0:00:02 > 0:00:05If there's one thing I look forward to at the end of a busy day,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09it's the thought of getting back to my kitchen at home.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14'For me, nothing beats cooking some simple, heart-warming, food.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Oh-oh-oh! It is so good.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22'The kind of no-nonsense grub that brings people together.'
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Cheers, everyone.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31'The dishes I turn to when I want to put a big smile on everyone's face.'
0:00:32 > 0:00:35These are my home comforts.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47I really love my job, but there's nothing better at the end of a busy
0:00:47 > 0:00:51week, than heading home to my house in Hampshire and just kicking back.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56And, for me, a lazy Sunday brunch is the highlight of my weekend.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Sunday is definitely my day for unwinding at home,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and let's face it, none of us want to be spending hours in the kitchen.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07So today's show is packed with dishes that
0:01:07 > 0:01:10I like to tuck in to when I unwind.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13It's food like this that really gets me excited.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18We'll be getting the low down on my favourite brunch ingredient.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Best part of the day, sitting down with a big pile of asparagus.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23And meeting a Manchester coffee-maker
0:01:23 > 0:01:25whose job is a real grind.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Learning to roast coffee is hell!
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Before I work up an appetite for the perfect Sunday brunch.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34Check that out.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46A mainstay of my Sunday brunches is a good old British fry-up.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49But on days when I'm feeling extra lazy,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52I go for a less labour intensive pick-me-up.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56It's my pan-fried gruyere and pancetta brioche sandwich.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Now Brits love a good fry-up but it's the Americans who I think are
0:02:03 > 0:02:05real masters at this.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Anybody that's been over to the States will know that the
0:02:07 > 0:02:09American bacon is really spectacular.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11You've got like a hickory smoke with it.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16But you can get away with using this stuff. This is pancetta.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'Pancetta is Italian dry-cured pork belly
0:02:20 > 0:02:23'and for this recipe you fry it in a warm pan.'
0:02:25 > 0:02:27The temptation is to add oil to this.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29You don't want to do that.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31You're just going to basically render down the fat a little bit.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34This is the secret of the pancetta really, because it's lovely
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and thin, you can get it lovely and crisp.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41To me, it's like the ultimate brunch.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43The thing is with English breakfasts are great,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45but you do create a lot of washing up and a lot of grief,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48whereas this is kind of just all cooked in one pan.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50'When the pancetta is cooked
0:02:50 > 0:02:54'add two tablespoons of maple syrup to the pan.'
0:02:54 > 0:02:57If anybody's been and had breakfast in America, you know,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59you have about a litre of this per portion.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06'I'm going to serve this between twice slices of eggy bread.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11'For this, you'll need to mix two eggs and 150ml of full fat milk into a bowl.'
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Then to follow on with that sort of American style,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19we add a bit of sweetness.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23It's quite an unusual thing for us to do in the UK, to add sugar,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25but it really does work.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28'Cut the brioche into thin slices.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31'Then make the sandwiches with gruyere cheese
0:03:31 > 0:03:32'and the cooked pancetta.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Now you've got to work quite quickly,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43so you want to make sure you've got the pan nice and warm.
0:03:43 > 0:03:44Plenty of butter.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Now this is probably the reason why I liked this in the first place.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51The brioche will absorb most of this butter anyway.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Now all you do if, you just take the sandwich,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56dunk it in egg,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58pop that in there.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04Now whenever I do this at home, and it's generally on a Sunday,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08the smell of this sort of permeates throughout the entire house
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and literally it's like the Pied Piper and all my mates,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15who are the mice, just sort of appear from nowhere, wherever
0:04:15 > 0:04:18they've fallen asleep, and descend on the kitchen to have one of these.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23You want to pan-fry it so the brioche is nice and toasted,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25but you want to melt the cheese at the same time.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It's food like this that really gets me excited.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36It's like the best toasted sandwich, the best breakfast, all in one.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39'You may find it hard to believe
0:04:39 > 0:04:41'that I could ever be lost for words.'
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Do I really have to say anything?
0:04:51 > 0:04:57'This kind of simple home-cooked Sunday brunch really is my idea of food heaven.'
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Not many veg are tasty enough to be the centrepiece of
0:05:05 > 0:05:08a delicious Sunday brunch.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11But asparagus is definitely one of them.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14With a drizzle of melted butter, and a sprinkle of pepper
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and Parmesan, it's one of my absolute favourites.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And less than ten miles from the Yorkshire town I grew up in,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25arable farmers Ronda and Richard Morritt are producing
0:05:25 > 0:05:28some of the best asparagus money can buy.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30It all started 15 years ago,
0:05:30 > 0:05:35when they needed to find a business to fit in with family life.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39I needed to work and, but having a baby, I had to work from home
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and so you said, "Let's do a pick your own strawberry patch."
0:05:42 > 0:05:45So we contacted our advisor.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48And he started digging.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50He said, "How far down does this sand go?"
0:05:50 > 0:05:51And he said, "Well actually,"
0:05:51 > 0:05:54he said, "you've got perfect soil for asparagus."
0:05:54 > 0:05:56They took a chance and planted one acre,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58which took two years to establish.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01The day came when it sprouted out off the ground and we thought,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04right, what do we do with it? And so we very quickly just made
0:06:04 > 0:06:07a board, do you remember, just a little board with Asparagus written
0:06:07 > 0:06:11on it, £2.50 and an arrow and we were always sold out by lunchtime.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- So amateurish to start with. - Yeah, but...
0:06:13 > 0:06:15All by the seat of our pants.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16From one acre and now we're on to 14.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- We've got 14 acres in the ground. - Cutting from about ten or 11.- Yeah.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23We're just cutting the asparagus that's long enough to cut.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27The rule of thumb is that it's at least as long as the knife.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30If it's not as long as the knife, you can't take it.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32The root knows that we've actually cut it and it sends
0:06:32 > 0:06:35a message down and says, "Oh something's happened upstairs, let's
0:06:35 > 0:06:39"send another one up." And that's what it keeps doing the whole season.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44If it's a hot day like today, 20, 25 degrees, we can get four,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47six inches of growth in a day.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51In Britain, asparagus is one of the first veg to appear each spring.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54The asparagus season starts generally the last
0:06:54 > 0:06:57week in April, first week in May, but that can really vary with
0:06:57 > 0:07:00the weather and so it's a very short season, what, six or eight
0:07:00 > 0:07:05weeks maximum and in that time, our workload goes from here to here.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It's just absolutely massive.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Once picked, the asparagus is sorted into bundles, according to size.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And at the height of the season that's anything up
0:07:15 > 0:07:17to 1,500 bundles a day.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22We grade it into thin spears, medium-size spears and fat spears
0:07:22 > 0:07:24and the choice is the customer's.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Depends what they're doing with it, really.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33You can buy it in shops but it's all,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37all different sizes and you can overcook some spears
0:07:37 > 0:07:39and undercook others but here you can get it just right.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I've been coming here for asparagus for years
0:07:42 > 0:07:44and I'm informed when it's first ready.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I would never eat asparagus out of season.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50It's one of those things that has got to be eaten in season.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54From working on my own, managing the whole farm,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58doing everything myself, to suddenly managing staff and having customers
0:07:58 > 0:08:02as well to deal with, I think that was the big turning point.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04And having to put a smile on my face.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Yeah, yeah. Rather than just being an isolated miserable farmer.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13And there are a few other benefits to having more asparagus
0:08:13 > 0:08:15than you can shake a stick at.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18I think we probably eat it five or six times
0:08:18 > 0:08:20a week in the asparagus season.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25I like mine just slightly softer than al dente, I would say.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Three or four minutes and it'll be ready.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Best part of the day, sitting down with a big pile of asparagus,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36tastes like nothing else, you can't compare it to anything else,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38just absolutely delicious.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47For me, asparagus is the taste of summertime Sunday brunches.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50And I'm really keen to try some that's been grown in my home
0:08:50 > 0:08:52county of Yorkshire.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53So I've invited Ronda
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and Richard over to sample one of my favourite asparagus recipes.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Now, I've got to say, I love asparagus,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04but not the easiest crop to produce. It sits there in the land,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06you can't have anything, what is it, two years?
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- At least, yeah.- At least two years. - Two to three years, yeah.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11I mean, it's a big risk, isn't it or...?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Well, we only put an acre in, so the risk wasn't huge to start with.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16- We didn't know what we were doing really, did we?- No.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19You didn't? Isn't that farming anyway, in general, you don't
0:09:19 > 0:09:21know what you're doing until you try it.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Because as a crop goes, it's kind of unique in terms of how it grows.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28When the climate's right, I mean, no other crop grows like it, does it?
0:09:28 > 0:09:29You can almost hear it growing.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Fresh British asparagus deserves special treatment, so I'm going
0:09:35 > 0:09:40to serve it with cured ham, poached duck egg and hollandaise sauce.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43So the first thing I'm going to do is cook the duck eggs.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Now for that, you need some salted boiling water, with a touch
0:09:46 > 0:09:50of vinegar and the vinegar will actually seal in the whites as well.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Particularly with duck eggs, this is quite important,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55so, throw a little bit of vinegar in and then the duck eggs
0:09:55 > 0:09:59here are just spectacular, with this wonderful asparagus.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01'When your pan of water comes to the boil,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05'whisk it to create a whirlpool and then drop the eggs in, one by one.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:10And the eggs you crack into a bowl because the shells of a duck
0:10:10 > 0:10:14egg are quite solid and they do need a little helping hand.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18As soon as this comes to the boil, just gently simmer this
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and then we can cook it for about two to three minutes.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Now I didn't know that there was loads of different
0:10:23 > 0:10:25types of asparagus as well.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Do you produce an earlier crop, I mean, what...?
0:10:27 > 0:10:30No, the variety we use is Mondeo, that's the predominant one.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33And where did asparagus come from in the first place because...?
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- I believe it's Italian.- Italian? - Mediterranean shores, yeah.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Yeah, first found on the sea shores,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41because it really likes sandy, salty land.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43- It's kind of like samphire really - Yes, probably similar.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46- I suppose, that kind of.- Yes, yeah. - You can see why when you look at it,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- it's that appearance as well.- Exactly.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51When you've finished the season, what happens to the crop?
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I mean how, how do you keep it for the following year?
0:10:53 > 0:10:56We stop harvest and then we let the asparagus grow
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and it grows into the fern, a metre and a half, two metres high
0:10:59 > 0:11:02and that's really important for, in the summer, to have that fern,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05because that's the working, putting all the goodness
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and the storage back into the roots for the following season.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- So then you leave it, let it grow. - Leave it.- It does its fern stuff.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And then about, what, October, it dies off.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Yeah, it starts dying off, going brown, golden brown, October.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Once it's brown it's done its job and we just cut it off.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20And that's it.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23And you've got an empty muddy field for about five, six months.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24Until it warms up again.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Mm, absolutely.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30And when your egg is ready, you can just lift it out,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32pop it into ice-cold water.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Now what this is going to do is just set the cooking of it.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38It's a great way to actually to make these beforehand,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41particularly if you've got a load of people around for brunch.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44You can just have all this lot done and then they only take
0:11:44 > 0:11:49about 20 seconds to re-heat, so just repeat the process with another egg.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Where do you start when you want to plant a new crop?
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Where do you go, do you...?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56We could propagate our own, but we don't,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59we give that to somebody else. And we just buy them in.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Somebody propagates them for us and we order.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02How many did we order this year?
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- 18,000 crowns.- So 18,000 plants. - 18,000 plants.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09And how long does a plant last for, because I've got some in the bottom
0:12:09 > 0:12:13of my garden that I've waited and waited and waited and it's produced
0:12:13 > 0:12:17for the first time this year, but if I let the ferns go and die down
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and cut it back, how long can I expect to keep that going?
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Commercially, we'd be looking at eight years, roughly harvest,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27of harvest.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30In your garden, you'd get 16, 20 years, perhaps.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32HE SCOFFS
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Might not be here in 16 to 20 years either.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39'Next thing to do is make the hollandaise.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41'Start by adding two egg yolks to the mixer
0:12:41 > 0:12:46'and with the motor running slowly, pour in the cooled melted butter.'
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Now traditionally, this would be whisked over a bain-marie,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56which is a, to us three here, a pan of 'at watter.'
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Which is basically just a bowl over hot water.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02But the secret of hollandaise is to allow the butter to cool down.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Now this has been clarified
0:13:04 > 0:13:07and quite simply all you do is you just put a block of butter in a pan,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10bring it to a gentle simmer and turn it off.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14And all the solid parts of the butter,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17the salts and everything else, sink to the bottom of the pan.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22So when you do this, what you don't want to do is basically stir it,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25because all the impurities sit in the bottom of the pan.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36So the hollandaise is now lovely and thick, like that,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38going to leave that to one side.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Now how do people store asparagus, because do you put it in the fridge?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43How do you keep it, once you have it?
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I would put it in a container, a tall container,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and stand it, a little bit of water in the bottom.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- Like you would keep cut flowers. - Really? OK.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Like, you know, pop it in a little bit of water
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and just put it where your milk lives.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57Is it quite a hard sell really?
0:13:57 > 0:13:59I don't suppose it is any more, is it?
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I don't think it is, no.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06I think it sells itself in that we only sell today's or
0:14:06 > 0:14:09yesterday's and it's really, really fresh.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Kind of, it's word of mouth, more than anything else.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15It is, but the seasonality of it also sells itself.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16It's such a short season
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and it really is that first taste of summer.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21For a chef, you look forward to the asparagus
0:14:21 > 0:14:24because you know the next thing that's going to hit you is
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Jersey royal potatoes and, you know, the crab are starting to come
0:14:27 > 0:14:29through, and everything just marries together.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Yeah, it's one of the first. It's like, that's what we say, don't we?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35We say, "Rhubarb, asparagus, new potatoes and we're off."
0:14:36 > 0:14:39'The hollandaise is flavoured with a reduction of shallots,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41'black peppercorns and white wine vinegar.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45'It's made by putting all three ingredients in a pan,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48'and bringing to the boil before reducing by half.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53'The liquid is then cooled and added to the egg and butter mixture.'
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Now this is quite strong stuff and this is what flavours the
0:14:56 > 0:15:01hollandaise sauce and gives it its unique sort of taste, in my opinion.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Sometimes this is flavoured with a little bit of lemon juice
0:15:04 > 0:15:07as well and all I really do to cook the asparagus
0:15:07 > 0:15:10after that, is just drop it into a bit of salted boiling water.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12I don't think it needs anything else.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Nothing else, straight in.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17'The asparagus should take three to four minutes,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20'and while it's cooking trim your poached eggs.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22'And when the asparagus is done,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26'pop them in the pan to heat through for 20 seconds or so.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30'That way, everyone gets a perfectly poached egg.'
0:15:30 > 0:15:33I'm going to serve this with some fantastic ham.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35So often you can do this with Serrano and Parma
0:15:35 > 0:15:39and particularly with asparagus being sort of a Mediterranean crop,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42that's why the two things work really well together.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46'This is a dish that's full of the flavours of summer.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49'Beautifully fresh asparagus, perfectly poached eggs,
0:15:49 > 0:15:54'fantastically creamy hollandaise and of course that delicious ham.'
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Well, hopefully this has done asparagus justice.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- Looks good, doesn't it?- So dive in.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Thank you.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09- Oh, gorgeous, isn't it?- Mm.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14The thing is with asparagus, don't ruin it, don't put loads of different things with it.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Nice and simple. What more do you want?
0:16:18 > 0:16:20It's great, really nice.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Believe me, when asparagus is in season,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27this is one of the best Sunday brunches you'll ever have.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35For most Brits, a Sunday brunch isn't Sunday brunch
0:16:35 > 0:16:39unless it's accompanied by a pot of top-notch coffee.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42So, it's good to know a growing band of small-scale artisan
0:16:42 > 0:16:45producers are broadening our understanding
0:16:45 > 0:16:49and appreciation of the humble coffee bean, by roasting it at home.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57In Manchester, James Guard has been roasting beans in his garage
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and selling them locally, for the past three years.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I started working in a cafe, after I graduated,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07and I truly enjoyed that environment.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10So working hands-on, and this is like '96, '97 when people were like,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13"What's a latte?" It literally was like quite a new thing.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17It was 2004, I remember going to Borough Market in London
0:17:17 > 0:17:20and I remember seeing Monmouth Coffee had got an arch,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23one of the arches in Borough and it's just this, I just saw it
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and it was just this whole beautiful looking arch, all these coffee
0:17:26 > 0:17:29beans from different countries, all sort of laid out and these
0:17:29 > 0:17:32baristas making fantastic drinks and people sort of gathering around
0:17:32 > 0:17:35these big wooden tables and it was just this fantastic experience.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37I just thought, "That's what I want to do. I want to do that."
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It had to be roasting because that's what connects you to the coffee.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46But it is exciting as well and sometimes you just think,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49"Well, I could sort of make a living, roasting coffee
0:17:49 > 0:17:51"and then selling it to people."
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Just like the grapes that go in to making wine, coffee beans
0:17:54 > 0:17:58have a unique flavour depending on where they've been grown.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Soil, climate and when the coffee is harvested can all have an
0:18:02 > 0:18:06influence on how the roasted coffee beans will eventually taste.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08So we've got this beautiful Brazilian coffee which you can
0:18:08 > 0:18:11smell the sweetness on it, even as the green coffee,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13before you've done anything to it, and you just know when you
0:18:13 > 0:18:16roast it, you're going to get some nice brown sugar sort of flavours.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18If you roast it right, you're going
0:18:18 > 0:18:20to get nice caramels coming through in that coffee.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25And then you've got these really prized Kenyan coffees,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27sort of precious flavours in these.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Phenomenal flavours, I mean, roasters...
0:18:30 > 0:18:32You love getting coffees like these
0:18:32 > 0:18:35because it produces such beautiful complex flavours.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38I insist you can taste lemon meringue pie in it, all sorts
0:18:38 > 0:18:42of really un-coffee-like flavours in a beautiful Kenyan coffee.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45So to be able to draw out those flavours is really rewarding
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and it's one of the best bits for me as a roaster.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Extracting the desired flavours
0:18:51 > 0:18:53and aromas from the beans is an incredibly skilled job
0:18:53 > 0:18:57and it's not the sort of thing you can learn overnight.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Learning to roast coffee is hell and I hated it.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Because you know what you want coffee to taste like
0:19:02 > 0:19:04and it won't taste like it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06You know, you try roasting it and you think,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08I want it to taste like this, and it doesn't.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10You just learn and you start to tune into the coffee
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and you start to control the heat. It probably took about six months,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15probably even a year, to get to the point where
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I was really tuning in, saying, "Right, I'm really happy with that.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21"I'll put that alongside anyone's espresso and you can have that."
0:19:21 > 0:19:23And I think that's nice.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Once the oven's reached the perfect temperature,
0:19:26 > 0:19:27James can't hang around.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32When you're trying to get the best out of your beans,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34timing is everything.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38So as soon as the green beans drop into the roaster,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41you're starting then on, you know, the development of the flavour.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45So the Sumatra Dugong that we're roasting, it's a big, heavy,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47weighty sort of chocolaty coffee.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50We're going to push it a little bit darker.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53The skill of the coffee roaster is in responding to the subtle
0:19:53 > 0:19:57changes in the beans as they gradually react to the heat.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00You're looking at it, so using your sight.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03You're dipping in, smelling it, what's it doing, what's it doing.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06You're listening out for it because you want to hear that first
0:20:06 > 0:20:08crack point, so you're using all those three senses.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10First crack literally is a cracking sound
0:20:10 > 0:20:15when the coffee is dried out, that moisture being forced out finally.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18So you can start to hear those pops.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20COFFEE BEANS POP
0:20:20 > 0:20:24And then, from first crack, you can smell it every 30 seconds,
0:20:24 > 0:20:2620, 30 seconds, and the flavours will be changing.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32There's the nice beginnings of that sort of sweetness,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35beginnings of that sort of caramelisation.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39So for me, as a roaster, the job is show the bean, you know,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41emphasise the bean, the flavour, the quality.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46Getting that lovely chocolate aroma coming off that.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48We're happy, we know what flavour we want,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52we want it to stop developing the flavour there, so we'll drop it out.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Once that's cooled, the flavour, we then can get that sealed up,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00get it into bags, preserve the freshness.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Because he's able to pay so much attention to the detail,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07James has managed to create a skilfully crafted range of coffees
0:21:07 > 0:21:12that maximise the flavour from the beans he chooses to work with.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16And because small artisan producers like James can never roast
0:21:16 > 0:21:18the kind of volumes your high street chains are after,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22impressing independent local baristas with your latest
0:21:22 > 0:21:25batch is a very important part of the job.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It's a very nervous moment if you're very responsible as a roaster,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35especially if you're putting coffee into cafes and things.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38When you've roasted it, you've tried it and then that moment
0:21:38 > 0:21:41when you've ground it off and then you hit the button for the
0:21:41 > 0:21:45espresso shot and then the shot comes through and then you try it.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50It's got lovely body, lovely sweetness,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52very dark chocolate.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54It's beautiful.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Yeah, bang on.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07When I have a bunch of my mates round for Sunday brunch
0:22:07 > 0:22:11they all expect a steady stream of coffee and croissants.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15But you won't catch me running to the local bakery for supplies.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19If I've got time, I like to rustle my own home-made buttery croissants.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Coffee and croissants go hand in hand.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Now you know how coffee's produced,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28now I'm going to teach you how croissants are made
0:22:28 > 0:22:30and it uses basically strong flour to start off with.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34So this is kind of like an enriched yeast dough.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37'Put 625 grams of flour
0:22:37 > 0:22:40'and 75 grams of caster sugar into your food mixer.'
0:22:41 > 0:22:43And then I like to use French salt,
0:22:43 > 0:22:49so a good pinch of French fleur de sel and then fresh yeast.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52'You'll need to add 40 grams of the yeast and around 400ml
0:22:52 > 0:22:56'of water, before mixing the whole lot into a soft dough.'
0:22:56 > 0:22:59And unlike bread, you make it with cold water.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02And just mix this for about 30 seconds.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11'When your dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured surface
0:23:11 > 0:23:12'and knead well.'
0:23:20 > 0:23:24I did say you need butter for an all-butter croissant.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25That's one.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Two.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Half a kilo of butter makes 16 croissants.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'It's important to use cold butter for this. First of all,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44'you'll need to put it between two sheets of grease-proof paper.'
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Now give it a good whack.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51What I'm trying to do is flatten out the butter
0:23:51 > 0:23:56to about a centimetre thick.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59And you want it as one big, solid lump.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Once it's nice and thin, like that, about a centimetre thick,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08take the entire lot and pop it in the fridge.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10You want to make that nice and cold.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Now if you thought that was hard work,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14this is where it really starts.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20'Your aim here is to roll out the dough into a huge rectangle.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24'You should get it to be around 60cm by 30cm.'
0:24:25 > 0:24:27It's very easy at first.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30But then it gets harder and harder and harder,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32as soon as the butter goes in.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Now you can see, as opposed to puff pastry,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37this is much more difficult to roll out because the yeast
0:24:37 > 0:24:42in there is starting to work, it's starting to pull this together.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44So every time you do this, it kind of shrinks back
0:24:44 > 0:24:46and it requires more elbow grease.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52What gives croissants their unique texture and flavour
0:24:52 > 0:24:54is the fact that the butter is layered within the dough.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Nice piece of butter on your toast.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02'To do this, start by putting the rolled butter
0:25:02 > 0:25:06'into the centre of the dough, then folding the pastry over it.'
0:25:06 > 0:25:09What we're doing is creating what they call a book turn.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12You see, you fold it one way, fold it the other way.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15'Once the dough has been folded over the butter,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18'it needs to be rolled thinly into a huge rectangle again.'
0:25:20 > 0:25:24But it doesn't stop there, you have fold and roll three times in all.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29So next time you go to a shop and you see a croissant for a quid,
0:25:29 > 0:25:30don't moan.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34'When the dough is ready,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36'you need to make sure it doesn't expand too much,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40'so pop it into fridge for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.'
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I've got one that's been in here for about an hour.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49What you've got to do again...
0:25:49 > 0:25:51is roll it out even more.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Now what you're looking at doing is a nice even sort of thickness,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01sort of half a centimetre thick.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10'After the dough has been rolled out for the final time,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12'divide it into two rectangles,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15'then cut triangles that are about ten centimetres at the base.'
0:26:19 > 0:26:20Now to actually shape them,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23the best way to do that is imagine it's ears.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27You pull its ears apart like that, which I used to do with
0:26:27 > 0:26:33my sister when she was a kid, pull her ears and then roll it forward.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38And this gets the classic croissant shape.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44'Make all your croissants, then lay them on to a baking tray.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47'Then brush each one very lightly with egg wash,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49'being extra careful not to break them.'
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Now the great thing about these, you can actually,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58once they're egg-washed, you can freeze them and when you want
0:26:58 > 0:27:02them, you've got to take them out the freezer, allow them to defrost.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04As they're defrosting the yeast will then come alive again,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08start to rise up and you just bake them as normal.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11And you kind of know, any dish at all with that
0:27:11 > 0:27:13amount of butter in, is going to taste pretty good.
0:27:13 > 0:27:19'The croissants will still need to be left to rise for 30 to 40 minutes.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22'Then pop them in the oven that's been preheated at
0:27:22 > 0:27:25'190 degrees centigrade for 25 minutes.'
0:27:27 > 0:27:30You see, it really is worth the effort.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33There's nothing better than warm croissants out of the oven.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36So even though you've got all this butter on there,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40a little bit more over the top and some jam.
0:27:47 > 0:27:48Mm.
0:27:50 > 0:27:51These are great.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57But there's far too much for me, so come on, guys, dive in.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01Have some butter on it as well.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Mm, these are so good.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It takes me two hours to make them and two minutes to demolish them.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07Look at it.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11- They're warm out the oven. - They're very good.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Lazing around at home on a weekend morning and enjoying some tasty,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18comforting grub is one of the simple pleasures in life.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And making it doesn't have to be a hassle.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Whether it's light summer dishes or hearty winter warmers,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28there are plenty of simple traditional recipes
0:28:28 > 0:28:32that are full of the flavours of the great British Sunday brunch.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35You can find all the recipes from the series on...