0:00:03 > 0:00:07You know, we believe that Britain has the best food in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Not only can we boast fantastic ingredients...
0:00:11 > 0:00:13- Piece de resistance.- Ah, nice!
0:00:13 > 0:00:15- Now which is which? - BOTH:- Lamb. Mutton.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Baa!
0:00:16 > 0:00:19'..outstanding food producers...'
0:00:19 > 0:00:20It's brilliant, isn't it?
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'..and innovative chefs...'
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- 'but we also have an amazing food history.'- Aw, brilliant!
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Aw, wow!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Don't eat them like that! You'll break your teeth!
0:00:33 > 0:00:34'Now during this series,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38'we're going to be taking you on a journey into our culinary past.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:40It's all ready, so let's get cracking.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43'We'll explore its revealing stories.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:48'And meet the heroes who keep our culinary past alive.'
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Pontefract Liquorice has been my life
0:00:51 > 0:00:53and I have loved every minute of it.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'And be cooking up a load of dishes
0:00:56 > 0:00:58'that reveal our foodie evolution.'
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Look at that, that's a proper British treat.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08We have...a taste of history.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- Quite simply... - BOTH:- The Best Of British!
0:01:28 > 0:01:33Today's show is a celebration of our waterways.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We've got 2,200 miles of them in the UK.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38As well as being beautiful,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42historically, they were an important source of grub.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48We've been getting food from our waterways for centuries.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51From shooting ducks to fishing, even harvesting watercress.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54From the poor old poacher's tickled trout
0:01:54 > 0:01:56to the mega-posh aristocratic fishing parties,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Britain's waterways have given everybody
0:01:59 > 0:02:02nutritional food for thousands of years.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06# And if you take our advice #
0:02:06 > 0:02:08# There's nothing so nice
0:02:08 > 0:02:11# As messing about on the river. #
0:02:14 > 0:02:18We've been fishing for our supper since the Stone Age.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19But it was in the 6th Century
0:02:19 > 0:02:23when the Church banned meat on fast days and Fridays
0:02:23 > 0:02:27that fish became a regular feature in our diets.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Fish on a Friday!
0:02:29 > 0:02:30BELL TOLLS
0:02:31 > 0:02:35By the Middle Ages, monks were stocking their moats and ponds
0:02:35 > 0:02:36with freshwater fish,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39which they served as an alternative to meat.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41They soon became inventive chefs,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44salting, smoking and drying their catch,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46creating culinary delights
0:02:46 > 0:02:50often by cooking a single fish in three different ways -
0:02:51 > 0:02:56The tail fried, the head boiled and the middle roasted.
0:02:57 > 0:03:03What started as fodder for fast days soon became the food of feasts.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The nobility filled their castle moats and ponds
0:03:06 > 0:03:09with barbel, crayfish, chub, eel,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12dace, lamprill, lampern, perch, pike, pimpernel
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and tench from the local rivers.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17If you really wanted to flash your cash,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20you had to have an angler on your staff.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Our waterways have provided us with more than just what's beneath the water.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Our feathery friends who float on the surface
0:03:31 > 0:03:33have also fed us throughout history.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40In the Best Of British kitchen, we're cooking up
0:03:40 > 0:03:42a traditional wild roast duck
0:03:42 > 0:03:45with Bramley apple stuffing and sherry gravy.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Oh, that sounds absolutely quacking!
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Ever since I was a little 'un, and I still do it now,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I go down to the pond, the lake or the river bank with my bag of bread
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and have a pleasant half hour feeding the ducks.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06- Now, it's these beauties' chance to feed us!- It's true.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08We're doing WILD ducks!
0:04:08 > 0:04:11That's what they look like with their kit off!
0:04:11 > 0:04:14That's our English mallard. A treasure of our English waterways.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18We've been eating those for 2,000 years.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20This works perfectly well with the ducks
0:04:20 > 0:04:24you buy from your butcher or the supermarket.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Actually, the quantities will work just as well.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29We have three little mallards here,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31just one big fat duck from the supermarket,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33use this stuffing, satisfaction guaranteed.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36They look a bit scrawny,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39but what meat you get is good. It's rich. It's tasty.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42We'll do a mega-stuffing for the ducks.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- I think we better get on. - We should, mate.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53- Some oil in there.- Could you pass me hazelnuts, Dave, please?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56These hazelnuts are part of the stuffing.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59I'm going to roughly chop them. It's not easy with the hazelnut.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03If you don't want to chop them by hand,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06you could put the hazelnuts in a plastic bag and bash them
0:05:06 > 0:05:07with a rolling pin,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09or just give them a quick whizz in a food processor.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13This is three slices of bread. All good stuffing contains bread.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17This isn't going to be crumbs, it's not going to be croutons,
0:05:17 > 0:05:18it's going to be little cubes.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22The bread cubes are fried until golden brown in oil
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and a little butter.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Look at these. These are coming up lovely!
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Beautiful. Before that bread's completely cooked,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39a couple of teaspoons of chopped fresh rosemary.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42That frying's releasing all the flavour.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Things will gravitate towards this bowl
0:05:46 > 0:05:49in the construction of the stuffing.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53First in is the rosemary bread cubes.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58I want to take some hazelnuts and put them in the pan
0:05:58 > 0:06:01that we have just fried the bread and the rosemary in.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03We want to toast those off.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The thing about nuts is, keep an eye on them.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09We want them to toast, we don't want them to burn.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11If you burn them, they get really bitter
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and that's going to murder those lovely flavours in our stuffing.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17So keep any eye on them.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20That's a lovely stuffing. It's very nice with pork.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23It's very old-fashioned, isn't it?
0:06:23 > 0:06:27It's a really good, old-fashioned stuffing.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Finely chop the onions and garlic
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and then soften in butter for three to four minutes.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37And now for the magic ingredient! Can you pass us an apple, please?
0:06:39 > 0:06:41- Bramley or eating?- Bramley, please.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44- Incoming!- Thank you.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49We have been eating ducks for a long time.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It's always tradition to eat them with some fruity sauce.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55We've been doing it for years.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00I'm going to quarter a Bramley apple.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Then we'll cut it into chunks.
0:07:03 > 0:07:10And that is also going to go into the stuffing.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Everybody's got their own culture of fruit eating with duck.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16We have duck with apple and peas.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Polish people have it with red cabbage and sweet sultanas.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22And the Italians have been known to have it with duck and cherry.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25French have the duck a l'orange.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Iranians have duck with pomegranate and walnuts.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32It's not just duck has a history in our country, apples have as well.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34In our sceptred isle,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36there are more than 2,000 varieties of apples.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40That's a different type of apple for every day for six years!
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Cook the apple with the onion and garlic until soft and squishy.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50It smells fabulous.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53I love the way the apple goes so well with fatty meat
0:07:53 > 0:07:56like apple and belly pork or apple and duck.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59It's the sharpness of apples like Bramleys that offset
0:07:59 > 0:08:01the grease and the fat in the meat.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06It's that acidity. It cuts straight through it.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10- We will add some parsley and the zest of an orange!- Oh!
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Mrs Worthington, put your slippers on,
0:08:14 > 0:08:15you're in for a treat.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Don't you wish you had something more exciting
0:08:18 > 0:08:21than fish fingers for your tea now?!
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- Put that fish finger sandwich down. - Go out and shoot a duck!
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Only joking! Stay in and watch this!
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Stick the apple, onion and garlic
0:08:32 > 0:08:35in with the hazelnuts and the golden brown bread cubes.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Parsley in stuffing is great
0:08:41 > 0:08:45and the orange zest will give it a zingy citrus kick.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50The hot apple will begin to make those golden croutons go soggy.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54That will all bake in the duck.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Now it's time to stuff a duck!
0:08:59 > 0:09:03- It's not every day you get to stuff a duck.- They are only little.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05You can have one duck per person.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11Proper old-fashioned, earthy lovely flavours.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15In the tin, I have made a bed of sliced onions.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18It's like a trivet for the ducks to rest
0:09:18 > 0:09:20on and that will give us really good gravy.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24- Really nice. - The problem with wild ducks
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and a lot of wild game is it going dry.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29With this, we are using butter and bacon.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Don't be shy with the butter!
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- Beautiful.- You will not be dry!
0:09:38 > 0:09:41You will be juicy!
0:09:41 > 0:09:43You are full of stuffing!
0:09:43 > 0:09:47You are covered in butter and now you are wrapped in bacon!
0:09:47 > 0:09:49You will be plump and juicy!
0:09:49 > 0:09:55On that note, to ensure this, we only cook it for 35 minutes.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59It's best eaten slightly on the pink side,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02you overcook this, it will be like a doggy chew.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Place these in a pre-heated oven, a hot oven,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07about 200-220 degrees Celsius.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11It's a hot oven, it's a short, sharp shock of a cook!
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- A short time later... - 35 minutes to be exact.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- It's ready.- Oh, lovely.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Let's get them out. Time to make the gravy.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Put the roasting tin on the hob and stir in a little of the flour.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Any flour will do.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Then scrape up all those lovely crispy bits, and the onions.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Fruity flavours go well with duck and game.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I'm going to put some sherry in the gravy
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and let that bubble for a few minutes
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and then top it up with chicken stock.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09- Marvellous.- Oh yeah, that's lovely. - Isn't it?!
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Dave, do you ever find gravy really hypnotic?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Mmm, gravy!
0:11:20 > 0:11:26Snap out if it, we've gotta crack on and make this gravy silky smooth.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Saucepan for the sauce.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- Sieve for the lumps.- Look at that.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35That's great gravy.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I'll put that on a low light now to cook a bit more.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Shall we have a tasting platter? - I think so, me old mucker.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48A bit of crispy bacon. Never go wrong.
0:11:51 > 0:11:57- That's cooked nice. - A little spoon full of the gravy.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Not forgetting some of that wonderful stuffing.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04You know what, for me, I think the stuffing's the best bit.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I thought that since I was a kid!
0:12:11 > 0:12:16Wow! I'll agree with that.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20- That's very good. - That stuffing is great.- Oh yes!
0:12:20 > 0:12:25The flavour of that duck breast is really big.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28It's a very different flavour. It's a different texture.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32It's in the wild. It's a wild animal. It works hard.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35The flavour is a bit deeper and it's a lot more gamier.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40Which justifies that wonderful apple and herby stuffing.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Really, that on a plate does depict
0:12:42 > 0:12:46the British countryside and the waterways.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49We have the wild mallard from our rivers,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52the apples from our orchards, the hazelnuts,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54the rosemary, the herbs.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57- It really is kind of Britain on a plate, that.- It is.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59And very proud we are of it, too.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03To make our Hairy Bikers' roast duck
0:13:03 > 0:13:06with apple and rosemary stuffing and sherry gravy,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08you can use any shop-bought duck.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10And although we used Bramleys,
0:13:10 > 0:13:15any nice tangy variety of English apple will do the job just as well.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Now we're on the road to try our hand at fly-fishing
0:13:20 > 0:13:24on one of our finest waterways, the River Usk in Wales.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30The Glanusk estate is home to Tiggy Pettifer and her family.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34They've been fishing for their supper for generations.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Growing up by the river, Tiggy learnt to fish as a young girl
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and is now a fly-fishing instructor.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49We're looking forward to improving our techniques
0:13:49 > 0:13:51with some top tips from a master!
0:13:53 > 0:13:58- Good morning.- We're going fishing! - We have so looked forward to this.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Well, a bit of screaming reels, hopefully.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Let's say our casting is not the most delicate.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05We're what's known as...
0:14:05 > 0:14:08We fish quite a lot, but we're a pair of thrashers.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11You won't be by the time I have finished with you!
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Yes, we need to know.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16As far as casting's concerned, for us, it's 10-to-2,
0:14:16 > 0:14:1810-to-2, put their eye out!
0:14:18 > 0:14:22That's a different technique than I know, but we'll give it a go.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24- We do lose a lot of fish!- Yes.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28We have a lot of stories, but maybe not so many in the pan.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34The estate has relied on fishing to keep it fed for centuries
0:14:34 > 0:14:39and there's a room dedicated to the family's fishy history.
0:14:39 > 0:14:45With all great grandpas, his stags, and his fish, and his rods.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51If you could sum it up, what is it about fishing that you love?
0:14:51 > 0:14:54It is the most exciting thing.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58It's the anticipation of every single cast.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01You think, "This is the one! Here we go, here we go." So exciting.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04It's the most lovely feeling.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06What I love about fly-fishing
0:15:06 > 0:15:08- is you get to eat what you catch. - Yeah, always.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11I love that. You take it to the table. You eat it.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14That is the full cycle which has gone on since prehistoric times.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Family tradition means every fish caught is noted down
0:15:18 > 0:15:22and over the years the estate has had some impressive trophies.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30My grandfather caught 58 trout in one day.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- It's the all-time record. - 58 trout?!
0:15:34 > 0:15:36To his own rod, him.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40They go all the way back to 1904.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44- The fishing is in your blood? - It really is.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49One's been incredibly lucky to have a mother and a grandmother
0:15:49 > 0:15:54who both stalked fish and Dad was up for his girls
0:15:54 > 0:15:57doing exactly the same as the boys.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01So one was - it was always assumed we would want to.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03I think what's fascinating about this,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07it's a reflection of how many fish were caught for table, to eat.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12- Yes.- Is that how the estate fed itself?- Very much so.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15The whole estate was a community to itself.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17It had its own dairy, creamery.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Mum can remember making the cream and the butter.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24So the whole estate was sustainable within a community
0:16:24 > 0:16:26and everybody fed everybody.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27Thanks for showing...
0:16:27 > 0:16:30- I'm itching to get on the river. - Can we go fishing?!
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Yes, let's go catch fish!
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Ooh, I'm so excited.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40- It's time to get suited... - And booted.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Marvellous!- Lovely.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50- You look good.- So do you. Hunter gatherer.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Come and meet Stuart.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- He's got some rods then we will head on down.- Morning.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59- Very nice to meet you. - Very nice to meet you.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01We have two rods for you. Both identical.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06- A standard river trout rod. - That's lovely.- Perfect.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09How long have you been fishing this river, Stuart?
0:17:09 > 0:17:14I think I have fished it for 40 seasons. As near as damn it!
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'Right we've got the best guides in the business,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19'and we've got all the right gear...
0:17:19 > 0:17:22'But no idea! And Dave's caught something already.'
0:17:26 > 0:17:28OK, Dave, creep in.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32But we're not just here to catch dinner,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35we're here to learn.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- Rod tip down. Relax.- OK. - We're fishing.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Well done. That's great.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- That's the best cast yet. - Very nice, Dave.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49'Fly-fishing takes years of practice to become a master caster.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52'Tiggy and Stuart's knowledge of this river is amazing.'
0:17:52 > 0:17:55There was a reasonable fish rising there.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'And up until today I thought I knew what I was doing.'
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- Don't...- Sorry!
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Don't drop it behind you.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08The art of fly-fishing has been around for centuries.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12The idea is to trick the trout into believing that your hook
0:18:12 > 0:18:14is actually an insect that has landed on the water.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16There's a little rise.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18That's when the trouties have come up
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and they are sucking the flies off the top
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and then he's dropping back down again.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27'It appears as if I've got the hang of it.'
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- You in?- Oh aye!- God love him!
0:18:35 > 0:18:37You can't eat those, they're too small!
0:18:37 > 0:18:39It's another monster.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42We are going to catch one.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47- We'll beat them.- That's five! - Five, mate.- Yeah.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51This is absolute heaven.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Izaac Walton wrote in his The Complete Angler
0:18:55 > 0:18:58"Time spent fly-fishing isn't deducted from the sum total
0:18:58 > 0:19:03"of your life, so two years on the river means you have an extra two."
0:19:03 > 0:19:05In that case I shall live to 200!
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Fishing isn't just a passion of us Hairy Bikers,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13it's a national obsession.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17And officially it's Britain's most popular pastime.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23But it was the Victorians who made fishing fashionable fun for all,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25for posh and working classes alike.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27And provided the British with
0:19:27 > 0:19:30the perfect excuse to get out of the house.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33There's nothing like it, nothing in the world.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37But it's the sense of competition that's half the fun.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39This is a float tube.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42It's a sophisticated inner tube from a lorry tyre.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45With a tube, you're so low down, they come in very close to you.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48You can get two or three shots at them.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51It's just absolutely addictive.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57So pike, carp and other coarse fish
0:19:57 > 0:19:59favoured by those foodie monks
0:19:59 > 0:20:02of the Middle Ages now help us prove our manliness...
0:20:05 > 0:20:07What a lovely fish.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09'Only an expert can bring in his fish this way!'
0:20:09 > 0:20:12..and our womanliness!
0:20:13 > 0:20:16I think women are better than men at fishing.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Women have far more patience and tenacity,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and so, consequently, they stand a better chance of catching a fish.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25Now relax. You can have a jolly...
0:20:25 > 0:20:27SI LAUGHS
0:20:27 > 0:20:31And it appears that my guide's feminine touch is paying off.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Dave!
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Eat your heart out, honey!
0:20:36 > 0:20:40You got the little ones, but we got the big one!
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Well done, Si.- Thank you, darling.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45Well dabtastic!
0:20:45 > 0:20:47- Well done, mate.- Thanks, mate.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50'Right. Job done. Let's get cooking!'
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Wow! Hunter-gathers provided dinner. You're good at this, you.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Well, it's just quite fun, isn't it? - It's fantastic.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- There's not many food sensations beat this, is there?- No.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The river, catch the trout, put it on a fire, eat it.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- Can you get a better lunch? - No, you can't beat it.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10Here's to you, boys.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Well done. Yummy, yummy!
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- That's good.- There's something elemental about this.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21At some point in our evolution, we have all done this.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26Fished, cooked it, eaten it. Brilliant.
0:21:26 > 0:21:32Mate, I've got to hand it to you. I got five, but they were so small.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Today, you are the man!
0:21:35 > 0:21:39- Tig?- Yes, Si.- Shall we tell them?
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Lunch has come from two pools up there two nights ago!
0:21:43 > 0:21:45You mean, you planted them?
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Well, I didn't!
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I just held the rod.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54Bless you!
0:21:54 > 0:21:57We had to have something just in case we didn't have any luck.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01I have learnt more the past two hours
0:22:01 > 0:22:04than I have in 30 years of thrashing the water on my own!
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- Does life get any better than this? - Not really.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18'Now us Brits have a voracious appetite for TV cooking programmes.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21'And we Hairy Bikers owe our love of food to those classic TV chefs
0:22:21 > 0:22:24'who helped to change British eating habits,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28'and who inspired us as a nation to get into the kitchen.'
0:22:28 > 0:22:29'So we're going to catch up
0:22:29 > 0:22:32'with a legend who hit our screens in the '80s.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36'He loved the British waterways and their produce as much as we do.'
0:22:36 > 0:22:41- Fancy a bit of Floyd? One of the old ones - Floyd On Fish.- Yes.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Brilliant.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Lovely!
0:22:48 > 0:22:50FLOYD'S THEME TUNE PLAYS
0:22:54 > 0:22:59That theme tune, when this came on you knew you were in for a treat.
0:22:59 > 0:23:06- You did.- He made cooking fun. He had a good time. He had a good drink!
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Look at the size of that mouth.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10It seems to be a terrible thing to do to your family,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13but I always wanted my mother-in-law on one of my programmes
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and it's taken me 25 years to catch her actually!
0:23:16 > 0:23:17LAUGHTER
0:23:18 > 0:23:22I'm going to show you how to cook this magnificent beast.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26One of the first things you have to do is cut him.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29We're going to take a superb fillet off here,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31running the knife hopefully up the bone...
0:23:32 > 0:23:34He's just hacked a lump off!
0:23:34 > 0:23:39I'm sorry. I have just done that completely the wrong way round.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43You must always start filleting a fish from its head
0:23:43 > 0:23:45and run with the flow of the fish.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- Do you know what I love about him? He was dead honest.- He was.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51It's, like, "There it is, that is what I do. This is it."
0:23:51 > 0:23:54I'm sorry. I will do it properly from hereon in.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Before that, I will have a little slurp
0:23:56 > 0:23:58because I'm a bit nervous today.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02I'm hot, tired, trying to do it right and make mistakes.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Please excuse me.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05DAVE LAUGHS There we are.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09I'm back at the piano, which is what we gastronauts call a cooker.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11I'm sorry for the cock-up earlier.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Now I will get down to the serious business of turning a pike,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16a fish which some people throw to their cats,
0:24:16 > 0:24:17or even back into the river,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20or generally despise, into a gastronomic delight.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23I'll show you what we're doing.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Trust Floyd to cook up an unfashionable fish like pike.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30It was unheard of on British menus in the '80s.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Yet it was a staple food for centuries.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37In the Middle Ages, nutritionally it was as important as bread.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Well, Floyd got us eating all kinds of fish.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43He got the nation cooking. He got the nation enjoying food.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Actually, I remember people,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48at those times, people didn't eat much fish at all.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50As with all fish, if you are poaching them,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52the liquid must be still.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54This IS cooking. It's not bubbling away.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57If the liquid is bubbling, it will destroy the flesh of the fish.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01- Proper cooking.- Yeah, it is. - It wasn't cooking made easy.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03I can remember buying his cook books
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- and it got me cooking properly.- Yeah.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Cos he was a classically-trained French chef.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12- He had a French restaurant in France as an Englishman!- Yeah.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14We can let that reduce a little.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17THUMPING OFF-SCREEN
0:25:17 > 0:25:18If you heard any noises there,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20the cameramen were tripping over their equipment.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23It's a very hot, tight kitchen.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25He was a restaurateur who was discovered
0:25:25 > 0:25:27- and asked to be on the telly.- Yeah.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31But he kind of... He strikes you as someone who thought,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33"Well, why not? It would be good for the restaurant."
0:25:33 > 0:25:36He didn't... He just went on and did it.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38OK, so one egg yolk in...plop. Come on in.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I remember being very, very interested in food,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45what Mam did and what my sister did and what me brother did
0:25:45 > 0:25:46and how they cooked.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Then when he came along, it blew that out of the water.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50It was, like, "Wow!"
0:25:50 > 0:25:53It was exciting. It was an adventure.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58And people must never forget Floyd filmed 20 television series
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and around 25 books.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02That is a lot of work.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06- His programmes are still being shown in 40 countries.- Yeah.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08That is incredible.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11How he propelled food into...
0:26:11 > 0:26:16It was just wonderment and kind of excitement
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and this kind of slightly eccentric character
0:26:20 > 0:26:24and personality who was just having a great time with food.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27What the French would call "nap", which is a lovely word,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29but we're going to call it "coat".
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Coat the fish.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Before then, it was instructional,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38but Floyd took you with him as gastronauts on a great adventure.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Isn't that pretty? What a wonderful way to celebrate freshwater fish.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45You could do this with perch, you could do it with trout,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48you could do it with carp, you could do it with pike,
0:26:48 > 0:26:49you could do it with anything.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51One little mouthful.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52There he goes again -
0:26:52 > 0:26:55really bigging up all those fish we used to eat centuries ago.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57For those of you who might be fishermen
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and catch a pike and throw it back or feed it to your cat
0:27:00 > 0:27:03or say it's inedible because it's full of bones and tastes earthy,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I have to tell you, you are quite wrong!
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Yes, it's a real call to arms to get us fishing in our waterways
0:27:09 > 0:27:12and eating our freshwater fish.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Whilst Floyd likes to delicately poach his catch...
0:27:22 > 0:27:26..in Gloucestershire on the River Wye there's one fish
0:27:26 > 0:27:29that provided a seasonal treat for lucky locals for generations.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33But now this fish has almost disappeared from their diet.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37It's not really a fish, is it?
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Yes, it is, but it's an elongated fish.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47And although it might not win any fish beauty pageants,
0:27:47 > 0:27:48our Best Of British Food Hero
0:27:48 > 0:27:50thinks the eel is Britain's loveliest fish
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and wants to get them back on our dinner plates.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56It is a fantastic creature.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00It's strong, it's quick, you know.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05And when you come to eat it, yeah, when you come to eat that product,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08it's got genuine flavour, it's got real bite
0:28:08 > 0:28:11It's just a fantastic fish to eat.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19Richard Cook's passion for eels started when he was a boy,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22fishing with his dad for elvers or baby eels,
0:28:22 > 0:28:23which the locals used to go mad for.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31- It is like a drug. - It's almost a drug!
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Yeah, yeah, the fishing gets in your blood.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38To go home and have a feed of elvers with some good fatty bacon,
0:28:38 > 0:28:43well, it was paradise for them.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44It was caviar.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Historically, people living close to major rivers
0:28:49 > 0:28:51have always loved their eel treats - jellied eels, eel pie -
0:28:51 > 0:28:55but in Gloucestershire it's the baby eels, or elvers,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57that were a specialty for hundreds of years.
0:29:00 > 0:29:05All eels are born in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09They spend two years swimming to the UK to grow up in our waterways.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11And in Gloucestershire fishermen would
0:29:11 > 0:29:14gather on the river as elvers arrived on the spring tide.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Fishing and eating them was major part of local life.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23There was 1,000 men fishing eels on the Severn,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26so this was a big industry
0:29:26 > 0:29:29that operated under the cloak of darkness.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31It only happens during the dark of night
0:29:31 > 0:29:37and the tides are better during the dark for fishing.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41- It was a great night out, wasn't it? - Yeah.- It was a great night out.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45There was always a fire, there was always...
0:29:45 > 0:29:49they'd always have a bottle of beer or a bottle of cider.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54- It was a great craic.- Yeah.- It was a great craic.- Yeah.- You know.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56Bear in mind, this is poor man's food.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01This is peasant's food. Fishing for elvers was a right of the poor.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03The salmon fishing and the sea trout
0:30:03 > 0:30:05fishing that took place in this river,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08that was controlled by the Crown, or by landowners and aristocracy.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Elver fishing was for the peasants.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13It's a way of life.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16It is a culture I have been involved in and Dad's taken me on the river.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20And we've both... And our family's been involved in, yeah?
0:30:20 > 0:30:22And it's...it's been good to us.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26My life experiences have been built up on the river, you know.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29Richard has turned his passion
0:30:29 > 0:30:33for eel and all things fishy into a family business.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36His smokehouse supplies some of the UK's top retailers.
0:30:36 > 0:30:41And he's determined to make eel fishing and consumption sustainable
0:30:41 > 0:30:43to keep this local tradition alive.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46He now only sells adult eels which have been farmed in Europe...
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Because in the UK, there's a problem.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53In fact, there's an eel crisis.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Nobody can be exactly sure why, but in the last 25 years
0:30:58 > 0:31:01the number of baby eels arriving on the spring tide
0:31:01 > 0:31:03has decreased by 95%.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06So tragically the Gloucestershire tradition of fishing for elvers
0:31:06 > 0:31:10and eating them by the pint has died out completely.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Richard believes that one reason for the decrease in elvers
0:31:12 > 0:31:15is that some of them get caught up in weirs and dams
0:31:15 > 0:31:17on their way through our waterways.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23The fish get into the river and they're stuck.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25They can't get over the weirs.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27They can't get out of the sluice gates.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30We have to find a way of helping these fish.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35But Richard's got a plan to keep eel-eating on the local menu.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Richard catches the elvers as they arrive,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42before they get caught in the machinery.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46Then he releases them into lakes and marshland where they can feed
0:31:46 > 0:31:50and grow to adult size, ready to make the journey back to Bermuda
0:31:50 > 0:31:53for some sun, sea, sand and...reproduction.
0:32:00 > 0:32:01We don't conserve this eel
0:32:01 > 0:32:05because we think it is going to be pretty to look at in the future.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10You'll never see them. This was an important source of food locally.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14I just want other people to enjoy what is a brilliant...
0:32:14 > 0:32:16a brilliant fish to eat.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Richard also involves
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Gloucestershire schools in his local conservation project,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26part of a European campaign to save the eel.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Can you see them? There they go.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34He wants to show a new generation that
0:32:34 > 0:32:37sustainable farmed adult eel is tasty too.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39He's brought Tanya, head chef in his restaurant,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42to cook up some eel treats here on the river bank.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48I am hoping, I am hoping, I am desperately hoping, yeah,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50that we can engage these children
0:32:50 > 0:32:53to try and eat and enjoy this fantastic food product.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55Fantastic. Well done.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Are these slimy?
0:32:58 > 0:33:00I did a good bit of research on the internet about eel pie,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04trying to come up with a really sort of authentic 18th-century recipe.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06I got a classic short suet pastry,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09then we poached the eel in its own stock
0:33:09 > 0:33:12after cooking them, and made a nice liquor with some bacon,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15with a little bit of cream and parsley.
0:33:15 > 0:33:21This is basically just the plain skinned, filleted fresh eel
0:33:21 > 0:33:22which was done this morning.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25We've done nothing to it. We haven't put any seasoning on it.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29This one will be barbecued and have its natural flavour as it is.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Those lucky kids are getting well stuck in to smoked eel kebabs
0:33:34 > 0:33:35and jellied eel.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37And they're loving it!
0:33:37 > 0:33:38There you go.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41It is so yummy!
0:33:41 > 0:33:46I had all the eels that you can imagine!
0:33:47 > 0:33:49We can't believe how popular it's been.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51The children have been coming back for seconds.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53This has been the most popular, the smoked eel.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58Just little skewers and simply cooked on the barbecue like this.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01The true barometer of the success
0:34:01 > 0:34:04is that the kids are coming back for seconds,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07so I am absolutely delighted, yeah, that these children
0:34:07 > 0:34:10are now engaged in smoked eel and are engaged in fresh eel.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13It will become important to them in the future, I hope.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16That's a really great thing for us.
0:34:16 > 0:34:17I don't know about you, Si,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21but that has certainly changed the way I feel about eel.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33The great thing about fish is you can eat it fresh from the river,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37like we did with Tiggy or with a fancy sauce like Floyd.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41- So if you fancy a bit of sauce with your fish...- I do!
0:34:41 > 0:34:45..here's the Hairy Bikers homage to the great British waterways.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50But with ingredients that you can find at your local supermarket.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52We are going to do rainbow trout
0:34:52 > 0:34:55with a creamy prawn sauce on a bed of watercress.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00This is a classic fish sauce. It is good with all fish.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04It's good with everything, with Dover sole, cod goes really nice
0:35:04 > 0:35:06and any meaty white fish is good too.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10Oil goes into a pan.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14What we want to do is first brown off some onion, fennel,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18which goes well with fish, celery and carrot.
0:35:18 > 0:35:24This is rustic. We want the veg for flavour, not for appearance,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26so there's none of your fancy mirepoix.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- Fennel is great with fish, isn't it, Kingy?- Absolutely lovely.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37What's nice about fennel is it has a lovely aniseed flavour.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39It is very gentle. Really nice.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41It's a little sweet as well, which is good.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46Don't worry about browning this veg. You want a bit of colour on it.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50- Celery leaves are great.- Fabulous.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54They are full of flavour and hardly anybody uses them, but do,
0:35:54 > 0:35:56because they're... Ah! ..lovely, man.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10This really will start to smell good!
0:36:10 > 0:36:13We're shelling the prawns to use later in the sauce
0:36:13 > 0:36:16but we're not going to waste the heads and tails,
0:36:16 > 0:36:17they'll flavour the stock.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22What we do now is, we take the heads off...shell 'em.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25You can do this while that's cooking down.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32There's the poo tube down the prawn. See that?
0:36:32 > 0:36:35It's like a black elastic band.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40You want that out. You don't want to eat what the prawn's been eating!
0:36:40 > 0:36:43I know this bowl may look like a fisherman's dustbin -
0:36:43 > 0:36:45that's full of flavour.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49- That's the foundation stone of our sauce.- Yes.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54- If you can get flavour out of it, don't throw it away!- No.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Now, these go in here...
0:36:58 > 0:37:00..because this is the basis of your stock.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02You could write a cookbook -
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Things To Do With Stuff You Should Have Put In The Bin.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09Now, a top tip -
0:37:09 > 0:37:15take a wooden spoon, or two, and give them a bash,
0:37:15 > 0:37:19just so you are extracting as much flavour as you can.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Give it a mush. We're going to strain this sauce,
0:37:23 > 0:37:25so all the big chunks of veg, the prawn heads, tails
0:37:25 > 0:37:28and everything, they go in the dustbin.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Once we have extracted the goodness. Smells great.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35Next step, tomato puree. We need to cook this in for a minute.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41A good old glug of wine in true Floyd tradition.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45I always remember one thing that Keith Floyd said that stuck with me
0:37:45 > 0:37:47was, "Never use wine for cooking
0:37:47 > 0:37:50"that you wouldn't be prepared to drink."
0:37:50 > 0:37:53- I think he's right.- Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56What's the point in putting cheap wine into great food?
0:37:56 > 0:37:58- Let's have a bit more, then!- Go on!
0:38:00 > 0:38:04To this we add water...and salt.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12And that, my friends, needs to simmer for 40 minutes.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Cor, look at that!
0:38:15 > 0:38:18After the stock has simmered, we're going to make sure there's
0:38:18 > 0:38:22no bits of prawn shell left in by straining it through a muslin cloth.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Make sure it's clean. Don't use dyed cloth,
0:38:25 > 0:38:30or all of a sudden your sauce turns purple! I know. I've done it!
0:38:30 > 0:38:34- My mother used to use her old tights, but it is not nice.- No.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39- Did you get many visitors for dinner after school?- No.
0:38:42 > 0:38:43Mash it through.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Next!
0:38:52 > 0:38:54That's quite a potent broth.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59We're going to reduce this even more.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Add cream and salt and then cook the prawns in that sauce
0:39:05 > 0:39:09and that is what we're using to dress the watercress and the trout.
0:39:09 > 0:39:10And don't forget -
0:39:10 > 0:39:15all "reduction" means is reducing the volume to intensify the flavour.
0:39:15 > 0:39:20That means that if we lose weight, we should get stronger,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22which would probably be true.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Let's talk trout.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27These are rainbow trout fillets.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31Rainbow trout is what you will find in British supermarkets.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34We first farmed trout in Britain in the 1950s
0:39:34 > 0:39:38and it was a Danish entrepreneur who set up a trout farm in Lincolnshire.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Now we have 360 fish farms in Britain,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46producing 16,000 tonnes of trout a year.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49And that's a testament to the amount of trout that we eat.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52We've mega-flavours going on in that sauce.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55So the trout, it's a pure flavour, it's lovely.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57We're not going to confuse that.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59We simply fry them in oil and butter.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02Place these in, skin-side down.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Don't forget that top Hairy Bikers tip -
0:40:04 > 0:40:06oil in the pan first, then the butter.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09The oil stops the butter from burning.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13You still get the butter flavour and that lovely golden colour.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Now add cream to the reduced stock to give it a rich loveliness.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22It's really quite intense, isn't it?
0:40:22 > 0:40:26- It is.- We're going to drop the prawns in.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28That will add to the flavour of it.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32We're using fresh raw prawns which will turn a lovely pink colour when cooked.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Be careful you don't overcook them or they will end up as a chew
0:40:36 > 0:40:38and we don't want that, do we?
0:40:38 > 0:40:42'Once the trout has cooked for four minutes, skin side down,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- 'the skin is really easy to take off.'- Beautiful.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49'And the other side just needs to cook for another three minutes.'
0:40:49 > 0:40:51See how the skin's coming away?
0:40:51 > 0:40:54That's what I want. I want to lose that.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58Easy-peasy lemon squeezy! This is good fish.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04As soon as those prawns are pink... we're ready.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09- We are ready to talk watercress. - We certainly are.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12This is watercress from the chalk streams of Hampshire.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14It's interesting that it's sold in posies.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16This goes back to Victorian times
0:41:16 > 0:41:18when the train would go up to London
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and children would go round the streets and Covent Garden market
0:41:21 > 0:41:24selling posies of watercress.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Victorians would eat them like ice creams, just like a cornet.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30What was lovely, a watercress sandwich,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34cos it's so full of iron and purifying things for your blood.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37People would have watercress sandwiches for breakfast.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41It's full of vitamin C. It's full of calcium.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44It's a bit of a super-food, watercress.
0:41:44 > 0:41:45It's very peppery.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48We used to mix it with samphire and serve it with fish.
0:41:48 > 0:41:49Watercress and samphire, the samphire's salty -
0:41:49 > 0:41:52it was like nature's salt and pepper.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Let's get a couple of these trout fillets out.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05I think you'll agree... that's kind of perfect.
0:42:08 > 0:42:09Beautiful.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Ho-ho-ho! Simon King - prawn sculpture.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16That's what you call prawnography on television!
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Some of that...over the top.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23There we have it, our homage to the British waterways.
0:42:23 > 0:42:29- Trout with...- prawns on a bed of... - Hampshire watercress. Ooh!
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Looks good. Tastes good.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34By golly, that's going to do you good.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44So from the medieval tradition of fish on a Friday...
0:42:44 > 0:42:46..to fishing becoming a national obsession...
0:42:46 > 0:42:49..British waterways have shaped our culinary landscape
0:42:49 > 0:42:52and our culture for thousands of years.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57And if you want to know more...
0:42:57 > 0:43:02Visit...
0:43:02 > 0:43:06..to discover some amazing facts about the history of food...
0:43:06 > 0:43:10..and to find out how to cook up the recipes in today's show.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd