Episode 1 Rick Stein's Cornish Christmas


Episode 1

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Episode 1. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

BRASS BAND PLAYS SILENT NIGHT

0:00:020:00:04

'I think we all feel that Christmas is a time

0:00:080:00:11

'to tighten the fabric that keeps the community together.

0:00:110:00:15

'In Cornwall, even the big places are small enough

0:00:150:00:19

'for people to easily enjoy a sense of belonging

0:00:190:00:22

'and Padstow would never be called big.'

0:00:220:00:25

I really like the Christmas lights in Padstow, even in the rain.

0:00:250:00:29

I particularly like the sort of

0:00:290:00:30

Loch Ness monster. It's our own version.

0:00:300:00:33

Whenever that gets lit up every year, I think Christmas is here.

0:00:330:00:36

I think a small place like Padstow,

0:00:360:00:39

just because it's so small and you know everybody,

0:00:390:00:42

it just feels really Christmassy

0:00:420:00:44

as soon as the Christmas lights are switched on.

0:00:440:00:47

There's something very sort of convivial

0:00:470:00:49

about people meeting in the streets,

0:00:490:00:51

having a mince pie, a bit of music.

0:00:510:00:53

I'm there, I'm ready for Christmas,

0:00:530:00:56

I'm full of fun and excited about it.

0:00:560:00:58

CORK POPS

0:01:140:01:16

I love spending time in Cornwall at Christmas

0:01:170:01:20

and creating dishes that celebrate the best the county has to offer.

0:01:200:01:24

This year, I'm being joined by a few close friends for a lunch

0:01:240:01:27

that highlights the culinary treasures of Cornwall.

0:01:270:01:31

All the dishes are made with my favourite ingredients

0:01:310:01:34

that are caught or grown in and around the county.

0:01:340:01:38

And talking of Cornish treasures...

0:01:380:01:40

Well, as you might probably know, this is Jethro.

0:01:400:01:43

We go back a long way, cos we used to play rugby together,

0:01:430:01:46

didn't we, Jethro?

0:01:460:01:47

Yeah, we was a very good side and we beat most people

0:01:470:01:51

until they introduced the ball, and that finished our game completely!

0:01:510:01:55

-It was good fun after the games.

-We had some fun, we really did.

0:01:550:01:59

Talking of fun, I tried things I hadn't done for years,

0:01:590:02:03

without much success, I have to say!

0:02:030:02:05

I'm going to have a seasonal tour around the county

0:02:050:02:08

before getting together with my pals...

0:02:080:02:11

Merry Christmas!

0:02:110:02:12

..for a celebratory banquet at Little Petherick village hall.

0:02:120:02:15

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:02:190:02:22

'For the banquet, I'll be working with my son Jack,

0:02:220:02:25

'who's now a chef at my restaurant in Padstow.

0:02:250:02:29

'He came up with the dish of hake with a Cornish seasonal salad.

0:02:290:02:32

'And very festive it looks, too.'

0:02:320:02:34

I've never asked you this, Jack, so it seems a good time,

0:02:340:02:37

but why are you doing this - to please me,

0:02:370:02:39

take over the family business? Do you like cooking?

0:02:390:02:42

Yeah, to get your undivided attention, mostly,

0:02:420:02:45

and because I love working weekends and late nights.

0:02:450:02:48

And also... No, I've always loved watching you,

0:02:480:02:51

like the way people respond to good food

0:02:510:02:53

-and everything like that.

-Really?

0:02:530:02:55

I'd like to do that myself. It's a great experience and a great honour.

0:02:550:02:59

'Blimey, that's an accolade from number-two son!

0:02:590:03:03

'Hard to believe it, I know,

0:03:050:03:07

'but it really does snow sometimes in Cornwall.

0:03:070:03:10

'And as luck would have it,

0:03:100:03:11

'it arrived right on cue to add an even more festive touch

0:03:110:03:17

'to the annual wassailing ceremony at Cotehele,

0:03:170:03:19

'something celebrated with huge enthusiasm by all concerned.

0:03:190:03:24

'And even the apples apparently love it.'

0:03:240:03:27

Green Man, would you tell us about wassailing?

0:03:390:03:42

Well, wassailing comes from Saxon times, I believe

0:03:420:03:45

and it actually is just celebrating the earth

0:03:450:03:48

and celebrating the fact that these trees bring forth fruit

0:03:480:03:51

every year, time after time and paying them back a little.

0:03:510:03:54

This gentleman in a moment will put some juice back into the earth,

0:03:540:03:58

which symbolises the full cycle of nature

0:03:580:04:00

and that's we're here to celebrate. Yes.

0:04:000:04:03

It is customary at this time of the year

0:04:030:04:06

to stand on the ancient land

0:04:060:04:08

and celebrate the earth's cycles,

0:04:080:04:10

the renewal of life

0:04:100:04:12

and the hopes for a good harvest

0:04:120:04:15

of food and other produce in the next growing season.

0:04:150:04:19

We wish you all a happy new year and a wonderful wassail!

0:04:190:04:25

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:04:250:04:28

Old apple tree, we wassail thee and hope thou will bear.

0:04:320:04:37

Hello!

0:04:370:04:39

We wassail thee and hope thou will bear!

0:04:390:04:41

-Hats full.

-Hats full!

0:04:410:04:45

Three-score sacks full.

0:04:450:04:47

Three-score sacks full.

0:04:470:04:50

Holler, good folk, holler!

0:04:500:04:52

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:04:520:04:54

'And a good splash of this year's cider

0:04:550:04:58

'makes sure we get gallons of the stuff to drink next year.'

0:04:580:05:02

Well, this programme's called A Cornish Christmas.

0:05:070:05:10

How much more Christmas can you get than this? It's snowing!

0:05:100:05:14

There is a God! And this is so wonderfully atmospheric.

0:05:140:05:19

I mean, I just love that horse. I mean, that...that...

0:05:190:05:22

that in itself is enough for me.

0:05:220:05:25

It's just that sense of sort of medieval life

0:05:250:05:27

in this beautiful house and blessing of the apples.

0:05:270:05:32

I mean, that's what Christmas is, really,

0:05:320:05:35

it's a sort of time to cheer yourself up

0:05:350:05:37

in the dead heart of the season and think about the new season to come.

0:05:370:05:43

One of the great things about cold, snowy mornings at Christmas time

0:05:440:05:48

is the recovery period, which at this time of year should mean

0:05:480:05:52

a good, hot punch to get the heart started again

0:05:520:05:55

and the gastric juices flowing.

0:05:550:05:57

This is a good one. It's called Smoking Bishop -

0:05:570:06:00

citrus fruits studded with cloves

0:06:000:06:03

and gently roasted until they're softened.

0:06:030:06:06

A good sprinkling of sugar and lashings of wine and port

0:06:060:06:10

with a stick of cinnamon, all left to steep for a while.

0:06:100:06:15

Then squash the fruit to get all the juices out, strain it,

0:06:150:06:19

warm it and serve it.

0:06:190:06:21

'I was introduced to this drink by Xenia Irwin.

0:06:210:06:25

'She's a master of wine with a speciality for rustic drinks

0:06:250:06:29

'that go back in time in Devon and Cornwall.'

0:06:290:06:32

So what's this called?

0:06:320:06:33

This is a Smoking Bishop

0:06:330:06:35

and it's a recipe that I found in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

0:06:350:06:40

-Oh, good!

-It's a traditional Cornish recipe.

0:06:400:06:42

Well, not necessarily Cornish, but it's a very traditional recipe.

0:06:420:06:46

-Yeah.

-And it's sort of an old-fashioned punch.

0:06:460:06:48

It's quite weird, quite interesting.

0:06:480:06:51

Very grapefruity. I rather like it.

0:06:510:06:54

It's a little sweet.

0:06:540:06:55

SHE SLURPS

0:06:560:06:58

You're applying your wine taster's skills there, I note, to a...

0:06:580:07:02

You've got to slurp!

0:07:020:07:03

You've got to get the air in to get the flavours out.

0:07:030:07:06

-It's quite bitter. The grapefruit comes through very strongly.

-Mm.

0:07:060:07:10

Possibly, I underspiced it.

0:07:100:07:11

Maybe more cloves to make it more traditional.

0:07:110:07:14

Well, it smells of cloves.

0:07:140:07:15

Sniffing and drinking this,

0:07:150:07:17

I'm thinking Dickens, I'm thinking Victorian, rosy-cheeked people,

0:07:170:07:21

probably through too much punch...

0:07:210:07:23

-Probably.

-..by the coal fire there.

0:07:230:07:25

I'm thinking of putting my boot up by the fire

0:07:250:07:27

and calling for one of those long clay pipes

0:07:270:07:30

and maybe bring on the serving wenches!

0:07:300:07:32

'Xenia's a girl who knows her drinks,

0:07:320:07:36

'and her next suggestion was a sort of Cornish Kir Royale

0:07:360:07:40

'made with sloe gin and a local sparkling wine.'

0:07:400:07:44

My own sloe gin,

0:07:440:07:45

made by my own fair hands.

0:07:450:07:47

What, from hedgerows and...?

0:07:470:07:49

Local hedgerows, local hedgerows, a lot of sugar, a lot of gin.

0:07:490:07:53

Picked the berries, froze them,

0:07:530:07:54

beat them up with a rolling pin,

0:07:540:07:57

put them in a large one-gallon container

0:07:570:08:01

with a lot of sugar and a lot of gin and a vanilla pod

0:08:010:08:03

and then put them in the boot of the car

0:08:030:08:06

to roll around in the dark to really macerate.

0:08:060:08:09

Everyone says you should shake it every day. Much easier

0:08:090:08:12

to stick it in the boot of the car for a month. Let's have a taste.

0:08:120:08:15

That is very good. I must say, I thought it would be

0:08:150:08:18

a lot sweeter, but actually it's quite austere,

0:08:180:08:21

-but it's quite astringent.

-It's quite lean and racy and dry and...

0:08:210:08:25

Lean and racy, yeah.

0:08:250:08:27

And it's quite elegant.

0:08:270:08:28

It's got that sort of plummy, plum-stone taste as well.

0:08:280:08:32

-It has, it has.

-I mean, a great fruit, sloe, isn't it?

0:08:320:08:35

It's also...surprisingly alcoholic

0:08:350:08:39

-and it gets in the...

-Oh, not again!

0:08:390:08:42

I'm really sorry about this.

0:08:420:08:43

-That's why it's called a heart starter.

-We need a spittoon.

0:08:430:08:46

-It's Christmas, we're not doing spittoons.

-Fair enough.

0:08:460:08:49

-And of course, the wine's Cornish too.

-The wine's Cornish,

0:08:490:08:53

and the English should be making sparkling wine.

0:08:530:08:56

We've got the right climate, the right soil

0:08:560:08:58

and we're really, really good at making sparkling wine.

0:08:580:09:01

And I think we can beat the Champagnoirs at their own game.

0:09:010:09:05

-Yeah.

-And what I like about Cornish sparkling wine is,

0:09:050:09:08

it's got that real cool freshness

0:09:080:09:10

that comes from wet hedgerows full of elderflower.

0:09:100:09:13

You're poetic. I like this, I like this.

0:09:130:09:15

POSH ACCENT: It comes naturally, darling!

0:09:150:09:17

THEY LAUGH Put Dame Edna away!

0:09:170:09:20

Firstly, I'd like to welcome you all tonight

0:09:220:09:25

to another Dickensian evening.

0:09:250:09:27

THEY PLAY THE FIRST NOEL

0:09:270:09:29

As well as great food and drink,

0:09:290:09:31

Christmas has come to be synonymous with Dickens.

0:09:310:09:35

In Lostwithiel, they really know how to celebrate the great man,

0:09:350:09:39

who came to Cornwall with his artist friends in the 1840s.

0:09:390:09:43

If you know your Dickens novels,

0:09:430:09:45

you should be able to spot each and every character

0:09:450:09:47

in this annual Christmas ceremony,

0:09:470:09:49

which brings the whole community together.

0:09:490:09:53

Everyone joins in the spirit of Christmas past.

0:09:530:09:57

BELLS PEAL

0:09:590:10:02

There's free mince pies and mulled wine in almost

0:10:020:10:06

every shop you choose to visit up and down the high street,

0:10:060:10:10

but for serious foodies, the local delis provide

0:10:100:10:13

plenty of Cornish festive fare to stock up your larder.

0:10:130:10:16

I love Lostwithiel!

0:10:160:10:18

Cornish Christmas, quite simple.

0:10:180:10:20

It means good food, family, friends and fun really

0:10:200:10:24

and we have all those things in abundance in Cornwall.

0:10:240:10:27

We've got great producers, great suppliers

0:10:270:10:29

and put all those things together with a bit of festive cheer,

0:10:290:10:32

that's it.

0:10:320:10:34

But if Dickens is not your style, that's fine.

0:10:340:10:38

Some characters seem to have escaped from other authors, but who cares?

0:10:380:10:43

There we go! Happy Christmas... from Captain Pugwash.

0:10:430:10:47

I'll be on my way now.

0:10:470:10:49

'In years past in Cornwall,

0:10:500:10:53

'the joy of Christmas was that it was a short respite

0:10:530:10:56

'in the day-to-day struggle to put food on the table

0:10:560:11:00

'and in those days the choice of food was very limited

0:11:000:11:03

'for ordinary working folk.

0:11:030:11:05

'For much of the year, their diet consisted of little else than pilchards,

0:11:070:11:12

'fresh when the shoals were running

0:11:120:11:14

'and when the fish had moved on, it was yet more pilchards,

0:11:140:11:17

'this time dried or preserved in brine. There was no escape from it.

0:11:170:11:23

'Some time ago I was able to go out and catch some for the Cornish Pilchard Museum,

0:11:230:11:29

'but these days pilchards have a new image.'

0:11:290:11:32

Oh, brilliant!

0:11:330:11:35

'Rebranded as Cornish Sardines, they're very popular.

0:11:350:11:40

'I love it when previously humble food becomes the height of fashion.

0:11:400:11:45

'In this Newlyn pub, I met up with a few local lads -

0:11:450:11:49

'Nick Howell, Laurence Hartwell and James Hicks - who know what it was like in the bad old days.'

0:11:490:11:55

So, um, what sort of things have they, you know, in times gone by...

0:11:550:11:59

I mean, it's a pretty poor part of the country, really,

0:11:590:12:02

what would they have had around Christmas, do you think?

0:12:020:12:05

-I think poor's the word, isn't it?

-Poor's the word, yeah.

0:12:050:12:08

Whatever you could preserve during the good times, really.

0:12:080:12:11

If you're a bit drier, just like, just further south in Brittany

0:12:110:12:16

here's the... This is sun-dried as opposed to salted.

0:12:160:12:20

Now here, you've got salt conger, salt pollack,

0:12:200:12:24

little pollacks, they are.

0:12:240:12:26

-Yeah.

-Salt conger again.

0:12:260:12:28

Goodness knows what it tastes like, not much of a smell to it.

0:12:280:12:32

No, I mean, if you said...

0:12:320:12:33

-It's incredible.

-..you could eat this, you'd say...

0:12:330:12:36

-Soak it and...

-No, it's a piece of wood, you can't eat that!

0:12:360:12:39

I mean, how would you go about, you know, cooking something

0:12:390:12:42

maybe that I could, maybe sell in one of my restaurants?

0:12:420:12:46

I think one of the things

0:12:460:12:48

if you listen to some of the meals that people talk about,

0:12:480:12:51

it's incredibly simple because,

0:12:510:12:53

especially this far south away from a lot of trade, I guess,

0:12:530:12:57

the basic ingredients are what's growing outside

0:12:570:13:00

or what's swimming around out there,

0:13:000:13:02

and the simplest one I know of is literally the fish, the potatoes,

0:13:020:13:07

and using sea water rather than fresh water.

0:13:070:13:10

-You mean you just take...?

-And if you had the money, an onion.

0:13:100:13:13

What you've also got to remember

0:13:130:13:15

is one of the most famous things in this area -

0:13:150:13:18

my family comes from Mousehole originally - is Tom Bawcock's Eve.

0:13:180:13:22

He was the fisherman who went out

0:13:220:13:24

and caught the fish to feed the families of Mousehole

0:13:240:13:26

after a period of storms and it still goes on to this day,

0:13:260:13:30

it's quite famous and it was really pilchards and potatoes.

0:13:300:13:34

What else went in it, I don't know.

0:13:340:13:36

Another thing is,

0:13:360:13:37

Henry VIII, one of his favourite meals was Stargazy Pie.

0:13:370:13:41

-Yeah.

-And he found it somewhere, they used to send them to...

0:13:410:13:44

-Well, he looked well on it.

-He looked well on it, yeah, like me.

0:13:440:13:48

-Yeah.

-'A few years ago'

0:13:480:13:50

'when I was a young lad with more hair

0:13:500:13:52

'I went with a film crew to Mousehole, or Mouse hole as the locals call it,

0:13:520:13:55

'on Tom Bawcock's Eve to sample for myself the famous Stargazy Pie.'

0:13:550:14:01

# A merry place you may believe

0:14:010:14:05

# Was Mousehole on Tom Bawcock's Eve... #

0:14:050:14:09

'I wonder if Tom Bawcock would recognise this version.

0:14:090:14:14

'It was a pastry base filled with mashed potatoes

0:14:140:14:17

'cooked with cream and parsley

0:14:170:14:19

'and, of course, the pilchards

0:14:190:14:21

'popping their heads through to gaze at the stars.

0:14:210:14:24

'No doubt Henry VIII would have joined in with no trouble at all.

0:14:250:14:29

'It was a great night

0:14:290:14:30

'and a very lively start to the Christmas good cheer.

0:14:300:14:34

'Good lord, I did have a lot more hair in those days!

0:14:340:14:38

'While Tom Bawcock's Eve dates back into the mists of time

0:14:380:14:42

'a new kid on the Cornish block by comparison is the Eden Project,

0:14:420:14:47

'visited by tens of thousands of people from all around the world.

0:14:470:14:51

'Here too, they've embraced the Christmas spirit

0:14:540:14:56

'and with a strong environmental message regarding waste.

0:14:560:15:00

'Very apt, I thought, just like Ted Hughes' The Iron Man.

0:15:000:15:05

'Remember all those wonderful pictures of people skating elegantly

0:15:070:15:12

'on frozen ponds on Christmas morning?

0:15:120:15:14

'Well, you can't say I didn't try.

0:15:140:15:16

'Once upon a time, I was quite good at skating, honest!'

0:15:160:15:20

# So let's celebrate

0:15:280:15:30

# All that is great

0:15:300:15:31

# In our green and pleasant land... #

0:15:310:15:35

You can do it!

0:15:360:15:38

Well, I could,

0:15:380:15:39

it's just...

0:15:390:15:41

these guys want to make fun of me.

0:15:410:15:43

I haven't done it since '63,

0:15:430:15:46

the bad winter on the lake just near Uppingham School.

0:15:460:15:51

It's easy!

0:15:510:15:53

# ..To you a joyful new year. #

0:15:530:16:01

'Well, all that skating gave me a bit of an appetite

0:16:010:16:04

'so I joined the founder of Eden, Tim Smit, for a bite to eat.'

0:16:040:16:08

Oh, this is very nice. It's sort of vegetarian Christmas dinner.

0:16:080:16:12

It is, yeah.

0:16:120:16:13

-Vegetarian suet.

-Yeah, and chestnuts and small mushrooms.

-All lovely.

0:16:130:16:19

Everything is local.

0:16:190:16:20

Probably 83% of everything we actually sell across Eden is local.

0:16:200:16:24

You're obviously rather romantically inclined towards Christmas, Tim,

0:16:240:16:28

cos just coming in tonight and just looking at those enchanting

0:16:280:16:32

sort of Christmas trees,

0:16:320:16:34

that lovely shimmering Christmas tree and all the others

0:16:340:16:37

and the ice-skating rink, I mean, it must mean a lot to you.

0:16:370:16:42

Yeah, I love the idea of Christmas.

0:16:420:16:45

I know that for many people, it's a terrible pressure of expectation,

0:16:450:16:49

it's a bit like the gold-embossed party invitation

0:16:490:16:52

which can never live up to the real thing,

0:16:520:16:55

um, but what I do adore about Christmas

0:16:550:16:57

in the build-up to it is that sense...

0:16:570:17:00

It's the imagery that comes to you, isn't it?

0:17:000:17:02

Here we've got candles on the table.

0:17:020:17:04

Why is it that candles make you want to talk?

0:17:040:17:07

Why is it the glint of a wine or cider or something through a candle

0:17:070:17:12

makes you feel the tremendous sense of wellbeing and want to share it?

0:17:120:17:16

It's a lonely... You'd be a lonely old sod to do that on your own,

0:17:160:17:20

and I think, for me, the Christmas thing is about...

0:17:200:17:23

Um, it's an often-used word, "community",

0:17:230:17:25

but someone taught me about a year ago

0:17:250:17:27

what the word "community" actually means.

0:17:270:17:29

It comes from the Latin word, two words, "com" and "munus",

0:17:290:17:33

"com" meaning together and "munus" in gift.

0:17:330:17:36

And I thought, "That's gorgeous!"

0:17:360:17:38

You suddenly understand that why we've lost so much in our society

0:17:380:17:41

is because we thought of community as being a line on a bloody map

0:17:410:17:45

as opposed to actually about the relationships of those people

0:17:450:17:48

who are within the line on the map

0:17:480:17:50

and, you know, I think you get that sense here

0:17:500:17:53

when we have all those torch-light processions and everything,

0:17:530:17:57

a sense... It feels a bit pagan, but Christmas is a bit pagan

0:17:570:18:00

in terms of emotions about it

0:18:000:18:02

and I love that sense of a larger togetherness than just the family.

0:18:020:18:07

Tim mentioned the pagan element of the celebrations

0:18:240:18:27

and that's certainly true today

0:18:270:18:28

a bit further down the Cornish coast in Penzance.

0:18:280:18:31

One of the organisers is Chris Nixon,

0:18:340:18:36

who told me a bit more about the Montol celebrations.

0:18:360:18:39

We're in Penzance at the moment on 21st December

0:18:400:18:43

and we're celebrating the winter solstice,

0:18:430:18:47

and people have been celebrating solstice since time immemorial.

0:18:470:18:50

But I suppose, over the years, things have, um...

0:18:500:18:54

The old traditions have, um, waned if you like

0:18:540:18:59

and what we're doing is we're reviving what used to happen here,

0:18:590:19:02

in some cases until quite recently.

0:19:020:19:05

In other cases, you know, several hundred years ago,

0:19:050:19:08

but everything we do now is based on a core tradition, if you like.

0:19:080:19:13

And all the Guise dancing, until quite recently,

0:19:130:19:16

within people's living memory, people did this Guise dance.

0:19:160:19:19

Basically that's how you see us dressed up in black, masks, tatters

0:19:190:19:25

and people dancing in and out of people's houses, in the streets.

0:19:250:19:29

This is what people did.

0:19:290:19:31

It's an interesting time of year, it's a time of change,

0:19:310:19:34

with the death of the old year, birth of the new year

0:19:340:19:38

and it's a portal, if you like.

0:19:380:19:41

Er, um, it's a time of topsy-turvy, misrule.

0:19:410:19:46

They don't actually have a wicker man here,

0:19:460:19:49

but although everyone is having a great time,

0:19:490:19:51

there does seem to be something slightly sinister about it all.

0:19:510:19:55

Throughout tradition, this represents the end of the old

0:19:550:20:01

and the beginning of the new.

0:20:010:20:04

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:20:040:20:08

There's a tangible sense of mischief and it's not altogether comfortable,

0:20:080:20:13

but I suppose this is how it was back in pagan days.

0:20:130:20:19

Or maybe it still is.

0:20:190:20:21

Back in one of my favourite Cornish pubs,

0:20:230:20:26

Christmas is celebrated in a more traditional way.

0:20:260:20:28

This is the centre of the village,

0:20:280:20:30

our local reverend would love to have this many people in his church.

0:20:300:20:34

I mean, we have carol services

0:20:340:20:36

and we have the charity auctions, whatnot over Christmas,

0:20:360:20:39

the local school comes in for our carol service.

0:20:390:20:42

It gets busy, which is good for me and, er, for them.

0:20:420:20:47

It is, we're into Christmas here, it's a happy, great time for us.

0:20:470:20:51

This pub is particularly well-known for its speciality game pie

0:20:540:20:58

and it's made by Mike Jones, the landlord.

0:20:580:21:01

Game pie is the food of the season.

0:21:030:21:05

To me, it's a mixture of all the birds, all the animals,

0:21:050:21:08

the ground animals that we shoot,

0:21:080:21:11

and it's a great favourite, it's a wonderful product

0:21:110:21:13

and I love it, it's always been happening forever.

0:21:130:21:16

It takes an awful long time to make,

0:21:160:21:18

you got to be a bit passionate about the thing,

0:21:180:21:21

you have to feel good about making it

0:21:210:21:23

and everyone can make mistakes a bit,

0:21:230:21:25

but when it comes out right, it is the best thing,

0:21:250:21:28

it's just fantastic food.

0:21:280:21:29

At least you don't have to be landed gentry any more

0:21:320:21:35

to enjoy this sort of stuff.

0:21:350:21:36

I suppose you could make it yourself,

0:21:360:21:39

but wouldn't it be better to take yourself off to the local pub

0:21:390:21:43

and join in with a lot of other people beside the roaring fire

0:21:430:21:46

and enjoy it with a pint?

0:21:460:21:48

Good conversation and a slice of pie with pickles, you can't beat it.

0:21:500:21:55

After all, that's what Christmas should really be all about.

0:21:550:21:59

I'm not going to cook goose for my Christmas banquet,

0:22:020:22:06

but I don't want to ignore it either.

0:22:060:22:08

And I've cooked it before. About five years ago,

0:22:080:22:12

I remember cooking the best roast goose ever.

0:22:120:22:15

I remember it for very different reasons.

0:22:150:22:18

The goose and all those wonderful trimmings were perfect.

0:22:180:22:22

The stuffing took ages -

0:22:220:22:23

it had chopped onions, fresh white breadcrumbs,

0:22:230:22:26

zest of lemon, chopped sage, parsley and an egg.

0:22:260:22:30

It took a long time to get these things right.

0:22:300:22:33

It started to rain

0:22:330:22:34

and I sensed the crew were desperate to get to the pub.

0:22:340:22:38

And then I had to make the apple sauce.

0:22:380:22:41

Goose and apple sauce is a joyous combination.

0:22:410:22:43

By this time, the director was insisting I bought a jar

0:22:430:22:47

from the corner shop down the road.

0:22:470:22:49

Unbelievable!

0:22:490:22:50

And then when the time came to make the gravy, giblet gravy,

0:22:500:22:55

I sensed I had a revolution on my hands.

0:22:550:22:58

These were the days when the pubs closed at 3pm

0:22:580:23:00

and it was already an hour after opening time.

0:23:000:23:03

You can't rush good food.

0:23:030:23:05

And so I made the gravy with streaky bacon, goose giblets,

0:23:050:23:09

chopped onions, carrots and celery.

0:23:090:23:13

Then the water, of course, and bay leaves and peppercorns.

0:23:130:23:17

The director was quite serious about using a well-known brand!

0:23:170:23:21

You know the one with the label featuring those scruffy kids

0:23:210:23:24

smelling the aromas of a roast dinner and going, "Ahhh!"

0:23:240:23:29

But nothing was going to stop me

0:23:290:23:31

from making the best roast goose ever.

0:23:310:23:34

Ahhhh!

0:23:340:23:37

Back in Padstow, I thought it would be a good idea

0:23:390:23:42

to arrange a goose taste test, for two reasons really.

0:23:420:23:46

One, because it's increasing in popularity

0:23:460:23:49

as a choice for Christmas Day

0:23:490:23:51

and two, because it varies so much in price.

0:23:510:23:54

£25 will get you a frozen supermarket bird,

0:23:540:23:58

but you'd be lucky to see any change

0:23:580:24:00

out of 90 quid for a free-range organic.

0:24:000:24:03

'As far as we were concerned, there were four birds.

0:24:030:24:06

'One was the cheapest frozen supermarket version,

0:24:060:24:09

'another was wild, then there was a free-range bird...'

0:24:090:24:12

Goose A, right help yourself, have a look at the goose, have a...

0:24:120:24:15

'..and finally the free-range organic.'

0:24:150:24:19

Made with good fat, um, but a bit tough.

0:24:190:24:21

'Naturally, as we're all chefs here,

0:24:210:24:23

'we prefer to cook it slightly underdone,

0:24:230:24:26

'but which one tasted the best?'

0:24:260:24:28

Not as lean as the first one,

0:24:280:24:29

so I think this is a bit of a better bird.

0:24:290:24:31

OK, this is goose C.

0:24:310:24:33

That goose was very nice and it's quite tender, full of fat,

0:24:390:24:44

er, full of flavour.

0:24:440:24:45

Do you know what I think about this goose?

0:24:450:24:47

I don't care if that's the supermarket goose

0:24:470:24:50

because it is so much nicer than the other two,

0:24:500:24:53

if I lose, if it...

0:24:530:24:54

I mean, it is a bit of a loss to go for the frozen goose,

0:24:540:24:57

but if that remains the best one,

0:24:570:25:00

it's so much better than the other two, if it's a frozen goose,

0:25:000:25:03

it doesn't matter.

0:25:030:25:04

This is, um, goose D, so everything hangs on this, really.

0:25:040:25:10

Taste-wise, it was lacking a little bit,

0:25:140:25:16

um, I don't think it was as good as the last one.

0:25:160:25:19

Yeah, right.

0:25:190:25:21

Er, it's simply the best goose.

0:25:210:25:23

I don't want to know what goose is what,

0:25:230:25:25

I just want to know what the best goose is on the day,

0:25:250:25:28

so I just want to show of hands.

0:25:280:25:30

Who thinks that goose A was the best goose?

0:25:300:25:34

Nil points.

0:25:340:25:35

Who thinks that goose B was the best goose?

0:25:360:25:39

Me, actually.

0:25:390:25:41

Two. Who thinks that goose C was the best goose?

0:25:410:25:45

Could somebody count, because I'm not very good?

0:25:450:25:48

-Seven.

-Seven.

0:25:480:25:50

And that leaves goose D.

0:25:500:25:52

-None.

-Nil.

-Nil.

0:25:520:25:54

OK, right, goose C. Anybody got their fingers crossed?

0:25:540:25:59

Well, I have a bit.

0:26:010:26:04

Goose C is...

0:26:040:26:06

the free-range organic.

0:26:060:26:08

Well done, everybody, your palates are absolutely tippy-top,

0:26:080:26:13

well, except for the, er...

0:26:130:26:15

And that came from Debbie and Simon Andrews,

0:26:150:26:17

from their farm near Golant.

0:26:170:26:19

We were so impressed,

0:26:230:26:24

we decided to have goose for our staff Christmas dinner

0:26:240:26:27

along with all the trimmings, of course,

0:26:270:26:29

and none of that packet gravy.

0:26:290:26:32

Is that great? That's a serious amount of gravy!

0:26:340:26:37

These are good times for me because it's the one occasion

0:26:370:26:41

I get a chance to spend time with most of my staff.

0:26:410:26:45

What a mellow sound.

0:26:470:26:49

I just thought I'd, um, say a couple of words

0:26:490:26:52

as this is the last time we'll all be together before Christmas

0:26:520:26:55

as you haven't got to work tonight

0:26:550:26:57

and, um, I would like to just thank you very much

0:26:570:27:00

for a sensational season.

0:27:000:27:02

Everybody, in all departments, has been excellent,

0:27:020:27:07

it's a real pleasure to be

0:27:070:27:08

sort of nominally in charge of such a professional group of people,

0:27:080:27:12

so thank you and as it's Christmas,

0:27:120:27:15

-a merry Christmas to you all. Glasses, please.

-Merry Christmas!

0:27:150:27:19

Fishermen's friends from neighbouring Port Isaac

0:27:190:27:22

will sing us out in a very Cornish way.

0:27:220:27:25

# Fear not, said he

0:27:290:27:32

# For mighty dread

0:27:320:27:35

# Had seized their troubled minds

0:27:350:27:40

# Had seized their troubled minds

0:27:400:27:46

# Glad tidings of

0:27:460:27:50

# Great joy I bring

0:27:500:27:53

# To you and all mankind

0:27:530:27:57

# To you and all mankind

0:27:570:28:01

# To you and all mankind To you and all mankind. #

0:28:010:28:09

APPLAUSE

0:28:090:28:11

Brilliant!

0:28:110:28:13

-Merry Christmas, everybody.

-Merry Christmas!

0:28:130:28:16

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS