Alsace Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman

Raymond Blanc arrived in Britain in 1972

as a 22-year-old unemployed French waiter with only a shaky grasp of English.

Ten years later, he was a chef with two Michelin stars which he still holds today.

Good texture. Lovely, lovely.

While he has been successful in his adopted home,

he has never forgotten his first love.

Food, food, glorious food. My God!

-The food and wine of France.

-Beautiful!

Now, Raymond is back to his favourite French regions

so he can reconnect with the wonderful food and people that have inspired him.

Farmers in Burgundy, Chefs in Lyon,

winemakers in Alsace, good friends in Provence

-and cheese makers in Franche-Comte.

-Fantastic!

In each region, he will take over a restaurant for one night only

and cook a feast inspired by his journey.

My beautiful Frenche-Comte.

He will be serving a menu that features his version of famous local dishes.

Helping the master in his homeland

will be two young chefs from his restaurant in Oxfordshire. Katy Beth and Kush.

Oh la, la! Oh la, la!

Despite 30 years at the top in the UK,

this will be the first time Raymond has had a chance to be chef in France.

Vive la France!

It's a daunting, nerve-racking and exciting task

but one perfectly suited to Raymond Blanc, the very hungry Frenchman.

When the black forest of Germany is on the horizon

and the Rhine which marks the border with France appears,

Raymond Blanc can only be in one place - Alsace.

Nestling in the north east corner of France, Alsace is unique.

It has spent as much time controlled by Germany as France.

That history is everywhere, from the street signs to the memorials.

Germany last had control here during World War II,

something Raymond's father would have remembered

as a veteran of the French resistance.

Raymond's home region is neighbour to Alsace and like all of France,

it was occupied through most of the Second World War.

And on the right here, you've got my country,

just on the west of it here.

Of course, this landscape tells me a story, a wonderful story.

Alsatian culture is enriched by France and by Germany

and of course you can find it in the food.

And for Raymond, the food story begins in the ground.

Fields of cabbage shout sauerkraut in German or choucroute in French.

While in the hills, the vineyards are home to a true French treasure, Alsatian wine.

What you see on the plate is so much more than the story in the kitchen or in the soul.

It is layering of cultures,

of influences which paints that beautiful food onto your plate.

One regional favourite, choucrote, tells all.

Fermented cabbage is cooked with spices and Alsatian wine

then served with German sausages and French charcuteries.

And the famous, kougelhopf.

Derived from the German for ball, kougel,

it shares the French' love for yeast baking and is similar to a brioche.

If I were to sum up Alsatian food,

I would say it's hearty, wholesome, big and delicious.

It's wonderful produce and you're not hungry for a couple of hours.

Beyond never feeling hungry,

Alsace's influence on Raymond has come more from people than recipes.

Oh, la, la.

He's always been drawn here

because Alsatians really know how to party and feast.

You need a big mouth, eh.

So, Raymond's next few days in Alsace will be a testing journey

as he tries to recreate their famous hospitality.

I've never seen people eating so much.

For one night only,

he will be taking over a restaurant in the old town of Riquewihr...

-Allez.

-One second.

..to try and impress his Alsatian friends with a four-course feast

inspired by their region.

-Bon appetit.

-Thank you.

He's hoping his attempt at cooking in Alsace

will leave his guests feeling satisfied, impressed

and full of joie de vivre.

Raymond has many great friends in Alsace

and, as he's planning to invite most of them to his feast,

he's keen to get it right.

The top restaurant in the region is the Auberge de L'Ill in Illhausern.

Ah, Raymond, bonjour.

Chef Marc Haeberlin has been a good friend for many years.

In the kitchen of his restaurant,

which has held three Michelin stars for the last 44 years,

he's putting together a local dish

to set Raymond's taste buds on the right, Alsatian road.

This is a specialty from the area and the dish is called....

-Baeckeoffe.

-It means...

-The baker oven.

-Baker's oven.

Normally, this dish was done by the housewives

when they had a laundry day.

They'd prepare this pot and bring it to the baker

and when the man came home,

she had a very hot meal without cooking the whole day,

the whole morning.

-So, you are preparing my lunch?

-Yes.

-This is my lunch.

-What a gorgeous wife I've found. What a big hat she has.

-Yeah.

The Baeckeoffe is a peasant dish and wouldn't normally grace the table

of Marc's refined restaurant.

That such a great chef is cooking it from Raymond is a huge treat.

I live a charmed life, getting always the best.

But what are friends for if not to share

the ordinary in extraordinary surroundings?

Here, Raymond.

I bring you the Baeckeoffe

-It should be a lady bringing it to me.

-No.

-It is a husband.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Normally, it should be.

-So, which meat did you put in?

-Can you remind me.

-I put pork.

I put lamb, beef and pork feet and pork tails.

-And white wine.

-Traditional dish that belongs to the heart of Alsace.

Yes. It's always cooked in a clay pot decorated with...

-Made in Alsace?

-Made in Alsace, of course. Of course.

Why the dough around...?

The dough, they'd closed it, so the baker cannot eat the meat.

They should put a padlock, I would find a way in.

Raymond, it is a pleasure for me to have you here.

Same for me. Thank you.

Oh, la, la. Mmm.

That's delicious. That is really lovely.

And look at the tail. Look at the lovely, sweet, little tail.

-Look at that.

-It's the best part.

-Oh, it's lovely. Nice, little tail, here.

Oh, la, la. Mmm.

So, is it French or German?

-This is Alsatian. They don't do it in Germany.

-You see, again, here,

we're talking about here the fundamental difference.

And you just said it yourself.

It's neither German, it's neither French, it is Alsatian.

Big difference.

With his hunger satisfied by the best of Alsace hospitality,

Raymond now has to think about

how his Alsatian feast should take shape.

So, Raymond, I wish you all the best for your dinner.

I'm sure you'll find nice products here in my Alsace to cook for,

to cook for all your friends in Riquewihr.

I know the Alsatian people love their food and a lot of it.

-So, I'll prepare double.

-OK.

-Double.

-Don't make too small portions.

No, I know, I'm going to be in trouble.

I want to go with my honour, I want to go with a big smile on my face.

-And a lot of Alsatian guests beaming away.

-Yeah.

-So, Raymond, on your success.

-Merci.

It could be said that the food of Alsace is like a peace treaty,

uniting two culinary traditions.

German technique and French style have both joined together

to create what is uniquely Alsatian cuisine.

So, to draft Raymond's very own peace treaty,

he's burying himself in the old town of Riquewihr,

a mediaeval gem situated at the foot of the Vosges Mountains.

It is like a beautiful picture. It's a postcard picture.

It has been very much influenced by two great cultures.

Germany and France at all levels. Culture, food, architecture, art.

And you can see it everywhere.

Before he can cook anything,

Raymond and his assistants, Katie-Beth and Kush,

need to settle into his chosen restaurant, La Table du Gourmet

-in the oldest part of the town.

-This is home for a week.

-Monsieur Brendel.

-Bonjour!

-Bienvenue.

-Merci beaucoup.

This will be Raymond's home for the next few days.

Oh, la, la.

-It may look old, dating from 1710...

-The dining room is full of passion.

..but it holds a chef's surprise.

-It's a palace!

-An ultramodern kitchen.

Every knob is big and hard and heavy and precise.

I know, you, dirty of mind. The restaurant is full of passion.

While the kitchen is minimalist, it's practical, it's pretty,

it's good-looking.

It's hard, coarse, in style. I like that.

-It's bleu, blanc, rouge, you have. It's a very French kitchen.

-Oui.

THEY CONVERSE IN FRENCH

The restaurant's ambience is perfect

and has inspired Raymond wonderfully.

It feels right. It feels really good.

I think we're on for a good feast, I think so.

Now, it's all up to him, a Frenchman based in the UK

cooking in Alsace, to get the menu just right.

Drawing on his British side, he's going to start with a little drink.

Alsace is home to some of Raymond's favourite wines

and he's keen, not only to fill his guests' glasses with the best,

but also to include it in his cooking.

Alsace wines are fantastic for drinking on their own,

but mostly with food,

because that's how the French drink their wine here, with food.

And they really celebrate very well. They go very, very well together.

You have a beautiful choucroute, OK, with a beautiful Riesling

or spice with Gewurztraminer. You'll be in heaven, I can assure you.

Vines were probably first introduced to Alsace by the Romans

and the region has continued making wine through the centuries since.

Although Alsatian wines make up a very small proportion

of all UK wine sales, to connoisseurs,

these vines produce wines that are for true wine-lovers.

They are particularly loved by chefs.

One wine dynasty not going back quite as far as the Romans

is that of Leon Beyer, the family have wine making in their blood

and Raymond isn't going to pass up the chance to drop by and say hello.

-Hello, Marc.

-Raymond.

-The current head of the Beyer dynasty is Marc.

Why are you so big and I'm so small? Come on. Let's go.

Atop the Vosges Mountains, forts tell of the warring past

but those things don't worry Marc. The treasure here is in the soil.

Actually, two wines, divided by that path,

can be totally different and the definition,

the difference is the terroir.

The type of soil can change very quickly, you know,

in a few metres, a few yards, you know, become more or less sandy,

become more or less chalky. And that will give a totally different wine.

Show me, show me that.

Here you have, for example,

this grape and this leaf which, you see, is cut...

-Comment peut-on dire? Dentele.

-Dentele, yeah.

Reisling leaf is light green.

A little big for a wine grape. The big grapes,

big berries are good to eat, never good for wine.

-Gewurztraminer grapes, is it?

-That's Gewurztraminer.

So, that's my favourite grape, you know that.

The size of the grapes is smaller and small grapes are better and more concentrated, the vine will be.

That is, that's after the harvest.

After, after the harvest. Not now. Let's go.

Alsace is most famous for its four noble varieties.

Rieslig, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer.

Their rich, spicy, but fresh notes

make them the perfect cooking wines.

I was probably one of the very first chefs to use Gewurztraminer

as a wine to cook.

And, normally, that goes totally against my views,

to use expensive wine to cook.

But that Gewurztraminer, you find the flora,

you can find the spice and the flavour.

Even when you've cooked it, its tastes linger inside.

Raymond is planning to create a very special sauce using Alsatian wine.

Under a vineyard, behind heavy doors,

Raymond is hoping to find the perfect wife for the dish.

Oh, la, la.

-Voila.

-The deep wine cave used to be an ice house.

Marc's grandfather started cellaring here in the 1920s.

-These old bottles.

-So clear, so clear.

-Absolutely.

Today, it's testament to one wine myth.

That Alsace wines are best drunk young.

Great vintage, '53.

-Oh, '43.

-'43. Here, you have Gewurz '34.

The oldest wine in my life I've drunk in Alsace was 1857.

-That's quite some age.

-I would love to taste that now.

-You see.

I feel young enough for it. Still.

Marc, I'll cook with it.

You'll get the best sauce you've ever done in your life.

Bit too expensive, mind you.

OK, so, we'll taste it one day when I feel rich.

-We need to try one.

-Something truly special, Marc, OK?

It is tempting to try almost every wine in the cellar

but Raymond wants to find the perfect wine for a particular dish.

All in the pursuit of culinary excellence, of course.

You know, I'm bringing one little part of your plate

and you have the responsibility to make the decision here.

Marc's suggestions and not the most expensive

but they are two different Gewurztraminers.

First, a wine from 2009.

-Hmm.

-Now, you see, this second wine is the same grape, Gewurztraminer.

-But stronger.

-See, the colour.

-Oh, big difference.

Then, a more mature bottle from 2003.

Beautiful. Amazing. I mean, I will take this one.

I'm going to cook my fish

with this wonderful Alsace Gewurztraminer.

I will use very little in my food and I'm not going to boil it

because I want to keep all that flavour,

all that flavour, all this fruit into my dish.

You know, the wine is so good I'm not sure your fish will stay quiet.

Ha-ha-ha!

For pleasure, we will now drink, aside of that, a very old bottle,

exactly the same wine from the same vineyard but 40 years old.

Do you have some interest for that?

Huge, come on, don't tease me, give me the bottle, OK.

Let's see if it's aged as well as I did.

-The colour looks very nice. Bright.

-Oh, la, la.

There, oh, oh.

-This one is big.

-C'est la noblesse.

-Ah, it's wonderful. It's...

Marc, to your good health.

Oh, la, la. Ha-ha. Vive la France.

It would seem everyone in Alsace likes a party,

even the local fish supplier.

He's just dropped off some trout and isn't stopping there.

Well, that's one way to get your bill paid quickly.

# Da-da-da. #

Hey.

You are so stressed, no? You are going to cook in about two hours, a bit of fun is what you need.

Take it when it comes. Let's have a party.

Allez. Go, go.

Hey, Katie, viens.

KATIE LAUGHS

Thankfully, the fish he has left is a little fresher

than Raymond's dancing.

That's a trout which has been crossbred, probably,

with a salmon trout.

-OK.

-Oui.

-And you can see it especially here, OK.

With a salmon...

The Rhine runs through Alsace and has long provided it with fish.

It's a local speciality.

So, for the fish course, Raymond is going to cook a trout recipe

with a fragrant white wine sauce.

-Most wines, when you cook them, the molecules of flavour go away.

-Oui.

But this one, you can find,

if you don't murder it by overcooking it, of course.

Raymond starts by making the sauce.

Voila.

Just a few moments in a hot pan intensifies the flavour.

I'm going to stop now, that's perfect. Let's keep that in here.

The sauce is very simple.

Melted butter and shallots form a strong base.

Voila.

A little bit of salt in there, chef?

Not yet, not now, just sweeten them first. OK, to remove the bitterness.

The bowls of the trout that have been chopped.

Add the mushrooms. Voila.

We can add the wine.

All the ingredients complement each other, it's a sauce of harmony.

OK. So, we're going to cook it, only for 15 minutes.

Marc's white wine is giving the whole kitchen an Alsatian aroma.

I like very much this incredible diversity within one, single,

one, single land, piece of land which is...

And my region is just...

about 100 miles, no 70 miles away from here.

Oh, my sauce.

Taste it.

The wine is present. That wine is there.

-Definitely, you get the taste of the wine coming through.

-Yeah.

-The mushrooms are cleaning it up.

It's perfect now.

Raymond then strains the sauce to create a rich liquor.

It takes a little muscle but the effort is worth it.

Now I'm going to cook our fish.

Before cooking,

Raymond brushes the trout with butter seasoned with lemon juice.

It's a little bit cold, ready to be cooked.

-And that can be kept in the fridge with the butter on?

-Absolument.

-Oui.

To add texture and to steam the trout,

Raymond lines the pan with more mushrooms and shallots.

The mushroom is going to be the support.

-So, the steam, the fish will be steamed and we'll use that jus.

-Oui.

With the main sauce. We don't lose anything.

Now, we're going to add a dash of Gewurztraminer.

Voila. And now, place the fish on top.

OK. With the water. Cover it. Voila.

The fish is served on a bed of sauteed watercress, spinach

-and blanched parsley.

-Beautiful.

Now, the fish is ready.

Voila.

This may be a simple dish

but foaming the sauce adds a chefy touch.

That is lovely. Look at that.

Look at that. Oh, la, la.

Now, thick and glossy, it's looking hearty and Germanic.

-I think my Alsatian friends will love it.

-Oui.

Steaming the fish has produced a tasty jus

which has set Raymond thinking.

Tres bien. We're going to do two sauces now.

By adding two knobs of butter, he could create an alternative,

lighter, French-style sauce.

The most incredible jus just from the fish.

That, to me, is divine.

Here, you have a lovely, little jus.

A fantastic, little jus.

So, you've got two ways to do it.

This one. Light, fresh, clean, maybe a little less of Alsace.

That is Alsace.

Generous, rich, delicious.

In the courtyard, the trout dishes with their different sauces

are ready to be judged.

First, the French, buttery jus.

Yeah. The jus of the poisson is lovely

but maybe to do it a la carte for one person or two persons, fine.

-To do it for 20 or 30 people...

-No, I mean...

-Let's taste that one.

That is lovely. I like it very much. I think they will like that better.

Cos they love their food and they love a bit of richness.

It's really a great dish.

So, the choice is made.

The more creamy, rich sauce will be served at the feast.

It is only a few days

until Raymond will be acting as chef and host at his Alsatian feast.

And finding the right dishes to make the perfect party

is everything to Raymond.

With that in mind, he's hitting the road again.

-ENGINE CUTS OUT

-At least he's trying to.

Ah.

ENGINE STARTS

There's nothing more cliched

than the image of a Frenchman selling onions.

But here in Alsace, they are a source of real pride.

It's the nature of the soil and colder climate

that makes the region a perfect onion-growing area.

OK.

Voila.

Ah, bonjour, monsieur.

IN FRENCH

Marcus is a fifth-generation farmer

who produces seven tonnes of onions a year.

Raymond is sure he must have a few perfect onions

to spare a travelling Frenchman.

My grandfather had also a grange like that

and we would basically bring all the onions and the shallots

and the garlic, all the alliums, basically,

to dry, to be kept during the winter.

But they are stunning, they are beautiful.

That one is a Roscoff, pink colour.

It's very delicate, good for salads. Not good cooking, no. This one.

This one, yes. Mulhouse onions.

Peel that one, chop it up, it will certainly make you cry. Oh, la, la.

Eh?

I've never seen such a... Is at a GM produce? Genetically modified.

I've never. First time I'd seen it, I've discovered something new this morning.

L'oignon. They call it the onion, chicken leg. A big chicken.

Bon, I want to do a beautiful onion tart

to really honour your county, L'Alsace. OK.

Which onion should I take?

Again, we go back to Alsace. I think he loves his county. I would do the same.

Knowing your onions is important in Alsace.

And with the Mulhouse recommendation made, Raymond needs to be sure.

Thankfully, Marc's farm store offers him the chance to try before he buys.

I think you definitely need to know your onions.

Four particular varieties.

Yeah. That's quite a light one, you can see.

Gentle. It's perfect for salad, perfect, perfect.

Roscoff variety. Ah. More acidity, more alkaline.

How do you call it yourselves, this one?

-C'est l'oignon blanc.

-Oignon blanc. L'oignon blanc.

Much more delicate but strong, but really,

the mighty Mulhouse onion or the Alsatian onion, powerful.

And I can already smell it from here, it's aggressivity.

The juiciness. That it's ready to pow.

You know, to hit me in the eyes. OK. So, that's, that's Mulhouse onion.

Oh, la, la. I'm already crying. I really...

That one is so, so strong.

That's a serious onion.

I know exactly how this sulphur acidity is going to transcend

into the most fantastic onion and sweet flavour.

What a terrible life it would be without onions. Cos they are everything.

They are the fundamental basics, OK, of the Western cuisine.

They are our foundation.

And nowhere is that onion foundation more important

than on the region's favourite fast food.

Like many Alsatian dishes, it has two names.

Flammkuchen shows its German heritage

and tarte flambee, the French.

Thin slices of onion are generously scattered over a flatbread base

before it's cooked in a searingly hot oven.

A street stall in the nearby city of Colmar

serves some of the finest Flammkuchen.

The aroma attracts customers like a kebab shop on a Saturday night.

It's done the same, same, same, same way as pizza could be.

They used to be a snack for bakers.

These days, they are Alsace's most popular fast food.

Bon appetit, les enfants.

Voila.

Lovely.

If Flammkuchen is Alsace's fast food

than Raymond's next dish is the slow version.

Onion tart.

On average, Alsatians eat it twice a week.

Raymond is hoping his interpretation will fulfil at least one

of the locals' weekly cravings.

Merci bien.

A perfect tart will require beautiful, even slices of onion.

I cut quite thick because I want the texture.

Mulhouse onions are rarely exported to the UK

but a strong, white onion would work well.

And I'm going to put all of that in here.

And that looks a lot. That looks a lot.

Say, "My God, Raymond has got it all wrong."

90% of it is water.

It's going to melt down with the heat. OK.

So, to evaporate the... Oh.

Oh, la, la.

Sauteing the onions to the right shade of white

is the art of an Alsatian tart.

The onions are collapsing. The sulphur, it's evaporating.

It's miraculous.

That's what I love about this cuisine,

it's full of little miracles, constantly.

If you want to follow the tradition,

a little bit of nutmeg into the mix, here.

This spice, here, is very, very powerful.

It's like clove or even bay leaf. Be careful, gentle.

You taste.

Now, pleasant flavours are coming through.

You can see, now, we're getting there. The colour is slightly brown.

The trick is not to overcook the onions or they will become jammy.

And then, now, we're going to add a bit of flour and cook it.

And now, I'm going to add milk.

Flour, milk and creme fraiche give body.

Voila. Oh, it's lovely, beautiful.

Off the heat, a whisked egg with more creme fraiche

and the filling is ready.

The eggs would cook immediately in a very boiling pan.

So, by putting the sour cream into the eggs, I prevent that.

We don't want to end up with scrambled eggs. OK, tres bien. Let's taste, now.

It is lovely. Still, they've got so much texture. Kush, come here.

OK, tiens. Taste that.

Hmm.

-Yeah?

-So much stronger than I thought it would be.

Yeah, because we're so used to onions, OK,

which are intensively farmed they've got no character, no flavour.

Also, they're about six months old.

That one has been dug out of the soil now.

Inspired by the use of bacon in the local Flammkuchen,

Raymond has decided to add some cured pork to the tart.

I don't want them gold because they'll be... Voila.

-That's perfect. The more you colour them, you overcook them.

-Oui.

Cos bacon is so beautiful just like that.

Pre-cooking the pastry holds with tradition.

And, of course, avoids the dangers of a soggy bottom.

Oh!

Oh, la, la. I've forgotten my lardons.

I've done a little mistake here.

I should have put my lardons mixed into my mixture.

And I know, moving all that out would be disastrous.

So, I've mixed them up into my tart, here, like that.

So, not really a thing to do.

So, you see, we can all do mistakes.

-Home sweet home. Alsace home.

-Very lucky home, chef.

-I think so.

The deep, rich, golden colour is the signature of this tart

and the perfect home for the wonderful Mulhouse onion of Alsace.

It's not, of course,

as light as a cheese tart souffle from Franche-Comte.

-OK.

-Cos that's a different dish.

With this onion tart, it's slightly heavier.

But it's two different styles.

It's like apple crumble and apple tart,

you don't compare them, they're different dishes.

Serious portions. They are famished, they are hungry. Tres bien.

These Alsatian onion tarts are robust and warm through perfectly.

So, that's the first course ready for the feast.

I think, Kush, every onion must dream to end up in an Alsatian onion tart.

-What do you think?

-I think so, chef.

-Yeah?

-Even the ones from your home, chef?

Yeah, why not?

Raymond's menu is developing into a showcase

for all that is classic in Alsatian cuisine.

It's now time to bring even more Alsatian unity to the feast.

And nothing brings people together like a sweet treat.

The French and Germans share a love of sweet pastry.

And nowhere is sweeter in Alsace

than Christine Ferber's beautiful shop and bakery.

Bonjour.

Christine is a wonderful baker and master patissiere.

But one thing has made her more famous than anything.

In the town of Niedermorschwihr and all over the world, she's the queen of jam.

Raymond is hoping that the den of sugary pots and pans holds his sweet inspiration.

Hi, there, Christine. Guate morye, Christine.

See, I have learned my Alsatian for you.

Long time ago.

No, no, no. Oh, this smells so lovely. Can I have a spoon? Can I taste it?

-Oh, la la.

-Sehr schoen.

It just bursts in the mouth, all this freshness.

Christine sells 300 different types of jam in a year,

as well as local pastries, but her signature cake is a tradition

that has survived in Alsace for centuries - the crown-shaped Kougelhupf.

This Kougelhupf is so traditional. It represents so much Alsatian pastry.

Oh, you cut it sideways.

Of course. Silly me.

The Kougelhupf is often eaten on a Sunday

and considered better slightly stale, so Saturday's bake is perfect.

It's so delicious! I am just dribbling all over it!

Oh la la, it looks so beautiful.

That one is for me. Oh, beautiful! It's so light, it could float.

Oh la la, it's wonderful.

There is a richness.

The coolness as well. It's cool, it's not sweet.

The sweetness of the jam and freshness of the cream top of the Kougelhupf.

-It's a simple but perfect union.

-C'est si bon.

-Et pour toi?

-J'adore...

Well, it's Sunday morning after all.

It's our treat. Can we have it?

You need a big mouth, huh?

THEY LAUGH

Raymond loves the Kougelhupf so much, he is hoping to persuade Christine to give him her recipe.

This is the first time, actually, I have to do a Kougelhupf.

-And I wanted Christine to do it for me. OK? I wanted to learn from you.

-Yes.

A classic sweet yeast dough is the basis of a Kougelhupf.

Flour, milk, sugar, eggs and salt.

Christine's father was a fourth-generation baker

and the king of Kougelhupfs.

My father have to go to the hospital, and I asked him,

"How do you do the Kougelhupf?

"Did me your recipe." And he said, "Enough yeast, enough flour."

And I said to him, "But you are crazy.

"I cannot do your recipe if you don't tell me how much..."

I wanted to murder him at this time.

-And he was going to hospital!

-You're not my father! You're not my father!

-All that for a Kougelhupf!

-Only for a Kougelhupf!

Then he said to me, "Go and make and try. Kougelhupf is coming from the heart.

"It goes here and then it comes out."

The balancing act of ingredients is often unspoken amongst bakers.

The mysterious alchemy of ingredients, recipe and experience cloak the baker's craft.

So she's looking at the strengths.

Because that gives you the quality.

Gluten is worked beautifully. The temperature is right. That's when you can spread the dough,

and it is ready to prove now.

-Alcohol...with rum.

-Rum...Malaga rum - I can smell it from here.

Raisins soaked in rum add a final touch.

Christine is accusing me of eating all the raisins.

Then the cake dough, with five generations of love and knowledge,

-is left to rise...

-I love the way she touches it, is gentle.

..ready for the oven and more hungry mouths.

Every day, her father before her made it every day.

And her grandfather before her made it, and so on and so on.

So it is a very well-practised recipe.

Raymond will be returning to the restaurant with some seriously satisfying inspiration,

but Christine needs a little Raymond labour in return.

There is a saying, OK...

when you have somebody coming and helping you on Sunday, we call them a Sunday worker,

and usually that man is blessed.

I hope I get a pot of jam. It's what I want. Absolutely lovely.

Christine has given Raymond an idea for his dessert.

Her Kougelhupf is similar to the bun found in a rum baba.

A perfect end for the feast.

It has an Alsatian history too.

The story goes that a Polish king visiting nearby Lorraine thought

the Kougelhupf a little dry, so soaked it in his favourite tipple,

and so the rum baba was born.

In terms of making it, it's not too dissimilar than the Kougelhupf.

The big difference, of course, is that you soak it into a beautiful alcoholised syrup.

Raymond is going to add his own twist to the dish

and is sure his guests will love it.

Quite elastic texture.

Fortified with Christine's Kougelhupf secrets,

Raymond has made a similar dough for the base of the baba.

That used to be a very festive...

in my home, my mum didn't do baba au rhum very often.

It was quite a bit of work. And when she did it, that was special.

But there was no rum in my baba!

RAYMOND LAUGHS

Traditionally, baba is served in an individual portion.

Like the Kougelhupf, they will rise in their moulds,

which Raymond is careful not to overfill.

Voila! If you put more than a third, half, it will go boom, and then you have a disaster.

You have huge mushrooms invading your kitchen.

Let's go. Put them in.

Stop, stop, stop! Don't go up. Stop!

Arret! Enough.

Alsace is famous for its myriad of fruit alcohols,

-so instead of rum, Raymond is using one for the syrup.

-I have got something quite good.

He's chosen by raspberry eau de vie, loved by the locals.

I'm going to take a framboise, OK?

I've chosen raspberry, but you can choose wild strawberry...

all sort of things, according to which dessert you do.

As the babas bake, there's time to make the syrup.

This syrup I want to do is a very, very simple syrup. 100 grams of sugar.

-Tres bien. Zest of lemon, very little.

-Oui.

To add another layer of flavour,

Raymond adds lemon and orange peel.

Tres bien.

Voila!

Vanilla seeds bring warmth and sweetness.

Syrup here...

So a quick boil just to infuse, OK? Look!

It's all right.

The babas are beginning to show promise.

With a bit of alcohol inside, they soak it up.

The babas have to soak in the sweet citrus

and raspberry-scented syrup.

But Raymond's got an idea.

He escapes the kitchen and heads to the woods for a forage.

As a kid, from the age of five or six,

I would go with my big brothers deep in the forest...

Raymond is hoping to find something to finish the babas

here in the Vosges mountains.

There is an elusive wild fruit that would work really well

with his dessert - wild raspberries.

Tracking them down is really worth the effort.

Raymond's never been here before, so he's meeting foraging expert, Stephane.

Remember, always take expert guidance

if you're going to forage in the wild.

-Hi, Stephane, how are you doing?

-Yes.

The way to pick them up, always from underneath. So you can see them.

From here, you see nothing. That one, look at that. Beautiful.

Oh, let's have one. Oh la la. We are in this amazing forest.

It's fresh, it's beautiful.

I'm the happiest man on earth, because I'm doing something which I have not done

for about 40 years or so.

Maybe more. 50. Long years. Or 55, actually!

I was the fastest picker. I could beat my friends at this always.

They were very jealous of my skills. There was a technique.

Don't pick up with one hand, but always with two hands.

Always, always.

This walk in the forest has taken me back, right back, to my childhood.

This wonderful hunting and gathering of fruit, of wild asparagus,

of wild mushroom. Any wild mushrooms. Frogs, snails, everything.

And we would hunt them in this amazing forest.

And I'm very happy, I'm really happy.

The forests of Raymond's home region were his playground.

His mother would send him out to find ingredients for the table.

What she didn't use, he would sell. The adventure could last all day.

I remember when we would get lost. Always.

Hello!

And when you hear nothing from your friend, you were really worried.

No-one and nothing comes back, but the echo. That big forest.

Hello?

I've got my friends, OK, I'm all right.

This small harvest of raspberries is a perfect touch for the dessert.

Back in the kitchen, Raymond brings the whole dish together.

So, we really... That's a seriously local flavour.

He nestles the chilled, soaked babas in a fruit coulis

and tops them off with sweet Chantilly cream.

Oh, mon dieu.

Raymond wants his team to try the baba,

so he's putting out two hungry-sized portions.

Voila.

-I think you're going to knock them out, chef.

-I think so. Kush, look at Katie.

She's going for it. She's going for it.

Oh, I can see you love it, you. Lovely.

Raymond is confident his dessert will give his guests sweet dreams,

but he still needs to decide on a main course,

and this being Alsace, that can only mean one thing - pork.

ENGINE SPLUTTERS

No. I'm afraid, French engineering.

No - old French engineering.

This is a beautiful car, but she's as old as I am.

It's got a little bit of a tweak to bring it back to life.

Fortunately, Raymond doesn't need a car to get where he's going next.

Bonjour, bonjour. Bonjour, guten tag.

Freundlich, sehr gut!

He is back in Colmar, an old Alsatian town.

Voila. Fabulous.

For centuries, these canals brought the best local produce to market.

It makes you hungry, just looking at the produce.

But top of Raymond's shopping list is pork.

The British love a sausage, and the Alsatians adore their charcuterie.

Saucisson! Pig. More pig.

But Raymond's not in the market for that.

He wants pork on the bone.

He wants a beautiful, tender, tasty pork chop for his main course

and he wants it from a local pig.

Ooh, la, la.

There's no pork in Colmar. No local pork.

What frightens me is that this butcher doesn't know,

really, where it comes from. He's so generic about it, so vague.

What I don't understand, Kush,

Alsace was one of the great centres for the production of food,

some of the best meat, and yet, you know, the pork comes from Brittany,

but the butcher doesn't quite know where his food is made.

This pork at the market might be OK,

but this is a local feast for local people,

and it demands a local breed.

Alsatians may love their pork, but intensive farming

has meant that local breeds have all but disappeared.

Raymond gets on the phone to track down a butcher

who can get him the very special pork he wants.

I'm waiting at the entrance to the city,

it's a small city, you cannot get it wrong, OK?

It's taken a bit of persuasion, but finally, here comes the pork,

chauffeur-driven in its own white van.

-Bonjour, bonjour.

-Bonjour. Bonjour, Raymond.

Christine Spicer is a master butcher

who's come all the way from Strasbourg

to give Raymond what he wants.

Ooh, la, la.

I know it's going to be special. I know. OK?

I've got two beautiful loins of pork,

that big, pork from Alsace,

locally done, locally fed...

Voila.

Regarde la couleur de cette viande.

Look at the colour of that meat.

Immediately you can see it's a pig which has run around.

That pig had a happy life. So, tell me about the breed of the piggy?

Perfect. Beautiful.

Cristine's executive briefcase turns out to hold more than her lunch.

The best part is from here, it's that part here...

right down to here.

That's too lean, so, these two pieces, like that, right?

Raymond can't wait to get his hands on Christine's chops,

but he'll have to wait until tomorrow.

The day of the feast has arrived.

All right, guys, how is it getting on?

Raymond spends a lot of time finding the best produce for his restaurant in Oxfordshire,

so he's pleased with what he's achieved

in just a few days in Alsace.

Who's interested in good? I'm not. I want to sublime.

I know my young people want the same.

He's particularly pleased with the local Lieselheim pork.

Quickly want to show how much fat you want left on?

I would suggest, see, leave some fat.

And keep that - we're going to use it.

You go ahead, eh?

Raymond has cut double chops.

A good layer of fat is important for flavour.

The best piece is that part, here.

It was a chine of pork rather than these lower ribs, here.

It's a much more succulent piece of meat, there's much more fat.

Much more flavour. Try to work as fast as possible, Kush.

-We are on time, but no more, OK?

-Yes, chef.

-So let's take a bit of advance, eh?

-Oui.

Raymond?

Raymond's foraging companion is a welcome sight at the door.

Some recent rain has meant that wild mushrooms have appeared,

a perfect taste of the forest to serve with the pork.

Fantastic. Look at that. Stunning. Thank you very much, Stefan.

The chops are browned in butter.

We're just slowly going to brown it in that foaming butter.

-You get the lovely nutty flavour that works well with the pork.

-Yes.

But I start with my lovely pork, here. Nicely... Wow.

You can hear it gently... It's a song, it's quiet. We are blessed.

So, we are very lucky, Kush,

and I think that we'll prepare the most incredible feast,

cos when you have this produce, you cannot got wrong.

Yes, I can smell it. Take your time.

Don't touch it for about seven, eight minutes. And don't move it.

Why? That's why.

Look at that. Look at that.

That is why. Gentle, gentle.

Let's go.

Finishing in the oven helps make them tender

and keeps the pork succulent.

The rest of the chops can be cooked and held for later.

With 24 hungry mouths to feed,

this is a dish that allows the kitchen to get ahead.

To go with the pork, Raymond is making Spatzle,

a super-quick kind of pasta.

Unlike Italian pasta,

this pasta takes a few minutes of your time and it is delicious.

You wait, what we're going to do with it.

Tres bien.

Over boiling water, Raymond pushes the sticky dough through a colander.

It's just being cooked just underneath. Voila.

There's so many ways to make pasta. That's what's magic about food.

But I think, of all pasta, that's the simplest

and that is typically Alsatian.

It's like I've done some little jewels by hand,

like I've crafted them. It's magical.

The hot little dumplings are dropped into chilled water.

A light coating of olive oil keeps the spatzle in great shape,

ready for a final sautee before serving.

Which one has been put last?

The menu is almost complete.

From a deeply traditional onion tart to trout married with Alsace wine

and a celebration of the mighty pig,

Raymond is ready to cook an Alsatian feast.

The food we're going to offer sums up the beauty of Alsace,

the generosity of Alsace, the produce of Alsace, the wines of Alsace, OK?

And tonight, we're going to have, really, a wonderful feast.

As an aperitif snack,

Raymond is making a savoury bread popular in Alsace - the bretzel.

I've never done bretzel in my life.

Rumoured to be linked to the cult of the sun,

it forms a ring circling a cross.

These days, it's developed to look like a loose knot. Or not.

-I think we're going to offend the whole of Alsace.

-That's right.

-I'm not sure.

-It is!

-No, Katie, it's not that.

-That's not it?

-No indeed.

HE CHUCKLES

It's a nation, OK? It's a nation state you are offending, OK, Katie?

So don't do anything from Yorkshire or from Ireland.

The Irish bretzel.

It's not right. Katie is sent out to find something to inspire.

Bonjour, madame. Can I have deux bretzel, s'il vous plait? Merci.

-Or should that be copy?

-Merci.

-I've got it. I've got it, Katie!

-No!

-Oh, yes.

-Is it the same as that?

Yeah. Exactly the same.

Like that...like that, see?

Like that... Voila.

-No, that's not mine.

-Oh, yeah!

THEY LAUGH

That is not mine! Less lying to me, Katie!

-No, that one's mine.

-I'm a bad loser, OK?

-So am I!

Even being in England for 35 years, I hate to lose, OK?

24 guests are arriving.

Friends, suppliers and regulars, they are expecting a feast.

-I wish you a marvellous evening and bon appetit.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

S'il vous plait, let's go. Sauce? Plates on.

Make sure they're hot, oui.

First to table, the onion tart.

OK, guys. These onions are perfect, guys.

-Chef.

-Voila.

Bon appetit.

Mm. Excellent.

I thought it was great

and it was Alsatian.

-You place watercress on the plates.

-Oui.

-Katie, you place the fish on the plates.

-Oui, chef.

-And I will do the sauce and the trout, OK?

-Oui, chef.

The fish course of trout with rich and creamy

Gewurztraminer sauce has two very interested parties.

Wine-maker, Marc Beyer,

and accordion-playing fisherman, Monsieur Vonarb.

Perfect!

Yellow wines which make that beautiful, spicy, delicious flavour.

I know, it was a great surprise for me and a good one.

It was unexpected but really successfully.

I really enjoyed it, very much.

Wait, wait, wait. Taste, taste, taste.

Voila.

To go with the pork,

Stefan's wild mushrooms are sauteed at the last minute.

Oh, look at that. Look at that.

Look! Look at this beautiful meat.

Could you start, please, doing these? Thank you very much.

The spatzle, fried until crispy.

It takes you ten minutes.

Ten minutes to make, and I mean ten minutes.

I mean ten minutes, not Raymond Blanc's ten, 20,000 minutes, no.

Ten minutes to make.

-Fantastic meat, eh?

-Oui, chef.

-OK, come on, let's go. Allez. Voila.

Oh, la, la. S'il vous plait. Allez, let's go, merci.

Will the pork be as succulent as Raymond hoped?

The flavour is intense. It's just...melting.

But I think we've got the best.

I mean, that's the best piggy I've ever had,

for a long, long, long, long time. It's even more tender.

It's worth searching for the best.

The pork has been a triumph. Will the same be said for the baba?

Completely dry.

Completely dry. You can see it.

But they've had two hours in there, soaking.

-There seems to be a problem.

-And you can feel it.

-It should be heavier, chef.

-It should be heavy, OK?

Some of the buns haven't soaked up as much syrup

as Raymond would have liked.

Yes, yes. It is so important, Kush.

Take a piece of dried biscuit out. It's not good.

Thankfully, they have more than enough to go round.

Disaster averted.

Just like that. One...

Oh, Kush, dear me!

Raymond is serving the babas with Christine Ferber's jam.

Rose and raspberry jam, and this woman is truly a magician.

You know, people have, truly, some gifts.

Gifts do exist, and that woman makes jams...

better than me, I must tell you.

You know, normally in Alsace,

people say that we have German portions of French quality.

It's a mixture.

But I think Raymond Blanc, tonight, has proved

that you can have French elegance and Alsatian traditions

in the same menu. Wonderful. Wonderful.

-APPLAUSE

-It's the end of a very busy,

but rewarding few days in Alsace.

Now it's time to do what Alsatians do best. Have a party.

ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS

For me, I say a big "thank you" for Monsieur Raymond Blanc

and the English people are very lucky to have a chef like that.

You realise how important it is to keep certain traditions,

because that's what gives character to a place,

and what gives character to people,

to landscapes, and it is something to protect and to cherish.

Simple philosophy,

but it's a philosophy which is at the heart of everything I do.

THEY CLAP

Thank you very much. Merci. Bravo!

Next time, Raymond continues his culinary journey in Provence.

I wish I would be a good picker.

Look at those teeth.

Regarde. Voila.

And if you knew the smell of this fennel, it is incredible.

You have all this fantastic fish. Grr!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd