0:00:39 > 0:00:43I've been travelling the length and breadth of Britain
0:00:43 > 0:00:46for the last three or four years now, looking for food heroes
0:00:46 > 0:00:50and really excellent produce and I was thinking it'd be such a good thing
0:00:50 > 0:00:56to get a Christmas hamper of things I really wanted to have as presents or to cook at Christmas.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01I mean things like, well obviously turkey, geese, ham, smoked salmon, Christmas pudding.
0:01:01 > 0:01:07And for a real touch of luxury, for me, it would be a game pie.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14If you're prepared to search for it
0:01:14 > 0:01:18you can find really good locally produced food all over the country.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Farm shops, farmers' markets, specialised shops,
0:01:21 > 0:01:26dairies and smokers are becoming more popular than ever before.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Well, I have to confess I'm a bit nervous
0:01:28 > 0:01:32and I had to give Chalky a bath last night cos I'm at Highgrove.
0:01:32 > 0:01:40I'm a judge of the Taste of the West Food Awards and Prince Charles is actually hosting the awards today.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45And I think that's a real testimony to how important regional food has become.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50And actually, I hate to say this, but I don't really feel I'm quite the most worthy person for being
0:01:50 > 0:01:54a judge of these awards cos there's people like Henrietta Green,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57who's been championing local produce for years.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00But nevertheless, I suppose that's the power of television and,
0:02:00 > 0:02:05apart from being a bit nervous I'm very, very proud to have been invited to do it.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11A good example of what this programme's all about is Mark Sharman and Debbie Mumford.
0:02:11 > 0:02:17They won the Best Producer in the South West with their sharpened cheese.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21It's a creamy brie made on the banks of the River Dart in Devon.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26They're a small outfit with a herd of Jersey cows, and committed to fine quality food.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30And they're now becoming recognised all over the country.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33We need, for instance, to remember that the traditional ways
0:02:33 > 0:02:37of doing things may not always be the most efficient,
0:02:37 > 0:02:43but they may produce the finest end product and be in the greatest harmony with nature.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47So, ladies and gentlemen, we have a rich food heritage
0:02:47 > 0:02:54and there is, therefore, no reason why we cannot learn from the French and Italians, whose love of
0:02:54 > 0:02:57their regional food is ingrained in their national consciousness.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01He wants to go. He wants to...
0:03:01 > 0:03:03It's a Jack Russell on skates.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Come on, Chalky, meet the Prince.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11He does and he was very good. He...
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Is it terribly tight for him?
0:03:17 > 0:03:19No, I... He just...
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Just does it.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Does it eat fish?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26He does, he does. Fish and chips.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Chalky, why did you have to cough then?
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Being a Christmas programme, turkey comes right at the top of the list.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47It's by far the most popular bird for that all important lunch
0:03:47 > 0:03:52and we get through 10 million of them every Christmas.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57I'm in Lincolnshire at Woodland Farm.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Here, they raise the birds in small groups.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06Andrew Dennis, whose idea it is, leaves them free to forage under the trees in his orchards.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08It's an experiment that he hopes will grow
0:04:08 > 0:04:13as more and more people want to pay a little bit extra for quality.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14They look like dinosaurs.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17There's a theory that they are descended from the dinosaur.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Of all the farm animals they are by far the most abused
0:04:21 > 0:04:23and that's why we have turkeys here because
0:04:23 > 0:04:31we're trying to produce, you know, a blueprint for compassionate turkey rearing and breeding.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36In this situation, they are grazing beneath the trees because one should always remember that
0:04:36 > 0:04:38the turkey is a woodland bird
0:04:38 > 0:04:43and they go up to roost at night and express their natural instincts in this way.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48They are brought up in very small groups of approximately 200 or less.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Just talking about the unmentionable side of rearing turkeys,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54slaughtering them, how d'you do that?
0:04:54 > 0:04:57They don't leave the farm during their lives.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59They're not sent off to an abattoir.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05They're slaughtered by hand, out of sight of each other, so individually in other words,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09in a stress free environment, in an old barn, the kind of barn they're used to.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13It's the quality of life that's so important. And the quality of death.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19And if you can provide for both those things, I think, you know, I'm comfortable with what we do.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I'm driving through the flat fenlands of Lincolnshire.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36It's actually also known as Little Holland, and it's beautifully fertile farmland round here,
0:05:36 > 0:05:42particularly good for brassicas, cabbage, cauliflower, but above all, Brussels sprouts.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49I would not dream of eating turkey or goose for Christmas lunch or dinner without sprouts.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52This is the very heart of sprout country.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Sorry, Chalks.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00And this is Roger Welbery, the self-proclaimed king of sprouts.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Let's face it, the poor old sprout needs someone to champion its cause.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07He thinks they should be called British sprouts.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Why do people think they're a joke? Is it school dinners?
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- I think the older people realise a bit more...- Yeah.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15but kids immediately think sprouts, errrgh.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17It's that... I think it's...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20A lot of the kids I've asked, "We don't like sprouts,"
0:06:20 > 0:06:25when I've done some demos and I said "Have you ever tried them?" "No." It's the mates.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29They listen to the mates. "He doesn't like sprouts, we don't like sprouts."
0:06:29 > 0:06:35But if they're dressed up... I think you've gotta get away from the traditional way.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36More adventurous, more...
0:06:36 > 0:06:40sexy, if you like, but I don't know how you sex a sprout up.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Why not put chocolate on the sprout?
0:06:42 > 0:06:45If they won't eat the sprout, put chocolate on it
0:06:45 > 0:06:47or brown sugar, sweeten it up.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50I'm not so sure about that but... I will give it some...
0:06:50 > 0:06:54I don't care, as long as I'm selling my sprouts and folks are eating them.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00In his efforts to promote sprouts, Roger invited a county magazine
0:07:00 > 0:07:03to his field to photograph Chalky's big day out.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06He's probably, you know... sorry.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Shot of that. Thank you very much.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- Cheers.- He looked too much like a postman.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Now, what I like in a good sprout is it should be
0:07:16 > 0:07:21just ever so slightly overcooked, but only so slightly that it's still got a nice bite to it.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24And that's what I like to see in a turkey.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27It's taken quite a long time to cook.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Every year, I'm astounded by the detail that you get in
0:07:31 > 0:07:35the magazines, the newspapers, about the latest way of roasting turkey.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40It's like, you've gotta buy this magazine cos otherwise you won't roast your turkey properly.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44And they're ever more elaborate, pages and pages of detail.
0:07:44 > 0:07:50Some call for a covering in buttered muslin, others call for a bit of foil here, a bit of foil there.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Over on one side, turn around, take your time, lower the temperature, upper the temperature,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59in with the turkey, out with the turkey, back in again, out again, down the pub, up here.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01One of the things that really
0:08:01 > 0:08:06makes me smile is looking at Escoffier's recipe for turkey
0:08:06 > 0:08:09which just says - roast in a moderate oven.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13This is the full works with sausage and crispy bacon,
0:08:13 > 0:08:18fluffy roast potatoes, glazed carrots and bread sauce.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22It's the stuff of dreams, especially if you're a long way from home.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28This was a bronze turkey that we got from the Copas family who also produce
0:08:28 > 0:08:32very fine free range birds on their farm at Cookham in Berkshire.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37It's a much larger concern than Andrew's, but it's run on similar lines.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40We thought we'd take one of Mr Copas's birds to a hotel
0:08:40 > 0:08:48near Carlisle where we conducted our very first taste test - The Crown at Wetherall.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52I've come in here because I wanted to see what they looked like.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58Now, one of these turkeys is a free range turkey that's lived all its life in orchards, apple orchards,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02cherry orchards and the other is a, shall we say, mass produced turkey.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07I'm not gonna ask the chefs to parade the turkey out with our
0:09:07 > 0:09:13invited staff guests who are going to choose either A or B, so I'm off.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20I don't know which is A or B but having looked at them I think I have a pretty good idea.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24So we've got two turkeys for you today, turkey A and turkey B.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28One of them is a free range turkey that's spent most of
0:09:28 > 0:09:31its life outdoors in apple orchards, cherry orchards,
0:09:31 > 0:09:36and the other is a battery-raised turkey.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I want you to try and tell the difference.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44You want to have a look at the texture, the smell, and, of course, the taste.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47If we get it wrong I could be very depressed.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Lastly, let me say that I don't know which is which and I'm gonna vote too.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Smells like Christmas, somebody was saying.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- Everybody finished?- Mm-hm.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Put them all back down.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And on to turkey B.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17I just have to point out one thing, that one of these turkeys, obviously the free range one,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22costs nearly four times as much as a battery fed. Is it four times as good?
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Let's go.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35Now you start to taste the second one I'd like to know whether you can taste a difference.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- Yes, definitely.- Yeah. - Good.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44The object here is for you to tell me which you think tastes the best, OK?
0:10:44 > 0:10:47And I'm gonna vote, but just in case you think
0:10:47 > 0:10:51I'm a bit of a smart aleck I'm gonna put up my hand right at the end.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53OK, let's go.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58Right, who thinks that turkey A is the best?
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Oh, gosh.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Well, there's no need for a show of hands, let's have a look at the...
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Oh, gosh.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10This could be the end of my career.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Turkey A is...
0:11:13 > 0:11:18Oh, my gosh, it's the supermarket battery turkey.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21It's been a very tough day.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Well done, everybody. Well done, indeed.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26And what was turkey B?
0:11:32 > 0:11:37Turkey B was Tom Copas, who we were filming with last week.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Do we have to use this piece?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41I'm so, so depressed.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Well done, everybody.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I can't believe it but I can see what went wrong.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Basically, I went in the kitchen, I had this idea of
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Mr Copas's turkeys being really nice and slim because they were exercising.
0:11:55 > 0:12:03I saw one slim one, one nice plumpcious one and I got it into my head that the slim one was it.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05I should never have looked at them.
0:12:05 > 0:12:13I allowed my sort of intellect, my brain to take precedent over my instincts.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17And, of course, all the others worked on their instincts, and they were right.
0:12:17 > 0:12:23Well, sometimes in life, things just don't go the way you want them to.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26That goes for Jack Russells too, doesn't it, Chalky?
0:12:34 > 0:12:38As our autumn months are getting warmer, some vineyards
0:12:38 > 0:12:45in East Sussex, like Nyetimber, are producing good sparkling wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50I'm here for yet another blind tasting, this time with Oz Clarke,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53a friend of mine, and I think he's got the best nose in the business.
0:12:53 > 0:13:00We have to taste three wines. Two are champagnes and one is English sparkling wine.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04We don't know which is which, but this time I hope to get it right.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08- Let's go for A.- OK, right.- Go on.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Look at that. Look at the bubbles, I just love that sight.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21It's all right. It's quite good.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- I mean, you know, knock you back, easy.- Yeah.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Hasn't got any exciting characteristics but...
0:13:26 > 0:13:29No. No, no, I agree. I concur with that, Oz.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Concur? Concur?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- When was the last time you used the word concur?- Never.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Right, I shall try and think of something.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41It's not... It's not green, it's got a nice biscuity finish.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43I like it and I say that's a champagne.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Let's try the others. The obvious thing is this is a much darker colour.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49It's because the wine's been aged.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- Yeah.- Cos when you age your wine, a white wine goes darker.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- A red wine goes lighter as you age it, a white wine goes darker. - Does it?
0:13:55 > 0:14:00And this has got a beautiful, golden kind of colour that...
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It reminds me of some of the wonderful chalices
0:14:03 > 0:14:06that we have in Canterbury Cathedral, that's the colour they are.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10I hope it doesn't taste the same or it'll taste of Brasso.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- Oh, is that star stuff.- It is nice.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I agree, I love that.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Mm.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Right, lastly...
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Fine, but it doesn't look very lively in the glass. You see it?
0:14:28 > 0:14:30The first two had quite a lot of bubble going.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32This is not much going on there.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35- What about the nose? - The bubbles are a bit lazy.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Lazy bubbles.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Ah, wine maker's fault.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44I don't find... Again, this A and C seem to have a reasonably strong relationship
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and B just seems to be in an entirely different world.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Oh, I take a little point out of that then, mmm.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53B is the English wine, and why?
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- Because it's the best. - Because it's the best, Rick, exactly.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59OK then, Oz, it's over here.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06What's this? People leaving messages for you on vineyards?
0:15:06 > 0:15:10This is Shakespearean, Rosalind and Orlando used to leave...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Yeah, yeah. Listen, I'm getting a bit tense now, let's just...
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Hurray! We've done it!
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Look! It wasn't just you!
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- And you as well.- Look, I did say it had a nice finish.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30- OK.- Ahh, I tell you what, we're back on...- We can come again?- Yeah.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34So cheers to the boys that made the Nyetimber.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Oz, what is so special about sparkling wines from the south of England?
0:15:38 > 0:15:42The south of England, for a start it's got the same soil as Champagne.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45There's the Paris basin, Paris sits inside
0:15:45 > 0:15:51this limestone ring and it goes right round from the Loire Valley, Sancerre to Chablis to Champagne to the cliffs
0:15:51 > 0:15:56of Calais, the cliffs of Dover, the North Downs, the South Downs, right round to Portland Bill.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59It's the same soil. So we have the same soil as Champagne.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01We've almost got the same climate.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06Every year it gets warmer. Every September, every October we have the hottest one ever.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08It's almost the same climate as Champagne.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11We've got the same grapes, the chardonnay grape,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14the pinot noir grape, the pinot meneae, the same grapes.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18They grow here beautifully on much smaller crops, by the way.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And we've got wine makers who use the same methods
0:16:21 > 0:16:26as champagne to make the wine sparkle but they use it with such passion.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Do you ever get fed up with wine, Oz?
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Do you ever get fed up with haddock?
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- I love haddock.- Well, I love wine.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35But sometimes I do get fed up with wine.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37In a week I might taste 1000 wines.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Sales of smoked salmon soar at Christmas time, and one of
0:16:49 > 0:16:54the best and oldest cures comes from Foremans here in London's East End.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59A lot of people think that it's an ancient Scottish tradition
0:16:59 > 0:17:02because this fish comes from Scotland.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06But actually, traditional cold smoking of salmon, and this is a cold smoked salmon,
0:17:06 > 0:17:11came over to this country roughly 100 years ago from eastern Europe.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16And it was people like my great-grandfather that brought over those techniques of salmon curing.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20They didn't even realise there was a salmon native to
0:17:20 > 0:17:24this country, so they would import salmon from the Baltic in barrels of salt water.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26The three month journey in salt water
0:17:26 > 0:17:28didn't really do much for the fish.
0:17:28 > 0:17:35And they then discovered this wild salmon coming down every summer to the fish market from Scotland,
0:17:35 > 0:17:40started smoking that fish because they thought if we've got a native fish here, let's try it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44The quality was so outstanding that smoked Scottish salmon started to take off.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48This fish would have taken about five years to grow to this size,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52whereas the farm fish would have got to this size in about a year.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53So, you know, a lot of difference.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57- Could you cut us off a slice of that?- Absolutely.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Here we are. So let's go for the...
0:18:01 > 0:18:05- This is really interesting for me. - ..farmed salmon first.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09That's lovely. It's really...
0:18:09 > 0:18:14I see what you mean by the London cure, it's really mild and sort of subtle really.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18The art of successful salmon smoking is to buy the best quality fish
0:18:18 > 0:18:20you can get and do as little to it as possible.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Just a touch of salt to cure it and a touch of smoke to enhance it.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- You don't want it to be too smokey. - The London cure?
0:18:27 > 0:18:29That's what we call the London cure.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- Let's try...- Try the wild.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Let's have a go here.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I think they're very different.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41I would compare them to a sort of a nice,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45light chardonnay compared to a sort of, a full-bodied Bordeaux.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48They're both great, but they're really quite different.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52The wild smoked salmon was delicate.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56It's a bit like the difference between a native oyster and a Pacific.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02Actually, one of the best farmed salmon around comes from the Outer Hebrides.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's so good it's almost like wild.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07A bit like the weather here.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Well, as ever on the Hebrides it's turned out nice again.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17I'm on my way to a hotel where some Hebrideans have laid on some local seafood for me, but the lady
0:19:17 > 0:19:22in the hotel where we're staying said I must stop off at this tower.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24See it there? You may just be able to see it.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Well, it's actually a Victorian folly but before then
0:19:27 > 0:19:33there was a castle, in which lived a chap called Paul of the Thong.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38What he used to do was invite his enemies over as dinner guests
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and then strangle them with a long, thin length of leather.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47I sort of hope I'm in for a better and more hospitable reception this evening.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53As it turned out, they couldn't have been more hospitable.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57That little glow in the distance signalled a blazing hearth,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01good local food and whisky, lots and lots of whisky.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09The laird laid on a splendid display of produce from the islands.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12All I had to provide was an appetite.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17Well, I have to say, this is some very, very interesting seafood to me.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19First of all, a lot of people would never believe
0:20:19 > 0:20:24you can eat a sea urchin but they're extremely nice and Fergus was just saying, describing
0:20:24 > 0:20:30the flavour, which I think is perfect, is a cross between peach and iodine.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32But some of these other things, right?
0:20:32 > 0:20:37Now, I've always wanted to say this. This is a squat lobster
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and I regard it as the Gollum of shellfish.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44And you can see why, cos they've got these very long, gangly arms.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49They're lovely, they're a by-product of fishing for langoustine or prawns, as they call them up here.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54We had hot and cold smoked salmon, smoked, actually, in peat, which is delicious.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59The chef, John Buchanan, was turning out really good dishes of seafood all evening,
0:20:59 > 0:21:06including langoustines, scallops and turbot, all with light sauces which complimented them so well.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Everything seems so abundant here. I mean, how would you...
0:21:10 > 0:21:15What would you say about the food, particularly the seafood of the Western Isles?
0:21:15 > 0:21:17We get the best raw ingredients.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20It's raw, it's natural and we don't want to add too much cos it'll spoil.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25This is the best. We get lobster, langoustine, scallops, turbot.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26It's fantastic stuff.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Do you realise how lucky you are?
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Yeah. Every night when we cook this stuff. We're really pleased with it.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38I'm a bit fussy about my turbot, but this was cooked to perfection.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Tonight, we've had everything that's best about the Hebrides.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Lobster, langoustine and grouse, there's loads of game here as well.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50So, I've just got to thank Langass Lodge
0:21:50 > 0:21:55for such perfect and such simple food, which is what I really like.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57So cheers.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- Cheers. Cheers.- Fantastic.
0:22:11 > 0:22:18My main quest in coming to the islands was to see Angus Macmillan's organic farmed salmon in Benbecula,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21which you can now buy in some supermarkets.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26What we reckon is that every time we talk about fish farming I get a sheath of emails
0:22:26 > 0:22:32from people saying this is devil's stuff, this is devil's work, you know.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It can't be like that. It's like all farming, isn't it?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38I mean, there's good uns and bad uns.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Well, I mean, we know that the wild fish is just not available now,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- there's over-catching, over-fishing. - Yeah.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47And aquaculture's here to stay.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- Yeah.- What we have to ensure is that we do it in the best possible way.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55- Yeah.- First of all, so that we look after the fish that
0:22:55 > 0:22:58we're growing, their welfare is to the highest degree.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03But more importantly, you have a product that is in tandem with nature.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Well, Angus has just told me that he's been standing on that land just over there, looking
0:23:11 > 0:23:16at these cages and not being able to see them because of the waves going right over the top of them.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21This is the first time I've actually been at a fish farm which is truly out at sea, and suddenly
0:23:21 > 0:23:25you can see what they say about being out in open sea.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29There's water rushing down here all the time.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32And constantly, you're getting clean water.
0:23:32 > 0:23:39And that is the main thing about organic salmon, it's not only that but the cages
0:23:39 > 0:23:44are well spaced apart, and I'm sure a low density of fish in the cages.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46I mean, it just makes sense to me.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51I know people are gonna start writing to me saying, "You shouldn't be covering fish farming at all,"
0:23:51 > 0:23:56but there's good farmers and bad farmers and it's the same with aquaculture.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59They don't have any electronic feeding machines here.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03They deliberately feed the fish by hand so that they only get what
0:24:03 > 0:24:08they need, and there's no excess food on the bottom polluting the water.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10You've got two.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Well, this, to me, is a very attractive fish,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18a lovely colour, as you can see, and it's also nice and sleek.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24And the thing that I always look for in good farmed fish are the shape of the fins.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26This is used to swimming a great deal.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30And one of the things that Angus was saying was that because the fish here are out in
0:24:30 > 0:24:36a strong current their muscles are being engaged actively all the time, and you can feel that.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39When I just go like that, the actual fillet is really firm.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42The other thing that people worry about is lice,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44sea lice, and there are no lice on this fish.
0:24:44 > 0:24:50Again, that's because the fish are in low densities and they're out here in the current.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Yeah, I'd quite like to do something with that.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Eat it, in other words.
0:25:00 > 0:25:07Now, this is roasted salmon with salsa verde but unusually, I'm going to actually stuff the salmon
0:25:07 > 0:25:11with salsa verde and roast it on a bed of tomatoes.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15I sprinkle the sliced tomatoes with a good handful of capers
0:25:15 > 0:25:19and then two or three coarsely chopped cloves of garlic.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Next plenty of fresh thyme and a good amount of sea salt.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Drizzle olive oil all over everything and then a little bit of water as well.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33Lay the fillets of salmon on top and don't forget to season them on the inside.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Look how lovely and pale the flesh is.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39That's because there's no pink dye in their feed.
0:25:39 > 0:25:45Now, to make the salsa verde stuffing using mint, parsley, anchovies, garlic and capers.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50This is actually my own dish, but it's just the sort of thing I'd like for Christmas,
0:25:50 > 0:25:55probably on Christmas Eve, something a bit different from turkey or goose on Christmas Day.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58It's actually based on Italian ideas of cooking.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02First of all is salsa verde, which I made really stiff and dry so
0:26:02 > 0:26:05that it makes a nice stuffing, but also the tomato that's under there,
0:26:05 > 0:26:12and the water and the olive oil is a way of cooking the Italians call aqua patso, which means mad water.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17I don't quite know why it refers to that but maybe as it's boiling
0:26:17 > 0:26:19briskly like this it's going bonkers.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24But it produces this lovely emulsion which'll work really well with that salmon.
0:26:24 > 0:26:31Oil the top of the fish and sprinkle with chilli flakes, some more thyme and a final bit of seasoning.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35That goes in the oven for about 25 minutes, a hot oven.
0:26:38 > 0:26:4220 to 25 minutes is more than enough for cooking a fish like this.
0:26:42 > 0:26:48Let's face it, come Christmas Eve, you don't want to be locked away in the kitchen all night.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54And an elegant and simple dish like this frees you up nicely to enjoy the festivities.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Those tomatoes have cooked in the juices from the fish
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and have softened in the oil and become sweet.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05This is a 6lb salmon and it'll feed a dozen people.
0:27:05 > 0:27:12And do you know, it goes really well with a good glass of sparkling English white wine.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Finally, before we leave these hospitable islands,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23I must just mention the smoked salmon of North Uist.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29Because they don't have any trees in these parts the fish are cured and then smoked with
0:27:29 > 0:27:34local peat, which gives them a distinctive flavour, reminiscent of the Jura and Islay whiskies -
0:27:34 > 0:27:40tarry and sweet and, for the connoisseur, well worth the journey.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54I don't know if it was the '60s or early '70s, but about the time
0:27:54 > 0:27:58of The Good Life that everybody started getting chest freezers.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03And the reason for it was all your garden vegetables could go in there.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Your runner beans, broad beans, peas, even carrots.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10And you put them in little packets and if you were clever you
0:28:10 > 0:28:15labelled them, but I never did and they stayed there for three years, then you threw them away.
0:28:15 > 0:28:21And it's actually a lot easier to make chutney and certainly a lot more stylish and, to me,
0:28:21 > 0:28:26nothing sums up better the whole joy and anticipation of Christmas
0:28:26 > 0:28:29than chutneys and pickles with the cold turkey
0:28:29 > 0:28:35and, in my case, always with lovely, crispy baked potatoes.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43So, where better to explore and celebrate the fruity delights
0:28:43 > 0:28:47of English pickles and chutneys than the heart of the WI?
0:28:47 > 0:28:50The nerve centre of this esteemed movement
0:28:50 > 0:28:57in Denman College in Oxfordshire, where I met the ladies who really understand the art of preserving.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00I made this programme in France last summer and
0:29:00 > 0:29:04I don't think the French have any idea about the quality that there is here.
0:29:04 > 0:29:10I think they're slightly disparaging of our food anyway, but just to show
0:29:10 > 0:29:14them what these ladies can turn out and just to get them to taste it.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17And also just to get to taste it with the cheese
0:29:17 > 0:29:22and the ham and turkey, I think they'd be incredibly impressed.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Right, well here, this looks interesting.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Crunchy courgette pickle. What's in here, apart from courgettes?
0:29:28 > 0:29:33Onion, just a little bit of onion, mustard seed and sugar and that's...
0:29:33 > 0:29:35- It's so nice.- Yeah. - Cranberry and orange?- Yes.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37- What's in it? - Fresh cranberries...
0:29:37 > 0:29:40- You can make this about a week before Christmas.- Really?
0:29:40 > 0:29:44It doesn't need to mature like a chutney.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49And it's just fresh cranberries, sugar and a fresh orange,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52grated zest and the juice.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Extremely simple. That's lovely, obviously, with turkey.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Yeah. And a lovely colour.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I'm thinking turkey sandwiches.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02- I like this. - Yes, it's Moroccan preserved lemons.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03Oh, good.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06There's some very good instructions here.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Rinse well and chop, add to rice, couscous, salads and fish recipes.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11Quite right. Well, I'm not...
0:30:11 > 0:30:13No, it's going to be very salty.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16- Do we need to rinse it?- No, no, it's fine cos I'm very used to them.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Just try the juice.
0:30:19 > 0:30:24Lovely. I think people put too much other flavours in Moroccan lemons.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26Just trying to break a bit off here.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29- It's gonna be very salty. - Don't worry, I do 'em myself.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35- Excellent, excellent.- Mm. - OK. Jules, isn't it?
0:30:35 > 0:30:39- Yes, it is.- So we've got mango, is that what it is, mango?
0:30:39 > 0:30:41- Mango.- It's very posh writing.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Can't read it.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45- And prune.- Prune, yes.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- It says "great with ham". - Great with ham.- Right.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- Yeah.- So, let's try the prune first.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53It's...
0:30:53 > 0:30:58That is seriously committed chutney that. It's really good.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00I mean, really thick and...
0:31:00 > 0:31:03What would you like to eat that with, apart from ham?
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- Strong, mature cheddar...- Yeah, yeah.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08- And, um...- And this?
0:31:08 > 0:31:11I always put that with coronation chicken.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14What a great idea. Cos it's mango chutney.
0:31:14 > 0:31:15Yeah.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Indeed.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19It's very delicately spiced.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21- Yeah.- That's beautiful.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Do you like making chutney? What's so special about chutneys to you?
0:31:25 > 0:31:30I sort of got into that just by mistake and that's
0:31:30 > 0:31:34just been something I've been doing for the last two years.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39And it's just something I've been doing with, you know, the Fulham WI.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42- Fulham WI.- The Fulham WI.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44Well, that's very posh.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46I see. Now it goes with the writing.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49I can't stop thinking about the Fulham WI.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54But, Chalky, these chutneys are really good and I know precisely what they'd go well with.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Now I mentioned right at the start of the programme game pies.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09I love them at Christmas.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12I've tried many over the years and deep in the heart
0:32:12 > 0:32:16of the Devon countryside you'll find one of the best there is.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20It's made here in the village of Silverton by Dave Haggett, who uses local game.
0:32:20 > 0:32:28It changes depending on what's available but usually it's venison, wild duck, partridge and pheasant.
0:32:28 > 0:32:34He makes it with red wine and a mixture of dried herbs and pork forcemeat to hold it together.
0:32:34 > 0:32:41And that's put into a hot water pastry case, very similar to the casing on a pork pie.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46They take a lot of care over their pies and they did this one for us to show how it was done.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Pies mean prizes for Dave and his boys, and in the world of pies
0:32:50 > 0:32:53it's very important to look pretty and elegant.
0:32:53 > 0:33:00I know some people find game pies far too powerful in the domain of plus four-wearing, claret-swigging,
0:33:00 > 0:33:06modern day country squires, but what struck me about these pies
0:33:06 > 0:33:09was that they weren't too gamey but were moist and luxurious.
0:33:09 > 0:33:15Lastly, the seasoned jelly is added while the pie is still hot, and that sticks to the pastry and meat.
0:33:15 > 0:33:23So many sad little pies are made without jelly these days but this ain't one of them.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26This is a real bite of the countryside and
0:33:26 > 0:33:32what better to have with it than the best of British pickles, piccalilli.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37Well, I've bought about six or seven piccalillis from the shops just to see how to make the best one.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41And generally they were either too weak
0:33:41 > 0:33:46and just yellow with no flavour or too acerbic, too salty, too coarse.
0:33:46 > 0:33:52What I'm looking for is subtlety really, a good mustard flavour, a bit of chilli in there too
0:33:52 > 0:33:59and a touch of sugar but not too much sugar, it had to be slightly more salty, and a good texture.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04You prepare the veg and put it in brine until you're ready to cook it.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06That helps to keep it crisp.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Well, it is a lovely late September day and it's the sort
0:34:10 > 0:34:17of time of year, as a cook, I love the best because you've got so many vegetables ripe, so much fruit ripe.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22And it's the sort of time that I think preparing for Christmas is the most satisfying
0:34:22 > 0:34:25because making something like piccalilli,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29where you're taking the abundance of vegetables and chopping them up
0:34:29 > 0:34:33in anticipation of that lovely piccalilli on Boxing Day
0:34:33 > 0:34:38and eating it with maybe some cold roast goose or some game pie. It just...
0:34:38 > 0:34:44There's a sense of building up the excitement for Christmas even three months ahead.
0:34:46 > 0:34:53Dissolve some sugar into a pan of distilled malt vinegar and add three cloves of crushed garlic.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57When the sugar's dissolved, put in the veg and bring it gently to a simmer.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03Now add flour and the main flavourings - mustard powder,
0:35:03 > 0:35:09ginger powder, turmeric, allspice, cayenne and a grate of nutmeg.
0:35:09 > 0:35:17Add some vinegar to make a paste and then loosen it with a ladle full of stock from the cooked vegetables.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Take the veg out of the stock and keep to one side and put
0:35:20 > 0:35:24the paste into the hot liquor and allow it to thicken.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Then put all your veg back in.
0:35:29 > 0:35:36They say that the word piccalilli comes from India and it's an amalgam of pickles and chilli.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Recipes like this were all the rage in the 18th century...
0:35:40 > 0:35:41Or all the Raj!
0:35:41 > 0:35:42Er, sorry about that.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00This doesn't look like a ham shop but I'm told it's the right address.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05The family here are the Craven-Smith-Milnes and they make really good hams from
0:36:05 > 0:36:09an old-fashioned recipe named after the village of Alderton in Suffolk.
0:36:09 > 0:36:15It was originally made there by a colonel who discovered the method over 100 years ago
0:36:15 > 0:36:20across the Atlantic in Virginia, a place well noted for its fine hams.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22- Is this the right place? - Absolutely.- The hams.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- Charlie Craven. - Charlie...- I'm Richard.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27Very nice to meet you.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31'I came here to meet father and son team, Richard and Charlie,
0:36:31 > 0:36:35'who continue the tradition in their stately pile in Nottinghamshire.'
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Well, I must say it looks lovely.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42I mean I haven't... I've heard so much about the ham and...
0:36:42 > 0:36:43Let's see what you think.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45We'd love to hear what you say about it.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50Well, I mean, need I taste it when it looks so wonderfully moist?
0:36:50 > 0:36:54- And I'm sure this... - Have a bit.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56I'm going to taste it to see.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00- Good?- I shook my head in wonderment.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05The original recipe came from Colonel Dickinson, who was a great character,
0:37:05 > 0:37:09and we've developed it slightly.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13We think it's a very good product and we simply love it.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18We eat an awful lot of it ourselves, I'm afraid, and...
0:37:18 > 0:37:23Cos it's wonderful if you've got people staying or if you go for...
0:37:23 > 0:37:28I mean, we go for sort of what one might call self-catering holidays and it's wonderful to take a ham.
0:37:28 > 0:37:34I never get tired of it. My wife says I mustn't eat too much of it because she says it'll make me fat but...
0:37:34 > 0:37:38It doesn't seem to have done, I have to say.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43The family have converted one of the outbuildings on their estate and produce the hams by first
0:37:43 > 0:37:49steaming them and then removing the rind, revealing a fine layer of fat underneath.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53This, they plaster with generous quantities of marmalade.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57It's this that gives the sweet and sour taste which is so attractive.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02Then they're roasted and come out amazingly moist.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07Long may Colonel Dickinson's Alderton ham continue.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11But the home of one of Britain's oldest hams is here in York.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15It's said that the first hams made here
0:38:15 > 0:38:18were smoked in the smouldering remains of the original minster.
0:38:18 > 0:38:24Scott's butcher's is the centre for York hams, Barnsley chops and crop of beef.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27That's a nice name for a rib joint.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Morning. Morning. Morning.
0:38:29 > 0:38:35The current owner, Stephen Bailey, showed me the age-old process.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38These days people buy them for Christmas parties
0:38:38 > 0:38:43and things like that where before it was a method of not refrigeration,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47but preserving them. So they used to come off a very big pig in the farm,
0:38:47 > 0:38:52they used to be cured and then hung up in the kitchen for the rest of the year
0:38:52 > 0:38:55and people taking slices off them as and when they want them.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59Oh, I've got a great image there of hams hanging from hooks in the ceiling.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04Big guys coming in from harvests saying, "I want some ham and I want it now."
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Big knife, slice...
0:39:06 > 0:39:08How would you cook it then?
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Sliced, fried, proper lard
0:39:12 > 0:39:17and nice fried eggs cooked in where the ham's been as well.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I thought York hams were smoked.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24No, there's been a load of theories about 'em being smoked but no, they're not smoked.
0:39:24 > 0:39:31I mean, people used to say they were smoked from the wood from the minster, but no.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34We've still got the minster and it's still got all its wood.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38Well, that only goes to show, you've gotta talk to them as know.
0:39:38 > 0:39:44And them as knew back then would take generous quantities of this product,
0:39:44 > 0:39:50something I could do with right now to keep me healthy, bright eyed and slim on this gastronomic journey.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01Next on the agenda is the famous Pudding Club in the village of Mickleton in Gloucestershire.
0:40:01 > 0:40:08And here, a party of stalwarts are waiting to test seven popular puddings, mostly from supermarkets.
0:40:08 > 0:40:14The first of seven Christmas puddings this evening, a big welcome please for pudding A.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Pudding A is from Aldi.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Pudding A is from Aldi.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26That looks yummy.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28It's got whole nuts in it.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Very agreeable that one. Sorry, I shouldn't be...
0:40:31 > 0:40:33I mean, I don't know but...
0:40:33 > 0:40:36It tastes good but it's crumbly. It's not rich enough.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40Very light. And it's not got enough alcohol in it.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45And a big welcome please for tonight's second pudding, pudding B.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Pudding B is from Tesco.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Pudding B is from Tesco.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Very... It's quite treacly, isn't it?
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Nice and moist but too overpowered by that flavour.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01That's a bit too heavy, I think.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05I'm enjoying it very much. It's the sort of palate that I like.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08It's funny cos the first one I was thinking
0:41:08 > 0:41:10I would want more. I really wanted it.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16This is like Christmas pudding as we all know it, it's really... It's dense and sticky and rich.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19It's good. I'm not, you know, cutting corners.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22A big welcome please for the third pudding this evening, pudding C.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28I think that one's small.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33Pudding C is from Marks & Spencer.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Pudding C is from Marks & Spencer.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Too sweet but better than the one before.
0:41:43 > 0:41:48- Nuts.- I like this one because it's not got so many nuts and it's much more moist.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52That one's got the best flavour so far. More plummy.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53- Yeah, yeah.- More traditional.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59Ready or not, here we are with our fourth pudding this evening, a big welcome please for pudding D.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07Pudding D comes from The Authentic Bread Company.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Pudding D comes from The Authentic Bread Company.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14That looks like it's out of a plastic bowl.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17Oh yes, it does.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19I haven't had a chance to try it yet.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25- There's no wow factor to it. - None at all.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30I think it's a little bit like bread pudding, slightly.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Everybody's saying this is a bit bready.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38But it's got a lot of fruit in it and it's not over-alcoholed, you know.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40So it's quite attractive.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Give a big welcome, please, to your fifth pudding tonight, pudding E.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52Pudding E comes from Waitrose.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Pudding E comes from Waitrose.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05A whole nut, a whole nut. That's very nice actually.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07It tastes like my mum's Christmas pudding.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09So that's a good vote.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11It tastes of alcohol, so I quite like it.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15It looks Christmassy. Some of them haven't looked like Christmas.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20A big welcome please for your sixth Christmas pudding of the evening. A big welcome for Pudding F.
0:43:27 > 0:43:28Pudding F...
0:43:28 > 0:43:31comes from Sainsburys.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35Pudding F comes from Sainsburys.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38- It's quite... - It's a bit stiff, isn't it?
0:43:38 > 0:43:40- You can tell by the... - It's a bit dry.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42Dry.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46It's just not quite as nice as the last one and number A.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50It hasn't got any sort of like, individual sort of like flavour.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Some of the others had some sparky flavours.
0:43:52 > 0:43:59And I'd like a big special welcome, it is the last one, for Pudding G.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Pudding G...
0:44:03 > 0:44:05comes from Somerfield.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09Pudding G comes from Somerfield.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Success, Martin. No doubt about it.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18They've saved the best till last, I think.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Not too sweet.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24It's a film. Kodak made it.
0:44:24 > 0:44:29How many people are gonna vote for Pudding A tonight? One, two...
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Pudding B? Is that your favourite?
0:44:31 > 0:44:33OK, so how is table...
0:44:33 > 0:44:37Pudding C going to do this evening? How does pudding C do? Pudding D?
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Pudding E. How many are going to vote for that?
0:44:42 > 0:44:45What about pudding F? How has that one done tonight?
0:44:45 > 0:44:47And finally,
0:44:47 > 0:44:49what about Pudding G?
0:44:49 > 0:44:51I think this one could be popular.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53Have we got a winner? One...
0:44:53 > 0:44:55Well, let's see if we can make some sense of that.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00In third place tonight,
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Pudding C,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05made by Marks & Spencer.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Second tonight, and I have to say it's a very close second,
0:45:10 > 0:45:16it's only two votes behind the winning pudding, second tonight was Pudding A...
0:45:18 > 0:45:21..which comes from Aldi.
0:45:25 > 0:45:31Remind me, remind me, which was the table where everybody voted for that one?
0:45:31 > 0:45:36Do you remember which one it was? I can't remember who it was.
0:45:37 > 0:45:42Big round of applause for tonight's winning pudding, which is Pudding G.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46And Pudding G comes from Somerfield.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59I'm not doing any more of these taste tests. I quit.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01It's end... It's all over.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12This is Judy Goodman's farm in the heart of Worcestershire.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16She is totally besotted with her birds and believes that the goose
0:46:16 > 0:46:20should be the most important bird at Christmas time.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23A goose, to me, is just something so special.
0:46:23 > 0:46:29Because it's a seasonal bird, geese have never been messed around with, never bred all the year round.
0:46:29 > 0:46:35Christmas, superb, because it's got its winter coat on and a little bit of fat under the skin.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38The turkey always had that image of being dry.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- Yeah.- So a goose isn't dry.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46It's that dark meat. You've got no white meat, you've got crispy skin.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49If you pepper and salt it and a bit of flour to make it crispy.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51And the goose is just...
0:46:51 > 0:46:55It's small, it's compact, it will feed eight people, ten people.
0:46:55 > 0:47:02But it's the passion of walking into your dining room on Christmas Day with something so special as a goose.
0:47:02 > 0:47:07And let's remember that the cottage people always had geese.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09- Who?- The cottage people.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11- Right, sorry. - Anyone who lived in a cottage.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14So the goose, to them, was something very special.
0:47:14 > 0:47:19Guard dog, the feathers, the quills, when there were no pens.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21The goose meant so much to them.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26And then to celebrate with one of their own birds for Christmas was fantastic.
0:47:29 > 0:47:30That looks exquisite!
0:47:30 > 0:47:37Well, this is what I've always wanted to do, Rick, is to cook a goose for someone special, like you.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41- Now, what we're going to do is we're going to turn him over...- Yeah.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43..because the back is not cooked yet.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49- And then we prick that fat gland down there...- Yeah.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51- And down that side there.- Yeah.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55And then you prick it slightly round the parson's nose, there,
0:47:55 > 0:47:59and the thigh, to get the surplus fat off that bird there.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04And then pop that back in the oven for about 20 minutes to half an hour cos it's a small bird.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07And there's the fat there for the roast potatoes.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10So you can use that fat in there, it's not too burnt?
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Oh, goodness, no. What you do is you drain it off...
0:48:13 > 0:48:16- and you can use it for your roast potatoes.- Yeah.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Put it in a jar in the fridge and it'll last a few months.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21You used to rub it on your chest for colds?
0:48:21 > 0:48:25That's right. I get people phone me up who have horses, you know, who've got
0:48:25 > 0:48:30a bit of arthritis in their fetlocks and they rub on the old goose fat and everything.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32It's just amazing stuff.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43'My favourite food writer is The Guardian's Matthew Fort.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46'He thinks the joys of cold goose are infinite.'
0:48:46 > 0:48:49They just look so magnificent, you know.
0:48:49 > 0:48:56The long, streamlined shape and that whole glistening, bronze, that oil of fat on the outside.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59You just wanna eat it. You can feel it doing your heart good.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03- But remember the Gascon paradox, you know the Gascon paradox?- No.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Well, the Gascon paradox.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08The Gascons have the lowest heart disease in Europe.
0:49:08 > 0:49:14And they eat more goose and duck fat and goose and duck flesh than anybody else.
0:49:14 > 0:49:20This is this huge intake of saturated fat and yet they have a very low level of heart disease.
0:49:20 > 0:49:26So I assume, therefore, that duck fat and goose fat and goose flesh are all very, very good for you.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31I think you're right. So, we can eat plenty of roast potatoes cooked in goose fat?
0:49:31 > 0:49:34I think actually you could fry
0:49:34 > 0:49:38an old telephone directory in goose fat and it would just be heaven to eat.
0:49:38 > 0:49:44Matthew's a jolly good cook and he came up with this idea of a salad to complement the goose.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47It's made with a chopped fennel bulb which has got an aniseedy
0:49:47 > 0:49:51flavour and mandarin oranges. Blood oranges would do.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54You just take out the segments.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59He peels and slices them into segments, making sure that only the sweet flesh goes in,
0:49:59 > 0:50:03and then dresses it with plenty of olive oil and flaked sea salt.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07He got the idea when he went round Italy on a Vespa.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11There you are, Rick, a bit of cold, roast goose.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13- And it doesn't get much better than that.- Oh!
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Look at the fat on it.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17Come here, you little bugger.
0:50:17 > 0:50:24For a little piquancy, he adds his own pickled cucumbers from the garden but you can use gherkins.
0:50:24 > 0:50:29And, funnily enough, the texture is like really fine roast beef as well.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33It's got that very sort of closed texture, so it's got a certain density to it.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36- But it has its very own very distinctive flavour...- Yeah.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39..which isn't beef and it certainly isn't turkey.
0:50:39 > 0:50:45And it has real sort of depth and length and goes very well with all these things, you know, which
0:50:45 > 0:50:49are very clean and nice and easy to eat on the day after Christmas.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52You get to Boxing Day, and you're feeling,
0:50:52 > 0:50:56now your liver's pounding as if someone's trampling all over it.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59You realise you should never have had a third helping of pudding.
0:50:59 > 0:51:05But, you know, you eat this and I think it sort of brings peace and tranquillity to the...
0:51:05 > 0:51:12- Absolutely, and you'd wake up in the morning on Boxing Day and think "Yes, cold goose!"- Mmm.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Whereas not, "Oh, turkey", you know.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17Bloody turkey. Not bloody turkey.
0:51:17 > 0:51:22Sorry. Turkey, I think, can be, on its day can be a fine bird.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26- Yeah.- But it is not, in my view, in the same class as a goose.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39At Christmas time, the most popular cheese by far is Stilton.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44And here at Cropwell Bishop in Nottinghamshire, they produce an award winning one.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50No, Chalky, sorry, it's a creamery. We can't have you in there.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55Having just made a series in France, I can tell you that the one British
0:51:55 > 0:52:00cheese the French are willing to say nice things about is Stilton.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02- Is that OK?- Yeah, yeah.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05- You're a dab hand at that, then we'll wash our hands. - OK, fine.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Is that it then?
0:52:09 > 0:52:13- Er, no, after that I think we've gotta use the hand sanitising alcohol.- OK.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16Oh, my gracious, this is thorough.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20Andy's just been saying the hospitals should have been doing this years ago.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24He just said, "If it's good enough for cheese, it's good enough for humans."
0:52:24 > 0:52:26I agree with that. Oh, it's really nice.
0:52:28 > 0:52:34Once the curds are separated from the whey, they're salted and placed in moulds to form a truckle.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38One of the things I really like about doing these food heroes
0:52:38 > 0:52:41programmes is that I'm actually learning all the time.
0:52:41 > 0:52:46And the thing about Stilton is it's not pressed. It's not a pressed cheese like Cheddar where
0:52:46 > 0:52:51you get this really hard cheese, it's just allowed to sort of knit together under its own weight.
0:52:51 > 0:52:56What they're doing is that it's been left to settle at one end and it will have knit together.
0:52:56 > 0:53:01They're just turning it over so it'll then knit together the other end so you get a proper truckle.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06The great thing about it is that there's still plenty of moisture in and it's still fairly
0:53:06 > 0:53:13open in texture which will allow the blue veining to spread through the cheese very efficiently.
0:53:13 > 0:53:19Stilton can only be made in this region and Howard Lucas is very proud of it.
0:53:19 > 0:53:26I've done this all me life, since I was about 17 and I like to see every cheese come out perfect.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28You can only make it in a certain area
0:53:28 > 0:53:31so people from this area are proud that it comes from...
0:53:31 > 0:53:36Stilton is a world cheese really, king of cheeses and it comes from this particular area.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40A traditional cheese, it should be fully blue, marbled effect
0:53:40 > 0:53:42or a spider's web effect right to the outside.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44And now to taste it.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47This is a really young one.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51The veining always starts from the middle and works its way to the end.
0:53:51 > 0:53:52You can taste it at this stage.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Just take a little bit off.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02- It's not fully flavoured, it's still like a curd.- It tastes...- Acid.
0:54:02 > 0:54:03a bit... Yeah, a bit raw.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05A bit raw, yes.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07- It's nice. - That's seven weeks old.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Yeah.
0:54:09 > 0:54:16- So we put that back and then we go right to the top of the range which is an 11-week-old cheese...- Right.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Hopefully you should be able to see the actual different flavour.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28- Thanks. Can I try some?- Yeah.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Just tasting the flavour on that one.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37- It's a much... - Amazing.- ..smoother flavour.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45A few years back, I came to the village of Stilton, to The Bell Inn,
0:54:45 > 0:54:49an old coaching inn on the A1 which made the cheese famous.
0:54:49 > 0:54:55The actual cheeses were made in the village of Wyemandon, further north, by the landlord's sister-in-law.
0:54:55 > 0:55:01The travellers in the stagecoaches couldn't get enough of it and so it became really sought after.
0:55:01 > 0:55:08And as for the taste, one of the first things that gets you is its extreme creaminess and you...
0:55:08 > 0:55:14it's...so you think of rich, green pastures because it's really, really creamy.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17But the blue veining in it gives it a...a tartness.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20It's almost like a lot of food, it's sort of point and counterpoint
0:55:20 > 0:55:23and that's what makes it so satisfying.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25What they eat with it around here is...
0:55:25 > 0:55:33is a sort of sweet plum bread, which again emphasises this point and counterpoint which I love so much.
0:55:33 > 0:55:38The only question that remains is do you pour port into the centre of a stilton?
0:55:38 > 0:55:45Some say that simply ruins two very decent products. I totally agree.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Now this is the famous Stinking Bishop cheese,
0:55:49 > 0:55:55loved by all my chef friends, and it's proudly made by Charles Martell on his tiny farm in Gloucestershire.
0:55:55 > 0:56:01A lot of people I know are put off by the name so where does Stinking Bishop come from?
0:56:01 > 0:56:02It comes from these pears.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06That's a Stinking Bishop. It's young and green but it'll grow bigger.
0:56:06 > 0:56:11Named after Mr Bishop who founded them, probably about four or five generations ago.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15He was an unpopular man, so the present Mr Bishop tells me, and so earned him...
0:56:15 > 0:56:20himself the name Stinking Bishop which got given to the pears.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23And we wash this cheese in perry. Perry is like pear...
0:56:23 > 0:56:26I won't say pear cider because it's much more like champagne.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29It's too good to be grouped with cider.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33We...we wash the rind in that which makes it become sort of smelly,
0:56:33 > 0:56:36brown and smelly, like some French cheeses.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38This...this whey is...is the...
0:56:38 > 0:56:41- Yes.- ..by-product of the Stinking Bishop.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43By-product of the cheese-making.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45They thrive on it then, Charles?
0:56:45 > 0:56:48They'll kill for it. That's why they're so fat.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50They are fat little puddings.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55Pigs in a Gloucestershire orchard drinking the whey, that's so traditional.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57I think whey was invented for pigs.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01I was in Yorkshire the other day, in York, and there was a lot going on
0:57:01 > 0:57:08about Wensleydale cheese because, as you probably know, there's a new Wallace & Gromit film coming out.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11- Oh, yes, yes.- ...and Wallace favours Stinking Bishop.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15We don't know what the storyline is yet but I think there's gonna be a war.
0:57:15 > 0:57:22Yes, I mean, but they're a very different setup to us, they employ 200 people, £10 million turnover.
0:57:22 > 0:57:28Here there's just me and two cheese makers and we're making about a hundred 3lb cheeses a day.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32So everybody says "Oh yeah, cash in", well how, you know? This is my home.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36I don't want to bulldoze this orchard and build a factory. It's my life
0:57:36 > 0:57:42and I love it and I feed the pigs and milk the cows and I don't want to change it.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44Go on, old things.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46Get on.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Go on. Get on.
0:57:51 > 0:57:57I've been very privileged to travel all over this country and it's obvious to me now that it's
0:57:57 > 0:58:01the farms and small producers that make the countryside the way it is.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05So it worries me that we all seem to want ever cheaper food.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09What's the real price of cheap food, I wonder?
0:58:09 > 0:58:13Well, I want a country full of producers like Charles Martell and
0:58:13 > 0:58:17his cows and I know there's loads of people who feel the same way.
0:58:17 > 0:58:24So my Christmas wish would be that everyone tried to buy local food as much as possible.
0:58:50 > 0:58:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd, 2005
0:58:52 > 0:58:55E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk