Royal Family Hairy Bikers' Best of British

You know, we believe that Britain has the best food in the world.

Not only can we boast fantastic ingredients...

Piece de resistance!

-Which is which?

-Lamb. Mutton.

Baaa.

'..outstanding food producers...'

It's brilliant!

'..and innovative chefs,

'but we also have an amazing food history.'

-Oh, wow!

-Don't eat them like that. You'll break your teeth.

During this series,

we're going to be taking you on a journey into our culinary past.

Everything's ready. Let's get cracking.

'We'll explore its revealing stories...'

Wow!

'..and meet the heroes who keep our culinary past alive.'

Pontefract liquorice has been my life

and I've loved every minute of it.

'And of course, be cooking up a load of dishes

'that reveal our foodie evolution.'

Look at that! That's a proper British treat.

We have a taste of history.

-Quite simply...

-BOTH: The Best Of British!

'Today, we're looking at the influence royalty has had on our food.

'Kings and Queens have enjoyed the finest food imaginable.

'What they ate and how they ate it

'has inspired British food culture for centuries.'

This is Wolvesey Castle, Winchester.

In 1403, a great feast was held to celebrate the marriage of Henry IV and Joan of Nevarre.

Records show that on the menu there were cygnets, capons, venison,

griskins, rabbits and pullets.

Er...partridges, woodcock, plovers,

snipe, quail, kid,

-pears and almonds.

-Crumbs.

Royal feasts were extravagant affairs,

as much about the visual spectacle as those wonderful exotic flavours.

We may not eat swan for Sunday lunch,

but many of the foods that graced the royal banqueting tables,

from sugar and spice to meat and potatoes,

has filtered down and become part of our great British cuisine.

And it's a dish designed for our current Queen

that we're cooking first in our Best Of British kitchen.

It inspired a generation and remains a stalwart on any buffet table.

That's right, Si, it could only be Poulet Reine Elizabeth.

Coronation chicken to you and me.

Mr Myers, there are few dishes

with more royal connections than this, is that correct?

This dish was there at the big one, Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

Yes, this is a dish with a crown!

Coronation chicken, it survived from 1953 to the present day

in many forms.

You have it at posh garden parties or in sandwiches at a garage.

So whether you're a King, a Queen or a bit of both, you've eaten it.

In some way, shape or form, it's part of our British psyche.

Paupers to princes, coronation chicken is for everybody.

It's a democratic dish, not just for the toffs.

It starts out with chicken.

Take two plump chicken breasts.

A top tip - steam the chicken breasts.

-Then when they're cold in the salad, they'll be super-dooper juicy.

-Yes.

-Can you pass us a chilli, please, Dave?

-Yes, sir.

First, lube up your chicken breasts.

In its simplest form, like my mother used to make it,

we had this moldering tin of Veeraswamy's

Madras curry powder in the back of the cupboard.

Salad cream, a quarter of a teaspoonful of curry powder,

a few sultanas and leftover chicken.

Ours, it's quite a complicated beast.

-You know the worst one I've seen?

-Right?

It's a tin of condensed chicken soup...

-Yes.

-..in a bowl, chicken leftovers, curry powder, sultanas.

-I've got to say, that was minging.

-That's an insult to Her Majesty.

Season the oiled chicken breast.

-You could have got locked up in the Tower.

-Ground black pepper.

Quite right, too. And the zest of a lemon.

While Dave's zesting his lemon, I'm going to get on

with preparing a shallot and some chilli.

We're going to saute those two off in a little butter.

This is a steamer you get from the Oriental supermarket. Dead cheap.

Pan of boiling water.

Bit of greaseproof in there.

Put the chicken on there.

Honestly, it's a good tip, this.

If you want chicken for a sandwich, steam your chicken like this.

It's not going to go dry. When this is cooked, leave it to go cold.

Chop it up and that's your basic chicken for your coronation chicken.

Just go and wash me hands.

Now, finely chop a deseeded chilli and the onion.

The original coronation chicken would have been milder

than the one we're doing, with the spice coming from the curry powder.

But these days, we like our food a bit hotter!

This is a dish, though, with proper right royal connections.

It was the luncheon that was devised

after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

It was a dish created by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume,

who were at the Cordon Bleu cookery school in 1953.

All the royal chefs were working on it.

-Everybody was trying to come up with their thing.

-And they got it!

Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume were under a lot of pressure

and they did create a belter.

When it's done properly, it's lovely,

but it's a much-abused dish.

'The original recipe, however majestic,

'was actually borne out of convenience.

'More than a million TV sets had been bought

'in anticipation of the big event.'

Tomorrow, she will be crowned Queen Elizabeth II.

'So coronation chicken was designed to be easy to prepare.

'And you only needed a fork to eat it!

'Voila! Britain's first TV dinner!

'Now, back to our modern take on this retro classic.

'From now on, it's a simple assembly of ingredients.'

What we've got here is that we add the tomato paste.

And then we just cook that off

for a couple of mins.

Then we add two teaspoons...

of Madras curry powder.

Now not known as Madras. It's now called Chennai.

-You don't have Chennai curry powder.

-You don't, do you?

Curry powder's great cos it give you a proper "curry" flavour.

You have to use old-fashioned curry powder in this, or it doesn't work.

Cook that through for a couple of minutes, that's all. Nothing more.

Nothing less. You can smell, now, the spicing.

It's starting to smell like coronation chicken.

-And getting chickeny wafting lemon things.

-Yeah.

-We put 100 mils of wine in here.

-That's about a big glass?

Yeah.

We turn the heat up slightly and reduce that liquid by half.

Do you think that's about right?

That's about spot-on, mate.

-GIGGLES

-I love these little steamers!

It's cooking in the vapour of the lemon juice. Beautiful.

We put another 100 mil of chicken stock in

and reduce that by half again.

Perfect.

Next, we add a tablespoon of apricot jam!

This is the sweet note in the coronation chicken, remember?

It's always a bit sweet. The background is apricot jam.

You'll be pleased to know there are no sultanas

in our coronation chicken.

-No, there's not.

-We've got fresh mangoes, our fruit.

Also, our coronation chicken is not that luminous artificial yellow.

It's like the sunset over the Empire.

Yeah.

-I think that's it.

-Yeah.

-I think we're there.

Whoo!

It is, isn't it? Hay-ooo!

Hadn't had that at their coronation feast, I tell you.

That truly is coronation chicken for the future.

It's coronation vindaloo!

-But we like it hot.

-We do.

'Add a dollop of creme fraiche to the mayonnaise,

'to give it a contemporary flavour, and add a chopped spring onion.

'Peel and dice a fresh mango, and chop the chicken.

'Then add the spice mix to the mayonnaise.'

Hey, look at that!

Righty-ho. Captain mango!

One whole diced mango.

-That's a beautiful mango.

-It is.

Beautiful.

-Nice handful of coriander, Si.

-Yup.

To that, we need the juice of a lemon.

Just to temper that sweetness.

We don't want to kill it, do we?

-Juice of a lemon.

-SI LAUGHS

It's a beautiful thing, Si.

-Look at that, man!

-I'll go and wash me hands.

Just a little splash of Tabasco.

-How much have you put in?

-Just a bit.

-Look at that, man!

-Now, is there one thing we've forgotten(?)

-The chicken.

Yes.

The most juiciest lemony...

chickeny chicken.

Never was a chicken so well dressed.

-After all, it is the coronation.

-Absolutely.

You know, it's a way of making two chicken breasts feed four people.

Taste that. Are we lacking?

No, we're not.

Absolutely fabulous.

Look at that. It's sunshine on a new era. Now, let's serve.

'Finally, there's time to plate up.

'We're serving our coronation chicken alongside mixed leaves.'

Now, there was a very traditional garnish to this.

It was toasted almonds.

You just sprinkle them over the top.

Beautiful. There we are - a dish that's certainly fit for a Queen.

Or even a King!

'Ah, lovely. Ah, look at it!

'All hail the coronation chicken!

'There are countless interpretations of this dish,

'one to suit every palate.

'This wasn't the first time a recipe was created in honour of a monarch

'or a royal occasion.'

On this, the eve of the coronation, the scene is set.

'Whilst no dish would ever reach the cult status of coronation chicken...

'they did have jubilee chicken in 1935.

'Battenburg cake, to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria's granddaughter

'to Prince Louis of Battenburg in 1884.

'And for the coronation of Edward VII,

'the new King had a potato named after him.

'A potato! I bet he was chuffed with that(!)

'What about one of Britain's best puddings - the queen of puddings?

'It was said to have been inspired by Queen Victoria,

'who was quite partial to it, apparently.

'From one queen of puddings to another!

'It's time to settle in for a vintage Delia recipe

'and another commemorative dish, the Apple Charlotte.'

-What have we got, Si?

-We've now got regal Delia

-from 1979.

-That's going back some!

THEY SING ALONG TO THEME TUNE

Now I'm going to move on to another old-fashioned English favourite.

I think this is neglected. This is a proper moulded Apple Charlotte...

She's got to be one of the most tried and trusted TV cooks.

She's known by her first name alone!

Our Delia's influenced the way we shop, cook and eat.

I've got the pudding basin almost lined...

Ah! She hasn't finished! You never, ever get an untidy Delia.

It's thought to be named after Queen Charlotte, wife of George III.

It's said that she was the patron of apple growers.

I've got a pound of apples.

These have been sliced and cooked

with a tablespoon of sugar and an ounce of butter.

It's half coxes and half bramleys because, in fact,

that gives you the very best apple flavour.

Oh, yeah!

Coxes and bramleys, eaters and cookers. Another Delia trick.

Then I let them cool and then I added one beaten egg yolk,

which binds the mixture together.

There's the apple filling.

We're going to do a bit of patchwork with the rest of the bread.

How's she going to neaten that top? Delia was the best.

..is that you put a plate on the top.

To press it down even more, you place a weight on the top.

Put that in a very hot oven, gas mark six, 400 degrees fahrenheit.

Then you cook it for 30 minutes...

-She looks very lovely, mind.

-She IS lovely.

..leave it for another ten minutes so the top can get nice and crisp...

-You can imagine her dancing to the Brotherhood Of Man, can't you?

-Yeah.

-Remember them ovens with the glass doors?

-Yes.

-Me Auntie Hilda had one of them.

-It's sizzling away...

-Oh!

-Oh!

It should be nice and toasted

-and crusty...

-Oh!

-Look at that! What a belter!

-Ah!

-GIGGLES

-Come on, Delia!

Get it out in a oner, kid. Come on!

What I'm going to do is put the plate on top first,

then just switch it upside down.

An Apple Charlotte should turn out perfectly

and you can carry it to the table.

Sometimes, the walls collapse and the apple puree bursts out.

That just means you can divide it up before it goes to the table

and it will taste the same.

That's apple Charlotte...

-BOTH LAUGH

-Cut the shot! It's gone!

'Even this queen of puddings has struggled a bit with that Apple Charlotte.'

I'm going to show you what happens to the food, but before that, I'll say goodbye and God bless.

And now's the moment.

Delia's still going great guns and she started out in 1973.

That's nearly 40 years.

I knew she'd been around for ages. I didn't realise it was that long.

-Norwich City Football Club must keep her young.

-Goodness knows how!

'Royal inspired food like Apple Charlotte

'may have become part of our culinary tradition.

'Nothing brings the country together like a royal event.

'But while the royals were doing this...

'we were doing this!

'And as the royals tucked into their Eggs Drumkilbo...

'we would be satisfied with less glamorous fare.

'The first royal street party

'celebrated the silver jubilee of King George V in 1935.

'And after the war, we threw street parties

'in honour of anything remotely patriotic.

'Celebrating through food is what we Brits do best.

'Queen Elizabeth's coronation on 2nd June 1953

'brought thousands to the streets to welcome their new monarch.

'Food was rationed but households were given a pound of sugar

'and four ounces of margarine extra to celebrate with.'

# Queen Elizabeth

# Queen Elizabeth

# Silver jubilee... #

'The nation took to the streets once again in 1977,

'for Her Majesty's silver jubilee.'

It's only once, isn't it?

I was too young for the last one. I'll be too old for the next one!

So join in the good old British spirit!

'Not only do street parties bring communities together,

'they give us a chance to sample our neighbours' cooking.'

At countless parties, there's been much drinking of orange squash,

much eating of jelly and much cutting of jubilee cake!

It was watched over by older and, perhaps, gastronomically wiser subjects

who, nevertheless, hope that party tradition will be maintained

when the children grow up.

There is something happily British about it all.

'The marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana

'was another excuse for patriotic al fresco dining.

'Whilst the nation had been introduced to nouvelle cuisine,

'it certainly didn't have any impact on our street party food.

'No, we stocked up on bunting.

-'And Charles and Di Rubik's cubes...

-Eh?'

If you want a good buy, come along.

Not 4.50. We're not going to take 3.50. Not even 2.50.

'..and joined the ten million other street party goers.

'Food was at the centre of festivities for the golden jubilee.

'But some thought portable party food a bit outdated.'

Trestle tables, jellies, cups of tea and ham sandwiches

is not what Britain is about in 2002.

BOTH: Yes, it is!

What's the party for, do you know?

For the Queen's 50th... Year of being the Queen.

'British food may have come on in leaps and bounds in 50 years.

'Street party food is reassuringly the same as it's always been.

'From the food of Her Majesty's subjects to a right royal feast.

'We're heading to the Lake District.

-'When it comes to creating a dish fit for a King...

-Or a Queen!

'..no-one does it better than our food historian and chef, Ivan Day.

'He's going to take our taste buds back to the 17th century,

'to perhaps the most extravagant royal banquet in British history.'

That's a right royal jamboree!

What would the royals have done when they're really pushing the boat out?

This book on the table is a record

of what was probably the most sumptuous feast

in the history of British royalty.

It's the coronation feast of James II.

His brother Charles II, the merry monarch, had just died.

He had his coronation feast in Westminster Hall in 1685.

This plate here shows the interior of the hall with the King

and the Queen sitting on this great table of state.

By themselves.

But they are actually sitting in front of this table...

Look at this!

This is their table.

-Good grief!

-Just two of them sitting in front of this meal.

Which consists of 145 different cold dishes,

with an additional 30 hot dishes

brought in during what was called the second course.

All of these have got a code number.

-So if we go back in the book...

-Good grief!

..we can find the menu.

Now, how can two people eat all that food?

Well, they didn't, because what's going on here is,

you honour your new sovereign and his Queen consort

with an array of everything, and you let them choose what they want.

But the rest of it is shared out.

Somebody on the street gets to have a dish from the King's table.

The King is literally sharing his food with his subjects,

even the poorest ones.

-Number 84, "Twenty four puffins, cold."

-Cold.

"Four fawns," Bambi, baby deer.

-They'd be on a huge, huge plate...

-What's a botalia pie?

A-ha! Well, a botalia pie was made out of little bits and pieces,

like sweetbreads and kidneys and testicles and things, usually in the shape of the castle.

-Udders.

-Roasted.

-Don't you like eating roasted udder in the northeast?

-Is that Elder?

He's got it. Elder. That's what it's called in Lancashire.

-What's a godwit?

-It's just a bird.

Bill Oddie would throw a brick through your window!

-Along with the puffins!

-Yes!

One dish I thought would be fun to do, number 98, a "Turt. de Moil".

Moil, in French, is marrow, bone marrow.

So it's a bone marrow tart, which doesn't sound terribly appetising.

'No, it doesn't!

'But to resurrect the flavour of that sumptuous coronation feast,

'we're going to cook the tort de moy and see for ourselves.'

-Si, what I'm going to get you to do...

-Yes.

..is to remove some of the marrow from these bones. I'll show you.

This is an original marrow spoon.

I recognise that. My mum used to have one of those.

It's a perfect tool for getting the marrow fat out.

You can just prise it out like that.

-Look at that!

-Beautiful.

They put it into a bowl of water, so you get rid of most of the blood.

You've got a wide end if you want to get a big amount out.

-My dog would be ecstatic.

-Yeah. That's right.

-If you look at that, it's quite bloody.

-Yeah.

I've soaked this for a couple of hours in water.

-It's perfectly clean.

-It's nice and white, which is what we want.

If I tip it out on here,

-Si, if you could chop it up into smaller pieces.

-Yeah.

'Ivan's pre-baked a sweet pastry case.'

-Put some smaller pieces in the bottom of the pie case.

-Yes.

The marrow's going to sit in the bottom.

-Most of us are familiar with candied peel.

-Yes.

Preserved peel is kept in syrup.

-It's not dried out.

-How long has that been in syrup?

-Some of it, maybe two years.

-Oh, right!

These little green guys that look like slices of courgette

are immature baby oranges

-that haven't even formed pips or any flesh inside.

-Gosh!

-Go on! Have a little go in there.

-Oh!

-That's superb!

-A wonderful flavour.

-It's not leathery.

-Sometimes, the commercial stuff is like shoe leather.

-That's fabulous!

'Chop the fruit and arrange on the pastry with the bone marrow.

'Then cover with small pieces of Naples biskett -

'a kind of dried sponge cake.'

There is one other citric ingredient in this

which, for me, is the flavour of the late 17th and 18th century.

Orange flower water, the distilled water from the orange blossom.

Oh, wow!

The trouble with it is that it's an amazingly strong flavour.

You can dribble a bit here and there. Honestly, that'll be enough.

It's one of these flavours that can be overpowering.

We've had dishes with rose flower water.

When too much is used, you think somebody's slipped with the eau de Cologne.

'Make a traditional custard with cream, sugar and egg yolks.

'And carefully pour over the crumb mixture.'

Beefy egg custard! It's not lighting me candle, Ivan.

-I'm sure it'll be lovely.

-It gives it a succulence.

-You won't really taste the meat.

-Mm. I'm glad about that.

-Yeah.

I'll go and stick it in the oven.

'Just time for us to pilfer a bit more of that delicious orange peel.'

Oh! Take me to Seville!

'After 25 minutes, our tort is ready.

-I'm looking forward to this!

-A tort du moy.

As cooked for His Majesty,

James II, and his Queen consort.

'So, is that curious combination of sweet preserved fruit

'and, well, bone marrow, a lost delicacy waiting to be rediscovered?

'We're about to find out.'

-It smells great!

-It does smell great.

For you!

-Very rich, isn't it?

-It's delightful.

-But subtle.

The fruits are fantastic.

-You can taste the marrow fat.

-Yeah.

Not unpleasant, but it's there.

-Yes.

-Nice. It's odd cos it's a savoury note as well.

-As well as that wonderful citrusy...

-Citrus.

-Yeah.

Citrus fruits in the syrup. They are so important.

What a wonderful thing.

If I wasn't so rotund, I think I'd probably have another bit.

I'll have another bit, too.

We could go far as a team.

We could call ourselves the Three Fat Gits!

It's rather wonderful.

It takes you into that engraving.

'Who'd have guessed that bone marrow is the secret ingredient we've been waiting for?

'I wouldn't go as far as that,

'but at the time, this recipe would have been copied across the nation.

'Royal banquets may not be quite as elaborate

'as the coronation of James II.

'Our monarch has simpler tastes.

'Whilst she's been obliged to eat some "exotic" food on her travels,

'when you're royalty, you just take your favourite grub with you.'

I name this ship Britannia.

'When the royal yacht Britannia was launched back in 1953,

'the Queen wanted it to be not just a pleasure vessel,

'but a royal palace at sea.

'In 44 years, the yacht sailed more than a million miles

'visiting every continent, as the Queen enjoyed numerous holidays

'and wined and dined world statesmen on board.

'As chef to the Queen, Princess Di and William and Harry,

'Darren McGrady travelled the world with the royal family.

'After 19 years, he's returned to Britannia to cook up a royal favourite.'

I get goose bumps every time I come on board.

It's the smell. It's the atmosphere on here.

She's incredible. I spent 11 years on here.

I just love coming back on board.

'The royal yacht could accommodate nearly 60 guests for a royal dinner

'or make that 200 for a meet and greet.

'That's a lot of meeting and greeting.

'All this would be prepared by just five palace chefs

'in two tiny kitchens.'

DARREN: As you sail into Miami,

you're in the kitchens cooking a banquet for President Reagan and President Ford.

There's so many happy memories on Britannia.

'Darren joined the kitchens at Buckingham Palace in 1981,

'just after Charles and Diana wed.

'He rose to the prestigious position of Princess Diana's private chef

'and remained in royal service until her death in 1997.

'In the same year, after an illustrious career,

'the royal yacht became too expensive and took her last voyage.

'But we haven't seen the end of Britannia.

'She has a permanent home in Edinburgh,

'where she's become a five-star tourist attraction.'

Being back in the royal galley is amazing, here in my chef whites, almost 30 years later.

I feel as if the Queen's coming on board and I should be preparing something.

It's not changed at all.

What I'm making for you is an Eggs Drumkilbo,

a Scottish recipe that was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The royal family loved Eggs Drumkilbo so much

that it was served at the weddings

of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

Every member of the royal family loved Eggs Drumkilbo.

Most the food the royal family ate,

during the time I was cooking for them, was traditional British food.

Food that comes from the royal kitchens,

it's all been recreated, we're seeing it come back again.

All it was in the olden days was local produce cooked perfectly,

like the Eggs Drumkilbo that's been in the family for years and years.

-'What did he say? Legs akimbo?

-No, Dave. Eggs Drumkilbo.

'It's a mixture of hard-boiled eggs, seafood, ketchup and a sherry aspic,

'a kind of transparent, flavourless jelly in which cold fish, poultry and meats are sometimes served.'

One of the things we could never do, cooking for the royal family,

was to have seeds in any of the food.

You don't want seeds in your teeth when you're talking to the Queen.

Whenever we prepared dishes like these,

we didn't take out one particular dish that we served for the Queen,

so you made sure everything was perfect

by making sure every single one of the dishes was perfect.

In a normal day, it would have been five chefs in here.

One would have been across the way, one around the corner,

and then three chefs working in this small kitchen area here.

On my tray here, I've got some nice pieces of lobster

that I'm just going to glaze to make it look really shiny.

We've got some homemade mayonnaise and some tomato sauce

with some Worcestershire sauce.

We're going to mix those together. That is perfect.

What we have to do next is mix the shrimp,

the eggs and the tomatoes.

Smells amazing, this. Shrimp and the lobster.

This size dish would serve about eight people.

They dig in a spoon and take a little piece.

The sherry aspic just stops it from drying out in the refrigerator.

'The dish goes into the fridge to cool and, whilst waiting,

'Darren can't resist a sneaky look around the yacht.

'Whenever Britannia arrived into a port,

'it was always a moment of great pomp and ceremony.'

Tonight, the royal yacht Britannia

is the centre of attention on the Huangpu River.

'Once off the royal yacht, Her Majesty was obliged to eat less familiar food.'

After sea slug, they're taking everything as it comes.

But what, the Duke wanted to know, was this?

The answer - it's a melon scooped out and filled with sweet soup.

'Whilst on board, the Britannia was the Queen's home from home.'

And smile. < WOMAN TRANSLATES

'Old-fashioned British food was the order of the day,

'but that wasn't to say it wasn't a bit fancy, like.'

In return for sea slug and shark's fin, the Queen is serving her guests sole mousse and duckling.

And instead of ten courses, a modest four.

'Darren's prepared only the one course, and with the aspic set,

'there's just time to add the finishing touches.'

And that, Hairy Bikers,

is Eggs Drumkilbo.

'That's a proper posh prawn cocktail, that's what that is.

'Next in our Best Of British kitchen

'we're preparing a royal favourite that epitomises fine dining.

'Even today, it's recreated in up-market hotels and restaurants.

'It's a dish that screams refinement.'

When you talk about the royal family you can't miss Victoria and Albert.

-There's a museum named after them.

-There's everything named after them.

A pub on EastEnders, the Albert Embankment, Albert Memorial, Albert Hall.

Albert Docks!

But we're going to cook a fillet of Beef Albert.

-Albert!

-Albert.

It's decadent. It's a fillet of beef that's stuffed with...

-LAUGHING:

-..foie gras pate and truffles, wrapped in bacon.

-Drizzled with truffle oil!

-And the sauce is really classical.

With your mirepoix, which is your celery, carrots, onion and garlic.

It's a bit of a brunoise. All these French terms find their way into British cooking.

-And you seem to know most of them.

-I've got that retentive memory.

First, I'm going to get some oil and start preparing

the nuts and bolts of the veggies - my bit's dead boring!

I'm going to chop up two sticks of celery, two carrots, an onion, some garlic and cook it in oil.

Over to the star turn, which Mr King has before him.

This is the centre cut of the fillet.

-Ooh!

-It's a one-kilo piece of meat.

And it's lovely. I mean, I confess I prefer rib-eye.

-But...

-No!

-Yeah.

There is nothing more regal than a fillet.

Now, Mr King, why is fillet steak the tenderest, tenderest of beef?

The reason that fillet steak is very tender is because it does nowt.

It sits underneath the sirloin.

The sirloin works a bit. This, not a jot.

What I'm going to now do,

while Dave's cracking on with his mirepoix brunoise...

The food history's fantastic.

The royals, being rich, were patrons of it all.

'As I was trying to say, slice a large pocket about halfway down,

'but no further, into the fillet.

'Then, score two more pockets either side of the main cut.'

This is a piece of pate de foie gras.

It's got in it black truffle.

We're just going to tuck it into the pockets that you've made.

Nice and neatly.

Because don't forget, this is a royal dish.

-The other addition is truffle oil.

-Mm.

In those days, though, the royals were rich

and this would be a black truffle the size of a cricket ball.

He'd shave it on with gay abandonment.

What I'm going to do, I'm going to have a nice coating of truffle oil

all over the fillet.

Of all the fancy foods in the world...

-Some of them are over-rated.

-Yes.

-You pay a fortune and a lot of it's snobbery.

-Yes.

Truffle, I think is unique.

It's worth every penny. There is nothing like a truffle.

The flavour is sensory. It's exciting.

You're one of the only people that could be hired as a truffle hound.

I can smell it. I can sense it.

I can be walking down the street in Italy and there'll be a whiff.

-And I'm off.

-He's off.

Now, that truffle oil is allowing the salt and pepper to stick.

That's me veggies. Leave these to molder in the frying pan.

'Wrap the fillet of beef in bacon.

'This will keep it moist as it cooks.

'Secure it with string and bung in a few bay leaves for good measure.'

I know it looks like a faff, but honestly, it's worth it.

A little bit of time and care taken at this point is going to produce

the most fabulous Prince Albert Fillet.

That's the bed we're going to stick the beef on.

The moment of truth.

-Bottom side foremost?

-I would have thought.

'To seal in the delicious flavour, brown the fillet in the pan.'

Mm.

I'm going to sprinkle some more pepper on.

Now, look, the key to this is just leave it alone.

Don't touch it. Give it a good couple of minutes.

What we'll do in a minute is we need that to crisp off and caramelise.

So no fiddling. I know it's tempting, but don't.

-Then we just roll it over.

-Superb, Si.

-I'm quite happy with the colour of that, are you?

-I'm ecstatic!

Lovely.

-Beautiful.

-Oh, look at that, man! That's a beautiful thing!

-That is.

Now the fun starts.

The huge bonus with this dish is the gravy.

Gor blimey, what gravy this is, guv!

'Add one tablespoon of flour and cook for a minute.

'Now for the booze!'

-Being a royal dish, it's not frugal.

-No.

-It's more a cocktail.

-Well, it's more a night out!

-It is!

-Take a bottle of cognac.

About 100 mil, which is a really good big glass.

Pour it into there.

'Did I say, "Watch your eyebrows, Dave"?

'Cos I meant to.'

Joan of Arc! Look at that!

-Shall I put the Madeira in?

-Yes!

Look at that! Madeira! All of it.

So we've got brandy. We've got Madeira.

Oh-h! Ho-ho!

Boozy old Albert!

Get a whisk on that.

-Don't want any right royal lumps in this, do we?

-No.

This is beef stock.

Bit of seasoning.

Ooh!

-Very good.

-Now, just pour that

over the fillet of beef, which is stuffed with foie gras and truffles

on that bed of wonderful veg.

Just imagine what that gravy's going to taste like!

Just pop that in a preheated oven, about 180 to 190 degrees Celsius,

for 35 minutes for rare,

40 minutes for medium rare.

Keep the lid off.

'Beef is as British as, well, roast beef,

'but we didn't start rearing cattle for eating until the 18th century.

'Before then, cows were used for farm work, so the meat would have been a bit tough, like.

'And after that beef interlude, sorry, your fillet is done.'

BOTH CHORTLE

How lovely! You little gorgeous piece of wonderness.

'Put the meat aside to rest.

'Put the stock back on the heat to reduce a little further.'

The vegetables have done their work. They're quite sacrificial.

We've had their love, we're going to strain them, get the good stuff

and throw them away, just like show business.

Oh! Look!

Look at that! That's how we want it. It's pink.

It's rare. It's perfect.

Look at the texture of that gravy. It's clinging to it.

SIGHS

Oh, man!

That's epic!

Prince Albert would be very proud to sit down to that.

It's a beautiful dish.

-A really lovely earthy note going all the way through.

-Oh, aye.

I think that's the truffle.

-For me, though, the star of this is the gravy.

-Absolutely.

'Our fillet of beef may cost a princely sum to make,

'but it's surely the crowning glory of any meal.

'So, from the posh nosh of the royal banquet,

'to dishes created to commemorate our regal events,

'our royal family have shaped our culinary heritage

'and brought us a sense of community and pride.'

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