Episode 2 Nigel and Adam's Farm Kitchen

Over half the land in the UK is dedicated to producing food.

But how much do we really know about what ends up on our plates?

I'm Nigel Slater, a cook. And I know my way around a kitchen.

And I'm Adam Henson, a farmer. So crops and animals are my expertise.

We're joining forces to get us all back in touch

with where our food really comes from.

We've moved into Old Farm in Moreton-in-Marsh

with the Righton family,

who have lived and worked on this land for three generations.

Together, we're growing crops.

Should be a piece of cake.

It would be, but I haven't actually driven for 40 years.

And rearing animals.

You want me to water the pigs?

-Just a little bit down their back.

-They're not going to like this.

And if all goes to plan, I'll be cooking up our produce

and turning your top 50 fresh ingredients

into delicious, cheap and healthy dishes.

So join us to get the most out of what we eat.

As we celebrate the very best of British food.

You know, it doesn't get more seasonal than spring lamb.

And here we've got our own little flock.

Spring is a season that I really look forward to

as the grass starts to grow and the trees come into blossom

and the cute lambs are skipping around in the field.

You say cute. I'm thinking hotpot.

-BLEATING

-A little bit of mint sauce.

Lamb is number 21 on our list of fresh foods,

but we're eating 40% less than we did 20 years ago.

When we do buy it, we're mainly eating the costliest cuts,

and we're eating them out of season.

Eating food in season can be

tastier, cheaper and more nutritious.

But with the technology to grow and store food all year round

and out-of-season imports flooding our shelves,

it seems we've lost touch with seasonal eating.

Seasons? I haven't got a clue.

I'm just relying on what's in the shops.

Winter, potatoes and oranges and stuff like that.

It's not about seasonal with me.

I just sort of... Whatever takes my fancy, really.

So tonight, we're putting the spotlight on seasonality.

I want to see my own bread through from grain to loaf,

so I've challenged Adam to grow me this seasonal staple.

I'm expecting you to do something magical with it.

I find out how scientists are outwitting the seasons,

but I'm not sure Nigel's convinced.

These are strawberry plants and they've been frozen.

Looks like compost.

And I really want to get cheaper,

overlooked cuts of lamb on the menu again,

so I'm cooking up the best of our flock

and our crops into a tasty harvest supper.

Spring isn't just the season for lambing.

Traditionally, it's also a time for planting.

Seedlings will appear within 10 to 18 days.

In the vegetable garden, we're putting in everything

from potatoes and courgettes to runner beans.

And I've been given my first ever greenhouse.

I've got this space. Our space.

Ha! I'm glad you added that!

It'll be perfect for growing my tomatoes.

I'll stick to the farming, you can grow the veg.

Well, I also want bread flour.

And for that, I think we'll need a bit more space.

We've got a very common spring wheat that many farmers would grow

that produces flour to make bread

that many of us would buy in supermarkets today.

-Is he going to make something with that, is he?

-Well, I hope so.

-Have you got any weight, or have I got it all?

-You've got it all.

With two million hectares of wheat grown every year,

it's one of Britain's staple crops.

So it should be an easy one for us to grow.

Right, let's get it in the ground.

That's if the weather doesn't intervene.

Last year's wet summer meant farmers lost 2.5 million tonnes of wheat

and we had to import more than we exported

for the first time in a decade.

So far, this year isn't looking any better.

It's the coldest March since 1962.

Across the country, farmers are losing

thousands of lambs to this harsh weather.

But here in the Cotswolds,

thankfully, our flock have been spared the worst.

# Ba Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann

# Oh, Barbara Ann

# Take my hand

# Ba Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann

# Barbara Ann

# Ba Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann

# You got me rockin' and a-rollin'

# Rockin' and a-reelin', Barbara Ann

# Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann...#

A real noise, a real cacophony of bleating.

I know. This myth about the countryside being quiet.

It's completely the opposite.

When will they be ready to cook?

Well, at about 16 weeks, so four to five months old.

It needs to have the right amount of fat and meat coverage.

And there will be some lambs out here

that'll be perfect for our harvest feast.

Lamb has become less profitable to farm than other animals,

so supply has gone down and prices have gone up.

In the past 20 years, they've risen by 108%.

That's twice as much as beef and three times as much as chicken.

But despite the expense,

there's one time of year when we all want lamb.

Now, lamb, I would guess that would be spring.

We'll eat lamb Easter Sunday.

And whatever's left over on Easter Monday.

-Springtime, isn't it?

-Aye, usually springtime.

Lamb is the only meat on our shopping list that's seasonal

with offspring born naturally in springtime.

So eating lamb in spring means eating it out of season.

It will either be last year's lamb imported,

or specially bred to be born in winter.

So, if we've got our lamb-eating season all back to front,

what do we really know about the meat?

To find out, we've come to Wales,

where they've got more sheep per square mile than anywhere else in Britain.

I reckon this lot will know their racks from their rumps.

What noise do lambs make? Do they go moo?

Baa! LAUGHTER

So Adam's gone off with the lamb, taking it round the town,

and I'm going to have a listen to what everybody's saying.

Nothing else tastes like lamb.

Mint and some roast potatoes, eh. Now you're cracking on, aren't you?

-Good.

-What's your favourite cut of lamb?

-Leg.

-Leg.

-Leg of lamb, yeah.

Stick it on the sheep, where it comes from.

Straight away, the leg is the favourite. It wins hands down.

Can I have a quick photo?

Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah. Let's stand by the sheep.

It's like working with a film star, honestly.

I like a nice cutlet.

A nice cutlet. Do you? What do you do with that, then?

-Grill it.

-Mm.

Chops and, er...fillet.

These are all lean, quite luxury cuts.

Little bit more expensive.

But in fact, there are good value cuts

to the lower part of the animal.

You sometimes get it in restaurants. Lamb shank?

-Lamb shank.

-There you go. And that goes on the bottom of the leg.

-All right.

-Now, what about this one? Do you recognise that one?

Less common.

No.

That's the scrag end. Do you ever use that?

No.

Oh, it's a pity. It's such a good cut.

I think it needs reinventing. I think it needs another name.

-Say bye-bye.

-LAUGHTER

Say bye! Thank you.

It seems the people of Cardiff are mainly eating the expensive cuts.

So, what about everyone else?

Well, the rest of Wales relish a roast.

Scots love their chops.

In Yorkshire, it's a shoulder.

While surprisingly, the south choose to stew.

But the biggest lamb lovers of all, Northern Ireland,

tucked into over 2,000 tonnes last year.

But there's one thing that unites us all.

Our favourite cut is also one of the most expensive, the leg.

Now, one of the confusing things when it comes to a lamb

is a lamb hasn't got four legs. Did you know that?

A lamb's got four legs, Adam. I've seen them.

Well, they have got four legs, but when it comes to the butchered lamb,

they have two legs, which is the back legs,

and then the front legs are called a shoulder of lamb.

Now, this is the one that people tend to cube

and sometimes even mince, but I think makes a great roast.

Because for me, it's all about flavour.

I think the flavour is often at this end in the cheaper cuts.

That's the bit that does all the work.

You've got the shoulders and then the neck.

And very few people mentioned these cuts, did they?

This is scrag end.

Now, this is a really good cut for slow-cooking.

Overlooked, makes a marvellous stew, or you can mince it.

And that...is the neck fillet that kind of goes on there.

It's that hard working bit, isn't it?

I mean, you never see a sheep that isn't eating.

They've always got heads down.

Absolutely. The other cheap cut is the belly.

I mean, that's three quid from the butcher.

And I think it's totally underrated.

This is going to form part of my harvest feast.

But today, I need some mince.

-So you can have a little bit of this...

-Yeah.

-..some of the scrag and maybe a bit of the shoulder, as well.

-OK.

I want some nice juicy mince for my burgers.

OK. He's always getting me to do things.

And he's always getting to eat it.

Right, into the mincer.

Lamb mince is another under-used cut.

Of all the lamb we eat, only 9% is mince.

Whereas with beef, it's 50%.

So, what's the technique in making a lamb burger?

I'm learning a lot from this man.

You know, I think it's a really coarse mince.

Good, fatty meat.

And I don't think we should be too scared of lamb fat either.

When I see it like this with these lovely little pieces of fat,

I mean, just look at that!

That's all going to melt down as you cook the burger.

The secret centre of my burgers will be a cheese filling.

Ooo, I recognise this one.

Sheep's cheese. Sticking with a sheepy theme?

Exactly. It just seems right

to put the sheep's cheese in with the lamb burger.

This is quite a fruity, well-flavoured cheese

-so you don't need too much of it. There you are.

-OK.

I'm going to put in three or four teaspoons of capers.

I like a little bit of piquancy from the salty brine.

-A little bit of what?

-Piquancy.

You know, a little bit of sharpness, a little bit of bite.

That little spritz of excitement when you eat something.

Now I'm adding six to eight small gherkins.

Makes me nervous when you're chopping with that sharp knife

-and not looking at what you're doing.

-Does it?

Don't want minced Nigel's fingers in my lamb burger.

And now my little secret ingredient.

Anchovies. I mean, do you like anchovies?

I do. I love them. On a pizza. I'm not sure about them in a burger.

The wonderful thing about using anchovies as a seasoning

is nobody knows they're there.

They melt down. And they add a deep savour to the meat

without even remotely being fishy.

So give this a really good mix.

-That's the fun bit.

-I know, I know, I know.

You know you could do this with a spoon,

but it's much better to do it with your hands.

It's more efficient and food feels good.

So, what do you want me to do with this cheese?

If you roll that into little balls about the size of a gobstopper.

Then where do you want it?

-If you pop your cheese into there.

-In the middle?

-Yep.

-Cheeseburger with a difference.

-Exactly. And that's the joy of it.

All of the ingredients

that you would have as an accompaniment are in the burger.

'I'm going to bake my lamb burgers.

'But to give them some colour, I'm searing them first.'

They should sizzle the minute they hit the pan.

The fat in that burger is going to baste it, exactly like a sausage.

How long will they be in the oven for?

About 20-30 minutes.

-OK. See you then.

-Yep. See you later.

Now, they're really quite thick

and I want to cook the lamb right through to that delicious cheese.

So from now on, it's in the oven for about 30 minutes at 180.

Nigel?

Funny how you always turn up at the right moment, isn't it?

Got some hungry farm boys here.

I'm not going to give you ketchup because I've got something much better.

I've got all the meat and cheese juices.

Look at that!

-Here's your burger.

-Thanks very much.

It's going to make a mess.

Oh, it's dribbling everywhere!

-You said you'd get it down your shirt.

-Mm-hm.

The best food is always messy. Always messy.

-Now, then, Cookie, where's mine?

-It's not a drive-through, you know.

That is one serious lamb burger.

DOG WHINES

# We're busy doing nothing

# Working the whole day through

# Trying to find lots of things not to do

# We're busy going nowhere Isn't it just a crime?

# We'd like to be unhappy but we never do have the time. #

Top of our list of favourite foods is fresh vegetables.

And spring is the season to eat asparagus,

tender spinach and rocket.

In the farm garden,

the nation's favourite vegetable is ready for picking.

We spend more on spuds than any other veg,

eating 500 each every single year.

But there's one type of potato

that's only available for a few months each year.

And it can only be grown in one place.

For many of us in Britain, the arrival of spring

is heralded by this, the Jersey Royal.

It might not look much, but this is one of our most celebrated foods,

despite its very short season.

I've come to Jersey to find out what makes these little gems so special

and why they command such a high price.

The season for these is very, very short. Why so short?

I mean, can't we just store them like ordinary main crop potatoes?

No. Because they're a fresh potato,

it's very soft, tender.

It's got to be picked at the right time

and sold at the right time, as well.

12 weeks and that's it.

And then after that, the freshness is gone.

So, where does the flavour come from?

It's the soil we've got in Jersey. It's a very sandy loam.

They just thrive in that, the Jersey Royals,

and it just gives them that extra taste.

Almost a third of the island is devoted to growing the Jersey Royal.

But the first, sweet little potatoes of the season

come from steep slopes like this

that are almost constantly bathed in sunlight.

These hills might create a great potato,

but they make for a very tricky harvest.

The entire crop must be painstakingly hand-picked.

You get used to walking up and down after a while.

Wow! Just look at these. Like buried treasure.

Look at them, they're so beautiful!

And all this harvesting is done by hand? There's no machines involved?

Yep. It's labour and land that cost the money over here.

But the product at the end of the day is worth it.

The Jersey Royal is the only British vegetable

to have been granted a protected origin status.

So just like Champagne,

no-one else in the world can lay claim to the Jersey Royal name.

You know, suddenly all is clear.

I can understand why these little potatoes cost more.

The love and the work that goes into producing them.

I just cannot wait to get them into the pot.

Didier's wife Christine has cooked some for lunch.

She's simply boiled a few and sauteed the rest in butter.

They both look delicious!

-Nice?

-Good?

See, that's what I want a potato to taste like.

It's earthy and it's nutty.

And it tastes like spuds did when I was a kid.

And that's the point, isn't it?

Eating fresh foods in season just as our parents did.

They were seasonal eaters because there was no other choice.

We have gluts of fruit during the summer and autumn

and yet around Christmas time, we have to pay scarcity prices.

Couldn't something be done to even supplies out a little?

Her wish has been granted.

Today, the average supermarket

offers food from all four seasons all year round.

And that's largely thanks to one thing, imports.

Tomatoes are number two on our list of favourite vegetables.

Yes, I know technically they're a fruit, but we use them as vegetable.

Anyway, our climate isn't hot enough to grow them all year round

and we import a whopping 80%.

As a cook, it's nice to have all this choice,

but when tomatoes are in season,

I think nothing tastes like home-grown.

Most commercial tomatoes are grown to look perfect.

Red, round, six to the pound.

But I don't think they're very interesting to eat.

It's as if they've had all their character bred out of them.

And that's because they're pampered.

Too much food, too much water.

They're just looked after too well.

In fact, I have a theory that a really good tomato can be had

if you treat it rough.

So to prove my point,

I'm going to move one of my plants out of the greenhouse.

I'm going to dig him out and give him a new life outside.

No longer the pampered life,

being fed and watered every five minutes.

We'll see what the weather throws at it and how it fares.

There you are. Sink or swim.

Well, I hope Nigel's tomatoes have better weather

than our other crops have had so far.

We're just coming out of the two worst farming seasons

that I can remember.

We had an incredibly wet autumn

and then the coldest spring in 50 years.

Wheat crops across the country have been really suffering.

Thankfully, our little acreage of spring wheat is doing rather well.

So fingers crossed, Nigel should get his harvest loaf after all.

# In the summertime when the weather is high

# You can stretch right up and touch the sky

# When the weather's fine

# You got women you got women on your mind... #

Summer treats include broad beans and peas in the pod.

But nothing says summer's arrived

more than the sweet taste of fresh red fruits.

For me, it's definitely got to be strawberries, raspberries.

My favourite fruit is cherries.

My favourite food here is strawberries.

Our absolute favourite summer fruit is the strawberry.

We eat a mammoth 240 million punnets of them every year.

But this hasn't always been the way.

50 years ago, the great British strawberry

was outsold by this, the cherry.

Cherry orchards once covered the landscape of Kent.

But it took a huge labour force to pick the trees

that were up to 80-foot high.

And they couldn't be protected from bad weather and hungry birds.

So in the decades following WWII,

land was given over to easier, more profitable crops

and 90% of our cherry orchards disappeared.

But today, the lovely British cherries are making a comeback.

And it's all thanks to science.

How have you managed to get these small trees?

Because the cherry tree I've got at home is 30 foot high.

The biggest development was the dwarfing root stock,

meaning that it will only grow to 10 to 12 foot high.

You can pick them from the ground, you don't have to go up a ladder?

Absolutely. And the varieties crop a little bit heavier, as well.

So you've got a smaller, more manageable tree,

but you're producing virtually twice as much fruit, as well.

Absolutely. Correct.

And the smaller the tree, the easier it is to protect.

As you see, we grow now under a polytunnel.

Basically, it's for rain protection.

Because if cherries get a sniff of rain, they will start splitting.

Thanks to these innovations,

the popularity of British cherries is rising again.

But they're still a long way from being number one.

Because science has given an even bigger advantage to the strawberry.

50 years ago, the British strawberry season lasted just six weeks.

Today, it's six months.

So, Abi, how have you managed to get strawberries

with such an extended season?

The main way is through the breeding.

Picking early lines that maybe haven't got very good fruit quality

and matching it with something else that does to get a new variety.

So, you're taking two strawberries

and matchmaking to try and find the ultimate plant?

Yeah. Basically, it is a bit like the Holy Grail.

Of the 13,000 varieties in this field,

only one will make it to the supermarket shelf.

They've got a good shape. They're a bit seedy, a bit hairy.

You have to be really fussy, don't you?

You do, yeah.

-No.

-Reject.

-No.

OK. Nice sort of bright orange colour.

-Mm! Quite nice.

-Quite sweet.

-Might be a winner.

-OK.

I can name it after you.

Thank you. Adam Henson strawberries.

'It's thanks largely to this intensive breeding system

'that we now have strawberries for half the year.

'But there's an even stranger way to outwit the strawberry season.'

So, what have we got here?

So we've got frozen strawberry plants here.

They don't look very alive, they don't look very impressive,

but this is one of the ways that the growers are extending the seasons.

They look like they're dead, but they should burst back into life?

Well, yes. If you plant them out,

they'll start to produce fruit in about two months' time.

These could be perfect. We're having a harvest feast in September

and Nigel has got strawberries in one of his recipes.

-There you go. Present from us.

-Can I take the whole lot?

Yeah. There you go.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-That's OK.

Now, then, Nigel, I've got a little present for you.

Hello, sir. What's that, then?

What have you got, then?

Oh. Thanks.

These are strawberry plants and they've been frozen.

And I've been assured

that if you look after them and plant them out now,

they'll produce fruit in time for our harvest feast.

60 days from frozen plant to fruit.

It looks like compost.

They do take a bit of looking after, so I'll leave them in your capable green fingers.

I think you're expecting a bit much, mate.

I'm really not sure about this.

There's something I look forward to so much

about strawberries at the right time of year

that I'm not entirely convinced I want to extend the season.

I'm not sure they're going to taste the same.

I don't know. We'll see.

I think you need more than tender loving care, I think you need a miracle.

'Those frozen plants are a long way off giving me any fruit.

'But in the greenhouse,

'some of my in-season strawberries are ready for picking.'

And I know exactly what I'm going to do with these.

Summer fruits, they're the biggest treat of all.

When I was a kid, it was either a bowl of strawberries,

a bag of cherries or my mum's jam sandwiches.

They give me the inspiration for all sorts of things,

including bread and butter pudding.

And this is my version. This is lovely fresh bread.

You could use something that was slightly staler if you want.

'We throw away 24-million slices of bread every day,

'so this is a great way to use it up.'

Now, most of my favourite puddings have got butter in them somewhere.

With this one, it's actually a major part of the ingredients.

I'm going to spread this really thickly.

'I'm replacing the custard you'd get in a traditional bread and butter pudding

'with a lovely cherry jam.'

I'm using this because it's not too sweet

and it's got a beautiful colour.

'I'm adding an equal amount of water

'and gently heating it with the jam to form a syrup

'before laying the bread slices into the baking tin.'

Now, you can do this really neatly and take lots of time over it,

but I think it's more fun just to jumble them in.

So squish that right down

so that the bread drinks up all the cherry syrup and melted butter.

And then a little scattering of Demerara.

'That's all there is to it.

'Just into the oven at 200 degrees for about half an hour.'

Morning.

So that's crisp round the edges, still soft inside.

And all that bread has soaked up the cherries and the butter.

'Now it's time for my beautiful summer fruits.'

Now, there's good cherries and there's the best cherries.

The best ones have got green stalks. It just means they're fresher.

I love a strawberry.

Now, I don't wash strawberries,

but if you do, it's best to wash them with the leaves in

and very, very quickly because they soak up a lot of water.

Cream and summer fruits were made for one another.

'I'm adding a couple of drops of vanilla extract.'

And then I'm going to softly whip it.

That is as far as I'm taking it.

This is the very essence of summer.

These are some little flowers from some fennel in the garden.

Just a bit of fun.

So that's inspired by my mum's jam sandwiches.

Come on!

It's lunchtime at the farm.

-They're very friendly when there's food about.

-They'll expect it all the time.

You go for it, girl!

# Look for the bare necessities

# The simple bare necessities

# Forget about your worries and your strife

# I mean the bare necessities

# Old Mother Nature's recipes

# That brings the bare necessities of life. #

That's the animals sorted, but what about me?

It's all very well when Nigel's here

cooking up something delicious for me to tuck into,

but when he's not, I've got to fend for myself.

So I've a secret stash of tins here. But I'm not alone.

99% of us keep canned food in our kitchen cupboards.

The invention of canning was a revolution in food preservation,

letting us blur the seasons and have the food we wanted all year round.

Today, we get through a can a week each.

That's three billion every year.

Our favourites are soup, beans,

tomatoes and tuna.

A mammoth 97% of all the tuna we eat comes out of a can.

But the choice is bewildering.

There's flakes, chunks, steaks,

tuna in brine, in oil, in spring water.

Decisions, decisions.

All I want is something for a quick snack. So, how do I choose?

# I wish I was a fisherman... #

I've come to London to the UK's biggest inland fish market.

As a farmer, my instinct is always to go back to the animal itself.

25,000 tonnes of fresh fish pass through this place every year.

And I'm guessing that none of it is packed into one of these.

But if anybody knows their fish, it's this lot.

So, have you got any of this here somewhere?

-Tuna? Yeah. John...?

-Have you got any in tins?

-No, no, no!

-LAUGHTER

-I ain't got a tin opener!

-LAUGHTER

Silla Bjerrum teaches fish-filleting skills

at Billingsgate's own school.

She's offered to show me the type of fish

that nine out of ten tins of tuna come from.

So, here, Adam, we've got a skipjack tuna for you.

Goodness me - that's lovely, isn't it?

Now, I know about butchering lambs and pigs and chickens -

what's the difference in a tuna?

What I can do is I can show you. I can cut it up and show you.

It's a torpedo-shaped fish. It swims extremely fast.

So it's all pure muscle in here. Divided into four loins.

-Beautiful.

-And that's obviously what you see inside a tinned tuna.

-So really this is just one great big solid lump of meat?

-Yes.

There's no internal bones and that's probably one of the reasons

why it's a good fish to can as well.

This looks like a lovely piece of fish. I don't understand why

we don't eat it for sushi or as steaks.

It looks the part but I think it doesn't taste as good. Go for it.

-It's horrible.

-Oh, my God!

'Apparently, the rancid taste is caused by the brine

'the fish was preserved in when it was caught, but thankfully it gets

'destroyed by the cooking process when canning tuna.'

Don't eat it. In a tin only.

So what's the difference between chunks and flakes in a tin?

I think it's pretty much the same but you will have bigger chunks

at the top of the loin and then more flaky bits at the bottom.

So the quality is pretty much the same.

The quality of the loin is pretty much the same throughout.

'If the meat inside the cans of tuna is all the same,

'why is there such a difference in cost?

'I'm going to try and find out, with Nigel's help.

'Though I'm pretty sure he's not a fan of the can.'

Here we are. I thought it was about time I made you lunch again.

And we're going to have some tinned tuna.

Oh, you've really pushed the boat out, haven't you?

But first off we're going to go for a taste test.

I've got three different cans of tuna, all from one supermarket.

Different price range - the cheapest is 49p, right through to £1.32.

And I chose brine because more than 70% of us

in this country choose to eat it in brine.

So have a little taste,

tell me which one you think is the cheapest and the most expensive.

-Right.

-So number one.

Hmmm - quite nice?

Yeah.

-Don't you like the smell?

-No.

There's no difference in flavour between 1 and 2.

2 is just meatier.

-Try 3.

-Do I have to?

It's about texture. This one is not very nice in the mouth.

It's kind of squishy.

Mmm - quite wet, this one, isn't it?

So the most expensive is number 2. That's steaks.

Then at 86p we've got number 1, that's the chunks.

And the cheap one at 49p is the flakes, so all the little bits

that are left behind after they've jointed the rest up.

The flavour to me is pretty much the same.

The truth is, most of this would be eaten in a sandwich with

some mayonnaise - you'd scrunch it up, so really

I can't see the point in paying so much more for the expensive one.

But of course, environmentally, that's what we're paying for.

Ethical fishing. This expensive one, or the more expensive one

is pole and line caught tuna, which is more sustainable.

'If you want to buy sustainable, look out for the MSC label.

'But a recent report claimed that "dolphin friendly" labels

'can be irrelevant because dolphins

'and skipjacks don't swim in the same waters.'

How about an omelette?

-I went to quite a lot of effort here! But omelettes sound good.

-Yeah.

Today it's time for my tomato test results.

The plant I moved out of the greenhouse

has been exposed to the elements for months.

These here have been at the mercy of the British weather.

They've had pouring, pouring rain, some very cold nights,

blazing sunshine. They've had the lot.

What I really want to know is how they taste.

And more importantly,

how their flavour compares to my pampered greenhouse tomatoes.

Farmer Sarah and son Sam are my guinea pigs.

Very sweet.

Now have some of that one.

So which one do you like best?

Number one.

Number one.

-Why?

-Definitely a bit sweeter, bit more substance to it.

Definitely a tastier tomato.

Well, that first tomato was the outdoor grown one. Told you.

It was the one that had basically had a tougher time.

And it wasn't pretty, it was a bit scarred, it had cracked,

it certainly wouldn't have got into a supermarket, but I'm so pleased.

It did actually taste better. YES!

# You say ee-ther, I say eye-ther... #

But whether they're outdoor or indoor,

all our tomatoes are coming into season.

I want to preserve them, so I can have a taste of summer

once the weather turns cold, without relying on imports.

# You like tomay-to and I like tomah-to... #

I've got one batch of soup on the go, and I'm starting another.

It's a great thing to cook in bulk when you've got a glut to use up.

You know, as a nation we waste 15 million tonnes

a year of the food that we buy.

It's just crazy. Well, not me.

What I want to do is to make enough soup that I can freeze it.

It just means that when I come home - tired, hungry -

I just get a bag of soup out of the freezer.

And wham, supper's done.

'Smoky bacon and red onion help transform this dish

'into a main course.'

It's kind of a soup stew.

'Now for my hero.'

Every tomato I can find now.

None of these boys are going to waste.

So this is the place for all those tomatoes that look a bit weird and craggy.

The ones I've grown outside. The supermarket rejects.

I want this to have a really smoky depth so I've got some smoked paprika here

and I'm just going to sprinkle in a couple of teaspoons.

'Now I'm adding water and seasoning.'

Then - two or three of these. These are star anise.

And what they add is a slight aniseed warmth that will really lift this.

'I'm going to leave that to cook down for half an hour.

'I want a chunky, filling soup so I'm adding some drained pinto beans. You could use any, really.'

That needs a few minutes more.

My first one is ready for freezing.

So good.

So good.

'Each pot will give me six good-sized portions.'

Supper's done for weeks.

Now for my little ones.

These are too sweet to make into a soup or a stew

so I'm going to pickle them.

Now I've got some sterilized jars here.

I've got a mixture here - lovely little red Gardener's Delight,

little orange ones, yellow ones, couple of pear shaped.

The brighter the better.

'I'm adding fresh garlic cloves and some rosemary to each jar.'

A little bit of oregano.

This is golden oregano - it works really well with tomatoes.

I think of it as the pizza herb.

'A bayleaf, coriander seeds and some black peppercorns.'

Now the pickling juice has come to the boil...

'It's a simple mix of malt vinegar, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt.

'I'm making sure there's no room for air before I seal the jars.'

So I've got something for my store cupboard

to have with a ploughman's lunch or a pork pie.

And I've got something to give away.

My pickled tomatoes.

Our flock of lambs are now three to four months old and today is a big day.

So what Simon wants done today is for these lambs to be weaned.

So they're being weaned off their mother's milk.

Which is a gradual thing, I thought. No?

No. Instant. It's the beginning of independence, really.

They're like teenagers leaving home.

So the lambs will go one way and the ewes the other way and that's it.

'But telling them apart is easier said than done.'

And there's the black sheep of the family over there.

-That'll be you, Nigel.

-Thank you so much for that.

-So we'll get into the pen, shall we?

-Yeah.

Go on, sheep!

I'll get the front ones going,

Nigel, and then these other ones should follow.

Yeah, I get the rear. Great(!)

Go on... go on...

go on... go on...

I'm making a f... not very good job of this.

Which is which? Cos I'm getting confused.

Some of these are really quite big, Adam.

-The ewes are generally the ones with the speckeledy faces.

-Come on, ewe, and ewe.

Lamb.

And one last little lamb.

Job's a good 'un.

So it should be - lambs in here.

Ewes over there. One or two wrong ones, is there, Simon?

-There's one or two.

-The odd one. His. The odd one.

-So these are all off to market soon?

-Yes, some of them are ready now.

And some others have got a little bit more growing to do

so they'll be here for the next month or two.

As long as they leave some for our harvest feast.

But there's more to a meal than meat.

The veg patch is in full flow.

I've got cabbages, courgettes, Brussels sprouts,

I've got squashes, runner beans, French beans, peas, the lot.

But the thing I'm most excited about are these.

They're the frozen strawberries that I didn't think would survive.

The ones that Adam brought over. I didn't give them any hope.

And yet - lots of new shoots. Beautiful leaves.

And - some really lovely flowers. But flowers are one thing.

Fruit for a feast for 30 is another thing altogether.

To go with our lovely seasonal foods,

I want to find a seasonal drink to serve at the feast.

As a nation, our favourite alcoholic drink is beer.

We drink 21 million pints of it a day.

In all its glorious varieties.

And here in Kent, they're making one that is a truly seasonal tipple.

It's green-hop ale.

And unlike most beers,

it's made with fresh hops rather than dried and it can only be made

during the four-week hop harvest,

which is happening all over Kent, right now.

Just as it has done for hundreds of years.

Picking this many hops over such a short period requires

an army of temporary workers.

Before the war, hundreds of families from all over London would

join the harvest for a working holiday.

But where does the flavour lie in this precious crop?

They're very beautiful things to look at.

But which bit do we actually use in making the beer?

OK, if we break one of these down.

The petals and seeds, which I'm throwing away,

aren't actually used in the brewing process.

But then we come down to these little globules on the end...

-I had no idea.

-..which hold the essential oils

and the flavour is in the essential oils.

Yeah. It's grassy and it's fruity and spicy.

Well, these look like two nice ones for you to use.

-Whoa!

-We'll just pull them down

and there's two beautiful hops for you to brew with.

Amazing. Thank you! Brilliant.

Can't wait to get this lot in a glass!

So I'm headed to Britain's oldest brewery.

You know, you can smell the malt and the hops in the air.

There's a real sense of history here.

They've been brewing beer on these premises since the 16th century.

Then, beer was safer to drink than water.

To get my seasonal brew underway,

the fresh hops need to be picked from the vine.

Here you are, Sir.

Thank you, Nigel. Pop 'em down here.

So what, apart from these, actually goes into beer?

Well, beer is very, very simple. There's four ingredients.

That's all you need to make beer.

We have water, malted barley, yeast and hops. All natural ingredients.

So how come different beers have different flavours, then?

Well, it's varying those ingredients.

Hops are a bit like sort of herbs and spices that you would use.

-OK.

-Normally we would use hops in a dried state

and they'd be something like this and the difference with this beer

we're brewing today, with it being a green hop ale,

is that you get a really fresh hop aroma that comes through.

'Malt and water are boiled together to release sugars,

'forming a sweet, sticky liquid which is the basis of our beer.

'My green hops are the final touch.'

-What we're adding here is a top note, isn't it?

-It is.

When you're drinking this beer,

as you raise the glass up and then inhale,

you'll get that lovely fresh green hop note coming through.

Now we're just going to leave it to ferment and with a bit of luck

it'll be ready just in time for our harvest feast.

So that's the drinks sorted - now it's back to our main course.

It's time to say goodbye to the first 20 of our flock.

These ones we're selecting now for market.

They'll be in the shops middle of next week for people to go and buy.

Lambs make up over a quarter of the farm's income

so it's crucial they fetch a good price.

The buyers range from the local butcher to some of the UK's

biggest supermarkets

and they're all looking for the same thing.

A good weight but without too much fat.

AUCTIONEER SPEAKS QUICKLY

Hi, Si. So how did they get on?

What sort of price were they making?

Sold well. Better than I expected.

And do you think all that snow in the spring has affected price?

Yes, I think so. There wasn't so many lambs around so it should hopefully keep the price up.

Righto - I'll leave you to it.

It's the busiest time of year on the farm.

Even Nigel's come out of the kitchen to bring in the wheat,

with a little help from Bonnie.

You know, as a cook, I bake bread all the time,

but it's amazing to see the main ingredient go from seed to grain to harvest.

I'm getting the hang of this farming lark.

I'll find you a summer job.

This is great.

This is better than buying a bag of flour.

This is much more exciting!

I've come back to Shipton Mill where our wheat is being ground,

sieved and transformed into flour.

So this is our bread flour. With wonderful traceability.

We've seen it planted, grown, harvested,

milled and hopefully soon made into lovely bread.

So I'm expecting you to do something magical with it.

Well, you know, I think the best way to test flour is with a simple loaf.

# He likes bread and butter... #

And it couldn't be easier.

For my plain white loaf, I'm mixing flour, salt, yeast and water.

I'm going to put some flour on the board.

And you're going to knead it in.

It's great having our name on here, isn't it?

Yes. Nigel and Adam's.

Should be Adam's and Nigel's. But there you go.

The important thing with kneading is not to be too rough.

You know you see people slamming the dough down. No.

You treat any food like that and it's going to bite back.

It's quite good fun, isn't it? Quite therapeutic.

I can start to smell the dough. It's lovely.

You know there's something happening in there. You know it's alive.

-Well, there's a lot of love gone into growing it.

-Yeah.

-And you did a wonderful job of harvesting it.

-Thank you.

Shall I come back when it's ready to come out of the oven?

Yeah, you usually do.

Bit of tasting later. See ya!

'Now the dough needs to be left somewhere warm

'to prove for around an hour.'

Bread is number eight on our list

of favourite foods and we get through 12 million loaves every day.

But to give us the bouncy, long-lasting bread we love,

the average supermarket loaf can have up to a dozen different

ingredients, including additives and enzymes.

'My version is all natural.'

Look at that -

and once you've got the dough in this stage,

the world is your oyster - you can do anything you want with it.

So I'm just going to punch it a little bit.

Just gently to get rid of some of the air.

And then into a non-stick loaf tin.

Push it gently right into the corners.

'Again, I'm leaving it somewhere warm

'until it rises enough to fill the tin.'

Now, with the rest of the dough we can have a little bit of fun.

I love the idea of having a roll all to myself.

Could flavour this with all sorts of things.

But I've decided on rosemary

because what else is going in here is some goat's cheese.

They work beautifully together.

The mixture will slowly melt through the rolls as they bake.

If these work as well as I hope they're going to,

they'll be perfect for our harvest supper.

'I leave everything to prove,

'before baking in a hot oven for half an hour.'

Right on cue.

-Warm bread - that smell is just delightful.

-Good, eh?

-Good rolls too.

-Yes. Do you want a taste?

-Yes.

Oh, the crunch. This is our bread!

Our bread, our flour.

Mmmm...

That is really good, isn't it?

-Do you like that little bit of goat's cheese?

-I do. So what about the loaf?

Oh, look!

That is what I want my loaf to look like inside.

Look at that crust as well. Just beautiful.

Give us a bit.

Harvest is in full swing across the country.

It's all hands on deck as crops are brought in

and surplus foods are stored for the winter - for us and our four-legged friends.

Autumn treats like chestnuts, blackberries

and sweet British apples are ripe for the picking.

Now, traditionally at this time of year, the farming community

come together to celebrate harvest and have a bit of a knees-up,

and to thank all those who have helped to bring it in.

'So we're hosting our own seasonal feast.'

Nigel's green hop ale has arrived, Meg's in charge of seating

and Sarah has helped transform our very own wheat into a harvest loaf.

And I want to do something with our lambs.

So, I'm using a very economical cut which is the breast of lamb,

or as I like to call it, the lamb belly.

So I've scored almost to the chopping board,

so the seasoning is going to go right down, through the score marks

and it will flavour the lamb as it cooks.

But for once, I'm not the one doing the cooking...

I've asked Adam to find his inner caveman.

There's something very satisfying about lighting barbecues.

Get this nice and hot. Then we can put the lamb bellies on.

So I told Adam that I'm going to be doing all the prep.

That means making a coarse rub.

So thinking of flavours that go with lamb, I'm starting with rosemary.

Then I'm adding fennel seeds, garlic salt,

mustard seeds and celery salt.

I want this to stick to the lamb as it cooks

so I'm just going to put a little bit of oil in there,

mix the herbs and spices to this nice slushy paste.

And that will season the lamb.

Before they head out to the barbecue, I'm going to sear the lamb bellies

on griddle pans, to seal all the flavour in.

I think one of the reasons this isn't a more popular cut is

because it looks fatty.

We're going to use that fat.

As it cooks, the fat will melt and it will mix with the spice rub

and we'll have deliciously moist and seasoned lamb.

Oh - look at that! Isn't that beautiful?

That's exactly how I wanted it to be - really quite brown.

Now this is a big feast, I've got a lot to do.

So I'm going to get a little bit of a lamb production line going.

'Each lamb belly will feed three to four people

'so it works out at less than a pound a portion.'

Hello, darling. We're going to give you something, I promise.

We're not going to tease you.

But you might have to talk to the ginger one.

Ah, Mr Slater. The barbecues are nice and hot, ready for cooking.

-Wonderful.

-A present. There you are, Mr Barbecue.

'The lamb needs to slow cook for an hour and a half

'to send smoky notes right the way through.'

-Marvellous. Now while you're here your green hop ale has arrived.

-Brilliant.

'Time for a sneaky taster.'

Mmm - zesty, lovely.

Wow! Clean tasting, fresh.

I think all these farmers are going to tuck into this. Lovely!

If I don't get there first.

'But there's no time for drinking.

'Our guests have started to arrive

'and I've got roast potatoes for 30 to prepare.'

-How's the season been for you?

-It is pretty full-on.

But at least we have got fruit to sell this year

whereas last year, we had virtually nothing, really.

We still haven't finished. That's where he is now.

So he can't come to the party?

No, unfortunately!

Do you think people have lost touch with the seasons

and where their food comes from?

Whatever you want, you can have now.

And I think that's where we're spoiled.

'My potatoes from the vegetable garden are browning nicely.

'To give them some crunch I'm putting in skinned, whole hazelnuts.'

So hazelnuts in.

Now I'm going to add a very big lump of butter.

And actually let it almost burn.

You get the most delicious nutty flavour.

And that goes in the oven at 150 to cook very slowly.

I want something fresh and crisp to go with that delicious juicy lamb.

'I'm making a coleslaw out of shredded fennel, red cabbage

'and our own beetroot and spring onion.

'Adding soured cream and nigella seeds for a fresh-tasting dressing.'

There we are.

Time to check on the lamb.

Look at those. Look at all the juice in there as well.

Adam, that is gorgeous.

This is slicing so tenderly.

It is, isn't it?

Lamb from our own little flock, just over there, on to the table,

just over there.

Here we are, people.

OK, ladies.

What about lamb belly? Is it something you would usually eat?

Never had it before.

-Really? You like it?

-Yeah, very nice.

Lamb - fantastic. The whole meal was faultless.

It's really good. And you can see I'm still tucking in.

Lots of very happy farmers. And they're being well fed.

Our meat, our vegetables,

wheat off the field for the bread.

-Our own potatoes.

-Fantastic, isn't it?

And I've got one more trick up my sleeve. Come and have a look.

Do you remember those crusty, dried-up frozen strawberries you gave me?

They look lovely! They're not the same plants - are they really?

I promise you.

I did wonder whether they'd ever grow. It's your green fingers. Beautiful.

But the real test is what they taste like.

Yeah.

Mmm - they're really juicy and they're full of flavour.

That is really, really good.

I'm a firm believer in eating foods in season,

but I have to admit these strawberries taste great

and they're the perfect accompaniment for my bread and butter pudding.

Ooh - don't squash my flower.

Who'd have thought it? Strawberries in late September.

Hope it's worth the wait.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you!

A feast fit for farmers.

Here's looking forward to another successful harvest next year.

I think we should be very proud of ourselves.

I know. And they really seem to be enjoying themselves.

I was wondering if it's maybe because they know the hard work that goes into producing the food.

-They're enjoying your beer.

-Yes, where is our beer, Adam?

Might not be any left.

Next week - on the menu, chicken.

I'll be showing Nigel what to look for in a bird.

This one is the Sumo wrestler of the chicken world.

Adam's managed to grown durum wheat, but how will rice - yes, rice -

fare in the Cotswold climate?

And given you like your takeaways so much,

I'll be spicing it up at the farm

so you can cook them at home.

Well, all Nigel's recipes are available on our website

so get cooking.