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Britain is world-famous for its stately homes. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
And when it comes to food, | 0:00:05 | 0:00:07 | |
our country houses were the taste-makers. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
Curry and cockle, it's an absolute first for me. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
In this series, we'll sample delicious dishes. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
They look wonderful, Mary. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:21 | |
And enjoy the lavish hospitality | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
that these homes were celebrated for. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
You look absolutely stunning. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:28 | |
I'll show you how to cook | 0:00:28 | 0:00:30 | |
tasty, modern recipes inspired by the history of our great houses. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:35 | |
This is actually Napoleon's chair from Waterloo. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
Mind you, I could do with a cushion. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:40 | |
Join me as I meet the families who own these exceptional homes. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:44 | |
The best thing about the staircase, obviously, | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
-is going down on a tray or on your bottom. -Oh! | 0:00:46 | 0:00:49 | |
And find out what it's really like to live... | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
It looks quite saucy. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:54 | |
..work... | 0:00:54 | 0:00:55 | |
It's very like cutting a hedge. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:56 | |
I think you're better at baking! | 0:00:56 | 0:00:58 | |
..and party in the nation's most beautiful stately homes. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:03 | |
I'm not going to drop it! | 0:01:03 | 0:01:05 | |
This week, I'm meeting the young family | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
breathing new life into Powderham Castle. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
-Do you like it, Jackie? -I love it. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
And I'll join them at a magical woodland party to thank | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
everyone who's helped them settle in. | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
It's been quite a journey. Fairy tales happen. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
This is your invitation to dine at some of Britain's grandest tables, | 0:01:23 | 0:01:28 | |
in some of the most beautiful houses in the land. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
I'm in Devon, just south of Exeter, | 0:01:43 | 0:01:46 | |
crossing the great estuary of the River Exe. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:48 | |
I just love Devon, even on a blustery and rather misty day. | 0:01:55 | 0:02:00 | |
The smell of the sea is all very tempting. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:03 | |
And waiting to meet me is the Earl of Devon himself, | 0:02:07 | 0:02:10 | |
Charlie Courtenay. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:12 | |
-Hello, Mary. -Oh, it's lovely to be back in Devon. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
-Thank you for coming in this lovely weather. -Oh, who cares! | 0:02:18 | 0:02:21 | |
Charlie's family has been connected to this estuary for over 600 years. | 0:02:24 | 0:02:29 | |
You know, the estuary is such a remarkably vibrant place. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:33 | |
I think in medieval times, it was something like England's | 0:02:33 | 0:02:37 | |
-second or third biggest port. -Was it? | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
And, so, we were a French family | 0:02:39 | 0:02:40 | |
and all the trading from Exeter would have gone out | 0:02:40 | 0:02:43 | |
to the south of France, to Bordeaux, around there. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
And they would have brought wine back, and wool out, | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
so it was very much a trading estuary. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:52 | |
Wow! | 0:02:52 | 0:02:53 | |
TRAIN HORN BLOWS | 0:02:53 | 0:02:54 | |
I'm on my way to the house that's been | 0:02:59 | 0:03:02 | |
the Courtenay family home since 1391, | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
Powderham Castle. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
There it is in all its glory, Powderham. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:10 | |
-So, there's Powderham Castle. -Flag flying. -Yes, that's my flag, | 0:03:10 | 0:03:13 | |
the Earl of Devon's flag. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:15 | |
I think I'm the 28th generation of the family to move my kids in, | 0:03:15 | 0:03:19 | |
which is rather nice. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:20 | |
I feel as though there ought to have been a drawbridge. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
I know. Well, we've stood down the knights from the top! | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
Charlie inherited Powderham | 0:03:32 | 0:03:34 | |
two years ago on the death of his father. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
Before then, he, his wife and their two young children | 0:03:37 | 0:03:41 | |
had been living in America for 11 years. | 0:03:41 | 0:03:44 | |
-Let's get in, out of the rain. -Yes. -And you can tell me more. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
And, now, as Earl of Devon, | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
he's become the custodian of one of the oldest aristocratic titles | 0:03:50 | 0:03:55 | |
-in the country... -Welcome to Powderham. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
..and a sprawling castle which has evolved over six centuries. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:01 | |
Mary, this is the big dining room. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:05 | |
Which, for all its appearances, | 0:04:07 | 0:04:08 | |
is actually the most modern room in the house. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
It was built by the Victorians, | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
effectively to provide a really nice functional space | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
to have big dinner parties in. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:17 | |
It's one that we use a lot as a family for Christmas dinners, | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
Christmas lunches. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
I can just imagine this room as it is with a roaring fire. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:26 | |
Oh! We've been out in all that cold. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:28 | |
I know, it's a good place to warm up after a morning outside. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:32 | |
And, even though it's the most modern room in the house, | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
it tells a very old story because it has throughout the coats of arms | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
on the walls, the family tree, effectively, | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
dating back to Athon in the far corner who was a French knight who | 0:04:41 | 0:04:45 | |
fortified a town called Courtenay in France in about 1000 AD. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:49 | |
So, he was the original Courtenay. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
And you see the story of the family line ever since | 0:04:51 | 0:04:53 | |
up to William, who built the room in 1830. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:57 | |
The Courtenay family have an impressive lineage. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
But now I want to meet the next generation. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
Come on through and meet the family. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
Mary, this is my wife, AJ. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
-Hello, AJ. -It's really nice to meet you. -And this is Jocelyn. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
-Hi. -I love the hat. -And Jack, my son. -Aha. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
So, this is actually where you live, sort of, | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
-within the castle. -Yeah. -It feels very cosy here. -Oh, it is cosy, yes, | 0:05:21 | 0:05:25 | |
-it's actually nice and warm. -And I recognise an American accent, | 0:05:25 | 0:05:29 | |
-is that right? -Yeah. AJ and I met in a bar in Las Vegas. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
I was on a rugby tour, AJ was on a hen weekend. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
And the rest is Jocelyn and Jack. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:39 | |
Ah, lovely. And how is England for you? | 0:05:39 | 0:05:42 | |
The main problem is the weather. | 0:05:42 | 0:05:45 | |
We're used to warm, scorching. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:47 | |
And when we come here, we're just like... | 0:05:47 | 0:05:49 | |
Ah, but you've got the beauty of Devon. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
-Yes. -I most likely will need a bit of help later | 0:05:53 | 0:05:56 | |
making a Devon cream tea. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
Can I rely on you two? | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
I don't know how to make one. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
-You know how to eat it. -Cream first, then jam. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
Right. We'll have it that way. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:06 | |
But now I want to see the rest of the house, come on. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:09 | |
Yes, let's go through this door and explore the house. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:12 | |
Powderham began as a medieval castle, | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
but it was in the 18th century that the modern house took shape. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
From the magnificent music room for grand entertaining... | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
..to the elegant libraries... | 0:06:28 | 0:06:31 | |
..this was a home designed to impress. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
And here's the staircase hall. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:39 | |
What an extraordinary, glorious colour. | 0:06:43 | 0:06:46 | |
Yeah, it's Powderham blue, it's a very unique colour. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
I interestingly had a call from a French count a couple of months ago | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
asking to reproduce it in his French castle. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
So, it's the Powderham blue, and people obviously seem to like it. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:03 | |
What striking plasterwork. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
It was done by a couple of local Exeter craftsmen. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:10 | |
But what you notice, in the top corners, there's a different animal. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:14 | |
There's a squirrel here, there's something like a stoat there. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:18 | |
And a hare with great, long ears. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
And birds, lots of birds. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
It's depicting the countryside. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:31 | |
Absolutely. And it depicts the pursuits of the people | 0:07:31 | 0:07:34 | |
that lived in the castle when it was built. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:36 | |
So, 1750, you could see the musical instruments they were playing. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:39 | |
A violin or something. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:41 | |
It almost looks like cake icing, doesn't it? | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
It does. Very beautifully done, too. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
All that is missing is a lady coming down in a marvellous dress | 0:07:50 | 0:07:55 | |
billowing out. Imagine all the men standing here with their drinks, | 0:07:55 | 0:08:00 | |
watching them all coming downstairs. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:02 | |
The best thing about the staircase, obviously, | 0:08:04 | 0:08:06 | |
is going down on a tray or on your bottom. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:09 | |
When I was a child, we didn't have carpets on the stairs, | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
and it was just a plain, wooden staircase. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:14 | |
And you'd get really good speed going up and down the stairs. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
Yes, cos you couldn't slide down the banisters | 0:08:17 | 0:08:19 | |
cos you'd get stuck halfway. On a tray would be a good idea. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
Great fun. I'll show you the marble hall. | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
So, this is the marble hall which is the bottom half | 0:08:29 | 0:08:33 | |
of the old medieval great hall. On the far side of the hall, | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
you see the old medieval archways. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
And the archways go to the buttery, the kitchen and pantry. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
And the whole meal would be processed from the kitchen | 0:08:42 | 0:08:45 | |
down the corridor, through that door to the big table up there. | 0:08:45 | 0:08:49 | |
The whole purpose of the house was cooking and serving food. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
-And entertaining. -And entertaining, exactly. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
But there's no food coming from that kitchen now. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:56 | |
No. Well, we'll go and have a look | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
and see if we can make something happen. | 0:08:58 | 0:09:00 | |
Today, Charlie and AJ do their own cooking | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
in their private family kitchen. But in the 19th century | 0:09:05 | 0:09:10 | |
this house employed over 30 domestic servants, | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
including cooks and kitchen maids. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:16 | |
The kitchen they worked in has been perfectly preserved. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:20 | |
Mary, this is the Victorian kitchen. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
It's so lofty and big. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
And the copper, gosh, I'm glad I don't have to clean that. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
Yes, I mean, what's amazing about this space is it's been the kitchen | 0:09:29 | 0:09:33 | |
of the castle since 1390, when the castle was built. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
So, you can sort of think of 600 years of just preparing food | 0:09:35 | 0:09:39 | |
and feasting from this kitchen. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
But in the 20th century | 0:09:41 | 0:09:43 | |
the grand entertaining came to an end. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
In the 10, 20 years after the war, you know, the butler left, | 0:09:46 | 0:09:49 | |
the housemaids left. My grandparents had to diversify, you know, | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
generate an income and open it to visitors. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
And that was a learning curve | 0:09:55 | 0:09:56 | |
because you find out you need a tearoom. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:58 | |
Exactly. So, here's my grandmother Venetia overseeing the baking of the | 0:09:58 | 0:10:02 | |
-scones. She'd have loved to have met you, Mary. -Ah. | 0:10:02 | 0:10:06 | |
I couldn't come to Devon without having a cream tea, | 0:10:06 | 0:10:10 | |
a Devon cream tea. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:11 | |
Would you like to see my scones? | 0:10:11 | 0:10:14 | |
I think they're very special. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:15 | |
They're crispy on the outside and all soft and spongy in the middle. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:19 | |
Oh, Mary, we would be honoured and would really, really enjoy | 0:10:19 | 0:10:22 | |
to have some of your cream tea. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:23 | |
There's nothing more tempting than warm, home-made scones, | 0:10:27 | 0:10:32 | |
fresh from the oven. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
This recipe is a classic. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:36 | |
To please everyone, I'm making both plain and fruit scones. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:40 | |
So, for my scones, this is the recipe I've done year in, year out. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:47 | |
And it seems to be a very good one. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
The ingredients couldn't be simpler. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
450g of self-raising flour. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:59 | |
Then, for extra lightness, two teaspoons of baking powder. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
50g of sugar and 100g of butter. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:09 | |
I've made more scones in my time than I can think of, | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
because the ingredients you've always got on the shelf. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:17 | |
They're very easy to make. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
Just rub it and lift the air into it until it looks like breadcrumbs. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:24 | |
Next, I'm beating two eggs and adding milk | 0:11:26 | 0:11:29 | |
to bring it up to 300ml. | 0:11:29 | 0:11:31 | |
Then, I use a knife, and I just work it in. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:39 | |
It'll be a fairly sticky dough and that's what I want. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:42 | |
And I won't handle it too much. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:44 | |
And the little bit that is at the bottom I'll use it to brush over | 0:11:46 | 0:11:49 | |
the scones to give them a nice, shiny top. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:53 | |
That looks like a nice, sticky dough. | 0:11:55 | 0:11:58 | |
Not too dry. | 0:11:58 | 0:11:59 | |
Now it's ready to shape. | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
I've got some flour over here. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
So, I'm putting my hand in there so that, as I work it all together, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:08 | |
it won't stick to my hand. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:10 | |
Well, not too much anyway. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:12 | |
So, bring it together. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:13 | |
And, then, onto a floured table, just tip that out. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:19 | |
And I'm not doing an awful lot of kneading. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
I'm going to cut it in half. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
One half I'll keep for the plain scones | 0:12:26 | 0:12:28 | |
and the other half I'll mix with the sultanas. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:31 | |
Knead those in. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
You don't really need a rolling pin, just pat it all over. | 0:12:35 | 0:12:39 | |
Now, what I'd really like are two little helpers. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
Coo! | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
There we are. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
How about, Jack, you come here? | 0:12:46 | 0:12:47 | |
Have you made scones before? | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
-Um, no. -No. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:51 | |
-And what about you? -Not really. -So, what I do when I'm cutting them out | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
is to get a little pile. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:57 | |
And what you do is just do that and it stops it sticking. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
-OK. -And wriggle it like that backwards and forwards. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
That's it. Oh, that looks a beauty. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:06 | |
We'll pop the scones on a greased baking tray, flour side down. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:12 | |
Right, now, we want them with shiny tops. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
A little bit on each one. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
Try not to get it too down the sides because, if you do, | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
it sticks to the tray. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:26 | |
So, Jocelyn, when you came from America, | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
what was it like to come over here to live in a castle? | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
Do you ever get lost? | 0:13:34 | 0:13:36 | |
I got lost for 20 minutes trying to find the kitchen for breakfast. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:40 | |
I expect there are many places to play hide and seek. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
-Yes. -A lot. My parents have said that we probably shouldn't play it | 0:13:43 | 0:13:47 | |
cos once one of my friends got very much lost. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
Gracious! | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
Our scones are ready for the oven. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
Bake them at 200 degrees fan | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
for about ten minutes until they're crisp and golden. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:03 | |
And, then, for the ultimate test. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
Serving our Devon cream tea... | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
-Oh, yay! -..to the Earl and Countess of Devon. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:16 | |
-That is amazing. -Or Mum and Dad, to Jocelyn and Jack. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:19 | |
-What goes next? -AJ: -That's a well-made scone. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
-JOCELYN: -The cream before the jam. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
-The cream before the jam. -This is because we are in Devon, | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
-is that right? -Yes. We were doing some interviews for positions, | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
and Charlie put the question, "Cream on top or jam on top?" | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
If they got it wrong, I just couldn't save them. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:39 | |
And the first recorded account of a cream tea, apparently, | 0:14:40 | 0:14:43 | |
comes from the archive of Tavistock Abbey. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
Following a Viking invasion in 997 AD, they knocked down the abbey. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:51 | |
And, in order to rebuild it, they employed a number of craftsmen, | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
and it was the Earl of Devon, | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
a predecessor of mine called Odrwulf, | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
he ordered them scones, cream and jam. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:02 | |
Well, that is a good heritage, isn't it? | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
It proves we invented it and not the Cornish! | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
That's quite a claim. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:11 | |
But I imagine it takes more than cream teas | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
to keep a house like Powderham going. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:19 | |
The castle is set on a 3,500 acre estate. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:25 | |
It's home to a working farm as well as a magnificent deer park | 0:15:25 | 0:15:30 | |
run by gamekeeper Dick Durrant. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:33 | |
The deer, to me, they look like little Bambis. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:36 | |
-Yeah, I mean, they're a super-looking animal. -So pretty. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
Dick started looking after the deer here nearly 20 years ago | 0:15:39 | 0:15:43 | |
when Charlie's father was still Earl. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:45 | |
The deer herd originates from post English Civil War. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:50 | |
So, about 300 years. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:52 | |
And so it kept going through all the family, through all the generations, | 0:15:52 | 0:15:56 | |
and is continuing? | 0:15:56 | 0:15:57 | |
-Nothing changes? -Exactly. | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
That's part of the reason | 0:15:59 | 0:16:00 | |
I really enjoy working in this landscape is that | 0:16:00 | 0:16:02 | |
you're working in a piece of almost living history. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
Because it's been in the same family ownership for the past 600 or so | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
years, it has changed, but still looks incredibly similar. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:12 | |
Every year, the Powderham estate | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
attracts around 35,000 visitors from all over the UK. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:22 | |
But there are some guests who travel from much further afield. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:26 | |
This must be a wonderful landscape for wildlife. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:30 | |
It's so peaceful. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
Yeah. During the winter, you will see large amounts | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
of widgeon and teal, | 0:16:35 | 0:16:36 | |
and the birds nest in the north-west of Russia. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:39 | |
-Gracious. So, they come all that way to here? -Yes. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:42 | |
Yeah. To come for our winter. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:44 | |
Do you shoot any of the wild duck? | 0:16:44 | 0:16:46 | |
Yeah, we do shoot a very small percentage of them | 0:16:46 | 0:16:49 | |
each year, which we would take away and eat, obviously. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
Duck has been on the menu at Powderham for over 300 years. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:58 | |
But you don't need to live on a country estate to enjoy it. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:01 | |
This is my pan-fried breast of duck, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
served with a rich apple sauce with Calvados, | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
in honour of the Courtenay family's French heritage. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:13 | |
I really like duck. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:16 | |
And, so often over the years, I've done it duck a l'orange. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:20 | |
But it goes really well with apples. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
I like to remove the skin. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:26 | |
Use a sharp knife for any tough bits. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:28 | |
That's come off very nicely. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:31 | |
Season the duck breasts. That's it. | 0:17:33 | 0:17:35 | |
Then, fry them in a hot pan for four minutes on each side. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
Right, that looks a bit of all right, lovely colour there. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
PAN SIZZLES Turn it over. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
That smells pretty good. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:47 | |
Once they're evenly cooked on both sides, | 0:17:49 | 0:17:51 | |
leave them to rest for 15 minutes. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
And resting is all-important. Why? Because the heat that you had | 0:17:55 | 0:17:59 | |
on the outside will go on cooking and also it makes it more tender. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
Then it's on to my apple and Calvados sauce... | 0:18:05 | 0:18:08 | |
..made with eating apples. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:11 | |
I'm going to do it in butter because I want the buttery taste. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
There's a tiny little bit of residue from the duck, | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
and that will help to give a little bit of brown to my apples. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:22 | |
Gently cook the apple slices until they're tender and golden. | 0:18:25 | 0:18:29 | |
Now, that's getting soft but not quite. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
The reason why I wouldn't use something like a Bramley, | 0:18:34 | 0:18:37 | |
a cooking apple, because it would get to this stage | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
and it would be a beautiful buttery mush, and I don't want that. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
I want to have a bit of texture within the sauce. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
I reckon we're there. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:52 | |
Now leave the apple to cool. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:54 | |
That's it. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:56 | |
Then it's time for the star of my sauce, Calvados. | 0:18:56 | 0:19:00 | |
Of course, Calvados is apple brandy. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
I'm using 100ml and I'm just going to evaporate that just until | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
it's half, that'll drive off the alcohol. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
Mind you, that smell, it makes me think of Christmas, | 0:19:12 | 0:19:14 | |
it makes me think of special things. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
It's lovely. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:18 | |
Once the Calvados has reduced by half, | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
it's onto the next part of the sauce, | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
100ml of stock and 200ml of apple juice. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:29 | |
Add to the pan and reduce again. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
I want the sauce to be slightly thickened, | 0:19:32 | 0:19:35 | |
so I'm going to do that with cornflour instead of flour. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
It gives a more translucent look to the sauce. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
Mix a teaspoonful of cornflour with a splash of apple juice. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
Add some of the sauce. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:51 | |
In it goes. Give that a good stir. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:54 | |
Back into the pan there. | 0:19:56 | 0:19:57 | |
And bring it to the boil, stirring as it thickens. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
I'm going to add the apple to it now. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
And take it off the heat. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:09 | |
I don't want that apple to go all mushy. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
For an extra hit of flavour and colour, | 0:20:14 | 0:20:17 | |
add any remaining juices from the meat to the pan. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:21 | |
Right. We're ready to serve. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:23 | |
I want it to be a gentle pink, | 0:20:23 | 0:20:26 | |
and I think that's just what I've achieved, | 0:20:26 | 0:20:28 | |
and I'm rather pleased about that. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
I reckon that took me about half an hour to make. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
Oh, so simple to do, and yet so special. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:47 | |
And who better to sample it than the countess, | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
or AJ as she's known to everyone here at Powderham. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:55 | |
AJ, come in. I hope you're hungry. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
-Come in and have a taste. -Oh, it smells amazing. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:01 | |
I feel very lucky right now. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:02 | |
It's perfect. The sauce isn't too rich. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
No cream in there. No cream at all. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
It's a perfect combination. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:10 | |
So, how did you come to be countess here when you come from America? | 0:21:10 | 0:21:15 | |
I met him in a bar in Vegas. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:18 | |
I'd organised a bachelorette weekend. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:21 | |
-A hen weekend. -A hen weekend. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:23 | |
And I was on a TV show at the time, so I could get a really cool suite. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
You were doing a show? | 0:21:26 | 0:21:28 | |
-So you were acting? -Yes. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:29 | |
Before she moved to Powderham, | 0:21:31 | 0:21:32 | |
AJ enjoyed a successful career as an actress in America. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:36 | |
Over the years, she starred in shows including Seinfeld, | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
My So-Called Life and Baywatch. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
So, as an actress, you were in a bar. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
And I looked across the bar, and I smacked my girlfriend, and I said, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
-"That one, yum." -I can see you saying that, too! | 0:21:52 | 0:21:55 | |
Well, who wouldn't? | 0:21:55 | 0:21:56 | |
And he was just smiling and flopping his floppy hair, | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
and we just looked at each other and smiled. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:01 | |
So, when you got to know Charlie, quite well, in Las Vegas, | 0:22:01 | 0:22:06 | |
did you know in fact that he had a title? | 0:22:06 | 0:22:09 | |
No. No, one of the guys said, "Hey, that's a good one, he's royalty." | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
-But I didn't... -Didn't take it in? | 0:22:14 | 0:22:15 | |
No. And then the next morning I called my mom, and I said, | 0:22:15 | 0:22:19 | |
"Mom, I've met the guy." | 0:22:19 | 0:22:20 | |
We had a rendezvous in New York, like, a month later. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:23 | |
Letters started coming, and then phone calls like clockwork. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:27 | |
And then we went to Isle of Skye, and then we drove back and he said, | 0:22:27 | 0:22:31 | |
"Do you want to meet my parents?" And, um, I was like, "Wow. Serious." | 0:22:31 | 0:22:36 | |
And we show up at this house, and it's, like, this long driveway, | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
then these amazing gardens, and then this stone castle comes up, | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
and I was just like, "Whoa, this can't be for real." | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
And it still happens, where you look out and just go, "It's magic." | 0:22:45 | 0:22:48 | |
That is a truly romantic story. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:51 | |
I can only guess what it must have been like for AJ moving to this very | 0:22:55 | 0:22:59 | |
different world and taking on this vast house | 0:22:59 | 0:23:03 | |
with centuries of history and tradition. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
Today, she's invited me | 0:23:06 | 0:23:07 | |
to share some of the remarkable family stories she's discovered. | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
What splendour! | 0:23:14 | 0:23:15 | |
Well, this is the state bed, | 0:23:17 | 0:23:19 | |
the place where Charlie's father was born. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
When Charlie and I first got here to the house, | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
we started walking through rooms and opening drawers and just seeing | 0:23:25 | 0:23:28 | |
what's where. And we found... | 0:23:28 | 0:23:31 | |
..we found this. Come see. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:32 | |
Hundreds of love letters. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:37 | |
These are from Charlie's grandparents, | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
from Christopher to Venetia, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
and from Venetia to Christopher. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:43 | |
So, they met when Venetia was married to the Earl of Cottenham. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:47 | |
-His cousin. -Oh, married before? | 0:23:47 | 0:23:50 | |
Yes, this was a bit of a scandal. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:52 | |
And he travelled a lot, and wasn't very pleasant. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:55 | |
That's where the trouble starts! | 0:23:55 | 0:23:57 | |
And this is a beautiful picture of Venetia, | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
and she was a very striking woman. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:02 | |
-And her eyes. -Beautiful skin. -Yeah. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:03 | |
And this is Christopher. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:05 | |
So, they met and fell in love, and had this passionate romance, | 0:24:05 | 0:24:11 | |
and these are all the letters before they got married. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:13 | |
Can you see it? Look at this one. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:15 | |
"My wife, my best armchair, my private sanctum, our home." | 0:24:15 | 0:24:19 | |
Very intense, very romantic. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:23 | |
It's just fantastic. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:24 | |
They are ripped open. Look at the tops. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:27 | |
You can imagine, "I'm so excited, the letter's coming." | 0:24:27 | 0:24:29 | |
-I want to know what's inside. -Yes. This is from Christopher. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:33 | |
"I could not sleep. It was ten o'clock. | 0:24:34 | 0:24:37 | |
"And I asked your picture if it could help me. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
"It is marvellous how I can have a conversation with you when... | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
"..we are miles apart, | 0:24:44 | 0:24:45 | |
"and how you seem to put new life into me and help me always." | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
It's all very touching, isn't it? | 0:24:49 | 0:24:51 | |
It is. And he'd just inherited | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
Powderham at age 19 after three relatives passed away in succession. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:57 | |
Then, finally, they got married, and they could be together, | 0:24:57 | 0:25:00 | |
and they were in the house together for one month, | 0:25:00 | 0:25:02 | |
and then he got called to war. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
And what happened to him? | 0:25:04 | 0:25:06 | |
-Was it...? -Brutal war. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:08 | |
And he was never the same after the war. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:11 | |
It's a real drama. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:12 | |
It's a real-life love story, and it's something we relate to, | 0:25:12 | 0:25:17 | |
cos I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Charlie having written me | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
love letters. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:22 | |
And then this, this we have in the other room. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:24 | |
-Would you like to see some coronation robes? -I'd love to. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:28 | |
In 1953, Christopher and Venetia attended the Queen's coronation. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:34 | |
They cared for Powderham until Christopher's death in 1998. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:45 | |
So, this is what Christopher and Venetia wore. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
Would you like to try a coronet? | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
Aha! | 0:25:53 | 0:25:54 | |
-Are you sure? -Go for it! | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
That one's a lot more comfortable than the little one. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:05 | |
I'd have probably been better at it if I went to the finishing schools. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:09 | |
-You've got to balance it. -That looks quite saucy. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:12 | |
-One shake and it would drop on the floor. -Right? | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
-And I dare say it's quite valuable. -This one does have the little strap. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:18 | |
So if there is, in the future, a coronation, | 0:26:18 | 0:26:22 | |
you would be wearing these robes? | 0:26:22 | 0:26:24 | |
Would I? | 0:26:25 | 0:26:27 | |
Wow. Cos I'm a little short for that one. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
-After all, you are a countess. -Yeah, exactly. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:35 | |
No, and it's like moving into this house, what are you doing? | 0:26:35 | 0:26:37 | |
You're embodying this role, and you study it. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:41 | |
I mean, the title of countess to me | 0:26:41 | 0:26:44 | |
just means that we're the ones that have to look after the place. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:47 | |
This castle was built in support of its community, | 0:26:49 | 0:26:52 | |
so I'm actually really interested in strengthening ties | 0:26:52 | 0:26:54 | |
and finding out what purpose we can serve. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:56 | |
This is my favourite little cottage on the estate. | 0:26:59 | 0:27:01 | |
-They've just cut it all back. -This morning, | 0:27:01 | 0:27:03 | |
AJ is showing me how she's opening up the castle... | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
..with a new project based in the old kitchen garden. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:11 | |
This is a great wall here. | 0:27:11 | 0:27:13 | |
Yes, this is the walled garden. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:15 | |
So this supplied the house with all the food and everything. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:18 | |
But, in modern days, it's kind of been used for charities, | 0:27:18 | 0:27:22 | |
and this has become a very, very magical place. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
Powderham recently invited a local charity | 0:27:25 | 0:27:28 | |
to take over the old Victorian greenhouses. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
The Dawlish Gardens Trust provides training and support to people | 0:27:31 | 0:27:36 | |
with physical and learning disabilities. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:38 | |
-Hi, Jeanette! -Hi, AJ. -Would you like to meet Mary? | 0:27:40 | 0:27:42 | |
Nice to see you. Hello, Mary. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:44 | |
-Hello. Jeanette? -Yes, it is, yes. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:47 | |
If I can introduce the guys that we have here. | 0:27:47 | 0:27:50 | |
We have Natasha and Caroline. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:52 | |
They are both deaf people. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:54 | |
Caroline is also deaf-blind. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:56 | |
It looks as though you're planting pumpkins. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:58 | |
-Why pumpkins? -In the castle, they have treasure hunts. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:01 | |
For the visitors, so lots of kids come. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
And when they complete the treasure hunt and get | 0:28:04 | 0:28:06 | |
all the questions right, then they can have a pumpkin to take home. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
And wonderful to have such great helpers. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:11 | |
Yes, and it's also wonderful we have a great space to offer, | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
and we're growing all the vegetables to feed all the animals here. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:18 | |
In the beginning, when we first came, | 0:28:18 | 0:28:20 | |
we were just in one third of the section, but we worked so well, | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
we actually moved into the middle section. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
You'll see all our people busy out there planting and picking. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:28 | |
Yep. They've done mosaics and crafts and photography and... | 0:28:28 | 0:28:32 | |
It's just a wonderful space, | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
and this is something that I see Powderham doing so naturally. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:36 | |
You know, it was built to protect and serve its community, | 0:28:36 | 0:28:40 | |
and we feel very lucky to have them around. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:42 | |
As a thank you to everyone who's helped them recently, | 0:28:42 | 0:28:46 | |
AJ and Charlie will be hosting a special party during my visit. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:50 | |
Just what I need. And they're beautifully young. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
I think that'll be about enough. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:56 | |
And I think it would be lovely to use some of their own delicious veg | 0:28:56 | 0:29:00 | |
in a recipe I'm sure everyone will enjoy. | 0:29:00 | 0:29:04 | |
This is my refreshing midsummer salad. | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
Along with tender broad beans from the greenhouse, I'm using asparagus, | 0:29:08 | 0:29:12 | |
figs and goat's cheese, | 0:29:12 | 0:29:14 | |
all drizzled with a Dijon mustard dressing. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:18 | |
Start by podding the broad beans. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:23 | |
Then it's on to the asparagus. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:26 | |
Cut off the tips and slice the stalks diagonally, | 0:29:26 | 0:29:30 | |
which I think is an attractive touch. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:32 | |
So, all those, I'm going to cook in boiling, | 0:29:34 | 0:29:36 | |
salted water for three minutes, just until they're tender. | 0:29:36 | 0:29:39 | |
Cook them any longer and they'll lose their colour, | 0:29:39 | 0:29:42 | |
and they'll lose their flavour. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:44 | |
Pop them in boiling water... | 0:29:45 | 0:29:47 | |
..season well... | 0:29:49 | 0:29:50 | |
..and, after three minutes, they'll be ready. | 0:29:51 | 0:29:53 | |
They should be a beautiful, bright green colour. | 0:29:53 | 0:29:58 | |
But, to keep that colour, they need to go straight into cold water. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:02 | |
Next, I like to take the cooked broad beans out of their skins, | 0:30:02 | 0:30:06 | |
if there's time. And then when you get inside, look at that. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:10 | |
It's a beautiful bright green colour. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
Then take some ripe figs. | 0:30:14 | 0:30:16 | |
Cut off the tops and slice them into quarters. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:21 | |
Now I've got some little gem lettuces. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:26 | |
Just take off the base of that, and then, | 0:30:26 | 0:30:29 | |
leaving the root on so it holds together, | 0:30:29 | 0:30:31 | |
just cut it in thin slices. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:33 | |
So that's our base. | 0:30:35 | 0:30:37 | |
Arrange the lettuce on a large plate, add the figs... | 0:30:37 | 0:30:41 | |
..some of the mixed salad leaves | 0:30:43 | 0:30:45 | |
and a sprinkling of colourful micro-herbs... | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
..followed by the blanched beans and the asparagus... | 0:30:49 | 0:30:52 | |
..and pepper and salt. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:54 | |
You're certainly going to get lots of textures here. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:58 | |
You'll get a bit of crunch from the asparagus, | 0:30:58 | 0:31:00 | |
and those beans have still got texture. | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
Now take some goat's cheese, | 0:31:03 | 0:31:05 | |
cut off the rind and crumble it over the salad. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:07 | |
The cheese gives it a real lift and a lovely flavour. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:14 | |
OK, you don't like goat's cheese - use feta. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:17 | |
And finally, on to the dressing. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:21 | |
Chop some chives and add a teaspoon of caster sugar to a bowl. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:25 | |
Then I'm going to put a teaspoonful of Dijon mustard in there, | 0:31:27 | 0:31:30 | |
and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. | 0:31:30 | 0:31:33 | |
Then add a clove of crushed garlic... | 0:31:35 | 0:31:38 | |
..and six tablespoons of mild olive oil. | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
And it will thicken a bit | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
because the mustard always makes it a little bit thick. | 0:31:44 | 0:31:47 | |
Season with pepper and salt. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:51 | |
Then in go the chives. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:53 | |
Then I'm going to just drizzle that over the top. | 0:31:54 | 0:31:57 | |
And don't put this dressing on until the last minute. | 0:31:57 | 0:32:00 | |
The whole effect, I think, is lovely. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:03 | |
I really hope Charlie and AJ's party guests will enjoy it. | 0:32:03 | 0:32:08 | |
So, there it is, my midsummer salad. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:11 | |
Beautifully healthy, rather different | 0:32:11 | 0:32:14 | |
and great for a special occasion. | 0:32:14 | 0:32:16 | |
-We've got a bit of a... -This is great. -..a storm brewing. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:30 | |
-It's quite fun, isn't it? -Lovely. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
For centuries, Powderham has been defined by its location | 0:32:34 | 0:32:38 | |
on the estuary of the River Exe, | 0:32:38 | 0:32:40 | |
a place for both trade and for pleasure. | 0:32:40 | 0:32:43 | |
On a day like this, | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
there couldn't be anywhere better than being in the estuary. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:52 | |
The estuary is amazing. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:53 | |
The family have always had a great connection to the estuary, | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
particularly through sailing. | 0:32:56 | 0:32:58 | |
Powderham was always approached from the sea | 0:32:58 | 0:33:00 | |
back in the days, and there was a harbour right in front of the castle | 0:33:00 | 0:33:03 | |
before they built the railway line. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:05 | |
It overlooks this amazing main road, effectively, | 0:33:05 | 0:33:08 | |
up and down from Exeter out to the sea. | 0:33:08 | 0:33:12 | |
As lord of the manor of Powderham, | 0:33:12 | 0:33:13 | |
Charlie owns much of the foreshore along the River Exe, | 0:33:13 | 0:33:17 | |
which he leases to local shellfish growers. | 0:33:17 | 0:33:20 | |
We're now, I think, approaching high tide. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:23 | |
At low tide, so much of this is all mud banks, mudflats, | 0:33:23 | 0:33:26 | |
and this is where you get all the mussels and all the cockles | 0:33:26 | 0:33:29 | |
and all the amazing seafood. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:31 | |
But people pick all sorts of shellfish down here. | 0:33:31 | 0:33:33 | |
It's an absolutely lovely source of food. | 0:33:33 | 0:33:35 | |
As we come up, we're coming towards the Starcross Yacht Club, | 0:33:38 | 0:33:41 | |
and the yacht club has been sailing this estuary | 0:33:41 | 0:33:44 | |
since at least the 1770s. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:45 | |
It has a claim to being the oldest sailing club, | 0:33:45 | 0:33:48 | |
the oldest yacht club, in England. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:50 | |
It was formed originally in the village of Starcross | 0:33:50 | 0:33:52 | |
by an ancestor of mine, William, the second viscount, | 0:33:52 | 0:33:55 | |
along with his friends. | 0:33:55 | 0:33:57 | |
And in the 1950s, | 0:33:57 | 0:33:58 | |
they moved from Starcross up to the old Powderham boathouse. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:02 | |
The founding members of the Starcross Yacht Club | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
started a number of unique Powderham traditions | 0:34:05 | 0:34:09 | |
which still survive to this day. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
So, Mary, this is one of the earliest illustrations that we have | 0:34:11 | 0:34:14 | |
of the castle from the estuary. | 0:34:14 | 0:34:16 | |
It's a lovely print from the mid-1700s. | 0:34:16 | 0:34:19 | |
And it shows the family boat house down here, see, | 0:34:19 | 0:34:22 | |
that the Starcross Yacht Club now occupies. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:25 | |
But of course the other relic that we have from this era, | 0:34:25 | 0:34:28 | |
as well as the yacht club, is the Starcross Dining Club, | 0:34:28 | 0:34:31 | |
which was founded by the same group of gentlemen. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:34 | |
And what's wonderful is that dining club, the Starcross Club, | 0:34:34 | 0:34:37 | |
still meets at Powderham, and they still eat the standard starter | 0:34:37 | 0:34:40 | |
of curried cockles using cockles from the estuary, | 0:34:40 | 0:34:43 | |
and using curry from all these spice ships | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
that would have been trading up and down the estuary. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:49 | |
Charlie, curried cockles? | 0:34:49 | 0:34:51 | |
-Curried cockles. -I need to know how to make them. | 0:34:51 | 0:34:54 | |
-Come and show me. -Let's go to the big kitchen and have a go. | 0:34:54 | 0:34:57 | |
Charlie is going to show me how to cook | 0:35:00 | 0:35:02 | |
this historic Powderham favourite, | 0:35:02 | 0:35:05 | |
fresh Devon cockles smothered in a creamy curry sauce made with apples, | 0:35:05 | 0:35:10 | |
white wine and mango chutney. | 0:35:10 | 0:35:12 | |
So, here we have the cockles. | 0:35:15 | 0:35:17 | |
These would have been harvested out on the estuary. | 0:35:17 | 0:35:20 | |
Hey, that's fresh, isn't it? | 0:35:20 | 0:35:22 | |
I have to confess, I have never cooked cockles. | 0:35:23 | 0:35:26 | |
I've only had them in the East End in a sort of cup. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:28 | |
-Right. -And I can remember them being frightfully tough. | 0:35:28 | 0:35:31 | |
But this is interesting. | 0:35:31 | 0:35:32 | |
Charlie starts by frying a large onion. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:36 | |
We now host the cockle dinner here. | 0:35:37 | 0:35:41 | |
-And how many come? -20 to 30 people. | 0:35:41 | 0:35:43 | |
Some new family names, some old family names, | 0:35:43 | 0:35:45 | |
the farmers and the landowners, | 0:35:45 | 0:35:47 | |
and they all meet and talk about what's going on. | 0:35:47 | 0:35:49 | |
And the first course is always this? | 0:35:49 | 0:35:51 | |
Always curried cockles. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:53 | |
Now we need to add the famous spices. | 0:35:53 | 0:35:55 | |
Charlie is adding garam masala, cumin, | 0:35:57 | 0:36:00 | |
ground coriander and for some heat, | 0:36:00 | 0:36:03 | |
a quarter of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. | 0:36:03 | 0:36:05 | |
So this is the curry sauce, and, of course, curry, | 0:36:07 | 0:36:09 | |
when this was first made in the 1770s, was just becoming popular | 0:36:09 | 0:36:13 | |
as a sort of preservative of food in English cooking. | 0:36:13 | 0:36:16 | |
And it often disguised flavours that had passed their... | 0:36:16 | 0:36:20 | |
-Yes! -You know, the fish was getting a bit stinky, | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
-and they put the curry powder in to disguise it. -Exactly. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:26 | |
Now, add a generous splash of white wine. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:29 | |
-Shall I do that for you? -Do you want to slosh it? | 0:36:29 | 0:36:31 | |
I'm pretty good at sloshing the wine. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:33 | |
150ml. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:34 | |
-Exactly. -Perfect. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:37 | |
And plenty left for us. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:39 | |
I'll pop that to one side. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:42 | |
Then add 600ml of fish stock. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
-Shall I stir while it goes? -Give it a stir while I pour it in. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:47 | |
As that starts to thicken, pour in 150ml of cream. | 0:36:47 | 0:36:51 | |
Devon knows about the cream. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
Then chop two eating apples. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:56 | |
So that will be coming to the boil, and the apple goes in. | 0:36:56 | 0:36:59 | |
The point of the apple is to thicken up the sauce a little bit. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:02 | |
Now let the sauce simmer for a while and reduce. | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
Right. The next ingredient is some mango chutney. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:11 | |
And Charlie is being pretty generous with it. | 0:37:11 | 0:37:14 | |
Never be shy on mango chutney. | 0:37:14 | 0:37:16 | |
That's far more than most people would add, | 0:37:16 | 0:37:18 | |
and I think you're quite right to do it. | 0:37:18 | 0:37:20 | |
And it just adds that little bit of sweetness to it. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:24 | |
Then add lemon zest, the juice of half a lemon, and season. | 0:37:24 | 0:37:29 | |
-Shall we add the cockles? -Go on, then. | 0:37:31 | 0:37:34 | |
The cockles should be cooked in advance, | 0:37:34 | 0:37:36 | |
soaked in water for several hours, then steamed or boiled. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:40 | |
I mean, it depends on whether your guests mind a bit of | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
authentic Exe foreshore in their meal. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:47 | |
But if they don't mind it, | 0:37:47 | 0:37:48 | |
it's actually quite nice to have them sort of a little bit gritty. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:51 | |
-This is ready, isn't it? -We just need to add a little bit of garnish. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:54 | |
We've got some coriander and some parsley, | 0:37:54 | 0:37:57 | |
and then we'll serve it on a bed of rice. | 0:37:57 | 0:37:58 | |
Curried cockles. | 0:38:00 | 0:38:01 | |
-It's an absolute first for me. -It's brilliant. | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
-It's a bit of all right. -That works, doesn't it? | 0:38:13 | 0:38:15 | |
It really works! | 0:38:15 | 0:38:17 | |
This is fabulous, everybody! | 0:38:17 | 0:38:19 | |
It is really, really, really good! | 0:38:19 | 0:38:22 | |
I mean...curry and cockles. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:25 | |
I promise you, this'll be on the cards for me. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:29 | |
Powderham is a castle that is full of cherished traditions. | 0:38:31 | 0:38:34 | |
Preserving this heritage is a never-ending task. | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
There are 34 staircases to clean... | 0:38:41 | 0:38:43 | |
..16 state rooms... | 0:38:47 | 0:38:49 | |
..nearly 40 bedrooms... | 0:38:52 | 0:38:54 | |
..and over 50 antique clocks... | 0:38:57 | 0:38:59 | |
..each of which needs to be wound every week, | 0:39:00 | 0:39:04 | |
a job Maurice Down been doing for over 40 years. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:07 | |
This morning, Charlie is showing me his next big challenge. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:13 | |
So, Mary, all the bedrooms in the house are numbered. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:19 | |
And these bedrooms up here are known as the '30s. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:22 | |
And they've been unoccupied for about 20 or 30 years. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:27 | |
And as you'll see, | 0:39:27 | 0:39:29 | |
they've sadly fallen into something of a decline... | 0:39:29 | 0:39:31 | |
..with the paint peeling off the walls, | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
plaster falling off the ceilings. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
Mould in the corners. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:41 | |
But what's wonderful about up here is the treasures | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
that the family have sort of collected for years in these rooms. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:49 | |
There are so many boxes and trunks. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:52 | |
I wonder what's in here. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:55 | |
Oh, look. That must have been for top hats. | 0:39:58 | 0:40:00 | |
It's a top hat box, absolutely. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:02 | |
Is that...? It looks like a bath shape. | 0:40:06 | 0:40:08 | |
Travelling bath, Victorian. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:11 | |
Everything you need for going around the Empire. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:14 | |
What else is there? What would that be? | 0:40:14 | 0:40:16 | |
Oh, it's got something written on the front. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:19 | |
That would be a tin hat box. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:20 | |
It says, CP Courtenay, Esquire. | 0:40:20 | 0:40:23 | |
This would have been my uncle Charlie, great, great uncle Charlie, | 0:40:23 | 0:40:26 | |
and that's his local police helmet. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:30 | |
But look down in there, there's a spike, | 0:40:30 | 0:40:32 | |
and you unscrew it and put it on the top, | 0:40:32 | 0:40:34 | |
-would you think? -Yeah. -There we are. | 0:40:34 | 0:40:36 | |
-Probably doesn't fit me. -It's actually rather a small head. | 0:40:39 | 0:40:43 | |
His picture in the dining room makes him look like quite a tall man. | 0:40:43 | 0:40:47 | |
-You're tall already. -Yeah. | 0:40:47 | 0:40:49 | |
There's an awful lot for you to do here, Charlie. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
People think living in a country house like this, | 0:40:53 | 0:40:56 | |
that it's all like Downton Abbey | 0:40:56 | 0:40:58 | |
and there are butlers and housemaids, | 0:40:58 | 0:41:00 | |
but in reality, there are some parts that are just like this. | 0:41:00 | 0:41:04 | |
Yeah, constantly, you're repairing, | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
constantly, you're trying to maintain, | 0:41:06 | 0:41:07 | |
constantly, you're finding ways to generate a bit more income | 0:41:07 | 0:41:10 | |
but without damaging things, maintaining things. | 0:41:10 | 0:41:13 | |
So it's a constant balance, but it's a lot of fun. | 0:41:13 | 0:41:16 | |
Do you know, this house is like a maze. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:26 | |
I could so easily get lost. | 0:41:26 | 0:41:28 | |
I'm really glad you're with me! | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
I know, it's amazing when you bring even experts around the house, | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
they all find themselves getting lost and disoriented | 0:41:33 | 0:41:37 | |
because the house is so many different eras and so many different | 0:41:37 | 0:41:40 | |
histories all sort of combined together. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:42 | |
And there are all these amazing doors here, | 0:41:42 | 0:41:44 | |
and then every now and again, they'll add a secret door as well | 0:41:44 | 0:41:47 | |
-which takes you somewhere completely different. -Goodness gracious. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:51 | |
And this is a little servants' passage that takes you | 0:41:51 | 0:41:53 | |
from the landing of the staircase through to the minstrels' gallery. | 0:41:53 | 0:41:57 | |
Ooh! | 0:41:57 | 0:41:58 | |
So, this is the minstrels' gallery. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:04 | |
You can sneak in and no-one knows you're here. | 0:42:04 | 0:42:06 | |
And there are some lovely holes in the panel here that were made by | 0:42:06 | 0:42:09 | |
my grandfather when he was a boy to be able to see | 0:42:09 | 0:42:12 | |
what the grown-ups were doing up here. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
So, Mary, here's the anteroom, | 0:42:15 | 0:42:17 | |
which is the room that leads into the libraries. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:20 | |
And in here, we not only have a few secret doors, but we also have... | 0:42:20 | 0:42:24 | |
..a secret window. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:27 | |
And the whole place lights up! | 0:42:31 | 0:42:33 | |
So, Mary, here we are in the libraries. | 0:42:37 | 0:42:40 | |
Now, there's a wonderful secret door in the second library. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:43 | |
You're going to have to find it. | 0:42:43 | 0:42:45 | |
I'm looking for a little cut-through. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:47 | |
It sort of must be in this section. | 0:42:47 | 0:42:50 | |
Ah. You see, I can see here that it's all cut away. | 0:42:50 | 0:42:54 | |
-Is that right? -That's it. | 0:42:54 | 0:42:56 | |
Now you've got to find out how to open it. | 0:42:56 | 0:42:57 | |
Don't tell me, don't tell me. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:00 | |
-I want to find it. -You're getting warmer. | 0:43:00 | 0:43:03 | |
I wonder if there's a button to press. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:07 | |
Ah, there's a gap. Maybe I put my hand in here and pull? | 0:43:07 | 0:43:11 | |
Yeah. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:12 | |
There's a handle at the end, just like a door handle. | 0:43:12 | 0:43:15 | |
Exactly. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:16 | |
I can't imagine what it's going to reveal. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:19 | |
Do you know, it's the most beautiful, romantic room, | 0:43:22 | 0:43:25 | |
in pale pink and turquoise. | 0:43:25 | 0:43:27 | |
-Can I go through? -Please do. | 0:43:29 | 0:43:30 | |
-Isn't it a wonderful room? -Absolutely. | 0:43:36 | 0:43:39 | |
And, gracious, is that an organ at the end? | 0:43:39 | 0:43:42 | |
Yes, so that's a 1769 organ that's recently been restored | 0:43:42 | 0:43:46 | |
and works perfectly again. | 0:43:46 | 0:43:48 | |
It's actually called the music room, | 0:43:48 | 0:43:50 | |
and it was built for this chap's coming-of-age party. | 0:43:50 | 0:43:53 | |
This is Kitty, William, the third viscount. | 0:43:53 | 0:43:56 | |
He looks pretty dandy, doesn't he? | 0:43:56 | 0:43:58 | |
He was the brother of 13 sisters. | 0:44:00 | 0:44:03 | |
He must have been spoiled rotten by them. | 0:44:03 | 0:44:05 | |
Exactly. Kitty's father died when he was only a teenager, | 0:44:05 | 0:44:08 | |
so he very much became the man of the house, and of course, | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 | |
when he came of age, he wanted to make a real statement, | 0:44:11 | 0:44:14 | |
and he threw a three-day party over a weekend that we have the most | 0:44:14 | 0:44:17 | |
amazing records of in the archive. | 0:44:17 | 0:44:19 | |
We have some of them over here on the table. | 0:44:19 | 0:44:21 | |
That looks like an invitation. | 0:44:21 | 0:44:23 | |
Your very own invitation to Kitty's weekend celebration. | 0:44:24 | 0:44:27 | |
It's number 567. | 0:44:27 | 0:44:30 | |
There were probably about 600 people invited to the weekend as a whole. | 0:44:30 | 0:44:33 | |
The ball garnered amazing press and publicity, | 0:44:33 | 0:44:36 | |
and there was a wonderful article in the Exeter Evening Post. | 0:44:36 | 0:44:38 | |
Gosh. | 0:44:38 | 0:44:40 | |
And it says, "Friday night was the masquerade, | 0:44:40 | 0:44:42 | |
"it being particularly observed that | 0:44:42 | 0:44:44 | |
"no black dominos were to be admitted." | 0:44:44 | 0:44:47 | |
And, of course, it says that in handwriting | 0:44:47 | 0:44:49 | |
on the front of the invitation. | 0:44:49 | 0:44:50 | |
What are black dominos? | 0:44:50 | 0:44:52 | |
So, a black domino was just a black cloak that some people who weren't | 0:44:52 | 0:44:56 | |
trying very hard would wear to a masquerade ball. | 0:44:56 | 0:44:59 | |
And you say, well, you can't just half-do it, | 0:44:59 | 0:45:02 | |
you've got to wear a proper costume. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:04 | |
And so Kitty was incredibly keen that everybody should dress up. | 0:45:04 | 0:45:07 | |
They ate at one o'clock in the morning! | 0:45:07 | 0:45:10 | |
Now, one o'clock in the morning, I'm ready for bed! | 0:45:10 | 0:45:12 | |
And the tables were laden with viands - meat - fruits, preserves... | 0:45:12 | 0:45:18 | |
And, of course, the food that they served would have been | 0:45:18 | 0:45:20 | |
a real statement of intent, and every single person invited | 0:45:20 | 0:45:24 | |
to the supper was given a peach on their plate. | 0:45:24 | 0:45:27 | |
And a peach in those days was the most exotic and | 0:45:27 | 0:45:29 | |
expensive of fruits, but you were really impressing your guests, | 0:45:29 | 0:45:33 | |
and it really launched Kitty into society as a man of great substance. | 0:45:33 | 0:45:38 | |
As a young man, it seemed Kitty enjoyed a charmed life. | 0:45:38 | 0:45:43 | |
But in later years, his fortunes changed. | 0:45:43 | 0:45:47 | |
His story then got rather tragic. | 0:45:47 | 0:45:49 | |
He developed an affection for a young man called William Beckford, | 0:45:49 | 0:45:53 | |
and when they were quite young, | 0:45:53 | 0:45:54 | |
they were discovered together in bed at Powderham, and a scandal broke. | 0:45:54 | 0:45:58 | |
And that forced Beckford to be exiled. | 0:45:58 | 0:46:01 | |
Kitty stayed at Powderham, lived here, but in 1805, | 0:46:05 | 0:46:09 | |
someone filed gross indecency charges against him and he fled. | 0:46:09 | 0:46:14 | |
Caught a ship bound for Manhattan Island, for New York, | 0:46:14 | 0:46:17 | |
and in 1815, when Napoleon fell, he moved to Paris. | 0:46:17 | 0:46:22 | |
He never returned until he did so in his coffin, | 0:46:22 | 0:46:25 | |
and he's buried in Powderham Church. | 0:46:25 | 0:46:27 | |
And when I was growing up at Powderham as a kid, | 0:46:27 | 0:46:30 | |
there was a huge shame around the gay third viscount, | 0:46:30 | 0:46:33 | |
-or the flamboyant third viscount, as he was called. -Oh, how sad. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:36 | |
We had no record of what Kitty was doing | 0:46:36 | 0:46:38 | |
during the time he was in exile. | 0:46:38 | 0:46:39 | |
And the assumption was this reprobate was just living it up | 0:46:39 | 0:46:43 | |
in France and in America. | 0:46:43 | 0:46:45 | |
And then, only about ten years ago, these letters were found | 0:46:45 | 0:46:48 | |
in a coal chute in Hampton Wick in south London, | 0:46:48 | 0:46:52 | |
and they are the correspondence between Kitty and his lawyer. | 0:46:52 | 0:46:56 | |
And he is managing the estate on behalf of Kitty, | 0:46:56 | 0:46:59 | |
and this correspondence tells them all about the project for building | 0:46:59 | 0:47:02 | |
a chapel at Starcross, | 0:47:02 | 0:47:04 | |
for which Kitty has donated the land and an endowment. | 0:47:04 | 0:47:07 | |
And so this character that we all grew up knowing as this sort of | 0:47:07 | 0:47:11 | |
reprobate, dissolute man who just left is shown to be the most | 0:47:11 | 0:47:15 | |
conscientious landowner, really caring for the castle, | 0:47:15 | 0:47:19 | |
for Starcross, for the estuary. | 0:47:19 | 0:47:21 | |
And it brings him completely back to life. | 0:47:21 | 0:47:24 | |
Celebrating Kitty's story is just one of the ways Charlie and AJ | 0:47:30 | 0:47:35 | |
are breathing new life into Powderham. | 0:47:35 | 0:47:38 | |
It's been exactly two years since they took over, so tonight, | 0:47:41 | 0:47:45 | |
to mark the occasion, they're having a party. | 0:47:45 | 0:47:49 | |
And they've chosen a venue that was dear to Kitty's heart. | 0:47:49 | 0:47:52 | |
AJ, where are you taking me today? | 0:47:55 | 0:47:57 | |
I'm taking you to a very special place. | 0:47:57 | 0:48:00 | |
It's one of the treasures that I feel is a hidden gem, | 0:48:00 | 0:48:04 | |
because it hasn't really been opened to the public. | 0:48:04 | 0:48:06 | |
I get really excited doing this. | 0:48:06 | 0:48:07 | |
It is, it's really lovely coming down here, | 0:48:07 | 0:48:10 | |
because it's almost like a tunnel of trees. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:12 | |
For decades, this woodland garden, created in the 1770s, | 0:48:21 | 0:48:25 | |
was overgrown and neglected. | 0:48:25 | 0:48:28 | |
Now AJ and Charlie are bringing it back to life. | 0:48:28 | 0:48:32 | |
Just look at that. | 0:48:32 | 0:48:34 | |
It is in the middle of nowhere. | 0:48:34 | 0:48:36 | |
It is so beautiful. | 0:48:36 | 0:48:39 | |
-It's a folly, look at that. -Yeah, I know! | 0:48:39 | 0:48:41 | |
It's really rather theatrical, | 0:48:41 | 0:48:43 | |
you can imagine a Shakespearean play being here... | 0:48:43 | 0:48:46 | |
-Yes. -..and the audience flanked. | 0:48:46 | 0:48:48 | |
For me, I just see Midsummer Night, Shakespeare, this is made for it. | 0:48:48 | 0:48:53 | |
So, what's the story behind this folly? | 0:48:53 | 0:48:56 | |
So, the folly is built by Kitty Courtenay, | 0:48:56 | 0:48:59 | |
the third viscount, to entertain. | 0:48:59 | 0:49:01 | |
So Kitty would throw lavish parties and this would be the setting. | 0:49:01 | 0:49:07 | |
-A perfect place for a party. -Perfect place for a party. | 0:49:07 | 0:49:10 | |
And this is the two-year anniversary of us moving into the house, | 0:49:10 | 0:49:15 | |
so we're thanking our staff and our local community. | 0:49:15 | 0:49:19 | |
I mean, we've had massive support from the local community, | 0:49:19 | 0:49:22 | |
so it's really just a thank-you party and letting everyone | 0:49:22 | 0:49:26 | |
just be in the space and relax and enjoy it. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:29 | |
-And you're going to feed them? -Yes. I might need some help. | 0:49:29 | 0:49:32 | |
The garden is being transformed into a magical space | 0:49:38 | 0:49:41 | |
for this special celebration. | 0:49:41 | 0:49:43 | |
Meanwhile, I have a job to do too. | 0:49:46 | 0:49:49 | |
I'm making a luxurious fruit pud using fresh Devon ingredients | 0:49:53 | 0:49:58 | |
inspired by Kitty's extravagant birthday party. | 0:49:58 | 0:50:01 | |
Kitty did things in great style. | 0:50:05 | 0:50:07 | |
He gave everybody a peach, which was a sheer luxury at that time. | 0:50:07 | 0:50:13 | |
So in Kitty's honour, I'm going to make a pudding with peaches, | 0:50:13 | 0:50:16 | |
and I'm calling it a peach posset. | 0:50:16 | 0:50:18 | |
First, I'm going to skin six ripe peaches. | 0:50:22 | 0:50:26 | |
I'm going to drop them into boiling water and then loosen the skin, | 0:50:26 | 0:50:30 | |
just like you do for a tomato. | 0:50:30 | 0:50:32 | |
As soon as the skin starts to loosen, | 0:50:33 | 0:50:36 | |
plunge them in cold water to cool down. | 0:50:36 | 0:50:40 | |
Then it's a matter of just peeling them gently. | 0:50:40 | 0:50:42 | |
And doing it like this means... Can you see? | 0:50:44 | 0:50:47 | |
You get that lovely mottley pink colour. | 0:50:47 | 0:50:50 | |
If you try to do it with a knife, you lose all that. | 0:50:50 | 0:50:52 | |
Next, chop the peaches into cubes. | 0:50:54 | 0:50:56 | |
I'm going to add a couple of tablespoons of | 0:50:58 | 0:51:01 | |
light muscovado sugar. That gives it a nice tinge of gold. | 0:51:01 | 0:51:06 | |
And then some brandy. | 0:51:09 | 0:51:11 | |
Adding the brandy to the peaches means, | 0:51:11 | 0:51:14 | |
one, it gives a terrific flavour, | 0:51:14 | 0:51:16 | |
and, two, it stops it discolouring, | 0:51:16 | 0:51:18 | |
because you wouldn't like little brown pieces at the bottom. | 0:51:18 | 0:51:22 | |
Two tablespoons is enough. | 0:51:22 | 0:51:23 | |
Then I'm going to just stir that all together. | 0:51:25 | 0:51:28 | |
And you leave that to marinate. | 0:51:30 | 0:51:33 | |
I like this recipe because it's so easy, so simple. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:39 | |
And now for the topping, | 0:51:39 | 0:51:41 | |
a traditional English dessert called a posset. | 0:51:41 | 0:51:44 | |
My interpretation of a posset is lemon, cream and sugar. | 0:51:44 | 0:51:50 | |
Often it's in a glass on its own, | 0:51:50 | 0:51:52 | |
but the addition of peaches makes it very special. | 0:51:52 | 0:51:55 | |
Add the zest and juice of a large lemon to a pan | 0:51:57 | 0:52:01 | |
and 75g of caster sugar. | 0:52:01 | 0:52:05 | |
And 300ml of double cream. | 0:52:05 | 0:52:08 | |
And stir it gently until it comes to the boil. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:11 | |
It's really a bit like thick custard, | 0:52:13 | 0:52:15 | |
but I promise you it tastes a far cry from that. | 0:52:15 | 0:52:18 | |
As soon as it's bubbling, take it off the heat, | 0:52:23 | 0:52:27 | |
pour that into the jug, | 0:52:27 | 0:52:29 | |
and let it cool. | 0:52:29 | 0:52:30 | |
Now divide the peach mixture between six glasses, | 0:52:32 | 0:52:36 | |
leaving space for the posset topping. | 0:52:36 | 0:52:38 | |
Make sure that they are pressed down so that the liquid is level. | 0:52:39 | 0:52:44 | |
And that means the posset won't run down the side. | 0:52:44 | 0:52:48 | |
I like it when there's not too much of this lovely, rich, lemony topping | 0:52:48 | 0:52:53 | |
and masses of fruit underneath. | 0:52:53 | 0:52:55 | |
Mmm. Quite pleased with that. | 0:52:59 | 0:53:02 | |
Four hours, they will be set. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:04 | |
I usually do it overnight because I like to get ahead. | 0:53:04 | 0:53:07 | |
When they're fully set, they're ready for the finishing touch. | 0:53:09 | 0:53:13 | |
You can do all sorts of things, you can put any edible flower - | 0:53:13 | 0:53:16 | |
pansies or a tiny nasturtium - | 0:53:16 | 0:53:19 | |
but I've got some borage here. | 0:53:19 | 0:53:21 | |
So you just catch hold of the middle, | 0:53:21 | 0:53:24 | |
like that, and pull off the stalk. | 0:53:24 | 0:53:27 | |
I would like to put three in the middle of each one. | 0:53:27 | 0:53:30 | |
It's very delicate, it's very summery, | 0:53:31 | 0:53:34 | |
and it looks as though you've taken extra trouble. | 0:53:34 | 0:53:37 | |
I think those look very, very special. | 0:53:39 | 0:53:41 | |
Perfect for a party. | 0:53:41 | 0:53:43 | |
The time for the celebration has finally arrived. | 0:53:57 | 0:54:01 | |
I can't wait to see the garden in all its party glory. | 0:54:01 | 0:54:05 | |
-Hi, Mary. -Isn't this enchanting? | 0:54:12 | 0:54:14 | |
You've worked so hard. | 0:54:14 | 0:54:16 | |
And look at it all laid. How many are you expecting? | 0:54:16 | 0:54:19 | |
-About three million. -Are we? | 0:54:19 | 0:54:22 | |
Well, hello! | 0:54:22 | 0:54:24 | |
You look so lovely. | 0:54:26 | 0:54:28 | |
Running a place like Powderham requires a huge team effort. | 0:54:28 | 0:54:31 | |
-Are you excited? -Yes. | 0:54:31 | 0:54:33 | |
-Mary, this is Anita and Elise. -Hello. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:36 | |
Two local families who have helped us out | 0:54:36 | 0:54:38 | |
over the past couple of years an awful lot. | 0:54:38 | 0:54:41 | |
Friends, family, staff and neighbours, | 0:54:41 | 0:54:44 | |
everyone who has helped Charlie and AJ since they took over, | 0:54:44 | 0:54:48 | |
has been invited to this very special celebration. | 0:54:48 | 0:54:51 | |
And there's a wonderful feast in store for them. | 0:54:55 | 0:54:58 | |
You and AJ have made me so immensely welcome, and what a finale this is. | 0:55:05 | 0:55:10 | |
It is just magical. | 0:55:10 | 0:55:12 | |
And I hope they all enjoy my contributions, | 0:55:13 | 0:55:17 | |
my crispy midsummer salad... | 0:55:17 | 0:55:19 | |
Delicious. Absolutely delicious. | 0:55:19 | 0:55:21 | |
..and of course that special Powderham pud, | 0:55:25 | 0:55:28 | |
my delicate peach posset. | 0:55:28 | 0:55:30 | |
It's a very informal celebration for a very informal family. | 0:55:33 | 0:55:37 | |
GLASSES CLINK | 0:55:44 | 0:55:46 | |
It's the two-year anniversary of Charlie and I | 0:55:49 | 0:55:52 | |
driving up with the kids in a moving van to a castle | 0:55:52 | 0:55:56 | |
and I want to thank all of you for being a part of our adventure. | 0:55:56 | 0:56:00 | |
And it's true, fairy tales happen. | 0:56:00 | 0:56:05 | |
Cheers to all of you. | 0:56:05 | 0:56:07 | |
I just wanted to say, Mary, thank you. | 0:56:09 | 0:56:11 | |
You've been so brave, braving the ceiling and the attics, | 0:56:11 | 0:56:15 | |
and the curried cockles. | 0:56:15 | 0:56:17 | |
-They're good. -So, thank you, Mary, | 0:56:17 | 0:56:19 | |
and thank you, everybody, for making this really special. | 0:56:19 | 0:56:21 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:56:21 | 0:56:24 | |
I've loved every minute of my visit to Powderham, | 0:56:29 | 0:56:32 | |
a very different stately home. | 0:56:32 | 0:56:35 | |
It's a place with over 600 years of history and tradition, | 0:56:35 | 0:56:39 | |
both a family home and the heart of a vibrant community. | 0:56:39 | 0:56:43 | |
And it's wonderful to see how a new generation is keeping it safe | 0:56:45 | 0:56:49 | |
for the future. | 0:56:49 | 0:56:51 | |
Next time, I visit Goodwood, | 0:56:57 | 0:56:59 | |
where the March family have breathed new life into a great estate. | 0:56:59 | 0:57:04 | |
Wait until I tell the grandchildren, a lap of Goodwood. | 0:57:04 | 0:57:07 | |
I get to peek below stairs... | 0:57:07 | 0:57:09 | |
Here we go, Mary, this is where I keep my secret stash. | 0:57:09 | 0:57:13 | |
..and bake for a magnificent cricket tea. | 0:57:13 | 0:57:16 | |
So fresh. If it falls apart, it's not my fault. | 0:57:16 | 0:57:19 |