Childhood Royal Recipes


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The royal family are steeped in tradition.

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And throughout history, the royal tables have showcased

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culinary excellence. In celebration of royal food...

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We know it's the Queen's recipe

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because we've got it in our 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...

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Hello. I'm Michael Buerk,

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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 at this grandest of country houses,

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we'll 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 kitchenmaid'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 - dishes cooked for royal children throughout history.

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A royal childhood may be like no other, but tastes in food can be

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surprisingly familiar.

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Today, in the Royal Recipes kitchen,

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chef Paul Ainsworth cooks a royal nursery favourite - cottage pie...

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Makes me feel like a child again.

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-And it takes a lot to do that, I tell you.

-Fantastic.

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..historian Annie Gray tours

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the grand Wendy house where

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Victoria and Albert's children learned to cook...

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The children, they would come down to Swiss Cottage every day and cook.

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And sometimes, their mother and her ladies would join them,

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eating whatever they'd prepared.

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..and former royal chef Darren McGrady cooks banana flan.

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Perfect for the princes' school holidays.

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We always knew when Prince William and Prince Harry were going

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to be home because Princess Diana would write banana flan on the menu.

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In the magnificence of the Victorian kitchen wing,

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we start with the nursery food

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guaranteed to keep any young royal happy.

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This is the historic kitchen,

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and this is the very modern

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Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth.

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Kids' stuff today, Paul. Royal children's food.

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-What are you going to do for us?

-Well, we're going to do a beautiful cottage pie.

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-Cottage pie?

-Yeah.

-That is supposed to be Prince William's favourite,

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or at least it was when he was a child.

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Reportedly so, yeah, absolutely. And I love cottage pie.

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So here we have, Michael, which is really important, the base. OK?

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We've got carrots, onions, leek, celery.

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And we're just going to add some thyme as well.

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We're just going to get the thyme in there,

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-which is beautiful.

-That's really herby, isn't it?

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So we've got our delicious vegetables.

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Garlic, thyme.

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-OK. We're going to add a little pinch of cracked black pepper...

-Yeah.

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..which is delicious. And a little bit of seasoning at this stage.

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-That seasoning's going to really bring out the flavour of the vegetables.

-Yeah.

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-Next, we've got our mushroom ketchup.

-Let me have a sniff.

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It's delicious stuff.

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-It does smell like Worcestershire sauce.

-It's very similar.

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So a nice glug of that.

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Now, we're going to add in our flour.

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That's just going to mix with those vegetables and that lovely,

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reduced mushroom ketchup.

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And that's the base.

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Now, we add in our lovely, browned mince.

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OK. This is beef shin.

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-That's just been roasted down so we've rendered that fat off.

-Yeah.

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-In we go. Like so.

-Yeah.

-OK?

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Now, we're adding in our beef stock.

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SIZZLING

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And go easy. Don't drown it.

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Just covering, like that.

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We don't want it too sloppy?

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We don't. We want it to thicken nicely.

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We want that really lovely flavour coming through from the mince,

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our vegetables, the garlic, the thyme, and so on.

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So even though it's children's food in a sense, it's nursery food,

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it's not bland, is it?

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It's not at all.

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So this one's going to go into the oven.

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-Yep.

-And here we have a mix that's come out the oven.

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Look at that! All right?

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And that is just rich, reduced.

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We're going to transfer this now

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into our pot. So, just like so.

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Stand back. I wouldn't want to splash your jumper, Michael.

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-In we go.

-I've only got the one!

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-You can have one of mine.

-No, thank you.

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-This is Prince William's favourite, or was Prince William's favourite.

-Yeah.

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Some of the other royals, when they were children,

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had...had, you know, really quite... I was about to say common taste.

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Princess Anne, apparently, used to love having fish and chips,

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traditional-style, out of a newspaper.

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Right, OK. That's the only way to have fish and chips.

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There's something nostalgic about that.

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OK. Now, we're just going to very...

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We're not doing it in a piping bag, we're not getting fancy with it,

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-we're just spooning it on.

-Sloshing it on.

-Yeah, sloshing it on like that.

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You know what I love, is when it comes up the sides

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and it boils over a bit and you've got the potato mixes...

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..with that lovely mince mix.

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-OK.

-Wow.

-Right, OK.

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So you see we've got it like that?

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-Now, you're going to smooth it out a bit?

-We're going to take our fork.

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Smooth it over like that.

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-You see where we're making the lines...

-Yeah.

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They're all now those individual lines -

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they catch under the grill.

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-And they get crusty.

-And that's what gets crusty.

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-If you just didn't do that, it wouldn't...

-Yeah.

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You wouldn't get those spiky, crispy bits, which are delicious.

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Cheese on. And that is ready for the oven.

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Half an hour at about 180 degrees,

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and then just finish under the grill

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so you get all those lovely, crispy bits.

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The cheese will be bubbling.

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-Beautiful!

-Little crusty, brown bits.

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I've got one out there - would you mind getting it for me?

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THEY LAUGH

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MICHAEL GROANS

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This is really, really heavy.

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-And it smells sensational.

-That is sensational, isn't it?

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-Let's dish up.

-Absolutely.

-Let's dish up.

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-Don't hold back.

-Wow!

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Wow! Right.

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-(OK.)

-Oh, I say.

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I'm going to go in like that.

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-Oh, that looks good.

-Then, some more of that beautiful, rich mix.

-Mm-hm.

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-Then you've got that crispy cheese on top.

-Yep.

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And just a little extra.

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Just a bit more of it.

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Like that.

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I can't get enough of the cheese.

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-Absolutely delicious.

-MICHAEL LAUGHS

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-There we are, Michael.

-OK.

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-Cottage pie...

-Give me a fork.

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-..for you.

-The gold one.

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-Yes, of course.

-There's a plastic one there for you.

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I've got a plastic one here, yeah.

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OK, here we go.

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I'm going to have a bit of both.

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There we go.

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-Some of your cheese.

-Yeah.

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Mm.

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It makes me feel like a child again.

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And it takes a lot to do that, I tell you.

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-Fantastic. Glad you're enjoying it.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Here we go.

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Mm!

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A comforting taste of childhood.

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Historically, royal children have always had their own chefs,

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and some even had their very own kitchen to play in.

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Historian Dr Annie Gray is at Osborne House,

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where one royal couple created a pint-sized paradise

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to give their nine children a taste of real, rather than royal, life.

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You might be forgiven for thinking that Victoria's children

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didn't have the most fun time.

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But here in the grounds of Victoria and Albert's private residence

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at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight,

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deep in the woods lurks something to help change your mind.

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And this is it -

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a traditional, wooden, Swiss cottage

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commissioned by Victoria and Albert and built in 1854.

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A place for the children to learn how to grow food as well as cook it.

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Here, they used to come and use their miniature wheelbarrows

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and miniature sets of tools to grow fruit and vegetables,

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which they then sold on to their father, Prince Albert, at market price.

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The children looked back as adults on their gardens very, very fondly,

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and it's clear that they absolutely loved coming here,

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playing in the gardens, growing everything,

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and eating everything as well.

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These gardens really were a little slice of paradise.

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The Swiss cottage style was very fashionable in mid-19th century gardens.

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But this house was all about the children,

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and was even built to 3/4 scale.

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So why did the royal children learn to cook?

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Clearly, they were never going to have to actually cook for themselves.

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They were expected to marry into the royal families of Europe,

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or perhaps the aristocracy.

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But that wasn't the point.

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Not only was this an idealised version of the childhood that

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Victoria never had, but the cooking and the gardening

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and the playing with toy shops all had a purpose.

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It kept the children grounded in reality and it made sure that,

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when they were controlling servants of their own,

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they would know what should be going on inside the kitchens and the

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gardens that they ruled over,

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so that they could better control their own servants.

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The idea of royal domestic training was very unusual at the time.

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But Victoria and Albert were determined to keep the children

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in touch with reality.

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By the late 1850s, the children had settled into a fairly set routine.

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They would come down to Swiss Cottage every day and cook -

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either tea or lunch -

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and sometimes their mother and her ladies would join them,

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eating whatever they'd prepared.

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For birthday parties,

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the house would be decked out with bunting and they'd cook

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birthday cakes for each other and celebrate.

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There's remarkably little record of what was actually cooked here.

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A few mentions in journals and diaries.

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Something, for example, like a simple sponge cake.

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In this case, the original Victoria sandwich.

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Today, we think of a Victoria sponge sandwich

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as one large, usually round cake, chopped in two,

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spread with raspberry or strawberry jam and then a layer of cream.

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But the original Victoria sponge was more like a finger sandwich

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made of fatless sponge cut up to look like white bread and

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spread with jam made from fruit from the children's own garden.

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The children were usually cooking for each other,

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but their mother would come down quite a lot

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and share a tea with them, or perhaps a luncheon.

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Kippers aren't the first thing that comes to mind as nursery food.

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But, according to Buckingham Palace staff at the time,

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the Queen developed her love for kippers as a child.

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She was playing at Windsor Castle with her sister, Princess Margaret,

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when she caught the aroma of kippers

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coming from the royal kitchens,

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and she's loved them ever since.

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This is a royal dish.

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Kipper puree.

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Rather like gentlemen's relish.

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You have it on toast. A favourite with...

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royals, adults and children alike.

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Mm.

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-That's pretty nice.

-Quite an old-fashioned word that, puree.

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We'd probably know that now as pate.

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-Yeah.

-Quite coarse.

-Mm.

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Really nice. Kippers have been in favour with the royal family,

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-haven't they...

-Yes.

-..all along?

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Even when kippers slightly fell out of favour with the rest of us

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around about the '70s or 1980s.

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-It's a shame really, isn't it?

-It is.

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I think they're quite strong.

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And I think it's sometimes maybe the smell when they're cooking.

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There's a lot of bones to them as well.

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OK, so what are you going to do with kippers?

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We are going to make a beautiful kipper stata.

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Not a kipper starter?

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-That as well.

-Yeah?!

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-Kipper stata.

-OK.

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We're going to use these wonderful Manx kippers.

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So if you just see, they're basically brined, OK?

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And then smoked.

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Right, it's a very simple dish.

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I've just changed it slightly,

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just to kind of get more flavour

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into it than the sort of original recipe.

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So here we've got some leeks.

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Rather than just boiling those in water,

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I've sweated them down in butter.

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Cooked them without colour in butter.

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A little pinch of seasoning with the lid on,

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so all that flavour stays in the leek and not in the water.

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-Looks really soft.

-Absolutely.

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Rather than just putting raw onion in there, I've sliced the onion,

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nice and thin, and I've just salted it.

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That kind of removes some of the water and breaks the onion down

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a little bit so it's not quite so raw.

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-Our dressing, we're going to use some balsamic vinegar.

-Yeah.

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OK.

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We're going to have a little splash.

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This is like making a basic dressing.

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You can see a really good quality vinegar - nice and thick.

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-OK.

-This is a more recent recipe in fact, isn't it?

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A royal recipe. In fact,

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it first seemed to emerge in a cookbook

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-that was published in honour of the Queen Mother.

-Right. OK.

-Yeah.

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-So it must have been one of her favourites, I suppose.

-Yes.

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Yeah. You can see straightaway,

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because we had that lovely, thick, balsamic vinegar,

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it goes thick straightaway, as soon as we emulsify the oil.

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A little bit of salt.

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Now, we're going to add in a spoonful of our buttered leeks.

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These are gorgeous cos they're nice and soft.

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-Wonderful flavour coming from the leek.

-Yeah.

-Our raw onion.

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It's quite a fascinating recipe, this.

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Very unusual.

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But just by salting it, that onion now, it's not too strong.

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Just mix that together.

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So I'm going to put some fresh parsley in there,

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-which goes absolutely beautiful with this mix.

-Yeah.

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Like that. I'll just put some fresh parsley.

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Because we got that lovely onion and leek in there,

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we're going to put some chive in there,

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-just so it all marries together.

-Yeah.

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So we're just going to chop some...

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Finely chop some chives.

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Not normally kippers are a favourite of children,

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so it's rather surprising in a way it has been a favourite of

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several of the royal children down the generations.

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-What's great about it is the health benefits.

-Yeah, yeah.

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So we've got our kipper in there.

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Now, we just bring that mix...

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OK. Now, we're going to come over to our toast.

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A nice piece of crispy sourdough, like that.

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Yes, bring it over.

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-OK.

-I'll make you some room.

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-Thank you very much.

-There you go.

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I've got my golden fork.

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-My trademark.

-Let me cut you a piece.

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-Let me cut you a piece.

-All right.

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Patience.

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MICHAEL LAUGHS

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-Not my vir...

-There we are.

-I haven't got a mouth THAT big.

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Come on. I'm just going to get at it.

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There we go. Don't look.

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Beautiful!

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-That is really delicious.

-Mm!

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When I read this recipe, I had my reservations and stuff,

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-but it so works.

-Mm!

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-It's delicious.

-Kipper stata.

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The Queen Mother's starter.

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-Fantastic!

-One to remember her with.

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Yeah. Absolutely.

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I'm here in the library of the house with Ingrid Seward

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of Majesty Magazine and author of A Royal Childhood.

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So...how do they eat?

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They always eat in the nursery.

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The nursery is like the fiefdom of nanny.

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And the nursery footman.

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And they eat at precisely 4:30 for tea,

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which is half an hour before the grown-ups.

0:15:260:15:29

And then they have supper at seven o'clock.

0:15:290:15:32

But always separate from their parents?

0:15:320:15:34

Well, they only eat with their parents when they can sit up straight,

0:15:340:15:37

not fidget, and hold a knife and fork properly.

0:15:370:15:40

But Prince Charles thought this was a bit archaic and he'd try something

0:15:400:15:44

else, so he requested that Prince William should be brought down

0:15:440:15:47

to have breakfast with him one day.

0:15:470:15:49

Now, William was still in a high chair.

0:15:490:15:51

And William got hold of an egg and, instead of eating it,

0:15:510:15:54

he just dropped it on the floor.

0:15:540:15:57

Prince Charles said, "I don't think we'll be repeating this experiment."

0:15:570:16:00

So it sounds like for royal children,

0:16:030:16:05

they almost eat in an ordinary way,

0:16:050:16:08

not grand at all?

0:16:080:16:10

Well, it's not grand, but it isn't that ordinary either.

0:16:100:16:13

On one occasion, when Charles was a little bit older,

0:16:130:16:15

he was going to go to a custard pie party.

0:16:150:16:18

I don't think people have those any more!

0:16:180:16:20

Anyway, so the chef cooked all these beautiful custard pies,

0:16:200:16:25

but they weren't set solid.

0:16:250:16:27

And when he arrived at the party and got the vats of custard

0:16:270:16:31

out of the back, they were still a bit wobbly - he didn't realise that.

0:16:310:16:34

Anyhow, when Charles came to throw his custard pies,

0:16:340:16:38

they were still wet inside, and they had to have the whole room

0:16:380:16:42

redecorated. That sort of...

0:16:420:16:44

They love throwing things.

0:16:440:16:46

Love throwing food.

0:16:460:16:47

Ingrid, thanks.

0:16:480:16:49

Darren McGrady spent more than 15 years cooking for the royal family.

0:16:520:16:57

Four of those cooking for Diana and the boys at Kensington Palace,

0:16:570:17:01

where a popular dish was banana flan.

0:17:010:17:03

We always knew when Prince William and Prince Harry were going to be

0:17:050:17:09

home because Princess Diana would write banana flan on the menu.

0:17:090:17:13

So to make the pastry, the first part of the dish,

0:17:130:17:15

I've got a food processor, and I'm going to add some flour.

0:17:150:17:18

And some sugar. And then butter.

0:17:180:17:20

If the butter is really chilled,

0:17:200:17:22

the pastry you can start rolling straightaway.

0:17:220:17:25

And then a little bit of vanilla.

0:17:250:17:27

MIXER WHIRS

0:17:290:17:30

We don't want to over-beat it,

0:17:300:17:32

because if we do, we just tighten the mixture.

0:17:320:17:34

And then into that, we can add an egg and then mix that in.

0:17:340:17:38

As you can see, all this pastry comes together, then.

0:17:410:17:44

This seems firm enough for me to roll out.

0:17:480:17:51

And we want it nice and thin, not too thick.

0:17:510:17:54

So once it is rolled out, fold it back onto the rolling pin,

0:17:540:17:58

and then over your dish.

0:17:580:18:00

The secret here is actually to lift and push with your finger.

0:18:000:18:04

Then you go across the top with a rolling pin,

0:18:040:18:07

and all the excess dough comes off.

0:18:070:18:09

Then it goes on a baking tray, and we have to blind bake it.

0:18:090:18:14

Take a little bit of parchment paper,

0:18:140:18:16

put it into the bottom of our pastry ring.

0:18:160:18:19

There we go. We have to put some weights.

0:18:190:18:22

And we're using ceramic baking beans.

0:18:220:18:24

If you don't have these at home, you can use rice.

0:18:240:18:27

The pastry takes 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

0:18:290:18:33

The next step is making the custardy, creamy filling.

0:18:330:18:36

For the pastry cream, I'm going to start off with some eggs.

0:18:360:18:40

I use five yolks and one whole egg.

0:18:400:18:43

Then I need to boil some milk and cream.

0:18:440:18:47

While that's boiling, into my bowl I'm going to put some sugar...

0:18:490:18:53

..some cornflour, a little vanilla...

0:18:550:18:57

..and a pinch of salt.

0:19:000:19:01

And then whisk all this together.

0:19:020:19:04

Once the milk and the cream comes to the boil,

0:19:060:19:08

I can just pour that now straight onto my egg mixture.

0:19:080:19:13

Once it's all mixed in,

0:19:130:19:14

it goes back into the pan on the stove.

0:19:140:19:17

You just carry on whisking this until it all starts to thicken up.

0:19:210:19:25

It goes into a bowl, a nice clean bowl...

0:19:250:19:28

..and then a little bit of grease-proof paper over the top

0:19:290:19:33

to stop a skin forming.

0:19:330:19:34

And then into the refrigerator to set and cool down.

0:19:340:19:37

Once the pastry cream is made, we can then check on the flan.

0:19:390:19:42

It should be a nice golden-brown now.

0:19:420:19:44

Look at that. Beautiful.

0:19:440:19:46

Carefully lift the parchment paper off.

0:19:460:19:50

Now, it just needs to go back in the oven, just to harden up that base,

0:19:530:19:57

The pastry's been in for a further five minutes.

0:19:570:19:59

It should be ready now. While the flan's cooling,

0:19:590:20:02

we can move onto the next stage,

0:20:020:20:05

and that is to make the apricot jam.

0:20:050:20:07

I'm going to heat the jam until it softens slightly,

0:20:070:20:10

and that'll make much easier to spread.

0:20:100:20:13

Then I can get my pastry cream.

0:20:130:20:14

The pastry cream has just cooled nicely.

0:20:160:20:18

All I need to do is just stir that.

0:20:190:20:21

Mm, that smells so good.

0:20:240:20:25

And then pour this into my flan

0:20:250:20:28

and spread it nice and evenly.

0:20:280:20:31

Then the bananas we can arrange neatly and stack them and overlap

0:20:310:20:36

them to make it look pretty. I can take my jam and brush over the top.

0:20:360:20:42

It makes a beautiful, sweet glaze,

0:20:420:20:43

but at the same time stops the bananas from going brown.

0:20:430:20:46

Once the jam is on there, covering all the bananas,

0:20:460:20:50

that is what we're looking for.

0:20:500:20:52

That is the banana flan that Prince William loved so much.

0:20:520:20:57

The perfect dessert.

0:20:570:20:58

Over 100 years earlier, at Buckingham Palace,

0:21:030:21:06

kitchenmaid Mildred Nicholls would have prepared tea and puddings

0:21:060:21:10

for the children of George V and Queen Mary,

0:21:100:21:13

as well as cakes such as...

0:21:130:21:15

That banana flan must have kept generations of royal children happy,

0:21:180:21:21

-don't you think?

-It sounded like good times to me.

0:21:210:21:23

It did - good times, yeah.

0:21:230:21:24

When our Buckingham Palace kitchenmaid, Mildred Nicholls,

0:21:240:21:28

was writing her recipes in this book,

0:21:280:21:30

there were six children running around the palace.

0:21:300:21:33

-But that era of Edwardian extravagance was over, really...

-Yeah.

0:21:330:21:37

..because King George V was pretty stern and austere. And Queen Mary,

0:21:370:21:41

not to put too fine a point on it, was a bit of a penny-pincher.

0:21:410:21:44

And it reflects in this recipe.

0:21:440:21:45

We're making Swiss roll today.

0:21:450:21:47

But usually you would make the base, the sponge, with flour, and

0:21:470:21:51

-we're using breadcrumbs.

-Straight out of Mildred's recipe book?

0:21:510:21:54

-Straight out of Mildred's recipe.

-With breadcrumbs.

0:21:540:21:56

-Have you ever used breadcrumbs in Swiss roll?

-Never in Swiss roll.

0:21:560:21:59

Let's taste - it might actually be really nice.

0:21:590:22:02

-Here we go.

-Right, OK, on you go.

-Right.

0:22:020:22:04

So what we've got in here is basically eggs and sugar,

0:22:040:22:07

and we've just whisked them up,

0:22:070:22:08

-and we are going to turn that back on.

-Yup.

0:22:080:22:10

And what this is, it is called a sabayon.

0:22:120:22:15

-Sabayon?

-A sabayon. So it's basically the sugar and the eggs

0:22:150:22:18

are just whisked until they go nice and thick and fluffy.

0:22:180:22:21

-Yes.

-Now, we're going to add in our breadcrumb.

0:22:210:22:23

This is basically like a...

0:22:230:22:26

our kind of cake dough, so it's very, very simple.

0:22:260:22:29

Just going to turn that up, and just basically whisk it all in.

0:22:310:22:34

But it be a bit of difference, having breadcrumbs

0:22:360:22:38

-rather than flour, surely?

-Yes.

-Breadcrumbs must be coarser?

0:22:380:22:41

Absolutely, and I think there will be a textural difference as well.

0:22:410:22:45

As you can see, you've got those kind of grains of the breadcrumb in.

0:22:450:22:47

-Yeah.

-So we're just going to take that out of there, Michael.

0:22:470:22:50

-OK.

-Remove the whisk.

0:22:500:22:52

Not that I suppose King George V would have noticed.

0:22:530:22:56

He was very, very austere in his taste.

0:22:560:22:58

He used to have thin soup at 11 o'clock.

0:22:580:23:02

-Thin soup at 11 o'clock?

-Yeah.

0:23:020:23:04

And the thing he really liked was mashed potatoes, apparently.

0:23:040:23:07

And did they have to have lumps in, or no lumps?

0:23:070:23:09

Probably! And apple dumplings was the only dessert he really liked.

0:23:090:23:13

-Apple dumplings?

-Yeah. Lovely.

0:23:130:23:16

Right, so, again, we just put in the mix right into the corners.

0:23:160:23:20

We don't want any air.

0:23:200:23:21

-Right.

-So we just get in all of that mix.

0:23:210:23:24

So you can see, quite simple -

0:23:240:23:26

just breadcrumbs, the sugar and the eggs, whisked.

0:23:260:23:29

This wouldn't have stretched Mildred too far, would it?

0:23:290:23:31

No, I don't think so.

0:23:310:23:33

So just into the corners.

0:23:330:23:35

Yeah.

0:23:360:23:38

And the important thing, Michael,

0:23:380:23:40

is just to make sure that there's no air in the mixture.

0:23:400:23:42

So just a gentle tap.

0:23:420:23:44

-As you can see, you've got those little pockets.

-Yep.

0:23:440:23:46

-The reason for that is you don't get holes in the sponge.

-Yeah.

0:23:460:23:49

Like that. Now, if I could send you to the scullery.

0:23:490:23:52

That's my natural role.

0:23:520:23:54

If you could put that in the oven, it's ten minutes, 200 degrees.

0:23:540:23:57

-And you know the drill.

-Yes, Chef.

-Can you bring me back the other one?

0:23:570:24:00

-Of course.

-Thank you.

-OK, Chef.

0:24:000:24:02

Here we go.

0:24:100:24:11

-Look at that!

-It LOOKS nice, doesn't it?

0:24:140:24:17

-It does, and it smells quite nice.

-Yeah!

0:24:170:24:19

-Whether it tastes nice...

-Fantastic.

-..let's see.

0:24:190:24:22

-What next?

-So now we've got our sponge made,

0:24:220:24:24

this is the next kind of important thing.

0:24:240:24:26

You know that lovely kind of almost crispy texture around the outside of

0:24:260:24:29

-Swiss roll, the sugar?

-Yeah.

0:24:290:24:31

So we're just going to sprinkle our sugar...

0:24:310:24:33

-I'll get out of your way.

-..all over the tea towel.

0:24:330:24:36

I'm going to be quite liberal with it, because we want...

0:24:360:24:39

-It's important, while it's warm...

-Excuse me a sec.

0:24:390:24:41

-Sorry, is it on your shoes?

-You've frosted me trousers.

0:24:410:24:44

-There we go.

-That's it, all over like this.

0:24:440:24:47

And while it's warm, Michael, the sugar will stick.

0:24:480:24:52

-So that is why you've got to do it while it's warm, eh?

-Absolutely.

0:24:520:24:55

So now, turn her over like that.

0:24:550:24:57

MICHAEL CHUCKLES

0:24:570:24:59

And just gently -

0:24:590:25:00

you've got to work quite quickly as well -

0:25:000:25:03

-just peel off from underneath like that. OK?

-Yeah.

0:25:030:25:08

Just like that.

0:25:100:25:13

And it's so important to do this while it's warm.

0:25:130:25:16

-There we go. OK.

-Now, this is Swiss roll with breadcrumbs, eh?

0:25:160:25:21

-Absolutely.

-Rather than flour.

0:25:210:25:23

Now, you want to get a really tight roll, OK?

0:25:230:25:26

But don't get the cloth trapped in the middle,

0:25:260:25:28

which I know sounds obvious, but is not as easy as you think.

0:25:280:25:31

So just keep going over till you've

0:25:310:25:33

-got your first roll, like this.

-Yeah.

0:25:330:25:36

And the reason you are doing it warm...

0:25:360:25:38

is so that you get the fold.

0:25:380:25:40

Can you see the sugar coating it?

0:25:400:25:42

-Yeah.

-Now, go all the way over, like that.

0:25:420:25:45

It would be terribly easy to get the cloth trapped,

0:25:460:25:48

then you'd be completely snookered.

0:25:480:25:50

Yeah, that's why you have got to keep it there, absolutely.

0:25:500:25:53

Now, the whole idea now...

0:25:530:25:54

-..is leave that there...

-Yeah.

-..and that's basically going to set,

0:25:560:25:59

so it's almost a bit muscle memory, if you like.

0:25:590:26:02

Muscle memory!

0:26:020:26:04

-So we are just going to...

-So it only rolls one way, like snails?

0:26:040:26:08

-Absolutely.

-Snail shells, yeah.

0:26:080:26:10

-We want it to cool...

-Yeah.

-..so we get this.

0:26:100:26:13

Like so. Now, we pull that cloth back.

0:26:140:26:18

Now that's cooled down, see that lovely sugar crust?

0:26:180:26:21

Now, you can see the whole Swiss roll taking shape.

0:26:210:26:24

-Yup.

-Don't worry about it.

0:26:240:26:27

It wants to curl back because of its muscle memory?

0:26:270:26:29

Because of its muscle memory. You like that word, don't you?

0:26:290:26:33

-Now, what's this?

-This is Mildred's actual recipe of creme patisserie.

0:26:330:26:37

So, basically, a really thick custard.

0:26:370:26:39

How different is it from just ordinary custard?

0:26:390:26:42

-No different at all, actually.

-Oh, right.

0:26:420:26:44

This is just egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, milk,

0:26:440:26:46

and then some flour to thicken it.

0:26:460:26:48

So I want to make sure we have got plenty of custard.

0:26:480:26:51

What, just in case it doesn't...

0:26:510:26:53

-it doesn't feel cakey and fancy enough...

-Absolutely, yes.

-..with the breadcrumbs?

0:26:530:26:56

Yeah, so right over like this. Very liberal.

0:26:560:27:00

Cos I don't think Queen Mary, you know, was that much of a foodie.

0:27:000:27:03

Now, one of my favourites -

0:27:030:27:05

and also Mildred as well - rhubarb jam.

0:27:050:27:09

Absolutely delicious.

0:27:090:27:11

Who doesn't like rhubarb and custard?

0:27:110:27:13

Right, and then, same again.

0:27:130:27:14

Keeping the tea towel out,

0:27:140:27:16

just roll it back a bit.

0:27:160:27:18

It should be easier, shouldn't it?

0:27:180:27:19

Yeah, absolutely, because you've got the muscle memory.

0:27:190:27:22

The muscle memory, yeah. Why do it with the tea towel and not

0:27:220:27:24

just, now, just roll it with your hands?

0:27:240:27:26

Because I want to keep it nice and tight, Michael.

0:27:260:27:29

Now, with a palette knife we'll just get that,

0:27:290:27:31

because we don't want to waste it.

0:27:310:27:33

Push that like that on the ends.

0:27:330:27:34

So that is Mildred's Swiss roll.

0:27:340:27:37

Now, would you like a slice?

0:27:370:27:38

-Oh, I think I could force one down(!)

-Yeah.

0:27:380:27:41

Right.

0:27:410:27:42

I'll get myself a fork.

0:27:440:27:45

Yeah, get yourself a fork.

0:27:450:27:47

MICHAEL CHUCKLES

0:27:470:27:48

-Right.

-There we are.

0:27:490:27:51

-Thank you.

-Get stuck in.

-I will.

0:27:510:27:53

How's that?

0:27:570:27:58

Mmm.

0:27:580:28:00

Mm! It's the...

0:28:000:28:01

it's the crust and the sugar that's nice,

0:28:010:28:03

and the cream and the rhubarb.

0:28:030:28:06

HE SMACKS HIS LIPS

0:28:060:28:07

Mm!

0:28:070:28:08

-You can see children would love it.

-Delicious.

0:28:080:28:11

OK, that's it from our celebration of cooking for royal children.

0:28:110:28:15

See you next time.

0:28:150:28:16

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