0:00:02 > 0:00:07We believe Britain has the best food in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11'Our glorious country boasts some fantastic ingredients...'
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Start eating it, will you!
0:00:13 > 0:00:16'..it's home to some amazing producers...'
0:00:16 > 0:00:20- My goodness gracious, that is epic! - Isn't it?
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'..and innovative chefs.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:27'But our islands also have a fascinating food history...'
0:00:27 > 0:00:33The fish and chip shops of south Wales are running out of chips.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35- BOTH:- Yes!
0:00:35 > 0:00:39'..and in this series we're uncovering revealing stories
0:00:39 > 0:00:41'of our rich culinary past...'
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Now, there is food history on a plate.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'..as well as meeting our nation's food heroes
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'who are keeping this heritage alive...'
0:00:50 > 0:00:52They're certainly enjoying themselves.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54It's a short life, let's make it a happy one,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56like they always have had.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59'..and, of course, we'll be cooking up a load of dishes
0:00:59 > 0:01:01'that reveal our foodie evolution.'
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Spring, summer, autumn or winter - it's brilliant.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- BOTH:- Quite simply, the best of British!
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Now, the 1970s aren't everybody's cup of tea
0:01:35 > 0:01:39when it comes to British cuisine but we love '70s food.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41It was exciting, generous, sometimes a bit weird
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and even sometimes went into the whole sci-fi thing.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Oh, but mostly it was downright delicious.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51It was the decade that delivered vol-au-vents,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Baked Alaska, Angel Delight.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Restaurants had the flair to serve up hearty portions
0:01:57 > 0:02:02smothered in brandy and cream, with massive trifles and huge cakes.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03It was the decade of disco
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and, I tell you what, there were some foodie hits in there as well.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Oh, steak tartar, salmon mousse,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10at number two we've got chicken chasseur
0:02:10 > 0:02:12and at number one beef stroganoff.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15What's not to love, baby? Woo-hoo!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18So, today's show is about celebrating what the decade
0:02:18 > 0:02:24of the 1970s brought to our national plate.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Here, Kingy, are you dancing?
0:02:27 > 0:02:28No.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37On today's show we're going to be exploring the best of the 1970s.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41From the amazing new influences that made their mark on our cuisine.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45To the techno foods that became kitsch favourites.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48You're clearly a most primitive people.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52And in the Best Of British kitchen we'll be cooking up dishes that
0:02:52 > 0:02:55still have the power to impress.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58From rich iconic main courses...
0:02:58 > 0:03:01..to international favourites.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04In an explosion of flavour, extravagance
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and calories that only the '70s could offer.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13We're going to show you how this much maligned foodie decade
0:03:13 > 0:03:16was really, in some ways, the best of British.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21'Ten...nine...ignition sequence starts.
0:03:21 > 0:03:29'Five...four...three...two...one... zero. All engines on.'
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The '70s began in the shadow of the moon landing.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38# There's a star man waiting in the sky
0:03:38 > 0:03:42# He'd like to come and meet us but he thinks he'd blow our minds... #
0:03:42 > 0:03:46A momentous event that rocked the world.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51'Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53'July, 1969.'
0:03:53 > 0:03:55We were a nation excited by the future,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58revelling in what man could achieve.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Anything was possible.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05We'd mastered physics and broken the grip of Earth's gravity.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08These astronauts had gone where no man had gone before.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12MUSIC: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" by Alexander Courage
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And what was it everyone wanted to know?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Urine is carried away down a tube to plastic bags
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and is dumped directly overboard, into space.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23That's right, how they went to the toilet
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and what they ate for their tea.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Food for the astronauts comes in this form...
0:04:29 > 0:04:30in a plastic bag.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32It's freeze-dried.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35With a water gun they inject a certain amount of water,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38shake it around, reconstitute it and suck it up through a tube.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Space food was the stuff of dreams for young whipper snappers
0:04:41 > 0:04:43like us in the 1970s.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46One meal for two astronauts.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Meet, two veg, pudding and an orange drink.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52We wanted to chow down like Buck Rodgers!
0:04:52 > 0:04:55By a method of freezing and dehydration
0:04:55 > 0:04:58the chefs of Natick have devised some fine sounding dishes
0:04:58 > 0:05:00for today's astronaut to choose from.
0:05:00 > 0:05:07We have everything ranging from shrimp cocktail to beef sandwiches
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and we have a banana pudding, here.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Like all good chefs, the men of Natick always sample their own
0:05:13 > 0:05:17creations before passing them on to the consumer.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20To date the delights contained in these plastic containers
0:05:20 > 0:05:23are secrets shared only by the men who make them
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and the men who travel in space capsules.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29But back in Britain we had, through the miracle of science,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31come up with our very own space food.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- BOTH:- Smash!
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Captain, something strange has appeared on the Earth scanner.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Let me observe.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43It was a product perfectly suited to this brave new world.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45That is good.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Potatoes are a horrible, inconvenient food -
0:05:47 > 0:05:49they're knobbly, they're dirty, they need peeling,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51they never boil when you want them.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Now, instant potato is a marvellous advance
0:05:54 > 0:05:56and, technically, it's very good.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Some of the modern ones are admirable.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01- THEY ALL LAUGH - Clearly, a most primitive people.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06# For mash get Smash. #
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Instant and convenience became by-words for 1970s cuisine.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16'Birds Angel Delight, the most delightful taste around.'
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Just add water and whisk. What could be simpler?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23None of that time consuming preparation to do.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25'Made in 10 minutes and no baking.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27'Greens, the one word recipe for cheesecake.'
0:06:27 > 0:06:31And, supposedly, just as good as the real thing.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- And look at this, sir.- No peel, no bits and it's got vitamin C?!
0:06:34 > 0:06:37We lapped it up.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41'New Kellogg's Rise and Shine, now tastes as good as orange juice.'
0:06:41 > 0:06:45And then, towards the end of the decade - the future was realised.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49In 1977 Golden Wonder launched this.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51- BOTH:- The Pot Noodle!
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The ultimate instant snack - a meal in a pot.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58And the culmination of a decade of food science.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00Well OK, maybe not,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04but for a nation whose lives were getting busier and busier,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06these ultra-quick convenience foods were the answer
0:07:06 > 0:07:08to many people's prayers.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13And for us kids it was science fiction brought to life.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Dude, it was out of this world!
0:07:15 > 0:07:18And added just a little bit of astronaut glamour to our meal times.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Instant food might not have the best reputation these days
0:07:24 > 0:07:27but there was one particular favourite of ours,
0:07:27 > 0:07:28that changed everything.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37It was Vestas that redefined the 1970s Oriental gutbuster!
0:07:37 > 0:07:38Get in!
0:07:38 > 0:07:41But the Vesta was the first frugal,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45humble footsteps into a love of Oriental Asian food for a lot of us.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51- Absolutely.- We want to cook our version of a pork chow mein.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54In the 1970s our palates were opened up
0:07:54 > 0:07:57as the flavours of the East went mainstream.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00And if chop suey was the Chinese food of the masses,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03the chow mein was the choice of the gourmet.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Now, what we're doing is chow mein.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11What we're going to do is a pork fillet,
0:08:11 > 0:08:12I'm going to just trim that off
0:08:12 > 0:08:15and then I'll show you what to do in a minute.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17I have a pan of boiling water.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Into that I'm going to put me egg noodles and what you want to do is,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24first, is read the packet because they vary.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28These ones, they need boiling for two minutes. Some are four minutes.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30If you boil these for four they'd be wrecked.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34We want 200 grams, which is half a packet.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36These are the proper thing for your chow mein.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Two, three. I love chow mein.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I think, if you like noodles, it's brilliant.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49- Here, Kingy, what you call a fake noodle?- I don't know.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50An im-pasta! Ha!
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Two minutes. Now, just stir them till they break up.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Then run them in cold water, flush them with sunflower oil
0:08:59 > 0:09:00and set them aside.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Right, once you've trimmed this up, what we're going to do,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07we're going to cut it lengthways, in half.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Mmm.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13And then...
0:09:13 > 0:09:18we're going to slice it but we're going to slice it quite finely.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Do you know, Kingy, chow mein, in Chinese,
0:09:21 > 0:09:22just means fried noodles.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26And chop suey, the words, means miscellaneous bits.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29But ours is going to be a lot more than that!
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Put two teaspoons of cornflour into a bowl,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35and add four tablespoons of dark soy sauce,
0:09:35 > 0:09:41two tablespoons of mirin or dry sherry and 100ml of water.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Give it a quick stir and set it aside for later.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Once your noodles are cooked give them a good rinse under cold water.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54I love Chinese food. I love Chinese cooking.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I've got a mate of mine that runs a Chinese restaurant
0:09:56 > 0:10:01and I love going down there, and he lets me help out at the wok range.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05And is like this mad labyrinth of woks full of fire and water,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07and it's so immediate, and you get everything ready.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10I think that's the nature of Chinese food
0:10:10 > 0:10:11and, also, cooking your chow mein,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14is you prepare all the different elements
0:10:14 > 0:10:17like the meat, vegetables, the sauce, the noodles,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and, at the last minute, you combine everything,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22and you have something really special.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Pour a tablespoon of sunflower oil over them
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and make sure they are fully coated.'
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Now, to your chopped pork.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Add one teaspoon of five spice and season generously with salt
0:10:33 > 0:10:36and pepper, before working it into the meat.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39- Si.- Yes, mate?
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Can you remember the first time you tried Chinese food and what was it?
0:10:44 > 0:10:48I do, I remember there was a restaurant called The Blue Sky
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and it was, oh, fantastic! Truly fantastic.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56It's hard to overestimate how exotic it was in those days.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Heat a glug of oil in a non-stick pan or wok,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02and stir fry the pork over a high heat.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Cut a carrot into long thin strips and do the same to a red pepper.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Finely slice a 25gram chunk of ginger, six spring onions
0:11:12 > 0:11:14and three cloves of garlic.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17You also want 50 grams of frozen peas
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and 200 grams of halved water chestnuts at the ready.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Once the pork is browned, tip it onto a plate.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Add a dash more oil to the wok and fry off the peppers and carrots
0:11:28 > 0:11:31before adding the rest of your veg.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Keep frying for a couple more minutes,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35until softened but not soggy.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Oh, and whilst you fry it shall I do the noodle garnish?
0:11:38 > 0:11:43- Go on, mate, get in. - A little saute pan. Thank you.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Now, this is a 15 second job for the garnish.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Now, these are rice noodles, the sort you'd have, say, for Pad Thai.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53Just snap up a load...
0:11:57 > 0:11:59..separate them...
0:11:59 > 0:12:01and, if we put them into the hot fat,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04it in 15 seconds we should have a wonderful bird's nest.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Oh, yes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08They'll bubble up.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10They'll expand, just like those polystyrene tiles
0:12:10 > 0:12:12we used to glue on the kitchen ceiling.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Yeah, what was all that about? That and woodchip! Bleeding Nora!
0:12:17 > 0:12:20But polystyrene tiles, you see, the thing is,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22if your ceiling was falling down or a mess,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26- you put those tiles up and it looked immaculate.- It did, like.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Kept the insulation, sound, everything.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30- They just looked revolting. - They did.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32And gave 21st-century somebody to moan about
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- when you bought your new house. - They did, it's true.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38- Beautiful. I think we're there. - I think we're there.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Now empty your veggies out of the wok onto a plate.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48- These are quite good for the wok, aren't they?- Yes.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49The more we build up.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52The more we build up, the more ingredients that go in.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Another glug of oil and drop in your cold egg noodles.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Keep them moving round the wok for about 2-3 minutes,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02till they are just beginning to go crisp and golden.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Once the pan is hot, drop in your broken rice ribbon noodles
0:13:07 > 0:13:09and fry them until they puff up.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12And now it all comes together in a flurry.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Veg and meat goes in now.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- Look at these, mate!- Get in!- Whoa!
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Look at this.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25- Meat?- Aye. Ah! And watch this oil, it is hot.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28But who cares? I'm having such a good time!
0:13:28 > 0:13:31It's good, man, it's quick, it's instant, it's fast, I love it!
0:13:31 > 0:13:32Oh, it is.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36And, don't forget, preparation is in the art of enjoyment in the kitchen.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39If you're too stressed to be able to do anything, what's the point?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Yeah, just get your mise en place sorted then go for it.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Worry about the washing-up after.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51- Time for the sauce, Si? - Get it in.- Whoa-ho!
0:13:52 > 0:13:57- Oh, man!- Hairy Biker's pork chow mein.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Our homage to a dish that shaped a nation.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- I think we're there, mate. - We're there, mate, we are, defo.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09While it's steaming hot, get it into a bowl
0:14:09 > 0:14:11and top it off with the fried noodles.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Right, come on.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19It looks the same. It's really good!
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Here, Kingy, it's taken 40 years from that '70s box to come to this.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But, as they would have said in the '70s, that's dead ace!
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The pork chow mein, an unbelievably tasty dish.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43And a testament to the 1970's spirit of culinary adventure.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50The 1970s were an exciting time for the foodie.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Lots of new flavours and textures were being introduced from abroad,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58as immigrant communities started to make their mark on British cuisine.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Having already seen waves of immigration from the West Indies
0:15:04 > 0:15:06and the Indian subcontinent,
0:15:06 > 0:15:121972 then saw the arrival of tens of thousands of Ugandan Asians
0:15:12 > 0:15:15fleeing the regime of Idi Amin.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The Majothi's we're one of the families that,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24from 1972, called the UK home.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27And, for teenager Abdul, it was a huge departure
0:15:27 > 0:15:29from life back in Uganda.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35We ended up in Somerset, in a military camp, disused,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39as refugees and it was quite a blow for my father,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41who was a very successful businessmen.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Employed over 250 people exporting coffee to Germany.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49He had a grocery store and a little bit of a transport business,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51and he became a pauper overnight.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55He became penniless in a country that we never knew anything about.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07But once settled in nearby Bristol,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Abdul's businessman father was quick to seize any opportunity
0:16:11 > 0:16:14to help the family establish themselves.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17You know, there were many takeaways, Indian takeaways,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20or Mediterranean, or Mexican, nothing.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Mainly Chinese or English and my father found a little niche
0:16:23 > 0:16:27in the market that if he did his curries people would love it.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32He might have found a niche market but, as a penniless migrant,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35the main problem was how to get the business underway.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Enter a deep fried triangular pastry with a spicy meat or veg filling
0:16:41 > 0:16:45that's now is probably as popular as a pasty.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47He actually started cooking from home
0:16:47 > 0:16:52and one of the things he found that people loved was samosas
0:16:52 > 0:16:54and my mother helped a lot also, cooking at night.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56You know, they used to cook for festivals
0:16:56 > 0:16:58and I can remember sometimes they used to cook till midnight
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and in the morning they would fry the samosas.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03He would take them on the bus and the smell,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06you know, I can't imagine what it was like in 1973.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Either people liked it or they must have given him a strange look
0:17:08 > 0:17:12saying, "You know, what's all this smell?" They would sell
0:17:12 > 0:17:15within half an hour and he would come back on the bus again, home.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17It would take him an hour or two.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Get my mum to fry some more, go back on the bus and soon,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26when he got the shop, samosas was the fastest selling item
0:17:26 > 0:17:28and we were known for it.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30And the business built up from there,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32and then he was into currys,
0:17:32 > 0:17:34then he started bringing in the Indian sweets
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and hence we are called Sweetmart.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Tapping into this lucrative ethnic food market has seen
0:17:46 > 0:17:50the Majothi's business explode from a small grocery-come-deli
0:17:50 > 0:17:54into a food store that pretty much stocks everything under the sun.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02But if it ain't broke don't fix it and the samosas that kicked
0:18:02 > 0:18:06all this off - to this day - follow the same tried and tested formula.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10The recipes we use on the currys
0:18:10 > 0:18:14and especially the samosas is still, still 35 years on,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16that's what my mum used to cook in Uganda.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18I can remember as a young child eating the samosas back home
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and what I eat now is still the same.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Handed down through generations, Abdul's sister-in-law Tehseen
0:18:26 > 0:18:29is the latest member of the family to oversee preparations
0:18:29 > 0:18:31for this pivotal pocket pastry.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Well, for me, a good samosa would really be a samosa
0:18:35 > 0:18:38which has a perfect triangular shape,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41it's fried to that golden crisp colour, and texture,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and, when I bite into it, not only do I taste the ingredients,
0:18:45 > 0:18:46all the spices and all,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50but I shouldn't be tasting any of the greasiness
0:18:50 > 0:18:55or oil that tends to seep in if the samosas hasn't been sealed properly.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59She's ticking all my samosa boxes, Kingy!
0:18:59 > 0:19:02But the '70s was all about exposure to new flavours and the Ugandan
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Asians, with Africa and India to call upon came well-armed.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11It's time for the spices to go in and I'm going to put turmeric...
0:19:14 > 0:19:16..followed by some garam masala,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20which is actually a secret recipe created by my father-in-law.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Garam masala usually has nine spices
0:19:22 > 0:19:25but our blend has got about 17 spices.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30In that goes...followed by a fresh green chillies...
0:19:32 > 0:19:34..and salt.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Once the veg and spices are in, Tehseen mixes in potato,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42raw onion and fresh coriander to complete the age old recipe.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47But when it comes to pastry,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50she's more than prepared to cut a few corners!
0:19:50 > 0:19:54My mother-in-law used to go through a laborious process of making
0:19:54 > 0:19:56the pastry herself, which takes ages,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58it takes a lot of effort
0:19:58 > 0:20:02and today we have a ready-made Samosa pastry
0:20:02 > 0:20:04and if only we had that back in the '70s,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06it would have made life a lot easier.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14Obviously, you need a paste to bind the whole samosa together.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18And, er, just fry till golden brown.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Whilst in the 1970s, the samosa might have been as alien
0:20:21 > 0:20:24to most of us Brits as a pasty to a Klingon,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27immigrants like the Majothis have boldly gone
0:20:27 > 0:20:30where no other Brit dared to go...
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Opening up new foodie frontiers for us all to explore!
0:20:40 > 0:20:43I can remember in the 1970s, if there were one or two chillies
0:20:43 > 0:20:46left in a basket at the shop, I would give it free
0:20:46 > 0:20:48to the English customer. They would say,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50"No, no, no, I can't touch that."
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Today they buy a kilo and they know what kind of chillies they want.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56So, the British people are amazing that they've accepted
0:20:56 > 0:20:59the different kind of spices and chillies from all over the world.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03In doing that, I think the immigrants have also been accepted.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06I think 1970s was a turning point
0:21:06 > 0:21:08for a huge food revolution in Britain,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10and we're proud to have played a part in it.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Now samosas are probably more popular today than ever.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27But what of the classic 70s dishes -
0:21:27 > 0:21:31the chasseurs, duck a l'orange and the wellington?
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Well, in a corner of London, there's a restaurant
0:21:34 > 0:21:36where these dishes are alive and kicking.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Hidden away in this unassuming tower block
0:21:42 > 0:21:45is one of Britain's best kept foodie secrets.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48It's a restaurant that has long been a firm favourite
0:21:48 > 0:21:52of A-list politicians, royalty and celebrities alike.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56So, what is it, David? Is it Asian fusion, is it macrobiotic?
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Is it astronomy gastronomy? What is it, darling?
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I suppose one could describe it as pure culinary aspic.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- Hey!- It's an eatery that, for the past 40 years,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07has been frozen in time.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10It's a living celebration of the generous, delicious food
0:22:10 > 0:22:14that was served in the majority of high end 1970s restaurants.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18And that's why we're here - to find out the great secrets
0:22:18 > 0:22:24of that 70s cuisine - from the last great practitioners in the country.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28This family-run restaurant was founded by the Sanchez brothers.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31And it's something of a local legend.
0:22:31 > 0:22:37Because Oslo Court is pure '70s old school! From the silver service...
0:22:37 > 0:22:38..to the peach decor.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41The ladies menu with no prices on it.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45And the dessert trolley that still reigns supreme!
0:22:45 > 0:22:47The restaurant is one of the last places around
0:22:47 > 0:22:51that specialises in classic '70s cuisine.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53The menu hasn't changed since they first opened
0:22:53 > 0:22:56because the customers can't get enough of it.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59But you can forget bad steak and burnt chips!
0:22:59 > 0:23:02This place serves up dishes that show off the very best
0:23:02 > 0:23:05of the 70s and what it had to offer!
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Chef Jose is going to take us through three '70s classics
0:23:08 > 0:23:11that have been with them since the beginning.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Where is he? How are you?
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- Hello, Jose. - Jose, how are you?
0:23:17 > 0:23:18Very well indeed.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Thank you very much.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23- Busy as usual.- As always.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26It's fair to say, Jose, that things haven't changed much
0:23:26 > 0:23:28round here in 40 years, have they?
0:23:28 > 0:23:30A lot of our customers know what to expect when they come
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and that's why they rate the restaurant so highly.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35A lot of places keep chopping and changing menus
0:23:35 > 0:23:39and people know exactly what they're going to get every time they come.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Would you like to change it or are you happy?
0:23:41 > 0:23:44No, I'm very happy with how things are going. It's very traditional.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48We are extremely busy. Why change something if it's not broken?
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I mean, on a Saturday, you're looking six months in advance.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54We have people that come every Christmas -
0:23:54 > 0:23:57so, literally book for next year already.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Yeah, up till now, touch wood, it's quite recession-proof.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03So, what three iconic 70s dishes are we cooking today?
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The most iconic 70s dish is probably the pink grapefruit
0:24:06 > 0:24:10served with the sherry and sugar on top.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14- OK.- And Crab A La Rochelle, which is one of the specialties of the house.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17We're got two great starters. What's the main event?
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I would probably say Beef Wellington.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24- Yeah.- Shall we crack on? Can we give you a hand?- No problem. Of course you can.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28First up is starter Crab A La Rochelle.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31In the 1970s, the nation fell in love with decadent
0:24:31 > 0:24:32and glamorous French cooking.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36It's got crab, prawns, onions, white wine, mushrooms and cream,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39all topped with a rosemary and brandy sauce!
0:24:39 > 0:24:41How's that for 70s exuberance!
0:24:41 > 0:24:45It's fair to say as well that your portions are very generous, aren't they?
0:24:45 > 0:24:47We're known for generous portions.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52The '70s were the age of having everything en croute,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55but the king of them all was the Beef Wellington.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- So, er, now, we're going to start with Beef Wellington.- Right.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- Yeah.- Beef Wellington was the premier party dish of the '70s.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07Like all good dishes of the era, it was dramatic, pretty expensive
0:25:07 > 0:25:09and time consuming to prepare.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12The more gourmet, the better.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Unfussed by changing fashions,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17even the way they buy their food is the same as it ever was.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Jose, it's a restaurant with great traditions.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Whereabouts do you get your meat and produce from?
0:25:22 > 0:25:24We go and buy most of our veg from new Covent Garden market.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27We go to the fish market - Billingsgate market -
0:25:27 > 0:25:29and we go to Smithfield's to buy our meat.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Great food, all yours, boys!
0:25:36 > 0:25:38We'll go and see your auntie.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40- How are you?- I'm fine. How are you?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Jose's Auntie Maria has worked at the restaurant since the beginning.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49Maria, tell Dave and I what the restaurant means to you.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52You want to make me cry. It's our passion. We love it.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- It's coming from the heart. We do it with love.- Yeah.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58It's everything to us. We love the restaurant, the clientele,
0:25:58 > 0:26:03our customers, so, maybe, I don't know.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06We live for the restaurant really. This is our life.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- Yes.- I think our enjoyment is here.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Maria's making the classic 70s grilled grapefruit
0:26:12 > 0:26:14with sugar and sherry.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17The 70s were a boom time for grapefruit.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Not only were they more widely available
0:26:19 > 0:26:21thanks to the spread of supermarkets,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24but they still had a touch of the exotic about them.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26And this being the 70s,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30the way to eat this healthy fruit was super sweet and full of booze.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Now, we have to have a go on those!
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Ah, it's brilliant!
0:26:40 > 0:26:44We buy the best we can. We cook the best we know
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and we do it with heart.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Two iconic starters. Fabulously done.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54The Beef Wellington - how's that coming on?
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Literally wrap it and we're there.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00As if perfectly cooked roast beef wasn't calorie-laden enough,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04in true 1970s style, it's all wrapped up in buttery pastry,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07pate and a mushroom duxelle.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11This dish is unapologetically rich and pretty mouth watering!
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I mean, it's 4:30pm but I've just noticed now,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17you've got to get on with some scallops
0:27:17 > 0:27:20because you're still doing luncheon orders.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Still there - lunch. Believe it or not.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35The speed at which you do it is just great.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37It's like literally straight from the pan
0:27:37 > 0:27:39straight on to the serving dish and straight out.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41That's why they come back.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45It's not only just the food that harks back to an earlier era,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48founder Tony believes the atmosphere is at the heart
0:27:48 > 0:27:50of the restaurant's success.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Tony, do you ever sense that Oslo Court has been stuck in a time warp
0:27:54 > 0:27:58or to you is it just right the way things should be?
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I think it's still the 70s, in the sense that
0:28:00 > 0:28:06the way people feel, and the type of clientele we have.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09At the end of the day, it's only a restaurant.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13To feel that kind of feeling of be confident -
0:28:13 > 0:28:16that you're going to have a good meal and a good drink
0:28:16 > 0:28:20and you can sit and stand back and say, "OK, I'm going to be served."
0:28:20 > 0:28:22- And it's fun.- It's fun.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27Tony and his family have created a menu of classic '70s dishes,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29cooked with classic '70s panache.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33And Jose's Beef Wellington is a real treat.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40- Ah! Bon appetite! - That's perfect, Jose.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Aw!
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Oh, I'm melting to the bottom of my split kneed loon pants.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57- That is fantastic!- That duxelle's fabulous. The meat's fabulous.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00It is. It's cooked perfectly.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07You know, Kingy, food fashions, they come and go,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11but Oslo Court, it's here, and it's here to stay.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13The thing is, it's a classic testament to,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19This place is a celebration
0:29:19 > 0:29:23of everything that was right with the 1970s.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27When you eat here, you realise that, while culinary fashions come and go,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30good food is timeless.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37Seeing that dishes from the glam rock era
0:29:37 > 0:29:40still have some life in them has given us a bit of inspiration.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45We're going to take all that joyously extravagant indulgence
0:29:45 > 0:29:49and pile it into a '70s classic of our own.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56The 1970s was the golden age for desserts.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59That dessert trolley, nay, chariot,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02was laden down with sweet, cream-laden delights.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Desserts in those days were loud, proud and magnificent.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10And none less so than...
0:30:11 > 0:30:13..the banoffee pie!
0:30:13 > 0:30:16If ever there was a dessert that encapsulates the indulgence
0:30:16 > 0:30:19and decadence of the 1970s, then it's this!
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Come on, Kingy, it's half fruit!
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Yes, mate, but it's the other half I'm talking about!
0:30:27 > 0:30:30You thought it was American, didn't you? Well, it's not.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34It's from our shores and it's on our trolley and we invented it
0:30:34 > 0:30:36and it comes from East Sussex.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Actually, ours is slightly lighter, not quite so sweet,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42- to make it suitable for the 21st century.- Oooh, yes.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45I still start with a biscuit base, all mushed up with butter, though.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- Should I crunch?- Yes, you crunch, and I'll make the filling.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53- Oooh! - So, I've got 115 grams of butter.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56And then I need some dark brown sugar
0:30:56 > 0:31:01and I've got 115 grams of that as well.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Put that in with the butter and stir continuously.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Until the butter
0:31:10 > 0:31:16and the sugar have amalgamated in a marriage of calorific heaven.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Mmm! It's the good life!
0:31:20 > 0:31:25Now, take one packet of chocolate-coated oaty biscuits,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29place it in your pot, and whiz till crumbs.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Now, there's a little trick to tell you when the butter
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and the sugar has combined and the sugar crystals have melted.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41What happens is that, can you see?
0:31:41 > 0:31:45The fat there is sitting on top of the sugar crystal.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50It's ready when there is no fat sitting on the top of the sugar.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54One big bowl of chocolatey, oaty crumbs.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Into that go 75 grams of melted butter to coat
0:31:58 > 0:32:00each and every one of those crumbs.
0:32:00 > 0:32:06It is funny, though, isn't it, how the Americans have kind of taken the credit for the banoffee pie?
0:32:06 > 0:32:10But the truth is that the banoffee pie was invented by Ian Dowding
0:32:10 > 0:32:12and Nigel Mackenzie, who were chefs
0:32:12 > 0:32:17and patrons at the Hungry Monk Restaurant in Jevington.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20And there is a blue plaque on that building to the day that says
0:32:20 > 0:32:23it was the birthplace of the banoffee pie.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Just put the crumbs into a dish.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30Scatter and then press down to form the base of your banoffee pie.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Once the oil has vanished from the top of your butter-sugar mix,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42add a can of sweetened condensed milk and keep stirring.
0:32:45 > 0:32:52Right, look at that. That's the base for banoffee pie and it's delicious.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Pop that in the fridge, and wait for it to set. Wait for his topping.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Now, look, you can see the colour it's gone.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04We need to cook that until it goes a beautiful deep unctuous
0:33:04 > 0:33:11golden brown that you love and know is the toffee in a Banoffee.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Do you know, the funny thing is, in 1994,
0:33:15 > 0:33:20a lot of supermarkets started selling banoffee pie as American Pie.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Well, Nigel McKenzie, who invented it,
0:33:22 > 0:33:27was quite rightly very incensed and he offered a £10,000 prize
0:33:27 > 0:33:32to anybody who could produce a recipe, published before 1972,
0:33:32 > 0:33:36to prove that it wasn't invented at the Hungry Monk.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Nigel's still got his ten grand.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Nice one, Nige! If you've made it, reclaim it as your own.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Because it's yours and we hold our hands up to you. It's brilliant.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Yeah, it is nice, isn't it?
0:33:49 > 0:33:53After about three minutes, your mixture should be a deep,
0:33:53 > 0:33:55creamy, caramel brown.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00Cover your biscuit base and gently smooth it into all the nooks and crannies.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10What was your favourite game in the '70s? I used to have Mousetrap.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13- Do you remember that?- I do! - It was brilliant, wasn't it?
0:34:13 > 0:34:17- Kerplunk, remember that?- Kerplunk! Oh, I loved Kerplunk.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Can you imagine the ecstasy of being able to play Kerplunk
0:34:20 > 0:34:22while your banoffee pie sets?
0:34:24 > 0:34:27No need to imagine, mate. We're in telly land!
0:34:28 > 0:34:32- I'll toss you for who goes first. - Heads.- Heads it is.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38- Ahhhh!- Yes! Get in!
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Oh, no!
0:34:55 > 0:34:57That's loads.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06Ah, I've got the golden ball! That's me, the winner! Yay, I win! Come on!
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Victory! Ba-ba-bah!
0:35:11 > 0:35:17- Amen!- Ah, mint!- It's changed colour, look at that.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Put it over your friend's head and it won't fall out! Like that.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28Now, what we're going to do, I'm going to peel five bananas, me!
0:35:28 > 0:35:29I'm going to whip some cream.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Whoa!
0:35:32 > 0:35:37Pour 450 millilitres of double cream into a bowl and get whipping.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45Doing it by hand will give you a bit of a workout before you indulge.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50Diagonally chop four ripe but firm bananas,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53and scatter half of them across your base, willy-nilly.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57I'm bored of doing it by hand.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59MIXER WHIZZES
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Tell you what, though, it's good exercise, you know.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03You should, probably, really.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08Do you know, to work off 650 calories, you have to run at six miles an hour for 40 minutes!
0:36:08 > 0:36:10- Eh?- Yes.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Hold on, that's a four and a half mile run!
0:36:16 > 0:36:19It's only a 5K, anyone can do that!
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Chop up one more banana, and cover it with the juice of half a lemon.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34This will stop it going brown and give it a lovely tang.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41Once your cream's whipped into nice soft peaks,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44lightly fold in the rest of your diagonal banana chunks.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Now it's time to build this beauty.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55So gently spoon your bananas and cream onto the base.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Once it's evenly spread, it's time for the tricky bit.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Now, what we do, very gently...
0:37:12 > 0:37:13Perfect.
0:37:15 > 0:37:16Loving your work!
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Now, these lemony bananas, we kind of plant like so.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29It just gives a hint of it being bananas in your Banoffee.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32- Let's get some... Oh, that's a nice one.- It is, isn't it?
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Shall we put that in the middle?
0:37:35 > 0:37:37- Like that.- Yeah.
0:37:37 > 0:37:42Provocative. It's more than just, you know, "afters".
0:37:42 > 0:37:47- Oh, aye.- It's more than just, you know, spotted dick.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Can you imagine, all those years of spotted dick and jam roly-poly,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54and you're greeted with that? Look at that!
0:37:54 > 0:38:01The bananas, the strata. That is an anatomically perfect banoffee pie.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04That's the ultimate banoffee pie.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13- It's fabulously fabulous.- You're going to like that if you make it!
0:38:17 > 0:38:23That, dude, is a tastebud time machine, right back to the 1970s.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32A dessert so good that America tried to claim it as their own.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35But after one bite of this bold and beautiful banoffee pie,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40all I can say is, "Hands off, you Americans!"
0:38:40 > 0:38:42But it wasn't all cream, butter and sugar...
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Back in the 1970s, whilst some of us were happily embracing modernity
0:38:53 > 0:38:58by munching away on a mixture of flavourings and preservatives...
0:38:58 > 0:39:02And were content to buy all our shopping at the local supermarket...
0:39:02 > 0:39:07An alternative approach to food had been gathering momentum.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10In the last five years, business has doubled.
0:39:10 > 0:39:15For every health food shop in 1960, there are now ten.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Hundreds of chemist shops are now selling health foods.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23There are even large health food supermarkets and no longer
0:39:23 > 0:39:26do enthusiasts have to rely on back street herbalists.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31By 1970, this lifestyle that had once been seen as the reserve
0:39:31 > 0:39:35of hippies and weirdos, was starting to go mainstream.
0:39:35 > 0:39:36Health food yoghurt, please.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40# Big love from a rabbit
0:39:40 > 0:39:43# Get yourself that greenery habit
0:39:43 > 0:39:47# That must be the food of love... #
0:39:47 > 0:39:50The answer, of course, is that you are what you eat.
0:39:50 > 0:39:56Over the years, by appealing to the young, they've picked up disciples all over the world.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58A healthy diet leads to a healthy mind.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02As supermarket shelves got stocked with an ever-growing array
0:40:02 > 0:40:05of processed food, more and more people became concerned
0:40:05 > 0:40:08at the effect it was having on us.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11It's the chemist, in fact, who has helped the manufacturer
0:40:11 > 0:40:15to multiply, preserve, colour, flavour and improve his products.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Chemicals that some people would say were unnatural, unnecessary,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21and perhaps dangerous.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24And these sceptics included celebrity chef, Robert Carrier.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I'm worried about our diet today because I think if we're all eating
0:40:29 > 0:40:35frozen peas and we're eating TV dinners, it's going to affect our health, first of all.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40And it's going to affect our mental stability and it's also going to affect our libido.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45The movement also had a more unlikely heroine whose own success
0:40:45 > 0:40:49was founded on helping people maintain a healthy level of desire.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52That grande dame of the romantic novel, Barbara Cartland.
0:40:55 > 0:41:01Now her passion for romantic love is shared with an evangelical fervour for honey and vitamins.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Opening a health food store in Croydon is part of a campaign
0:41:04 > 0:41:07to make her readers pure in more than heart.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Ladies and gentlemen,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12I must first of all tell you that Mr Lee Richardson was the person
0:41:12 > 0:41:15who first started to warn us about pollution,
0:41:15 > 0:41:20about the terrible chemicals in our food. And he did so ten years ago.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24I started to help him six years ago and everybody said, "Oh, cranks."
0:41:24 > 0:41:27You know. "Freaks, new ideas." And now we're so respectable.
0:41:27 > 0:41:33We have Prince Philip and Mr Nixon with us and so everybody's on the same bandwagon.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38Ah, of course, President Nixon! Well, who could have asked for a better role model?
0:41:39 > 0:41:43I was with my mother, who is 92, two days ago and she said to me,
0:41:43 > 0:41:48"Well, darling," she said, "when you want me to die, just stop my vitamins!"
0:41:48 > 0:41:54And let everybody who comes here feel happy, gay, young, and God bless you all.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57# Lord knows I'm good for you
0:41:57 > 0:41:59# Lord knows I'm good for you
0:41:59 > 0:42:01# Lord knows I'm good for you! #
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Barbara Cartland would go on to champion health food
0:42:04 > 0:42:08throughout the rest of her life and wrote several books on the subject.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14The nation's favourite TV cook also did her bit to re-introduce
0:42:14 > 0:42:17us Brits to a more wholesome approach to eating.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21There we are. The ground loaf. The easiest loaf in the world.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25Very crusty, very delicious, full of flavour.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27The real food movement was a backlash to what was seen
0:42:27 > 0:42:31as the increasing artificiality of modern food.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33But as the decade went on
0:42:33 > 0:42:36and it grew, it started to attract its own critics.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Between us last year we spent £25 million on health foods,
0:42:41 > 0:42:42which is a lot of money.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44And if you like the taste, that's fair enough.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48But we were wondering why they're called health foods.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Take, for example, sea salt.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54Oil pollution, mercury, cadmium, chromium, lead.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56All that's in sea water.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58Wouldn't you know?
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Despite the criticism, by the end of the decade,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06even the supermarkets got in on the action.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10Selling items that had once purely been the reserve of specialist shops
0:43:10 > 0:43:12for people in sandals.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Like yoghurt and muesli.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Alpen is good things from the good earth, pure and simple.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23Alpen. Alpen. Alpen...
0:43:23 > 0:43:27In the '70s, we began to demand healthier foods, as more and more
0:43:27 > 0:43:30of us realised just how removed we had become from the process
0:43:30 > 0:43:32of food production and nature.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36And people began to dream of a simple life.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42Ah, ethical living, making your self-sufficient dream
0:43:42 > 0:43:44become a reality.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49Back in the 1970s, one on-screen couple took the plunge,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53leaving their humdrum nine-to-five lifestyle to embark on
0:43:53 > 0:43:56what would become known to us as The Good Life.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01The antics of Tom and Barbara Good have subsequently been credited
0:44:01 > 0:44:04with influencing a generation of Britons to embrace
0:44:04 > 0:44:09their pastoral heritage and revert to making their living off the land!
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Over in Cambridgeshire, Simon and Jacqueline Saggers
0:44:16 > 0:44:21are a 21st century incarnation of this much-loved '70s legacy.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27I think Tom and Barbara's motivation was really lifestyle.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30You know, they wanted to get out of the rat race,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33get out of the whole idea of just having to earn money for a living
0:44:33 > 0:44:37and not do anything else. Growing things, being in touch with the land.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40All those things I think are always going to be important for us humans.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44So I think it's a really deep-rooted and primeval thing
0:44:44 > 0:44:48that they touched, and I think that's partly why it was so successful.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54But whilst the image of a suburban middle class couple
0:44:54 > 0:44:58opting out of the rat race might have been game for a laugh for many of us,
0:44:58 > 0:45:02for others at the time it was a real lifestyle choice.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07For the last four years, an old farmhouse in Norfolk
0:45:07 > 0:45:10has been home for the Shrub Family. A commune of young people
0:45:10 > 0:45:13who live together, who try and survive on their own resources,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17and who quietly reject the values of the consumer society
0:45:17 > 0:45:20which surrounds them and to which they all once belonged.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25This thing of buying and buying is contributing to the world's problems.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29So we hope that by setting some kind of example,
0:45:29 > 0:45:33perhaps people will see that they can do with less.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35And it will help the world's problems.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42But by the 1970s, this voice for change was beginning
0:45:42 > 0:45:45to be taken a whole lot more seriously.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49Ecology is about living together in a world that's changing fast.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Tackling our problems with a completely fresh approach.
0:45:52 > 0:45:58And the Ecology Party, or ECO for short, is Britain's fastest-growing political party.
0:45:58 > 0:46:03# I don't need pleasure, I don't feel pain... #
0:46:03 > 0:46:06ECO stresses the importance of self-reliance,
0:46:06 > 0:46:10of living within our means through a stable, non-polluting economy.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14Recycling waste and providing far more of our own food than we do now.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17# ..I'm all about. #
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Born in the 1970s, these same issues still drive green politics today.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28But it's how we grow our food that is underpinning
0:46:28 > 0:46:32Simon's 21st Century "good life".
0:46:32 > 0:46:35Now we understand that the food system that we're running
0:46:35 > 0:46:41is so intensive, so resource-heavy, that we need to start looking at that and addressing it.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45Instead of having a farm where you've got one man running 1,000 acres,
0:46:45 > 0:46:48really just because of oil, which, you know,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50albeit a fantastic substance, is going to run out.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54And we need to try and find ways to get more people back onto the land,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57actually living and working and doing it in a way
0:46:57 > 0:47:00which isn't oil-dependent and which does, as well,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03give us a more fulfilling lifestyle.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Whilst motivations for living the good life have evolved,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11there's no denying that getting greener fingered has something
0:47:11 > 0:47:13to offer us all.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16I think there isn't anything better than growing the food that you eat
0:47:16 > 0:47:19where you're actually able to go and dig potatoes or harvest your
0:47:19 > 0:47:23runner beans and take them straight into the kitchen and cook them.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25That's a fantastic thing to be able to do and everyone can do it,
0:47:25 > 0:47:28more than we're doing at the moment. You know, even on a small scale,
0:47:28 > 0:47:32in small gardens, people can get involving in growing their own food.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40Turning back time like this isn't exactly many people's idea of progress.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44But as third generation farmers on the same plot,
0:47:44 > 0:47:46the Saggers knew they could make it work.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50It was once a mixed organic smallholding here,
0:47:50 > 0:47:51we're repeating history.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54But Simon's father took it to the intensive farming
0:47:54 > 0:47:56that was the norm when he was a young man.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00So battery chickens was something that, you know, was being encouraged
0:48:00 > 0:48:03and funded from government. So that's the route he went.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04That was what his life was about.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07So for him, to see us take on a handful of chickens, you know,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10just for a small number of eggs, and then do the vegetables
0:48:10 > 0:48:12and the fruit and the honey,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15he just thought, "How can that patchwork really work?
0:48:15 > 0:48:17"How can that be a proper living?"
0:48:17 > 0:48:20And that's where I think they were just very apprehensive
0:48:20 > 0:48:22that we'd gone down the wrong route.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28But it turns out as well as managing to grow most of their own food,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31any spare produce has been easily sold
0:48:31 > 0:48:34through their own veg box scheme.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36I really do think people are wanting to eat more healthily
0:48:36 > 0:48:37and more ethically.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40The very fact we are a very small organic box supplier
0:48:40 > 0:48:42and we've got a constant waiting list
0:48:42 > 0:48:45and people ringing up all the time wanting to find out if they can
0:48:45 > 0:48:48join the list, because not very many people do fresh food cut that day.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51You know, they do a lot of organic box schemes around the country,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54but to actually know you've picked it up that afternoon,
0:48:54 > 0:48:56it was cut that morning, I think people are beginning to realise
0:48:56 > 0:48:59that the fresher the food is, the healthier it is.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04Buying organic, local, fresh produce has seen food
0:49:04 > 0:49:07become central to the whole environmental movement.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11But where on-screen pioneers Tom and Barbara Good
0:49:11 > 0:49:15played to a stereotype with their peapod burgundy
0:49:15 > 0:49:18and back garden methane generators...
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Living the good life now is as much about accepting
0:49:21 > 0:49:24the global need to develop sustainable lifestyle
0:49:24 > 0:49:27as it is about, well, living a good life!
0:49:29 > 0:49:33- So, homemade elderflower champagne.- Home made?
0:49:33 > 0:49:34- Home made.- Well done.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38I would definitely prefer to be living the good life now
0:49:38 > 0:49:40compared to the 1970s.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43We're just much more knowledgeable about what we're doing
0:49:43 > 0:49:46in terms of growing the food, presenting the food,
0:49:46 > 0:49:47eating the food, cooking the food.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51I mean, it's a more sophisticated and more exciting game now.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54I think the term the good life means so many different things
0:49:54 > 0:49:55to so many different people.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58And ultimately everyone's got to find their own answer
0:49:58 > 0:50:00to what the good life is.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04For us, it has been about real change that does mean we are
0:50:04 > 0:50:07able to live more sustainably, closer to the land
0:50:07 > 0:50:10and without the resources that we are currently gobbling up.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21But back in the 1970s, as much as we loved watching Tom and Barbara,
0:50:21 > 0:50:25the majority of us hadn't yet jumped on the healthy eating band wagon.
0:50:25 > 0:50:26The culinary heart of the 1970s
0:50:26 > 0:50:30was still very much the calorie-laden classics.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33The 1970s were brilliant.
0:50:33 > 0:50:38- By thing is though, it has left us with some guilty pleasures.- Yeah.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40Secretly listening to the Bay City rollers,
0:50:40 > 0:50:45- wearing stacked-heel boots and tartan pants.- Absolutely not, Kingy.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50- I mean culinary.- Oh. Ah, well, that's a different thing.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55Ladies and gentlemen, the chicken cordon bleu.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57An American dish with a French name
0:50:57 > 0:51:01that in the 1970s was taken to the heart of the British nation.
0:51:01 > 0:51:06It was a dish that became more popular than flares and sideburns
0:51:06 > 0:51:08and who can really blame us?
0:51:08 > 0:51:12Do you know, it is quite often thought of as being a bit naff now?
0:51:12 > 0:51:15But when there is something you want to eat, it's great.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Cheese, chicken, ham
0:51:18 > 0:51:21- and we have got a little surprise in the centre.- We certainly have.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23We have thrown another bit of '70s into that as well.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24On my way. On my way.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27Now, what we are going to do. See this mini fillet here?
0:51:27 > 0:51:30We are going to take that off, like that.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33Then we are going to open it up a bit like a book.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Now, I'm thinking we should do that way
0:51:35 > 0:51:37and open it that way cos this is thicker, you see?
0:51:37 > 0:51:39It's a chicken Kiev vibe.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43'Next, cover your board with clingfilm
0:51:43 > 0:51:47'and place your fillet on top, ready for tenderising.'
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Leave room... You see how I have done?
0:51:49 > 0:51:50Leave room for the chicken to spread
0:51:50 > 0:51:53when you bash the living daylights out of it. Not too hard.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55Nice and gentle but bash it all the same.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59'By the time you've finished,
0:51:59 > 0:52:01'the fillet should be about a centimetre thick.'
0:52:02 > 0:52:04I have got three bowls here.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09One for seasoned flour, one for breadcrumbs, one for beaten eggs.
0:52:09 > 0:52:14And, you know, you could use Japanese panko crumbs or you
0:52:14 > 0:52:18could use ciabatta crumbs or you could make your own but the
0:52:18 > 0:52:21ones for this are those orange ones that you get in the chip shop.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23The ones you can see from space.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25- That's what you want.- You do.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30- You do. You don't want any of that newfangled shenanigans.- No.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Season the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper.
0:52:33 > 0:52:34Now beat three eggs in a bowl
0:52:34 > 0:52:37and chop up some Emmental cheese into four chunks,
0:52:37 > 0:52:41each roughly the size of half a matchbox.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44- Kingy?- What, mate? - Who were your favourite '70s band?
0:52:44 > 0:52:50Oh, well, it was that time of glam rock and everything, wasn't it?
0:52:50 > 0:52:53So it was like... There was like, The Sweet. And there was...
0:52:53 > 0:52:56There was... With Ballroom Blitz. Can you remember that?
0:52:56 > 0:52:57That was brilliant.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00# Na, na, na, na, ballroom blitz Ballroom blitz. #
0:53:00 > 0:53:04- For me, the '70s, it was T Rex. - Yes.- That was my time.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07I was, like, 14 but I did make my own loon pants.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Do you remember? 28-inch bottoms, split-kneed loons.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Got my mother's sewing machine, got some school pants
0:53:13 > 0:53:15and sewed bits in there like that
0:53:15 > 0:53:19and walked down the street looking absolutely ridiculous.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21# Get it on Bang a gong
0:53:21 > 0:53:23# Get it on. #
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Now, lay the ham on the chicken breast
0:53:27 > 0:53:30leaving about a centimetre all the way around.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33A cube of cheese in the middle.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35That gives you the ooze.
0:53:35 > 0:53:36Cranberry sauce.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41It gives you that Brie wedge coated in golden crumbs and fried vibe.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45Now, take your mini fillet and place it over your stuff in the middle.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Roll it over like so.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Make a little chicken torpedo.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Now, if you're of a nervous disposition,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57you could put this in the fridge to chill and to settle
0:53:57 > 0:54:00but we'll just leave it for a while whilst we repeat with the others.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04# Get it on Bang a gong
0:54:04 > 0:54:05# Get it on. #
0:54:09 > 0:54:13Now this next bit is best done with the aid of a friend
0:54:13 > 0:54:17because one of you gets appallingly messed up
0:54:17 > 0:54:21whilst the other one really needs clean hands to put it into the pan.
0:54:21 > 0:54:22Indeed.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24So should I kind of do the...
0:54:24 > 0:54:25..dirty work...
0:54:25 > 0:54:28- ..and you kind of do the... - ..not so dirty work?
0:54:28 > 0:54:31All right. So, that's kind of...
0:54:31 > 0:54:34It's relaxed into its torpedo-like form.
0:54:34 > 0:54:35- Flour.- Lovely.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Plenty of it.
0:54:38 > 0:54:39Egg.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42Roll it.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45And roll it in luminous crumbs.
0:54:45 > 0:54:46Marvellous.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48I'm so messy at this.
0:54:48 > 0:54:49And eggy.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53- Again. This is called double-dipped.- Get in.
0:54:55 > 0:54:56We love a double dip, don't we?
0:54:56 > 0:54:58Yeah.
0:54:58 > 0:55:03And back in the crumbs. And don't be shy. There you are.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05- I love you.- I love you too.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Thank you.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10And the clean bit of the job is placing them into some hot oil
0:55:10 > 0:55:15just long enough to sear the '70s fashion torpedoes on all sides.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17- I was never good with fashion.- No?
0:55:17 > 0:55:18I was a big lad, you know.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21Anyway, I had my drainpipes, got them done.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25And it was the time of very high heels for men and I wore these
0:55:25 > 0:55:30grey patent leather winkle-pickers with stacked-heel Cuban heels.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34- What?- I had a Russian motorbike and sidecar in London.
0:55:34 > 0:55:35First year at art school.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39So I set off to a party. Drainpipes.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42My grey patent leather winkle-picker Cuban heels.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Russian motorbike down the Old Kent Road.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Stopped at the traffic lights, the thing skidded,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49I put my feet down and my heels just exploded.
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Did you take your Cuban heels off?
0:55:50 > 0:55:53It took my Cubans off on the Old Kent Road.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59Once they're nicely browned all over, take your tasty torpedoes
0:55:59 > 0:56:02and place them in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees Celsius.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06Cook them for about 25 minutes
0:56:06 > 0:56:08or until the chicken is cooked through.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Now chop up three parboiled potatoes
0:56:10 > 0:56:13and pour some duck fat into a frying pan.
0:56:15 > 0:56:16Slice up a clove of garlic.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22Now fry the spuds and, once browned, add the garlic,
0:56:22 > 0:56:26a handful of rosemary and season with salt and pepper.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Sprinkle in the sea salt, ooh, ooh, ooh.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33Now keep frying until the potatoes are cooked through.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35Fanny Craddock memorial potatoes.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37- I'll get the beans, Kingy. - All right, mate.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45What sort of stuff did you do at art college then, Dave?
0:56:45 > 0:56:46Oh, food, food, food.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49This sort of this, really. I thought I'd do a garnish.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Oh, right, neat.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54Nice. Really nice.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56It's called Satsuma Dawn.
0:56:59 > 0:57:00Brilliant.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10- Oh.- Oh, nice.
0:57:10 > 0:57:15After 25 minutes are up, your cordon bleu should be beautifully browned
0:57:15 > 0:57:19and it's time to plate them up with your spuds and some green beans.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25- Shall we?- Yes, go on then. - Please burst.
0:57:28 > 0:57:34- Oh!- Look at that. Ooorrgh! - It's foamy ooze.
0:57:37 > 0:57:38It's perfect.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47Just because food fashion has left it behind,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51doesn't mean to say the chicken cordon bleu isn't a great plate of food.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53Yes, there's still place for two-tone trousers
0:57:53 > 0:57:55and Afghan coat in the kitchen.
0:57:57 > 0:57:58I'm with you.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02A guilty pleasure it may be
0:58:02 > 0:58:06but I, for one, will have zero guilt in polishing this whole thing off.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16If, like us, you want to celebrate the '70s, why not go
0:58:16 > 0:58:23and find out how it's done on our dead ace website:
0:58:30 > 0:58:33Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd