0:00:02 > 0:00:04The Royal Family are steeped in tradition.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07Throughout history, the royal tables have showcased culinary excellence.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09In 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 > 0:00:24Now, the Queen Mother had this really wicked trick with these.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26What a mess!
0:00:26 > 0:00:28We sample royal eating alfresco...
0:00:28 > 0:00:30- Oh, wow!- That is what you want.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34..and revisit the most extravagant times.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Pheasant, stag, turkey, salmon,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39oysters and turbot dressed in a lobster-champagne sauce.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40Unbelievable!
0:00:40 > 0:00:42This is...
0:00:46 > 0:00:51Hello. I'm Michael Buerk 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 > 0:01:01In the splendour of the gardens,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05halls and kitchen of 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 kitchenmaid's cookbook.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20The only surviving recipe book of its kind in the Royal Archive.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22This is an exact copy of the original,
0:01:22 > 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.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45This time, we cook food served up by the Royal Family outdoors,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48at their picnics and garden parties.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Since she came to the throne over 60 years ago,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53the Queen has welcomed two million people
0:01:53 > 0:01:55to the gardens of Buckingham Palace.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57And, more recently,
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Her Majesty threw a huge picnic in the Mall to mark her 90th birthday.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Today on Royal Recipes, Paul Ainsworth finds out what's cooking
0:02:08 > 0:02:11when Prince Philip takes over the barbecue.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It's a proper royal recipe and we're going to do Gaelic steak
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and a real royal favourite - whisky sauce.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Historian Dr Annie Gray reveals
0:02:19 > 0:02:23how Queen Victoria made the picnic fashionable.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25For she was a fierce picnicker.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27She loved it.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28And the Melton Mowbray baker
0:02:28 > 0:02:32preparing to make a picnic essential for the Queen.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Once a year, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Society
0:02:35 > 0:02:37send a pie up to Balmoral for the Queen.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39And it's my turn this year to make it.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42So that will be a big pie.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51In the grounds of this stately home, we start with a royal barbecue.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56We're roughing it here today at Audley End.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58With me, Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- Hello, Michael. How are you? - I'm very well in my jacket.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Yes. Yeah, you look lovely and warm, Michael. Lovely and warm.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09They say nobody deters the Windsors from having a picnic
0:03:09 > 0:03:10in all weathers.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14- No.- It can get really, really wintry in Balmoral, even in August,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- I think.- And they still will love to have a barbecue, won't they?
0:03:17 > 0:03:19- Yeah, yeah.- Why not?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Have you seen those home movies of the royal families and picnics?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- Yeah, yeah.- Everybody's pitching in, but Prince Philip is in charge.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I bet he is. It's a manly thing. It's the barbecue.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- It is a man thing.- It is. Do you feel manly right now?
0:03:29 > 0:03:30- I do.- Well...
0:03:30 > 0:03:32- Right, let's get cooking.- OK.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35OK, we're going to do a real favourite royal recipe,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37especially of Prince Philip's.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- This is his signature picnic dish. - Yeah, signature picnic dish.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43- What does he cook?- We're going to do Gaelic steaks, potatoes in the bag,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46which is really, really nice. Everything on the barbecue.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49- Yeah.- And a real royal favourite - whisky sauce.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51OK? Would you like a tipple while we cook?
0:03:51 > 0:03:53- Well, I might. Yeah. - If we get cracking straightaway...
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- OK.- We're going to take a little tinfoil bag here...
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And this I really recommend doing.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02It's delicious. So, I'm just going to put some oil over the potatoes.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04And you've got some butter in there as well?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Yeah, some butter in there as well.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Some seasoning.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09- Salt and pepper.- Yeah.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Basically, the potatoes are going to steam themselves...
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- Just tip them in?- Just tip them in, like that.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Give them a good ruffle around, so you get all of that seasoning.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- Yeah.- And then just literally fold the bag...
0:04:21 > 0:04:23- ..like that.- It's pretty simple, isn't it?- Pretty simple.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27And straight on. And get those on, literally, an hour and a half,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30couple of hours, before you're going to cook and literally,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32the coals are going to get lovely and warm.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34All those potatoes are going to roast in that butter, the oil
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and seasoning, garlic. Beautiful. Next, the steaks.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Let's get the steak on. We just put, lightly,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42a little bit of oil on that steak.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Like that, OK?
0:04:44 > 0:04:46- Lightly season.- Yeah.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Crush that right the way over the steak.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51The steaks we're using here, Michael, are sirloin.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55That middle, sort of, steak where you've got that lovely eye of meat,
0:04:55 > 0:04:56nice fat content going around.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57Beautiful. Straight on.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Nice, hottest part of the barbecue.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02You need white heat. Like, proper good heat.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- That's the secret, isn't it, to barbecuing?- That is the secret.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07The Royals often do this. They load up the Land Rover, don't they?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09And they're up on the moors above Balmoral.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Yeah, yeah. Absolutely, yeah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I suppose it's a taste of ordinary life for them, to a degree,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16not being waited on hand, foot and finger and being a family.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Yes. Well, do you know what? Like you say,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22taking a barbecue on a picnic and stuff -
0:05:22 > 0:05:24- what better way to enjoy your day? Especially like this.- Yeah, yeah.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27So, we've got our steaks on, we've got our potatoes on
0:05:27 > 0:05:30and now we're going to make our whisky sauce.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33So, with our sauce, we just need not as much of a heavy heat
0:05:33 > 0:05:35as what we've got here with the steaks.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37We're just going to have...
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- our shallots. - Just diced shallots, those?
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Diced shallots. Right, we're going to have a little rearrange.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47- See, our sauce now.- Yeah.- We've got that lovely heat into the sauce.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49This is such a great way to cook.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51So, we move our... These are our potatoes that are ready.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- Going to move those potatoes to the front.- Yeah.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Right, for our whisky sauce - really, really simple.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00We've got some lovely mushrooms, sliced chestnut mushrooms.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- They go in.- You're not going to cook those for long, I don't imagine.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- No, they're going to... It's a very quick sauce.- Yeah.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09So, we're just going to get those nice and...
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Get them coated in that lovely shallot mixture.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14We can season all the way through, so we've got that lovely flavour
0:06:14 > 0:06:16coming up all the way through the dish.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Now, you'll see with these steaks...
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Just have a look under here, Michael. Ready? When we turn over...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- Look at that.- Oh, wow! - That is what you want -
0:06:25 > 0:06:27that lovely caramelisation.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Yeah. It's got a, kind of, real, lovely brown crust on the fat,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32- hasn't it?- And I can tell this one's not quite ready for turning over,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34because, you see, when it's ready,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36it'll come off the bars nice and easy.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38- Yeah.- Like that. And then again, we don't move it.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40We just leave it there and let it do its thing.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- Yeah.- OK.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Meanwhile, we've got this delicious sauce.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46So you can see juices start to come out the mushrooms
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and into the sauce. And we're going to reduce those down.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52They have some quite funny incidents on these royal picnics, you know.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54There was one occasion, I think back in the '60s,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56where they're on the moors above Balmoral...
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- Yeah.- ..having a picnic.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01And some Scots Guardsmen were taking some horses...
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- Right.- ..to water them down the loch or something. He saw these people.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08I suppose he must've thought they were trespassers or something -
0:07:08 > 0:07:09didn't realise who they were -
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and just drove the horses straight through the royal picnic.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- Seriously?- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16- He was locked up in the tower, of course.- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18I don't think he was - I think they thought it was quite a joke.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- Can you imagine when he found out who it was?- Yes, exactly, yes.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Now, those mushrooms. If you just have a smell of that.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27- Yeah.- We've got the thyme, the garlic, the mushrooms, the shallots.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29- It's such a classic sauce. - Oh, it's lovely.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33We're kind of referencing sort of, like, a steak-Diane-type sauce.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35- Yeah.- Yeah, really nice. - How much do you cook these steaks?
0:07:35 > 0:07:38What do you think? Do you like them rare? A matter of taste, is it?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42For the sirloin? Yeah, just medium rare so that it's nice and pink.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44- Because it looks quite well done. - Well, that's the surface.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46And that's what we want - that flavour, that texture.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50- Yeah.- We don't want it looking bland and sort of, like, grey.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53We want it caramelised. That's the sugars in the meat caramelising.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55OK, next...
0:07:57 > 0:08:00- A drab of whisky.- Yeah. - Is that enough for you?
0:08:00 > 0:08:03No, a little more, if you wouldn't mind.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05- Well, it burns off. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07So we're just going to reduce that whisky out.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11- Yeah.- And what we want is that pure whisky flavour and just burning off
0:08:11 > 0:08:13- some of that alcohol.- You can smell it, actually.- Lovely, isn't it?
0:08:13 > 0:08:17- Absolutely lovely.- Come this way. - Yeah. Right, we're ready.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Steaks off. We're just going to rest those now, Michael.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- That's important, this resting business?- Absolutely.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- Really, really important. - It's what we amateurs don't do.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27You just want to get your teeth into it, don't you?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Yeah! And they think it's because people think "Oh, well,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32- "then it goes cold." - Cold, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Stock in.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36- That's beef stock, yeah? - That's beef stock going in.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42And we're literally just going to bring that to the boil.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Let it reduce slightly.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47And we're there. I'm going to add
0:08:47 > 0:08:50a little bit of cream at the end, just to...
0:08:50 > 0:08:52They like a lot of cream and butter.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55They're quite rich recipes, the royal recipes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59It's a wonder they're not all looking like Edward VII, really.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- Yeah. And there we are.- Makes a lot of washing up, doesn't it?
0:09:01 > 0:09:04The Queen does the washing up in a stream, apparently, quite often.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07In the stream? Love that! That's brilliant. That's brilliant.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09I don't think the servants like that idea. But there we go.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Quite a sight! And quite a thought, isn't it?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14So now that's going to come to the boil.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16We're going to add a little bit of cream. Not much,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19cos we don't want it to be too rich and heavy,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21and we want that lovely, lovely colour.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Oh, look at that! Lovely colour, isn't it?
0:09:23 > 0:09:27And it's just literally about getting that nice...
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- Not too thick, but, like, a nice body to the sauce.- Mm.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- And I mean, to do that outside... Potatoes are done.- Yeah.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Steaks are resting. The sauce is coming to a lovely simmer.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Yeah. And, actually, it's only a few minutes.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41- It's only a few minutes.- Yeah.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- Just a little waiting game now and we can eat.- Mm!
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- Right, I'm going to grab my plate. - Yeah. "MY plate"?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Yeah, my plate. You're not having any!
0:09:49 > 0:09:50All right?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52- Look at this.- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Beautifully... That is going to be so lovely and tender and pink.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Sauce... This is the bit that's fun, as well.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- Ready?- Yeah, yeah. - Grab the potatoes.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Stab them with the tinfoil.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Straight in like that. And look at those.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- Oh, they're terrific, aren't they? - Look at those.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Yeah, little beautiful mini roast potatoes, just cooked in that butter.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- Yeah.- Absolutely delicious.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Just going to put some of those on the side.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- Grab our sauce.- I love the way you do that so carefully, you know.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22You take a lot of care of these things.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Just a little. Just on the top. I don't want to go all over the steak,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I want to put more on the plate as well, cos I don't want to
0:10:27 > 0:10:30lose that lovely caramelisation that we've got.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- We'll move those...- Out of the way. - ..over there, out of the way.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35And there we go. Right, Michael.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39- Get stuck in! - I will, I will, I will!
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Ah, look at that!
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Oh, beautiful. Red on the inside.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- Yeah.- Caramelised on the outside.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Mm-mm-mm!- Is that good?- Mm-mm-mm!
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Look, nice and fluffy, roasted.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54- Beautiful!- Mm!
0:10:56 > 0:10:58You forget how cold it is with food that good, don't you?
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- You do, yeah. Oh, it's great. Go on, have a go.- Fantastic!
0:11:05 > 0:11:07- Oh, yeah. I'm going to have some of the fat.- That sauce.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11The mushrooms, the richness. Amazing!
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Oh, yeah. Right, you can do the washing up.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- You just need a...- Before... - Need a stream.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Before I do the washing up, I'm going for a run!
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Because I am freezing!
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- Great. Well done, Paul. This is brilliant.- Pleasure.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Barbecue steak, Prince Philip-style.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35A picnic dish to suit all-weather alfresco dining.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43The passion for picnicking has been around for hundreds of years.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46But it was that royal trendsetter, Queen Victoria,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48who made it fashionable.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Historian Dr Annie Gray is at Chiswick House in West London.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02It was built by the Duke of Devonshire,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and has vast, landscaped gardens.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09This love of the outdoors by the Georgians, then by the Victorians,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11laid the path for the picnics we know today.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Gardens like this were really popular in the 18th century.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19They were spaces of sociability,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22they were places where the aristocracy and their friends
0:12:22 > 0:12:25could come together, undisturbed by the hoi polloi.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Where they could play games, paint, read books and eat.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Mealtimes were changing at the end of the Georgian period.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37The fashion for luncheon was taking off, and this new midday meal
0:12:37 > 0:12:41was well suited to the appetite for alfresco dining.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Unlike today's picnics,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45you wouldn't sit on the ground and get dirty.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48No, you would have a table with a gorgeous cloth,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52servants bringing you baskets full of food, both hot and cold.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Champagne virtually on tap. And it would be a marvellous,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58wonderful occasion where you could look at your garden
0:12:58 > 0:13:03and think to yourself, "I own this. Isn't it just amazing?"
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Through the 18th century, the Dukes of Devonshire
0:13:07 > 0:13:10hosted lavish garden parties in the grounds at Chiswick.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13But by the following century, the property had been let.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19One of the most famous tenants was Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21later Edward VII.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23And in 1873,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26he held a particularly extraordinary garden party here
0:13:26 > 0:13:30for the Shah of Persia, who was visiting England at the time.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35The Shah's visit was hotly anticipated in Britain,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38and the party was a resounding success.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43The newspapers at the time reported that anyone who was anyone was here.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45There were even three giraffes brought in
0:13:45 > 0:13:49so that visitors and partiers could feast their eyes on them.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Queen Victoria was quite rude about it.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55But then, she tended to be fairly rude about a lot of the things
0:13:55 > 0:13:57that Bertie got up to.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Victoria may not have approved of her son's parties
0:14:02 > 0:14:05but she did have a passion for alfresco dining,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09and the growing middle-class soon followed the Queen's lead.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14It's to Queen Victoria herself that we really owe the popularity of it
0:14:14 > 0:14:18going forward, for she was a fierce picnicker.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19She loved it.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21From Balmoral Castle,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25she would go off into the Highlands and perhaps fry up a fish that she'd
0:14:25 > 0:14:27caught that morning from the lake.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29The newspapers then, as now,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32reported on the doings of the Royal Family all the time,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35and so pictures and reports of Queen Victoria's activities
0:14:35 > 0:14:39circulated, making picnicking truly the thing to do.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42It became so much a part of life
0:14:42 > 0:14:46that the doyenne of the Victorian establishment, Mrs Beeton,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49thought it necessary to include a section on picnicking
0:14:49 > 0:14:51in her bestselling cookery book.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56She said, "One of the pleasantest forms of entertainment
0:14:56 > 0:15:00"is a well-arranged picnic, if only a fine day be selected,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03"while nothing is calculated to give greater dissatisfaction
0:15:03 > 0:15:06"than a badly managed one. To have chosen the wrong people,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09"even one or two who are not likely to make themselves agreeable,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"to have given people wrong seats in the various vehicles,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17"or to have too many ladies in the party are all often fatal errors."
0:15:20 > 0:15:23As well as giving warnings about the guest list,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27she even created a sample menu for a picnic for 40 people.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30It included two racks of lamb, four roast fowl,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33six lobsters and four dozen cheesecakes.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Then we come to that perennial picnic favourite today -
0:15:38 > 0:15:39the Scotch egg.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Fortnum & Mason claim they invented it in the 1730s,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45and while they may not have done,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48it certainly seems that that was around the time they came into being.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51One of my favourites is sausage rolls.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55The Victorians would simply take bread dough and stuff the sausage meat
0:15:55 > 0:15:58right within it, before sealing it up and cooking it.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01So, again, you could just pop it in a pocket
0:16:01 > 0:16:03and off you go to the countryside!
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Royal picnics weren't always outdoor affairs.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16King Edward VII in particular loved to take
0:16:16 > 0:16:20an absolutely whopping picnic along to the theatre, or to the opera.
0:16:20 > 0:16:2212 courses.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25He was particularly keen, Paul, I think, on cold meats.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- Cold meats. Yes.- And particularly keen on...
0:16:27 > 0:16:29PAUL CHUCKLES
0:16:29 > 0:16:32- Tongue. Not a fan. - Now, don't be put off.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33No, it's lovely.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- It's delicious. - And it's worth the effort.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37It's been in an animal's mouth!
0:16:37 > 0:16:39You eat the leg - that's been on the floor!
0:16:39 > 0:16:41It's not... It's worth it, I promise.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- We're not talking about 12 courses here, though, are we?- No, no.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- We're talking about tongue for a modern picnic.- We are.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51And we're going to do a proper, hearty, roasted tongue sandwich.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54So, the first thing we do, we're going to put our pan onto the heat.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56We're going to add a little bit of oil.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00And when that oil gets hot, we're going to add a little bit of butter.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02What we've got here is an ox tongue.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- It's huge!- It is huge. And it's been brined.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07By "brining", I mean we've put it in a salt solution,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09so, actually, it's firmed up a bit
0:17:09 > 0:17:11and got that lovely, wonderful flavour,
0:17:11 > 0:17:12the salt running through it.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15We've then just cooked it in a bouillon of vegetables.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17And cooked that for about two hours.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18Right, so let's go straight in.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20So we're going to take a nice slice.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And we take this end piece off here.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25If you see in there, Michael, it's...
0:17:25 > 0:17:26really meaty.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I think people think it's going to be a bit slimy and mushy in texture.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- It's not bad, is it?- It's not.- But it's very different...- It's lovely.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Different look to ham, isn't it?
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Yeah. But it is... It is like ham,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39because of what we've done with it,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42by brining it and where we salted it and stuff. So...
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Butter.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- Oh, wow.- Now, no need to season it.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50And this is where it comes alive, and this is why... You know,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52this is how I think people see it and just think it's this cold,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55horrible meat. It doesn't need to be like that.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Get our butter nice and nutty.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- No need to season it because it's been brined?- No, no, cos we've got that brine.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Now just sit both slices, just like that.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Back onto the heat. We're going to turn that heat down a little bit.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10And let it do its thing.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13So we're just roasting, getting that lovely flavour.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Meanwhile, we're going to move over here, and make our own mayonnaise.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19- From scratch.- Ever made mayonnaise before?- No, no.- From scratch.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Get it out of a bottle, I do.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Two egg yolks. Spoonful of Dijon mustard.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28English is also nice, but I know the Royals like things from France,
0:18:28 > 0:18:29don't they?
0:18:29 > 0:18:31Little bit of white wine vinegar.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37And this is what we call here...
0:18:37 > 0:18:40We're just basically making almost like a zabaione base, OK?
0:18:40 > 0:18:44We're just emulsifying the egg yolks, the vinegar and the mustard.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Edward VII liked mayonnaise. The first course...
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Actually, consomme he'd have for the first course.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Then lobster mayonnaise, then tongue,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54then lots of other cold meats,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57then trout, then lamb, then duck.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Then four puddings.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00And he'd have 30 guests,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03servants, 400 plates.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04- It's such a rich... - That's what I call a picnic.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08- It's so rich, as well, isn't it? - Yeah. Yeah. So...
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Well, he had a 48-inch waist, I think, when he was in his early 20s.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14- I bet he did! I bet he did. - Early- 20s. So, just here, Michael.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- Yeah.- We're adding in our oil.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And we're adding it in nice and slowly.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Not too quickly. Can you see it starting to thicken?
0:19:20 > 0:19:22- Yeah.- You can hear the sound of the blades going round,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and you can just hear the sound changing.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26Right. We're just going to stop.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29Just as a matter of interest,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- why are you actually roasting, frying the thing?- Come and look.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Because, I mean, you've brined it, you've boiled it.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Why are you cooking it twice?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Because you... Flavour. I mean, look at it. It's caramelised.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Now, doesn't that look more appetising?
0:19:41 > 0:19:45I think more people will try it if they just kind of actually...
0:19:45 > 0:19:47I think this is how people know it, this kind of boiled, cold...
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- Cold, yeah. On a slab, yeah. - Slab, exactly.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52- Now we're going to build our sandwich.- OK.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So we've got some wonderful sourdough bread.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Use your favourite bread. Rye bread, brown bread, white bread -
0:19:57 > 0:20:00whatever you want. Now, rather than just buttering it,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02our fat is going to be our mayonnaise.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05So we're going to put this wonderful, lovely mayonnaise,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09- just smear it all over. - It's a lovely colour.- It's gorgeous.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12It's a light rapeseed oil, another great British ingredient.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14It's a nicer colour than the stuff you get out of the bottle.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Both sides, like that.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Even if it doesn't taste as good, it looks nice.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20It looks nice. Yeah, it looks nice.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Trust me, it tastes a lot better.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Right, we're going to have... Move our mayonnaise.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Going to take our tongue...
0:20:26 > 0:20:28- Yep.- ..straight out, OK?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31And lie that in our sandwich, like so.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33For me now, I think people like...
0:20:33 > 0:20:36To me, it looks like a bacon sandwich.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- Delicious.- It fits, it fits!
0:20:39 > 0:20:40- It does.- Cinders.- Absolutely.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Little bit of that lovely roasting butter over the top.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I mean, already, just like that, you'd want to put that in...
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- Certainly would.- Hammer it in half. - In my mouth, yeah.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Yeah!
0:20:51 > 0:20:52Right, Stilton.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Wonderful British cheese.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56We're just going to take some of that Stilton.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58- Just...- Crumble it. - Just crumble it like that.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02And with that hot tongue, it'll just start to warm that.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06I don't want it melted, cos I want the Stilton for texture.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08- OK?- Yeah.- And over the top.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- It's rich, though, isn't it? - Oh, it's gorgeous.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13Absolutely gorgeous.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Next, some gherkins.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18And exactly what you just said there - it's rich.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21So we're just going to cut through with some lovely acidity from these
0:21:21 > 0:21:23lovely pickled gherkins.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25- Do you like gherkins?- I love them. - I do.- I absolutely love them.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- Could eat them just like this. - Me, too.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30All right? On with our gherkins.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32They really make a sandwich, don't they?
0:21:32 > 0:21:34They do. Absolutely delicious.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Look at this! Watercress.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39- OK.- This is your healthy vegetable.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40This is the healthy vegetable.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42This is the bit that makes it all all right.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- Yeah, yeah, yeah.- Yeah.- I know.- OK. - It gives you permission, doesn't it?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Nice and peppery.- Yeah.- Like that.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Little bit more of the oil...
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- Oh, yes.- ..over the top.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55We're just going to go with a little bit of cracked pepper
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- over the top of this sandwich. - OK, stop fiddling - let's eat it.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00That like that.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Yeah.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06Yes! And here it is.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09- Look at that! - Don't put it TOO far away.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Ooh! Get stuck in, Michael.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Right!
0:22:14 > 0:22:16MICHAEL CLEARS HIS THROAT Here we go.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18There's no elegant way to do this, is there, Paul?
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- There isn't. Let's go.- Hang on. I don't think my mouth's big enough!
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Mm!
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Mm-mm!
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Converted to tongue?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34- I am actually, yeah. - That's beautiful, isn't it?
0:22:34 > 0:22:39The texture's great. And the sourdough is quite a contrast,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42isn't it? I think this works particularly well with sourdough.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- But...- And that blue cheese. - ..your mayonnaise is lovely,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and the blue cheese lifts it.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49And the gherkins cut through it.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52I think King Edward would have liked this.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55- This is what he needed on his picnic.- Yeah, exactly!- Lobster mayonnaise and all that faff!
0:22:55 > 0:22:58He would've sat back, he would've patted his belly and said,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01"That's proper regal."
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Love that! Love that!
0:23:03 > 0:23:06It's your catchphrase, Paul. It's your catchphrase.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09A tasty sandwich for a modern picnic.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12The first elegant outdoor meals were hunting feasts,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and that inspired another picnic essential.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24The Melton Mowbray pie may be named after the Leicestershire town,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28but it owes its origins to the area's famous hunting grounds.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Royalty and aristocracy flocked here in the 1700s,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35and liked the look of what their servants were eating.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Local baker Mary Dickinson stepped in and the pork pie was created -
0:23:39 > 0:23:41the perfect alfresco snack.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Head chef at Dickinson & Morris is Stephen Hallam.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Hunting happens in autumn and winter.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51And when all the gentry arrived with their horses, 10 or 20 apiece,
0:23:51 > 0:23:52they needed people to look after them.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56So they turned to the labourers, who had no work in autumn and winter
0:23:56 > 0:23:58in the fields, so they became grooms.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02And their staple diet was a lump of meat crudely wrapped in pastry,
0:24:02 > 0:24:03thrown in the fire to bake.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07So all hunting folk saw their grooms eating mucky bits of pork.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10They wanted something more elaborate.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13And it was our founder's great-grandmother, Mary Dickinson,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17came up with the idea of using a block mould to create a pastry case,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19fill it with meat, put a lid on the top,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21put the jelly in when it comes out of the oven.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25And these pies were the snack that would bounce along all day
0:24:25 > 0:24:28in the saddle bags. It was eaten on horseback during the chase.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31And when these people got home after the season,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33they had a taste for the pies,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and that's when, sort of, the supply rose to meet the demand.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43The town's hunting heyday was in Victorian times,
0:24:43 > 0:24:49when more pie makers opened, including Mrs King's Bakery in 1853.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Their recipe has been passed down through generations.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Paul Hartland is the head baker.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01This is just the basic hot-boiling-water pastry.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06And pork shoulder, salt and pepper added to it.
0:25:06 > 0:25:07That's all - nothing else.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12At one time, the majority of the pig would have been used to make a pie.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Now, we just buy pork shoulder.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17If you was going to have a roast Sunday dinner,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21you'd have a roast shoulder of pork.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22And that's what's in the pie.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25These pies will be baked for exactly an hour,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29and then they're left to cool and then we jelly the pies,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31which is a natural pork jelly.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32Perfect.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36The pork pie endures,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39as does the popularity of the area with the Royal Family,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44especially Prince Charles, who was spotted by baker Paul in the 1980s.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Early one morning, I was up and about walking the dog,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and I saw all the hounds and the horses coming towards me.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I thought, "Wow, this looks interesting."
0:25:54 > 0:25:56I walked up, and there was Prince Charles.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59So, yeah, that was pretty cool.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03The Melton Mowbray pie now has protected geographical status.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Only pies made in the town can be given its name.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10And it's still very much in demand by the Royal Family.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14Once a year, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Society send a pie
0:26:14 > 0:26:17up to Balmoral for the Queen. Which is great.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19And it's my turn this year to make it.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21So we're looking forward to that.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24So that'll be a big pie.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28A 5lb pie, which will be that big.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30And that'll all be made by hand,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and that'll be sent up there and our name will be on it,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36representing the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40It's a thing that I'm quite confident of doing, of making,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44so I just hope they enjoy it, really. And that's the main thing.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47This is what we end up with.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Beautiful!
0:26:51 > 0:26:5425 years, we've had pork pie every week.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56And that's why we look so slim.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Nowadays, the grandest of picnics
0:27:02 > 0:27:05are held by the Queen in the gardens of Buckingham Palace,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08where she hosts three garden parties every year.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Grant Harrold here, who's been butler to Prince Charles,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Prince William, Prince Harry, has not only worked at garden parties,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22but been a guest often. How have they changed over the years?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Obviously, originally, they were more the kind of...
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Queen Victoria's garden parties, you had diplomats, you had earls, you had dukes.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29Today you have people from all walks of life,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32people that have given or done something for the country.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34You've got military, you've got charity organisations,
0:27:34 > 0:27:38so it's kind of changed to how it was, say, over 100 years ago.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41So, they're a lot less formal now, as well?
0:27:41 > 0:27:43I wouldn't say they're...
0:27:43 > 0:27:47You still have to, obviously, wear the correct attire, the dress codes are still quite strict.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49You know, gentlemen wear morning dress, lounge suits,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53- or maybe military uniform.- Ties? - Ties are still required.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Ladies can now these days...
0:27:54 > 0:27:57They don't need to wear, like, a formal day dress.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59They can wear a trouser suit.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02So it's formal, but it has relaxed a little bit.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04But the protocol's still there.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07The timings are very much still in place that were many years ago.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10And I have an example here of a couple of invitations.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13This is an invitation that I had recently.
0:28:13 > 0:28:14- This is yours!- That's my invitation.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18And then here we've got one from the 1960s - I think it was 1964.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19What goes on, then? What goes on?
0:28:19 > 0:28:23So, you arrive at three o'clock.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25The Royal Family arrive about four.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26The Queen arrives on the West Terrace.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29They play the national anthem so you know that she's about to walk down.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32You'll suddenly see these lines form, these two kind of lines,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35of where she's going to walk from the West Terrace down to the royal tea tent.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37And you can actually stand there.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40And if you're lucky, you might actually get to meet her -
0:28:40 > 0:28:42but hopefully without holding out a tea and a sandwich.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43The idea is to have that quickly.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46And the food is tea, sandwiches, cakes.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48- Just that.- That's kind of how...
0:28:48 > 0:28:50You can have... Some people might have the cakes first and then
0:28:50 > 0:28:54the sandwiches, but I'm kind of always saying, "Have the sandwiches first and then the cakes."
0:28:54 > 0:28:56But do that before you meet the Queen,
0:28:56 > 0:29:01cos otherwise you might not actually get to meet the Queen - you might miss the opportunity.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05And are all these garden parties exactly the same?
0:29:05 > 0:29:07I mean, the thing is, the kind of basis,
0:29:07 > 0:29:09the way it's set up, is the same. You've got the large tea tent,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13you've got the diplomatic tent, you've got the royal tea tent,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16you've got two military bands, you've got the gentlemen ushers.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18All these traditions have been around for many years.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20But her 90th birthday was a big...
0:29:20 > 0:29:2390th birthday party was very different, obviously,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25cos the Prince did a private party for her
0:29:25 > 0:29:29and then you had the party on the Mall, the picnic on the Mall,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31which was a fantastic event,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33and many thousands joined her and had a picnic.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Logistically speaking, these must be pretty big affairs?
0:29:36 > 0:29:39They are. You're talking about 27,000 cups of tea,
0:29:39 > 0:29:4220,000 sandwiches, 20,000 cakes.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45So there's quite a bit actually done for these events,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48and a lot of planning. The planning's six months in advance,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50so they are quite big events.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Does the Queen have tea herself
0:29:52 > 0:29:54or does she just mingle with her guests?
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Once she's, obviously, met some of the guests for about 30 minutes,
0:29:57 > 0:29:58she has tea in the royal tea tent,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01and that's obviously looked after by her own staff.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04But the actual garden party itself - these days it's catering.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Since George V, we've had catering come in to do those kind of things.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11In the days of Queen Victoria, it was actually done by her chefs.
0:30:11 > 0:30:12But, again, it was very different -
0:30:12 > 0:30:15as we said, there would be the diplomats, the earls, the dukes,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18and it was a much more, again, lavish affair.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21- Now it's the outside caterers? - Now it's the outside caterers.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25The Royal Family enjoy growing and serving their own produce.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29At garden parties, the apple juice comes from the Sandringham orchards.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Prince Charles is continuing that tradition,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34but sometimes he needs a little bit of help -
0:30:34 > 0:30:39as a farmer from Wales discovered, rather to his surprise.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44John Morris and his wife Margaret
0:30:44 > 0:30:47run a family farm in Crickhowell in Powys.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50For the last nine years, they've been producing
0:30:50 > 0:30:53an award-winning apple juice from their historic orchard.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59Most farms in this area have orchards and they have old orchards.
0:30:59 > 0:31:05But very few farms have orchards of this size with such old trees in it.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07The reason for that is, when my grandfather moved here,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09he saw it as potential,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12so that he could sell apples rather than perhaps
0:31:12 > 0:31:16scrubbing out trees and just growing grass for animals.
0:31:16 > 0:31:1930 varieties of British apples are grown here -
0:31:19 > 0:31:22some are very rare indeed.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27This is a lovely apple called Annie Elizabeth.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Annie Elizabeth originated in, I think, the 18th century.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35It was the person who propagated them named them after his two daughters, Annie and Elizabeth.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Unfortunately, both of them had died with TB
0:31:39 > 0:31:41and he wanted to remember them by,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44so it's called an Annie Elizabeth apple.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49John and his wife specialise in making apple juice
0:31:49 > 0:31:51from single varieties.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Their expertise is known throughout the area.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58So much so that Prince Charles contacted John
0:31:58 > 0:32:02for help with the apples grown at his neighbouring orchard in Wales.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07About eight years ago now, we had a phone call saying,
0:32:07 > 0:32:12"Would you come and identify some apples in an orchard near Llandovery?"
0:32:12 > 0:32:14We didn't know it was his orchard at the time.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18We went down and identified some of the apples in there.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Some were more difficult to identify.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24And following on, he asked us to press the apples for him.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25He obviously liked the apple juice
0:32:25 > 0:32:28because we've been doing it ever since,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30and now the pear juice for him as well.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32What we have here, actually,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35are pears from the Prince of Wales's home in Highgrove
0:32:35 > 0:32:37and also pears from his farm in Wales
0:32:37 > 0:32:39that were picked yesterday evening.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43The fruit is picked and brought to the farm, where it's washed...
0:32:45 > 0:32:48..broken into smaller pieces
0:32:48 > 0:32:50and then put into the press.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52And now we have to press the juice out of them.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55When we put it under this 19-tonne press,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58you're surprised how much comes out. I'll switch it on now.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Once pressed, the juice is stored overnight in tanks,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06so that the sediment settles before bottling.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Then it's pasteurised in warm water.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12This kills the yeast and prevents alcohol production.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Prince Charles came to John and Margaret's farm to see for himself
0:33:19 > 0:33:21how production was going.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26The Prince came July 2014.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30It was very exciting, very strange, and he was lovely -
0:33:30 > 0:33:33very ordinary, made you feel at ease.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37And he was genuinely interested, and you could see
0:33:37 > 0:33:40that he just wasn't there for the sake of being there,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42that he was interested because we are a small farm,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44trying to make a living.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47It was just an honour for him to support us
0:33:47 > 0:33:49and to support local businesses around here,
0:33:49 > 0:33:54because there are a lot of food and drink places in the locality.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57The following year, their juice was awarded the Royal Warrant -
0:33:57 > 0:34:00the first producers in Wales to achieve this distinction -
0:34:00 > 0:34:04and they've even enjoyed drinking their juice in a royal setting.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08We were invited to one of the summer drinks parties,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12and we were invited a few years ago to a winter one,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14as well, which was really lovely.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16And our apple juice was featured there,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18so that was one of the reasons why we were there,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21because we supplied the Royal Household.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24This boutique family business has come a long way
0:34:24 > 0:34:26since John received that plea for help
0:34:26 > 0:34:29from the royal farmer 30 miles down the road.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31The guy at the end of the phone said,
0:34:31 > 0:34:35"Well, it might be worth your while." So, anyway, we went down...
0:34:36 > 0:34:39..looked at the orchard, which was a very nice orchard,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42and then I just happened to say, or he happened to tell me,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44who owned the farm.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47And the rest is history, so to speak.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49But when he came back it was interesting. He said,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51"Do you know where I've been?" And I went, "The pub?"
0:34:51 > 0:34:54So he went, "No!"
0:34:54 > 0:34:58So that's... I sort of don't get too excited about a lot of things
0:34:58 > 0:35:03but I was, sort of, quite taken back by that, and, er,
0:35:03 > 0:35:05I was quite honoured, as well, I suppose.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10So that was the start of, you know, something very nice.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Mildred Nicholls' recipe book from the early 1900s
0:35:17 > 0:35:21features recipes for several apple puddings.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25They include the perfectly portable, picnic-friendly apple tart, or...
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Apple juice. It looks nice but no alcohol in it, though.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35- No.- Not cider. - Not cider, is it?!
0:35:35 > 0:35:38But it's probably quite nice anyway. A lot of those picnics, you know,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41must've been prepared by Mildred Nicholls, who was a kitchenmaid
0:35:41 > 0:35:43in Buckingham Palace in the early years of the last century,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46and whose fabulous old recipe book
0:35:46 > 0:35:49is an absolute treasure trove of royal recipes.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52- It's incredible.- Not surprisingly, quite a lot of them apple recipes.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56There's one here, tarte de pommes a la Russe.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01- What's your take on this?- My take on this is, I'm doing it exactly how
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Mildred did it, cos when I read the recipe I loved it,
0:36:04 > 0:36:05and I think that her techniques
0:36:05 > 0:36:08and what she was doing was really current now.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10Starting with these apples...
0:36:10 > 0:36:12What we've got here, Michael, is the Bramley apple,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15so we've got hundreds of variety in Great Britain but the Bramley,
0:36:15 > 0:36:17everyone knows it and it's a great apple.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19It's great because it cooks down
0:36:19 > 0:36:22- and she's cooked it with muscovado sugar, some butter.- Muscovado sugar?
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- And some lemon.- It looks like Demerara, it looks like brown sugar.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27No, it's muscovado, so it's darker brown.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29- Demerara's a bit lighter.- Yeah.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Again, Mildred's pastry - just a lovely, simple,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34sweet pastry that we've just blind baked, all right?
0:36:34 > 0:36:37- What does that mean?- What that means is that we've cooked the pastry
0:36:37 > 0:36:39so it's already at a nice biscuit texture,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41ready to go in just to finish off.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43So we're not putting it into raw pastry.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45So we just get this wonderful apple mix.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47It's wonderfully slurpy, isn't it?
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Oh, it's delicious! It's got lovely acidity, it's nice and treacly.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55That's why, when I saw it, I just absolutely loved this recipe.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56We're just going to smear that in.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59You say we've got hundreds of varieties.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Prince Charles actually grows a thousand varieties, I read once.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05That's unbelievable. And really rare apples.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07He's part of a project to preserve them,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11because I think some of them are in danger of dying out, aren't they, these British varieties?
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Yeah, and it's a shame. Now, what was really interesting -
0:37:14 > 0:37:17I've never seen this before - is Mildred then did...
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Like a lemon curd, but it's got so much lemon in
0:37:20 > 0:37:22as what we would know as a lemon curd.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25So we're going to start with the butter in the pan,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28and we don't want it to get too hot. We just literally want to melt it.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- Yep.- That's a nice little tip -
0:37:30 > 0:37:34dice it up, don't just add in a whole block of butter.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39- Because it melts quicker?- Yeah, absolutely, and just all over the pan, as opposed to in the centre.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41We're going to take one lemon.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45OK. And we're just going to do the juice of one lemon...
0:37:46 > 0:37:48..eggs and sugar.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50With your old trusty spoon.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52That's it, my old trusty spoon - you don't need no juicer!
0:37:54 > 0:37:57Get all of that out there, like so.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Then going to add into there, as well, Michael, our cornflour.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05That just stabilises it. I've never seen a recipe like this before.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10It was really, really fascinating going into it and seeing...
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Putting the lemon curd on top like that.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14- And apples and lemon - what could be better?- Why is that so novel?
0:38:14 > 0:38:17The combination seems a fairly ordinary, obvious one.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20It's more the combination of the curd.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Normally, you would have curd kind of made and in something,
0:38:23 > 0:38:27so to have it and then bake it was quite intriguing for me.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30In here we've got our lemon juice and our butter.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32Now we're going to add in our eggs.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36So we've got three egg yolks.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40- Royal brown eggs, are they? - Royal brown eggs!
0:38:41 > 0:38:45- And one egg.- And why do you do it like that, then?
0:38:45 > 0:38:48So we only want the white of one egg but we want the yolks,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52because they add that lovely richness, OK?
0:38:52 > 0:38:53Cornflour in.
0:38:57 > 0:38:58And our sugar.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01- Plenty of sugar.- Plenty of sugar. Plenty of butter, plenty of sugar.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05It wouldn't be a Mildred recipe if it didn't have plenty of sugar and plenty of butter!
0:39:05 > 0:39:07And just over a low heat,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10you basically just cook all these ingredients together.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13What happens is the lemon juice then just starts to thicken.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17- It's kind of like a custard, curd. - Yeah.
0:39:17 > 0:39:18Again, a lovely colour.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- A lovely colour.- The thing with curd is, like a custard,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25your fat is the butter, as opposed to custard,
0:39:25 > 0:39:27with it being cream and milk.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Why do you think it's called "a la Russe"?
0:39:30 > 0:39:32I mean, this is quintessentially English.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36It's about apples, and the royals have been growing apples
0:39:36 > 0:39:38since the days of Henry VIII.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Why call it "a la Russe"? What have the Russians got to do with it?
0:39:41 > 0:39:44I just think all Russians were quite fashionable back then.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47I think, as we do in restaurants, service a la Russe,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50- as opposed to bringing all the food to the table on a big banquet... - One course at a time?
0:39:50 > 0:39:53- ..it's one course at a time. - That's service a la Russe, yeah.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Because, like you say, quintessentially this dish does not get any more British.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00- How many apples are there in Siberia, you wonder?- Yeah.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04- Can you see our mixture's just starting to thicken?- Yeah.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07- Basically, we're going to pour it all over the top.- You just pour it on the top?
0:40:07 > 0:40:11It's such a great... It's such a fascinating recipe.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16- Then we just literally just smooth it into the corners.- Make sure it's all covered?- Absolutely, like that.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19Oh, yeah.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22And that is why you blind bake it,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24because that won't be that long in the oven.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26So that pastry would still be raw.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28- Yeah.- So, if you could just take that to the oven for me...
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- Yeah, put Mildred down. - Put Mildred down.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33And out there you should find one that's already done.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35OK, I'll pop this in the oven and bring the other one back.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39- Thank you, I'll have a tidy up. - OK, see you in a minute, Chef.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Oh, look at this - symphony in gold, isn't it?
0:40:44 > 0:40:47And the top has gone beautifully crinkly.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50- You can see the apples.- The apples are starting to poke through.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Absolutely. Right.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56And exactly like what you said - just kind of perfect...
0:40:56 > 0:41:00- Perfect for a picnic.- You can imagine them putting it in the hamper, can't you?
0:41:00 > 0:41:02- Yeah, delicious.- Beautiful.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05We're just going to literally finish it with some icing sugar,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08just over the top, just for a little bit more Mildred sweetness.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11Oh, yeah.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Snowing icing sugar!
0:41:15 > 0:41:20And do you know what? It's fantastic making these old recipes.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23I love it. I absolutely love it.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27Yeah, Mildred's looking down at you, you know, and smiling, I think.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31I hope so, cos it's been an absolute pleasure to cook these old recipes.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34- It really has.- Well, here's to Mildred and here's to us! Come on!
0:41:34 > 0:41:38- Would you like a slice?- Absolutely. - Grab the plate.- Yeah, here, come on.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43- Now, do it neatly, now. - I'll try my best, Michael.- Yeah...
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Oh, look at the way the knife goes through that.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- Is that a big enough slice for you? - A generous helping, I'd say.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54- Very nice.- OK?- Yep.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59- Oh, look at that!- Look at that! - Look at it from the edge.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
0:42:01 > 0:42:03- Right.- Get stuck in.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05- No, after you.- No, go on. - Oh, all right.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10I always go for that bit rather than getting any of the crust -
0:42:10 > 0:42:12why is that? Oh, hang on!
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Mm! Mm-mm-mm!
0:42:15 > 0:42:17Ooh, the pastry is good, too.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Ooh!
0:42:20 > 0:42:21Ooh, that's really good.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28It really bursts in your mouth, doesn't it?
0:42:28 > 0:42:31It's got lovely sweetness, pastry, and, like you say,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35you've got that lovely almost custardy texture with the apple.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Another little tip, if you wanted to get rid of some of that sweetness,
0:42:39 > 0:42:41would be to glaze the top with a blowtorch.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Oh, right, just...
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Then the sugar would kind of turn slightly bitter
0:42:46 > 0:42:48and would go really nice with that sweetness.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51- That would be rather good, wouldn't it?- But that is stunning!
0:42:51 > 0:42:53- I love that recipe so much. - Well done, Mildred.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55It was Mildred, not you, wasn't it?
0:42:55 > 0:42:58It was all Mildred! I just merely showcased it.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02OK. Well, it's time to wrap up that picnic rug,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04put everything back in the hamper.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Our royal picnics are over, aren't they?
0:43:07 > 0:43:09See you next time.