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00:00...that zooms you right back to childhood.
00:02It's just like my mum's cake.
00:04I'm Brian Turner.
00:06It reminds me of someone I used to know at school.
00:08I'm going to stir up the food memories of some much-loved celebrities.
00:12Oh, look at that.
00:15Going back to their early years before they were famous.
00:18Oh, my gosh.
00:20With recollections of Sunday roasts and school dinners.
00:23It's time for something to eat.
00:24Brilliant.
00:25And celebrating the food their home regions are proud of.
00:28Which way would you like to go?
00:30Er, this way.
00:32I'll recreate a nostalgic family favourite.
00:35Mm, you can't beat a crumble.
00:37And a tribute dish that puts my guest's life on a plate.
00:40Magic.
00:41Magic.
00:43Today, disc jockey Tony Blackburn returns to Dorset, where he grew up.
00:48And this is where I made the tape up.
00:50But eventually got me the job on Radio Caroline.
00:52Early days in entertainment are fondly remembered.
00:57I feel very happy now.
00:59And memories of mum in the kitchen come flooding back.
01:02What kind of things do you remember your mum cooking for you?
01:05Er, baked beans on toast.
01:07I'll be cooking in a ballroom for the first time, which only adds to our nostalgic theme.
01:14How do you learn to put them in like that?
01:16Well, you go to a raspberry putter in a school.
01:20And I'll be celebrating Tony's amazing story with a dish that pays tribute to him.
01:27Mmm.
01:27When you look at a seaside spot like this on such a lovely summer's day, it's hard to beat, don't you think?
01:44Imagine growing up with all this on your doorstep.
01:48Tony Blackburn was that lucky, growing up in pool on the Dorset coast.
01:55This side here is Bournemouth.
01:58Up there is Bournemouth.
01:59Right.
02:00And down there is pool.
02:02And you can see there's old Harry Rocks out there.
02:05And there's Shell Bay over there.
02:07And that's where the naturist places.
02:09If you want to take your clothes off, that's where you go.
02:12I've never seen anybody in the nude there.
02:14And, God, I've tried.
02:15Today we won't change anything.
02:18No.
02:19And then round the corner, that's where all the millionaires are.
02:22That's probably where you have a house.
02:24It's Sandbanks.
02:27Sandbanks round there.
02:28And that is the part where pool harbour starts.
02:33And that's the place where I live, round there.
02:35Not in Sandbanks, but close to it.
02:37But not far away.
02:38Not far.
02:39Not too far away, no.
02:41I mean, it's a beautiful place to be brought up.
02:43It's wonderful, isn't it?
02:44Wonderful, yeah.
02:44And times were different in those days.
02:46So, as a child, you were allowed to roam a bit freer than you are today.
02:48Oh, yes, absolutely.
02:50I mean, we didn't have the internet.
02:52We didn't have phones and things like that.
02:54So, we all used to amazingly talk to one another.
02:57And we used to get out of the house.
02:58We weren't just playing on computers.
02:59So, we'd come down here.
03:01And, as you can see, a beautiful place to be brought up.
03:08Were you one of the lads?
03:10Did you have a gang?
03:11Uh, not really, no.
03:12I was a bit of a loner.
03:14Yeah, woo.
03:15No, I was quite like my own company, really.
03:17I had my sister and my sister's friends.
03:19I used to know them quite a bit.
03:21And we used to go to Westover Road in Bournemouth.
03:24And we used to go skating there and things like that.
03:27So, I had a lovely time.
03:28But I was always more interested in being at home and strumming on the guitar and singing and listening to the radio and that sort of stuff.
03:36So, your family moved down here from Guildford, was it?
03:39Guildford, that's right, yes.
03:41And you were then, what, three years of age?
03:42About three or four years of age, yeah.
03:45My dad was a doctor in pool.
03:47Oh, right.
03:47And he had a practice down here.
03:50And so, I was here till I was around about 21 when I joined the pirate ships.
03:54So, all my life I'd spent down here.
03:56Tony has won numerous awards for his contribution to radio and still bashes out Radio 2's Pick of the Pops every weekend, amongst other shows.
04:08It all started with a job on the pirate station, Radio Caroline.
04:13Then, in 1967, he was chosen to launch the BBC's new station, Radio 1.
04:19The voice of Radio 1.
04:23And good morning, everyone.
04:24Welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1.
04:27He became one of a merry band of celebrity disc jockeys.
04:32One of the perks was presenting the unmissable Top of the Pops.
04:36Hello, everybody.
04:37Welcome to the wonderful world of Top of the Pops once again.
04:40As we chat and visit key locations of Tony's youth, I'll be formulating ideas for a nostalgic dish to remind him of home.
04:50And a special dish, drawing on his life and favourite food that pays tribute to him.
04:56But today, I face my biggest challenge because Tony doesn't feel quite the same way about food as I do.
05:04Were you a family that ate together a lot?
05:06Oh, yes, we did, yes.
05:07I mean, my mother, she originally was a nurse, but when she had my sister and myself, she gave all that up.
05:15And she was at home.
05:17I'd love to have the old hard-luck story.
05:18I had a tough childhood, but I didn't.
05:20No.
05:20I had a wonderful time.
05:22Oh, that's good.
05:22That's good to hear.
05:23My parents were great, you know, and I had a terrific time down here.
05:27So, you know, being back here again, it brings back wonderful memories, you know.
05:31What kind of memories do you have of food?
05:33What kind of things do you remember your mum cooking for you?
05:35Baked beans on toast.
05:37Absolutely.
05:39Even in those days, I used to, like, we used to have baked beans on toast and, you know, an egg on top and things like that.
05:44And I don't remember meat because I became a vegetarian about the age of five.
05:49And the way I became a vegetarian is we went on a farming holiday and I saw this, she said, I've always loved animals, and I saw this chicken.
05:58It was wandering around and, you know, went over to it and got an interesting conversation with it.
06:04As you do.
06:05As you do.
06:06And then it was dished up on my plate.
06:09And I made the, you know, I thought, you know, it looks the same shape as that.
06:13And I didn't realise in those days that meat was an animal, you know.
06:16And I made that connection and I thought, oh, I can't do that.
06:19And it's stuck with me ever since.
06:21In the summer holidays, when you were still at school, Tony got a job selling ice cream along the seafront.
06:32So were you a connoisseur of ice cream in those days?
06:34Oh, absolutely, yeah.
06:35I mean, I'm not only sold them, but I loved eating them as well.
06:38And I still do love it.
06:40Favourite flavours?
06:41Oh, vanilla.
06:42Vanilla.
06:43You can't, there's no point in messing around with it.
06:45So did you have ice cream at home as a, did you have dessert and did you have pudding?
06:48Yes.
06:49Oh, yes, absolutely, yeah.
06:50I always used to like bread and butter pudding at home.
06:52Oh, right, yes, yeah.
06:52That was one of my favourites and still is.
06:54Apple crumble.
06:56Rice.
06:56I loved rice.
06:57When I was, um, when I was first married and I got divorced.
07:01Right.
07:01In between marriages of 17 years.
07:03And I survived on lentil soup and processed peas and tin rice.
07:08And it's absolutely true.
07:11Crikey.
07:12Sounds like purgatory to me.
07:15But Tony is a pudding man and so am I.
07:18So I've decided that my nostalgia dish should be a pudding.
07:22It must have been difficult being vegetarian back then,
07:25especially when he was sent off to boarding school.
07:28I think I was the only vegetarian in the school.
07:30And I remember on the first or second day or so, I sat down and I had this steak and things like that.
07:37I said, I just can't eat it.
07:38I'm sorry.
07:39I'm a vegetarian.
07:40That must have taken some courage to stand up.
07:44Well, you know, I just couldn't bear the thought of it.
07:46So today, of course, you must feel like a liberated man.
07:49Lots of restaurants cater for vegetarian.
07:50What kind of food do you eat today?
07:52Well, I tend to go to Italian restaurants because I like either a pizza, margarita pizza,
07:58or spaghetti with tomato sauce, and that's it.
08:01My wife has just got used to it now.
08:04You know, we've been married 23 years.
08:07And she says, have you never wanted to go and have something different?
08:11And I said, no, you're not.
08:12And I remember my friend Kenny Everett.
08:14Yes.
08:14He said to me, he said, if you find something you like, why not?
08:18Just go with it.
08:19Stick with it.
08:20But you see, food is not...
08:22I hate saying this to you, Brian.
08:24It's an awful thing to say to a great chef like yourself.
08:27But food doesn't...
08:29It's not my whole life.
08:31But I know a lot of people, for them, it's everything.
08:33Well, I'm going to cook a couple of dishes for you today.
08:35Yes.
08:35And hopefully one will make you think about when you were a child, a younger person.
08:40Yes.
08:40And then the other one will be one that I think sums you up,
08:43the way you just talked about how you eat.
08:45But I think we need this ice cream.
08:47Yes, I think you're right.
08:49Oh, I do.
08:50Oh, thank you very much.
08:51You're welcome.
08:51Enjoy.
08:52Thank you very much.
08:53And a nice little biscuit beautifully on the top there.
08:58Mmm.
08:59So how does this rate on the black manometer?
09:01Well, this is terrific, and I'm a bit of an expert on this,
09:04so I can just...
09:05Hold on a minute.
09:08Definitely Italian.
09:10How do you know that?
09:13Just an expert.
09:14You either know these things, Brian, or you don't.
09:16I am so impressed.
09:17This is Italian ice cream.
09:19It's beautiful.
09:19It has that texture to it.
09:21They have, isn't they?
09:22Yeah.
09:23Tony's love of plain and simple fare
09:26is a challenge to any cook or food producer.
09:28At the other end of the spectrum
09:31are people who are passionate
09:32about exploring new flavours
09:34and even pioneering new crops.
09:37The family who own this watercress farm in Dorset
09:40have diversified into a hot little crop
09:43that's full of eastern promise.
09:45Good morning, Nick.
09:46How are you doing, all right?
09:47Yeah, very good, thanks.
09:48Nice to see you.
09:50Watercress has been grown commercially on this farm since 1860.
09:53Today, they're tackling something more exotic
09:58which had proved impossible to grow in the UK until now.
10:06It produces that little blob of fiery green paste
10:10that's served with Japanese food, wasabi.
10:14You wouldn't believe what an awkward little plant it is to grow
10:17as Nick Russell explains.
10:19We were given the idea by a visiting chef.
10:22I was actually visiting the crespets here
10:24and mentioned that the only thing he's seen growing in this way
10:27was wasabi and that kind of planted the seed.
10:30So how did the process start?
10:32Did you have to go...
10:32I mean, wasabi, does it only grow in Japan
10:35or does it grow around the world?
10:36Yeah, originally it's from Japan.
10:38So we're trying to recreate the natural growing environment
10:41which is the mountain streams of Japan.
10:43So flowing water is obviously the main point.
10:46I think we have about 500 litres a minute going through our wasabi beds
10:50which is an incredible amount of water, really.
10:52Yeah, absolutely.
10:52We've got these structures we've built over the top
10:54and create as much shade as possible.
10:57Unlike most plants, wasabi doesn't really like direct sunlight.
11:00I think there's a reason why there isn't wasabi farms all over the place.
11:04You know, it's notoriously difficult to grow and to sustain.
11:07It's a patient farmer who takes on wasabi.
11:12Not only are the growing conditions so specific,
11:15you have to wait two years before you can harvest it.
11:19On the plus side, the Japanese believe it's really good for you.
11:23Originally, the Japanese, I think, were using it 1600 BC.
11:27It's got a lot of medical properties to it.
11:30They were using it then to combat food poisoning
11:31whereas eating a lot of raw fish,
11:33having something that's going to help you outbalance that
11:35is always a good thing, yeah.
11:36So how would you describe wasabi?
11:38As far as I'm concerned, it's a member of the mustard family.
11:41Yeah, it's a brassica.
11:42So very similar in taste to things like mustard and horseradish.
11:46But I find it a lot sweeter.
11:49The taste profile is quite different,
11:51but we'll definitely find that out.
11:52If you're keen to try some, we can do that now.
11:55Fantastic. I'd love that. Yes, great.
12:02There we are again.
12:03They look fantastic.
12:04Just look at those leaves.
12:06They remind me of rhubarb leaves.
12:09The whole plant's edible, effectively,
12:11from the leaves right down to the roots,
12:14with the level of spice changing a little bit through the plant as it goes.
12:17But the real jewel in the crown is the rhizome there.
12:19That's kind of why we've gone to all the effort.
12:23Once you've grown it,
12:25it's simple enough to get that punchy paste we're more familiar with.
12:28Right, now this is a special wasabi grater.
12:32It is, yeah.
12:33We use these special graters because they do break it down at such a fine level.
12:37That's the crucial bit.
12:38Yeah, I mean, this is where the magic really starts to happen, to be honest.
12:41If we were to slice it and just eat it without grating it,
12:45you wouldn't in any way get the same taste as you would when you break it down at that level.
12:49Can I have a little slice in that case then?
12:52Yeah, of course.
12:52It would be just good to experience that.
12:54Yeah, definitely.
12:54Yeah, great idea.
12:56Great idea.
12:56I like it.
12:57Oh, yeah.
12:57There we go.
13:02As you say, it's mild.
13:05You can feel the power, but it's sort of not released.
13:08It hasn't been ignited yet.
13:11So you can see how this grater turns it instantly into a paste.
13:15That's actually quite amazing.
13:16I never thought it would work out just like that, but yeah, it's exactly what it is.
13:20It's a paste straight away.
13:21And there's that strong green that we're used to seeing.
13:27And what we'll do, you see it often in little balls when they serve it.
13:33And the reason for that is to reduce the oxygen that's actually reaching the paste.
13:38So it stalls that chemical process.
13:40So it's oxidizing, which is losing its flavor.
13:42Exactly, yeah.
13:43Aha, got it.
13:44Grab yourself a stick there and give it a little try.
13:53Cool.
13:54Yeah.
13:54Cool.
13:55The difference is actually, for me, the difference on the front of my tongue is...
14:00It's instant, isn't it?
14:01Absolutely.
14:02But then after a short period of time, you get that sweetness coming through as well,
14:05which is very different to horseradish and so on.
14:07And from the entrepreneurs growing the stuff, to an intriguing way of using it, at this Dorset
14:15Chocolatier.
14:16Caroline has got me to help her, making wasabi chocolate, a flavor which she developed.
14:34Do you do this by hand every time?
14:35It's hard for heck.
14:36It is.
14:37Pickable hands.
14:38How much of this do you need?
14:39Well, we put 220 grams in.
14:40Crikey.
14:41That makes about 200 chocolates.
14:42So we like a bit in there to give it a kick.
14:43So how much do you think I've got there?
14:44At least about 50 grams tops.
14:45Our wasabi cream filling, or ganache, contains milk chocolate and spicy extras, grated ginger
15:04and soy sauce.
15:06Just look at that.
15:07Go gently, otherwise you end up decorating the room.
15:10I think I just got told off.
15:13It's poured over a layer of chocolate and sets over a couple of days.
15:20The chocolate slab is cut, and the square's topped with dark chocolate and sesame seeds.
15:30I don't really know what it is I'm expecting.
15:34Hey, we can't lose, can we sir?
15:35Hey, there's nothing.
15:36The wasabi is far more prominent than I thought it would be.
15:47I thought it might have mellowed because of the double cream and the chocolate, but it
15:52is there, and it's very pronounced.
15:55It's nice and powerful, and that suits me.
15:58Absolutely.
15:59So one more and that's it.
16:00The Pavilion Theatre on Westover Road in Bournemouth was opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 1929.
16:16And it's still a popular venue for stage shows, concerts and ballroom dancing after almost 100 years.
16:29Tony left boarding school aged 16 to continue his education in Bournemouth, and he also started working at the Pavilion.
16:38Well, this certainly brings back memories, Brian.
16:41I bet it does. How long has you been here?
16:43Erm, I haven't been here inside this building since 1963.
16:48And that's a few years ago?
16:50It is a few years ago, yes.
16:51So what did you do when you came here in those days?
16:53I was part of a band, it was called the General Feeney Orchestra, and I was a guitarist and singer in the ballroom there.
16:59Oh, right.
17:00So we used to do civic functions, we used to do nights when I'd have a breakaway group that would come out and do a bit of rock and roll.
17:06So you were a rock and roll singer?
17:08We had about three or four people in the orchestra that would stay with me, the drummer, the bass guitarist, and I played guitar.
17:16And I'd come out and do all the current pop songs.
17:19And then I had a breakaway group called Tony Blackburn and his Swinging Bells.
17:23And then we had Tony Blackburn and the Rovers.
17:25Right.
17:26And we used to sing around all these hotels and things like that.
17:29So it's 50 years since you went through those doors?
17:33Yes, absolutely.
17:34Well, you go through there now.
17:36Yeah.
17:37I'm sure you're going to dig up some wonderful memories.
17:39Yes.
17:40And in the meantime, I'm going to create a dish that will remind you of that time in your life.
17:44Okay, lovely.
17:45You enjoy.
17:47Well, this is absolutely amazing because it hasn't changed at all.
18:02Spent three years here.
18:03The reception was there.
18:04I was waiting to buy all the tickets for the theatre.
18:06I used to just go down here because this is the theatre here and the ballroom.
18:10And I always used to go down there to the ballroom.
18:13And nothing has changed.
18:15It's like being back in 1963 again.
18:19I don't think there's even any new paint.
18:22It's unbelievable.
18:23This place was very important for me because this is where I learned really to be in front
18:27of audiences because I'm quite at home on a stage.
18:30And this was my break into the music business.
18:32And because of here, I learned how to play the guitar, learned how to sing a little bit.
18:38And it was with a big 15-piece orchestra, which was a fantastic experience.
18:54So here it is.
18:55This is the ballroom.
18:56This is the stage where I learned how to hopefully entertain audiences.
19:01I was very lucky, you know, because we did tea dances here.
19:03We used to the foxtrots and the quick steps and things like that.
19:06And used to do a bit of rock and roll.
19:08And this stage is really the first stage I went on professionally.
19:13Used to have Jan.
19:15Used to...
19:16General Feeney was the conductor here.
19:18He'd stand here and you'd have all the audience in there.
19:21And my place was...
19:23Yeah, I was about here.
19:25And I had the sax player next to me.
19:27It was always going on about the fact my amplifier was too loud.
19:30And so this is where I would be.
19:32And then when I had to come out and do my songs and things like that,
19:37come out in front here.
19:39And, gosh, this brings back so many memories.
19:42It's just great being back on this stage, actually, because it's exactly the same.
19:47I think even these curtains are the same.
19:49I recognise these curtains.
19:52While Tony goes off to explore backstage, we set up the kitchen in the ballroom.
19:58A place that's got nostalgia written all over it.
20:02So what do you cook for the man who very rarely changes what he eats and has kept that way for the last 50 years?
20:09Well, there was a clue in his childhood.
20:11He used to love puddings.
20:13And his mum did a fantastic rice pudding.
20:16So I'm going to make a rice pudding with a difference.
20:19Now, I suspect when Tony's mum used to make rice pudding, she used just simple straight milk.
20:25So being a Yorkshireman and time's moved on, a nice glug of double cream will work instead.
20:31So I put double cream in there.
20:33And this is one of my favourite rice puddings.
20:36I'm going to put some coconut milk in there.
20:39Hope he likes coconut.
20:42There we go.
20:43Now we bring that up to the boil.
20:46I'm adding butter, sugar and vanilla, a flavour I know Tony loves.
20:51Did you notice how I love that vanilla ice cream?
20:54He's going to love this.
20:55So I just split the pod and just quickly take out the seeds.
21:01And we put the pod in there.
21:04We can always take the pod out afterwards.
21:06So take about 25 minutes to 30 minutes maximum to cook.
21:13It's one of those dishes you can't really rush.
21:21Yeah, this is quite familiar.
21:24This is where we used to, we had our sort of General Feeney Orchestra jackets.
21:29And we used to come in here, all 15 of us, and this is where we changed.
21:33And we had, as I remember it, we had lockers on the side of the wall here.
21:38And we could keep all our things here.
21:40But this is where I spent three years with all the musicians.
21:44You know, the trombone players and the sax players and the drummers and people like that.
21:48But this is it.
21:52Brings back amazing memories for me.
22:04So you can see it's now got a lovely healthy boil on it.
22:07So we put some of this rice in there.
22:09Shower it in.
22:11A couple of ounces.
22:12That does look good, I have to say.
22:15So I'm going to transfer that now over here.
22:20Put it on to simmer.
22:21That's just coming on nicely.
22:22So I'm going to put a pan on here.
22:24I'm going to serve this with raspberries.
22:26My own made raspberry quick jam.
22:28But I'm going to make it with some white rum.
22:31This just adds another dimension.
22:33Put that in there.
22:35And then some icing sugar.
22:38And then just to make it nice and spicy.
22:41We've got a cinnamon stick.
22:44A star anise.
22:46Just bash that up a little bit and that goes in there.
22:49And then I'm going to put some nutmeg in.
22:54Oh, it smells fantastic already.
22:58And then half the raspberries go into this liquor.
23:04And just gently let them simmer.
23:08So that the fruit starts to fall.
23:10And we get this lovely jam-like puree.
23:13And it will bind those lovely fresh raspberries.
23:28And it's lovely.
23:30Well, this is the Pavilion Theatre.
23:33I used to come here when I was a teenager.
23:35Seeing a lot of the shows.
23:36The pantomimes here and things like that.
23:39It's funny.
23:40I've always wanted to be on this stage.
23:42I was always in the ballroom.
23:44But secretly, I wanted to be up there on the stage.
23:47This is something I've wanted to do for 50 years.
23:49All right.
23:51Now, I always wanted to be up here.
23:55So it's so much bigger than the ballroom.
23:57I feel very happy now.
24:00I'm ready to reveal the dish that I hope will take Tony right back to his mum's cooking.
24:10I've mixed double cream and coconut milk.
24:13Added pudding rice, sugar, a knob of butter and a vanilla pod.
24:18And simmered for about half an hour.
24:21My raspberry jam has fresh raspberries cooked with rum and icing sugar.
24:25Spiced up with cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg.
24:29So that's just about...
24:32Looks like you've been busy, Brian.
24:34I'm making you a rice pudding.
24:35And then we're going to finish it with our own little raspberry jam.
24:37So what I've done here, I've cooked together...
24:40Do you take rum occasionally?
24:42Yes, I like it.
24:44So I put some white rum in there.
24:45And it's especially nice when you've got really ripe raspberries.
24:48So they're jammish.
24:50Get rid of the pips.
24:52And then, whilst it's still warm...
24:54I love puddings, isn't it?
24:56Well, that's good.
24:58So then, I'm going to put a few of these raspberries in here.
25:01And they've had some spices in there.
25:03Some cinnamon, some nutmeg.
25:05Yeah.
25:06See, if I...
25:07How do you learn to put them in like that?
25:08See, if I did that, it would go all over the place.
25:10Yeah, well, you go to a raspberry putter in a school.
25:13LAUGHTER
25:17It's a deliciously comforting, old-fashioned pud
25:21to warm you up on a long winter's night
25:24when you're all cosied up by the fire.
25:25And it's nostalgia in a bowl for Tony.
25:28There you are, sir.
25:30I grab a spoon and tuck in.
25:31Lovely.
25:33Now, I just need to ask you one question.
25:34Yes?
25:35Do you remember when your mum made it and you put jam in there?
25:37Yes.
25:38Did you stir it in to make it all go pink?
25:40Yes.
25:41Oh, fine, OK.
25:42Don't do that with this.
25:43All right.
25:45Do what you like with it, sir.
25:47Right.
25:49That's lovely.
25:51One of those as well.
25:52Please, yeah, no, it's quite important.
25:54Now you can stir it in if that's how you like to eat it.
25:57No, no, no.
25:58With this, I'll just leave it like that.
25:59It's beautiful.
26:00And does it remind you of your mum's rice pudding?
26:02It does.
26:03It does.
26:04I think it's actually better with these raspberries in.
26:07I really love that.
26:08Good now.
26:09It's really great.
26:10Lovely.
26:11And take it away if you don't mind.
26:13LAUGHTER
26:14I want it.
26:15You go, you go, we're all fine.
26:16All right.
26:18The vibrancy of that raspberry against the pale of the rice pudding
26:24is a prime example of how we eat with our eyes
26:27and how colouring a dish makes it so much more appealing.
26:37Just across the Dorset-Devon border,
26:39there's a producer who's taken the idea of colouring food one step further
26:44by specialising in organically grown edible flowers.
26:47And Jan Billington's farm is a striking feast for the eyes.
26:55We probably have about 60, 60 to 70 different varieties of flowers
27:00ranging from wild garlic and primroses and julep petals in the spring
27:06all the way through the summer flowers, the herbs,
27:09right way through to the autumn where we've got the sunflowers and dahlias
27:14and we're famous for our organic edible roses.
27:16Jan is constantly striving to increase the range of her crop
27:21and there's been plenty of trial and error.
27:23Every year we research and every year we find more edible flowers
27:27and then work with chefs to do some experimenting and recipe testing
27:31and suddenly find out that actually, no, this is revolting and it's never going to work
27:35or, you know, it's an absolutely fantastic flower and it's lovely
27:40and, you know, they can go on and make fabulous things with it.
27:42But before you go tucking into that bunch of tulips you just bought, a word of caution.
27:49There are a lot of flowers out there that are poisonous
27:52and there are also flowers within families where some are, for example,
27:57talking about broad beans, runner beans, mongsh tu, things like that,
28:01the flowers are edible, but sweet peas, for example, are poisonous.
28:05So you do have to be quite careful.
28:08The other thing to take into account is the fact that flowers are still not really designed to be eaten.
28:14So unless you're growing them in your own garden and you know which ones are edible,
28:17in which case it's absolutely fine to eat them,
28:20you need to really source them from a specialist grower
28:23and make sure that they're grown organically
28:26because 96% of flowers that are sold in this country are imported.
28:31And therefore they've all been treated with either insecticides or pesticides.
28:37So the best tip is probably to grow your own.
28:42I am really fickle.
28:43So my favourite edible flower changes completely throughout the year.
28:48In spring I absolutely love broad bean flowers.
28:52They have just the most fabulous flavour and the scent,
28:55no one sort of associates broad beans as having a perfume,
28:58but the perfume is unbelievable.
29:00So, yeah, that's lovely.
29:02Up summer, roses.
29:03And then the new autumn?
29:04Ah, I don't know.
29:06I really, yeah, I like the sunflowers.
29:08They're more kind of savoury.
29:09And the garlic chives, lovely through paellas and things like that.
29:13And the herb flowers are wonderful because they attract so many insects to the farm.
29:17So, yeah, every season is different and I, yeah, no, I don't have a favourite.
29:21Among Jan's converts are Dorset foodies Radhika Mohandas and Jolion Carter,
29:32who met her when their market stalls were side by side.
29:36We've been to her farm many, many, many times to learn a bit more about all the different flowers
29:42and when they come into season and all the different herbs.
29:45So we use a lot of her lovely flower salads and we use a lot of her alliumy things,
29:51her chive flowers and her chives.
29:53And Jolly makes some incredible jellies using her edible flowers.
30:01It's like walking through heaven because it's, you know, on a sunny day,
30:05it has all these gorgeous flowers in all the polytunnels outside
30:09and you just get to pick them off.
30:11And who knew that flowers had such extraordinary different flavours.
30:15And character.
30:16Like the beginning here, like super sour.
30:18Yeah.
30:19What we've started doing is literally trying a lot of the flowers
30:22to just make sure it actually fits in with those dishes.
30:25So we end up using a lot of herb flowers.
30:28I'm using chive flowers, not just for the colour,
30:32but obviously it's got a nice alliumy flavour, garlicky flavour to it.
30:38As Radhika and Jollyon grow their food business,
30:41they have become passionate experimenters.
30:49All the flowers, the massive one is a courgette flower
30:52and you can eat all the flowers and all the salads and everything.
30:55So yeah, enjoy!
30:57A lot of times a really well-placed flower is a bit like,
31:07when you add lime or salt to the end of the dish,
31:10it sort of like livens the whole thing up
31:12and it's visually livening the whole dish up.
31:15It's also the surprise of what it actually tastes like
31:17when you put it in your mouth.
31:18Yeah.
31:19And it's very irritating when people don't eat the edible flowers
31:22and they just sort of...
31:23Yeah, a lot come back.
31:24Eat your edible flowers.
31:29Working with these new floral ingredients
31:31encourages creativity, which really fires them up.
31:35So this is the elderflower prosecco jelly,
31:39Dorset honey and a sort of bitter crumble
31:42and a fennel flower,
31:45so it's a little mild aniseed in there as well.
31:49And finale.
31:50It's an elderflower prosecco jelly.
31:59Gosh.
32:00That is really gorgeous.
32:03I'd love to be able to make something as beautiful as that.
32:09Gosh, it's quite boozy.
32:12Cheers!
32:14I've come up with a dish to make as a tribute to Tony,
32:29which gets to the heart of the man and reflects his youth.
32:33What better place to inspire more memories of that time
32:36than the home he grew up in, in Poole?
32:41So here, Brian, this is where I lived
32:44from the age of seven years old
32:46and moved in here in 1950.
32:48And it's a bungalow because my sister is in a wheelchair
32:51and my father designed it specially for her.
32:54My sister still lives here
32:55and I come down here about every four weeks or so like that.
32:57OK.
32:58And it's funny, it's like, you know, coming back in time again.
33:01Rather like the pavilion, that hasn't altered.
33:03This hasn't altered either.
33:05Why don't you just share with us some of the happy memories
33:07of the life that you had in there.
33:09In the meantime, I'm going to cook another dish for you,
33:11a tribute to Tony Blackburn.
33:13A tribute?
33:14A tribute to you, sir.
33:15Off you go.
33:16Can't wait.
33:18We've set up our kitchen in the garden.
33:24Now, the one thing that Tony Blackburn's never had
33:28is a gold disc.
33:30Well, I'm going to order him a gold disc today.
33:33It's going to be made like a pizza,
33:35but I'm going to make it out of puff pastry
33:37with beetroot, with tomatoes, with onions,
33:39and then a pesto on it.
33:41He's going to just love it.
33:43First thing we need to do
33:44is we need to get that magic tomato sauce on the way.
33:47Pan's on.
33:49Bit of olive oil in there.
33:52And then we'll just quickly chop a shallot.
33:56Nice and fine.
34:01Into the pan.
34:04And of course, some garlic.
34:07I love garlic.
34:09I hope Tony does.
34:12And then we'll put the tomatoes on top.
34:16A bit of sugar.
34:25Some salt and pepper.
34:28And the idea is to let that cook away
34:31and then take it off once it's reduced.
34:34All the liquor's disappeared.
34:36Got a lovely flavour.
34:37And then we're going to put some chopped parsley in there.
34:40So I've got some here
34:41that's been cooking for about 15 minutes.
34:43And it's also now gone cold.
34:46And I want it cold when I make the actual tart.
34:49So that goes in there.
34:51It's a lovely colour, as well as flavour.
34:54And we'll put that into a bowl
34:58and put that to one side.
35:04Tony's in familiar territory,
35:05but he's delving into those memory banks.
35:10Right, so this is the lounge.
35:12This is really where, you know,
35:13our family sort of gathered together more.
35:15And I'd come back from school
35:17and we'd sit down in front of a very old-fashioned TV.
35:20Because the TV was in the cabinet
35:23and the screen was about that size.
35:25And we had a great big radiogram as well,
35:27which is a massive thing.
35:29And it had a turntable
35:30and the records would drop on top of one another.
35:33There were 78s in those days.
35:35This is where I actually got the idea
35:36of becoming a disc jockey.
35:37Because I got a speaker
35:39and I put it in the hallway
35:41and I sort of managed to broadcast from here
35:43to anybody who's in the kitchen.
35:47There was a part of me
35:48that always wanted to be
35:49a broadcaster as well.
35:51You know, not only just a singer,
35:52but I wanted to be a broadcaster.
35:54I always had this deep love of radio and music,
35:56right from the early days.
35:57And my basic love of black soul music
36:00came from my father,
36:02who loved Jackie Wilson.
36:03And I think he loved Rick Petit.
36:06And he used to play it over and over and over again.
36:08And it's always been one of my favourite records, that one.
36:13Got a lot of photographs here.
36:14This is me when I was probably
36:16about eight or nine years old.
36:17Hadn't changed.
36:18But, yeah, eight or nine years old.
36:21And over here's my sister, Jackie,
36:24when she was...
36:25Well, she's three years younger than I am,
36:27so there's Jackie there.
36:28So now, in here, I'm going to lightly pickle some beetroot.
36:35So into this pan, raspberry vinegar.
36:38Some sugar, a bit of salt.
36:44We bring that up to the boil.
36:47Whilst that's on, these are shallots.
36:50And we've blanched them for about three or four minutes.
36:55And all I'm going to do now is just cut those in half.
37:00OK, and they're ready to go.
37:02Now this vinegar has just come up to the boil here.
37:04And we pour that over the top.
37:06And just leave them to steep.
37:08About five minutes will work fine.
37:10So I've had this pan heating for quite a while.
37:12And I want it nice and hot.
37:14No oil in there.
37:15And I'm going to take these cooked shallots
37:17and put them cut side down first.
37:20And I just want to sear them.
37:21So you get that little chard effect.
37:23That'll just make that lovely little bit of seasoning
37:26and flavouring when I put this tart together.
37:30It's the natural caramelisation of these shallots
37:33that we're looking for.
37:34Lovely. That's just what I want.
37:37I can just smell that little bit of charring.
37:40And then, if you've got a chance, let them go cool.
37:43But then separate them so we get these little petals
37:48which have just got that little mark there.
37:50It's just, it's quite dainty.
37:53Then strain the beetroot.
37:55I love these beetroot when they're just pickled.
37:58Not too much, not too little.
38:01That's the toppings done.
38:02Now for the tart base which I'm going to make
38:05out of shop-bought puff pastry.
38:08There we go. So we'll pin that out.
38:11Cut carefully and brush the egg wash round the edge
38:13and shape a crust.
38:16Just nice and rough.
38:17You don't need to make this one too pretty.
38:20Prick the base to stop it rising too much.
38:22Then add your tomato mix.
38:24I'm not using edible flowers,
38:26but I do want it to be colourful.
38:28He'll probably never eat a pizza margarita again in his life
38:33once he's tasted this.
38:36Arrange your sliced beetroot and lightly charred shallots.
38:39So now I'm going to put that in there for about 180 degrees
38:44for about five minutes.
38:45Perhaps even higher.
38:46Perhaps even 20 for about five minutes.
38:48And then turn it down.
38:50There goes Mr. Blackburn's gold disc.
38:53OK, come on in. This is my bedroom where I used to sleep.
39:07And I spent a lot of time in here with the guitar,
39:09writing songs and things like that that never got published.
39:12I used to listen to the radio a lot in here.
39:14I used to have an old valve radio
39:16because in those days they used to put them on
39:18and it took them about two minutes to heat up.
39:20So I used to listen to all the early radio shows,
39:23the light programme and things like that in here as well.
39:27And I also had a tape recorder
39:29and I read it in the New Musical Express
39:31they wanted disc jockeys for Radio Caroline.
39:33And this is where I made the tape up
39:35that eventually got me the job on Radio Caroline.
39:37So sitting down on the bed there,
39:39talking into the recorder,
39:42introducing four Beatles tracks,
39:44I think it was or something like that,
39:45going down the road, posting it off
39:47and eventually ending up on the North Sea.
39:50So in this room that's where it all sort of started
39:53in a strange little way.
39:57Over here there's a photograph that my mother put up
40:00meeting Princess Anne at a Royal Command performance.
40:02I can't remember quite what it was.
40:04It was at the Palladium though.
40:05And I think I was comparing the show as I remember.
40:08It's a bit fading a bit now.
40:09It takes such a long time ago.
40:11And over here is a picture of my mother and father
40:16on their wedding day.
40:17My mother was only 18 years older than I was.
40:19She had me when she was 18 years old.
40:21So she got married very young.
40:23And as they used to in those days,
40:25a little bit more probably.
40:26My father at the time, he was in the Merchant Navy
40:30and then eventually became a GP.
40:34I'm moments away from serving my version
40:46of Tony's favourite, pizza margarita.
40:49I made a rich tomato sauce,
40:52slices of lightly pickled beetroot
40:54and seared baby onions.
40:57I cut a circle out of ready-made puff pastry,
41:00dabbed the edges with egg wash,
41:02formed a pronounced crust
41:05and arranged the fillings on top.
41:07Okey-cokey.
41:08I'm serving it with a pesto sauce
41:10made from ground almonds, garlic,
41:13fresh herbs and seasoning,
41:15adding olive oil and finely grated Parmesan.
41:21Hi, Brian.
41:22Gosh, you've been busy.
41:23I'm going to award you a gold disc.
41:26Oh, at last.
41:27It's in the oven indeed.
41:29Wasted years for this.
41:30Now, I know that you're forever eating pizzas.
41:33Yes.
41:34This is not a pizza.
41:35No.
41:36This is a tart.
41:37It's made with puff pastry.
41:39God, that looks different.
41:40It looks better than a pizza.
41:41It looks more interesting.
41:42What did you say then?
41:43It looks better than a pizza.
41:45What a nice man.
41:46I certainly agree with that now.
41:47I can't disagree with that.
41:48Yes.
41:49But do you know the other thing that this reminds me of?
41:52It reminds me of all those records that you used to play.
41:57The 45s.
41:58It's about the same size as the 45, isn't it?
42:00It is about the same.
42:01It's about the same size.
42:02I don't know what would happen if you put a stylus on there.
42:04I want my tribute dish for Tony to, you know, play the right tune because he has such particular
42:11taste.
42:12But I've pushed the boat out a bit because I'm a food man and that's what I do.
42:17I do hope he likes it.
42:19Now grab a knife and fork.
42:21Yep.
42:22It's tasting time.
42:23There you go, sir.
42:24Thanks very much.
42:25Just for you.
42:26Try it.
42:32Mmm.
42:33It's lovely.
42:34Good.
42:35It's really nice.
42:36I like that.
42:37And it makes a change from a pizza.
42:38It's the same but it's different.
42:39Oh, it does.
42:40It looks the same.
42:41Yeah.
42:42But there's so much more on it.
42:44It's all happening on it, isn't it?
42:46Well, Tony, it's been a pleasure spending the day with you.
42:48I really do hope you've enjoyed the food, but more than that, the memories of the pavilion,
42:53the memories of your house here.
42:55It's been a pleasure seeing you here and I hope that represents your life.
42:59It does.
43:00It's been a pleasure having you here as well.
43:01Thank you very much.
43:02Finish that off now.
43:04The closest I'll ever come to a gold disc, I can tell you.
43:18Please, hello to you.
43:19Follow me, oh.
43:20Bye.
43:21Please, let me in.
43:22I'm gonna.
43:23Bye.
43:25Take care.
43:26…
43:28Bye.
43:29See you.
43:30Bye.
43:32Bye.
43:34Bye.
43:35Bye.
43:36Bye.
43:38Bye.
43:39Bye.
43:40Bye.
43:42Bye.
43:43Bye.
43:44Bye.
43:45Bye.
43:46Bye.
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