of a lamb.

-They are delicious.

-Well, I'm surprised.

OK, and the last piece. Breadcrumbs, deep-fried...

-The brains.

-It is the brain, it's lamb's brain.

-Completely stunning, yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah, lamb's brain.

Soft in the middle and then crunchy on the outside. Very tasty.

-Well, I never!

-Voila.

-I've always been nervous about eating brain, never tried it before.

They're all delicious. I'm really surprised. I can't believe

how much flavour there is on the plate of food.

-So you're a big fan of bringing these back?

-Yeah, bring them back.

So maybe we shouldn't say what it is, really. Just enjoy it.

It's the perfect comeback cuisine, isn't it, really?

I would prefer my apple souffle.

'I think I'm with you there, Chef.

'And Raymond's whipping up a frenzy to get air into his eggs,

'so his souffle rises perfectly.

'Not sure why he's trying to bring back manual labour, though.'

I have got a machine, if you need it, Chef.

I find everything so magical, you know?

To see this egg white form up

and bring these billions of bubbles of air inside...

I think it's beautiful and I like a bit of exercise as well,

-to keep me fit.

-Yeah, to keep you fit.

A little bit of egg white exercise.

'And once the eggs reach the right consistency...'

Voila.

Yes, that's beautiful.

'..Raymond combines it with his semolina.'

That whole souffle takes about one third to lighten the base.

If you try to put all of them together,

you will lose a lot of lifting power.

'Before you know it, he's ready to throw his apples into the mix -

'not literally, obviously.'

So, just a little bit of icing sugar,

to create a crust on both the apples and the souffle.

Amazing. Well, this is a dream come true for me,

seeing a master at work.

'Time for my sauce gribiche, which is kind of like tartare sauce,

'but for meat - and starts with a base of grated duck eggs.'

That's a great, classic sauce really.

Wonderful textures inside the capers, the gherkins, the vinegar, you know?

All that is so alive.

'Then it's just finished off with mustard powder,

'paprika and olive oil.

'We've been in love with French cooking for years,

'but finally, we're starting to get some affection back.'

The French now are discovering new British dishes, like crumble.

-The whole of France is crumbling at the moment.

-Really?

The whole of France is crumbling? In a good way?

-I think it's quite lovely, as well...

-For me,

crumble is one of the greatest British childhood favourites -

something that we absolutely love.

MUSIC: Superfly by Curtis Mayfield

'And finally, it's time to get

'Raymond's apple and semolina souffle in the oven to bake.'

My mama, she used to do a tiny dash of butter on the top of the apples.

Voila. C'est bien.

So, when we actually eat this, Chef,

will you be 100% honest with me

and tell me if it was as good as your mum's?

No food never tastes better than it is when it's cooked at home.

-Remember that, Tom.

-Nothing as good as your mum's roast dinner, is it?

'And Mama Blanc's passionate about one meet in particular,

'that we Brits are fallen out of love with.'

I kept rabbits in cages...

and every Sunday, we would have rabbit.

I know, because I was the one to kill it...

and peel it, chop it and give it to my mum, who would cook it.

And I remember, my mum, still today, sitting at the table,

still having tears in her eyes

and a smile on her face,

because she hated the idea of killing the rabbit,

but she also loved the rabbit flesh.

-Typical French story.

-Yeah, yeah -

hated the idea of killing it, but loved the idea of cooking it!

'We used to eat rabbit like we now eat chicken in this country -

'and Chef Andy Bates wants to get to the bottom of where

'it all went wrong for the British bunny.'

There's an abundant supply of fresh, wild meat

that's just not being used...

..rabbit.

They're everywhere

and those bunnies, they just keep on breeding.

We couldn't get enough of rabbit during the war.

It wasn't rationed and it was delicious,

but when life got back to normal,

rabbit was a reminder of hard times and our tastes changed.

Chef Tim Adams has been shooting and cooking wild rabbit for years -

and he's determined to see it back on our dinner plates.

What is it that's so good about eating rabbit?

Well, in a nutshell - very, very, very tasty,

very healthy food to eat - very low in fat, high in vitamins...

What could be better than that?

There's no shortage of rabbit in the UK, that's for sure.

A conservative estimate would be about 40 million individuals.

People are paying money to control rabbits as pests.

That meat should be used - it's criminal to waste it.

Before you get too excited,

I'm not suggesting you go out there and shoot your own rabbits.

Butchers and supermarkets stock it

and Tim is determined to show me what I've been missing out on.

Rabbit - lagomorph - four-legged animal, same as a lamb,

same as a cow, same as a pig, so it has all those same body parts.

You can treat it in a similar way.

So there's actually quite a lot of meat on it, isn't there?

Yeah, I mean, there's no reason that a medium-sized rabbit

shouldn't feed two to three people. And it's cheap, too.

Three or four pounds,

even for an oven-ready rabbit from the butcher's shop.

Tim, what are we going to cook today?

Very, very quick little pasta dish.

Tim, I think you're showing a really good method of just...

no fuss, simple, delicious cooking, mate.

Start with good ingredients,

you're in a winning situation straightaway, aren't you?

A few chilli flakes...

They're quite brutal, these ones, so I won't go too mad.

And then, a little bit of that smoked paprika.

So, a good tip if you're buying rabbits -

don't necessarily go for the biggest one.

A general rule of thumb - the younger the rabbit,

the more tender and sweeter and then, as you go up,

they get bigger and older,

the tougher they become and the more flavoursome.

So, this is from the leg? So, does it cook like a chicken thigh?

Yeah, it's a really good comparison to draw, actually.

The only difference is, there's hardly any fat.

-In with the mushrooms?

-Definitely.

-Look at them.

So, the rabbit's been rested and it's just cooked now, isn't it?

Yeah, right on the brink, but that's perfect,

because when we toss it through the hot dish with the mushrooms and the pasta,

-that's going to finish off beautifully.

-God, it smells so good.

And the great thing with simple food like this is, there's no faffing about, is there?

We can just chuck it straight in the bowl, easy-peasy.

'So, rabbit pasta - it's a new one on me. Time to taste.'

Tim, bon appetit.

-Oh, it's very good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

As long as you're happy, I'm happy.

You've absolutely nailed it.

This whole perception that wild rabbit is tough,

overpoweringly-strong...

Not at all, when you cook it like this.

-And none of this is going to waste, right?

-No, no! Tuck in!

'While Raymond's souffle is gently rising in the oven,

'it's time I got my breaded mutton chops on to fry.

'But cooking isn't usually a spectator sport.'

It's not easy dish, and I feel a little bit more under pressure

with the fact that you're stood opposite and looking at me.

What you're doing is very tricky.

Because of course, breadcrumbs are going to colour.

Will they colour before the mutton is cooked?

And you're doing it exactly right, because it feels right.

You can hear it, it's just right.

It's a gentle, gentle searing, not fast.

Ah, the softening of the butter...

You could be French, you know, Tom?

-I know, yeah!

-There's a bit of French in you.

I think you must come from Normandy.

-Just a cross...

-I will go for Normandy. I'm quite happy with that.

For me, French cuisine is the greatest in the world -

and I'm not just saying that because you're there. So, I'm almost ready.

Your souffle's almost ready?

Yeah, ready in exactly 1 minute and 47 seconds.

'Who said cooking isn't an exact science?

'Time to get my cabbage going -

'and to take it away from

'the overcooked school dinner mush I remember,

'I'm frying mine off in onions, garlic and some modern trimmings.

-'And just in time, too.'

-If it's undercooked, it will collapse.

If it's overcooked, it will collapse.

If it's perfectly cooked, it will stay at least five minutes.

OK, so we have five minutes to get this served up?

-OK.

-I'm showing off a bit here.

Allez, Monsieur!

That looks amazing.

Lovely. Mama Blanc would be proud.

Mama Blanc would be proud.

My mum is 92 years of age and still, today she is very active.

Actually, in the kitchen, that's her kitchen and I know it.

-I think it looks fantastic.

-Thank you, Tom. Thank you very much.

I'll pass that on to my mum, definitely.

'Time to serve up.

'My comeback dish revives three classic foods -

'mutton, cabbage and turnips -

'and all that's left is to

'put a spoonful of my sauce gribiche on the side and I'm ready.

'Let's hope Judge Joe has brought his appetite with him.'

Voila.

Looks stunning, stunning.

I think we're going to go with dessert first,

just because it's a souffle and its Mama Blanc's souffle.

The smell coming from that is fantastic.

Voila. That's for you.

Look at me. Look at me, look at you.

So who needs the big one, who needs the small one?

Wow, that apple is phenomenal.

The Chivers Delight, for me, is the best.

-You know what is missing here, guys?

-Custard?

-Give me some custard.

Where's your custard, Tom? Can't believe it!

Sorry, Chef.

Well, I think that's fantastic.

The way the souffle and the apple almost become the same texture.

But it's amazing - inside the apple,

it's got a sweet, tangy succulence.

Look at these colours, look at these colours...

-It's like a tequila sunrise.

-..how beautiful it is.

Now, I've got something interesting to go this.

In keeping with the whole retro kind of feel of the show,

I'm hoping a can of Merrydown cider.

Principally, the most important reason why I've chosen it today -

apart from the fact it was

what I drank with my girlfriend at university -

is it's made from English eating apples.

It's not made from cider apples, so it has that taste.

We invite Raymond Blanc over to our pad

and you give him Blue Nun, Asti and a can of cider?

A can of Merrydown!

I'm not easily offended, OK? So just drink your cider.

-How much do you pay for that?

-This is £2 a can.

It's a lot of money for me, for very little flavour.

Well, I think this is much, much better

than your average session-drinking cider. And actually,

there's a nice story behind this. It came from East Sussex.

It was three guys who learnt to make wine

when they were prisoners of war in the Second World War.

In 1946, they came back and they started to make apple wine.

So, this was one of the first ciders in England

that was slightly stronger than the others -

-there were trying to make something a bit special.

-What strength is it?

No, no, I love your cider. The story is amazing, I'm buying into it...

THEY LAUGH

Let's all drink to those three blokes, OK?

-It's 6%, so it's a little bit stronger.

-Three lovely old men.

'A good story saves the day. Nice work, Joe.

'Next, my breaded mutton, cabbage and turnip gratin.

'Anyone know a good turnip story?'

Am I allowed to pick it up and eat it by the stick?

-Of course you are, like a caveman.

-Well, kind of.

-Oh, wow.

-The turnips are amazing.

Really, the turnip gives a lovely bittersweet flavour.

-It's really stunning.

-We used to think the turnips aren't nice.

When you went to school, it was all horribly over-stewed.

This is so far away from all of that. It's beautiful and velvety.

Oh, no. Here is the main... A piece de resistance.

Let's see if you like the mutton.

That's perfectly cooked, OK? You don't want something medium rare.

No, mutton mustn't be overcooked.

-It's lovely. It's very lovely.

-Can you taste the difference?

-Does it taste like lamb, but more?

-In a really good way, I think.

I mean, I've always been a bit scared of really strong-tasting lamb.

The one thing I would say - lamb, beautiful spring lamb

is fantastic, but in terms of flavour-wise,

this is bigger and stronger.

The cabbage is essential here, isn't it?

It's crunchy, it's lively, it's full of flavour.

That's almost my favourite bit.

Most importantly to me, what do you make of the sauce gribiche?

Stunning. Absolutely...

I've done an Escoffier classic for a great French chef

-and he said "stunning".

-How great is that?

I can go home with my head held high.

There's one thing missing though, I reckon, that could improve it.

-Custard?

-A nice glass of red.

-Ah, a nice glass of red!

There was a time I remember when I was growing up,

when the first bottle of wine on any menu - in a bistro,

in a pub or a restaurant - would be an ordinary claret.

A Bordeaux red, basically. I found one which I think is amazing.

Just 7.99 from a wine merchant.

I wouldn't say it's that easy to find -

a decent bottle of Bordeaux under a tenner anywhere.

But what do you think?

That's a good smell. Good colour, good scent.

There's a lot going on in there. This wine is now seven years old.

So, it's got flavour.

The flavours are nicely rounded.

It's jammy as well, it's not oakey, it's not... It's nicely made.

Most cheap Bordeaux is actually Merlot-dominated.

This is about 80% Merlot and Merlot is a great variety for me.

When it gets mature, it smells and tastes a bit like lamb.

There's a lamb-iness to it, there's meatiness to it,

which works so well with mutton.

It's a lovely wine.

It's powerful on the smell, really big nose. It's fantastic.

So what I've done is, I've put other wines that I've found,

which I think are very good, that are available all over the country

on the Food & Drink website.

'And you can have your say online, by voting for your favourite recipe.

'And you'll find all the recipes from this series, too.'

Now, this is the key question, Joe.

Which are you going to choose?

Are you going to choose the mutton with the cabbage

and the sauce gribiche,

or Mama Blanc's semolina souffle?

-No pressure!

-With a can of cider?

Tom, if you're chucking the cider in,

I might give it to Chef Raymond Blanc.

It is bathed in history, let's be honest.

HE LAUGHS

Chef, congratulations. Congratulations.

Another four-star Michelin day.

No less. Absolument.

Now, there's no such thing as "an unfashionable ingredient" -

just food that's waiting to be rediscovered.

If it was once flavour of the month, that's because it's delicious.

OK, shall we have the cheese now? Where's the cheese?

THEY LAUGH

'Next time, it's all about trying something new,

'but Glynn Purnell nearly loses his mind...'

Have you seen the size of the brain on this cauliflower?

'..when he puts his brand-new veggie feast

'up against my cutting-edge lamb.'

All right... THEY LAUGH

'..and our creativity threatens to get out of hand.'

We've created a monster.