0:00:04 > 0:00:06Hello, I'm Michael Beurk.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Welcome to a brand-new series of Royal Recipes.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14This time, we're at Westonbirt House, formerly a grand country house,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18now a boarding school which has played host to royal visitors
0:00:18 > 0:00:20for over 100 years.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24In this series, we're delving even further back in time to reveal over
0:00:24 > 0:00:27600 years of royal food heritage.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32You play Anne Boleyn and I will play Henry VIII!
0:00:32 > 0:00:35And we've been busy unlocking the secrets of Britain's great food
0:00:35 > 0:00:40archives, discovering rare and unseen recipes that have been royal
0:00:40 > 0:00:43favourites through the ages,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46from the earliest royal cookbook in 1390...
0:00:46 > 0:00:50It's so precious, so special, that I'm not allowed to touch it.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53..to Tudor treats from the court of Henry VIII.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I can't wait for this. One, two, three.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01We'll be exploring the great culinary traditions enjoyed by the
0:01:01 > 0:01:05royal family, from the grand to the ground-breaking,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08as well as the surprisingly simple...
0:01:08 > 0:01:11I did think that was going to be a disaster.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Woo!
0:01:14 > 0:01:17..as we hear from a host of royal chefs...
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Prince Philip would walk past or pop his head in, "What's for dinner,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25"what we having?" Oh, yeah, it's not just a normal kitchen.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28..and meet the people who provide for the royal table.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32If it's OK for the Queen, it's OK for everyone.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Welcome to Royal Recipes.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Royal holiday habits are under the spotlight in today's show.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49We're heading off on some royal travels and looking at the kind of
0:01:49 > 0:01:53food that British monarchs and their families enjoy on their breaks from
0:01:53 > 0:01:54public life.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Coming up on Royal Recipes...
0:02:01 > 0:02:02It's pretty quick, this, isn't it?
0:02:02 > 0:02:04- Yeah.- Everything is quick.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Well, you know, I just make it look easy, Michael.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10..Chef Anna Haugh rolls out a royally-inspired barbecue dish.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I'm not going to wait for you today.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14No. No manners at all.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Dr Annie Gray reveals how sugar-loving monarchs brought
0:02:18 > 0:02:20a holiday staple to Britain.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24350 years ago, ice cream was almost magical,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26and eaten only by the super rich.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31And we recreate a show-stopping Victorian dessert.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34- Look at that.- I've no idea what you're trying to do there, Michael.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I'm making it into a kind of crown.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53I'm here in the Italian Gardens,
0:02:53 > 0:02:58the Royal Recipes outdoor kitchen, with executive chef Anna Haugh.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02- A barbecue, Anna, what are you going to do?- I'm going to make haggis kebabs.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- Haggis kebabs?- Haggis kebabs, yes.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06And this is a favourite, apparently,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11When she goes sailing, cos she does a lot of sailing,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and she goes on sailing cruises up the Western Isles of Scotland,
0:03:14 > 0:03:20she apparently orders these little haggis canapes from a very famous
0:03:20 > 0:03:23haggis maker in Bruntsfield in Edinburgh that I used to go to when
0:03:23 > 0:03:25I was the BBC Scotland correspondent.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27We have that in common, me and Princess Anne.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- Great, so you might actually enjoy these kebabs.- But haggis kebabs?
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Well, I think it's just because we're going to skewer them and
0:03:33 > 0:03:35barbecue them, that's what makes it a kebab.
0:03:35 > 0:03:36- OK.- But I love a bit of haggis.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Yep.- Right, OK, I'm going to cut this open.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Now, come on, tell me what a haggis actually is.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Haggis is all of the delights that
0:03:42 > 0:03:46you find inside a happy little pig.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49You've got a bit of liver, you've got a bit of kidney.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50You might have a little bit of tripe.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- Ooh!- But you also have other delights in there, like you've
0:03:53 > 0:03:55got some pearl barley,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58and there'll be some oats and some onions and garlic.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Why are you mixing it with pork?
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Because it's going to hold it better together so we can put it on the
0:04:03 > 0:04:05barbecue and keep it a bit juicy as well.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It's 50-50 haggis to sausage meat.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10So it makes it possible to kebab it?
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Exactly, yeah, yeah.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14It's the great national dish, isn't it, of Scotland?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Have you ever been at one of those Burns suppers?
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- No, I haven't.- When they bring it in and they slice it open with a knife
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and there's this wonderful Burns' Address To The Haggis and everything
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and there's a piper, and there's Scotch whisky - brilliant.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27- That sounds amazing.- Absolutely brilliant.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28Now, come on, what next?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31OK, we're ready to go, so I'm just going to shape it into, kind
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- of, large walnut-sized balls. - Mmm-hmm.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Oh, the pork keeps it together, doesn't it?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39- So I'm going to pop these ones onto the barbecue.- OK.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42- There we go.- OK.- Yeah.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47OK, next I'm going to make the glaze that we're going to brush over the
0:04:47 > 0:04:51top of the haggis, and I think this is really delicious.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55This totally lifts the dish because the sweetness from the honey and
0:04:55 > 0:04:58then obviously the amazing aroma from your whisky.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00A good whisky? Let me have a sniff.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Ooh, it's a blended whisky. Mmm! Very nice.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05I'll just put this over here, Anna.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07BOTH LAUGH
0:05:07 > 0:05:09You won't be needing any more, will you?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11So, I'm just going to give that a nice mix.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15I think all the royals love Scotland, but Princess Anne in particular.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Do you know what her full title is, Princess Anne?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I've got it here. Her full title is Her Royal Highness,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23the Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, Princess Royal,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26- Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter,- Oh, my goodness.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Extra Lady of the Most Ancient and Noble Order of the Thistle,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Dame Grand Cross and Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Dame Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- St John of Jerusalem. - That's a little greedy, no?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Put that on a visiting card!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- This big.- OK, so... - OK, now, where are we?
0:05:41 > 0:05:45..next we're going to move on to our lovely neeps and tattie cakes.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I've cooked 50% turnips, or swedes,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50and 50% potato.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54- Right.- So, to this, I'm going to add some flour and some butter.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- Here we have...- Yeah.- There. I'll just give that a good shake in.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Just keep a little bit aside, so, to help me make the cakes afterwards.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Mmm-hmm.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05So, I'm going to give this mix...
0:06:05 > 0:06:07A lot of this cooking seems to have a lot of pepper in it.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09I remember when I've had haggis,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12you get a real sort of peppery sense of it and pepper in the swede
0:06:12 > 0:06:17because swede can be, or neeps, could be pretty bland, couldn't it?
0:06:17 > 0:06:18Yeah, that's right, I will put
0:06:18 > 0:06:20pepper in it, thank you for reminding me.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22- Oh, that's perfectly all right. - Yes. We make a great team, huh?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Mmm. I have to keep you up to the mark, you know?
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- Just occasionally.- Little bit of butter in there as well.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I'm going to save some of that butter to actually fry
0:06:30 > 0:06:33the tattie cakes. So that's looking really good now.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35It's looking really quite rich, isn't it?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38- Yeah, it's looking good.- Yeah.- So, I'm going to dust the top of the board...
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- Mmm-hmm, as you make it up into the cakes.- ..spoon a little bit out.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44This is really, really Scottish.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Really, really Scottish.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49- And the second one.- I think the royal family has had a love affair,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51really, with Scotland for yonks.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Queen Victoria and Prince Albert absolutely fell in love with it.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I think Albert bought Balmoral privately, actually.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01- It was a private home. It's owned by the royal family, not one of the palaces.- Oh!
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- Well, this, you need to be super gentle with because it's so...- Why?!
0:07:05 > 0:07:07..light and fluffy and delicate.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10This is going to be like a little cloud.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12- OK.- Give that another little roll in flour.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14They do look good, actually.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Yeah. OK, so I'm just going to put some butter into the pan.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Oh, and I'm going to turn the kebabs now, first.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I'm surprised Princess Anne has time for these sailing cruises in the
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Western Isles. She's supposed to be the most hard-working of the royals,
0:07:28 > 0:07:29you know, the most official duties.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Yes, I've heard that. Now I'm going to lift these up and be really
0:07:33 > 0:07:37- delicate with them, cos I want them to keep their shape.- Yeah.- OK.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38She's very much her own person, I think.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44Didn't she refuse titles for her children because she thought that was too much of a burden for them?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46- Now, what did you do there? You put some glaze on.- I glazed it with the
0:07:46 > 0:07:48honey and whisky glaze that I made earlier on.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Now, is that for the taste or the look?
0:07:51 > 0:07:52- Oh, that's for the taste.- Oh!
0:07:52 > 0:07:54It's all about the flavour.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- How are the cakes doing? - They're coming along,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59they're going to need a little bit longer to get a nice crunchy edge on them.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04- Yeah, you want an edge, cos they're soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside?- Exactly, yes.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06- You're flipping them, Anna.- Yes, I am.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Is this a dangerous moment?
0:08:07 > 0:08:10This is a dangerous moment, trying to...
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Oh, they look great, they look really golden.
0:08:13 > 0:08:19I'd say our kebabs are done so we're going to rest these just for a few minutes. OK. So...
0:08:19 > 0:08:23- Those cakes?- I think our cakes are ready now, so I'm going to take them
0:08:23 > 0:08:24- off now as well.- Excellent.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Tip these out onto the plate.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Two for me, one for you!
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- One for you, Michael.- Aw!
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Now, how are you going to plate these up?
0:08:37 > 0:08:41- So, we've got some lovely watercress here, which I just think...- That'll be a nice contrast.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44It's exactly what you want with a barbecue, is a lovely green salad.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46I'm going to dress that actually with a little bit
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- of extra virgin olive oil.- Mmm-hmm. And that's peppery, too.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52There's quite a lot of peppery flavours in there.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54A little marriage in heaven.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Tiny little bit of salt on that and that'll be done.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58So, there you have it, your haggis
0:08:58 > 0:09:02kebabs with neeps and tattie cake.
0:09:02 > 0:09:03Looks terrific, doesn't it?
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Just as the Princess Royal would have on her Hebridean cruise.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12On the aft deck with the sun tipping down over the Atlantic, and maybe a
0:09:12 > 0:09:15little nip of Scotch to go with it?
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- Why not?- Come on, let's try it.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Here we go. There's a knife and fork for you, you first.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21Thanks. Yes, I'm not going to wait for you today.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24No, no manners at all.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- Oh, that looks great. - It does look good.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- Can I have that bit?- Yeah.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31Mmm!
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Mmm!
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Oh, it needs a yacht.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38You need to be in the Hebrides.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42I think the combination of...
0:09:42 > 0:09:47..the haggis, all peppery, and the pork, is really good.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Well, thank you. I think the whisky and the honey glaze, though,
0:09:50 > 0:09:51is a lovely finish on top.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- That really adds something to them. - Mmm.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56A great modern take on a
0:09:56 > 0:09:59traditional Scottish dish.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08The Queen loves her annual holiday north of the border, when she spends
0:10:08 > 0:10:10the month of August at Balmoral.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Reportedly her favourite residence,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15it's possibly the one place where she can relax.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Whether she's holidaying at Balmoral or on royal duties elsewhere,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23it's said that the Queen never leaves home without a supply of her
0:10:23 > 0:10:27favourite mineral water, but she's not the only royal to have developed
0:10:27 > 0:10:31a particular fondness for water from a little corner of Worcestershire.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38The Malvern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41For centuries, locals and famous figures like Charles Darwin,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Charles Dickens and our own royal family,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49have appreciated the region's water for its taste and alleged healing properties.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56It bubbles up from about 70 natural springs around here.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58One of them, the Holy Well,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02is believed to be the site of the oldest bottling plant in the world.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Water's been collected here since the 1600s.
0:11:05 > 0:11:11It's a centuries-old tradition that current owner Mike Hum is happy to continue.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15This is called Jubilee Hill and this is where the Holy Well spring
0:11:15 > 0:11:19comes up through the Precambrian rock, which is the hardest rock in
0:11:19 > 0:11:21England, and it's that hard
0:11:21 > 0:11:25that it doesn't shed any minerals into the water.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Therefore, it explains the purity.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32There's an outlet of the Holy Well spring further up the hill which is called the Eye Well.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36It's called the Eye Well because 11th century monks used to wash
0:11:36 > 0:11:40people's eyes with it, thus the purity of the water.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42By the middle of the 19th century,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Malvern was a bustling spa town with the great and the good coming here
0:11:45 > 0:11:47to take the waters.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Even Queen Victoria visited.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53But the area was truly put on the map when water bottled by Schweppes
0:11:53 > 0:11:58at the Holy Well site flowed from a magnificent glass fountain at the
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Great Exhibition of 1851.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The bottling operation at Holy Well changed hands around the turn of the
0:12:04 > 0:12:0920th century and water continued to be collected there until the 1950s.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14It then lay undisturbed until Mike rediscovered it decades later.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17We acquired the well pretty much by accident.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19We were buying the cottage next door
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and we found out that the well was in the sale.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25It was pretty derelict but we renovated it.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Over time we've discovered how important the Holy Well spring was,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and the water, the history that it had,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35the provenance that it had, so in 2008,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39we started the company and, in 2009, started bottling.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Mike now runs this as a business and is determined that stories about the
0:12:44 > 0:12:47provenance of the Holy Well are kept alive.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The water first came into history in
0:12:51 > 0:12:541558, when Queen Elizabeth I granted
0:12:54 > 0:12:57the rights of the water to the Lord of the Manor.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Providing it gave rest and refreshment to travellers,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03cos this was a pilgrimage route to St David's in Wales.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And when the building was built in 1851,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09these two rooms were set aside -
0:13:09 > 0:13:13here for refreshment and next door for rest.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18The first bottling took place in 1644 and there was, in fact, in the
0:13:18 > 0:13:2117th century, this poem that was written...
0:13:22 > 0:13:24..Lord In The Water.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27It was a song, actually, but I'm not going to sing it.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30"A thousand bottles there were filled weekly
0:13:30 > 0:13:31"And many costrels rare
0:13:31 > 0:13:33"For stomach sickly
0:13:33 > 0:13:36"Some of them into Kent Some of them to London sent
0:13:36 > 0:13:38"Others to Berwick went.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39"O, praise the Lord."
0:13:39 > 0:13:43This shows to me how important the water must have been to everybody in
0:13:43 > 0:13:46this country at the time.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49It's believed Queen Victoria never travelled without water from the
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Malvern Hills.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54In 1895, her cousin, Princess Mary Adelaide,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58granted a royal warrant to water bottled in the region.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00And the current Queen's grandfather, George V,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03handed down a second warrant in 1911.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11The flow rate from the spring varies, but the water has never been
0:14:11 > 0:14:15known to dry up, so Mike and his team can be reasonably confident
0:14:15 > 0:14:17of having a steady supply.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19This is the bottling plant,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23probably the smallest bottling plant you'll ever see.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28We access the water over here and the spring flows through,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32around the walls, and into the two tanks.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34From the tanks,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37it's pumped through a UV filter to kill any nasties that might be in
0:14:37 > 0:14:41the water, and into the bottling machine.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45From the filler, we go to the capper...
0:14:46 > 0:14:51..and on to the table for stamping with the date code and into the packing case.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Even today, we still supply water to the Queen.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01In October 2013, our local MP, Harriet Baldwin,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04had tea with the Queen and took along a gift of water.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07And she received a letter of thank-you in reply.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10"The Queen has asked me to thank you for the kind gift of spring
0:15:10 > 0:15:13"water, which Her Majesty was pleased to receive.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16"This message comes to you with the Queen's good wishes."
0:15:16 > 0:15:20So, if it's OK for the Queen, it's OK for everyone.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21HE LAUGHS
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Spending precious time with the family on holiday is just as
0:15:30 > 0:15:34important for the Windsors as it is for the rest of us.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Their historic connections to continental royalty means they're
0:15:37 > 0:15:41dab hands at laying on a good regal spread when the European relatives
0:15:41 > 0:15:43drop in for dinner.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- What are you cooking?- I'm making Truite Allemande,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50which is breadcrumbed trout with
0:15:50 > 0:15:53a velvety veloute sauce.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56So, the first thing I'm going to do is what we call "pane",
0:15:56 > 0:15:58which is breadcrumb the fish,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02is put all the fish into a little bit of flour.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Just the one side?
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Just the one side.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10So, the flour helps absorb a little bit of moisture from the fish and
0:16:10 > 0:16:12also for the egg wash to stick onto it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14And the royal connection, Anna,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16is that this was the dish that was
0:16:16 > 0:16:20served when Prince Philip's parents
0:16:20 > 0:16:22came here and had lunch with
0:16:22 > 0:16:26- King Edward VII, 110 years ago, in 1907.- Goodness!
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Prince Philip's parents, Prince Andrew, who was Prince Andrew -
0:16:29 > 0:16:33this is interesting - Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35- They're not very close together, are they?- No!
0:16:35 > 0:16:37But he was prince of both of them, and Prince Philip's mother,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Princess Alice of Battenberg,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41who was actually King Edward VII's great-niece.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45- They're all interrelated, you know. - Yes, they're all related. - All back to Queen Victoria.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49The Crown heads of Europe all seem to date from Queen Victoria.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55So, this is going to go on to quite a high heat in some oil.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59I'm also going to turn on our sauce which is some flour and butter that
0:16:59 > 0:17:03I cooked down, and I've added fish stock to it as well, and a little
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- bit of milk.- So, what makes it trout allemande,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10- which is French for German, obviously.- Yes.- So it's a German sauce?
0:17:10 > 0:17:11What makes it the German sauce?
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Well, it's a veloute base.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15So a veloute base has the flour and
0:17:15 > 0:17:19the butter, but it's the addition of
0:17:19 > 0:17:24these very rich, expensive ingredients, cream and egg, that makes it allemande.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27It's rather interesting the way politics intrudes in all this, isn't it?
0:17:27 > 0:17:29This is the German sauce, as you're saying, with all the rich
0:17:29 > 0:17:33ingredients, but then after the First World War, when Germany wasn't
0:17:33 > 0:17:35quite so fashionable in England and France,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- they called it "sauce parisienne", apparently.- Yes.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I think it was Escoffier who rebranded it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41- Oh, was it?- Yes.- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Well, he'd be a Frenchman, of course.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- Yeah.- Calling it "parisienne", but it's actually German sauce.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47They like it rich, don't they?
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Yeah. OK, I think our oil looks like it's hot enough now to go in.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54So, they changed the name of the sauce and of course, famously,
0:17:54 > 0:17:55the royal family changed their name,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59from a rather Germanic name, and became Windsors.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02Ah, yes, listen to the sizzle.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Yes.- You're doing that very carefully.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Well, I don't want to burn myself on television!
0:18:08 > 0:18:10When it comes to cooking with fish in general,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12you do want to be careful and delicate with it.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15You don't want to damage it but, yes, if I was a bit rough with it,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17I think the breadcrumbs would come off.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20But all we're looking to do now is just get a little bit of colour
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- on the breadcrumbs. - You are going to cook both sides?
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Yeah, just barely.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Just the time it takes to turn all the fish.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Because I suppose one of the dangers is...
0:18:30 > 0:18:32..all too easy to overcook this?
0:18:32 > 0:18:35That's it, exactly. So, as they're all turned over now,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38I'm ready to take them out of the pan.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40That is the briefest of dips, isn't it?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43That's it. Well, you know fish is just so delicate.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46So we're going to let them rest while I give my sauce a little bit
0:18:46 > 0:18:48of a whisk to make sure it's all...
0:18:48 > 0:18:51They had healthy appetites in those days, you know.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52Cold soup to start with.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55And then they had four dishes.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Trout, grilled chops,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00chicken and tongue "a l'anglaise"
0:19:00 > 0:19:03and then cherries and a compote of
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- peaches to follow.- Oh, delicious.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07You'd want to sleep after that, wouldn't you?
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- Yeah.- This is probably the lightest of the dishes, isn't it?
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Well, yes, I think fish would be a nice, light kind of dish for them
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- to have.- With cream, with egg?! - With cream, with egg, yes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18BOTH LAUGH
0:19:18 > 0:19:22That's very true. So I'm going to whisk my cream and my egg together,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and the reason why I'm going to mix the cream and the egg together
0:19:25 > 0:19:27before I add them into the sauce is
0:19:27 > 0:19:31to stop the egg from curdling into scrambled egg.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33- So I'm just going to give it a little whisk.- Yep.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37And our sauce has come up to the boil, so I'm just going to pour this on top.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41So first of all, I'm going to put a little drop in just to introduce it,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43make sure it doesn't scare it too much,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45and then the rest of it goes in.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- Oh, gosh.- So this is like a savoury custard,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52just like you would make a creme anglaise or a custard at home.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56So I'm just going to pour this back into the pan.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Would you say this was pretty rich for modern tastes?
0:19:59 > 0:20:03I'd say this is quite rich but I do think, in a small amount, you would definitely want this now.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07I think this is a special sauce and with something so simple, like this,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09I think it is quite suitable.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11So I'm going to keep this stirring
0:20:11 > 0:20:14as I'm thickening it so that, again,
0:20:14 > 0:20:15it doesn't turn into scrambled eggs.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18But because the liquid was hot when it went in and it's gone back into
0:20:18 > 0:20:21a hot pan, it's almost ready immediately.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23Pretty quick, this, isn't it?
0:20:23 > 0:20:25- Everything is quick.- Yeah.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Well, you know, I just make it look easy, Michael!
0:20:29 > 0:20:31OK, I'm going to add a little bit of lemon zest.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34You are so delicate with that.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39- Very little. Well, you don't want to get the pith.- Yeah.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- Cos that makes it bitter, doesn't it?- That's it, that's exactly it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45So, by not cooking out the lemon zest,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48by just adding it in at the last minute, you get the freshest,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52most kind of perfume-y version that you can, from...
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- If you do it too soon...- Well, it cooks it out and it just
0:20:55 > 0:20:58changes the flavour. And it's still lovely, but it won't be as nice as
0:20:58 > 0:21:00- if you keep it lovely and fresh.- OK.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Now, it's going to go with some vegetables.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05- What you got?- Just some simple little baby potatoes in some butter,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07and some spinach.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10- I'm going to chop some chives.- It's a lovely combination of tastes, isn't it?
0:21:10 > 0:21:13And the chives, for the decoration, for the fresh taste, for what?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15The flavour of onion comes from chives,
0:21:15 > 0:21:20same as spring onions, and it's just a very delicate finish to the
0:21:20 > 0:21:22buttered baby boiled potatoes.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26I always love the way a professional chef does this kind of thing.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Do you ever cut yourself?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31When I was younger, I was like Michael Jackson.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I went around with plasters all over me, left, right and centre, yeah.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Your fingers were longer then, were they?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38BOTH LAUGH
0:21:39 > 0:21:42So I'm going to give these a little stir now.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43They're looking good.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Little bit of salt there.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48I'm going to put a little bit of lemon zest in this as well,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50give it a nice fresh finish.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Now, this looks really great.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Stupid question, you didn't take the skin off the back of the trout?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59No, but there's so much flavour in the skin.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02There's so much flavour and also it would protect the flesh from the
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- high heat that we were cooking it at.- Yeah.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08OK, little bit of spinach.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- It's such a lovely, green spinach, isn't it?- Mmm.- Look at that.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20So there it is.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25Yeah. Truite Allemande with buttered spinach and some baby boiled
0:22:25 > 0:22:26- potatoes.- Oh, marvellous.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31- We want to try this, Anna. There you go, there's your knife and fork. - Thank you.- There's mine.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Ooh, there you go.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34- You first.- OK.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- Eat the skin? No, no... - Oh, absolutely.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- The best bit.- No, sort of, namby-pamby...- It's the best bit.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43- ..taking it off?- Mmm!
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Oh.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46Just think,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Prince Philip was just a gleam in his parents' eye when they were
0:22:50 > 0:22:55having lunch with Edward VII and, 40 years later, almost to the day,
0:22:55 > 0:23:00he married Princess Elizabeth, the future queen.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Wow. Mmm!
0:23:03 > 0:23:05- Mmm!- Mmm! The crunch is very nice with it, yeah.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- The crunch is great, you get the lemon.- Yep.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11The wonderful saltiness and the
0:23:11 > 0:23:13wonderful flesh of the trout.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14Marvellous.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17A real royal luncheon dish.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27It's no secret that the royals enjoy the outdoor life and for so many of
0:23:27 > 0:23:31them, it's the ideal way to unwind on holiday.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Prince Philip himself famously enjoys field sports and,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37as a younger man, would help stock
0:23:37 > 0:23:40the larder with game at a number of royal residences.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47As a member of the Buckingham Palace kitchen staff in the early 1980s,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Des Sweeney travelled with the royals when they holidayed at Sandringham,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Windsor Castle and Balmoral.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58And there's one gamey dish that stands out in his memory.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Today we're going to make a Highland venison Wellington with mushroom
0:24:02 > 0:24:07duxelles, glazed shallots and a port wine jus.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12This was a dish they would have at Balmoral.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Traditionally, they would go to Balmoral in August, and this would
0:24:15 > 0:24:19be a nice celebration dish.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Basically they're on holiday, so not doing so many royal duties,
0:24:22 > 0:24:27staying somewhere they can relax and have a nice, sort of, festive dinner.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Des starts by making the mushroom paste that will cover the venison.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37Duxelles is a combination of shallots, mushrooms, some parsley,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40some thyme, all sweated down over the heat.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Adding some butter to the mushrooms and the onion
0:24:44 > 0:24:47just to give it a nice, rounder flavour.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The whole family really used to enjoy Balmoral.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52It was a time that they could really, sort of, relax,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55they were away from the public eye, they could really have a proper
0:24:55 > 0:24:57family holiday, like the rest of us.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59I'm just going to add some more seasoning.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04The kitchen at Balmoral wasn't particularly large but there was a
0:25:04 > 0:25:06lot of activity. It would be the chefs,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10sort of, footmen, and pages and security,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13so a lot going on in a small area.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17So I'm just going to let that simmer now for ten minutes, and you'll get
0:25:17 > 0:25:20a nice, dry, sort of mixture
0:25:20 > 0:25:24which you can lay under and around your venison.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29While the duxelles is left to sweat down, it's time to prepare the meat.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31I'm going to seal the venison loin, bit of butter,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35bit of seasoning. Just going to get that pan nice and hot.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Venison was available in Balmoral.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39It was on the estate.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42And there was plenty of it and it was theirs.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45They didn't have to go and buy it. It was, you know, had been bred.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47It's like the Rolls-Royce of meat, really.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55It reminds me of the kitchen and the camaraderie of the boys,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and as you're cooking, somebody walks past the window and you think,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01"Oh, I know that person. Oh, yeah, I remember where I am now."
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Prince Philip would walk past or pop his head in.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06"What's for dinner, what we having?"
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Oh, yeah, it's not just a normal kitchen.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13The venison is left to rest while Des finishes the duxelles.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17So what we're going to do now is just add some coarse pate,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21a little bit of butter just to finish off, gives that richness,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23that full flavour that you're looking for.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25The variety was amazing.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26One weekend you'd be in London,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30another weekend you could be in Windsor or Scotland.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33You was always somewhere different, so different kitchens,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36different menus, different ingredients all the time.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39It's all melted in nicely.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I'm going to take that out and let it cool down.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45While it cools, there's time to prep the pastry.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49And we're going to roll it out into a nice big rectangle,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53so you've got plenty of room to cover your venison.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58As a royal chef, Des got to travel and use the finest ingredients,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00but the job could be far from predictable.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05We'd been working all weekend to prepare for the Italian state visit
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and, all of a sudden, the Italian government got overthrown!
0:27:09 > 0:27:14So basically, all the prep we'd done went to the staff canteen.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Lot of happy staff, but not so many happy chefs!
0:27:19 > 0:27:20Trim all your edges.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Once the pastry is cut to size,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30it's coated with egg wash to help it stick.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And the duxelles mixture is added.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Adding my meat.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43So, now I'm going to put some wholegrain mustard.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46It just gives it a nice tang to it.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54The neatly wrapped venison just needs a glaze.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00So, give that a nice egg wash and then that should go in the oven for
0:28:00 > 0:28:0330, 35 minutes, depending on size.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08The only time things go slightly awry is timings.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12We'd be working on a time but that would get held up by different
0:28:12 > 0:28:14dignitaries, or different occasions,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17and things would have to be put on hold.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22Time's up for the venison, and it's the moment of truth.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Technically, it should be a nice eye of red meat,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28colour fading to brown on the outside.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Yeah, no pressure. Fingers crossed.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35There you go, that's not bad, is it?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Little bit of sauce over the meat.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40A little bit of sauce served separately.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46So there you have Highland venison Wellington with grazed shallots,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48port wine jus.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50That is a real royal recipe.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53It's not too hard to imagine the royals tucking into this when
0:28:53 > 0:28:57they're taking time off at one of their country retreats.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01If you're talking about holidays,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04this is the real favourite for royals and everybody else,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08I suppose. Ice cream. What's your favourite?
0:29:08 > 0:29:11- Um...- Do you like it at all?- I don't mind a bit of ice cream.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Ooh, now, that sounds as if you don't like it.
0:29:15 > 0:29:16Maybe a bit of coffee and caramel.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21The average Brit gets through seven litres of ice cream a year.
0:29:21 > 0:29:22What do you think of that?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Well, I think somebody's eating 14 litres
0:29:25 > 0:29:27because I'm not eating seven litres!
0:29:27 > 0:29:28Somebody's eating my share!
0:29:28 > 0:29:32The royals love it, too. The late Queen Mother, she was particularly
0:29:32 > 0:29:33pleased with ice cream.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35- Bonne glace.- Mmm!- That sounds good.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38I don't even know what bonne glace is, what is it, do you think?
0:29:38 > 0:29:41I think it's like a Baked Alaska without the meringue on top.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Ah, right. Her other favourite was
0:29:43 > 0:29:46- peach meringue with vanilla ice cream.- Mmm!
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- What do you think? - Fruit would win me over, yeah.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Something strange about somebody who doesn't like ice cream.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Perhaps if they had foie gras ice cream, would that be OK?
0:29:57 > 0:29:59There is such a thing, it's delicious.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02- Really?- Yes.- I think you'd have to be a royal for that.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Cos the royals,
0:30:04 > 0:30:06they clearly enjoy a bit of ice cream,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08as do most of us, let's face it.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11But there was a time when the likes of us
0:30:11 > 0:30:14wouldn't have been allowed to eat it.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Ice cream was once the exclusive preserve of royalty
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and the aristocracy.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Annie Gray went to York's Georgian Mansion House to lift the
0:30:23 > 0:30:27lid on the regal connection to this staple of the British holiday.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Today, if I fancy an ice cream,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34I can just open my freezer or listen out for the telltale tinkle of
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Greensleeves on the street, but 350 years ago,
0:30:38 > 0:30:40it was a very different proposition.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45Ice cream was almost magical and eaten only by the super-rich.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48That was because ice cream-making
0:30:48 > 0:30:51required a particularly precious commodity - ice.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57It was harvested from frozen rivers and lakes and stored in ice houses,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01and, initially, no-one but royalty could possibly afford one of those.
0:31:02 > 0:31:07The first one was built at Greenwich in 1619 for King James I,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09followed shortly afterwards
0:31:09 > 0:31:12by another one at Hampton Court Palace in 1622.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16So they really did start off as the province of royalty before spreading
0:31:16 > 0:31:19out to the extraordinarily wealthy.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Ice-cream making was also pioneered in royal kitchens.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Annie is recreating a Georgian recipe for water ice.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Back in those days, a bucket was used as a low-tech freezer.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34I'm going to fill this bucket with a mixture of my crushed ice and salt.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40Adding salt helped to make the air inside the bucket extra cold.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44The ice cream itself was made in a metal container called a sorbetiere
0:31:44 > 0:31:46which was placed in the freezing bucket
0:31:46 > 0:31:49and packed around with more ice and salt.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54It seems quite counterintuitive to add salt to ice.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56The thing is, there's a reaction that's taking place.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59So the ice is desperate to melt, and in order to melt,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02it sucks all of the heat out of the surrounding atmosphere, meaning
0:32:02 > 0:32:06that everything around it gets much, much colder.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11Inside this sorbetiere is going to be significantly below zero.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Given the effort that went into making it,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19it's no surprise that the first recorded mention of ice cream has
0:32:19 > 0:32:21royal credentials.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24It was served at a feast in Windsor Castle in 1671
0:32:24 > 0:32:27when guests marvelled as Charles II
0:32:27 > 0:32:29tucked in to the exotic delicacy.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32But only the kitchen staff would have known
0:32:32 > 0:32:35just what it took to produce it.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39I'm going to use a little bit of 21st-century technology on my
0:32:39 > 0:32:4217th-century sorbetiere mixture.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45The method may have been rudimentary, but the mixture of salt
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and ice produced remarkably rapid results.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50We're at minus ten.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54minus 12, minus 13, minus 14.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Once the ideal temperature's been reached,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59ingredients are added to the container.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04This centuries-old recipe uses water, lemon and orange preserve.
0:33:04 > 0:33:05Here goes.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Royal chefs would experiment with extravagant flavours,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11making water ice from cinnamon, pineapple and ginger.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Or they mixed cream, eggs and sugar to make ice cream.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18If I just left it in here, it would eventually freeze solid,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21probably leaving a fairly liquid core.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23The secret to good ice cream,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25or a water ice as this is, however,
0:33:25 > 0:33:27is to keep the stuff moving.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30What you want to do is break up all of the ice crystals.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32The smaller the crystals in the ice,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34the nicer it will feel in the mouth.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37For centuries, ice cream remained an expensive luxury,
0:33:37 > 0:33:42appearing on the royal table in evermore extravagant forms.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45By the late 18th century and in the 19th century,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48moulded ice creams were all the rage.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Francatelli, who was cook to Queen Victoria briefly in the 1840s,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56included lots and lots of recipes for moulded ices in his cookery
0:33:56 > 0:34:01books, including ones with names like Iced Pudding a la Victoria.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03From the mid-19th century,
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Francatelli's fellow Italians were also introducing chilled treats to
0:34:07 > 0:34:08the British public.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Tony Questa's grandfather arrived here in the early 1900s,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and set up a thriving ice cream business in York.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21This was taken in the Tang Hall area of York.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24I don't remember this, but my father did mention about the pony and the
0:34:24 > 0:34:27cart that used to go round the villages,
0:34:27 > 0:34:29and quite a few people do remember it.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32They'll stop me and say, "Are you any relation to the Questas,
0:34:32 > 0:34:33"and the ice cream, Questa's?"
0:34:33 > 0:34:37- I say, "Oh, yes."- Presumably here, I can see the top of the sorbetiere,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41so presumably the barrow is packed with ice and salt to keep the ice cream chilled...
0:34:41 > 0:34:43- It would be, yes.- ..as, as it goes out on its rounds?- Yes.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46The liquid would go to the edges of the container
0:34:46 > 0:34:50and freeze and then they'd have big wooden paddles that they have to
0:34:50 > 0:34:53stir it in, so real back-breaking work.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56So, very much the same way that ice cream had been made, still in use in
0:34:56 > 0:34:59- the Edwardian period?- Absolutely, yes. So, you're talking even into
0:34:59 > 0:35:01the '30s, pre-Second World War,
0:35:01 > 0:35:02it would be made that way.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04I love this little girl here.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Yes, yeah. And the other one feeding the pony!
0:35:07 > 0:35:08SHE LAUGHS
0:35:08 > 0:35:10Actually, the pony, my dad used to say when they'd finished
0:35:10 > 0:35:13selling, he used to say, "Home, Peggy!"
0:35:13 > 0:35:15- and she knew the way home, so...- Oh, wow!
0:35:15 > 0:35:17..off she went.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21It wasn't until the 1940s when fridges became more commonplace that
0:35:21 > 0:35:24mass production of ice cream began,
0:35:24 > 0:35:28and what started centuries earlier as an exclusive royal delicacy
0:35:28 > 0:35:31became a much-loved holiday treat for all of us.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35But does Annie's Georgian water-ice stand the test of time?
0:35:36 > 0:35:37It's absolutely beautiful.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Melts in the mouth,
0:35:39 > 0:35:41tastes just faintly of orange and
0:35:41 > 0:35:43lemon, and it's one of the most
0:35:43 > 0:35:46refreshing things I've ever eaten.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58All that talk of ice cream is making me pudding hungry.
0:35:58 > 0:35:59So, what have you got?
0:35:59 > 0:36:02I'm going to make Baked Alaska with Italian meringue.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04It is a really glamorous dessert and
0:36:04 > 0:36:06I think it's a show stopper if you
0:36:06 > 0:36:08make it at home for a dinner party.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11The centre of the pudding is actually ice cream,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14topped with a bit of sponge and then finished with meringue and
0:36:14 > 0:36:15it just looks really dramatic.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Now, this goes back how far with the royal family?
0:36:18 > 0:36:21To Queen Victoria with Charles Francatelli.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Charles Francatelli, yeah.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27We've got a book of his recipes, published after his death.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30This is the kind of dish that you're doing, and it says,
0:36:30 > 0:36:34"Whip 12 whites of egg with a pound of sugar."
0:36:34 > 0:36:36I mean, that's really hearty.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Queen Victoria did have a famously sweet tooth, didn't she?
0:36:39 > 0:36:40So, come on, what do we actually do?
0:36:40 > 0:36:44OK, so this is softened ice cream that I'm just going to put in a bowl
0:36:44 > 0:36:49that's already been lined with clingfilm and a little bit of oil to
0:36:49 > 0:36:51make it stick on the outside of it.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54And then I'm going to top it with some sponge
0:36:54 > 0:36:57that I've actually shaped with the bowl.
0:36:57 > 0:36:58You pre-cut it, have you?
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Yeah - it should fit exactly to the top of the bowl.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- That's just ordinary ice cream... - Yeah.- ..or just lovely ice cream?!
0:37:03 > 0:37:06This is lovely ice cream. But you could use any bowl for this,
0:37:06 > 0:37:08so, as long as you use the top of
0:37:08 > 0:37:11- the bowl to fit in perfectly... - It fits, it fits!- ..like this!
0:37:11 > 0:37:12- Well done!- Yeah.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15So, if you wouldn't mind running that to the freezer.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18I don't know about run, but I shall take it at a fast clip, OK?
0:37:18 > 0:37:20OK, that's great, thanks.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22Michael, can you see the other one there?
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Yes. Should have been wearing gloves, it's cold.
0:37:25 > 0:37:26Really cold.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30OK, so the first thing I want to get on, it's the sugar and the water.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32So, you've got 225 of sugar,
0:37:32 > 0:37:3890 mls of water and you want to have it up on a reasonably high heat.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40So as we're waiting for that sugar to come up,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42you're going to separate the eggs.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Oh! I've never done this before, you know.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46OK. I can't believe you've never done this before.
0:37:46 > 0:37:47All right, all right.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50OK, so just tap your egg on the side of the bowl.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53- Yeah.- And then into this bowl.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55- Yeah.- No, into this bowl, here.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- Oh, that one?- You want to do your egg white, so...
0:37:58 > 0:37:59Hang on...
0:37:59 > 0:38:02- ..and not let the...- Egg yolk in.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04And then tip it into the smaller shell
0:38:04 > 0:38:06and then into the bigger shell again.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08You do not want to break the egg yolk.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12If you do, that will destroy the meringue.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16So, once you've done that... Yeah, top marks.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- I think I did that perfectly.- That is perfect, actually.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Egg whites are going to go into our mixer.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23- OK, four of them?- Yep, four of them.
0:38:23 > 0:38:28We're going to set it on a medium to high whisk and you just want to make
0:38:28 > 0:38:30them nice and light and fluffy.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32The more air in there, the better, eh?
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Yeah. So, our sugar syrup should be at about 115 degrees now.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38It's actually a good...
0:38:38 > 0:38:40This is really scientific, isn't it?
0:38:40 > 0:38:42115 degrees.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44I've been called lots of things, but not a scientist!
0:38:44 > 0:38:48So you want it at about 115 degrees once your egg whites are whisking,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52and then you'll have enough time to bring it up to 118.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54That's three more degrees. And then you're ready to do your...
0:38:54 > 0:38:57- I mean, that really, seriously, is precise, isn't it?- It is, yeah.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59OK, so we're nearly there now.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Almost there.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04I'm just going to have a look at the meringue. I think this can go a little bit more.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09You wanted it to be that much stiffer?
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- Yeah.- Yeah.- And then I'm going to turn it down...
0:39:12 > 0:39:16..at a reasonable speed because I'm going to pour this in.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18- Now, this is...- While it's still going, yeah?
0:39:18 > 0:39:22This is quite dangerous because this is hotter than boiling water, so you
0:39:22 > 0:39:26can imagine if you got this on your skin, it would be dire straits.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29You want to slowly pour it in because if you pour it in too
0:39:29 > 0:39:33quickly, it would all just drop to the bottom of the bowl.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Right now, the sugar is cooking the egg white.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- So we're going to get it into piping bags now.- Ah!
0:39:41 > 0:39:43You don't have to use piping bags.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47If you don't have a piping bag you can spoon it around, but this just makes it a bit easier.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50OK? So you can give me a hand with this if you want, Michael.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52Yeah, I'm dying to have a go at this, actually.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56So if you open the bag up and fold it down...
0:39:56 > 0:39:59- I've never done this. - ..around your hand.
0:39:59 > 0:40:00But I've ALWAYS wanted to.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02It's not easy stuff, is it?
0:40:02 > 0:40:06- Yeah. Well, the caramel has, obviously...- It's sticky, and...
0:40:06 > 0:40:09..yeah, firmed up the meringue.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Why are you so much faster at it than me?
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Cos I'm so much better at it than you, Michael.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16While you wrestle with that piping bag...
0:40:16 > 0:40:18It's not easy, come on, it's not easy!
0:40:18 > 0:40:21..of meringue, I'm going to get our ice cream.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23I think mine's done.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26OK, so to turn this over, you place
0:40:26 > 0:40:29a plate on top of it and voila.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32- This is the moment of truth, isn't it?- I know.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36And there you have it.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Oh, it looks perfect. Ah!
0:40:38 > 0:40:40It does, if I do say so myself.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43The next thing we need to do is pipe some meringue around.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Yup, I'm ready for this.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47So, it doesn't really matter how you pipe this around because
0:40:47 > 0:40:50afterwards I am going to give it a little bit of a
0:40:50 > 0:40:52swirl with a palette knife.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55I think this is bringing out the inner artist in me, you know.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58- Look at that.- I have no idea what you're trying to do there, Michael.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00I'm making it into a kind of crown.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02SHE LAUGHS
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Francatelli was really a kind of confectioner and
0:41:06 > 0:41:09sugar expert at a time when Victoria
0:41:09 > 0:41:12absolutely loved sugar, and then he went on
0:41:12 > 0:41:14to work for her son, for Bertie.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16All of them had a sweet tooth
0:41:16 > 0:41:20and Francatelli certainly played up to it.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22- Look at that.- I don't think he would have hired you, Michael.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24But you've made it like a stockade round here.
0:41:24 > 0:41:25SHE LAUGHS
0:41:25 > 0:41:28I'll just give it a little bit of texture,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31so you don't have to be too careful about how you go about this.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34There, we'll just leave it like that and then now, what we're
0:41:34 > 0:41:36going to do is actually blowtorch it.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40- God!- Dangerous. And you just want to really gently,
0:41:40 > 0:41:41if you can see that...
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- Oh, that's terrific, isn't it? - Gives it a lovely flavour.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47It gives that lovely, kind of, caramelised sugar flavour.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49- Would you like?- Yeah, I would.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50But Francatelli, presumably, would
0:41:50 > 0:41:53have just had to put it in an extremely hot oven, on blast?
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Exactly. Exactly.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58- Yeah! Ooh!- Mind your hands.- Quite a natural with fire.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02- I am, actually, yeah.- So, there we have it, that's our Baked Alaska.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04That looks terrific, doesn't it?
0:42:04 > 0:42:06- It gives it a texture, too, the crisping of the outside.- Mmm.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09And then, the last thing we're going to do is just to add a little bit
0:42:09 > 0:42:11of fruit because inside it is
0:42:11 > 0:42:14strawberry ice cream, so some nice berries just placed
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- around the side would be quite nice. - That makes it look wonderful, doesn't it?
0:42:17 > 0:42:21- Yeah.- You can just imagine at a dinner party, bringing this in the end of the meal.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23- Yeah. An absolute show stopper. - Yeah.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Come on, Anna. Come on, come on, come on!
0:42:29 > 0:42:32- Ooh, that feels good.- Yeah.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34That's quite a small piece you're cutting there, Anna!
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Well, this one's for you and the rest is for me.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Oh, that looks brilliant, doesn't it?
0:42:42 > 0:42:45- Look at that.- That looks great.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49OK, and there we have it, Baked Alaska with some fresh strawberries.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51- Can I have a spoon?- Ah, yes.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53There you go, there's a nicer, bigger one for you now.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55- I should wait for you, but... - No, you tuck in.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59- You sure?- Yeah.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01There we go. And a strawberry, too.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Mmm! Mmm!
0:43:07 > 0:43:09- The bit of burnt...- Mmm.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13..that lovely top to it, and then the ice cream.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17The glamour of all this, perfect end to a royal meal,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20and, indeed, perfect end to the programme.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Join us next time for more Royal Recipes.