Royal Consorts

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0:00:02 > 0:00:03'The Royal Family are steeped in tradition,

0:00:03 > 0:00:05'and throughout history, the royal tables

0:00:05 > 0:00:07'have showcased culinary excellence.

0:00:07 > 0:00:09'In celebration of royal food...'

0:00:09 > 0:00:11We know it's the Queen's recipe,

0:00:11 > 0:00:13because we've got it in her own hand.

0:00:13 > 0:00:15'..from the present and the past...'

0:00:15 > 0:00:17That is proper regal.

0:00:17 > 0:00:20'..we recreate old family favourites...'

0:00:20 > 0:00:25Now, the Queen mother had this really wicked trick with these.

0:00:25 > 0:00:26What a mess!

0:00:26 > 0:00:28'..we sample royal eating alfresco...'

0:00:28 > 0:00:31- Oh, wow.- That is what you want.

0:00:31 > 0:00:34'..and revisit the most extravagant times.'

0:00:34 > 0:00:38Pheasants, stag, turkey, salmon, oysters and turbot

0:00:38 > 0:00:40dressed in a lobster champagne sauce.

0:00:40 > 0:00:41Unbelievable.

0:00:41 > 0:00:43This is Royal Recipes.

0:00:47 > 0:00:51Hello. I'm Michael Burke, and welcome to Royal Recipes.

0:00:51 > 0:00:55This is Audley End, one of Britain's finest stately homes,

0:00:55 > 0:00:59built in the style of a royal palace and once owned by a king.

0:00:59 > 0:01:03In the splendour of the gardens, halls and kitchen

0:01:03 > 0:01:05of this grandest of country houses,

0:01:05 > 0:01:10we'll be recreating the food served at the highest royal tables.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13And it all starts here with this gem -

0:01:13 > 0:01:16a royal kitchen maid's cookbook.

0:01:16 > 0:01:20The only surviving recipe book of its kind in the royal archive.

0:01:20 > 0:01:23This is an exact copy of the original,

0:01:23 > 0:01:25which is kept at Windsor Castle.

0:01:25 > 0:01:28Inside, the recipes of Mildred Nicholls

0:01:28 > 0:01:32who worked at Buckingham Palace in the early 1900s.

0:01:32 > 0:01:35And for the first time in over a hundred years,

0:01:35 > 0:01:37we'll be bringing these recipes back to life.

0:01:43 > 0:01:45This time, we are cooking food

0:01:45 > 0:01:47inspired by royal consorts past and present.

0:01:47 > 0:01:51The husbands and wives who supported the crown and its heirs.

0:01:54 > 0:01:56Today in the Royal Recipes kitchen,

0:01:56 > 0:01:59top chef Anna Haugh tests her skills

0:01:59 > 0:02:01on Prince Philip's favourite dessert,

0:02:01 > 0:02:02a tricky souffle.

0:02:03 > 0:02:04Oh!

0:02:04 > 0:02:06Ooh-hoo-hoo!

0:02:06 > 0:02:07I nearly dropped it.

0:02:08 > 0:02:10Look at that.

0:02:10 > 0:02:14Diana's former chef reveals the Princess's favourite home cooking.

0:02:14 > 0:02:18People always assume that the royal family lived on caviar and lobster,

0:02:18 > 0:02:20but it wasn't like that at all.

0:02:20 > 0:02:23And how one king satisfied generations

0:02:23 > 0:02:25of the chocolate-loving wives of Windsor.

0:02:25 > 0:02:28This box holds three kilos of chocolates

0:02:28 > 0:02:30and it will set you back £1,700.

0:02:36 > 0:02:39In the kitchen wing of this elegant stately home,

0:02:39 > 0:02:42we start our tribute to the royal consorts

0:02:42 > 0:02:46with a dish named after perhaps the most famous consort of them all,

0:02:46 > 0:02:49Victoria's Prince Albert.

0:02:49 > 0:02:53Hello, and here we are in the kitchen wing of this historic house,

0:02:53 > 0:02:56still very much as it was in Victorian times,

0:02:56 > 0:02:59with Anna Haugh who is a top London chef.

0:02:59 > 0:03:01This programme, Anna, is all about food

0:03:01 > 0:03:05that's inspired by or named after royal other halves.

0:03:05 > 0:03:08That's right, and today, I'm going to do

0:03:08 > 0:03:10fillet of beef, Prince Albert.

0:03:10 > 0:03:13Prince Albert, the original royal consort,

0:03:13 > 0:03:16Victoria's husband, of course, who died at the early age of 42.

0:03:16 > 0:03:17But this is named after him?

0:03:17 > 0:03:18That's right.

0:03:18 > 0:03:21And although this looks like a very special,

0:03:21 > 0:03:25kind of, complicated dish to prepare, it's really quite simple.

0:03:25 > 0:03:29- Mm-hm.- So, the first thing you need to do is lay out your streaky bacon

0:03:29 > 0:03:31all kind of layered on top of each other

0:03:31 > 0:03:34and then get a fillet of beef, roughly about...

0:03:34 > 0:03:36I'd say this is 500-600g, depends.

0:03:36 > 0:03:38This should get you about maybe four portions.

0:03:38 > 0:03:40- A lovely chunk of meat. - A lovely chunk of meat.

0:03:40 > 0:03:45And then you want to cut it straight down the centre, almost halfway.

0:03:45 > 0:03:49And then I'm going to place the duck liver pate in the centre.

0:03:49 > 0:03:52Would the original dish have had duck liver pate?

0:03:52 > 0:03:54I think it probably would have been foie gras.

0:03:54 > 0:03:56- Foie gras?- Foie gras.

0:03:56 > 0:03:59- Yeah.- But I think nowadays, people would rather not use foie gras.

0:03:59 > 0:04:02Because the geese are force-fed, aren't they,

0:04:02 > 0:04:05- to make their livers swell? - Yeah.- OK.

0:04:05 > 0:04:07OK, so you want to just fold your beef over

0:04:07 > 0:04:10and then just give it a nice, tight squeeze.

0:04:10 > 0:04:11You take the grease paper with you?

0:04:11 > 0:04:16Yes. Give it a good squeeze. It's a slow motion. No hurry.

0:04:16 > 0:04:19And then just as you're about to get around to the other side,

0:04:19 > 0:04:21you want to just lift up your grease-proof

0:04:21 > 0:04:24so that the bacon meets each other, give it a bit of a squish down.

0:04:24 > 0:04:26I think there's something very romantic and quite special

0:04:26 > 0:04:28that it's called after Prince Albert.

0:04:28 > 0:04:30I think it's lovely that it's got a special name.

0:04:30 > 0:04:32There's a lot of dishes named after him, you know.

0:04:32 > 0:04:34There's a sprout and bacon soup.

0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Ooft.- Yeah. I'm not sure I'd like to go down in history...

0:04:37 > 0:04:38That's not very glamorous.

0:04:38 > 0:04:40..being remembered for sprout and bacon soup.

0:04:40 > 0:04:44I'd rather have a real, regal meaty dish, like this, named after me.

0:04:44 > 0:04:47So, you can see I've got a lovely smoking hot pan.

0:04:47 > 0:04:51You want to put the side down that is where the bacon meets first.

0:04:51 > 0:04:54- So that seals it? - You want to seal that closed. Yeah.

0:04:54 > 0:04:57Who doesn't love the smell of fried bacon?

0:04:57 > 0:04:58Like, who doesn't love that?

0:04:58 > 0:05:00The fire brigade, I imagine.

0:05:00 > 0:05:03Or vegetarians.

0:05:03 > 0:05:05Yeah, so, I'm just trying to get a gorgeous colour all around this.

0:05:05 > 0:05:08I suppose this is a kind of dish for royals, isn't it?

0:05:08 > 0:05:10I mean, it's expensive.

0:05:10 > 0:05:12The fillet like that, the duck liver pate...

0:05:12 > 0:05:15- Yeah.- Pretty expensive ingredients.

0:05:15 > 0:05:20OK, so, I'm going to lift this over now for our mirepoix.

0:05:20 > 0:05:21Oh, wow.

0:05:21 > 0:05:23Place it on top of mirepoix.

0:05:23 > 0:05:26It's a selection of household vegetables,

0:05:26 > 0:05:30carrots, garlic, onions and celery.

0:05:30 > 0:05:35So, we're going to pop this into the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

0:05:35 > 0:05:37And when we're cooking it, the mirepoix,

0:05:37 > 0:05:39or the vegetables at the bottom,

0:05:39 > 0:05:42the aroma from them as they cook will be soaked into the meat.

0:05:42 > 0:05:44Mmm!

0:05:44 > 0:05:45- Is this my role? - Yes, please.

0:05:45 > 0:05:49And you should find a little beautiful pre-cooked one

0:05:49 > 0:05:51- ready to go. - Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

0:05:51 > 0:05:52Right, Chef.

0:05:56 > 0:05:59- Look at that.- Look at that. It's wonderful, isn't it?

0:05:59 > 0:06:01- Perfectly roasted. - And it's heavy, too.

0:06:01 > 0:06:05Right, so, the next thing we need to do is remove the meat,

0:06:05 > 0:06:08because we're going to make the gravy with the sauce that's in here.

0:06:08 > 0:06:13So if I just lift up the tray onto the stove,

0:06:13 > 0:06:14start a fire underneath...

0:06:14 > 0:06:16You're going to do both burners?

0:06:16 > 0:06:19Yes. And all I'm going to do is add a little bit of flour.

0:06:19 > 0:06:21OK, so just give that a quick whisk in.

0:06:22 > 0:06:24So in goes Madeira.

0:06:24 > 0:06:25Oh, that's looking very good.

0:06:25 > 0:06:28- Yeah.- And smelling... Come this way.

0:06:28 > 0:06:29SHE CHUCKLES

0:06:29 > 0:06:33Add a little beef stock to this now as well.

0:06:33 > 0:06:35Yes, Albert had loads of things named after him.

0:06:35 > 0:06:37There's an apple named after him.

0:06:37 > 0:06:40- Oh, really?- There's a kind of pea that is named after him.

0:06:40 > 0:06:41And some white pudding as well.

0:06:41 > 0:06:43Have you heard of Sauce Albert?

0:06:43 > 0:06:45No, I haven't heard of Sauce Albert.

0:06:45 > 0:06:46Well, apparently, there is one.

0:06:46 > 0:06:49OK, so we're just going to whisk in a little bit of butter,

0:06:49 > 0:06:52because I can't help myself, just for a little bit of richness.

0:06:52 > 0:06:53- You chefs!- I know, I know.

0:06:53 > 0:06:56And all this does is just give it a little bit more body.

0:06:56 > 0:07:00Right, so what goes really well with this is a creamy dauphinoise

0:07:00 > 0:07:03and some freshly steamed bobby beans.

0:07:03 > 0:07:05- Bobby beans?- Bobby beans, yes.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08- What are they then? - England's answer to French beans.

0:07:08 > 0:07:10Oh, I'd have called that a French bean. But they're a bit...fatter?

0:07:10 > 0:07:16OK, so, put a few of them on the base of the plate.

0:07:16 > 0:07:19And the dauphinoise, which I'm sure you wouldn't like at all.

0:07:19 > 0:07:22Oh, I can't stand dauphinoise potatoes.

0:07:22 > 0:07:24- They look good.- They do look good!

0:07:26 > 0:07:27So rich!

0:07:29 > 0:07:31I love the way you compose these things.

0:07:31 > 0:07:33- Well, you know... - It's artistry, isn't it?

0:07:33 > 0:07:35A decade and a half of training.

0:07:35 > 0:07:38Oh, look at the way the knife goes through that.

0:07:40 > 0:07:43Look at that. Oh, I could do that a bit of damage.

0:07:43 > 0:07:45And let's not forget the sauce.

0:07:45 > 0:07:46Now, I'd go all over it,

0:07:46 > 0:07:50but you do a delicate bit on the side, don't you?

0:07:50 > 0:07:52But it's a jus, is it?

0:07:52 > 0:07:53- It's a jus, yes.- It's a jus.

0:07:53 > 0:07:57A Madeira jus to go with a fillet of beef Prince Albert

0:07:57 > 0:07:59with bobby beans and dauphinoise potatoes.

0:07:59 > 0:08:01Looks too good to eat.

0:08:01 > 0:08:03No, it doesn't. There you go.

0:08:07 > 0:08:09- Can I have a go? - Yes.

0:08:09 > 0:08:11Mm!

0:08:11 > 0:08:12Mmm!

0:08:14 > 0:08:15Oh, that's good.

0:08:15 > 0:08:18The bacon on the outside is just so delicious.

0:08:18 > 0:08:19Fit for a king.

0:08:19 > 0:08:22Well, definitely fit for a prince consort.

0:08:22 > 0:08:23SHE LAUGHS

0:08:23 > 0:08:28Prince Albert remembered in a symphony of a dish.

0:08:29 > 0:08:32Another royal consort with many dishes to her name

0:08:32 > 0:08:34is Queen Alexandra.

0:08:34 > 0:08:37Historian Dr Polly Russell explores the tastes

0:08:37 > 0:08:39of this popular Danish princess.

0:08:44 > 0:08:47Charming and beautiful,

0:08:47 > 0:08:50Princess Alexandra was brought to Britain in 1863

0:08:50 > 0:08:53to marry Queen Victoria's eldest son,

0:08:53 > 0:08:57the Prince of Wales, otherwise known as Bertie.

0:08:57 > 0:08:59And from the moment she stepped on these shores,

0:08:59 > 0:09:01she was loved by the British people.

0:09:03 > 0:09:06Polly Russell has come to London's Alexandra House,

0:09:06 > 0:09:11the home for music students, opened by Alexandra herself in 1884,

0:09:11 > 0:09:13to meet food writer Fiona Ross.

0:09:13 > 0:09:16Alexandra, as Princess and a Queen, incredibly popular,

0:09:16 > 0:09:18really loved in her time.

0:09:18 > 0:09:21Do we know what influence Alexandra had

0:09:21 > 0:09:24on how the Royal Family ate at the time?

0:09:24 > 0:09:26She had much more modest appetites than Bertie.

0:09:26 > 0:09:28He just inhaled banquets.

0:09:28 > 0:09:30But she couldn't really do very much about it,

0:09:30 > 0:09:33because state banquets and state dinners

0:09:33 > 0:09:35were prescribed, weren't they?

0:09:35 > 0:09:38In a sense she did influence the couple's dietary habits,

0:09:38 > 0:09:41by suggesting that they have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

0:09:41 > 0:09:46on a Sunday. This was seen as a light...

0:09:46 > 0:09:49..a light and healthy relief from the diet during the week.

0:09:49 > 0:09:52- And I think... - Comparatively, I suppose, it was?

0:09:52 > 0:09:53Comparatively, yes!

0:09:53 > 0:09:57Alexandra was an experienced cook herself.

0:09:57 > 0:10:00It was something she and her sister learned in Denmark.

0:10:00 > 0:10:04Alexandra and Dagmar performed a range of servants' duties

0:10:04 > 0:10:07on the days when the servants were off.

0:10:07 > 0:10:10If it was the summer they would make rodgrod,

0:10:10 > 0:10:14which is a concoction of red berries thickened with potato starch

0:10:14 > 0:10:17and served perhaps with raspberry jelly and cream.

0:10:17 > 0:10:21And the recipe for rodgrod is to be found in the cookbook

0:10:21 > 0:10:24of our palace kitchen maid, Mildred Nicholls.

0:10:25 > 0:10:28Polly is going to try her hand at making rodgrod.

0:10:28 > 0:10:31The blackcurrants in the original recipe are out of season,

0:10:31 > 0:10:34so we are using blueberries with the raspberries.

0:10:34 > 0:10:37First stage is to boil the berries.

0:10:37 > 0:10:39Just need to add some water.

0:10:41 > 0:10:44It's nice to think of this dish which Alexandra so loved

0:10:44 > 0:10:48and served up to guests at post-theatre suppers,

0:10:48 > 0:10:50but it was also something that she ate

0:10:50 > 0:10:53in her family home back in Denmark for breakfast.

0:10:53 > 0:10:55This has come to the boil.

0:10:55 > 0:10:58I'm going to strain it through a fruit muslin.

0:11:00 > 0:11:03Next, she adds arrowroot as a thickener.

0:11:03 > 0:11:06Last thing is to add in some vanilla and the claret,

0:11:06 > 0:11:09which, I think, will transform this from being

0:11:09 > 0:11:14like a child's pudding to an adult dessert.

0:11:14 > 0:11:18Once boiled for ten minutes, it's ready to serve.

0:11:18 > 0:11:21I'm going to add a little bit of cream

0:11:21 > 0:11:24and then I'm going to taste it and see what it's like.

0:11:27 > 0:11:29I think the texture's wrong, but the flavour's delicious.

0:11:29 > 0:11:31I can see why Alexandra loved it.

0:11:39 > 0:11:42Queen Alexandra wasn't the only royal other half

0:11:42 > 0:11:45to bring food from her native land to this country.

0:11:45 > 0:11:49Wallis Simpson, the American whose affair with Edward VIII

0:11:49 > 0:11:51led to the abdication,

0:11:51 > 0:11:55she is said to have wooed him with American dishes like this -

0:11:55 > 0:11:56Maryland fried chicken.

0:11:56 > 0:11:59And you're going to do one of her other dishes, aren't you?

0:11:59 > 0:12:01Yes, I am. I'm going to make Montego Bay ice

0:12:01 > 0:12:03with a buttery rum sauce to go on top.

0:12:03 > 0:12:05First of all, I'm going to make the ice.

0:12:05 > 0:12:09It's similar to a sorbet, it's a very light, refreshing dessert.

0:12:09 > 0:12:12So, you need the zest of two limes

0:12:12 > 0:12:14and juice of four of them.

0:12:14 > 0:12:16And it's a very easy recipe -

0:12:16 > 0:12:19you just whisk all the other ingredients in together,

0:12:19 > 0:12:21the sugar, the milk, a little bit of water.

0:12:21 > 0:12:23OK, so, just add the other ingredients in.

0:12:23 > 0:12:25Pretty easy, it's just water.

0:12:25 > 0:12:28- So the milk.- Mm-hmm.

0:12:29 > 0:12:32- Yep. And sugar?- Sugar.

0:12:32 > 0:12:34Just give it a really good whisk.

0:12:34 > 0:12:37- So you're going to take this to the ice cream maker.- OK, Chef.

0:12:37 > 0:12:40You're going to pour that in and churn it,

0:12:40 > 0:12:42and bring me back the other one from earlier.

0:12:42 > 0:12:44- Are you sure it's ready? - Yeah...- It looks very thin.

0:12:44 > 0:12:46Well, yeah, it's like a kind of sorbet.

0:12:46 > 0:12:48It's less kind of thick than what you would associate

0:12:48 > 0:12:51- with an ice cream. - OK, I'll be back in two shakes.

0:12:55 > 0:12:57Well, it's certainly churned.

0:12:57 > 0:12:59- Yeah, that's great. - Where do you want it?

0:12:59 > 0:13:01- On your board will be fine.- OK.

0:13:01 > 0:13:03OK, so, next, I'm going to make the buttered rum sauce,

0:13:03 > 0:13:04which is delicious.

0:13:04 > 0:13:07In here, I've got double cream and some vanilla,

0:13:07 > 0:13:10and I'm going to add in the brown sugar.

0:13:10 > 0:13:13So, once your sugar's dissolved,

0:13:13 > 0:13:16I'm going to add the rum and we are going to bring it up to the boil.

0:13:16 > 0:13:19Wallis Simpson had quite a reputation as a cook,

0:13:19 > 0:13:21or at least as a giver of dinner parties.

0:13:21 > 0:13:23- Is that rum? - This is the rum, ready to go in.

0:13:23 > 0:13:25This is my kind of pudding.

0:13:25 > 0:13:28She apparently was credited with bringing in

0:13:28 > 0:13:29hot hors d'oeuvres,

0:13:29 > 0:13:32which were quite a novelty in London when she arrived.

0:13:32 > 0:13:35She picked up the way of miniaturising hot dishes

0:13:35 > 0:13:37in China, apparently. She'd lived in China

0:13:37 > 0:13:38before she met the Duke.

0:13:38 > 0:13:41So the last ingredient is our butter,

0:13:41 > 0:13:43our cubed butter that we're going to whisk in.

0:13:43 > 0:13:45- Oh, it's looking lovely, isn't it? - Yeah.

0:13:45 > 0:13:47I'm going to take it off the heat now.

0:13:47 > 0:13:50- You can smell it.- You can, you can.

0:13:50 > 0:13:53And you want to pour this on the ice cream when it's...

0:13:53 > 0:13:56It's kind of, like... It's not hot, but it's not cold,

0:13:56 > 0:13:58so we've just got a little bit of a temperature in it.

0:14:00 > 0:14:02Oh, that's rather crafty. You're putting it in a jug first.

0:14:02 > 0:14:04Because I'm a bit fancy.

0:14:04 > 0:14:06- Oh, you are.- OK. So, now,

0:14:06 > 0:14:09I'm going to ball our ice actually.

0:14:09 > 0:14:10- So let me see.- Yeah.

0:14:12 > 0:14:14Oh, that's nice.

0:14:14 > 0:14:16Do you like this idea? I mean, you're a professional cook,

0:14:16 > 0:14:18so you're professionally cooking it,

0:14:18 > 0:14:20but is it the sort of thing that you would have yourself?

0:14:20 > 0:14:22I would absolutely order this in a heartbeat.

0:14:22 > 0:14:23Would you not?

0:14:23 > 0:14:25- I'm not sure, really. - You don't like it?

0:14:25 > 0:14:27I'm not really a pudding person.

0:14:27 > 0:14:29But, you know, I'm converting.

0:14:29 > 0:14:32And then we finish it with the hot sauce on top.

0:14:34 > 0:14:35Oh, now, that's looks good.

0:14:35 > 0:14:37- Yeah.- Yeah.

0:14:37 > 0:14:40- Do you want to do the honours? - I will. Put it down there.

0:14:40 > 0:14:42A rather big spoon, but it'll do.

0:14:42 > 0:14:43Big spoons are me.

0:14:43 > 0:14:46- Two spoons. - No, come on, you can help.

0:14:46 > 0:14:48Go on, you made it. You're first dabs.

0:14:48 > 0:14:51You're very good.

0:14:51 > 0:14:53- I see you've got...- I'm more interested in the sauce!

0:14:53 > 0:14:56Quite a lot of the rum, as far as I can see!

0:14:56 > 0:14:58Ooh! That packs a punch.

0:14:59 > 0:15:01Mmm.

0:15:01 > 0:15:02Mm.

0:15:02 > 0:15:03It does, doesn't it?

0:15:03 > 0:15:06I could watch you eat all day.

0:15:06 > 0:15:07But you can imagine, can't you?

0:15:07 > 0:15:11Duke and Duchess of Windsor, their celebrity friends,

0:15:11 > 0:15:15somewhere in the Bahamas, and at the end of the evening...

0:15:15 > 0:15:17..it would almost make up for not being king, I suppose.

0:15:17 > 0:15:18But there you go.

0:15:23 > 0:15:25Diana Princess of Wales has to be

0:15:25 > 0:15:28one of the most celebrated royal consorts.

0:15:28 > 0:15:31She had her own distinctive style,

0:15:31 > 0:15:33and that extended to the kitchen

0:15:33 > 0:15:36and the sort of food she liked to be served,

0:15:36 > 0:15:39as her former cook Carolyn Robb remembers well.

0:15:39 > 0:15:43Today, I'm going to do something that I used to prepare a lot

0:15:43 > 0:15:45for Princess Diana.

0:15:45 > 0:15:47Stuffed aubergine was her absolute favourite.

0:15:47 > 0:15:50I love it because it's really simple to make.

0:15:50 > 0:15:54We start off by cutting from end to end through the stalk.

0:15:54 > 0:15:58All the kitchens that I cooked in tended to be domestic kitchens.

0:15:58 > 0:16:01The kitchen at Highgrove was a lovely country house kitchen,

0:16:01 > 0:16:03really, with an Aga, of course.

0:16:03 > 0:16:05And the family did come into the kitchen quite a lot,

0:16:05 > 0:16:09which was lovely, because they were really homely.

0:16:09 > 0:16:12Sprinkle a generous amount of olive oil...

0:16:12 > 0:16:14So I will just pop it in the oven.

0:16:14 > 0:16:16While the aubergine bakes for half an hour,

0:16:16 > 0:16:18Carolyn starts a tomato sauce,

0:16:18 > 0:16:21using onions, garlic and herbs.

0:16:21 > 0:16:24Another component of this stuffed aubergine is some bulgur wheat,

0:16:24 > 0:16:27which I'm going to put in with red onion now and get that cooked.

0:16:27 > 0:16:30On its own, it's not hugely tasty,

0:16:30 > 0:16:35so put some thyme in, a good twist of pepper and a pinch of salt.

0:16:35 > 0:16:38Give that a good stir and add in the water.

0:16:38 > 0:16:40SIZZLING

0:16:40 > 0:16:44I'm going to pop the lid on and leave that to come to the boil.

0:16:44 > 0:16:46Next job's to dice up some peppers.

0:16:46 > 0:16:48Today, I've got a yellow and a red.

0:16:48 > 0:16:51People always assume that the Royal Family

0:16:51 > 0:16:56lived on caviar and lobster, but it wasn't like that at all.

0:16:56 > 0:16:58Obviously, they had to dine out a lot,

0:16:58 > 0:16:59so when they were at home,

0:16:59 > 0:17:02they just wanted to eat really nice, simple, homely food.

0:17:02 > 0:17:04I'm going to put in a little pepper...

0:17:04 > 0:17:07I'll season them with a little salt and sugar at the end of cooking,

0:17:07 > 0:17:10otherwise they tend to burn a little bit.

0:17:10 > 0:17:12I'm just going to pop these on the stove.

0:17:12 > 0:17:16The peppers need to saute, while the aubergines come out of the oven.

0:17:16 > 0:17:20I'm going to start now by taking the flesh out of the aubergines.

0:17:21 > 0:17:25I really enjoyed cooking for Princess Diana,

0:17:25 > 0:17:27because I could do some slightly different things.

0:17:27 > 0:17:30She didn't always go for the traditional things

0:17:30 > 0:17:33that I think the rest of the Royal Family probably always had.

0:17:33 > 0:17:35She brought a slightly different perspective,

0:17:35 > 0:17:37certainly with food.

0:17:37 > 0:17:40I would say things became slightly less formal.

0:17:40 > 0:17:45So now, I've got all the bits I need to layer this up.

0:17:45 > 0:17:48Carolyn layers up the bulgur wheat, peppers, sauce,

0:17:48 > 0:17:51aubergine and goat's cheese back into the skins.

0:17:51 > 0:17:56And after 15 minutes in the oven, her Diana favourite is ready.

0:17:56 > 0:17:59There we go, those are baked.

0:17:59 > 0:18:01The tomatoes have cooked down a little bit

0:18:01 > 0:18:04and the aubergines are looking nice as well.

0:18:04 > 0:18:07Now, this is where we have to be very careful.

0:18:09 > 0:18:10There we go.

0:18:10 > 0:18:12And then we're just going to add a few

0:18:12 > 0:18:15of these beautifully coloured little tomatoes.

0:18:15 > 0:18:17One more tiny bit just for the top here,

0:18:17 > 0:18:19and then that's ready to go.

0:18:19 > 0:18:22I don't think you can do much better than this.

0:18:30 > 0:18:33Some of the most glamorous royal consorts

0:18:33 > 0:18:37have shared a common taste for a rather special type of chocolate.

0:18:37 > 0:18:39This box holds three kilos of chocolates.

0:18:39 > 0:18:45So it's a lot of chocolate and it will set you back £1,700.

0:18:45 > 0:18:48Charbonnel et Walker have been selling luxury chocolates

0:18:48 > 0:18:51in the heart of London for over 140 years.

0:18:51 > 0:18:55Adam Lee is currently head chocolatier.

0:18:55 > 0:18:58Loved by the Queen Mum, Wallis Simpson and Diana,

0:18:58 > 0:19:01the company has a close relationship with the Palace.

0:19:03 > 0:19:06Without the Royal Family, we wouldn't be here.

0:19:06 > 0:19:10That's because back in 1875,

0:19:10 > 0:19:13the kind of chocolate that was being produced in the UK

0:19:13 > 0:19:15was of a very inferior quality

0:19:15 > 0:19:19to what was being produced on the Continent, for example.

0:19:19 > 0:19:23At that time, the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII,

0:19:23 > 0:19:28was a huge fan of the Parisian style of chocolate making,

0:19:28 > 0:19:30and one of his favourite chocolatiers in Paris

0:19:30 > 0:19:33was Madame Charbonnel. There we go.

0:19:33 > 0:19:36She worked for a company called Maison Boissier,

0:19:36 > 0:19:39and he persuaded her to come over to the UK

0:19:39 > 0:19:42and to introduce her way of chocolate making

0:19:42 > 0:19:44to the UK chocolatiers over here.

0:19:44 > 0:19:48So our royal connection goes right back to our very, very beginnings.

0:19:49 > 0:19:52They still hand-make their chocolates

0:19:52 > 0:19:54to the original 19th-century recipes,

0:19:54 > 0:19:58including two very special floral flavours.

0:19:58 > 0:20:02The rose and violet creams are a huge favourite

0:20:02 > 0:20:04with lots of members of the Royal Family.

0:20:04 > 0:20:08There's a lovely anecdote about the late Queen Mother,

0:20:08 > 0:20:10who was a huge patron of ours.

0:20:10 > 0:20:13It was said that when she was out on official duties,

0:20:13 > 0:20:16she would always have in her handbag a few rose and violet creams

0:20:16 > 0:20:20that she would sneakily pop every now and again.

0:20:20 > 0:20:21It's a lovely story,

0:20:21 > 0:20:25and they were indeed one of her favourite chocolates.

0:20:25 > 0:20:28And it's not only what's inside the boxes

0:20:28 > 0:20:31that makes these chocolates loved by the elite.

0:20:31 > 0:20:34Madame Charbonnel was the chocolatier,

0:20:34 > 0:20:37but Mrs Walker was the lady who made the packaging

0:20:37 > 0:20:39and hat boxes and jewellery boxes.

0:20:39 > 0:20:44So they combined their efforts to get to this chocolates and packaging

0:20:44 > 0:20:46that beautifully complemented each other.

0:20:46 > 0:20:48And we still stick to that today.

0:20:50 > 0:20:53A sweet tooth seems to run throughout the Royal Family.

0:20:53 > 0:20:56That certainly shows in their love of puddings.

0:20:56 > 0:20:59The Duke of Edinburgh's favourite - Andrassy Pudding.

0:21:02 > 0:21:05All the Royal Family seem to have their favourite dishes, don't they?

0:21:05 > 0:21:07Just like the rest of us, I suppose.

0:21:07 > 0:21:11Prince Philip's is supposed to be something called Andrassy Pudding?

0:21:11 > 0:21:14Yeah, I think that's something to do with a failed chocolate souffle.

0:21:14 > 0:21:16Yeah, there's a story to it. There's a story to it.

0:21:16 > 0:21:19Count Andrassy was a relative of the Royal Family,

0:21:19 > 0:21:23invited to Buckingham Palace before the First World War, I think.

0:21:23 > 0:21:25They asked the kitchen to knock him up as souffle,

0:21:25 > 0:21:28and the souffle was a disaster.

0:21:28 > 0:21:30- Oh, God.- But the chef managed to cover it up in some way

0:21:30 > 0:21:33by frosting it and sticking little bits of chocolate on it

0:21:33 > 0:21:36and served it, and it was a sensation.

0:21:36 > 0:21:40It was actually a disaster, and yet, somehow, it was a success.

0:21:40 > 0:21:42Well, I've actually looked at the recipe,

0:21:42 > 0:21:45and straightaway, I could tell that there's just too much flour in it,

0:21:45 > 0:21:48so there was no hope from the get-go that it was ever going to work.

0:21:48 > 0:21:49It was always going to be a failure.

0:21:49 > 0:21:53But today, I'm hoping to make the souffle that should have been.

0:21:53 > 0:21:55So let's get cracking.

0:21:55 > 0:21:56OK, what do you do first?

0:21:56 > 0:21:58OK, so, first I'm going to make the creme pat,

0:21:58 > 0:22:02which is butter, cocoa, flour and sugar.

0:22:02 > 0:22:05You need to melt them down.

0:22:05 > 0:22:07Then I'm going to add some milk to it.

0:22:07 > 0:22:09Just trying to get this butter to melt down a bit.

0:22:09 > 0:22:11- I might turn up the heat.- Mm-hm.

0:22:11 > 0:22:14This is going to be really rich, isn't it? All that butter.

0:22:14 > 0:22:15It will, but when you make a souffle,

0:22:15 > 0:22:18you should have nearly equal quantities of your flavour base.

0:22:18 > 0:22:20Here it's this chocolate creme pat.

0:22:20 > 0:22:23It should be equal quantities of that to egg white,

0:22:23 > 0:22:25so that's what makes it kind of beautiful and light

0:22:25 > 0:22:26and makes it kind of rise.

0:22:26 > 0:22:33Why are souffles considered by amateurs to be high risk?

0:22:33 > 0:22:35Well, maybe originally it would have come from the oven

0:22:35 > 0:22:38needing to be a special kind of fan-assisted oven,

0:22:38 > 0:22:40which we all now have in our houses.

0:22:40 > 0:22:43And secondly, I think you need to make sure you get your base right,

0:22:43 > 0:22:46you need to make sure your mould is buttered

0:22:46 > 0:22:50and it's chilled, and then not to over-whisk your egg whites.

0:22:50 > 0:22:52So I think it's all of those things added together

0:22:52 > 0:22:56creates basically a Russian roulette dessert for some people.

0:22:56 > 0:22:59I'm making the creme pat for the chocolate souffle,

0:22:59 > 0:23:02so I've just melted down my cocoa, my butter, sugar, flour,

0:23:02 > 0:23:05and I've just added warm milk in on top of that.

0:23:05 > 0:23:08And what I need to do is give it a nice little stir.

0:23:08 > 0:23:11So I'm just going to set that aside, because it needs to be chilled,

0:23:11 > 0:23:15so I actually have one that I made earlier on.

0:23:15 > 0:23:18And you need roughly about equal quantities of your chocolate base

0:23:18 > 0:23:19to your egg whites.

0:23:19 > 0:23:24I'm going to put 50g of sugar in it with my egg whites,

0:23:24 > 0:23:27and what this does is it strengthens the egg white a little bit

0:23:27 > 0:23:29so that when you fold it in, it can kind of hold its own

0:23:29 > 0:23:32with this bully chocolate that's going on.

0:23:32 > 0:23:36You see it in terms of a contest in there, do you, as it mixes up?

0:23:36 > 0:23:40Yeah. It needs to be a perfect marriage really.

0:23:42 > 0:23:44OK, I'm going to lift over my mould,

0:23:44 > 0:23:45and you can see that it's been buttered.

0:23:45 > 0:23:49- Yeah.- What's really important is that the butter is not melted,

0:23:49 > 0:23:52it's just soft, it's room temperature

0:23:52 > 0:23:57and it needs to be good brushstrokes on the way up,

0:23:57 > 0:23:59because you're trying to encourage, obviously, this rise.

0:23:59 > 0:24:01If you do it the other way, what happens?

0:24:01 > 0:24:03Well, it just makes it more difficult.

0:24:03 > 0:24:06It just makes for more possibility of it going wrong.

0:24:06 > 0:24:08And you've got grated chocolate in there too.

0:24:08 > 0:24:09- Yeah.- Wow.

0:24:09 > 0:24:12OK, so, this is ready now.

0:24:12 > 0:24:13It's really, really puffed up.

0:24:13 > 0:24:15Yeah. OK.

0:24:16 > 0:24:18Oh, this is the trickiest part.

0:24:19 > 0:24:23OK, so now I need to fold in my mix.

0:24:23 > 0:24:25- Mm-hm.- OK, so, first of all. I'm just going to put

0:24:25 > 0:24:28a small amount of egg white in with the chocolate

0:24:28 > 0:24:30and I'm just going to lighten that up.

0:24:30 > 0:24:36OK. Then I'm going to put probably half of this mix in there now.

0:24:36 > 0:24:39Why a little bit first and then a bigger bit?

0:24:39 > 0:24:41Because we are trying to prevent lumps.

0:24:41 > 0:24:44So once this is kind of halfway folded through the second time,

0:24:44 > 0:24:48- I'm going to add the rest of it. Oops. Messy.- Oh, dear.- Yeah.

0:24:51 > 0:24:52Oh, that's rather nice.

0:24:52 > 0:24:54Yes, I think you are a bit of a fan of chocolate, Michael?

0:24:54 > 0:24:57Yeah, I can eat chocolate, yeah.

0:24:57 > 0:25:00Still got the veins of white in the chocolate, hasn't it?

0:25:00 > 0:25:02That's it. But the whole time, I'm really trying to protect

0:25:02 > 0:25:04the air of the souffle.

0:25:04 > 0:25:06So you are folding rather than beating?

0:25:06 > 0:25:09- Folding. It is all about folding, folding, folding.- Hmm.

0:25:09 > 0:25:12OK, then I'm just going to pour this into the mould.

0:25:12 > 0:25:15Prince Philip, this is his favourite dish.

0:25:15 > 0:25:17Do you think his favourite is the failure?

0:25:17 > 0:25:19Do you think he actually likes the sunken one?

0:25:19 > 0:25:20I don't know. Maybe I'll have to call around

0:25:20 > 0:25:23and do the souffle for him and see which one he prefers.

0:25:23 > 0:25:25OK.

0:25:25 > 0:25:26OK, so scrape this off.

0:25:29 > 0:25:30Now what are you doing?

0:25:30 > 0:25:31OK, so I'm just cleaning around

0:25:31 > 0:25:33the outside, so it doesn't catch,

0:25:33 > 0:25:37but I might have to do this twice, because it's such a big mould.

0:25:37 > 0:25:39This is much bigger than your average souffle.

0:25:39 > 0:25:41OK, great.

0:25:41 > 0:25:43So this goes into the oven, 200 degrees for 30 minutes.

0:25:43 > 0:25:46OK, Chef.

0:25:46 > 0:25:48OK, right, just get this organised.

0:25:52 > 0:25:55It's in, Anna. It's on its way.

0:25:55 > 0:25:58Wonderful, great, so we better get cracking on the chocolate sauce.

0:25:58 > 0:26:00I have some golden syrup in the pan now.

0:26:00 > 0:26:03I'm going to add chopped chocolate,

0:26:03 > 0:26:06I'm going to add cocoa powder,

0:26:06 > 0:26:09then double cream, of course, I know.

0:26:09 > 0:26:12It wouldn't be a delicious chocolate sauce without a load of cream.

0:26:12 > 0:26:15You don't have a spasm of guilt over all this?

0:26:15 > 0:26:18- Look, there's some healthy stuff going in. Some water.- That's OK.

0:26:18 > 0:26:21So everything else is OK, balances out.

0:26:21 > 0:26:24And then a pinch of salt, just give it a good whisk,

0:26:24 > 0:26:27bring it up to the boil and then you just have a lovely chocolate sauce.

0:26:27 > 0:26:31- And that's it, is it? - Yes. I mean, it's foolproof.

0:26:31 > 0:26:35Around about this stage, all those years ago,

0:26:35 > 0:26:39the chef must have realised his souffle was not going to work.

0:26:39 > 0:26:40And can you imagine that?

0:26:40 > 0:26:42It's a bad moment for you, isn't it?

0:26:42 > 0:26:44Can you imagine that you are about to serve a chocolate souffle

0:26:44 > 0:26:46- to the Royal Family and it's collapsed?- Yeah.

0:26:46 > 0:26:47Have you had any disasters?

0:26:47 > 0:26:50No, Michael, I've never had a disaster. I mean...

0:26:50 > 0:26:52HE CHUCKLES

0:26:52 > 0:26:54I'm embarrassed to say, but, you know,

0:26:54 > 0:26:55I've never made a mistake in my life.

0:26:55 > 0:26:58No, I've had a couple of disasters in my time.

0:26:58 > 0:27:00So the sauce is ready now.

0:27:00 > 0:27:02Ooh, that's nice and hot.

0:27:03 > 0:27:05OK, so that's our chocolate sauce ready.

0:27:05 > 0:27:07- Mm-hm.- Moment of truth.

0:27:07 > 0:27:08Off to the oven.

0:27:15 > 0:27:16Oh!

0:27:16 > 0:27:18Ooh-hoo-hoo!

0:27:18 > 0:27:19Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!

0:27:19 > 0:27:21I nearly dropped it!

0:27:22 > 0:27:26Look at that, a race against time now, eh?

0:27:26 > 0:27:27Ow!

0:27:27 > 0:27:29Gosh, it looks fantastic, doesn't it?

0:27:29 > 0:27:32- It's making a bid for freedom. - It looks beautiful.

0:27:32 > 0:27:34Come on, come on.

0:27:34 > 0:27:37I'm pouring the chocolate sauce now into the centre of the souffle,

0:27:37 > 0:27:43so you have a beautiful, gooey chocolate delight.

0:27:43 > 0:27:45- It's like a volcano!- I'm going to insist that you go first.

0:27:45 > 0:27:47Oh, yes, please.

0:27:47 > 0:27:49I'm going to have some of that chocolate sauce.

0:27:49 > 0:27:51Oh, lovely!

0:27:53 > 0:27:55Mmm! It's so light.

0:27:55 > 0:27:58I'm not sure which part I prefer. The souffle or the sauce.

0:27:58 > 0:28:00Mmm.

0:28:00 > 0:28:04Mm! That's a dish PROPERLY fit for a prince.

0:28:04 > 0:28:08And that's it from our programme about the food

0:28:08 > 0:28:10enjoyed by royal consorts.

0:28:10 > 0:28:12See you next time.

0:28:12 > 0:28:14Go on, go on, go on.