Picnics 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.

'Outstanding food producers.'

Brilliant, isn't it?

'And innovative chefs.

'But we also have an amazing food history.

-Brilliant!

-Oh, wow!

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

'Now during this series,'

we are 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.'

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, the best of British!

Thankfully, in the UK,

we're blessed with some of the most picturesque countryside in the world.

A spectacular setting for eating outdoors.

We also have the best cuisine.

When you combine that with an unwavering fortitude, even the British weather won't put us off

getting out there and enjoying it.

So, with taste buds tingling,

today we're exploring our history of dining al fresco.

Our beautiful Britain. And we Brits love a picnic.

-We do, in spite of the weather, we love it.

-We persevere.

We have this need to eat outdoors.

But what was your favourite picnic of all time, Si?

I think it would have to be on Bamburgh Beach in Northumberland

with me mam and me dad, me brother, me sister,

and me favourite sandwich was a tongue and English mustard sandwich, with some tomato.

It was totally brilliant. You'd get sand in it.

-And also a flask of tea that tasted of the flask.

-Very special!

-What was yours, mate?

-I think it's on the beach again,

it's long endless summer days with me mother on the beach at Walney Island, we'd always have this -

white bread and tomato sandwich, but the trick was,

she'd always put sugar on the tomatoes,

and after it had been sweating in the lunchbox for a while,

the tomatoes would kind of turn to syrup.

I remember it being the best sandwich I ever tasted, even though it was covered in sand!

-I can smell the beach ball in the sun, do you know what I mean?

-I know exactly what you mean.

And it's funny, because that's what food is,

food's evocative of the time and a space and a place, I love that.

But there's something about a picnic, it sticks in your soul.

Over the years, picnics have become deeply ingrained in our national psyche.

In a recent survey,

91% of British people said they loved to eat their food outdoors.

Aye, the minute the sun comes out, and even when it doesn't.

Any excuse, and we're out there like a shot.

In fact, sometimes we barely make it out of the car before cracking out the hamper.

But it's something we've been enjoying for an awfully long time.

So we're following tradition to celebrate the sumptuous fare

that has its roots in this ancient ritual.

And our first stop is a very classy affair indeed.

-Oh, we've arrived.

-Born to it, born to it!

Now, you may think of the picnic as a rather relaxed affair.

Bit chilled out, all al fresco, with your sandy sandwiches on the beach,

eating your pork pie, and your boiled egg in a deckchair.

I beg to differ!

The origins of the picnic are far posher than that.

Oh, yes. For the aristocracy, the picnic has always been an elegant,

and yet elaborate affair.

But you know, the posh picnic is still very much part of today's social calendar,

from Goodwood to Glyndebourne and Royal Ascot.

But today, we're in Tetbury, at the Beaufort Polo Club,

and we're going to find out exactly how the other half picnics.

-Tally ho, huzzah!

-Crack on, you naughty filly!

What have you got in this?!

Oh everything - pies, scones, chicken tikka masala, everything.

Paradise in a hamper.

Today's picnickers are following in the footsteps of their aristocratic ancestors.

The picnic started off as a hunting feast for upper-class medieval folk to enjoy the spoils of their sport.

Before the hunt, everyone would tuck into a huge meal

with lots of lovely hams, pastries and baked meats.

Of course, when I say everyone,

I mean the lords and their entourage.

Yeah, the peasants would be lucky to get a lump of bread between them!

By Elizabethan times, the ritual expanded to include a second feast, made with the spoils from the hunt.

Two picnics in one day... seems only right!

Except at this stage, these guys had no idea they were even on a picnic.

It wasn't until the 18th century that the French word "pique-nique" came into use in Angleterre.

But it would really come into its own in the Victorian era, when trips to the countryside and seaside

became really popular.

And by the Edwardian years, they were right refined affairs,

with tables, chairs and servants.

There was nothing the hoi polloi liked better than nibbling away at such delicacies

as game pies, lobster and crab.

As the years went on, the appeal spread

and the picnic became as much a part of the British summer

as Wimbledon being stopped for rain.

But a little bit of rain never stopped us!

Oh, this is so English.

Especially when we have a whole host of goodies just waiting for us

to get stuck into.

-Pies.

-Yes, no, go on.

-You've got to have pies on a picnic.

And you know us, we don't like to skimp when it comes to food.

Ah, look, you don't get any better on a picnic than a very large loaf,

because you can just tear it off and dip it in your olive oil

and eat your olives.

Yes, but I need that bread to make my sandwiches.

-You can have half.

-Napkins.

Look, just to bring out the vulgar in me, chicken tikka.

You minger, you haven't bought chicken tikka? That's wrong.

After you've had a few drinks, just something to nibble.

I've got something that's floppy in there, I don't know what that is.

Oh, more pies. Pork pies!

Put them on our platter, go on.

I think one thing's becoming apparent, Dave.

When we come to picnic, if there's only the two of us,

we're going to be here for a long time.

If you do something, do it properly.

And to make sure we do just that we've invited along Liz Brewer,

an etiquette expert and one of the poshest picnickers on the block.

-Hello.

-I've arrived.

-Hello, Liz.

-Hello, Dave, nice to see you.

I'm looking forward to this.

Oh, I'd love some.

'She's hosted her fair share of society picnics

'for the great and the good, and she knows how to do it proper.'

Thank you so much. I do a picnic every year.

It's quite a grand picnic at Royal Ascot.

It is laid out, absolutely impeccable

and all the waiters and waitresses wear proper outfits to serve.

It's magic because people are dressed up,

they are wearing their Ascot hats, but at the same time,

it's informal because it's a picnic.

'The picnics Liz organises are in the spirit of the lavish ones

'held in the Victorian era.'

Back then, escaping the uptight confines of the dining room

was a truly liberating experience for the upper classes.

Dining was formal, lunching was formal

and it introduced something which was a little bit more natural.

What they thought was, "Let's eat outside and have this picnic."

They would go to huge lengths and carry the food out,

carry the tables and set it up.

What happened was people relaxed.

The young girls could actually have a chance

of chatting to the young men without feeling like they were on duty,

in what you might consider a marriage market.

This gave them a chance of actually meeting eligible young men

and vice versa in natural surroundings.

It brought people down to one level.

But us being British, we couldn't throw all caution to the wind.

Before we could have fun, we needed to be sure

we were doing it properly.

Thankfully in the 1890s, some kind fellow took the trouble

to write down a set of rules.

Thank goodness, you wouldn't want to get it wrong, would you?

This is "Manners And Rules Of Good Society".

This is originally what you'd have to do if you were having a picnic.

It says, the heads of the picnic/parties

should arrange in concert what each is to bring in the way or fish,

flesh, fowl, fruit and wine.

The service of one or two men servants at a large picnic

are generally required to arrange the table,

to open the wine and last but not least,

to collect and repack the articles used

in the way of plate, china or glass.

It's interesting you should say about tidying up,

because Dave and I have a similar process.

We get a corner each and lift and then we're off.

We don't have...

Because of the bikes, it's simple.

'Your choice of picnic fare can say a lot about you as a person.

'We're off to find out more about our fellow picnickers

'by checking out some of the other spreads.'

I wonder what they've got.

Let's do a pincer movement, Dave.

-Those prawns look good.

-Fantastic. Nice salmon too.

-You've got more of a seafood route on your picnic.

-It's fresh, lovely.

Quite summery, isn't it?

-Oh, God, yes.

-These are good prawns. Very nice.

What have you got in your hamper?

-Pork pies, pastries, cakes.

-That's a wonderful feast, isn't it?

Do you think it tastes better when it's outdoors?

Oh, absolutely.

The key thing about picnics, is everything is local produce.

What we've got is some wonderful pies and tarts

and it's all about enjoying a good drink and a little bit of a nibble.

This is local pork pie and it's fantastic.

-Wow.

-That's a really, really good pork pie.

Who's the master of this pork pie? Put your hand up.

We're not worthy!

LAUGHTER

That's a belter.

If you wanted to take a pork pie round the world,

it would be that one, that's fantastic.

There's nothing that you don't want to eat.

It's brilliant.

'Seeing such a fine array of food as really inspired us to cook up something very special.'

'Something that wouldn't look out of place

'on even the grandest picnic table.

'So we're heading off and it would only be polite

'to give etiquette expert Liz a lift.'

My mother, when she's on the back of the bike,

she used to tuck her skirt in her knickers.

There you are, Liz, you take that.

Throughout time, picnics have been about coming together

and sharing the dishes each person has brought along.

With that in mind, we're taking to the Best of British kitchen

to show you the perfect contribution to a picnic feast.

This beautiful and tasty coarse country terrine of pork with cornichons.

That's mini gherkins to you and me.

Oh my friend, we've moved on, haven't we?

From those picnics of our childhood, sand in your sandwiches,

green boiled eggs.

Now we're going more upmarket, aren't we?

This terrine is fantastic and it's quite simple to do and it's cheap.

That's why the French have been doing them for years.

We've been doing them since the 18th century. Thank you.

Look, pork shoulder, your basic.

We need to cut this into little chunks.

Little chunkies, little chunkies.

While Dave's chopping his little chunkies, this is pork belly

and we're going to do exactly the same with that.

As well, we have some pork liver and some unsmoked streaky bacon.

Lovely.

Make sure the meat is trimmed but don't worry about the fat,

we need it to make it tasty.

What we do is any sinew or rind, you don't want that, so cut that off.

Get rid of all that.

You want a treat, you don't want mouth aerobics.

'Once you've finished chopping, whack all of the liver,

'half the un-smoked bacon, half the pork belly and half the shoulder into a blender.'

'Add two cloves of crushed garlic and give them a whizz.'

'Don't worry about over blending the meat at this stage, you can't!'

-Let's have a look.

-Oh yes, look at that.

It's smoother than a shaven eel.

Get the rest of the meat in.

A terrine is about texture as well because you have that smooth base

and then you have nice little notes of meat that are slightly chunky.

It's so nice.

The next bit, it's a pulsing vibe. Pulse it.

We want to still retain the integrity of the chunky bits.

-Perfect. That's a lovely blend of rough and smooth.

-It is.

Like ourselves.

'Now scoop the pork mixture into a bowl

'because it's time to add some herbs.'

The flavours that we're going to add to that are really quite classic.

We've got sage, thyme, brandy, juniper and peppercorns.

-There you are.

-Perfect, thank you very much.

So, we want about three tablespoons full of sage

and one tablespoon of thyme.

We're just going to chop those lovely fresh herbs.

'Next, take the peppercorns and juniper berries and smash them up

'using a pestle and mortar.'

This is where all those aromatic smells

begin to bombard your consciousness.

We've always been fond of that bombardment of the old consciousness.

I think a picnic is a sensory bombardment.

Whatever the weather, whether it's rain, hail, snow or sunshine,

you take your picnic out there and it's special.

The food always tastes better.

'Now, add the herbs and spices to the pork and give it a good stir.

'But not before you've added our favourite ingredient.'

Six tablespoons of brandy.

You could use apple brandy, a nice bit of Somerset, Calvados.

The brandy in the recipe serves two purposes.

First of all, flavour, but second, a bit of a preservative for the meat.

Don't forget, there's fluctuations in temperature all the time

when you're out in a picnic and that's what you want.

You've got the alcohol and the fat to preserve it.

Look how preserved my mate is.

-Steady on you.

-Look at him, he's 73.

This is conclusive proof of the preservative effects

of fat and alcohol.

-You know, he's supposed to be me mate!

-You're great.

This really has an awful lot of flavour going on here.

Never has some humble pieces of pork been subject to such care,

love, attention and right royal dressing.

It gets even better.

We need to allow time for these flavours to develop.

'Leave the mixture in the fridge for a few hours or better still, overnight.'

The longer you leave it marinating the more the flavours will sing.

To the fridge!

It's in the basement.

'While we wait, we're going to line the terrine with smoky bacon.'

What we're going to do, we need to elongate the rashers.

How you do that,

take the back of a knife and just gently elongate the rashers.

We're using smoky bacon for this.

It's quite important, it'll give more flavour.

We've got plain bacon in the terrine

so it doesn't fight with the pork shoulder.

The outside smoky bacon.

There's a thin slice of streaky bacon.

If you could stretch it longer, it would be appreciated.

Look, there's only a certain amount you can stretch a bit of streaky.

That's all I'm saying.

Right. Now the fun starts.

This is how to knit bacon.

'Starting at one corner,

'lay the first rasher across the terrine diagonally.

'Leave one edge overhanging the dish by about 5cm.

'Then lay the second rasher across the first from the opposite corner.

'Work your way down the terrine, crossing over the bacon rashers

'herringbone-style from one side to the other.'

There's less skill in the Sistine Chapel than that.

'Leonardo, eat your heart out.'

One more piece, Kingy. We have perfection.

Finished, look at that, lovely.

That's a work of art that, mate.

'Right, time to get the marinated meat mixture into the terrine.

'Spoon it in until it reaches about a third of the way up the side of the dish.'

Then through that, you have the gherkins.

We're going to put them in lines of three

on top of each other like that,

so when you cut the slices out,

you've these nuggets of gherkin or cornichon in the middle.

Again, a feast for the eyes as well as the tonsils.

'Layer on more pork mixture, to about two-thirds full

'and repeat another layer of gherkins.

'All the time be careful you don't nudge them out of place.'

'Once you've filled the terrine to the top, cover it with bacon and wrap over the loose ends.'

Remember, this is going to be the base of the terrine.

The super tidy sides on the top.

It is like putting it to bed.

-It's like tucking you in.

-Yes.

'That's the artistic bit done, now pop the lid on.

'If you don't have one, tin foil will do.

'Then stick it in a roasting tin, pour boiling water around

'to a depth of 2cm

'and place it in the centre of a pre-heated oven to 170 Celsius.'

Leave it to cook for one and a half hours.

Time's winged chariot has sallied forth.

The terrine should be done.

-It's hot!

-It would be, it's just come out of the oven.

We've an order of cooked.

Ah, look at that, man!

We're dealing with raw pork product,

so we want to check the pork is cooked through in the middle.

To do that, take a metal skewer or indeed a filleting knife,

lance it through the middle, wait for a couple of moments,

if the knife is hot, chances are, the pork is cooked.

Is that hot?

Yes.

All that remains is we need to press it.

Cover the terrine with a double layer of foil

and compress the filling with weights.

We've used tins but whatever you can find will do.

Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge overnight.

Oh, look at that.

Look at that!

Welcome, welcome to the world, you beautiful, gorgeous piece of gorgeousness.

Look at that.

All we need now is a bit of alfresco dining to enjoy this

with some crusty bread.

-Oh yes.

-You're beautiful.

-Thank you.

-Not you.

'Well, there's only one place to try this beauty,

'and that's outside, at our own mini-picnic.'

What a picture.

That's a terrine.

That recipe rocks.

So there we have it,

a coarse country terrine of pork with cornichons

infused with garlic, sage, thyme and juniper berries.

Guaranteed to turn heads at even the poshest picnic.

There's one classic British picnic dish

that until recently, may have even have drawn a few sneers.

And that's the humble scotch egg!

What could be more simple?

-You take a hard-boiled egg.

-Wrap it in sausage meat.

-Coat it in breadcrumbs.

-And fry it.

-Job done.

-Fantastic!

The scotch egg's a picnic classic.

But sadly, towards the end of the 20th century,

it started to become a bit overlooked and, dare I say it,

it even suffered a bit of an image problem.

Instead, we got our heads turned by fancy newfangled snacks.

Here, I've gone a bit Continental and I've got a Spanish tortilla.

As you can see, it cuts into nice, thick wedges. That's lovely.

But thankfully, now it appears to be exploding back on the scene

in all its golden glory.

And doing their bit to rehabilitate our breadcrumbed pal,

are Best of British food heroes, Penny and Neil Chambers,

who've turned scotch eggs into a business.

And reminded people

about how special simple British cooking can be.

The number of people who ask me how to make a Scotch egg

is quite incredible.

All you do is wrap a meat around a hard-boiled egg

but you have to get your hands in.

People need to remember that's what it's about.

It's hand-made, passionate, good food made well.

I'm sorry, that may sound very old-fashioned and very odd

in this modern day, but that's what motivates both Penny and myself.

Penny and Neil have come up with their own 21st century take

on the scotch egg, with an array of exotic and exciting new flavours.

The very popular one that we do is the Black Watch with black pudding.

We've got the Old Stager.

A pickled egg wrapped in sausage meat and rolled in crisps.

Because Penny is a vegetarian, we've got vegetarian ones.

By using fresh herbs,

we've come up with The Herburt, using roast vegetables.

We make the scarecrow.

I'm trying to think of all the different ones we do.

We do 50 different varieties

but our best seller is the classic, original, bog standard scotch egg.

There are several theories as to where the scotch egg came from

and most of them suggest it's not Scotland.

In fact, it's been claimed that they were invented

by the swanky London store Fortnum and Mason in 1738

as a portable snack for wealthy coach travellers heading west.

The first printed recipe for them

appeared in 1809 in a book by Mrs Rundell,

who advised serving them hot with gravy.

But it was as a cold snack that they would really take off

and become a British favourite.

Today, Penny and Neil are preparing

for their busiest week of the whole year,

at the hugely popular Cardiff Food Festival.

They're producing more eggs than ever before.

They'll be flying the flag for traditional British cuisine

at this international food festival, which features gastronomic delights

from all over the world.

By the time the festival gates open at midday,

the sun's out and the crowds turn up in force.

It's not the posh paellas

or sizzling steaks pulling in the crowds,

it's their classic with a twist that's going down a storm.

Hi guys, would you like a menu?

Good picnicking weather, I hope,

so they'll come in and buy scotch eggs.

Keep our fingers crossed.

How are you doing? Two Smokey Joe's? A Pippin.

That's the beginning of an addiction.

That's good actually, very good.

I think there's apple in there. Little chunks of apple.

Beautiful.

Vegetarian, it's lovely.

I didn't realise you could do so much with a scotch egg. Who knew?

Lovely job, thank you very much indeed.

'Hooray, it seems the soggy grey scotch egg years of the '70s might be over.'

'This historic portable treasure is once again being treated

'with the respect it deserves.'

Would you like a menu there, madam?

They're signing into it,

they're buying into it, so the message is getting out.

I've sold more eggs today than I've ever sold in a day before.

'Now us Brits have a voracious appetite for TV cooking programmes.

'And we Hairy Bikers wouldn't be here

'if we hadn't grown up with some of those classic chefs

'who inspired us, as a nation, to get into the kitchen.

'And there can be no-one more influential

'than the Queen of British cookery, Delia Smith.'

Hello and welcome to today's programme.

Delia began her television career on the BBC in 1973,

but it was her spectacularly successful Cookery Course series

which ran between 1978 and 1981,

that would really secure her position as the nation's favourite cook.

Do you know what, I've got a bit of vintage Delia from 1981.

Vintage.

Fantastic, I could do with a bit of discipline.

Da, da, da, da, Delia.

We love you homage.

She makes you scrub up and sit upright.

Even the theme music.

Love it.

THEY SING ALONG TO THEME TUNE

Look at that man. Perfect.

You never, ever get a duff Delia.

-It's the Delia Smith Cookery Course one!

-Brilliant.

'When it came to a picnic in the '80s, no-one could've done it better.'

-I'd love to go on a picnic with Delia.

-We love you.

First of all, I want to show you one of my favourite picnic recipes

and that is a bacon and egg pie. Very simple.

What a great idea.

Bacon and egg pie on a picnic.

Perfect, isn't it?

Yes, tasty, summery, portable.

Sometimes we call it Motorway Pie because it's good

if you're going on a long journey, a long car journey on the motorway.

You don't want to call in at one of those cafes.

This will do very well.

I'm hungry just watching.

Right, having got the pastry prepared and ready, the next thing you do is add the filling.

'People copied everything she did. It's the Delia effect.'

The first item is eggs, which have been hard boiled.

'She caused a stampede for white eggs after they appeared on the cover of one of her books.'

'The same book in which she famously taught the UK how to boil an egg.'

Hard boiled eggs. In a bacon and egg pie?

Watch this dude, watch this, it's genius.

There will be a twist with Delia.

You'll be like, you can't be, then it'll work.

Sometimes bacon and egg pies are made with slices of bacon

and the eggs are just broken in.

I find they're a little bit dry,

so I've done this method whereby I put another ingredient in,

or two more and that is a quarter of a pint of milk

and then a raw egg beaten into the milk.

She's right, sometimes they ARE dry. It's like egg custard.

You get that bit extra with Delia.

This is why the Delia Smith Cookery Course,

published in 1982, sold two million copies.

-She did teach the nation how to cook.

-She did.

-I think I've got about seven of them.

-Yeah, everybody's got one.

The proper way to put a lid on, we'll do it the proper way.

There's no other way than a proper way with Delia!

Look at that.

That pastry is epic.

That pastry is immaculate, isn't it?

If Chippendale made pastry, it would look like that.

Press the edges down well.

She's the doyen of British cookery.

Look at that. Every dimple. Perfect.

I've got one here that was made earlier.

I'm going to take a slice out

so you can see what it looks like inside.

There we are.

-Beautiful.

-Ah, look!

Make that now.

Look at that.

That's it with Delia, people will have done that recipe then

and they'll still be making it.

It works.

I hope that's given you a few new ideas for picnics.

It has, we love you.

I look forward to you joining me then. Bye-bye.

So, that's Delia's ultimate portable picnic dish.

But for us,

there's one that beats all the others hands down,

one that's really stood the test of time, and that's the pasty.

Pasties rock!

This giant pasty here weighs one hundredweight,

and it's travelled all the way from Fowey in Cornwall.

Hello Dorothy, welcome.

-Could you perform the ceremony now on this one?

-Yes.

And there it is.

That was quite exciting.

Pasties have probably been made in England since the 13th century.

Originally, they were eaten by the wealthy upper classes and even royalty.

Apparently Henry VIII's wife, Jane Seymour,

was very partial to a pasty.

It was with the advent of the Industrial Revolution

that the pasty would really take off down in Cornwall,

but it was no picnic back then.

The portable and self-contained design proved invaluable

to the workers in the tin mines, who had to eat on the move...

as Dave's about to explain.

The pasty originated from the Cornish tin miners.

'I look nowt like him!'

Going down a mine, their hands got contaminated

and they could eat the inside of a pasty and throw away the outside.

In the 1800s, the miners would take the pasty as far afield

as America and Mexico, when they moved in search of work,

and it found its way to supermarket shelves all over the world.

But some say you can only ever experience a proper one in Cornwall.

The real Cornish pasty is an epicurean delight.

I'm horrified when I see the travesties of Cornish pasties

masquerading as such north of about Exeter.

Properly made and sealed in a pastry envelope

with this nimble-fingered arpeggio sort of movement

and eaten oven-fresh - it is a wonderful meal in itself.

He would be relieved to know that the Cornish pasty

was granted protected status in 2011,

and the name can now only be applied to a specific type of pasty.

The recipe states it should be diced or minced beef,

onion, potato and swede

in rough chunks along with some "light peppery" seasoning.

And woe-betide anyone who gets it wrong.

Especially if they happen to submit it to members of the Cornish WI.

-The crimping here is very heavy.

-Very heavy, yes.

I seem to be horrified sometimes when I cut it in half,

I come up against peas, I've had baked beans, I've had cabbage

and this is really not what should go into a Cornish pasty.

And whether you like your crimps on top or on the side,

it's certainly high up on the list of the priorities of Cornish men.

You've got to be able to make a good Cornish pasty,

cos food lasts. Sex doesn't.

LAUGHTER

The Cornish pasty might be the ultimate picnic savoury,

but for our perfect al fresco dessert, we're cooking up something

that comes from the opposite end of the UK.

You know, a picnic is not just for lunchtime,

a picnic's for any time

and there's no time more British than teatime.

You're right. And what do the British have at teatime?

Cake. That's what they have.

And this is something from our brethrens north of the border.

What is it, Dave?

It's a Dundee cake.

The Dundee cake appears to have come about as a bit of a sideline,

created by Keiller's, the city's marmalade makers,

at some point in the second half of the 19th century.

And it tastes fab!

Like most cakes, start with the dry goods.

I've got some self-raising flour.

I've got some ground almonds.

And that wonderful old English hint of spice, mixed spice.

Let's have a heaped teaspoon in there.

Next, we need to cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer.

Once it's all mixed up, it's time to add the marmalade,

the crucial ingredient.

Fantastic product.

Love it. Whether it be home-made, your own recipe,

thin cut, thick cut, medium, coarse - whatever it is, we love it.

However for the Dundee Cake, we want a traditional marmalade.

That's the orange shred,

as James Keiller would've made all those years ago in Dundee!

To that, three tablespoons of marmalade.

Ooh!

You can take away my freedom but you'll never take away my cake.

Crack three eggs in a bowl and give them a good beating.

You're doing better now, Dave,

cos you used to put your tongue out when you did that.

-He did!

-Give over!

Right! Let's get the eggs and flour into our mixer.

Now, sometimes this can curdle and crack.

We put a bit in. Then I'll put a spoonful of the flour mixture in

and that'll stop it cracking.

And also, gently does it.

Gently, gently.

-Right, let's put some flour in.

-A spoonful of flour.

Add the eggs a little at a time,

with a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture,

and beat well after each addition.

Lovely, isn't it? It's lovely.

It is. It's a great mixture.

It's a bit split. That's all right.

Tastes great.

Whack the mixture into a large bowl

and slowly fold in the remaining flour.

Now this mixture with the marmalade and the eggs

is very, very prone to splitting.

If it does split, don't worry.

When you get the flour and the almonds in,

it will go back to normal, so don't panic, Captain Mannering.

It smells lovely, doesn't it?

Dundee cake's great.

A Dundee cake to us is very important in a picnic.

Before the Hairy Bikers started,

we used to go fishing on the west coast of Scotland.

We always had this rule -

We catch six trout, we cook them by the side of the river

and have them with brown bread and butter,

but we always, always finished off with a Dundee cake and some cheese,

and there's nothing that takes me back to that riverbank,

there's nothing tastes better outdoors

than Dundee cake and a piece of cheese.

It's a great travelling cake.

It's the sort of thing that in Victorian times would've sustained you on Stephenson's Rocket,

hammering across the borders.

That is a lovely, lovely mix.

Time to bump up the fruit content,

and we've got a load of dried fruit to put in,

plus a special Hairy ingredient.

We love to put cherries in our Dundee cake.

It's not traditional but we simply love them.

Mary Queen of Scots never.

-But... Yeah but...but we do.

-We do.

And it's important when you are cooking.

The recipe police won't come to get you.

If you want a lemon peel in, you can put it in.

If you want to put garlic in, you can.

It'll be horrible, but you can!

Let's just put the cherries in, shall we?

The final ingredients,

well it wouldn't be a Dundee cake without...whisky.

Oh! Now you're talking!

Now, if you don't like whisky, and you've got children, put more in.

No, don't. You can put milk in if you want.

But bear in mind, this is going to cook for an hour and a half,

there'll be no alcohol left in it

-so it really is... Hey.

-Hey.

By that riverbank now.

On yonder hill I saw a coo.

It's not there noo, it must've shifted.

Aye.

Two tablespoons of angel's breath.

And one for Chef seeing as he has no motorbike.

My friend.

If after testing the whisky, you're still capable of stirring,

give it one final go and then get it straight into a lined cake tin.

And decorate the top with a Catherine wheel of almonds.

It wouldnae be a Dundee cake without it!

Look at that. See? Finished. Easy as that.

Put this into a pre-heated oven, 160 degrees,

for about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.

Now check about half an hour into the baking time,

and put a sheet of foil loosely or greaseproof on the top

so you don't scorch the top.

You're not going to hide your mistakes with marzipan.

This is the real thing. What you see is what you get.

Pop the silver foil lid on the top, and you've got an hour

to think of something to do with your leftovers.

A game that you could play is dabbing the almonds with your spatula.

THEY MIMIC BAGPIPES

I love this bit, love this bit.

Yes! Look at that!

Skewer test.

We need to see it's cooked. If not, we can put it back.

Once we've cut into it and it's a sad old mess, we can't.

Skewer.

Does it come out clean?

Ah! As a whistle.

The last thing to do is brush the top with a glaze

and this is made from apricot jam.

Don't use blackcurrant jam, because your cake will turn purple.

The thing about apricot jam is it's the right colour for Dundee cake!

Melt the jam over a medium heat

and all that remains is to brush it all over the top of the cake.

Magic!

Now that's a hiker's cake, that.

Eat that, you'd walk forever.

That's a wonderful, straightforward Dundee cake.

Now doesn't that get you excited? It does, cos I know that we are.

All that's missing now is the cheese and a pot of tea.

Yes. Ho-ho!

Dundee cake, cheese and tea. Life can't get much better than that.

It's a perfect combination that would brighten up any picnic.

This would bring sunshine to any event.

It certainly would.

Beautiful.

It is, mate.

Do you find that there's a certain...

peace befalls you while eating cake?

Tea.

Ah, that's good. That's good.

As we've seen, picnicking brings out the best in us as a nation.

It's an opportunity to shed some of that British formality

and celebrate some of our best traditional cuisine.

Dishes like the Cornish pasty and Scotch egg

can be no clearer testament to our ingenuity.

But thank goodness for that stiff upper lip -

we need it with our climate!

Fortitude against the odds.

We'll let nothing come between us and a good feed in the fresh air.

And if you want to find out more:

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

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

Subtitling by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]