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.
0:00:21 > 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 > 0:00:30You play Anne Boleyn.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32And 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 > 0:00:38archives, discovering rare and
0:00:38 > 0:00:40unseen recipes that have been royal
0:00:40 > 0:00:41favourites through the ages...
0:00:42 > 0:00:46..from 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 > 0:01:07as well as the surprisingly simple...
0:01:07 > 0:01:10I did think that was going to be a disaster.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17..as we hear from a host of royal chefs...
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Prince Philip would walk past or pop his head in and say,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22"What's for dinner? What we having?"
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Oh, yeah. It's not just a normal kitchen.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29..and meet the people who provide for the royal table.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32If it's OK for the Queen, it's OK for everyone.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Welcome to Royal Recipes.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Today, we're sampling Britain's bounty and investigating the royal
0:01:49 > 0:01:52appetite for the best that this country has to offer.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59Coming up on Royal Recipes...
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Look at that! It's a still life you've done there.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05..Chef Paul Ainsworth recreates an ancient meat feast.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09I'm about to take a bite out of the 14th century.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Yes, you literally are.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16And we explore the fruits of the earth, from the regally opulent...
0:02:16 > 0:02:18They're really expensive, aren't they?
0:02:18 > 0:02:21They are. One about that size is about £95.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:02:22 > 0:02:24..to the utterly oddball.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26We have one recipe for one broth.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30"Cut off their heads and tails, and then slit the worms with a bodkin."
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Maybe it's really nice!
0:02:46 > 0:02:49I'm here in the Royal Recipes kitchen with Michelin-starred chef
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Paul Ainsworth. What are you doing?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Today, Michael, we're doing a roast saddle of venison.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- So how are you going to do it?- This recipe calls for the venison to be
0:02:58 > 0:02:59basically boned and rolled.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Now, you have to leave the sinew on.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04For me, if I was doing the venison,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I would trim all of this off and serve two separate pieces of saddle.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09But this is what they did in olden times?
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Absolutely. First of all, we're going to give it a good season all over.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15- Really, really important.- Mmm-hmm.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And we go straight into this hot pan.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21OK. Bit of butter?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Bit of butter. Garlic, crushed.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Juniper, just crushed.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31- Ooh! Wow!- So what we're doing with it, we're flavouring our butter, OK?- Yeah.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33- Some thyme.- Yeah.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34Like so.
0:03:35 > 0:03:36And some rosemary.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42And basically, we want our pan nice and hot, like that,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and we're going to caramelise it all over.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46- You can't just be doing the venison. - No.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48What are you going to do with it?
0:03:48 > 0:03:51So, back in the medieval times, they had a thing called frumenty.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- frumenty?- frumenty. And what that was was basically like a kind of
0:03:55 > 0:03:58savoury, sweet sort of porridge.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04This is a really historic dish because it actually comes from the
0:04:04 > 0:04:10oldest cookbook in English in the world, dating back to 1390.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It's called The Form Of Cury,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16which is medieval French for "method of cooking".
0:04:16 > 0:04:21- Yeah.- It was compiled by the master chef to Richard II,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and it's not a book, it's a scroll,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and it's in the British Library under lock and key,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30but we've been lucky enough to have a look at it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- "frumenty with porpoise." - With porpoise?- Yeah.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- Not venison?- No, not...!
0:04:35 > 0:04:37OK, so how does it work?
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- Well...- How does this frumenty work apart from being a porridge?
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Right. So what we have here is a very old-fashioned grain, cracked wheat.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46- Yeah.- We then soak that overnight.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- Needs time?- Needs time.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52- OK.- So that now is going to absorb this, which is milk,
0:04:52 > 0:04:53and it's a lot of it, Michael.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- Ooh, yeah!- Now, also, what they would have,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00they would have meat days and meatless days.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02So if they were having a meatless day,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05they would do it completely with milk, and a meat day, they'd use their venison sauce.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06We're going to do both.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09- OK.- So just like porridge, bit different to risotto,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13you add all the liquid at once and then let it cook and absorb.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15- Yeah.- So we're going to add in a little bit of that lovely venison
0:05:15 > 0:05:20stock and, while it's cooking as well, we're going to add in this mixed dried fruit.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23And that would go straight on the stove,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and you'd cook that out for about half an hour until you sort of get
0:05:27 > 0:05:29this lovely sort of porridge consistency.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31So the idea of what we're going for
0:05:31 > 0:05:34- is a bit like this over here, Michael.- Yeah.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36So what we're going to do now,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38if you could just pop that into the oven for me.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- OK.- All right? It's a beautiful roasted saddle of venison.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- It's a lovely bit of meat, isn't it? - Beautifully caramelised.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- OK?- OK.- So that's that.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47OK. I'll take it off to the oven.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48Thank you very much.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53So, Michael, if you could put that in the oven, please, at 180 for about 20 minutes.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54Only 20 minutes?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Yes. Remember, it's the fillet.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59OK. Might I find something out here?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01PAUL LAUGHS
0:06:01 > 0:06:02Would I ever disappoint you?
0:06:02 > 0:06:03MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:06:03 > 0:06:07It was a rhetorical question, actually. Here we go.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09- Here it is.- Smells good. - It does, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- There we go.- So, like always, a good, good rest.- Mmm-hmm.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Right, that's going to move over here,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19and now we're going to bring our cooked frumenty onto the stove.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Now, we're going to add some other ingredients to it that's just going
0:06:23 > 0:06:24to kind of all do their little job.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Firstly, egg yolk.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27- OK. Just one?- Just one.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Beautiful orange egg yolk.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Next, some cinnamon.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Then, after that, a pinch of salt.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And this bit is now down to taste.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Just a little spoonful of honey.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43It was a favourite of Richard II.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- So it must be good!- Yeah, he had a very eventful life, you know?
0:06:46 > 0:06:48He came to the throne at the age of ten.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- Really?!- And then, four years later, there was the Peasants' Revolt,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and the poor devil had to hide in the Tower of London.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Right. So next...
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- Chives?- Chop our chives.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04So we're going to put these chives and some fresh flat-leaf parsley
0:07:04 > 0:07:06through our frumenty.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09And medieval people weren't that hot on vegetables, were they?
0:07:09 > 0:07:11No, no, not back then.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12- Or, the rich people...- Yeah.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15..kind of rather showed off they were rich by not having vegetables, by...
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- Put the two together, like so. - ..having lots of meat.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Now just bring off.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- Now, you see that egg yolk?- Yeah.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23It just stirs in, gives it a bit of colour.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25And it is like risotto.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27- Yeah.- Right. Over here, we have our sauce...
0:07:28 > 0:07:31..and we're also going to have another tiny little bit of sweetness
0:07:31 > 0:07:33from our sauce, so we're going to add in
0:07:33 > 0:07:35a little bit of redcurrant jelly, which also works very well.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39- That's also very traditional with venison, isn't it?- Very traditional. And a little bit of butter.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42So I suppose, in a sense, even these days,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45classic venison dishes do have sweetness with them, don't they?
0:07:45 > 0:07:47- Yeah, they do.- Yeah.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50So we're just going to finish our sauce here, like so.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52And we're just going to literally
0:07:52 > 0:07:55whisk in that butter and that redcurrant jelly.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57And we're pretty much ready to go.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59- Are you nearly there? Ready to plate?- Yeah, absolutely.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02And now we're just going to carve this venison.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04So we'll go straight into the middle, like so.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Oh, gosh! That does look nice when you cut it.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08PAUL LAUGHS
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- Going to, we'll take a couple of slices.- Yeah.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Then we'll come back to that, now. So we'll just leave that there, like so.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Take some of this frumenty.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20Now, how are you going to serve it?
0:08:20 > 0:08:24- I'm just going to serve it pretty much like a risotto.- Mmm!- Like that.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29Smell that honey!
0:08:29 > 0:08:30It is amazing, this dish.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36It was the dish of kings in medieval times, yet, by the 19th century,
0:08:36 > 0:08:37the frumenty was being served
0:08:37 > 0:08:39in workhouses for the poor, do you know?
0:08:39 > 0:08:41- Really?- Yeah, yeah.- Yeah.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Talk about a trajectory for a dish, you know,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47kings at one end and the workhouse at the other end,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and now nobody serves it at all.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51So I've just put, on top of there, Michael...
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Yeah, what's that?- Some thyme.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56- Yeah.- ..which will go really, really nice with the venison.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00And then that wonderful, rich, venison gravy.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- Over the meat?- Just going to put it over the meat, like that.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09- Now...- I'm about to take a bite out of the 14th century...
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Yes, you literally are.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16- ..thanks to the British Library... - Yeah.- ..and that old, royal cookbook.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18There we go.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Mmm.
0:09:26 > 0:09:27Love the meat.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- Love the flavours in the frumenty. - Mmm.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33They go together better than I thought.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35- Yeah.- What do YOU think,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- which is more to the point? - I actually quite like it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I like that sort of rehydrated fruit from the raisins.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43It's got that kind of porridge-y texture but, in my mind,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46I keep telling myself it's like another form of risotto,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49and I think that it doesn't need that lump of venison on top.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Maybe tastes will come round to this again, because the ingredients are
0:09:53 > 0:09:57great and some of the tastes in there are great, but, anyway,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Richard II liked it, so who are we to...
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- Yeah, who are we?- Us commoners!
0:10:01 > 0:10:02We shouldn't quibble.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Royal recipes from the Middle Ages may not always chime with
0:10:11 > 0:10:1621st century tastes, but there's one flavour that's never gone out of fashion.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22We've been seasoning our meals with salt for millennia, and the UK
0:10:22 > 0:10:25produces one of the world's most celebrated kinds of salt,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28one with a very special royal connection.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33The Queen and her family take great pride in eating British food,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36so what could be more natural than sprinkling their meals with salt
0:10:36 > 0:10:39harvested from the Essex coastline?
0:10:41 > 0:10:46The abolition of the salt tax in 1825 was the ruin of most salt makers,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49but the Maldon Salt Company survived and thrived.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Clive Osborne is the fourth generation at this traditional,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55family-run business.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Every two weeks, two or three days after a full moon and a new moon,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05you get what are called the spring tide, so that's the highest tides,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08and they cover all the marshes.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10When the tide goes out,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14droplets of water are left on the marshes and a certain amount of
0:11:14 > 0:11:16evaporation will take place.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17When the tide comes back in again,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20it picks this extra salt that has
0:11:20 > 0:11:24got left on the marshes and then that makes the water that much...
0:11:24 > 0:11:27So this is probably one of the saltiest rivers in the country.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32The high salt content created by the tide means it's the perfect time to
0:11:32 > 0:11:34collect the water.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36The company then use time-honoured methods passed
0:11:36 > 0:11:39down through the centuries to extract the salt.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45We take in the water into big plastic tanks, the water is then
0:11:45 > 0:11:50filtered, then we bring the whole water up to boiling point.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55The idea of that is, any impurities or magnesium salts that form on the
0:11:55 > 0:11:58surface of the water, just as in beer-making or jam-making,
0:11:58 > 0:12:03they are taken off, and the water is then kept at a constant temperature
0:12:03 > 0:12:07to get down to a saturated solution.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Once you get down to a saturated solution,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13the crystals of salt start to form
0:12:13 > 0:12:16and the crystals then float down to
0:12:16 > 0:12:17the bottom of the pan.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22The water is left overnight while the crystals continue to form.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24The next day, they're ready to be collected.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Salt has always played an important part in royal occasions.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31As late as the 18th century,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35a guest's rank was gauged by where he sat in relation to it.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Distinguished visitors would sit above the salt at the head of the
0:12:39 > 0:12:43table, while those who sat below it were of little consequence.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47This process is called drawing the salt pans,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50which means physically raking, or harvesting,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54the salt from the previous day's make.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58This salt here has been making for the last 24 hours,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00right through the night.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04We are making seven days a week, 24/7.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08By 1900, the company was beginning to make a name for itself and orders
0:13:08 > 0:13:11arrived from stores that already supplied the royals with produce,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13including Harrods and Fortnum and Mason.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Success soon followed,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22and in 2010 this was cemented when they received an exalted visitor.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27The Queen came and visited us, which was a very special occasion.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32She met all the members of the family and then my son, Steve, showed her round.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34And the one thing that...
0:13:34 > 0:13:40..did seem to impress her was the fact that it was still a family-run business.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Subsequently, since then, we have received the royal warrant,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48which we're very, very honoured to have.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Each salt maker is responsible for
0:13:52 > 0:13:54two or three of their own salt pans.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56It's a great environment to work in...
0:13:57 > 0:14:00..and, in fact, Gary would obviously say, he's never ill
0:14:00 > 0:14:03because, what with the salt in the atmosphere,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06nobody seems to suffer from any coughs or colds.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11- Isn't that right, Gary?- Yeah, 25 years without a single day off.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15After it's been drained for 24, 48 hours,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18it goes into the drying machine here,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22gently vibrating it so we don't break down the crystals, and warm
0:14:22 > 0:14:25air's passed over it to dry it out,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27and then it goes straight up the
0:14:27 > 0:14:29elevator into a bag there.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31And that is the finished product.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34For the Queen's Silver Jubilee,
0:14:34 > 0:14:40I went up to Buckingham Palace and presented a case of salt,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43not personally to the Queen. But I remember it quite well because, getting to
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Buckingham Palace and the gates there, and I'm thinking, "I've got this box of salt, where do I go?"
0:14:47 > 0:14:50And I was quite, quite nervous and worried about that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57It's a soft, flaky crystal that can easily be crushed and there's no
0:14:57 > 0:15:00bitter aftertaste to it.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Created by the ebb and flow of the tide and harvested using traditional
0:15:04 > 0:15:09methods, this is Great British bounty at its very best.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13But salt is more than a condiment.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15It's also a key ingredient in a
0:15:15 > 0:15:18long, long line of royal recipes.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22This is Beef A La Royale.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26This is the dish that was served at the coronation of James II, all the
0:15:26 > 0:15:29way back in 1685 -
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Beef A La Royale.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34It's a fillet, it's the most expensive cut of beef.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Most expensive cut of beef.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37We've got a lovely fillet here,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40so you can see on the side they've got that marbling happening.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43So we're just going to take some of that salt, all right,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47and just season them very, very liberally over the top.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50It's a dense piece of meat, so you want to get that seasoning all over.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Very, very important so you get that flavour right at the beginning.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56- So, really, really hot pan. - It certainly is.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Now, the reason we want that pan really, really hot is because we want to get a crust on our beef.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04- Yeah.- That, Michael, is so important.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07None of this shaking the pan or moving it around.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Every time you move the pan, you lose heat.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13- Yeah.- And when you lose heat, you're not frying, and then, before you know it,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15you're going to be stewing, boiling, all right?
0:16:15 > 0:16:16We want to roast.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17Yes, beautiful!
0:16:17 > 0:16:21- Wow, that is a hot pan.- See that lovely colour that we've got happening there?
0:16:21 > 0:16:23This recipe is a recipe from a very famous royal chef
0:16:23 > 0:16:25called Patrick Lamb...
0:16:25 > 0:16:28- Right.- ..who was chef to four monarchs - Charles II, James II,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32King William and Queen Mary and Queen Anne.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34For nearly 50 years he was a royal chef.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36- Interesting that he's English, Patrick Lamb...- Yeah.- ..because
0:16:36 > 0:16:39nearly all the royal chefs, right up almost to the
0:16:39 > 0:16:40- modern day...- French?- ..were French.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42- Yeah.- But he wasn't.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45- Look at that.- Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.- OK?- Yep.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Caramelised. That is what we're looking for.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Now, sweetbreads.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51These are veal sweetbreads.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- These will come from the heart gland.- Right, right.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56They are delicious, one of my favourite ingredients.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Now we add in the butter.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02So, turn the heat up nice, like so,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04and keep turning our beef.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08The beef will not take long to cook at all.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11And we'll keep moving our sweetbreads, keep moving our beef.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14- Right, next, I'm going to add in a clove of garlic.- Yeah.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18And to them we're going to add some thyme. I'm just going to bruise it a little bit, like so, OK,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20and into the pan. Stand back, cos it will pop.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23All right? Look at that.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Absolutely amazing.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Michael, I've just taken our beef out, resting.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Yeah.- Now, look at these sweetbreads, how crispy they are.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36- That garlic and thyme's infused into the butter.- Yeah.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Now we're just going to also rest our sweetbreads, and while we're
0:17:40 > 0:17:43resting it, Michael, with each time we're going to turn it, to let the
0:17:43 > 0:17:46juices run up and down, up and down like that.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Fantastic. The interesting thing is, you know,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53that that is just one dish for this coronation banquet,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and out of Patrick Lamb's cookbook,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59we've actually got how the banqueting table, look, was set out.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04- Look at that.- 1,145 dishes were laid out.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07The banquet was held in Westminster Hall, not Banqueting Hall,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11because Banqueting Hall, of course, was where James II's father had his head chopped off...
0:18:11 > 0:18:13- Yeah.- ..earlier in the century.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15But look at all these dishes.
0:18:15 > 0:18:16And there, Beef...
0:18:16 > 0:18:18BOTH: A La Royale.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19- Now, where are we?- Right,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- we're just going to take our beef over here to the back.- Yeah.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25And at this point of the dish, now it's nice, we're relaxed.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27It's lovely. We're just now going to do our vegetable...
0:18:27 > 0:18:29- Yep.- ..and then we're, kind of, going to plate up.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32This is interesting cos he's got another one.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34In his cookbook he's got another A La Royale,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37but it's venison. "Venison A La Royale in blood.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39"Half roast it, then stew it.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43"Make a ragout to it of cucumber, sweetbreads, asparagus."
0:18:43 > 0:18:44Would you call this a ragout?
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Definitely. For me, a ragout is something in a really nice stock or
0:18:48 > 0:18:51a nice buttery stock or sauce, or something quite meaty.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- Yeah.- What we're going to have here is a vegetable ragout,
0:18:54 > 0:18:55- very similar to this one.- Yeah.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00- The only thing that we're doing different is we've substituted the cucumber for a courgette.- Right.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- Now, over here, Michael...- What you got over there?- I've got what we call an emulsion.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06So all that is is just water, OK,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09butter, and what we're going to do is add in some seasoning.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13So what will happen is, that will season the vegetables straight away.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- Some cracked pepper going in. - Mmm-hmm.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17OK? Back on the heat.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18- Right, peas.- Yep.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Like that, OK?
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- Some asparagus.- Lovely asparagus. - Asparagus in.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29So the thing about these vegetables, Michael, is courgette,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31peas and asparagus can be eaten raw.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35- Just always bear that in mind when you're cooking them.- Yeah.- So don't overcook them.- Yeah.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37All right? Literally, we're just putting that butter,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39that seasoning's coating them all,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42and the steam will just go through the vegetable lovely.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45So don't hammer them on the stove.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- Lemon zest.- Yep.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50- Parsley.- It looks wonderful, by the way.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53The greens and everything are just fantastic.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- Forget the steak!- Yeah!
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- Now, we're not going to go back on the heat.- No.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Just going to put that over there. We're done.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03We're going to take one of our steaks over here.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Whoa! Whoa!
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Oh, that looks great.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09OK? Look at that, Michael.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I'm going to do more than look at it, I can tell you!
0:20:12 > 0:20:13PAUL LAUGHS
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- A little bit more salt in there, like so.- Yeah.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Now, little thing that we want to do...
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- Oh, you've got all that juice that's run out of it.- We've got all of that lovely juice.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26We don't want to waste that.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28- No.- We want to rub our beef back through it.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- Oh, wow.- That is just flavour.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Yep.- So, that goes over there.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- OK.- Over here we've got our sauce.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- So we've taken some of the beef trimming.- Yeah.- All right?
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Roasted it down with some shallots, reduced some red wine through it,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45beef stock, then we sieve it off...
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- ..and we're left with beautiful reduced beef stock.- Oh!- OK,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51which is our gravy, our sauce.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- Yep.- Some of that parsley I chopped through the ragout earlier,
0:20:54 > 0:20:59I've also deep-fried, and crisp parsley is absolutely delicious.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01I'm just going to...
0:21:01 > 0:21:02..just show you the middle of
0:21:02 > 0:21:05our sweetbread - beautifully cooked, like that.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- Yeah.- Again, through those beautiful beef juices.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I'm looking forward to this.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- Looks absolutely wonderful, doesn't it?- It does, doesn't it? It does.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20Look at that. It's a still life you've done there, an absolute still life.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- Oh!- There's our beef.- Oh!
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- And we've still got the truffle.- We want it thin.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Truffle, thick...
0:21:29 > 0:21:31..you don't appreciate it, because what you want,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33and the reason for doing it,
0:21:33 > 0:21:38is you want the warmth of the dish to kind of almost just lightly cook
0:21:38 > 0:21:39- the truffle...- Yeah.- ..like that.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42- They're really expensive, aren't they, truffles?- They are, they are.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45One about that size is about £95.
0:21:45 > 0:21:46MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- That's more expensive than the fillet.- It is!
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Now, I'm just going to finish with nice bits of crisp...
0:21:53 > 0:21:55..deep-fried flat-leaf parsley.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- Look at that.- And that there... - Look at that!
0:21:58 > 0:21:59Beef A La Royale.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04Marvellous. Makes me feel almost guilty to spoil your work of art.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- Almost!- Almost!- Almost guilty!
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- Here you are.- Thank you very much.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- Michael, please.- You sure?
0:22:11 > 0:22:13That is proper, proper food.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Oh!
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Oh, that is fantastic.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18And, to think...
0:22:19 > 0:22:24..this was only one of 1,145 dishes.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27It's absolutely incredible to think that.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Expensive, extravagant, exquisite.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36The coronation of James II was obviously a lavish affair.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40But he wasn't alone in enjoying the fruits of the land.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Over the centuries, our royals have always relished the very best of
0:22:43 > 0:22:45what this country has to offer.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Few of their subjects were quite so lucky.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Glamis Castle was the childhood home of the Queen Mother,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56but 300 years before her time,
0:22:56 > 0:23:01meals for the servants were somewhat different from what was laid on for royal visitors.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Set in the lush Arran landscape,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Glamis had belonged to the Scottish Crown for centuries.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15It was originally a hunting lodge for the kings of Scotland, and the
0:23:15 > 0:23:18people here have always lived on the bounty of the surrounding land.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Dr Matt Green met castle manager Tommy Baxter to find out more.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30This was one of the main hunting grounds of the ancient kings of Scotland.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33What would they have been hunting, exactly?
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Wild boar, bears, of course, wolves,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and generally anything that moved.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43It feels to me like this would be a perfect hunting ground for the royal family.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Do they ever come and hunt here?
0:23:45 > 0:23:47The present royal family, no, but
0:23:47 > 0:23:50in the time of the likes of George V,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53George VI, yes, they did.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58The current royal family has close ties to Glamis.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00It was the childhood home of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04the daughter of Cecilia Bowes-Lyon and her husband, Claude,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10The castle has been in her family since the 14th century.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13Do you feel a sense of history?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Oh, you can't come through those
0:24:16 > 0:24:22gates without that sense of coming somewhere...coming into something very, very special.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26You can feel, I always describe it as 1,000 years of history.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30This whole area was perfect hunting ground.
0:24:30 > 0:24:36The Queen Mother would often have hunting parties here on this 14,000-acre estate.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Her family was reliant on the bounty of the land.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41They ate the game that was hunted,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45along with fruit and vegetables grown in their very own kitchen garden and greenhouses.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50What about dairy? Is there a dairy at all on the estate?
0:24:50 > 0:24:54There was a dairy, where the Queen learned to churn butter.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- The Queen learned to churn butter in that very dairy?- Absolutely, in that very dairy.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59Amazing. Does she still make butter?
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Not a clue, but she must have had some wonderful holidays here!
0:25:03 > 0:25:05MATT LAUGHS
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Once the food of the land had been harvested,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11it had to be cooked, and the Strathmore family had a team of
0:25:11 > 0:25:15chefs that came up with elaborate and inventive recipes.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Valuable records of the dishes are now kept under the watchful eye of
0:25:18 > 0:25:21the estate's archivist, Ingrid Thompson.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28- So, tell me about the collection that you keep here.- They date back to the 12th century.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31We have factors' account books, we have diaries,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33accounts, correspondence,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35all sorts of records.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- Do you know where everything is, or...?- No!- No.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42And there's, I imagine, sort of, meticulous accounts of royal visits,
0:25:42 > 0:25:47and there was one, wasn't there, in 1562 that was particularly notable?
0:25:47 > 0:25:52Glamis had a visit on the 22nd August 1562 by Mary Queen of Scots,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55on her way up north to quell a rebellion.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's mother,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02found a number of historic documents in the castle,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06even a note of what Mary Queen of Scots ate when she visited.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10So, we've got a kind of range of food here.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11- It's all in French.- Yeah.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I spy here "trois gibiers", which means three different types of game,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and in many ways this makes sense, because it was a hunting ground -
0:26:20 > 0:26:24- they could have gone out and hunted the...- Absolutely, yes.- ..birds or the animals.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Any idea what kind of game that would have been?
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Well, we don't know for sure, but it could have been partridges,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33pheasants, swan, even.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Do we have any sense of what the people downstairs, the servants, would have been eating?
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Well, we do have a menu book for 1866,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44which was during the 13th Earl's time.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49I mean, you can see there's a lot of, sort of, hearty meals for the servants.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51"Roast mutton, Irish stew,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54- "boiled beef."- Mmm-hmm.- Um...
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- So actually, they didn't eat too badly. I mean...- No.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- ..this is quite hearty fare.- Yes. - It's not just they're getting scraps.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- I suppose they needed the energy cos they were going to be on their feet all day.- Yes.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04It would be a long day, yes.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07These are the game books which recorded all the game that was hunted on the estate.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10But there's so much more than that because they include
0:27:10 > 0:27:13photographs and illustrations and all sorts of things.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17And here we have the late Queen Mother's father and grandfather.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- OK.- Yes.- And they were keen hunters, were they?
0:27:20 > 0:27:21Absolutely, yes, the whole family did.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25And on occasion, the Queen Mother also went out sometimes.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28- Did she?- Yes, and she even went fishing, as well.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33Are all these books culinary, or are there other types of recipe contained, as well?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36They're a mixture of culinary and medicinal.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40And are there any particularly gruesome remedies?
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Well, we have one recipe for worm broth dating from the 17th century
0:27:44 > 0:27:45to the early 18th century,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49which I think was a bit, sounds like it was a bit of a tonic because it
0:27:49 > 0:27:51was taken, to be taken in the morning and the evening.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54So you take about 50 garden worms,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57which you must cut off the heads and tails of them and then slit the
0:27:57 > 0:27:59worms with a bodkin.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02"And wash them very clean in many waters,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05"but scour them first with salt,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09"then put them in after the meat has been boiled and scummed, and let them
0:28:09 > 0:28:12"boil from seven in the morning till ten at night."
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- Maybe it's really nice.- It would be wonderful to have it re-enacted, actually.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- It would, yeah.- Yes.- As long as I didn't have to eat it, but...! - Yes, exactly.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20THEY LAUGH
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Call me fussy, Paul...
0:28:26 > 0:28:27PAUL LAUGHS
0:28:27 > 0:28:28..but I don't go for worm soup.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30I draw the line. How would you cope?
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Like I always do, I'm game for anything, Michael.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- You'd grit your teeth? - I'd grit my teeth.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Grit my teeth and do it for England!
0:28:36 > 0:28:37MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:28:37 > 0:28:41But actually, seriously, we eat stuff and consider it a luxury,
0:28:41 > 0:28:45that some people think, "Oh, God, I couldn't have that." Caviar, for instance.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- Totally agree.- Yeah, which is the fish eggs from sturgeon...- Yeah.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50..which is a fish that's reserved...
0:28:50 > 0:28:54You know, for, not the caviar, but the fish itself, the sturgeon's reserved for the royal family.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57- Royal family.- If you catch one, you have to offer it to the Queen.- Yeah.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59- I've had one off Cardiff once, you know?- Did you?
0:28:59 > 0:29:00PAUL LAUGHS
0:29:00 > 0:29:04Caught off Cardiff, offered it to the Queen, she didn't want it, I had it. Not bad, eh?
0:29:04 > 0:29:08The chefs that cater for those state banquets are really at the top of
0:29:08 > 0:29:12their game, and for chefs who aren't part of the royal household,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15being asked to cook for the royals is a real honour.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Galton Blackiston prepared a meal for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
0:29:19 > 0:29:22at a royal charity event in the summer of 2016.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26The theme of the evening was local British bounty.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33Michelin-starred Galton shares a passion for local produce with the
0:29:33 > 0:29:37royals, so when it came to cooking for them, he wanted to use an
0:29:37 > 0:29:41ingredient that's abundant in his native Norfolk - samphire.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48It grows in coastal marshes all around the UK, but can only be
0:29:48 > 0:29:51picked on land that is not protected.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Known as "samfer" around Norfolk,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56its salty freshness goes beautifully with fish.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05So, what I'm cooking today is pan-fried wild sea bass, served with
0:30:05 > 0:30:10buttered samfer and a champagne and caviar sauce.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13So, the first thing we have to do is to make the sauce.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15We're going to add a little bit of butter,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18then we're going to add some chopped shallots,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20mushrooms and carrot, and sweat that
0:30:20 > 0:30:23down over a moderate heat until they soften.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29The charity dinner was in aid of East Anglian Children's Hospices,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33which is a charity which I'd known about for some time.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Galton was approached to organise this charity dinner and asked four
0:30:36 > 0:30:41of his friends, who also happen to be Michelin-starred chefs, to help out.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Looking back on it, I'm extraordinarily proud of the night,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49the event, the organisation, everything to do with it.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53It was an extraordinary evening which raised an awful lot of money.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57So we now add sliced button mushrooms.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05The vegetables have all sweated off now and now I'm quite happy to add
0:31:05 > 0:31:08the luxury ingredient, well, one of the luxury ingredients,
0:31:08 > 0:31:10which is the champagne.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12I have to say, this is not an everyday sauce.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15You wouldn't be making this for your mother-in-law on a Sunday lunchtime!
0:31:15 > 0:31:16HE LAUGHS
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Save a little bit for later.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Not for me, for the sauce!
0:31:22 > 0:31:24So now I'm going to reduce this down
0:31:24 > 0:31:27till it almost becomes syrupy.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Because it takes a little bit of time for the champagne to reduce,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34I'll now fillet the wild bass.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Part of the ethos of the dinner was the fact that, wherever possible,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42we wanted to use local and seasonal produce.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45Sea bass does need to be sustainably sourced.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50It's one of the very, very protected fish of our waters at the moment.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Now the champagne has reduced down enough.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57At this stage we add fish stock.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03Galton also pours in a generous quantity of cream.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Let the cream reduce a little bit into the sauce.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10The next stage is to strain this sauce...
0:32:12 > 0:32:14..through a very fine sieve called a chinois.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And for an awful lot of effort, you don't get an awful lot of sauce!
0:32:18 > 0:32:22The evening was for 96 guests, and you've got to get it right -
0:32:22 > 0:32:24you're cooking for royalty.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27I always use sea salt when I'm seasoning.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29A little bit of pepper.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Generally use a white pepper when you're seasoning fish.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34I'm going to show you a tip here.
0:32:34 > 0:32:39If you're using one of your pans from home and it's not the newest
0:32:39 > 0:32:45and cleanest, then what I do is cook the fish on a little square of grease-proof paper.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Whilst the sea bass is still cooking, we're going to cook the
0:32:49 > 0:32:50samfer, which has been washed.
0:32:50 > 0:32:55So into a pan of simmering water, a little bit of sugar in there, I put.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Just a touch to counteract some of the salt.
0:32:59 > 0:33:00Give it 30 seconds...
0:33:01 > 0:33:03..and then add the sea aster.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Don't cook it too long, cos otherwise you lose that vibrancy of colour.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Straight back into a pan and add...
0:33:13 > 0:33:15..a generous knob of butter.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19The royals are seen a lot around the coast,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22so I thought this was an absolute, you know,
0:33:22 > 0:33:26no-brainer - they were going to like this fish and the sauce and the samfer.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30So, we're nearly ready to serve.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Little bit of champagne just to liven the sauce back up again.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39A good knob of butter, swirl that around.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43And then, just as we're ready to serve now,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47the caviar actually brings that last bit of magic to the sauce.
0:33:47 > 0:33:48There's nothing finer.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54All that's left is to plate up the dish.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59There we have it.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Pan-fried wild sea bass on buttered samfer
0:34:02 > 0:34:04with a champagne and caviar sauce.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Simple, tasty, local ingredients
0:34:08 > 0:34:10with a luxurious twist.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13It's the essence of a royal British banquet.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23A lovely fish dish like that needs a delicious pudding to follow.
0:34:23 > 0:34:24So what are you going to do for us?
0:34:24 > 0:34:27I've got just the ticket - Apple Charlotte.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30- Apple Charlotte! With royal connections, because... - With royal connections.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33..because this was named after Queen Charlotte,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36who was the wife of King George III.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40- Right.- So, how does it start? - This is a proper classic Charlotte, Michael,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43and what we're going to do this is line this steam pudding bowl.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46We've brushed it with butter and then all we've done is taken some
0:34:46 > 0:34:49sugar, poured it in the bottom, twist it round till all the sugar
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- sticks to the butter.- Yeah.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54And what that does is, creates a beautiful caramel crust
0:34:54 > 0:34:56going right the way round the outside.
0:34:56 > 0:34:57We've lined it with bread.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Basically, the juices of the apple are going to soak into the bread.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02So I'm just taking the crusts off,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04and the reason I'm taking the crusts off, Michael,
0:35:04 > 0:35:06is because when you roll it, if the crusts are on,
0:35:06 > 0:35:07it won't roll flat.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09- And it's very easy to roll.- Yeah.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Charlottes are so versatile because
0:35:11 > 0:35:13you can use so many fruits.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15When you've got your red soft fruit seasoning, great.
0:35:15 > 0:35:16Apples, apricots...
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Ah, you're spreading it out quite a bit there.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20- Absolutely, yeah.- Why do you need to roll it?
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Basically, to get it nice and thin, and it'll actually give it texture
0:35:23 > 0:35:25cos you're compressing the bread.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30OK. I'd be inclined just to kind of throw it in and just generally squidge it round.
0:35:30 > 0:35:31Right, there we have it.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34So we've now lined our Charlotte.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38Now, while that's been happening, I've just had my pan with a low heat.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40- Yeah.- I'm just going to add into there, sugar.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Now, this is called a direct caramel, Michael.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46And what that means is, we're not going to add any water in there.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50We're just going to go direct sugar into the pan, turn the heat up
0:35:50 > 0:35:53- like so...- Yeah.- ..and what's going to happen is,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56the sugar is slowly going to start to cook and caramelise.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Right, now we're going to do some apples,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00which if you could help me with, that would be great.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03I could certainly do that. Apples, we're famous in this country for our apples.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06- We are.- We make the best cooking apple in the world.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07- We do.- The Bramley.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09And I know a lot about the Bramley.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13The original pip, 1809, Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17- Yes, yes.- And there was little girl called Maryanne Brailsford who
0:36:17 > 0:36:19- spotted this and grew the tree. - Yeah.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24A butcher owned the garden with this marvellous Bramley apple tree and
0:36:24 > 0:36:26his name was Bramley, which is why
0:36:26 > 0:36:28- it's called a Bramley apple tree. - Tree.
0:36:28 > 0:36:33And that tree only recently died, and Prince Charles had actually got
0:36:33 > 0:36:37a clone of the tree in his orchard at Highgrove.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40So, that is the finest cooking apple in the world, the Bramley.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44- The Bramley.- What are you making it with?- A New Zealand Braeburn!
0:36:44 > 0:36:45MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Actually, we grow Braeburns in this country.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52- In Kent, I think.- In Kent, yes.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56The reason we're using this style of apple is that when it cooks,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59it cooks through, so it's nice and soft, but it doesn't break up.
0:36:59 > 0:37:00If we were to use Bramley,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03that would all go to mush and sauce, and when you turn your Charlotte
0:37:03 > 0:37:06out, there would be no structure to it, it would just go...
0:37:06 > 0:37:09- Yeah.- ..like that. So that's why we're using this style of apple.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11So, have a look at our sugar here, Michael.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14- Yeah, yeah.- So we're just starting to caramelise now.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17- There's no danger that will burn? - There is, there is.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19And I must point out, be very, very
0:37:19 > 0:37:21careful at this stage, OK?
0:37:21 > 0:37:23- Really, really hot.- Very hot. - So, please
0:37:23 > 0:37:24be careful when you're doing this.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28- Yeah, you wouldn't want to scold yourself with that. Cos of the heat...- So now our sugar's melted.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32- ..that's actually in there.- We're going to turn the heat down, like so.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34And now we're going to add in the butter.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36It's smoking a bit, look. Is that all right?
0:37:36 > 0:37:38That's absolutely fine.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40So, now disperse that butter, and now you can cool it.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43- Yeah.- Look at that. Do you know what I'm going to do?
0:37:43 > 0:37:44I'm going to add in some thyme.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- Thyme?!- Goes delicious with apples, apple and thyme.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49- Oh.- Absolutely delicious.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51And we're going to add a little bit of salt, Michael.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55OK? Now with these apples I'm just going to core them like that.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00We have so many wonderful varieties, in this country, of apple.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Now, Michael, all I'm doing... I've just, I've cut them into four.
0:38:03 > 0:38:09So each half into four, cos you want to keep this nice and chunky.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10Now, we go back on,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14turn that heat up and we're going just going to cook it down a bit.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16I mean, that there is, for me, is beautiful.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- Absolutely beautiful.- It's certainly smelling terrific.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Now just while we're cooking those apples,
0:38:21 > 0:38:22we're going to make a lovely,
0:38:22 > 0:38:24beautiful, rich custard. Right.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Also a traditional...
0:38:26 > 0:38:28..British thing, isn't it? I mean,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30even the French call custard "sauce anglaise", don't they?
0:38:30 > 0:38:33- Yes, absolutely.- In fact, you probably do in your poncey kitchen.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36- Now, look at that, Michael. - It's still pretty chunky.
0:38:36 > 0:38:37- Yeah.- You're not, kind of...
0:38:37 > 0:38:39No, because the oven's got to do its job yet.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42But, I mean, look how the thyme's gone on all those apples,
0:38:42 > 0:38:43absolutely delicious.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47- Beautiful colour.- And simply load it in, everything.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54- Doesn't that look great?- Yep. - OK, so that's like that...
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Are we going to take the thyme off, shall we?
0:38:56 > 0:38:57- Take the thyme off.- Thyme off!
0:38:57 > 0:38:58Ooh, ah!
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Now, just fold it over, like so.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It's not going to meet, though, is it?
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Have you got enough of the...? Ah, you've got...
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Yeah, we've got another... Like that. Ah!
0:39:06 > 0:39:07Now fold it in. If you could just
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- get me a piece of tinfoil, please, Michael.- Yep, here we go.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Like that.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Now, this is the important bit.
0:39:17 > 0:39:18- You see this?- Yeah.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Right. Really push it down, like so.
0:39:21 > 0:39:22And the tin foil's going to help.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Right, take a sheet off, like so.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27I'll put this back.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30So get that tinfoil, Michael, nice and
0:39:30 > 0:39:32firm all the way around, pat down.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34- Yep.- In the tray there.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Now, if you could pop that in the oven for me, please.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37180 for 30 minutes.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41- Medium heat.- Medium heat.- Half an hour. Yeah.- Thank you very much.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47Here we go.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50Where would you like it?
0:39:50 > 0:39:52There would be absolutely perfect.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57- Ta-ra!- Now, our milk and our vanilla has come up to the boil.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Just have a smell in there.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01- Oh!- It's lovely, isn't it?
0:40:01 > 0:40:04- There's a particular custard smell, isn't there?- Oh, it's fantastic.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Takes you back to your childhood, doesn't it?
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Now, I've left the pod in there as well.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11- We're going to take some sugar... - Mmm-hmm.
0:40:11 > 0:40:12This is classic custard, is it?
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- Classic custard. And two egg yolks. - Yeah.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18- Whisk this together...- Yeah.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19..and what we're doing, basically,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22is we're dissolving the sugar into the egg yolks and we just want to
0:40:22 > 0:40:25basically whisk it until it starts to go quite pale.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Yep, and it's caster sugar, is it?
0:40:27 > 0:40:30- That is just caster sugar and egg yolks.- Yeah, yeah.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32And what we're going to do, that's now come to be boil,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35we're going to pour this over our egg and sugar mixture...
0:40:35 > 0:40:36Yep.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38- ..like so.- Yeah.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41- Stirring it all the time. - Stirring at all the time.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Now, don't worry, cos all of this vanilla here,
0:40:44 > 0:40:45we're not going to waste that,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47because we're going to go straight back in.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52And what we're going to do, we're just going to basically whisk this
0:40:52 > 0:40:53until it starts to thicken.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56You can just see now. See how it's thickening?
0:40:56 > 0:40:58- Is it thickening up?- Look at that. - Oh, yeah.- I keep moving it.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- If you don't, the egg will basically cook...- Cook.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03..cook in it, and it will go all lumpy and horrible.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06- Look at that.- Oh, you surely haven't got any lumps in it...- No, no.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07..that you need to strain out.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Course I don't. Just to get rid of my vanilla pod, Michael.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12You could have just picked it out.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16- Right, and now we're ready to plate. - Excellent.- Moment of truth.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Here we go. So, off with the tinfoil.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20PAUL LAUGHS
0:41:20 > 0:41:22- If that's the bottom, what does the top look like?- Well, exactly.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24- So...- So...
0:41:24 > 0:41:25Now, over, like so.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- I always think, "Is it going to come out cleanly?"- OK?
0:41:28 > 0:41:29- Like that.- Yeah.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34- Abracadabra.- Yeah.- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
0:41:34 > 0:41:35Ooh!
0:41:39 > 0:41:41My word, that really does look good, doesn't it?
0:41:41 > 0:41:42That looks the business, doesn't it?
0:41:42 > 0:41:45- It does, doesn't it? - And all that needs now...
0:41:46 > 0:41:48- Is it custard over the top? - ..is a bit of custard.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51To me... Do you know what? Cos it's so beautifully caramelised,
0:41:51 > 0:41:52just on the side like that.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54- You're not going to douse it all over.- No.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56You're not going to cover those rich, brown, shiny...
0:41:56 > 0:41:58I don't want to ruin that lovely caramel flavour.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01- Apple Charlotte.- Wow!
0:42:01 > 0:42:03- Tuck in.- That does look good, doesn't it?
0:42:03 > 0:42:04- It does.- Let me just, I want to just...
0:42:04 > 0:42:07- What are you going to do?- I'm dying to see what's in the middle.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08Well, apple, hopefully!
0:42:08 > 0:42:10BOTH LAUGH
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Well, if a rabbit jumps out, we really will be
0:42:13 > 0:42:14- up a gum tree, won't we?- Yeah.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16- Ooh!- Look at it.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20- There you go.- That looks tremendous. There you go, there's yours. OK.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29Mmm!
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Well, that is nice, isn't it?
0:42:31 > 0:42:35- It is, isn't it?- The kind of toffee, almost toffee and the wonderful
0:42:35 > 0:42:36"sauce anglaise", custard.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38PAUL LAUGHS
0:42:38 > 0:42:40This is lovely.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44We don't know if Queen Charlotte actually ever
0:42:44 > 0:42:47tried this dish that was named after her,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50cos the first record of it is in the 1790s.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53It was actually invented by Marie-Antoine Careme,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56- you know, the famous royal chef...- Mmm. Yeah.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59..for the Prince Regent, and named in honour of his mother.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02So, who knows? I'm just going to have another quick piece here.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08Marie-Antoine Careme, Paul Ainsworth, a kind of royal line of succession,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11I would say, as far as this wonderful pudding's concerned.
0:43:11 > 0:43:12Thank you very much.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Join us next time for more Royal Recipes.