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The royal family are steeped in tradition,

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and throughout history the royal tables

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have showcased culinary excellence. In celebration of royal food...

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We know it is the Queen's recipe

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because we've got it in her own hand.

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..from the present and the past...

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That is proper regal.

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We recreate old family favourites.

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Now, the Queen Mother had this really wicked trick with these.

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What a mess!

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We sample royal eating alfresco.

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-Oh, wow!

-That is what you want.

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And revisit the most extravagant times.

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Pheasant, stag, turkey, salmon,

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oysters and turbot dressed in a lobster champagne sauce.

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Unbelievable!

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This is Royal Recipes.

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Hello. I'm Michael Buerk - and welcome to Royal Recipes.

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This is Audley End, one of Britain's finest stately homes.

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Built in the style of a royal palace and once owned by a king.

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In the splendour of the gardens,

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halls and kitchen of this grandest of country houses,

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we will be recreating the food served at the highest royal tables.

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And it all starts here with this gem -

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a royal kitchen maid's cookbook.

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The only surviving recipe book of its kind in the Royal Archive.

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This is an exact copy of the original,

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which is kept at Windsor Castle.

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Inside, the recipes of Mildred Nicholls

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who worked at Buckingham Palace in the early 1900s -

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and, for the first time in over 100 years,

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we'll be bringing these recipes back to life.

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This time we cook food served to world leaders

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during royal state visits,

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and learn the art of diplomatic relations.

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The state banquet is an essential part of the sovereign's role.

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Today in the Royal Recipes kitchen,

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chef Paul Ainsworth prepares a dish

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inspired by the dinner the Queen laid on for President Obama...

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That is... It's unbelievable!

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Well, you can see why President Obama

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enjoyed his visit to England.

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A former royal butler introduces historian Matt Green

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to banquet etiquette and protocol...

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Remember, we don't put elbows on the table.

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-No.

-We don't put wrists on the table.

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We don't lie on the table.

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The only time your hands are on the table

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is actually when you're actually using...

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obviously picking up the cutlery and you're eating.

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I can't wait to do it for real.

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In the grandeur of the historic kitchen wing of this stately home,

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we start in 2011, when the Queen welcomed Barack and Michelle Obama.

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Welcome to the marvellous old kitchens,

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and indeed the marvellous young Michelin-starred chef

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Paul Ainsworth.

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It's the big one today. I mean, no pressure.

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-Actually, a lot of pressure.

-There is a lot of pressure.

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It's the royal state banquet.

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-What are you going to do?

-Michael, we're going to do a wonderful dish

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of paupiettes of lemon sole

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with a wonderful watercress mousseline and Nantua sauce.

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Oh, it sounds marvellous - and is actually the dish...

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See? This is the menu card

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for the state visit of President Obama in 2011.

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-Wow.

-First course.

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First course! Right.

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Right, let's get on with what President Obama got.

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-We've got a lot to do. I might need a bit of help from you today.

-OK.

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Right, so the first thing I'm going to make

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is the watercress mousseline,

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-and that's what we're going to stuff the sole with.

-Mm.

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-So here we have our chicken breast, which goes on like so...

-Yeah.

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..and then we're just going to put in a little pinch of salt with it.

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And we're going to blitz that first.

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-OK, like so.

-Yeah.

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Just to break down the protein.

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OK. Next, we're going to add in one egg white.

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OK, and again another blitz.

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So we don't load all the ingredients in there.

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It's stage by stage.

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So when you say paupiette, what does that actually mean?

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-Rolled and stuffed.

-Ah.

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-With this?

-Absolutely.

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-And then we're going to add a splash of cream.

-Yeah.

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-OK. Like so.

-A splash of cream!

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-Just a splash.

-Do you ever do a dish

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-that hasn't got a splash of cream in it?

-Oh, stop it -

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this is royal dishes, they are very fond of their French cooking,

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-which is obviously very heavy with butter and cream.

-Yeah.

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So we've just added in there some watercress.

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So you've got this lovely chicken mousseline.

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The cream lightens it, believe it or not,

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and then we've got this lovely pepperiness happening.

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Right, so what we're going to do

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is we're going to take our lemon sole fillets

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and we're just going to take some of this -

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-and it really is worth doing. It may look fiddly...

-Mm.

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..but just spread them

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right the way down the length of the fillet.

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Actually, taking trouble is the whole thing about state banquets,

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isn't it? You know they start laying the table up

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-five days before the event itself?

-Really?!

-Yeah.

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You know, polishing the porcelain,

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getting the silver out and all that kind of stuff.

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Now, just really simple, it's not too difficult.

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Just take your fillet and just roll it up like so.

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Just like that. And then with a cocktail stick...

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..through the tail end, just watch your fingers,

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and then just go out the other side like that.

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-Like so. Would you like a go, Michael?

-Yep, I'll do that.

-OK.

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-All right.

-This might take some time.

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All right, OK.

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So what I'm moving on next to, Michael, is the sauce -

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and the sauce is beautiful.

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It's a Nantua sauce, which is basically a crayfish sauce.

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-What's going on in there?

-This is our steamer.

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Right, we're just going to gently place those in the steamer.

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-Mm-hm.

-Like so. OK.

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Important, Michael - some seasoning.

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Just some sea salt, just round on our flesh, like so.

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Lid on.

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And because that's so delicate,

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now let's just let the residual heat just steam those gently away.

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-On to our sauce.

-OK.

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So we've just roasted off some crayfish shells.

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-The way you do.

-Yeah. With some carrot, onion, leek, celery,

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a little bit of paprika, a little bit of tomato puree,

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some brandy and then some fish stock.

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Wow! And how long have you done that for?

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And we've just simmered that for a couple of hours,

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just to kind of get a really nice, deep flavour.

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-All the taste out of it.

-Yeah. Absolutely.

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-Now, it's important...

-Actually, you can smell it.

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-It's beautiful, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Push all of that through.

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-OK.

-And now we return that back to the heat.

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-That looks brilliant.

-OK.

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I'm going to get some asparagus on,

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cos we're just going to finish this with some beautiful asparagus.

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Turn up our heat. We want to bring our sauce to the boil.

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Right, the first thing we're going to do

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is we're going to add just a little bit of cognac.

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Now, we don't want to add a lot...

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-Why not?

-..because we're going to reduce it out.

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Because it's so strong,

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-we don't want to kill the flavour of the sauce.

-Mm-hm.

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-Little bit of cream.

-Oh, inevitably.

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Right, I'm going to add, now, some butter.

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And what the butter is going to do

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is it is going to emulsify with the sauce, slightly thicken it

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and give it that wonderful richness.

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OK. If I could get you to just carry on whisking that sauce,

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-just like that for me, please, Michael...

-Yeah, will do.

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..and we're going to start to plate up.

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-Yes.

-We've got some asparagus

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that we've just kind of warmed in some beautiful butter.

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All British ingredients.

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-All British ingredients.

-British asparagus, British lemon sole.

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So, we've just got these lovely wonderful asparagus spears.

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-A beautiful colour, aren't they?

-Stunning.

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I think I've done this rather brilliantly.

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-You see how it has thickened and gone nice and velvety?

-Yeah.

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-It's my touch.

-It's beautiful.

-It's my touch.

-It is your touch.

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-Right, OK, the bit that I'm really dying to show you...

-Mm.

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..is these beautiful paupiettes of lemon sole.

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-They've been off the heat?

-They've been off the heat.

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-OK - and look.

-And they've cooked.

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-I'll bring them over to you.

-Yeah.

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And now just remove our cocktail sticks.

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Look at that.

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-Just look how succulent and juicy they are.

-Yeah.

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Without any heat at all.

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Just the residual heat.

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We're going to finish them with a little bit more sea salt.

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-Yeah.

-OK? Now our sauce.

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-We're going to add in the crayfish tails.

-Yeah.

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Like so. Stir in.

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God, I can't wait to get into this.

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This is something else.

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OK? And now just those crayfish.

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-Oh...

-Over the top like that.

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Some on the side.

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There we have it. That, for me, is proper banquet food.

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-(Come on, come on.)

-You're dying to taste it!

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-I am, actually, yeah.

-Go for it. I'm just as excited as you.

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I'm going to have that one.

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-Mm. That is really good, isn't it?

-That is.

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It's unbelievable!

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Well, you can see why President Obama

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enjoyed his visit to England.

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A light dish that really delivers on flavour.

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Banquets are not just about the food,

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they're about the whole spectacle.

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The royal butlers play a crucial role in creating that.

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Where better to learn about preparing for grand royal banquets

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than at this monumental country house,

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given to a duke by a queen in the 18th century?

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It may not be a royal home, but it's a palace -

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and historian Matt Green is here to learn all about royal etiquette.

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I've come to Blenheim Palace to meet someone called Grant Harrold

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who runs the Royal Butler School

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to get a crash course on how to put on a royal banquet...

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..but, on second thoughts,

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I think I should be entering via the servants' quarters.

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For seven years, Grant Harrold worked as a butler

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to Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall,

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the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

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-Hi, Grant.

-Hello, Matt.

-How do you do?

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-How do you do?

-Good, thanks.

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This way.

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Blenheim Palace was built for the Duke of Marlborough.

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150 years later his descendant, Winston Churchill, was born here.

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Over the generations, there have been many royal guests.

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Wow! This is the entrance hall of Blenheim Palace?

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-Yes.

-It's like something out of a fairy tale.

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State banquets, per se, don't happen here -

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but it's not dissimilar,

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and it gives us a sense of the much grander state banquets.

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And is it true that they are laid out

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with almost a degree of military precision?

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They are. I mean, obviously,

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royal standards are what everyone wants to kind of aspire to

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in these kind of homes,

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and the aristocrats are known for copying

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the way that royals do things.

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Presumably, in order to achieve the meticulousness of this layout,

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to have that effect that's really quite mind-blowing,

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you have to measure everything?

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In Buckingham Palace they have what's...

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They've got, obviously, a measuring stick

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that's actually got the markings on it as to where things should be.

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So, there's a distance, obviously, which they will measure

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-from the edge of the table to the back of the chair.

-OK.

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-They will measure the space settings between each place...

-Yeah.

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..to make sure that it's at the right distance.

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They measure the glass, they measure the cutlery.

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So it's right, that's how precise it has to be.

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As butler at Highgrove, Prince Charles's private residence,

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Grant would oversee this kind of table preparation.

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Before work can start,

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each member of staff must don a pair of white gloves.

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The white gloves, obviously,

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it's so we protect the silver and glassware

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and we don't get any marks,

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because it's already probably been polished and cleaned.

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-Yeah.

-We can always double-check it,

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but normally it is already done by the time it comes to the room

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and then all we're having to do is actually put things down.

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You want to make sure it is symmetrical

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and you're not off to the side or anything.

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If there's any crests or anything,

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always make sure that they are pointing to the top.

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-Pointing north.

-Yes.

-OK.

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Another trick to laying a table is the rule of thumb -

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the gap between crockery and cutlery must be an inch,

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about the length from a thumb knuckle to tip.

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The soup spoon is going to go on the right.

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-On the right.

-And again, with maybe a millimetre or two between.

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And then the pudding cutlery...

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..on top. That's good.

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-OK.

-Maybe just a fraction down.

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Right.

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Then we're going to get the side plate, and the small knife.

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So they are going to go to the left.

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To the left.

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And then the knife is just going to go on the edge.

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Just perched on the edge.

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The blade pointing away.

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OK, so it's looking pretty complete now.

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Then we'll go and get the glassware.

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This is going to be for the red wine,

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and this is going to be for the white.

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So you want to put it just to the right

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-of the blade of the, obviously, of the main course knife.

-Yeah.

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The red wine, just up to the left, like that.

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Maybe push it just a little bit closer,

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just, again, a millimetre, maybe, away.

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Pop the red there.

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So, the champagne goes to the right of the white wine,

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directly opposite the red.

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And then, lastly, you've got the port glass,

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and that just goes directly behind -

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and then you've created the diamond formation.

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We just need a napkin.

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-In the centre.

-In the centre.

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-Like that.

-Beautifully done.

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And there we are, voila.

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It's really pleasing to see it come together like that.

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Protocol and etiquette governs everything at the banquet.

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Remember that we don't put elbows on the table,

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we don't put wrists on the table, we don't lie on the table.

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The only time your hands are on the table is when you're actually using,

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obviously, when you're picking up the cutlery and you are eating.

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I can't wait to do it for real.

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-I know. So all you have to do now is write to the Queen...

-Yeah.

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-..and ask for your invitation.

-I'll get that.

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-Good luck.

-Yeah. Thank you!

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Being a royal butler is not really a job, it's more a vocation.

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More a kind of state of mind.

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Anyway, from grand diplomatic banquets

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to something a great deal simpler.

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-Absolutely.

-Bubbling away.

-Bubbling away.

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-It's my butter making noise.

-It would be.

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Yes, we are going to do the Queen's recipe for drop scones.

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-The Queen's recipe?

-The Queen's recipe for drop scones.

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-Ever had a drop scone?

-I have had drop scone.

-Yeah?

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The important thing about this one is,

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not only is at the Queen's recipe for drop scones,

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but they played their part

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in the special relationship with America, as well.

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They did, they did -

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and we're going to do the original recipe,

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which was caster sugar, with some sieved flour.

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Some bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar.

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What do they do, then?

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-Well, the bicarb, first of all...

-That gives us the lift?

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..gives us the rise. It gives us a lift.

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The cream of tartar lends a nice bit of acidity to the recipe.

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-Bite, yeah.

-A bit of bite. So while we're doing that,

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we're going to add a little bit of butter to the pan here, Michael.

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So, we're going to take two eggs with our milk.

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-I'm seeing the Queen doing this now, you understand?

-Are you?

-Yes.

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Because the great thing about this is we know it is the Queen's recipe,

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because we've got in her own hand.

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-A hand written letter to President Eisenhower...

-Right.

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..who was then president of the United States.

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January the 24th, 1960 -

0:14:280:14:29

and he'd actually visited the Queen at Balmoral

0:14:290:14:32

and she had cooked him these drop scones.

0:14:320:14:34

Or at least we think she cooked them.

0:14:340:14:36

This is the letter in which she sends him the recipe.

0:14:360:14:39

The recipe that you are doing now.

0:14:390:14:40

-What are you doing there?

-So, we're just gently now bringing together

0:14:400:14:45

the eggs and the milk.

0:14:450:14:47

We're going to have basically a pancake batter.

0:14:470:14:50

And once we've whisked it smooth,

0:14:500:14:51

we're going to add a little bit of butter.

0:14:510:14:53

So you see now how the mix is coming together nicely?

0:14:530:14:56

I'm just going to add a couple of spoonfuls of butter.

0:14:560:14:59

There, like that.

0:14:590:15:01

And already that lovely smell of the butter, it is delicious.

0:15:010:15:04

I absolutely love drop scones, or blinis -

0:15:040:15:08

that's what they're like.

0:15:080:15:10

OK, so we've got a nice, lovely smooth...

0:15:100:15:13

And that there, that's the drop.

0:15:130:15:15

As opposed to a kind of like... Do you know what I mean?

0:15:150:15:18

-Yeah.

-Like a scone.

-Yeah.

0:15:180:15:19

-Now we're ready to go...

-It's lovely and gooey, isn't it?

0:15:220:15:24

..into the pan. Yeah. We're going to add a little more butter...

0:15:240:15:28

..into the pan there, and simply, just...

0:15:280:15:30

..just like that.

0:15:310:15:33

We're going to put... I think we'll get four or five in there.

0:15:330:15:36

In her letter to him, she says,

0:15:360:15:39

"I have also tried using golden syrup or treacle

0:15:390:15:43

"instead of only sugar."

0:15:430:15:45

-What do you think?

-I think it could.

0:15:450:15:46

So, we're just going to have a little check underneath.

0:15:460:15:50

Oh, look at these.

0:15:500:15:51

These are special.

0:15:510:15:53

Turn them round - just quickly turn them over, like that.

0:15:530:15:55

Look at that. They look delicious, don't they?

0:15:550:15:58

-They certainly do.

-Just gently over, like that.

0:15:580:16:00

Just nice and steady.

0:16:000:16:02

You come to the last one and you see just on the top, Michael...

0:16:020:16:05

-Yeah.

-..you've got that lovely caramelised butter.

0:16:050:16:07

-Just on the top.

-I wonder what President Eisenhower made of it all.

0:16:070:16:10

He replies and says,

0:16:100:16:12

"What's caster sugar?"

0:16:120:16:15

Now, is that because he wasn't a cook?

0:16:150:16:16

Well, I think in America they call it superfine.

0:16:160:16:20

-Oh, right, right.

-Yeah, it's the same sugar.

0:16:200:16:23

-So, he did reply.

-He did reply.

0:16:230:16:25

He's running America, but he did reply,

0:16:250:16:27

-he wrote a letter about the scones.

-He obviously made them.

0:16:270:16:30

-Or his chef replied.

-Yeah!

0:16:300:16:33

Right, a little tip right here, you just want that...

0:16:330:16:35

-So, when you put your finger in...

-Yeah.

0:16:350:16:37

When you put your finger in there, they just come back up and that's...

0:16:370:16:40

-They are lovely cooked.

-Yeah.

0:16:400:16:41

Now we're just going to bring them out.

0:16:410:16:44

On top of these...

0:16:440:16:45

And they are absolutely fantastic.

0:16:450:16:48

And you know what? Serve these, you could do sweet or savoury.

0:16:480:16:50

If I was doing savoury, a little bit of smoked salmon

0:16:500:16:53

and some creme fraiche. Really extravagant.

0:16:530:16:56

They've risen. Just have a smell of them.

0:16:560:16:58

-Oh, yeah.

-That lovely caramelised butter,

0:16:580:17:00

-that scone smell.

-It really leaps at you, doesn't it?

-Yeah. And then...

0:17:000:17:04

We're just going to add butter, no clotted cream, no jam.

0:17:040:17:07

No, we are keeping it nice and simple.

0:17:070:17:09

I'll have that. To think they played a part...

0:17:090:17:11

I just think - I like the history of it.

0:17:110:17:13

To think they played a part in the special relationship

0:17:130:17:16

-between Britain and United States!

-It's fantastic.

0:17:160:17:19

Scones cement the relationship.

0:17:190:17:21

-They smell delicious.

-Yeah.

-Ready?

0:17:210:17:23

-They are good, aren't they?

-They are.

0:17:240:17:27

-Oh!

-Done a good job there, Paul.

-Thank you.

0:17:270:17:29

A case of drop scone diplomacy.

0:17:310:17:34

Perfect for the more informal occasion.

0:17:340:17:36

Preparing a souffle can be a risky business for a state banquet -

0:17:370:17:42

but one royal chef knows a fail-safe way to create the perfect

0:17:420:17:46

high-rise pudding for a high-end dinner.

0:17:460:17:49

In the 1980s and early 1990s,

0:17:520:17:54

chef Darren McGrady would regularly cook

0:17:540:17:57

on board the Royal Yacht Britannia,

0:17:570:17:59

preparing grand banquets for the Queen and world leaders.

0:17:590:18:02

Demanding conditions called for low-risk puds.

0:18:020:18:06

A lot of the times, the dishes that we would serve

0:18:060:18:08

would be dishes that were served day-to-day

0:18:080:18:11

to the Queen and her family.

0:18:110:18:12

One of the Queen's favourites was the cold lemon souffle.

0:18:120:18:15

Start off with some lemons.

0:18:150:18:17

The zest is going to give it a real zing.

0:18:170:18:19

Just going to give it a nice colour, as well.

0:18:190:18:21

Once I've got my lemon zest, I want some juice in there, too.

0:18:210:18:25

The cold lemon souffle is not really a souffle.

0:18:250:18:29

It doesn't go in the oven.

0:18:290:18:30

It actually goes in the refrigerator.

0:18:300:18:33

Darren's next step is to separate the eggs

0:18:330:18:35

and add the yolks to the lemon juice.

0:18:350:18:38

And then some sugar in there, as well.

0:18:380:18:41

I'm going to put that into boiling water, what we call a bain-marie,

0:18:410:18:45

and whisk all of those ingredients together.

0:18:450:18:48

That's going to sit on there and while my eggs are getting hot,

0:18:480:18:51

I need to whisk the egg whites to make them nice and stiff.

0:18:510:18:54

So once my egg yolks are hot to the touch,

0:18:560:18:59

then I can take them off and put them on the machine...

0:18:590:19:02

..and we whisk it until it goes cold.

0:19:040:19:06

So all we are doing is creating a sabayon,

0:19:060:19:08

and so that gives our volume

0:19:080:19:10

that we then fold some whipped cream and some whipped egg whites into,

0:19:100:19:14

and that gives us our mousse, our souffle, that great bulk.

0:19:140:19:18

Once it's been on the machine, look how it changes in consistency.

0:19:180:19:23

Now we can add our whipped cream...

0:19:230:19:26

..and then lightly whisk that into the egg mixture.

0:19:270:19:33

Then I have my gelatine that has warmed,

0:19:330:19:36

and I am going to fold that into my mix, as well.

0:19:360:19:41

And finally,

0:19:410:19:42

my egg whites.

0:19:420:19:44

So everything in there is now folded in, and it's nice and smooth.

0:19:480:19:53

Darren's wrapped grease-proof paper around a souffle dish,

0:19:560:20:00

stapling it top and bottom.

0:20:000:20:02

It will allow the mousse to set above the top of the dish

0:20:020:20:05

like a risen souffle.

0:20:050:20:07

So, now I'm pouring the souffle mix into the mould.

0:20:070:20:10

What you really need to see is just a little bit over the mould, there,

0:20:100:20:14

so it looks like that souffle is climbing out of the dish.

0:20:140:20:17

So this goes into the refrigerator now, overnight, to set.

0:20:170:20:20

It has set nicely.

0:20:340:20:36

All we have to do now is take off the paper from around the edge.

0:20:360:20:41

There we go, lovely!

0:20:410:20:42

Now we can just put some cream on the top, just to finish it off.

0:20:420:20:45

Preparing this for President Reagan and trying to make sure

0:20:450:20:48

every piece was exact.

0:20:480:20:49

All it needs is some chocolate on the top,

0:20:530:20:55

so I'm going to use a really fine grater to grate some chocolate

0:20:550:20:58

to go around the top.

0:20:580:21:00

And that just looks fantastic.

0:21:050:21:06

A simple cold lemon souffle in a souffle case.

0:21:060:21:10

You're going to have all of your friends asking,

0:21:100:21:12

"How did you manage to get that to rise

0:21:120:21:14

"if you didn't even put it in the oven?!£

0:21:140:21:16

For our final recipe we're going to go back in time to the late 19th,

0:21:200:21:24

early 20th century, and that Prince of Gourmands, King Edward VII.

0:21:240:21:29

One of his favourite, all-time favourite puddings, desserts,

0:21:290:21:33

-Chartreuse a la Royale has a ring to it, doesn't it?

-It really does.

0:21:330:21:39

So I'm going to start off by taking a mango.

0:21:390:21:42

We've got mangoes and melons.

0:21:420:21:43

I'm just going to show you the slicing of a mango.

0:21:430:21:45

So we're just going to top and tail it.

0:21:460:21:48

And then basically, Michael, just very thinly all the way around.

0:21:500:21:54

Like so.

0:21:540:21:55

And the idea is to get as much of that beautiful fleshy fragrant fruit

0:21:550:22:00

off the stone. And that is it.

0:22:000:22:02

And now you've just got that lovely fragrant fleshy mango.

0:22:020:22:07

-Gosh, you can smell it.

-You can, can't you?

0:22:070:22:09

And it's absolutely delicious.

0:22:090:22:11

So the next bit is just now turn them out like that

0:22:110:22:14

and getting as many as you can

0:22:140:22:17

and don't waste that. Turn it into a puree, fruit salad, anything.

0:22:170:22:22

-Or even eat it.

-Or even eat it.

0:22:220:22:24

So now they go into our lime jelly.

0:22:240:22:25

And what we're going to do now is painstakingly go all the way around.

0:22:260:22:31

-It's very labour-intensive, this one.

-It is very labour-intensive.

0:22:330:22:36

You can see I'm going right round like that.

0:22:360:22:38

-And they stick OK?

-They stick because the jelly,

0:22:380:22:40

it's important that the jelly is just starting to cool down.

0:22:400:22:44

And as the jelly starts to cool down it's getting nice and thick.

0:22:440:22:47

I'm just going to give it a last disc of mango on there

0:22:470:22:49

-like so, Michael.

-It looks terrific.

0:22:490:22:51

-It does, doesn't it?

-It does.

0:22:510:22:54

Now, we're going to spoon in the remaining jelly.

0:22:540:22:58

Like so.

0:23:000:23:02

And then the idea is, you can see now it's just starting to set.

0:23:020:23:06

Just spin round.

0:23:060:23:08

Do you see how as you spin round,

0:23:080:23:11

it's just basically kind of sticking to all of the fruit

0:23:110:23:13

and going all the way around the mould?

0:23:130:23:16

Now just transfer that to the fridge, please.

0:23:160:23:18

We're just going to let that set.

0:23:180:23:20

Ideally for about two or three hours.

0:23:200:23:22

-OK.

-OK?

0:23:220:23:23

OK, that's done. What's next?

0:23:270:23:29

Fantastic.

0:23:290:23:31

Next, the filling. Very rich, very royal.

0:23:310:23:34

So here we've got some milk on the stove,

0:23:340:23:37

that we're bringing to a simmer.

0:23:370:23:38

We've got some lovely rich egg yolks and sugar

0:23:380:23:41

that we're just going to mix together.

0:23:410:23:43

And we mix them so they're nice and pale.

0:23:430:23:45

Just in there like so.

0:23:460:23:48

-Six eggs?

-Six egg yolks. Sugar in.

0:23:480:23:51

And the reason we mix it now together like this

0:23:510:23:53

to make it nice is to make the custard lovely and rich.

0:23:530:23:57

Because what you're doing, you're basically dissolving the sugar

0:23:590:24:02

into the egg yolks. Can you see it changing colour?

0:24:020:24:05

-From what it was?

-Yeah.

0:24:050:24:07

OK. Now we're just going to take our hot milk

0:24:070:24:10

-and just pour that onto this egg yolk.

-And just to be clear,

0:24:100:24:14

this is the kind of custard that goes into the mould

0:24:140:24:16

-that you've already made?

-Absolutely, yeah.

0:24:160:24:20

Now we go back into the pan.

0:24:200:24:21

Like so. OK.

0:24:240:24:26

And we basically just

0:24:260:24:29

stir that over the heat.

0:24:290:24:30

Now that's going to get thick and nice and rich,

0:24:320:24:34

but we need to set it so it holds in the middle of our chartreuse.

0:24:340:24:37

So what we've got here, Michael, is gelatine.

0:24:370:24:39

OK? We just get rid of the water.

0:24:390:24:42

And straight into our custard mix.

0:24:420:24:44

-And that just melts.

-And that just melts in,

0:24:440:24:47

and will basically give you like a nice setting property

0:24:470:24:50

in the custard. And once that cools down,

0:24:500:24:53

it will thicken and be beautiful and rich and smooth, just like that.

0:24:530:24:57

Oh, lovely.

0:24:570:24:59

Now we've got some lovely whipped cream here

0:24:590:25:01

and we're just going to, what we call folding.

0:25:010:25:03

As if it wasn't rich enough.

0:25:030:25:05

As if it wasn't rich enough! So we'll put about half of that in

0:25:050:25:09

and gently fold it. We don't want to just beat it in there

0:25:090:25:13

because we do want it to be nice

0:25:130:25:15

and light and airy. OK.

0:25:150:25:16

Just nice and gently.

0:25:160:25:18

This is a kind of dish for a really sumptuous banquet, isn't it?

0:25:180:25:22

So, just keep mixing until it's completely folded in like so.

0:25:220:25:27

And you'll go to this kind of very light kind of creamy mixture.

0:25:270:25:34

Now, Mike, if I could ask you to go back and get me

0:25:340:25:37

the one that we set earlier,

0:25:370:25:39

we are going to put this wonderful filling in the middle.

0:25:390:25:41

-OK.

-Thank you.

0:25:410:25:43

Back in a minute, chef.

0:25:430:25:45

Here we go, Paul. Nice and cold.

0:25:500:25:52

-Yes, lovely.

-And pretty set, I'd say.

0:25:520:25:54

You see, it's got that lovely film going around the edge.

0:25:540:25:56

Now, look, that's our custard and cream mixture.

0:25:560:25:59

Can you see what I mean by the folding technique,

0:25:590:26:01

how lovely and light it is.

0:26:010:26:03

So we're just going to pour that in like so.

0:26:030:26:07

Oh, a waterfall of sin.

0:26:070:26:08

Yeah! I like that, a waterfall of sin.

0:26:100:26:13

-Brilliant!

-There we go.

0:26:130:26:15

Oh, yes, don't leave on any on the side of the bowl.

0:26:150:26:18

Like so.

0:26:190:26:21

-Perfect, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

0:26:210:26:22

OK. Now, again, just right to the edges.

0:26:220:26:26

-Yeah.

-We don't want to see any of that fruit.

0:26:260:26:29

OK.

0:26:300:26:31

-Another little important...

-Just with your thumb,

0:26:310:26:34

just right the way around any of that mix,

0:26:340:26:38

because when we turn it out,

0:26:380:26:39

it's all those little things that can catch when you're trying

0:26:390:26:42

to turn it out. And, again, just a little tap so there's no air.

0:26:420:26:44

-Settle it down.

-Just settle it down. There's no air bubbles in there.

0:26:440:26:48

If I could ask you to pop that in the fridge for two to three hours,

0:26:480:26:51

setting time, and out there should be the finished one.

0:26:510:26:55

-Should be.

-Right, chef.

0:26:550:26:57

Thank you.

0:26:570:26:58

There should be trumpets.

0:27:000:27:02

There should be a fanfare.

0:27:020:27:05

-I'll put it there.

-I am so excited.

0:27:050:27:07

This...

0:27:070:27:09

You don't see stuff like this any more and it's a shame

0:27:090:27:12

because it's absolutely gorgeous. Ready?

0:27:120:27:14

Yeah.

0:27:140:27:15

Oh, look at that!

0:27:170:27:19

-It looks too perfect to cut.

-It does.

0:27:190:27:21

Oh, no, it doesn't! Come on.

0:27:210:27:22

Don't make too much of a meal of it.

0:27:220:27:25

So we just want to cut through that fruit as well.

0:27:270:27:30

Here we go. Look at this, ready?

0:27:300:27:32

Yeah.

0:27:320:27:34

Straight out like that. Oh, yes!

0:27:340:27:37

Look at that!

0:27:370:27:39

Go for it, let's try it.

0:27:450:27:48

This lovely cream mixture with some of that fruit.

0:27:480:27:51

Yeah.

0:27:510:27:52

It's surprising. It is very light, isn't it?

0:27:560:27:59

It's incredibly exotic, isn't it?

0:27:590:28:00

Yeah, absolutely delicious.

0:28:000:28:02

We're going to have to wrap it up. That's all from Royal Banquets.

0:28:050:28:09

See you next time.

0:28:090:28:10

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