Ainsley Harriott on Honey and Glynn Purnell on Cheese Great British Food Revival


Ainsley Harriott on Honey and Glynn Purnell on Cheese

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-Some of the best British produce is under threat.

-It's at the mercy of market forces.

-And food fashion.

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-Produce that has been around for centuries...

-Could die out within a generation.

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-So together we're on a mission...

-To save it.

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We'll give you tips on how to find it, grow it and cook it.

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-And crucially, how to put sensational British produce...

-Back on the food map.

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I'm Ainsley Harriott. I'll be championing a great British product that is under grave threat.

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It's been prized since Roman times,

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yet it could slip away from right under our noses - British honey.

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'Bees have been producing honey for around 150 million years

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'and honey has been a vital part of the British diet for centuries.

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'We buy 30,000 tonnes of honey every year, but shockingly, 90% of that is imported,

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'mainly from China and Argentina.

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'In my campaign to revive British honey, I'll don my white suit and head to the front line

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'to meet the hard-working keepers of the amber nectar.'

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There's a great demand for English honey. The big problem is producing it in our current climate.

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'I'll be showing you how you can play your part.'

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This could be your honey, guys. You too could be an urban beekeeper.

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'And in the Revival Kitchen, I'll wow you with three fabulous recipes

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'to show off the delights honey can bring to your dinner plates,

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'including my mouth-watering honey duck breast.'

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Honey is just not honey. There are so many varieties and flavours.

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Hmm!

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It really takes me back, this.

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When I was growing up, South London boy as I am, we had a beekeeper that lived at the top of the road.

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He looked like a Martian when he had all his gear on. We were petrified of him.

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We were intrigued. What is he doing?

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My dad, it's something he introduced to us, he brought it home,

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massive tins, almost as big as paint pots.

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But it just meant that we could slap it on our bread or put it on our cereals or into our drinks.

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And the taste has stayed with me.

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'Honey is one of nature's wonder foods. It's 100% natural and incredibly versatile.

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'But we can't have honey without the honeybee and in recent years,

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'our British buzzers have taken a battering.

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'In the harsh winter of 2008 alone, their population fell by 30%.

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'In a bid to revive the fortunes of the British honeybee, I've come to Sussex University

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'to meet the UK's only Professor of Apiculture

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'to get to the heart of the problem.'

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I want to know what's going wrong with the British honeybee.

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The British honeybee has declined from a million hives

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-100 years ago to a quarter of a million hives now.

-That's dramatic.

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Three-quarters of the honeybee population has just disappeared.

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The biggest reason is there's less flowers in the countryside for bees to forage on

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and we've got certain new honeybee diseases.

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'So the professor and his team have established the British Bee and Honey Restoration Project.

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'Their mission is to reverse the spiralling decline of the British honey industry.'

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If you look to the right, you'll see a real beehive, an observation hive.

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Here we're filming them and here we can see bees which are dancing.

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So these are the forager bees who have been visiting flowers

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and they've been collecting nectar and now they're telling their nest mates.

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I know that this bee, because we've just been decoding some of their dances, has been foraging on ivy

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which is blooming one or two kilometres to the north of here.

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By analysing these dances the bees make, we'll be able to say the bees are telling us

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this is where they make their honey from, so to help honeybees, this is what we need more of.

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'Here they're also trying to breed more disease-resistant honeybees,

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'such as the British black bee.'

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There is so much more to the bee than just making honey, isn't there?

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Yeah, if the honeybee didn't make honey, people would still study it as it's such a fascinating animal.

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Nowadays, the pollination that the honeybee does for crops like apples and so on

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is worth a lot more to us than the honey that's produced.

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'That's true, but these tireless workers are responsible for producing their amazing product

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'that I for one can't live or cook without.'

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I'm going to be doing three recipes for you today. The first of them, I'll use Professor Ratnieks' honey.

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It's like a floral honey.

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Each honey has an individuality and a special flavour about it

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and that's what I'm going to try and get across today, incorporating it into my recipes.

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And for the salad base, I've got some pre-washed watercress.

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I like to do watercress in a spinner because it kind of dries it out.

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There's nothing worse than wet lettuce or watercress leaves.

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I've chosen to use Comice pears in this salad which work so well with watercress.

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I cut these into quite sort of thin strips here.

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They don't all have to be perfect, of course,

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because that kind of adds to the different style and texture of the food.

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Season, add a squeeze of lemon juice...

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..followed by a drizzle of olive oil, and work it through the salad.

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I like the idea of using a combination of seedless grapes.

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They're a bit on the large side, so I'll just cut these in half.

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I'll just lay them like that, get that knife into the middle

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and then just slice all the way through like that, carefully.

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You've got all your grapes sliced.

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In we go, into our saucepan.

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And now for the star ingredient, the honey.

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I'm putting in a good, liberal dose which equates to about four tablespoons.

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As soon as that starts bubbling, take it off the heat.

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That allows the grapes to slightly bleed, open up, release some of their juices

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and that creates the perfect dressing to complement the honey.

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Next up, the goat's cheese. They're easier to cook by keeping their rinds on.

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I'll pop that into my oven now at 200 degrees Centigrade, 400 Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 6.

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That is only going in there for two or three minutes, no more than that.

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OK, let's have a look at those grapes now.

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That's lovely. If you can see that,

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the colour of the grapes has just changed ever so slightly there,

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blending itself in with that lovely floral honey.

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It will give it that lovely balance to go along with the goat's cheese.

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Speaking of which, let's get that out.

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Lovely.

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Now I'm just glazing the top of my goat's cheese here

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and that gives it a lovely crust.

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And when the honey hits that, it just gives it a real kind of... Hmm!

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It's just so exciting on the palate.

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I'll just pop that on the top there like that.

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And just sprinkle those round there.

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There you have it - my warm goat's cheese salad with seedless grapes and wild honey dressing.

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Oh, it's so good. First you get the goat's cheese,

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then you get the slight pepperiness of the watercress,

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followed by that lovely, floral honey taste.

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Just a combination that works perfectly.

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'I'm on a mission to revive British honey.

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'What's apparent is buying British isn't always top of our agenda.'

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Where my honey comes from, I wouldn't have a clue.

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I buy a branded label. I'm not sure where it's from. Maybe England.

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I don't think I've ever checked to find out where it's from.

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'I think our apathy towards buying British honey is alarming,

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'but that's just one of the many challenges facing the honey industry.

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'David Bondi runs the UK's largest honey manufacturer.

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'His company bottles over a third of all the honey sold in our shops.'

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The total British honey production is only about 10% of everything

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that we consume in this country,

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so clearly we have to import lots of honey. We buy all the British honey we can. We'd love to buy more.

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Our difficulty has been the limited supply,

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but we work with our beekeeper colleagues to encourage them to produce as much as they can.

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'They're obviously struggling to keep up with the demand,

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'so I've come to Buckinghamshire to meet a leading UK commercial beekeeper to find out why.'

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-Hello, Ged.

-Hi, Ainsley.

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I'm looking forward to meeting your bees.

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'Ged has 200 hives spread across the farm

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'and in a good year, he can produce up to 15 tonnes of honey.'

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What's it like being a commercial farmer, Ged?

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Well, it's changed radically from when I started 20 years ago.

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We've got so much more to contend with these days.

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We've got a lot of problems with disease, bee losses over winter.

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We've also got a lot of the good agricultural crops that were grown,

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that were very helpful for beekeepers, have been stopped or greatly reduced.

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So it's more difficult to find good sites where the bees can get a good crop of honey in the summer.

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What about producing honey for you?

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How long would it take for a bee to make a jar of honey?

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For one bee to make a jar of honey, it would travel the equivalent of one and a half times round the world.

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That's why you need something like 50,000 to keep a hive active?

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Yes, the idea is you get an awful lot of bees and they don't have to travel as far.

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They're just going over there to the flower meadows.

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-That's a mixture of clover and bramble. Would you like to try some?

-Oh, yeah.

-Dig in.

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Yeah, I know. I'm right in there.

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Go on, they'll all be after me now, all the bees.

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I'm in there. Yeah.

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Oh, yeah. You can taste the wildness coming though that. That's definitely there.

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Hmm! Gorgeous.

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-And a bit of wax too!

-LAUGHTER

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'So what can we do to help our bee farmers?

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'Planting more bee-friendly flowers would be a start, but we can take it further than that.'

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The thing that the British public can do is simply to buy honey.

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Let's make sure that British honey,

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when it's in the supermarkets, in the farmers' markets, that people buy it.

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Very simple. We can all do that.

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Wow! And I'm going to be using this, Ged's honey, for my second recipe.

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The sauce is fairly straightforward. Loads of different flavours going on, notably the honey.

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It really works beautifully with this.

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So I'm talking about four tablespoons of honey.

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I know I just pour things in, but that's the real beauty of being a cook. You kind of measure by eye.

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That's followed by a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce,

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balsamic vinegar and ketchup.

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And to that, add a couple of tablespoons of muscovado sugar and a few cloves.

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When that starts to boil down and that clove oil starts to be released into the honey and everything,

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it's got a real pungency.

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And last but not least, some beef stock.

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Let's get some heat under there now. There you go.

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All you want to do is bring that up to the boil.

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Let's slice up that onion, shall we?

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You see this end here where the root is? Because I'm using sliced onions as opposed to just chopping them,

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I want to cut a little wedge out of that either side.

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The idea of removing that root is the onions just separate beautifully.

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If I hadn't taken that out, they'd be all glued together.

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Add some butter and oil to the pan, followed by the onions.

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While that's sorting itself out, we can get on with preparing the meat.

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This is what they'll go with - lovely duck breast.

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What we want to do is just score that skin.

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Ducks are waterproof and their skin's like that,

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so you need to score the skin a bit to release some of that fat.

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Let's get our pan on now. The pan's cold, as you can see.

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A lot of chefs will say, "Put it into a hot pan, so it sears straight away."

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I'm not sure if it really matters.

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I think you can put it straight into a cold pan and we'll let that render down to release some of that fat.

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I think cabbage works wonderfully well with duck.

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Cabbage in my house is a big thing.

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Sometimes I cook it down with carrots and bacon and ginger and chilli, one of my dad's favourites.

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-SIZZLING

-Hey! Can you hear that duck?

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That duck is just kind of starting to release its fats now.

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Give the cabbage a quick wash

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and pop it in with your onions.

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You don't need to put a lid on it. There's a real attractiveness about watching your food cooking sometimes

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and just seeing it steam and starting to relax a bit. It's enjoyment. You do get hot though!

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I'll turn those duck over.

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Just look at that. Crispy there.

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I'm just going to pour off that excess fat.

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Carefully do this, guys. They do move around the pan there a little bit.

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That doesn't need to go to waste. It makes the most wonderful roast tatties or rostis.

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I'll do a few of those later.

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Duck fat is really good for that.

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Pop that into an oven, 200 degrees centigrade, 400 Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 6 again.

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For that thickness, no more than six to eight minutes.

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It'll just be beyond pink then.

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If you want it deadly pink, four, five minutes, no more than that.

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If you like it well-done, which is a shame because duck doesn't need to be eaten well-done...

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I won't even tell you how long you've got to cook it for. There you go.

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So back to the cabbage... I've lowered the heat, so it begins to cook down.

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Ears are a fabulous thing when you're cooking. My mum always used to say, "Grab the steam."

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She'd grab the steam and smell. That will tell you a lot. But it's the sound of stuff.

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You can tell that something has reduced down, it's drying out, so we need a bit of water in there.

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That's it now, look. That's cooked down really, really lovely.

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So at this stage, in with my crispy bits of bacon.

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Add a splash of cream and stir well.

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I'm going to take my duck out now.

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For that final minute, all I'm going to do is take some of Ged's honey

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and just drizzle on top of that. Look at that.

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It's just going to give it that lovely sheen. Beautiful.

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Pop that back in for another minute.

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Now what we're going to do is just pass off our sauce.

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It smells of cloves, the honey, it's slightly caramelised.

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OK, let's take those beautiful honey ducks out.

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You can see I'm carving it.

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It just presents so much better than just having that lump there.

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It's not chicken. This is duck. It demands respect, as my old head chef Malcolm used to say.

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-JAMAICAN ACCENT:

-"Respect the duck." He wasn't from Jamaica!

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And there you have it, guys. Look at that.

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Gorgeous. Honey-glazed duck...

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I should say Ged's honey-glazed duck with rosti potatoes and creamed cabbage and bacon.

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I've just got to try that.

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Oh...

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Honey just works so well with savoury because it brings out the natural flavours.

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I can taste the duck beautifully. It's gone into the sauce

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and the cloves, so you get that spicy taste, followed by that honey.

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Ged's honey is wonderful. Honey is just not honey. There are so many different varieties and flavours.

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If you can find out what works with your cooking, you're in for a real treat.

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In this country, we're consuming far more honey than our bees and commercial farmers can produce.

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So it's up to us Brits to step into the breach.

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One misconception is that you need wide open spaces in order to keep beehives.

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You can produce local honey without breaking the bank and you don't need a massive field to do it in.

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'In fact, within reason, you can set up a beehive anywhere, even on top of a roof,

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'which is what this amateur keeper in East London has done.

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'Mel took up this hobby six months ago and she along with 25,000 other amateurs up and down the country

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'are filling the honey void by producing their own.'

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It seems to be the perfect location to keep bees, isn't it?

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Yeah, in the city not everybody has a garden.

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I've only got a really small space.

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I was thinking about where I could keep my bees out of harm's way, but with access to plants and flowers.

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Did you expect it to be as exciting as this, being a beekeeper?

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I had no idea how great it was going to be, to be honest.

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There have been lots of surprises, some good, some bad,

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but it's really fascinating watching the bees, seeing how they work, then tasting the honey.

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So you can see, with the sun glistening, the uncapped stores,

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and the ones here are capped stores, so the honey is underneath that.

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That's what we'll take a sample of.

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-We're going to scrape that off, are we?

-Yes.

-That's fantastic.

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You can see it oozing out and the bees are feeding on it.

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Wow! Do you have this on your toast in the morning, Mel?

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-Yes, I'm a big fan of honey.

-So am I. We love it in our house.

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-Great.

-I'm going to pop this back.

-Yeah. Look, this is just perfect.

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This could be your honey, guys. You too could be an urban beekeeper.

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Come on, you go back, guys. Go on, back you go.

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Go and join your friends. That's it.

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'Keeping bees as a hobby requires dedication and training,

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'but it's becoming the backbone of the British honey industry.

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'In fact, it's estimated that 99% of known keepers are amateurs just like Mel.'

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-I can't wait to have a taste of this honey. You don't mind if I pop my finger in there?

-No, go for it.

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Oh, yeah, that's good.

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-You like it?

-It's the wildflowers. Probably all those flowers from Victoria Park.

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-Well done, you.

-Well done, the bees.

-Well done, the bees.

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'Without hobbyist beekeepers, we could never buy locally produced honeys, especially urban ones,

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'but sadly, you'll never find them on your supermarket shelves.

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'However, if you visit your local farmers' markets or honey shops,

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'like this one in South London, you'll be in for a real treat.'

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Wow! I've never seen so many British honeys.

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I get frustrated in the supermarket because it's all imported stuff, but you've got a fabulous selection.

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There are 20-odd different British varieties.

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The most local that we have is Wandsworth honey. Try that.

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And is it easier to produce sort of urban honey than what it is like out in the wild?

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Yes, in the city, there is such an abundance of flowers in parks, cemeteries and people's back gardens.

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The bees don't have to fly very far and the diversity is fantastic.

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How much of your honey comes from local people? You're encouraging people to have their own beehives.

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A lot of these honeys will come in from hobbyist beekeepers all around the country.

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They might come in with one bucket, 30 little jars of honey.

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We've got some West Sussex honey that we got from a chap. We've got some honey from the Hampstead Heath area.

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-Again not much of it, but we're supporting them and it's a nice way of...

-Keeping urban honey alive.

-Yes.

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It's encouraging people to take up beekeeping, it's helping to sponsor their hobby.

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It was a pleasure talking to you and it's nice to know people like you are supporting the locals,

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just to keep the buzz alive, metaphorically speaking, because that's what we've all got to do.

0:22:190:22:25

We've been eating honey for thousands of years and I think you can almost call it a superfood.

0:22:250:22:31

In its raw, unprocessed state, it's rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants

0:22:310:22:37

and many people swear by local honey as a natural antidote for hay fever.

0:22:370:22:42

If you're feeling under the weather, there's nothing better than a home-made hot toddy.

0:22:420:22:47

I've got some grated ginger, some cloves and lemon which I've sliced and also squeezed into some water.

0:22:470:22:53

I'll strain some of that off. Don't worry about bits of ginger in there.

0:22:530:22:57

That really helps to clear your "nozzies".

0:22:570:23:00

And then a spoonful of honey.

0:23:000:23:04

That will take the old...

0:23:040:23:07

Take? Clears everything, I should say. Absolutely delicious.

0:23:090:23:13

When it comes to cooking with honey, there are many wonderful flavours,

0:23:130:23:17

but I've selected this wildflower variety for my final recipe.

0:23:170:23:21

Figs are one of my favourite fruits.

0:23:260:23:28

I like this recipe because of the idea of nestling them inside a beautiful sweet pastry tart

0:23:280:23:34

with a base of ground almonds and a wonderful reduction of wildflower honey spread on to the figs.

0:23:340:23:41

All that hard work the bees have done hasn't gone to waste.

0:23:410:23:45

First, we'll prepare the pastry.

0:23:450:23:47

I'll get that butter...

0:23:470:23:50

Add plain flour, icing sugar and butter to a blender.

0:23:500:23:54

I prefer to pulse it instead of just leaving my machine running. Let me show you.

0:23:570:24:02

Be careful. It's got a very sharp blade. Look at that. It's like fine breadcrumbs.

0:24:020:24:07

To bind the mixture, add beaten egg.

0:24:070:24:10

And then blitz again until the mixture starts to stick together

0:24:120:24:16

and can be rolled into a ball.

0:24:160:24:19

After chilling for 15 minutes, roll out onto a floured surface.

0:24:200:24:24

There really is something about making a tart. It's so satisfying. It's almost like making bread.

0:24:270:24:32

You know how much I love bread with honey, so the idea of making a tart,

0:24:320:24:36

the combination of the two, just for me is perfect.

0:24:360:24:40

200 degrees Centigrade, 400 Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 6 if you've got an old style gas oven.

0:24:420:24:47

And after baking for 15 minutes, glaze the pastry cases

0:24:470:24:51

with the leftover beaten egg and cook again for a further ten minutes.

0:24:510:24:56

Meanwhile, I can get on with my orange and honey glaze.

0:24:560:25:00

This is a really, really good little tip.

0:25:000:25:03

That's my tablespoon there, my measuring tablespoon, and if you put a little bit of oil on that...

0:25:030:25:10

Just a touch of oil.

0:25:100:25:12

..what that will do is protect your spoon, so your honey won't stick to it.

0:25:130:25:18

Three tablespoons of honey.

0:25:190:25:22

Look at that, just flies off the spoon.

0:25:220:25:26

To the honey, add a few knobs of butter and some freshly-squeezed orange juice.

0:25:290:25:35

If you've got loads of mates coming round for a bit of an adult supper,

0:25:350:25:40

then why not use just a little bit of orange juice...

0:25:400:25:44

and a little bit of orange liqueur?

0:25:440:25:47

Perfect.

0:25:480:25:50

So whilst that's heating up, I can prepare my figs.

0:25:510:25:55

I've just cut the top off there and I want to cut these into six, but don't cut all the way through.

0:25:550:26:01

So a little bit of control here. Turn that around and one half of it, cut into three.

0:26:010:26:06

Follow the knife almost all the way down,

0:26:060:26:10

then you can just open that up like a little flower. Can you see that?

0:26:100:26:14

I wish you were here now.

0:26:140:26:17

I can just smell that honey. It's coming alive now. It's beginning to release its lovely aromas.

0:26:170:26:23

Next, line the pastry cases with some ground almonds.

0:26:230:26:27

I'm just using the back of a spoon to push it into the corners, so it soaks up all that lovely juice.

0:26:270:26:33

Then it doesn't seep through into your pastry. You don't want soggy pastry. Soggy pastry is awful.

0:26:330:26:39

We're just going to pick that up now and just sit that inside our pastry case.

0:26:390:26:46

That's quite syrupy now.

0:26:460:26:49

There you go. Just spoon that around like that.

0:26:490:26:52

You've got the ground almonds on the base there to soak up any of these juices,

0:26:520:26:58

but try and get most of that on top of your figs.

0:26:580:27:01

It's interesting that in this country we don't tend to eat that many figs, do we?

0:27:010:27:07

But it's such a gorgeous fruit.

0:27:070:27:09

If I wanted to use something alternative, I might use something like a damson or a bit of peach.

0:27:090:27:15

And pop those back into the oven for a further 10 to 15 minutes.

0:27:160:27:20

Now...

0:27:210:27:23

Look at that, the juice has just started to come out and...

0:27:240:27:28

The honey just kind of rises up into your nostrils. Just gorgeous.

0:27:290:27:34

And for the finishing touches, I'm adding a dollop of creme fraiche,

0:27:350:27:39

a touch of orange zest and finally, a drizzle of my scrumptious honey glaze. Hmm!

0:27:390:27:45

Just a few more drops around there.

0:27:470:27:50

There you have it - my caramelised fig and wild honey tart.

0:27:500:27:55

Oh!

0:27:560:27:58

This is great. I can taste the wildflower honey really coming through in the figs.

0:28:060:28:12

When you add something that has got that lovely floral kind of taste,

0:28:120:28:16

it just heightens the whole thing. It really, really is stunning.

0:28:160:28:20

It's been stunning, my journey.

0:28:200:28:23

I have been so excited about meeting these people who care passionately about honey

0:28:230:28:28

and the revival of British honey.

0:28:280:28:30

Unless we do something about it collectively, guys, it will just disappear,

0:28:300:28:36

so let's all of us get behind the Great British Honey Revival.

0:28:360:28:41

Now it's time for someone else who is as passionate about reviving British produce as I am.

0:28:410:28:47

One carpaccio, one duck, one lamb.

0:28:560:28:59

Oui.

0:28:590:29:00

'I'm Glynn Purnell, head chef at my own award-winning restaurant in Birmingham.'

0:29:000:29:07

One duck, one lamb.

0:29:070:29:09

'If there's one ingredient I believe is in need of revival, then it's British cheese.'

0:29:090:29:15

We forget how much we use cheese in cooking.

0:29:150:29:18

We do a goat's cheese emulsion with things, we gratinate things. And you can't beat cheese on toast.

0:29:180:29:25

I'm sort of concerned that we're not giving cheesemakers enough credit for what they do.

0:29:250:29:31

It's frightening that we've neglected them.

0:29:310:29:34

Over half the cheese we buy each year in the UK is imported,

0:29:350:29:40

so our own cheeses face stiff competition on the shelves.

0:29:400:29:44

Copycats, imitations, misleading labelling. We need to bring it back, we need to revive it.

0:29:440:29:50

'I want to see British cheeses in your basket, so I'm doing the hard work for you

0:29:500:29:56

'by tracking down some of the country's best cheeses.'

0:29:560:30:00

You get that dimple of sweat.

0:30:000:30:03

'By finding out how we're fooled into buying the foreign stuff.'

0:30:030:30:07

53% of the cheddar sold is pre-packed own label. We don't even know who made it.

0:30:070:30:13

'And in the Revival kitchen I'll be sharing three fantastic recipes to help you

0:30:130:30:18

'show off our great British cheese.'

0:30:180:30:21

We've got that fantastic wibble wobble.

0:30:210:30:25

'I've always loved using British cheeses in my recipes.'

0:30:280:30:32

One of my first experiences of cooking with cheese, when I was 10, with a little brother and sister,

0:30:320:30:39

we used to grate the cheese over hot beans for cheesy beans on toast

0:30:390:30:44

and the other one was when we'd grate the cheese into the bowl and pour hot soup over it.

0:30:440:30:49

Let it stand for a second then create fantastic, sort of elastic-y cheese string.

0:30:490:30:55

They thought I was a genius. Still do.

0:30:550:30:59

'Now there's no denying that we Brits love our cheese.

0:30:590:31:03

'We eat around 600,000 tonnes of the stuff a year. But do we know enough about the great British cheeses

0:31:030:31:09

'that are out there?'

0:31:090:31:11

I could name five British cheeses. I think so. Cheddar...

0:31:120:31:17

No, sorry!

0:31:170:31:19

Stilton, Wensleydale, Cheddar, obviously.

0:31:190:31:22

Cheddar, um...

0:31:220:31:25

-Cheddar, Wensleydale...

-Obviously, Cheddar.

0:31:250:31:29

Red Leicester?

0:31:290:31:31

Hmm, it's not so easy, actually.

0:31:340:31:37

'Clearly, for my revival to succeed, we all need to become more aware

0:31:380:31:43

'of the variety of British cheeses available.'

0:31:430:31:47

Nigel, what's happened to British cheese?

0:31:470:31:51

Well, in WWII, our cheese production virtually came to a standstill

0:31:510:31:55

and any cheese that was made was made to a national recipe,

0:31:550:32:00

which was essentially a Cheddar style in the rationing system. So we lost a lot of skills in that period.

0:32:000:32:06

Cheesemaking didn't start in earnest until the early 1950s.

0:32:060:32:10

'So that explains our obsession with Cheddar, but we're talking half a century ago.

0:32:100:32:16

'Surely our British cheese industry has moved on.'

0:32:160:32:20

We're now making over 700 named cheeses in this country,

0:32:200:32:24

many of which are similar to imported cheeses we've had for some time.

0:32:240:32:30

Things like our Cornish and Somerset Brie and Camembert are a match for any cheese in the world.

0:32:300:32:36

The idea of having an English Camembert is fantastic.

0:32:360:32:39

Just looking round this shop, it's amazing, really. There's so many varieties of British cheeses.

0:32:420:32:49

I'm surprised how many there is. As a nation, are we not trying enough different British cheeses?

0:32:490:32:55

Probably. I think part of the reason is that Cheddar is the nation's favourite. More than half the cheese

0:32:550:33:01

-we eat is Cheddar in one form or another.

-It's being brave and having a go.

-It is.

0:33:010:33:07

And you don't have to buy a lot. I try a different cheese every week.

0:33:070:33:11

I only buy 100 grams to get a taste of the flavour.

0:33:110:33:16

Cheddar plus one is the little motto we've got. Cheddar plus one and see how you get on.

0:33:160:33:22

-Have you tried all 700?

-Not yet, but I'm well on the way.

0:33:220:33:26

100 grams at a time, working your way round all 700 of them!

0:33:260:33:31

'It turns out we're making lots of different types of cheese, but not yet buying enough of them.

0:33:330:33:40

'So I'm going to show you how easy it is to substitute British cheeses for your foreign favourites.

0:33:400:33:46

'And what better place to start than the most famous of all cheese recipes, a cheesecake?'

0:33:460:33:52

Normally I would use a typical soft foreign cheese, but today I've got a fantastic West Yorkshire,

0:33:530:33:59

British cheese, which is pretty unusual. I'm excited making this.

0:33:590:34:04

This will be a perfect recipe to showcase how fantastic and brilliant British cheese is.

0:34:040:34:10

'The first step is the biscuit base.'

0:34:100:34:14

I normally use digestive biscuits. If you've got broken biscuits, throw them in. The odd ginger,

0:34:140:34:20

the odd cookie that's lost its way.

0:34:200:34:23

'Blitz together the biscuits with melted butter. I use salted butter to cut through the sweetness

0:34:230:34:30

'of that real cheesy topping.

0:34:300:34:33

'Tip it into a loose-bottom tin, press it down firmly and whack it in the fridge to set.

0:34:350:34:41

'Stage two is the fruit topping.' Get the blackberries in with some sugar.

0:34:430:34:49

And crush as much of the juice out as possible.

0:34:490:34:52

Some people call it coulis, but I just call it a juice. Coulis is a bit too posh!

0:34:520:34:59

And we'll pass that off and get rid of all the little bits that get stuck in your teeth.

0:34:590:35:05

I've got some now, actually. It should make an absolutely stunning pudding.

0:35:050:35:10

'Leave it to cool and get on with the main event -

0:35:120:35:17

'the sweet cheese filling.'

0:35:170:35:19

We've got this lovely West Yorkshire British cream cheese, which people probably haven't seen.

0:35:200:35:26

It's fantastic. It's got a slight acidic smell, which is really nice.

0:35:260:35:31

And we've got a really nice vanilla pod, which we're going to split.

0:35:310:35:36

It'll flavour our cheesecake.

0:35:360:35:38

'And here's a top tip - before you split it, run your knife over it to loosen up those little black seeds.'

0:35:380:35:46

I just want to scrape... as much of that out as possible.

0:35:470:35:51

You can also save these and use them in your sugar.

0:35:550:35:58

'Next, get the cream cheese in a mixer with those vanilla seeds.

0:35:580:36:02

'Then, add three eggs and some cream that have been whisked together.

0:36:050:36:10

'And finally, feed in some flour and sugar.'

0:36:130:36:18

Once you've mixed it, you might have to run your paddle through it.

0:36:190:36:23

If you over-beat it, it'll be too thin and take too long to cook. Don't ask me why. It just doesn't.

0:36:230:36:29

'Simply pour the cheesy mixture onto the biscuit base.

0:36:290:36:33

'And drizzle on the cooled blackberry juice.'

0:36:370:36:41

I'm making a feathered effect. It's a little bit retro,

0:36:410:36:46

but it's a classical recipe, so it's quite nice to keep that sort of theme, really.

0:36:460:36:52

I'm going to pop this in the oven for around 45 minutes, but not too hot. Don't overcook it.

0:36:540:37:01

You want it to cook really gently all the way through.

0:37:010:37:06

In the middle, we want a little wibble wobble.

0:37:060:37:09

'I'm serving it with zingy blackberries and honeycomb,

0:37:090:37:12

'dusted with black pepper.'

0:37:120:37:15

Just give it a...

0:37:150:37:16

'Smash it into shards of peppery sugariness.'

0:37:180:37:22

I'm going to cut up some of the blackberries, leave some whole.

0:37:240:37:29

And you always have to nick one.

0:37:290:37:32

Whack a bit of that in there, give it a little stir up.

0:37:360:37:40

'And after 45 minutes, it's done.'

0:37:430:37:46

It's exactly what we're looking for.

0:37:460:37:48

We've got that fantastic wibble wobble.

0:37:480:37:52

'Now for the hardest part - leaving it to cool before diving in.'

0:37:520:37:58

So, this is the moment of truth to see whether it's set.

0:37:580:38:02

We need to run a knife round the outside.

0:38:020:38:06

You can hear the crunchiness of the biscuits on the bottom.

0:38:060:38:10

And there we go.

0:38:120:38:15

I'm going to serve it with the blackberries and honeycomb,

0:38:150:38:20

and that should give the dish even more texture, and a little bit of spice with the black pepper.

0:38:200:38:26

So there we have it. My baked blackberry cheesecake.

0:38:280:38:32

In Britain, we love our cheese. We buy it in supermarkets, delis, farmhouses, markets.

0:38:460:38:52

60% of that is Cheddar, but a third of it isn't even from the UK.

0:38:520:38:57

'Originally made in its namesake village in Somerset, Cheddar is now produced all over the world.'

0:38:570:39:04

If you go back into the 1860s,

0:39:040:39:06

there's a guy called Harding who lived in Somerset

0:39:060:39:11

who sent his recipe to America. And because of him, Cheddar went global.

0:39:110:39:16

It can be made anywhere, in any sort of factory, and imported here.

0:39:160:39:22

People are confused. They think they're buying home-produced Cheddar.

0:39:220:39:26

In fact, they're buying cheese that could come from anywhere.

0:39:260:39:30

And that is a great problem.

0:39:300:39:32

'Buying your cheese from a farmer's market is always a good way to know where it comes from.

0:39:320:39:38

'What about the cheese you buy in shops and supermarkets?'

0:39:380:39:43

This is a block of mature Cheddar.

0:39:440:39:49

Right? 53% of the Cheddar sold in this country is in pre-packed own label,

0:39:490:39:55

-so we don't even know who made it. It's a supermarket.

-So, supermarket Cheddar, which most people get,

0:39:550:40:02

-thinking they're having British Cheddar.

-Right.

0:40:020:40:07

-I turn that over...

-OK.

0:40:070:40:08

..and it just tells me not even that it's packed in the UK,

0:40:080:40:12

it just names the retailer. No clue where it comes from.

0:40:120:40:16

Where could it come from?

0:40:160:40:18

-An awful lot comes, believe it or not, from Australia and New Zealand and Canada.

-Australia?

-Absolutely.

0:40:180:40:25

-A long way away.

-It is. Considering you're thinking you're buying Cheddar.

0:40:250:40:30

'And for the cheesemakers, this is the critical issue.'

0:40:300:40:35

We do need desperately to clarify the labelling laws

0:40:350:40:40

so if you do want to buy English Cheddar, you can buy it.

0:40:400:40:45

'Some supermarkets are starting to clarify their labelling.

0:40:460:40:50

'One good way of guaranteeing your cheese is made in Britain is the red tractor,

0:40:500:40:56

'an independent mark of British farming quality.

0:40:560:41:00

'But there's another label.'

0:41:000:41:03

What can we do to make people more aware of what they're buying?

0:41:030:41:08

We have about nine or ten Protected Designation of Origin cheeses. They are protected across Europe.

0:41:080:41:15

-The most famous is Stilton.

-Stilton.

-We always had that one.

0:41:150:41:19

And around about eight or nine years ago, West Country Farmhouse Cheddar,

0:41:190:41:23

that was accredited with a PDO, so it has to be made in Dorset, Devon, Cornwall or Somerset.

0:41:230:41:29

On the farm, using the farmer's own milk.

0:41:290:41:33

-And there, you see the logo there?

-Yes.

-Even the supermarkets

0:41:330:41:38

-have to put that on their packs now, which is great.

-So we know exactly what's going on.

-You've got it.

0:41:380:41:45

'And there's a very important reason why now is the time for us to revive our cheese industry.'

0:41:450:41:51

We've got a critical situation. We've lost half our dairy farmers in 15 years.

0:41:510:41:58

-The average age of a dairy farmer now is 59.

-Which is ridiculous.

0:41:580:42:03

So we need to start buying more British cheese. There's plenty.

0:42:030:42:08

The best thing people can do is to shop more carefully.

0:42:080:42:12

What a fantastic story it's turned out to be.

0:42:160:42:19

Cheddar seems to have lost its way, so we're here in Somerset

0:42:190:42:23

to meet a guy who wants to bring Cheddar back to its home county.

0:42:230:42:28

'The Montgomeries have been making their award-winning Cheddar on their farm near Yeovil

0:42:280:42:34

'for the last 100 years.

0:42:340:42:36

'Unlike most supermarket Cheddars, they use unpasteurised milk,

0:42:380:42:43

'which gives every batch of their cheese a unique flavour.'

0:42:430:42:47

Because it's unpasteurised,

0:42:470:42:49

we're trying much harder to get more flavour

0:42:490:42:53

to come from that milk. You can make Cheddar with a lot of acidity, and a lot of people like that,

0:42:530:42:59

something that'll blow their head off. But we're not about that.

0:42:590:43:03

Because it's unpasteurised, we can supply that flavour to the market.

0:43:030:43:07

'James makes cheese every day of the year, with each truckle left to mature for at least 12 months.'

0:43:070:43:14

Oh, fantastic smell.

0:43:170:43:20

It is really complex.

0:43:250:43:27

You put it in your mouth and it's changing all the time, which is fantastic.

0:43:270:43:33

That's the best feature, the really progressive feature of unpasteurised cheese.

0:43:330:43:38

With a little hint of sweetness, but it's a spicy sweetness.

0:43:380:43:42

It's not sickly. That's what you get from unpasteurised cheese.

0:43:420:43:48

The complexity. When you pasteurise the milk, you kill all the flavour.

0:43:480:43:52

-Then you put a starter in to give you the flavour.

-OK.

0:43:520:43:56

That means the flavour you get is very defined, exactly what you want it to be.

0:43:560:44:02

-For supermarkets, that's fantastic. It's always exactly the same.

-Is that too good to cook with? Or...

0:44:020:44:08

What you can do is you can get all that flavour into a dish only using a little bit of cheese.

0:44:080:44:15

That's right, yeah. I'm sure at a nice room temperature with a glass of cider, it'd do the job.

0:44:150:44:21

Well, that's king. That's everything from the farm.

0:44:210:44:26

I want to have a go at cooking with it. I've got the ideal dish to bring out the best of your cheese.

0:44:260:44:32

So for my next dish, what I want to do is emphasise how great British Cheddar is.

0:44:390:44:46

First, we need to get the custard going, so cream and grated Cheddar.

0:44:520:44:57

'All right, custards are normally sweet, but this one's savoury.

0:44:570:45:01

'It's a bit like a quiche without the pastry. It starts with double cream - quite a lot, in fact.'

0:45:010:45:07

Now I need to grate some of that delicious, sharp mature Cheddar.

0:45:070:45:12

I want to grate some rind into it, because the rind has still got the smell of the farm

0:45:150:45:21

and the orchards over the back. So if we grate it down...

0:45:210:45:26

'Once you've got a big enough handful, chuck it in with the cream

0:45:260:45:31

'and give it a good stir to encourage it to melt.

0:45:310:45:37

'Now it's time for some bold, punchy flavours, starting with a pinch of ginger.'

0:45:370:45:44

And then a tiny bit of English mustard, just to help bring that flavour of the Cheddar out.

0:45:440:45:51

Not too much. So what I've got now is a fantastic consistency,

0:45:510:45:56

almost like a cheese sauce consistency. What we need to do is add the eggs.

0:45:560:46:01

This will be our setting agent to give a fantastic consistency

0:46:010:46:06

and let the Cheddar sing out.

0:46:060:46:08

'Once the eggs are whisked in,

0:46:090:46:11

'pass the mixture through a sieve to make sure there's no lumps.

0:46:110:46:15

'Then, pour boiling water into a baking tray around an oven-proof dish and tip the custard in.

0:46:210:46:28

'This will make sure it cooks slowly and evenly.'

0:46:280:46:32

A little bit more grated cheese on top to almost get that cheese-on-toast taste.

0:46:320:46:38

It colours and melts onto the custard.

0:46:380:46:41

I'll cook that at 160 for 40 to 50 minutes.

0:46:410:46:44

Whilst that's cooking, we'll do the beetroot salad.

0:46:470:46:50

'Beetroot is the perfect partner for cheese.

0:46:500:46:53

'There's lots of varieties, like these colourful beauties.'

0:46:530:46:58

When I was a kid, when you had a ploughman's, you'd have pickled beetroot or crunchy red cabbage,

0:46:580:47:05

so this really is reliving that sort of flavour.

0:47:050:47:10

We'll have a little splash of really reduced balsamic.

0:47:100:47:15

So, you've got beetroot, the crunchy veg to go with the creamy, sharp Cheddar.

0:47:150:47:20

We're just about ready for our Cheddar custard.

0:47:250:47:29

Got that cheese-on-toast smell.

0:47:290:47:31

It's just started to colour, which is absolutely fantastic.

0:47:310:47:36

I can't wait to taste that now.

0:47:360:47:38

I just hope I've done that Cheddar justice.

0:47:380:47:41

That, to me, sings.

0:47:420:47:45

Great British Cheddar.

0:47:470:47:49

'If we're going to succeed in reviving British cheese,

0:47:540:47:58

'we need to open our eyes to the different varieties that are as good as foreign equivalents.'

0:47:580:48:04

We're off to Lancashire today to meet a cheesemaker making a more continental-style cheese.

0:48:060:48:13

These guys are making cheese more like the French, so it'll hopefully knock them off the shelves.

0:48:130:48:19

'Gillian Hall and her family have made Traditional Farmhouse Lancashire for three generations

0:48:190:48:25

'at their dairy near Preston.'

0:48:250:48:28

This is the original Lancashire recipe that my mum's made

0:48:300:48:34

-for over 40 years.

-And the blue one's six years old.

0:48:340:48:37

-It's the new artisan modern recipe.

-The future, is it?

-Hopefully, yes.

0:48:370:48:42

'It took two years of trial and error to produce a British soft blue.

0:48:420:48:47

'They even built a separate dairy to keep the blue cheese mould away from their Traditional Lancashire.

0:48:470:48:54

'This mould sets the cheeses apart.

0:48:540:48:57

'That and the careful handling required to give it a soft, creamy texture.'

0:48:570:49:03

-We've got to treat it very gently.

-Gently.

-With kid gloves.

0:49:030:49:09

-What'll happen to this now?

-We call it the Miss Muffet stage.

-I like that.

0:49:090:49:14

-It's got a bit more romance to it.

-You're a romantic!

-I am.

0:49:140:49:18

You've got the whey and this curd. Actually, only 10% of the milk ends up as curd.

0:49:180:49:24

So you can see from these 700 litres of milk, we'll get very little.

0:49:240:49:30

-So it's a passion as well as a job for you.

-It is.

0:49:300:49:33

If you see how gentle this is. It really is hand-made with love.

0:49:330:49:39

'It's this passion, shared by all our artisan cheesemakers,

0:49:390:49:43

'that has seen Britain produce Camemberts, mozzarellas, ricottas, Bries, soft blues all of our own.'

0:49:430:49:51

This is the beautiful blue cheese curd.

0:49:510:49:54

-It looks like really overcooked scrambled egg.

-And it tastes a bit like that at this stage.

0:49:540:50:00

It's not until it's matured for about six weeks that you get the creamy texture and blue flavour.

0:50:000:50:06

'Once separated from the whey, the curds are packed into circular moulds and left to drain.

0:50:060:50:13

'Then the cheeses are pierced with needles to encourage blue mould.

0:50:150:50:19

'After six months, they're ready for the table.'

0:50:190:50:23

My L plates are not on. I love blue cheese.

0:50:250:50:30

It's so subtle. I'd say it's as good as any Roquefort or Gorgonzola I've tasted.

0:50:320:50:40

-Thank you.

-And it's British.

-That's right.

-Let's give it to the French!

0:50:400:50:45

Thank you.

0:50:460:50:48

It was fantastic. The colour was great. There was a lot of blue,

0:50:510:50:55

but it wasn't overpowering. It was subtle, smooth...

0:50:550:50:59

It was starting to make the sides of my cheeks gently sweat.

0:50:590:51:03

You know you're enjoying the cheese when you get that dimple of sweat. I'm really excited.

0:51:030:51:09

'What better way to help put British cheese back on the food map

0:51:090:51:14

'than by making it yourself?

0:51:140:51:17

'You could start with the handful of courses for wannabe cheesemakers.'

0:51:170:51:21

More and more people are interested in cheese and how it's made

0:51:210:51:26

and they want to have a go.

0:51:260:51:28

'You can even buy kits and try making it at home.'

0:51:280:51:32

People get right into it, get really enthusiastic, excited,

0:51:320:51:37

really proud of themselves.

0:51:370:51:40

After dinner, how nice is it to bring out a cheese that you've made from scratch?

0:51:400:51:46

'You definitely don't need a dairy when a bedroom's just as good.'

0:51:460:51:51

That's better. The first cheese I made was a Camembert.

0:51:510:51:55

I decided to jump in and make a ridiculously difficult cheese.

0:51:550:51:59

I just progressed from there, thinking, "I want to make every type of cheese," and now I've settled

0:51:590:52:05

on a goat-y blue cheese.

0:52:050:52:07

It's really about just jumping in and trying it. It's not difficult.

0:52:090:52:14

You just need lemon juice and some milk. Simple. ..Pretty good.

0:52:140:52:19

For my last recipe, we're going to use some of Gillian's really rich blue cheese. British blue cheese.

0:52:230:52:30

And in the past a lot of chefs like myself have used typical blue cheese like Roquefort to cook with,

0:52:300:52:37

foreign blue cheeses. I'm so excited to cook this beef dish with a great, soft British blue cheese.

0:52:370:52:43

We're going to cook slow-cooked fillet of beef

0:52:430:52:47

with blue cheese bonbons, rocket and shallot puree.

0:52:470:52:52

The first part is to get the beef on. This is a fantastic cut.

0:52:520:52:57

British, of course. It should go fantastic with the cheese.

0:52:570:53:02

What's great about this dish is it doesn't have to be an expensive piece like the fillet.

0:53:030:53:09

You should get that for a good price. It's the end of the fillet. You could use rump steak

0:53:090:53:15

or a big roasting joint. It'll work.

0:53:150:53:17

I'll cook that in a quite hot oven for around about 15, 20 minutes, depending on how you like it.

0:53:170:53:24

'But it's Gillian's blue cheese I can't wait to get my hands on. It's got a fantastic creamy texture,

0:53:250:53:32

'perfect for my blue cheese bonbons, which are like potato croquettes.'

0:53:320:53:37

We want to basically mix in the blue cheese so it all breaks down. If the worst comes to the worst,

0:53:370:53:43

you have to roll your sleeves up and break it down.

0:53:430:53:47

Already you can see the potato is taking on the blue cheese colour.

0:53:490:53:53

When you cut open the bonbon, it has a beautiful yellowy colour.

0:53:530:53:57

What I'm going to do is make these into nice, round bonbons, like the sweets we used to buy.

0:53:570:54:03

That sort of shape.

0:54:030:54:06

They're all cooked the same and will all be encased in a little crispy coat.

0:54:070:54:13

Roll my sleeves up.

0:54:130:54:15

'And here's some Brummie advice. To get them really crispy, dip them in flour, then egg,

0:54:150:54:22

'then breadcrumbs, not once, but twice.'

0:54:220:54:27

Until the outside's golden brown, crispy with a lovely gooey sort of yellowy cheese centre.

0:54:270:54:33

Now what I'm going to do is take the meat out. It's crying, "Get me out," so we will.

0:54:330:54:39

We take that out and give that a good 5-10 minutes to rest.

0:54:390:54:43

'So the meat relaxes, always a good idea.'

0:54:430:54:47

There's a few juices left which I'll clean down with wine to make sauce.

0:54:480:54:53

We don't want too much sauce. The bonbons give us all the flavour.

0:54:530:54:57

'While that's reducing, you can get them in to fry.'

0:54:570:55:02

What we're looking for is a nice, golden outside, soft in the middle.

0:55:040:55:09

A nice bit of colour.

0:55:090:55:11

There we go. Nice, crispy little jackets.

0:55:120:55:16

Tip them out onto there.

0:55:170:55:20

Season them up. A bit of rock salt.

0:55:210:55:23

The beef should have had plenty of time to rest. Still relatively pink.

0:55:270:55:32

'And that, with a dollop of creamy shallot puree, and two cheese bonbons and some peppery rocket

0:55:320:55:38

'is what I call a taste of British heaven on a plate.'

0:55:380:55:42

Glaze the plate with the red wine.

0:55:420:55:45

And then we should have a finished dish - roast half fillet of beef with British blue cheese bonbons,

0:55:450:55:52

shallot puree and rocket.

0:55:520:55:54

'Criss-crossing the country, meeting truly passionate hard-working people

0:56:020:56:09

'and tasting some of the amazing cheeses that are out there has made me realise

0:56:090:56:14

'how important it is to keep our cheesemaking industry alive.'

0:56:140:56:19

The farmers and cheesemakers are making the effort with bringing different varieties to the market,

0:56:190:56:25

but when you go to the supermarket, pick up the cheese, look at it, read the label

0:56:250:56:31

and we can put British cheese back on the map.

0:56:310:56:36

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