Bryony Crutcher Lorraine Pascale: How to Be a Better Cook

I'm Lorraine Pascale.

I'm always hearing from people who tell me

they would love to be better cooks but they don't know what to start.

So, I want to help.

I've never cut up a chilli at all in my life before.

-Have you made a dressing for a salad before?

-No.

I didn't start cooking until my 30s,

so, I wanted to prove that with some easy tips...

Lots of flavour, that's what it's all about.

'..and a few simple recipes.'

Mmm.

'Even if you haven't cooked before,'

it's never too late to learn.

-That's really good!

-You sound surprised.

I'm going to teach six unconfident cooks

how to pull off a special meal for family and friends.

-Hello.

-Hello, ladies!

Lorraine's not cooking tonight. I am.

LAUGHTER No!

I'll be creating dishes that anyone can cook -

from simple family suppers to unbelievably easy party pieces.

-All it takes is a bit of enthusiasm...

-Mm, that is yummy.

..and some confidence.

-Well done, Mummy.

-Thank you, darling.

-See, we're cooking.

-Yeah...

-This is cooking.

I'm on my way to Surrey to meet Bryony Crutcher,

a 26-year-old primary school teacher.

Like many 20-somethings, Bryony's never learned to cook.

And the few times she's tried,

she's had to cheat and pass shop-bought meals off as her own.

Hi, Lorraine, I really need your help. I am dreadful at cooking.

I don't even know where to start, so, please give me a helping hand.

So, how's your cooking?

Pretty bad. Like, terrible bad.

Well, Bryony is not a very confident cook.

I'm hesitant to say, but that she probably gets that from me.

Who cooked for you, when you were living at home?

My dad did all the cooking when we were growing up,

but unfortunately, he's not with us any more,

so it was then left to me and my mum.

But I never really learnt off him

and I can't learn off my mum because she's just as bad.

And so we have to try and make do

with perhaps a bought-in meal.

And then pass it off as my own, pop it in my own dishes,

sprinkle a bit of parsley on top.

So, why do you want to learn to cook now?

My best friend Katie's just got engaged,

and she's asked me to do her a hen-do dinner party

which is like the worst thing she could possibly ask me to do.

So, I really need your help to help me cook something

maybe quite girlie and feminine for a hen-do dinner party.

We've got some work to do.

Yeah, you've got your work cut out for you.

Having never cooked from scratch before,

Bryony now wants to be able to do more than sprinkle

a bit of parsley on a ready meal.

But before we get started,

I want to find out the real limits of what Bryony can do.

I'm going to go with poached egg, that's my favourite and...

-Your speciality?

-It's my speciality.

Oh, and I just broke that one, so that's already off to a bad start!

So, poached egg on toast.

-Aren't you lucky?

-I am!

Going to pop the egg in. Oh, no, I knew this wouldn't work.

Right, I think that is done.

Bryony, you're looking a little bit stressed.

-You were quite calm earlier.

-Well, because now is the...

Oh, no! I just pierced it with a fork.

OK, tell you what, I might use this.

-Bryony, that's a tea strainer!

-Yeah, but it will, oh...

It's going to do the job, isn't it? Oh. Oh.

BRYONY LAUGHS

This is the thing I've chosen to say that I can cook!

SHE GIGGLES

And I'm going to go to town and put bit of salt on it.

-Thank you.

-So, here's your poached egg.

-I think I'll try it over here.

-The toast isn't bad.

-No.

-You did season the egg.

I did put some salt on, yeah.

Oh, no. I'm hoping the flavour's there.

Mmph...

Oh, no!

-It looks home-made.

-It does look home-made, very rustic.

Give it to the dog, come on.

The dog doesn't even want it!

So, Bryony's just cooked me a poached egg.

It wasn't good at all. The toast was only cooked on one side,

the yolk wasn't nice and runny.

And what was even more interesting was the stress level.

She got really panicked and that is just cooking a poached egg!

We've got a lot of work to do to get her calm

to cook a meal for a whole hen party.

I'm thinking a buffet menu is the way forward for Bryony.

Canape recipes can be quite a challenge

because you've got to pack lots of flavour into very small bites.

So, I've chosen a combination of dishes that might be petite,

but are guaranteed to leave a lasting impression.

Some bite-size Asian-inspired salads.

My fancy feta and pomegranate bites.

A posh take on the humble sausage roll.

And to finish off the evening,

some truly divine sweet treats.

My first task is to get Bryony understanding flavours.

So, I've chosen two canapes

that are packed full of bold, fresh ingredients.

Cucumber bites and larb gai, or Thai chicken lettuce cups.

We've got all the different balance of flavours here.

We've got the sweet, the salty, the sour and the heat

and it's just about getting that perfect balance

that's right for you.

Right girls, we've recovered from the poached egg,

so I've got two dishes to make today

-and I'm going to get started with you.

-WHAT?

-OK.

Mum, Carrie, has also never learnt to cook,

so I'm drafting her in to help, too!

Starting off with this simple, no-cook canape -

feta and cucumber bites with pomegranate.

-We need to scoop out the middle.

-Just to make a cup of it.

-Yes, make a cup.

-Don't go right through.

-OK.

-And with you, we're going to make these lettuce cups.

-OK.

-They're called larb gai and it's a Thai dish.

-Mm-hm.

'We're mincing chicken breasts here.'

-And we need a pan with a bit of oil in.

-OK.

-Over a fairly high heat.

What we want to do is fry this chicken off.

Oopsie.

And we want to squidge it down, so it's like in a single layer.

-Keep going with all of it, yeah?

-Yeah, all of it in.

So, how am I going to know it's done?

-You'll know it's done cos it'll go from pink to white.

-OK, right.

-See, that bit's going white already?

-Yeah, all of it like that?

-All of it like that. But then, let it sit for a while, as well.

-OK.

-Cos the temptation is to keep stirring.

-Yeah.

-Stir, stir, stir.

Salt and pepper in there for seasoning.

-I'm going to help your mum.

-All right.

-Have you used a feta before?

-No.

Pop that in there.

We're going to mash it up and add some dill to it.

'Using super fresh herbs like dill

'is a great way to balance the salty feta.'

-Bryony?

-Yeah.

-Can you just leave that for a second.

Taste this feta, it's a very salty cheese.

But we're looking to see if you can taste the dill yet.

Taste the dill.

-Tastes of cheese, doesn't it?

-Mm, I think more can go in.

-How are you two doing?

-Beautifully, we put it all in.

-You went for it.

-Yeah.

-Mm, we went for it.

'Fruit and cheese is a classic combination.

'These red pomegranate seeds are perfect.'

So, talk to me about Katie.

Katie, she's my best friend since growing up,

since we were babies and we've just been friends for life.

We went to the same primary school together,

we've lived together, worked together and now,

she's about to get married

and I'm going to try and do her hen-do dinner party.

She's really like a second daughter to me.

-Really, that's lovely.

-She's a lovely girl.

I'm very, very fond of Katie.

I think you can do it a little bit more neatly.

No, don't squish! We want a mound.

Right, Bryony, let's leave Mum to do her bits and pieces.

-Back to Bryony's larb gai.

-How should I chop this?

-Do you know how to chop ginger?

-No.

-Do you want to have a go?

-Yeah.

We need about that much,

and then you just need to peel off the skin,

so you can use a peeler or a knife.

'Using fresh ginger will bring a gentle sweet heat.'

'The salad is an assembly job from here,

'bringing together all of the ingredients with the chicken.'

-First, put the spring onions in.

-OK.

I was explaining to Bryony

how I like to use the white and the green bit.

But not too much, cos the darker green bit's quite bitter.

-Right.

-Right, simple, simple, simple.

-Yes.

And cucumber.

-The cucumber adds a really nice freshness to this.

-Right.

'For some heat in goes the ginger and the chilli.

'Chicken has a mild taste,

'so is always happy in the company of strong flavours like these.'

Just a tiny bit at first, cos you can always add,

but you can't take away.

OK.

This is something I have never done, taste as I go along.

We just bung it in and go on to the next thing.

I want you to make it taste the way you want it to taste.

-You make it how you want it to taste.

-A bit more cucumber in,

but I don't think it needs any more heat stuff.

'Fish sauce adds a salty kick to the salad.'

In as well.

-A little pinch of sugar.

-Oh, sugar?

-Yeah. For some sweetness.

Everything's quite sharp, isn't it? Mm.

-I'm going to present you with your larb gai.

-Larb gai.

-Larb gai there.

-Thank you very much.

-And I've got mine.

-Mm, mm, mm, that is yummy.

-Mm.

-Mm, this is good.

-What do you think of the flavours?

Mm, flavours are really good, I really like it.

-These look lovely.

-Mm.

-That's nice. I'm going to have another one.

-They're good.

I reckon I could make this.

-I reckon I could do this.

-I could do this.

-You did do it, Mum.

-You did do it!

When I was making the larb gai, the Thai salad, with them,

we were adding bits and building

and really getting the flavours nice and fresh.

I think they really started to see

that there's more to food than just eating because you have to.

Not every canape needs to be savoury.

I've come up with a sweet version

that is a perfect bite-size treat for any dinner party.

These are a twist on the traditional fruit-filled, puff pastry version.

My Napoleons are bite-size layers of chocolate and cream.

Spread the melted chocolate thinly,

then pop into the fridge to harden slightly.

Cut into rectangles,

then return to the fridge until completely firm.

Now for the cream filling.

This is basically like a thick custard

with milk, egg yolks, sugar, flour and vanilla.

Mix the sugar and egg yolk together,

then add flour to thicken.

The seeds of a vanilla pod add extra flavour.

Pour half of the hot milk onto the egg yolk mixture.

Do it bit by bit though, to prevent the egg from scrambling.

Pour it back into the pan with the rest of the milk

and whisk until it's the consistency of thick custard.

Now to pipe.

Try not to overfill the bag

and use the back of a knife to work out any air bubbles.

A lot of people think piping is just for the professionals,

but it's actually quite simple.

The secret is to hold the bag completely upright

and keep the pressure constant by twisting the top.

What better proof that great flavours can come in small packages?

'My next recipe for Bryony is chorizo and lemon grass scrolls.

'This is the perfect make-ahead food

'and has a clever short cut

'that I think the cheat in her is going to love.'

Have you made scrolls before,

or anything like that, with puff pastry?

-No.

-No, and do you like chorizo?

-Love it.

'If there's one ready-made ingredient to have,

'it's puff pastry.'

So, flour down first.

'It's so versatile and can be used in sweet and savoury dishes.'

And whilst that's going on, Carrie, lemon grass,

-have you used lemon grass before?

-No, never.

-OK.

-Is this lemon grass?

-This is lemon grass.

It's got a wonderful citrus taste and it's quite woody.

But in the centre, in the very centre,

it's nice and soft and that's what you want.

-And then chop that up really fine as well. Why don't you do that one?

-OK.

-And whilst your mum's doing that, we can just lay the chorizo over.

-OK.

I use chorizo a lot cos it's just so super tasty and spicy.

-All the way across?

-All the way across.

'Using chorizo and lemon grass changes what could be

'an everyday sausage roll into something really special.'

And then we just roll.

'And a simple scroll is all it takes to get a pretty swirl effect.'

-Now, this has got to go in the fridge to firm up...

-Right.

..for about half an hour.

Aren't they pretty?

'Egg wash will give the scrolls that shiny golden brown finish.'

'20 minutes in the oven is all it takes.'

They are ready to go.

-Nice and crisp, golden brown and crunchy.

-Mm.

-Oh.

-Smells great.

And yeah, for your friend, the one that's vegetarian,

get some vegetarian cheese

or sun-dried tomatoes or pesto or whatever.

-Shall we?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yes.

-Watch your fingers.

They're hot.

-Mm.

-Yummy.

-Mm, tasty.

-Mm.

-Perfect.

-What do you think?

-Spot-on.

-I think they taste brilliant.

-And they're so simple.

Bryony's starting to realise cooking can be a lot easier

than she thinks, so now it's time to get creative.

We're on our way to a top London cocktail club to meet mixologist JJ.

-Hi, JJ.

-Hi, how are you guys?

-Meet each other.

-Good, nice to meet you.

-Welcome.

-Thanks.

'I'm getting Bryony to play around with even more flavours

'by making a unique cocktail that she can serve at the

'hen party for best friend, Katie.'

-And we've been learning about flavours.

-We have.

What's her favourite flavour? Do you know?

Um, she's got quite a sweet tooth,

so she likes most like fruity things.

Start pulling out ingredients, and JJ,

I hope you can help us make something special.

-I'll do my best.

-Help me not get it too wrong here.

OK, so what would you like to start with?

OK, let's go with a bit of lime

to start with and a bit of coconut water.

Coconut and lime, good flavour combo.

Did you want to put some grapes in?

Would that work?

They've got that bit of acidity, so if you've only got three limes,

then they might bring that up a bit for you.

I've put them in already.

Obviously, I needed to check I like them, yeah.

Put your body weight behind it and press that juice out for me.

Give that a taste.

What do you think?

A little bit more sweetness for me, I think.

I'll tell you what I think would work well,

just to give it a bit more richness and sweeten it at the same time.

A touch of honey, I think would be perfect in this drink.

Just a squeeze, that should be enough to get you started.

-Ready for some ice?

-Right. Fill it up with ice, yeah?

-And then shake it, yeah? Right.

-So, top and bottom.

Speed it up, speed it up, speed it up.

We're there, so it looks great.

Oh.

-Love the colour on that.

-Yeah.

Taste away, and what do you think?

Mm, that's nice... Oh, wait, we haven't put any alcohol in it!

-Are you going to put some vodka in it?

-Yeah.

-You know what.

-That's nice, it's fresh.

-Just like that it's really refreshing.

-Yeah. Can I try it?

-You want to try it.

It's like it almost doesn't actually need the alcohol.

I love it like that.

It's your cocktail for Katie but you could serve this.

It's really well balanced. I really like it.

Just if you can get the sweet-and-sour balance,

a bit of dryness, maybe, with some vodka next time, but I like it.

Bryony's told me she really wants to impress Katie

with a sweet treat to end the evening.

So, I wanted to come up with a dessert

that looked really, really professional

but was super easy for her to do.

New to baking or not, this is a fool-proof easy meringue recipe.

Master this, and never again

will you need to reach for the shop-bought version.

Now, these are slightly different meringues,

because I'm going to put some desiccated toasted coconut

inside them, so something a bit different.

Toasting really brings out the flavour of the coconut

and it also just softens the sweetness.

So, what I do first is put the caster sugar in,

which is totally backwards probably if you're used to making meringues.

200 grams of caster sugar and that goes in, all of it.

Four egg whites, but with this,

you just put one egg white in first and then whisk it up.

I learnt this recipe by accident because I put some sugar in first

and some egg whites and I thought, "Oh!"

Cos normally, you whisk up your egg whites

and gradually add the sugar and I found out that it worked.

It gave me really stiff, shiny, white meringues.

So, I was sold and I've made it like that ever since.

The coconut's going nice and toasty.

Keep an eye on it cos it does burn very, very quickly.

Here's me rabbiting on and it's nearly burning.

That's one egg in there.

Then you put another egg in.

The beauty of doing it this way

is if the phone rings or something happens

and it's still whisking, you can't over-whisk it,

which suits me just fine.

See if this is ready yet.

So, you want a really stiff shiny meringue.

That is perfect.

The coconut in these meringues brings texture and flavour.

But you can experiment with mini chocolate chips or chopped nuts.

So, this beautiful stiff and shiny meringue

with little bits of toasted coconut in.

Tasty. And then just pipe.

OK, that's the first tray ready for the oven.

Now the meringues are in the oven, it's an assembly job from here.

My smooth ginger cream

is the perfect filling for these coconut kisses.

Stem ginger is packed full of flavour.

It's preserved in syrup, giving this cream a sweet, fiery hit.

Mix the cream, sugar and ginger and put in the fridge.

And they look really pretty, they're perfectly baked,

all crisp on the outside and a little bit mallow-y on the inside.

Time to sandwich the meringue kisses together

with a couple of blobs of the ginger cream,

finished off with a juicy strawberry slice.

So, these are cute little mouthfuls of meringue,

just packed full of flavour

and I really hope that Bryony and her hens enjoy them.

For anyone who thinks making a meringue is complicated,

this recipe may make you think again.

Bryony's big day has arrived.

When I first met her she struggled to cook me a poached egg

but over the last three weeks, she's been practising like mad

and now comes the real test, her best friend's hen-do.

To keep it a secret from the bride-to-be, Katie,

Bryony will be hosting the party with me.

But I'm just here for moral support.

Do you think that, before we met,

you'd be making your own meringues...

-No, with a piping bag!

-..for your friend's hen party?

-With a piping bag.

-With toasted coconut in! No.

Bryony's father would be so proud of her.

He was a very good cook

and he loved it and he'd be so thrilled.

And do you think they're going to be completely astounded

when they realise that Bryony has actually made this herself

and even if they rummage through the bins,

they're not going to find any packets from the supermarket.

No, in fact, Lorraine, I think we need to keep that bowl

and this piping bag as evidence

that I've actually piped these by hand for them.

And how many people are coming tonight?

Six girls and they're well aware of my cooking skills,

so I think they're going to be fairly surprised.

Right, how are we doing?

OK, so the chicken's there, we've got most of the rest of it cut up,

so now we need two limes juiced, please.

-OK. Are you happy with the amount you've got on there?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-At home, it was your dad that used to do all the cooking.

-Yeah, yeah.

What do you think he'd say, seeing you two girls cooking away now?

He wouldn't believe it, would he?

-Do you think he'd be proud?

-Yeah.

-He'd be very proud.

How are you feeling at this precise moment in time?

-I'm nervous, she's nearly here!

-Give me a rundown.

-A rundown.

-How long have we got?

-Not long, just not long.

-Let's not go into exact detail.

-OK, spoons.

Just do it as fast as you can.

Am I doing this right?

I'm panicking. This is like when I did the egg.

Just have a breath. Take a breath.

How much lime juice do you want, Bryony?

Two, oh, two limes.

It's really important you get it right, Bryony,

-it's a special night for Katie.

-I know it's important, Mum!

Oh, God, was that the door? Oh, God...

-Any moment now.

-Oh, no!

-How are you feeling, Bryony?

-Nervous.

I can see them, here they come.

Hello!

ALL SQUEAL

ALL LAUGH

Katie.

Hello.

Hello! Hi, this is strange.

Surprise!

ALL LAUGH

-Katie, this is your surprise hen-do dinner party.

-Speechless.

ALL LAUGH

-I know you know my cooking skills from living together.

-That is true.

And so, I have been in training with Lorraine

and with my mum and today, I've cooked you

a special unique dinner party, from scratch, today.

-It's all for you and you're my oldest best friend.

-Oh, my God!

Sorry.

Hugs together!

THEY MURMUR, GIRLS AWW AND CLAP

Wow, well, I'm already impressed.

Cheers.

Right, girls, well, if you'd like to come over here to the table.

I will try it.

I genuinely can't believe that, Bryony, you've created all this.

Like how is that possible, you know?

'Now for Bryony to showcase her stunning canapes.

'The creamy feta and cucumber bites.

'Crispy chorizo and lemon grass scrolls

'and the Thai salad cups, larb gai.'

Mm.

Very good, Bryony, I have to say.

It's really rewarding to see how far Bryony and Carrie have come.

You know, Bryony cooked me that poached egg

and it was a bit of a disaster.

And now, she's put on this hen party for her friends

and I'm actually really proud of her. I think it's awesome.

It's so good, I'm thinking you haven't made it.

Well, I have.

But you do realise you've now dug a big hole for yourself.

-I have. I might have done, have I?

-You've set the bar.

-Well, you are now going to have to cook more.

-Yeah.

-It's just amazing.

-I mean, I was so shocked.

-You were, weren't you?

"Really, what's going on?"

Really, what's going on and I really can't believe

she's managed to do this for me, that she's just...

It's all for you, Kate.

-It's nice, isn't it?

-Definitely.

-Mm.

Do you want coconut kisses?

ALL GIGGLE

I would just like to say, thank you to Lorraine,

because she has really genuinely shown me how easy it is

to cook some really beautiful, lovely, tasty things

that aren't that difficult at all

and she's given me a lot of confidence.

She's definitely given my mum a lot of confidence.

It's definitely gone a lot further than just tonight,

and just what we've done for the girls,

and I think, yeah, this experience

is really going to extend out for us into...

Well, yeah, for both of us,

for the rest of our lives, I think.

-Cheers.

-To Katie!

-Happy engagement!

Thank you, Bryony!

ALL LAUGH

Since filming, Bryony has continued to perfect her canapes,

and she's also been experimenting in cooking new dishes, too,

including this chicken salad with a ginger, lime and soy sauce dressing.