Weddings 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...

-Welsh Lamb and Welsh leeks.

-Wahey!

-'..outstanding food producers...'

-That's impressive.

-'..and innovative chefs...'

-Wow.

-Oh, man.

'..but we also have an amazing food history.'

-Oh, brilliant.

-Oh, wow.

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

'Now, during this series,

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

Everything's ready, so let's get cracking.

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

-BOTH:

-Wow!

'..and meet the heroes that keep our food heritage alive.'

I firmly believe that vegetables are more colourful than flowers,

with the added benefit, of course, you can eat them.

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

We have a taste of history.

-Quite simply... BOTH:

-The best of British!

Our wedding day is one of the most important days of our lives.

When it comes to celebrating matters of the heart,

food, of course, figures very highly.

Most of us, even Dave, don't like to scrimp

when it comes to feeding our guests and ourselves on our special day.

So weddings, in many ways,

really showcase the very best of British food.

And they don't come any bigger than a Royal one.

2011 was all about William and Kate.

CHEERING

To celebrate, we're going start by preparing our version of the meal

that formed the centrepiece of the couple's evening do

in the Best Of British kitchen.

British lamb three ways -

a special dish perfect for the most special of days.

-Beautiful slow roasted lamb confit...

-Spicy lamb meatballs...

..And roasted herb crusted racks with a rich wine gravy.

-All on one plate! Yippee!

-A meal fit for a king.

And a Myers!

I think for weddings, or great occasions,

there's nothing more fitting than great British lamb.

-It's a mega-product.

-It is a fantastic product.

What's great about it, whether it be Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales,

we have the best lamb in the world.

This shoulder is going to be cooked like a confit.

It's cooked for an extraordinarily long time.

We want that to be falling apart.

-So, we better get it on.

-We better.

-I'll show you how to do that.

Into a roasting pot, add four long shallots sliced lengthways...

Eight whole peeled garlic cloves..

Two tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary leaves...

And a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves.

If you don't have shallots,

you could slice two medium onions instead.

This lamb is going to be cooked so slowly.

You can cook it for about six hours, or overnight in an Aga.

The trick is to have it well sealed up.

But you see, all this garlic, the rosemary, the onions -

that produces the gravy.

-It's gravy to die for.

-Really, really meaty and gorgeous.

Yes, that is really a metaphor for marriage.

Where all the flavours come together to produce one wholesome flavour

that is in fact bigger than the two halves.

-That's true, that's true.

-Place it on there.

Rest the half-shoulder of lamb on top of the other ingredients,

and season it well with salt and pepper.

Add a little dribble of water to start the gravy off

and to stop the herbs burning in the oven.

Right. We just place this, the first element,

into a preheated oven, 160 degrees Celsius, for 30 minutes.

Then we'll show you what we do after that.

# We've only just begun. #

Let's prep items two and three on the agenda.

Now, item two is this. Look at this. Beautiful, beautiful rack of lamb.

What we're going to do is put a lovely herb crust all over that.

I'll show you how to do that in a minute.

First, I'm just scoring the fat in little diamond shapes.

And what that does, first of all, it makes it look attractive,

and secondly, it enables the crust to have something to grip onto.

-And then the next stage is this. Mr Myers.

-Meatballs.

But this is a posh meatball. It's spicy.

So, I'm going to dry roast some cumin seeds

to start to build up the flavour in the lamb balls.

Next, finely chop a shallot and a garlic clove and sweat them

in a pan with two tablespoons of oil.

While they're softening up,

pop the roasted cumin into a pestle and mortar

and pound it up as finely as you can.

we've got the shallots and the garlic.

It's nicely transparent.

Put the finely-ground roasted cumin into the mix.

To that, add a teaspoon of coriander,

half a teaspoon of chilli powder,

half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and another of flaked sea salt.

Stir it in with the shallot and cook for about a minute.

So, what we're going to do now,

we're just going to brown these lovely, lovely cutlets off.

Put it fat side down first in the pan. And, look, get that pan hot.

You need to hear that sizzle. Listen. OIL SIZZLES

-And don't worry, just leave it.

-Just leave it until it goes brown.

Push it into the pan a little bit. Can you hear it?

These sides here, we're going to stand them up

so they go brown as well.

Part of the reason for that is you want to seal in all

of those fantastic flavours of this beautiful meat. Look, there we go.

Once you've browned both sides of the two lamb racks,

stand them to attention on a baking tray,

ready for the oven.

And pop the sweated shallot, garlic,

herbs and spices into a bowl to cool.

Then grate the zest of quarter of a lemon into the mix.

Add 50 grams of fresh white breadcrumbs,

two tablespoons of finely chopped curly parsley,

and mix in the 250 grams of lamb mince.

Now, just work that lovely lamb, roasted spices

and fresh herbs into a meaty paste.

Bit of seasoning. Salt and pepper.

And this is what is going to become your meatballs.

But there's an extra trick we're doing

to make sure the lamb balls don't go dry.

That's to wrap them in caul fat before we cook them.

Now, caul fat might look, well, a bit gruesome, but it's great.

It's the thin layer of fat from around the stomach.

Wrap the meatballs in it and when you fry them,

it'll stop them falling apart and keep them moist and lovely.

And don't worry, it disappears as you cook it.

Look at that little beauty. This mixture should make about a dozen.

When we serve it up, we'll serve about three of these per portion.

There you go.

Next up, it's time for the rack of lamb's herb crust.

Finely chop three tablespoons of parsley,

three tablespoons of mint,

and one teaspoon of rosemary.

Mix with 40 grams of fresh white breadcrumbs

and two peeled and crushed garlic cloves.

Finish off with a good pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper.

Now, it might sound a lot,

but the reason I'm putting so many lovely herbs in it -

if you're going to make a herb crust, make one.

You want big punches of herbs coming

and sitting on top of that fantastic lamb.

Do it justice. Get the herbs in,

get them flavoured. Oh, fabulous.

"How..." I hear you cry,

"is he going to stick that herb crust onto these racks of lamb?"

Well, I'll show you. Look at that.

-Dijon mustard and a brush, you see.

-It's like spicy glue.

Exactly that, mate. Exactly that. Just paint it.

And then what we do is firmly just push

that crust into that meat.

-That's fab.

-A bit there.

And then repeat with the same.

When you've done the same to the second rack,

stand them up on a baking tray by knitting the bones together.

Then cover and chill the rack and meatballs in the fridge for later.

Right, let's have a look at the shoulder.

-That should be done now.

-Right.

-Oh, look, lovely bit of colour on it. Fabulous.

-You see?

-We've kicked that off, haven't we?

-We have. We have, that.

Next, add 300ml of lamb stock made with one cube.

If you can't get that, chicken or beef will do.

And pour in the same amount of white wine.

To keep as much of the moisture in as possible,

cover it with a layer of foil as well as the lid,

and pop it back in the oven for three hours at 160 degrees Celsius.

Three hours have gone by.

We've drunk tea till we can't drink any more.

And your house smells like a Tudor feasting hall.

-DAVE INHALES

-Ah.

Aw, in anticipation of the feast to come.

This is where we hope this isn't a boiled dry mess.

-Yes.

-Oh, ho!

-Look at that.

It's shrunk back from the bone. This should... Look at that.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

I'm going to get this out, the lamb, and leave it to rest on a plate.

It's so lovingly cooked.

-Oh, man.

-It's absolutely falling apart.

I've got to admit, I like my lamb fillet pink.

The rest of my lamb - I love it dropping to bits.

Now you rest, you've been through a lot, you.

There we are, look - the trio... is about to start singing!

-It's like The Supremes, isn't it?

-THEY MAKE SILLY NOISES

MUSIC: Baby Love by The Supremes

Now, place the herby rack of lamb into the oven

set at 200 degrees Celsius.

Make sure you've taken it out of the fridge 15 minutes before

so it's at room temperature prior to cooking.

It will need 23 to 25 minutes for pink meat

or 30 minutes for medium meat.

Then skim off the top layer of fat from the cooking juices in the pan

and strain them into a saucepan to remove any vegetable bits.

Then we add a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly.

Again, it's one of those wonderful things that goes with lamb.

Listen to this, I love this bit, listen.

BOTTLE POPS

THEY GIGGLE

125ml...

of port.

Whoa!

Pour that in there.

And just give it a little once-over with a spoon.

Just to dissolve that redcurrant jelly

and then we want to reduce that by a third.

Right, the lamb's got another 20 minutes,

so it's time to get the lamb balls on.

Fry the meatballs in olive oil

until they transform into shining, golden balls of loveliness!

That should take about ten minutes.

While they're cooking,

shred the lamb shoulder into delicious morsels using two forks.

If the person doing the shredding is anything like Si,

make sure you keep an eye on them or you'll have nothing left!

Once the gravy's reduced,

mix a tablespoon of cornflour with a tablespoon of water

and add it to thicken it up.

-Oh, look at this beauty.

-Ho-ho!

It doesn't get any better, does it?

Oh, that is perfect.

That's going to be just pink in the middle.

To revive the confit,

pop it into a pan over a gentle heat

and spoon over a little bit of the gorgeous gravy.

Look at the gravy, ooh!

It's got a sheen on it like an Argentinean's dancing pump.

SIMON LAUGHS

-D'you know what I mean?

-Yes, I do.

That's the mad thing about your similes - you do know, exactly.

Now, a little tip - if you were to just put this on the plate,

pack it with meat, take it off - you could leave drizzles and dribbles,

so put that onto a fish slice...

..pack your ring, like so, with the confit and the gravy.

This can be packed quite tight,

because then,

when somebody goes to eat it,

it'll all fall apart like a house of cards.

With a sharp knife, cut in between the rib bones.

Straight down.

Ooh, nice! Oh, Sister of Mercy! Beautiful.

Perfect.

How perfect is that?

At about three cutlets per portion, I would say.

I'd say you're right there, mate.

Now, the confit comes over on the fish slice.

We place that - without any form of mess whatsoever...

..on the plate.

Oh!

Then just...

try and get that out as tidily as possible.

-Look at that.

-That is perfect, is it not?

That's your little column of confit.

Now, what we're going to do,

we're going to put three of these cutlets...

..like that.

Oh!

DAVE MOANS

It's a trio in more ways than one, Mr King. Beautiful.

-There.

-Beautiful.

And now, for the bride and groom - one, two...

That's a nice one, ain't it?

Three perfectly-formed balls.

Where do we want the gravy?

Just a smear.

Right down the middle, that's it.

That...is flippin' lovely.

Final touch.

I'm going to put a beautiful piece of mint...just there.

And befitting a dish of such grandeur,

got to have a few veggies.

I think just one...

fine fondant potato and a few green beans.

That's our homage to Will and Kate.

May you live long and prosper.

Nano-nano.

Lamb - three ways.

Each element would make a fantastic meal on its own

but combined, it's breathtaking.

We Brits have traditionally celebrated our nuptials

with a wedding breakfast.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary,

the term first appeared around 1850,

but it's believed to date back further than that.

To the days when people would fast before mass.

Following the celebration of a wedding ceremony,

the priest would bless wine and cakes

and give them to the bride and groom.

And by tucking in, they'd be breaking fast.

Things have changed a bit since then.

Today, the average couple spend about £16,500 on their big day,

while wedding catering's become big business.

We're heading to Inverness to help out behind the scenes

at a traditional Scottish wedding

and get a glimpse of how one couple

have chosen to celebrate their nuptials.

It's in the spectacular surroundings of Achnagairn House.

Local couple - Jennifer and Nicky - are tying the knot today.

Now in Scotland, that once meant

that two strips of tartan were tied together

to symbolise a union of the clans.

And we've come to help prepare and serve their Scottish wedding feast.

And who knows, once the ceilidh starts,

we might even be persuaded to trip the light fantastic.

-Whoo, I love a Gay Gordon!

-I've seen your eights and reels.

-Whee-hee!

Whee-hee!

I'll be sick!

Historically in Scotland,

the tradition was to hold something called a Penny Wedding.

Guests would be expected to bring their own food and drink.

-SCOTTISH ACCENT:

-Or to pay a small amount of money towards the meal.

The custom was supposedly abolished in 1645,

but continued to thrive well into the 20th century.

Jennifer and Nicky's do is a far cry from the Penny Wedding.

Like most modern couples,

they're providing their 115 guests

with an extensive sit-down meal.

And the menu is a celebration of all things Scottish.

For starters, there's a choice of smoked salmon from the Isle of Ewe

or vegetable Scotch broth.

For mains, there's Highland chicken

or roast sirloin of beef from the Black Isle.

And just like William and Kate for pudding,

they're having a trio of desserts, delicious!

Preparing this fantastic spread is local chef, Nick Aburrow.

Afternoon, chef. Hello, Nick.

-How are you?

-We're reporting for duty.

How are you? Good to see you.

We want to learn how you run a Scottish wedding.

Nick's an experienced hand

when it comes to catering for a lot of people.

He's prepared food for thousands of diners on the Orient Express.

So, over 100 guests should be no problem

but he's agreed to let us into his kitchen to lend a hand.

I'm just getting to the last of the chicken. You could help with that.

What do you want with these?

-OK, we've got the supreme.

-Yeah.

-Just trim the wee bits off it.

French trim like that, so we can see the bone.

I've got you.

Do you take a great pride in Scottish produce?

Yeah, we've got some real good local produce

that we try and use all the time.

Just take a line down them and we've got local haggis.

Excellent.

Haggis works.

-It's a really versatile ingredient, isn't it?

-Yeah.

We do quite a lot with it.

-Can you cut ten like them?

-Should I?

You're closest, mate, you're closest.

I used to live up here, Nick.

We used to use haggis...

We used to make shepherd's pie

and put a third haggis in and it used to make it gamey.

Or we'd make haggis bolognaise or hag bol and it's good,

gives you a lovely, gamey flavour.

Our local butcher - he used to make chicken pies

with chicken and haggis, as well.

Haggis when it's good is good, isn't it?

Yes.

Having a traditional menu for their wedding was very important

to Jennifer and Nicky and no Scottish celebration -

wherever it takes place in the world -

would be complete without haggis.

The national dish of north of the border.

And perfect washed down with a dram of the national drink.

The haggis!

From Burns Night to Hogmanay, the serving of haggis is an important

part of the ceremony and has been for a long time.

Oh, well, I'm very fond of haggis, you know,

I can eat a haggis anytime.

The origins of this wonderful, humble creation have been

the subject of some argument,

with a few even claiming the recipe's English!

How dare they!

What is known is that the Romans were tucking in to a similar dish,

centuries before even the proudest Scot.

But in Scotland, it's been eaten for over 400 years,

perhaps starting out life as a packed lunch for cattle drovers.

But whatever its origins, it attained true fame

when it was immortalised in a poem

by Scotland's legendary Robbie Burns.

But if ye wish her grateful prayer, gie her a haggis.

Despite this, a lot of people are none the wiser

as to what it actually is.

In fact, a recent survey revealed most American tourists

believe a haggis is a small animal.

Perhaps that makes it a bit more palatable to them.

But for us, regardless of its lowly ingredients

it's a real culinary masterpiece,

one that has to rate as one of the UK's most iconic dishes.

But yae couldnae ha' a Scottish wedding wi'oot a bit of haggis.

And what would act as the perfect accompaniment to chicken

stuffed with haggis? Why, a ladle full of Scottish spirit.

Whiskey sauce.

Just going to burn that off.

Burn off the alcohol.

See that, I got a bit of blow-back there!

I thought you were scorching grouse again!

Not just me!

The happy couple have been greeting all their guests...

But we've nipped out of the kitchen for a minute to meet them

before they sit down to eat.

-So, are you looking forward to the meal?!

-Can't wait.

-I'm a vegetarian, though.

-So, you won't be having the chicken.

-Yeah.

-I'll be having the chicken with the haggis, though.

-That's lovely.

-I love haggis.

-We've seen some in the broth as well.

-That's superb.

-That looks really good.

-Salmon and then the chicken for me.

All I can say is that the kitchen's done you really proud.

We've been in, we've had a look, helped out a bit and it's fabulous.

But the room looks stunning, doesn't it?!

-When you walk in there, it really is breathtaking.

-Yeah!

-So, are you having a ceilidh afterwards?

-Yes.

-Excellent.

Honestly, the both of you look fantastic, truly.

You look great and thanks very much again for having us here.

That's all right. Definitely.

It's time for Jennifer and Nicky to be piped into the dining room,

a Highland tradition.

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH WALTZ

CHEERING

It's the custom for the groom to give the piper a quaich -

a drink from the quaich, or loving cup, that the bride and groom share.

It's also the cue for us two to get back to the kitchen.

-How do, Nick?

-Hey, Nick.

-How are yous?

-How's it getting on?

-Not bad, the chicken's just about there.

-Oh, they look great.

-Good, eh?

-Yeah.

-That's the chicken that was stuffed earlier.

-And they look great.

-They do.

Presentation's great, isn't it, with the trimmed bones?

Whilst the guests tuck into their first course of vegetable broth

or Scottish smoked salmon, it's time to get the main courses plated up.

So, what are we serving this with?

We're going to put on a bit of a clapshot.

-Clapshot's turnips and potatoes, isn't it? Mashed together?

-Yes.

-Oh, nice!

-See. Preparation, preparation, preparation.

-Hey, that looks great.

-That does look lovely.

-Oh, yes, lovely.

-I'll get some roast potatoes.

-Then we just put sauce round the plate.

-A lovely whiskey sauce.

-Yeah.

-How's the presentation?

-Well, that looks great.

It does, it looks great, mate.

I'd be very, very happy to receive that, would you? It looks great.

I'd be very happy, yes. It's got a nice Scottish feel to is, as well.

It's fabulous.

The guests have almost finished with their starters,

so time is of the essence to get the mains ready to go.

I love the way Nick's organising himself

so he can just bang them out so everybody gets hot food.

Wowser! That beef couldn't look tastier if it tried

and Nick's given me the honour of carving it up.

That's perfect. That's just how I'd want my beef.

Just pink in the middle, lovely and crispy on the outside.

-Myers, are you giving big portions?!

-No!

I'll tell you though, I'd be popular!

You'll have no profit left, but you'd be popular!

He didn't like the way I cut the beef, said it was a bit thick.

-It was all right though, I'd be happy with that!

-Yeah.

-Aye!

Look at that, a wonderful meal, made with the best local produce.

This wedding has all the ingredients of the perfect Scottish shindig

and would make any couple proud on their special day.

Time to get it out there. Drum roll, maestro, please!

CHEERING

From the left.

-There you are, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

Hope you like it!

I don't know about you, mate, but I've been getting very peckish

with all this gorgeous food flying around.

And with everyone served, the moment we've been waiting for.

Oh, look at that!

-Hey, the haggis, that's good haggis, hey?

-The chicken's perfectly cooked.

-Really juicy. Whiskey sauce is great.

-Oh!

-That is beautiful.

When it comes to weddings, fashions come and go,

but a lot of the key elements have remained fairly constant.

Including the all-important cake.

Despite a recent trend for more unusual styles,

it appears we're returning to the traditional

white tiered wedding cake.

And that could have something to do with Royal Wedding fever.

No-one does a wedding cake, or should I say cakes,

like the royals.

Charles and Diana had a total of 27 for their wedding back in 1981,

including one that was five-foot tall.

Princess Anne and Mark Phillips's official wedding cake

was even taller - 5' 6" - the height of the bride.

With classic-style cakes back on the agenda,

British food hero Nicola Hall is kept very busy indeed.

She's a Kent-based wedding-cake maker,

who specialises in historic designs.

I think a few years ago,

the style of wedding cakes was quite contemporary,

but I think the traditional cake has had a real revival.

I think weddings have generally become bigger,

all the detail's become bigger, bigger cakes,

and I think people do celebrate more.

I mean, I obviously see that,

because they order cakes for anything

from Christenings to big parties to obviously, weddings.

The origin of the wedding cake is believed to lie

in the Roman tradition of the groom breaking a loaf of bread over

the bride's head, for good fortune.

In the Middle Ages,

guests would have brought along small buns to the wedding

and to ensure good luck,

the bride and groom would try to kiss over them

without making the whole stack topple over.

You'd be quids in if you only had a couple of mates.

The odds dropped dramatically over the next few hundred years

as the cakes gradually got joined together with icing.

And this was the beginning of the tiered wedding cake.

MUSIC: WEDDING MARCH by Mendelssohn

But it wasn't until the Victorian period

that the traditional style of wedding cake we know today

became fixed in our imagination.

Just as a wedding is the biggest day of many of our lives,

this cake is the most important we will ever choose.

So, it has to be just right,

and bride-to-be Kerry knows exactly what she wants.

I'm not really looking for anything, I would say, modern

like a cupcake cake or anything like that.

I want to stick to a traditional wedding cake.

OK, this is obviously quite a floral cake, lots of sugar flowers,

and then you've got something that's quite traditional,

quite Victorian, lots of bows, lots of detail,

lots of piping, royal icing.

We've decided to have a six-tier cake

cos it's going to refer to how many years we've been together.

I want my cake to stand out. So many times you go to weddings

and you miss the cake cos it's small, hidden away.

So, I wanted a nice, big cake that everyone would be able to see.

-Out of the ones we're looking at here, this one...

-Yeah.

-..and this one?

-Yeah, cos they've got the most detail.

OK, fine.

What it's going to turn out like?

I've got an idea, but I don't know for sure so, yeah,

I've left it up to her, really.

Kerry's wedding cake may have a traditional design,

but there's some cake-making alchemy going on under the icing.

In terms of the flavours, each of Kerry's tiers are different,

ranging from vanilla sponge to fruitcake.

She's got coffee with cappuccino and rum filling,

she's got lemon with lemon zest buttercream,

she's got chocolate with cocoa buttercream.

Most of the cakes we do, each tier is a different flavour.

Being able to have different flavoured layers

is a relatively new phenomenon for British wedding cakes.

It's been made possible by the use of sugar paste

which means cakes can be covered quickly.

Traditional icing takes a long time to do

and only fruit cakes can last the course.

Despite sugar paste being invented towards the end of the 19th century,

and being adopted by cake decorators all over the world,

in Britain, we clung on to good old royal icing until the 21st century.

And that was down to the number-one influence on wedding cake design

for the last 170 years -

Queen Victoria.

Royal icing became known as such when it was used to create

the elaborate and intricate designs on her wedding cake in 1840.

The spectacular cake wowed the country

and set a trend for the ornate white icing.

A trend compounded by the incredible cake

she had made for her daughter's wedding.

Britain had fallen in love,

and it's a love affair that has gone on an on.

She set the mould for every cake to come, albeit a simplified version.

When it comes to wedding cakes, where the Royals lead

we obviously like to follow.

Just adding the final bows to the top tier,

making sure they're all level

and just making sure everything's perfect, really.

Just making sure it all looks beautiful.

The transportation of a wedding cake

is definitely the most nerve-wracking part of our job.

You never realise how many bumps there are in the road,

how many drain covers, until you transport a wedding cake.

MUSIC: Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey

I don't know why, but I'm feeling awfully tense.

I think it's just the music, man.

The rain is the worst part of delivering a wedding cake,

so I'm just going to make sure it doesn't drop or break.

Oh, I can't look.

I haven't been this nervous since me own wedding!

Yeah. I'm on, let's go.

'Houston, we have lift-off.'

So far, so good.

Can I look yet, Si?

I think she's going to make it, dude!

-Phew!

-Phew!

You're not moving again! Woo! Start of the weekend.

Not quite.

There's a few finishing touches to do.

There's one key element to the cake where the bride

wanted to break from Victorian tradition and Nicola wasn't sure.

Actually, looking at it now, I quite like it cos it's quite fun

and it certainly adds a bit more height,

so Kerry will be delighted with that,

cos she wanted it as tall as possible.

I'm happy. I think it looks good.

I've just go to put the ribbon round the bottom and then I'm done.

Ah, mate, that looks grand.

Soon the guests arrive and the wedding gets underway.

You are now husband and wife.

APPLAUSE

Today's the first time Phil's seen the cake,

so what does he think of Kerry's choice?

I couldn't believe it was that big.

I mean, Kerry's been saying we have a certain-sized tier cake

and then when we saw that...

-Oh, it was unbelievable.

-It was amazing. Yeah. Exactly...

I couldn't have wished for anything better. Exactly how we wanted it.

CHEERING

I do hope they save us a slice.

Everything's gone so well, it's been a perfect day.

Yeah, absolutely fantastic.

CHEERING

After the cake and food, another crucial element

of the wedding reception has to be the toast.

To David and Sonia...

happiness and so forth for the coming years, I hope.

Ah, what a good speech, that was(!)

In fact, a bottle of bubbly is used to mark most celebrations.

May God protect her and all who sail in her.

And when it comes to fizz, most Brits instantly think of champagne.

# I don't pop my cork for every man I see. #

It's a name synonymous with luxury, indulgence, glamour...

the finer things in life.

This extravagant image is one that's been cultivated

as carefully as the vines by the champagne producers.

Legend has it that sparkling wine was invented

in the Champagne region of France

by the monk, Dom Perignon, in about 1700.

When it went into production, the champagne houses

made sure that their fizzy stuff quickly found its way

into royal hands.

They understood the concept of branding right from the beginning

because where the monarchy led, others followed.

Soon, all the poshest people in Europe were guzzling it

and champagne became synonymous with luxury.

All sorts of tales abound about this beverage,

including the one that the coupe-shaped champagne glass

was modelled on the breast of Marie-Antoinette.

Oh, la-la!

When it came to product placement, Bollinger scored a coup

when it became the official supplier to Queen Victoria's court.

Us Brits got a taste for bubbly early on, and we've remained

one of the biggest markets for the champagne houses ever since.

And over the years, the Champagne region

has fiercely protected its image

as the producer of the best sparkling wine in the world.

If you want to have the very taste of champagne,

it has to come from Champagne.

If you don't have the Champagne grape, you cannot,

if only an expert, produce champagne.

What isn't often advertised is the role

the British played in its creation.

When the Champenoise first started producing it,

the bottles kept exploding.

It was only when it was exported to England and bottled here

they solved the problem.

The British had perfected a much stronger style of glass bottle

and used corks, something unheard of in France at the time.

Both turned out to be essential ingredients

for Champagne production.

What's kept even quieter is the fact that the English

were more than likely producing fizzy wine

way before Dom Perignon supposedly discovered it.

So, don't necessarily believe all the hype.

The next time you're celebrating,

give English sparkling wine a try. It's epic.

Do you know, Dave, a bottle of British fizz

would be the perfect accompaniment to our final recipe.

We're rustling up a dish using superb English oysters,

the ultimate romantic treat for a couple's wedding night.

-Kingy.

-What?

-Did you know that 25% of marriages

-go unconsummated on the wedding night?

-What?!

-Hmm!

-They don't, do they?

-They do.

-Well, if you don't want to fall into that depressing statistic,

we've got something for you.

If you've had too many sips of champagne,

if you've done too much Dad dancing and you're tired,

don't worry, we've got the answer to all your problems.

Nature's Viagra! The oyster.

Yes, this little beauty puts more zip in your pip

than you'd know what to do with.

This little fella is bursting with zinc.

Zinc produces testosterone.

Testosterone makes you manly!

We're going to do a wonderful dish called Oysters Kilpatrick.

It's oysters with a sense of occasion.

Do you know, maybe that's why the French are more romantic than us.

In Britain, we consume about 150 tonnes of oysters a year.

In France, they eat a whopping 150,000 tonnes a year.

-Do they?

-Yeah!

The answer lies in our hands, really,

because we have some of the best oysters in the world

around our waters and we have a fantastic oyster heritage. We do!

Now, shuck the oyster.

This means, simply opening the shell with a twist

and turning the oyster over.

They're not the easiest of beasts to get into.

It's like trying to get into your wallet, that.

Watch yourself with that shucking knife, Si!

That's it. Then run the knife over the top.

-That side doesn't look very nice, does it?

-It looks unfinished.

It does, doesn't it?

What you do... There's a muscle that holds it here.

-Look.

-There.

-What you then do is very simply, in one movement,

turn the oyster over like that.

And that is far more pleasing to the eye.

In this pan, I'm just frying off some lardons,

lardons being little cubes of pork.

And I don't want these too crispy, cos eventually,

they'll be finished off under the grill on top of the oysters.

Can you eat too many oysters?

In my heyday, I have recollections of eating seven dozen at one point.

I sat on a beach at Cancale in France,

just one after the other after the other after the other.

But then my malady struck and I can eat oysters no more.

That'll be why.

-Do you think I OD'd?

-A dozen?

-Seven dozen.

-Seven dozen?

-I was zinced to oblivion, me.

My lardons are just nicely coloured,

but they've still got a bit of a way to go before they're crispy.

And the grill is going to do that later on,

so I'm going to set them aside.

Next I need to fry off a very finely chopped shallot.

And shallots are a very traditional accompaniment to oysters,

especially raw with red wine vinegar.

Now, that's my favourite little spoon. Gorgeous.

Your favourite oyster is the next one, Kingy!

It's true!

You do have a wonderful love of oysters, it's quite admirable.

While Si grapples with the oysters, I'm going to finely chop

a fat shallot and sweat in a pan with a large knob of butter.

Now I'm going to start to build up the sauce.

For that, I need Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and Tabasco.

Worcestershire sauce. There's an enigma.

Two tablespoons.

Add to the pan two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce,

one tablespoon of ketchup and three or four drops of Tabasco.

Tabasco, another great tradition with oysters.

And again, chilli gives you a bit of a zing.

If you're tired, it wakes up jaded appetites of all kinds.

Spoon over just a little of the sauce

as you don't want to mask the flavour of the oysters.

They don't taste fishy. They taste of the sea, don't they?

-That's what oysters taste like.

-Fresh.

-Fresh, yeah.

Very attractive, isn't it?

And now just a couple of bacon bits.

That's nice lardons, that, isn't it?

But bacon and shellfish go together fine, don't they?

Certainly with scallops and wrapping monkfish in bacon.

Beautiful.

Right. Here we go. Just pop them under a preheated grill,

blisteringly hot, for a couple of minutes.

Let's have a tidy.

# You're not the only oyster in the sea. #

We're serving our oysters with lemon wedges for squeezing.

Dave, however, is going for a '70s-style presentation of lemon,

-which is, of course, optional.

-Oh! Oh-ho!

Right.

Oh, they are beautiful, man.

That's it. Oysters Kilpatrick. Kingy, this one's over to you.

Oh, dear. How sad.

A strange effect will start.

His eyes will roll and he'll reach forwards for another.

Shame to go to waste, wouldn't it?

And then he'll say in that gentle way of his, he'll go,

"You know, mate, it's such a disappointment

"that you can't try 'em, Dave. I feel so sorry for you."

-t's such a shame.

-Aye.

Right, where are you, big lad? Gis' a kiss!

Argh!

Check it out - Oysters Kilpatrick,

served with an English sparkling wine.

It's a marriage made in heaven!

Our wedding day provides us with the perfect opportunity

to indulge our culinary passions.

And it appears as a nation,

we're very much wedded to our great gastronomic traditions.

We might not all have the budget of a Royal,

but what is important is that we celebrate it in our own way.

-Whether it's a traditional haggis...

-Or a six-tiered wedding cake...

..it really is the food of love.

If you want to find out more about the series,

visit...

..to discover some amazing facts about the history of food.

And to find out how to cook the recipes in today's show.