Saturday Kitchen S2026E11

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Transcript

00:00:02G'day! I've bounced back like a boomerang with a delicious array of recipes and fun-filled

00:00:07line-up of incredible guests guaranteed to deliver you some sunshine. This is Saturday Kitchen Live.

00:00:33Hi, welcome to the show. Paul Ainsworth, Jess Philby and Tom Parker Bowles are serving up recipes that

00:00:38would definitely put a spring in your step and as always Ollie Smith's pouring perfect pairings to

00:00:43sip alongside. Now our special guest today already had an army of fans worldwide thanks to her iconic

00:00:49roles in ER and Doctor Who before she entered the Strictly Ballroom but a dazzling display on the

00:00:54dance floor bought her whole new fandom. She's currently gearing up for a busy five-week run

00:00:59at the Hampstead Theatre so let's get her well-fed for that. Please welcome the brilliant Alex Kingston.

00:01:04Woohoo! Welcome, welcome. Hi Alex. Hello. How are you? I'm very well, thank you. Happy to be here.

00:01:10Well, nice to have you here. I can't believe it's your first time on the show. Yeah, I know.

00:01:14Huge omission on our part. Now Alex, you're in rehearsals. Your play starts in a couple of weeks.

00:01:19Yes. It's pretty intense I hear. Yes, very intense. It's quantum mechanics and the nuclear bomb.

00:01:25Ooh. Yes, yes. It couldn't be further from Strictly. Yeah. Or this show. Yeah. So a bit of light

00:01:32relief for you. Yeah. Yeah. Well listen, we're going to talk all about that latest fascinating

00:01:36play as well. I was doing my homework on it last night. Right, let's see what else is on the

00:01:41menu

00:01:41today. Paul Ainsworth, you're embracing spring with a Roman classic. I am. So we're going to do some

00:01:45Cornish Gurnard with a Vignorella stew which is, as you say, like a stew of vegetables like broad beans,

00:01:52peas, asparagus, some smoked bacon and smoked butter in there. Very nice. Loving the coat.

00:01:57Thank you. Thank you. Suede. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I just enjoyed it. I'm fat. I might get fat on

00:02:03it.

00:02:04Yeah, yeah. Do you know what though? If you get fat on it, talcum powder. You've been away and I

00:02:08wanted

00:02:08to really make an effort for you. That's so sweet. You really have. I have, yeah. And I just have

00:02:13to say how handsome

00:02:13you're looking. All right. Tan. It's just, I'm loving it. Thanks man. Thanks. Thanks.

00:02:18Yeah. Let's, that's about us. Yeah. So my Jess. Jess felt your first time on the show. Welcome

00:02:24along. Thank you. Angela Hartner's a huge fan of yours. As is the man here, Tom Parker Bowles.

00:02:30Love the restaurant. Thank you. What have you got for us today Jess? I've got a slow cooked sausage ragu

00:02:35and then I'm going to show you how to make fresh cavatelli and then I've got a beautiful spring

00:02:39salad with new season peas. Beautiful. I'm loving the way the food's going. It's much lighter. Yeah.

00:02:43A bit of sun. Tom, what you got for us Tom? Laotian chicken lard. It's like a meat salad. Elaborate.

00:02:49A meat salad. It makes it sound, so it's herbs and it's lime juice and it's chilli and it's chopped

00:02:53chicken and it's sort of fresh and springy. That's more like it. Meat salad everyone.

00:02:58Look forward to that. It's quite like you and me. Hot, hot meat salad. That's us. Yes. Anyway,

00:03:04before we go on with our usual nonsense. Yes, yes. We should say how well Alex did last week.

00:03:09Alex Jones. Well done, Alex Jones. Well done indeed. Well done, Alex Jones. A bit too good for my liking,

00:03:15but hey. What have we got? What are we drinking? We've got all sorts. So I've got two Italian

00:03:20wines for Jess and Paul. Yeah. For Tom, I've got a historic lager beer from Germany, which is

00:03:25totally scrumptious and also Alex is in rehearsals, so off the booze at the moment. So I've got non-alcoholic

00:03:30choices for you as well. Fantastic. So something for everybody, Matt. Yes. And they're all rather

00:03:35lovely. Look at you. You're very laid back. Australian, mate. It is this vibe. Yes,

00:03:39this cousin. You basically are an inner Australian already. I like it. Aggressively friendly.

00:03:46Now, Alex, at the end of the show, our viewers will decide what you get to eat. So food heaven,

00:03:51food hell. What sort of food do you love? Well, I lived in Los Angeles for 22 years. Nice.

00:03:58So there was a lot of Asian food all around me there. A lot of sushi, raw fish, everything. So

00:04:04I think

00:04:04my palate really changed during that time. Sure. So I would say my food heaven is something that's

00:04:11sort of more Asian-y, Japanese-y inspired. Okay. Food hell is going to be anything sort of,

00:04:17actually, really, heavy red meat. So I don't particularly eat steak anymore. Okay.

00:04:24Can't stand kidneys. Root vegetables, I'm not great on. I like carrots, but, you know,

00:04:31I can take a lever or lever parsnip. Sweets. So that's not my cup of tea. Yeah. Okay. And

00:04:38steamed suet pudding. No. No. Okay. There you go. Quite a collection of ingredients. So what Alex gets

00:04:44to eat at the end of the show is down to you folks at home. But will you go for

00:04:48her food heaven?

00:04:49Taste of Japan. If so, I'm going to marinate a thick fillet of cod in some miso, some sake,

00:04:54and mirin. I'm going to roast it in a pan into the chard, and I'm going to serve it on

00:04:58a bed of

00:04:58wild rice, sushi rice, edamame beans, and wasabi dressing. Or will I be able to convince her that

00:05:03steak and swede aren't that hellish? If so, I'm going to make a classic steak tagliata,

00:05:08which combines rare sirloin steak with some rockets and parmesan tomatoes. For an extra

00:05:13hellish touch, I'm going to toss in some crispy fried sweet gnocchi. That looks delicious. Right?

00:05:20But the other one's nicer. On the Sunday Kitchen website where you can view the terms of privacy

00:05:25notice and have your say. Right. Paul, spring has sprung. Let's do it. Let's make this happen. Let's do it.

00:05:31So where do we begin? Right. So we're going to start with a stew. So you can see what some

00:05:36lovely ingredients here. The peas, the broad beans. If you could chop the leek for me.

00:05:40I fried off some bacon here, and you can see we've got the lovely residual bacon fat. The nice little

00:05:45crispy bits in the bottom. We're going to add those back in. Smoked bacon or not? Smoked bacon,

00:05:49absolutely. And a nice kind of salty bacon. Nice dry cure on it. Now, the beauty of this recipe I

00:05:56love,

00:05:57it's for me, it's midweek tea or it's something special at the weekend, but it's the way that the peas

00:06:02and

00:06:02the broad beans and the asparagus and all the vegetables really cooked down in stock. This

00:06:06isn't something that's, as you said earlier, you know, that's kind of, you know, you want it sort

00:06:10of like bright green. It's a real big flavour dish. And we've got some lovely pickled artichokes in here

00:06:15as well. Okay. So the first thing I'm going to do, and I really want to talk about is this

00:06:20amazing

00:06:21Cornish Gurnard. And we absolutely love it. It's in season right now. And I just urge everyone,

00:06:27you know, cod had it great, but please try Gurnard. It is absolutely delicious. So a little bit of

00:06:34seasoning, both sides. One of those fishes that in the past, it was used as a spiket bait. Yeah,

00:06:39yeah, absolutely. I think now, because it looks quite scary. It comes out of the sea. It's got red

00:06:43and you know, it's not a particularly attractive fish, but I'm with Paul. It's so delicious. Now,

00:06:48this is like literally how I cook fish at home. Alex, I know you're a big fan of fish. Yeah,

00:06:53okay. So I've just browned some butter. So that's giving you the roast flavour. So the milk solids

00:06:58have caramelised. You take it off. You can keep that in your fridge. We put the fish on top.

00:07:03Now, I think sometimes for, you know, fish cookery for people can be a bit daunting and you know,

00:07:08like how do they do it without overcooking it and getting that sort of cotton wool texture. Baking it

00:07:13in the oven like this is amazing. So I've got the oven there on 200 degrees. We're going to bake

00:07:19that

00:07:19for about six minutes, but the butter will caramelise a little bit more, but it's just

00:07:23slower than the sort of fierceness of the stove and the pan, you know, like in a restaurant environment,

00:07:28that's fine. But at home, this is a great way to cook fish. So we'll turn up the heat. I've

00:07:34seen you

00:07:35talk, maybe I've read you talking about that in a book before. Yeah. That's your thing, isn't it?

00:07:39Brown butter. Yeah. Yeah, I love brown butter. I mean, we make, we make cakes with it. It's just,

00:07:46it's just that lovely hazelnut flavour that you get from it. It's just delicious. So we're back to our

00:07:52pan. All that lovely flavour of the bacon that's been cooked in there, we've added in the leek.

00:07:55Two cloves of garlic grated in. And again, I'm normally at this sort of stage, at the beginning,

00:08:01I'd put a bit of salt in, but that bacon has got such a lovely salt content that we don't

00:08:07need to add

00:08:08any salt at the beginning. Okay. I never peel my asparagus. I'm kind of like, I'm like looking at you.

00:08:15Now, do you know what? You don't, that's a really good question though, Alex. You actually don't

00:08:19need to, we're right at the beginning of, you know, English asparagus is not quite there yet,

00:08:25it's just about to come in. But when it's in full seat, you don't need to. Right. You know, it's

00:08:29um,

00:08:30but it can sometimes, if it's a little bit woody, just taking that layer of skin off on the outside

00:08:35is great. So, I'm showing you basically this one here, Matt. So this is the one that's finished,

00:08:40but I'm going to show you all the way. So, okay. Bacon fat, we've got our garlic, our leeks.

00:08:45Here, I've got some smoked butter, which is absolutely delicious. And just, for me, really

00:08:52brings this recipe together. Did you smoke it yourself? We add that in now, at this stage. Did you smoke

00:08:56it yourself?

00:08:56You can. We actually use a lovely smokery in Cornwall, where we get this from, and it's amazing,

00:09:01because it's, uh, obviously a cold smoke, and it's in a big, like, they've got amazing equipment

00:09:07to do it. So, that's on full heat. Now I'm going to start adding the vegetables. Yeah, you go. Because

00:09:12I want these vegetables to cook down. I'm not looking for, like, bright green. We want, like,

00:09:18the flavour and all the lovely stock and everything to soak into these vegetables. Smells amazing.

00:09:23Yeah. Really nice. So, if you can just, can you put those artichokes in here as well,

00:09:28please, mate? Yeah. Thank you. Uh, if anyone's worried about my finger at home, by the way, the old

00:09:32blue plaster, uh, we've got brand new knives, uh, and I managed to cut myself on the brand new knife.

00:09:40And I had two weeks off. Uh, right. Where are we at? Right, you want to shine? So, fish is

00:09:45in the oven.

00:09:46We've got our lovely stew happening in now. The butter's melted. Now I'm going to add in that smoked bacon.

00:09:53And again,

00:09:53when you're using really good quality smoked bacon, you know, a nittle goes a long way. The gurnard,

00:09:59though, it's sustainable. It's, I, I, I cannot sort of speak more highly of this fish. For me,

00:10:05it's almost got like a texture of like John Doreen, like a real prime fish. It's super expensive. Yeah.

00:10:09But the gurnard is inexpensive. The texture of it is beautiful. And yeah, it's just amazing. So,

00:10:16now white wine. Okay. Goes in. Okay. Heats on full. We'll reduce that white wine. You know,

00:10:24coming with your Michelin star background, when would you use white wine over something more floral,

00:10:28like a noily, noily, something like that? Yeah. Noily would be lovely in this. Yeah. I mean,

00:10:33I'm keeping it really, really classic. Okay. The white wine with the lemon, but I love noily. I love

00:10:37vermouth and stuff like this. And especially, especially putting fish with it would be,

00:10:41that would be lovely. Okay. So, the white wine's in. We're going to reduce that down. I've got chicken

00:10:46stock. You want to use fish stock, veg stock. I personally like the white chicken stock. And then

00:10:50all the trimmings from the bacon, I've infused into the stock. So, that's a nice smoky broth already.

00:10:55We've got some time in there. So, um, congratulations, by the way. The Michelin awards have just, uh, come out.

00:11:04Yes. You've retained your staff for 13 years. Go forward. Well done, you. Thank you. How are you feeling about

00:11:10that?

00:11:10Yeah, it's amazing. And it's never, ever, ever taken for granted. Sure. And it is all, it is just all

00:11:17down to

00:11:18the teams, as in 13 years of teams and different people and the team right now. And it's a good

00:11:25point

00:11:25you make. It's something that is, you know, it's a year. It's not something that is just you get and

00:11:31then you have. You must maintain that. Yeah. Through consistency, personality in the food. So, now I'm

00:11:38going to add in the stock. I mean, a year would be nice, but longer would be better. Yeah.

00:11:42Right? So, I think that's a great, congratulations, uh, to you. Yeah. Uh, what else is going on?

00:11:47St. Enadoc, uh, you're revamping the hotel. Yeah. So, uh, each time I see you, it's, uh, I mean,

00:11:54what do I say about St. Enadoc? I mean, St. Enadoc is huge. It is the biggest thing that myself

00:12:01and my

00:12:01wife have ever done. The whole team that's involved, it's just amazing. It will perhaps be

00:12:07the biggest thing we ever do, you know? Um, my background has also been like independent

00:12:11restaurants and sort of opening a hotel and all the things that go with a hotel, but I don't want

00:12:18it to be labeled as a hotel. I want this, St. Enadoc is for everybody. Okay. It is, it's not

00:12:23about if

00:12:24you're staying with this. It's about if you're in Cornwall. Yeah. Come up that, come up the driveway

00:12:28and come and see us and have a drink and just take in the views of poor Philly and the

00:12:34estuary.

00:12:35It's, it's magical. You've been there. I have been up there. Oh, and you also, you've raised

00:12:39it. So you've got this beautiful platform now. Yeah. So you can see over Gordon's house and onto

00:12:43the estuary. Yeah, basically. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, yeah, it's, it's beautiful. It's beautiful.

00:12:50Can I just show you that? I mean, that's just matter. Look at that. He's off. He's trying to

00:12:56see us and that butter. It's just beautiful. Paul, the thing I love about you is all the

00:13:01ambition, all these places where there's number six, Regiano's, St. Enadoc's, you know, everything

00:13:05you do, you bring people with you. I salute you, mate. Honestly, it's tremendous. You're

00:13:08down there quite a lot, aren't you? I am down there a lot. Yeah, I was down there just before

00:13:11Christmas at number six and I had a fantastic meal on your team. You know, a lot of young people,

00:13:15really well trained, but their service is impeccable and their knowledge, passion, and it's all from the top

00:13:18down. So, bravo, Paul. Well done you, Paul. Thank you. What's going on here? I don't know. I've no

00:13:23idea what's happening. Well, there was a slight, like, you know, well done you, Paul. Yeah, yeah,

00:13:28hang on a second. But, uh, I just, like I say, do you know what? I've not seen you for

00:13:32a while. I'm

00:13:32seeing you. You're radiant. You're, you're looking good. You're looking chilled. Yeah. Fair play to you.

00:13:37I mean, yeah. It's been an easy week. Yeah. So, at this stage, Alex, it's now just, we're just going

00:13:45to

00:13:45adjust the flavour. So, we've got some lovely pepper going in there. We'll add, could you add

00:13:50in the herbs, please, Matt? You can throw them in now, the herbs you've chopped. Yeah, thank you.

00:13:54So, I'm just going to add in some lemon juice, kind of, with that richness to the smoked butter,

00:13:59lemon, peas. Matt's just put in there chervil, mint, and chives. Okay. And now we're just going to turn

00:14:06that heat down, stir in, and now you just let everything settle. Will you do this? Yeah. What are you

00:14:13looking for in a temperature? So, you're looking for around 45, and we're just letting that fish,

00:14:18kind of, like, just beautifully rest up. Now, I'm just going to hit the fish with a little bit of

00:14:23lemon zest. It's beautifully flaky. Oh, it's incredible, but look at the texture of it.

00:14:28Then I'm going to add a little bit more lemon juice on it, all right? Some lovely sea salt just

00:14:34to finish.

00:14:36Nice. If you want to make Paul's, uh, seasonal Italian stew at home, you can find the recipe

00:14:39at pbc.co.uk forward slash Saturday kitchen, or scan the QR code below, and it'll take you straight

00:14:44to this dish. Get in a pan and a bowl, Paul. That is, uh, that is lovely. Yeah, thank you.

00:14:51Nice one, mate. And that's it. Just dish that up. I mean, I put this in the middle of the

00:14:57table,

00:14:57and the fish on top, and everyone digging in, helping themselves. But you're right about the green

00:15:02colour. People are so obsessed now because of food photography. Yeah. Everything has to be bright green,

00:15:07but you're going to get the flavour when it's, it's all there and it's kind of, you know, melted in.

00:15:12So we then just put the fish on top, and then that lovely, just borrow your spoon, that lovely,

00:15:17all the juices from the gurnard, the brown butter, just all over like that. It's that simple.

00:15:24Beautiful. All in real time. Right, what have we got here, Paul? Cornish gurnard,

00:15:28vina rola, spring stew. Nice. Well done. I love you.

00:15:37We're loving this morning, I love you. Alex, are you hungry? There you go. You know what,

00:15:43I am salivating. I was sitting here thinking, what on earth is going on in my mouth?

00:15:48I'm just like, completely salivating. You're big cook, aren't you? I really enjoy cooking, yeah,

00:15:53I do, and I like experimenting and, um, make my own pasta. Oh, very good. Nice. Fantastic.

00:16:00I'm eating a Michelin star. Yeah. Right? Dish. For free. Oh my God.

00:16:06So, what's in here? Well, we've got, uh, white wine from Italy, and you know,

00:16:10you want to have some freshness to go with the fish, but you also need some richness to go with

00:16:13all of those veggie infused, that wonderful kind of richness of the sauce and the stewiness. Uh,

00:16:18this one is Verdeca, which is, you mentioned actually vermouth would be nice in the dish.

00:16:22Yeah. It was a grape that went into making vermouth in Puglia. So, it was nearly extinct,

00:16:27now it's having a huge comeback. This is Masseria Pietrosa Verdeca, nine quid in Morrison's.

00:16:31I just love it because it's sort of, it's got a silkiness and a richness and it's almost like a,

00:16:36a peach in gold leaf pyjamas, you know, it's that kind of bright, but you know, fruity. But it does

00:16:41the

00:16:42job with the dish, and I think Verdeca also has this lovely slight aromatic character. The oak,

00:16:47they put it in oak for a short time, so it sort of makes a texture, but it doesn't interfere

00:16:50too

00:16:50much. I think it's beautifully balanced and a real Italian gem. Off the beaten track, good value.

00:16:54Very nice. Very good. Oh, you're Alex. Oh yeah. Well, for Alex as well, I've got lots of history on

00:16:59it.

00:16:59I've got a jar kombucha for you, which is, uh, £3.25 from the whiskey exchange, uh, all organic

00:17:04ingredients, oolong tea, green tea, and it's, it's basically like a sherbet gooseberry. It's nice and

00:17:09bright and effervescent and kind of the vinous alternative. And good for your tummy. And that, that actually

00:17:13tastes delicious with this. Thank you. Yes, good, good pairing. How was that, Tom? You tried that in

00:17:17rehearsal? Any thoughts? Absolutely. It's like spring on a plate. Spring has sprung spat. Very nice, very nice.

00:17:23Uh, Jess, what about you? What do you think? I thought it was absolutely delicious as well. I

00:17:27love Gurnage, so I think it's quite underrated. Jess, could you pronounce it properly, please? Well, I

00:17:32pronounce it Vignola, but I'm not sure that's the right way there. And I pronounce it Vignola. That's right,

00:17:36it's Britallian. Yeah, we're all. Britallian. I like it. It's not a thing. You're happy with that, Alex?

00:17:41Mmm. Good start. Mmm. Great. Sorry, I won't ask you to talk. Uh, remind us what you're doing. I'm doing

00:17:46a

00:17:47slow-cooked sausage ragout with fresh cavatelli and a spring salad. Beautiful. Uh, don't forget,

00:17:52you're in charge of what I cook at the end of the show. Uh, will you go for Alex's idea

00:17:55of food heaven,

00:17:56miso cod with wild rice and edamame salad, or her idea of food hell steak tagliata,

00:18:00with crispy fried sweden jockey. Log on to the Saturday Kitchen website now and have your say.

00:18:06Right, let's catch up with Rick now. He's in Sri Lanka visiting an incredible fishing port.

00:18:10Ollie, that's a beauty.

00:18:16I have to say that I've never been happier anywhere on my travels than when I was here.

00:18:23Everywhere I went, I was greeted with smiles and enthusiasm.

00:18:31I had been told that some of the fishing scenes in Sri Lanka would be some of the most visual

00:18:38I was

00:18:38likely to see anywhere, but I must say it's exceeded all my expectations. I mean, it's like central casting,

00:18:45fishing rides. I mean, when I first saw it, I just thought of Newlin, of those Newlin school of painters,

00:18:52people like Stan at Forbes, from the last century, from Victorian times, because all those boats are

00:18:59still powered only by sail. These ones here, which are motorised, just bring the fish into the shore from

00:19:06the bigger boats. But to me, it's just like, I can hardly believe I'm here. I met up with Darshan,

00:19:13a famous chef here, half Sri Lankan and half Japanese. Darshan, I've just arrived here. I am

00:19:19totally knocked out by what I'm seeing. I mean, there's lovely, plenty of fish, lovely looking

00:19:26fishing boats. What are they fishing for? These wind power boats are catching shrimp and prawns,

00:19:32and they bring it out here and then take it back to the market. Most of the time, all these

00:19:37prawns are

00:19:37alive. And it's a wonderful thing to have so close to the capital city of Colombia. I mean,

00:19:43being half Japanese, half Sri Lankan, it must mean everything to you. It's inspiring. I think food,

00:19:52any kind of food, starts with ingredients, not with the other sauces or spices you add. And as long as

00:19:57you have good ingredients, you can do any kind of food, it'll turn out better. And it's very true for

00:20:01Japanese food and much stronger. Naturally, where fishing boats land fish, there's a market.

00:20:07I only wish I'd bought my old copy of the Observer Book of Tropical Fish. But that's all part of

00:20:13it.

00:20:14I'd never turn down a trip to a fish market. I'd just like to see how different it all is.

00:20:20From where you come, what's the fish market like out there? Well, it's nothing like here,

00:20:25the fish market at home. But I mean, this is as fresh as you could ever see fish. One of

00:20:31the things we

00:20:31have at home, of course, is refrigeration, as you do in Tokyo. And that is a good thing,

00:20:36and a bad thing, because once you've got fish refrigerated, it keeps longer. But all the time,

00:20:42it's getting... Out here, the market goes around one. Yeah. And refrigeration, yes,

00:20:47it would be nice to have it. But right now, if it gets sold by one o'clock, we need

00:20:50to have it. So

00:21:00I'm very impressed. I'm enjoying it immensely, Darshan.

00:21:06Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go.

00:21:13Here we go. Here we go.

00:21:19I was asked if I fancied a trip with a bunch of fishermen further south of the island,

00:21:24near the town of Gaul. There's not many harbours here,

00:21:27so everything is launched with quite a bit of effort off the beach.

00:21:42The boat is called an Oru, and one of this size could certainly cope with ocean storms,

00:21:47but many of them are much smaller than this, and I was told that up to 80% of the

00:21:52local fleet

00:21:53was lost in the tsunami.

00:21:58Anyway, this turned out to be a sort of seine net fishing,

00:22:00with the boat laying out the net in a great big circle.

00:22:06And then they all started to jump ship.

00:22:09This is the strangest way to catch fish I've ever seen.

00:22:15So the reason they keep jumping into the sea is to scare the fish into the back of the net.

00:22:20This is the open end of the net, so they're making as much splash and as much movement with their

00:22:25hands,

00:22:26so the fish will all swim down that end.

00:22:29Must be a great job, that. I feel like jumping in myself, actually.

00:22:34Go on, then.

00:22:43Well, I am a water baby, and it was very hot, and it did feel really good to join in.

00:22:49I don't know how effective I was, but I love to get involved.

00:22:54Mind you, getting out again is a whole different ball game.

00:23:03I know a thing or two about fishing, and I'm not expecting a huge catch here.

00:23:08But the general air of expectation sort of burst into frantic excitement,

00:23:13as it became more certain that we're indeed fish in the net, and lots of them.

00:23:34I have to say this is a great moment for me, the number of times we go out fishing and

00:23:39never catch any fish.

00:23:41I think it's testimony to how much, how rich the fishing grounds are around Sri Lanka,

00:23:47that there's so much good quality fish landed there.

00:23:50And those ones, they're called Parawa.

00:23:52Parawa are really good, really good money.

00:23:55So they've done very, very well, and I'm very happy.

00:23:59I really enjoyed that. I mean, like fishermen all over the world, they really bond together.

00:24:04You know, it's one big family here. They look after each other.

00:24:08So Buddha's just told me they're feared, because they're really tough.

00:24:11They're quite chunky. I wouldn't lie to cross them.

00:24:17Ah, I'm not quite finished yet. I still have to help get the Uru back in again.

00:24:27This is the hardest part on top. And what this enchanting is,

00:24:33we want to go to the land. We want to go to the land. We want to go to the

00:24:40land.

00:24:41We want to go to the land.

00:24:45Right, oh, action man there, Rick. Diving, shifting boats around, all-round hero.

00:24:51Right. I haven't mentioned it much. I just got back from Australia.

00:24:54Did you? Yeah. Queensland, in fact. Absolutely loved it.

00:24:58I had a great time. First time there.

00:25:00But I found that the food scene in Brisbane was incredible.

00:25:03If you haven't been, you've been. You've been.

00:25:07Anyway, so I went to this wonderful restaurant called Stanley's.

00:25:11A fantastic chef called Louis Tickerum. You can find him on Instagram.

00:25:15And I had these two dishes. So the first one,

00:25:18I've got some lamb belly here and it was braised and then it's tossed in lots of spices,

00:25:24fennel, Szechuan pepper, coriander seeds, chilies, a bit of vinegar and soy.

00:25:29So, Tom, you're going to do that. So basically it starts like this.

00:25:32It then gets braised in some soy and these aromatics.

00:25:36You could just boil it up in some water or simmer it in some water,

00:25:38quite frankly, for about sort of 60 minutes.

00:25:41And then you let it cool and set. Go easy.

00:25:45Because, you know, remember in rehearsal?

00:25:46Yeah, all right.

00:25:47We broke out a race.

00:25:49So, and then you chill it, slice it into its individual kind of riblets,

00:25:55and then we're going to toss it in these spices.

00:25:58And like I said, a lot of chilli and the vinegar.

00:26:01Right, Tom, I'm going to grind those up really well.

00:26:05And I'm going to get on with this other salad. Now, this was, this was delicious.

00:26:10And it's very, very simple, monstu or snow peas, as they call them out there,

00:26:16cucumber, and this kind of soy sesame dressing.

00:26:20Um, and it's just wonderful. It really is super easy, but, uh, uh.

00:26:25Can you find that the Southeast Asian food in Australia, especially in Queensland,

00:26:29is just out of this world, isn't it?

00:26:30It's amazing. It's, do you know what? I was, it was hard, I was hard pushed to find food that

00:26:35wasn't

00:26:36sort of Asian orientated.

00:26:39You can call it a pie.

00:26:39But it's so fresh and vibrant.

00:26:41It's always a pie.

00:26:42Always a pie. I did get a pie.

00:26:43Good. Australians are good at pie.

00:26:44But, you know, I didn't, I went all that way to get a pie, you know what I mean?

00:26:46You've been, uh, you've been there.

00:26:48I have. I've been all over Australia, actually, and I completely agree with you.

00:26:51The food is incredible. Um, and, I mean, it's funny because so many Irish, so many Italians,

00:27:02you know, so many people just from all over the world, but coming together and kind of living in

00:27:09this wonderful, uh, way where, you know, everybody is respected, the foods are all encouraged,

00:27:17all the different cultural cultures, it's sort of, it's an amazing country.

00:27:21I, I absolutely fell in love with the place, I have to say.

00:27:24Now, let's, uh, let's talk about you and your new play.

00:27:27Now, we obviously, uh, the play is called Copenhagen.

00:27:30Now, we know you from, you know, we said sort of iconic roles.

00:27:33You work with some wonderful people, and now you, you've got a great cast, uh, in Hampstead.

00:27:38Yes, yes, Damien Maloney and Richard Schiff, um, and myself. It's just the three, three people on stage,

00:27:45and we're on stage the entire time. Uh, it's intense. Yes, there's nowhere to hide.

00:27:51Uh, and, um, the play, uh, basically, um, takes, uh, an event that happened, um,

00:28:01where these two physicists, uh, met in 1941, uh, and one of the physicists, Niels Bohr,

00:28:09was the sort of mentor to this younger physicist called Werner Heisenberg.

00:28:14Um, and the, the play, um, sort of is trying to, uh, get to the bottom of why Heisenberg came

00:28:24back to meet Niels Bohr. It was the middle of the war, and Heisenberg was, um, basically working

00:28:33ostensibly for Hitler on the nuclear program. Okay. And, um, it's, the play's kind of a thriller.

00:28:40It's, uh, the, the question, really, um, that surrounds the play is, was Werner Heisenberg

00:28:49trying to make the nuclear bomb for Hitler, or was he actually stalling so that he wouldn't make

00:28:57the nuclear bomb for Hitler? Uh, and, um, it's a, that's the question that is examined. And, um,

00:29:03and, um, your role in the play is pretty pivotal. Yes.

00:29:08It's all the, the translator. Yes. Between these two absolute boffins. Yes.

00:29:12To the public. Yes, completely. And they, you know, they were physicists. She wasn't.

00:29:17So, um, everything that was, she wrote, she transcribed everything. Um, and basically,

00:29:26uh, her husband, Niels Bohr, uh, insisted that she understood what it was they were researching,

00:29:36what it was they were coming up with, the calculations. So it had to be understandable for

00:29:42her. Okay. Which, so in a sense, Mark, her name's Margareta. She's the bridge between the play and

00:29:48the audience. Okay. And, as you say, boffins. I mean, I have miscalcula. I didn't even know that

00:29:53that's what it was called. I just thought it was, you know, very bad at maths and numbers. Well,

00:29:57I'm terrible at maths. How does that manifest? Well, I, I just freeze. I go into a panic when,

00:30:03when I see numbers. When you see a bill? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I still, Vegas, oh my gosh. I

00:30:09mean,

00:30:09I have to count on my fingers. So I'm useless at anything like, you know, blackjack. I can only do

00:30:14the slot machine. Um, but, um, yes. So I can count on my fingers and I can, but, you know,

00:30:26pie or percentages or, you know, I just, it may, I literally freeze in terror in my head.

00:30:31So that apparently is discalcular. Okay. Um, so me in a play about quantum physics and,

00:30:39and all of these, um, mathematical calculations, it's actually, is that a genuine struggle on stage

00:30:46or once you're getting your head around in rehearsal? No. Well, no, the thing is,

00:30:49because I'm not a physicist. I don't have to pretend to be a physicist on stage. I'm just the,

00:30:54I'm not just, but I'm the woman who's typing it all out. And, and, uh, so I feel quite relaxed

00:30:59that,

00:31:00uh, I mean, she did understand and I am beginning. We've been rehearsing now for four weeks and I'm

00:31:05starting to understand what it all means. Are you enjoying that element? I am actually quite,

00:31:11yes. Because it must be something really to be had when you're, when you're an actor and you're

00:31:14sort of, you know, rehearsing new roles and taking on new information. Yeah. It's quite exciting. Yes.

00:31:19I mean, I, I'm starting to learn all about nuclear fission, uh, and the U235 and U238 and, you know,

00:31:27how to enrich plutonium or enrich uranium to make plutonium. Do you, do you know too much?

00:31:33I mean, don't put yourself on a watch list. No. It's, it's an amazing cast though as well. I mean,

00:31:40there's you, I mean, Adam, Adam Schiff, it was the, Richard Schiff, sorry, um, from the West Wing.

00:31:45Yeah. So just amazing to have that lineup and must be extraordinary to be rehearsing with them.

00:31:50Well, the thing that's, um, that's, uh, quite funny is that, um, uh, when I was doing ER,

00:31:56uh, we were on the same studio lot when Richard was doing the West Wing and, um, John Wells was

00:32:03our

00:32:03showrunner and he was the showrunner for, uh, West Wing as well. So Richard and I kind of would

00:32:10cross over, um, at Warner Brothers, um, and end up at the same sort of weekend parties and things.

00:32:17But, uh, I haven't seen him, you know, for decades. Yeah. Uh, so it's sort of quite nice because it,

00:32:24it kind of reminds me of that time. Yeah. Yeah. It's good. And, um, Damien is, I think he,

00:32:33he's Bergerac. He's the new Bergerac. So he's, uh. I'm sorry, they're bringing back Bergerac. Yes.

00:32:38Yes. I'm sorry. Filling the Jews of John, the great John Nettles. Yes. Hang on, here I am banging on

00:32:44about

00:32:44Queensland and food. They're bringing back Bergerac. Yes, yeah. In New Jersey. Didn't know that.

00:32:49Oh, yeah. My brother's a huge fan of Bergerac. How excited are you? Very excited. My brother did

00:32:53the tower of Bergerac on Radio 4. It's a great show. So I'm glad it's back. Oh, Lord. Right.

00:32:59Okay. Let's, let's talk about food. Uh, okay. So Tom, uh, it's very masterfully. Not burnt this time. Not burnt

00:33:05this time.

00:33:05Uh, and, uh, so into the wok, all those spices, uh, with the, um, the, you seal off the, um,

00:33:12uh,

00:33:13the lamb ribs, make them nice and crispy, because they're soft and they make them crispy. Toss in all

00:33:16those spices, a bit of vinegar, a bit of soy, chilies. Uh, in here we've got, uh, all the ingredients,

00:33:23I can't remember. Cucumber, uh, monge to the enoki mushrooms, sesame seeds. That's the dressing.

00:33:30Generous for that. Uh, and then give it a mix. But yeah, I mean, in terms of the food,

00:33:35it's just light. It's fresh. It's exciting. It hasn't. The Asian food, I think some of the best

00:33:40Thai food on earth, um, outside of Thailand is in Australia, but you know. Oh, really?

00:33:44It's just the freshness of the ingredients and everything. I love that country. Right.

00:33:48There you go. Oh, excuse me. Try some of that. Let us know what you think. Do, do I squeeze

00:33:54lime over it?

00:33:55Yes, exactly. Squeeze a bit of lime over the ribs. Um, but I, I think, uh, I think it's delicious.

00:34:02I mean, lamb ribs, they're not, uh, they're not expensive. No. And lots of flavor. So good.

00:34:07Stealing that one, Matt. Yeah? I'm stealing that one. You're welcome. That is, uh, that is a cracking dish.

00:34:12Nice, isn't it, that salad? So fresh and crisp and lovely. Right. Oh, you haven't tried it?

00:34:16No, no, I'm going to have a go now. Um, your salad. It's so good. Yeah, we all fell in

00:34:22love

00:34:22with it in rehearsal. It's just full of flavor. Mmm. It's okay? Salad. The salad is so good.

00:34:27Nice, right? Mmm. So that dressing's delicious. Mmm. Absolutely delicious.

00:34:31And now I pick this up with my fingers. Yeah, yeah, please do. Oh my gosh. Nobody's looking.

00:34:37Um, yeah, Louis Tickerum. Don't check him out. Uh, what do you want me to make at the end of

00:34:41the show?

00:34:41Uh, will it be Alex's food heaven, miso cod? If so, I'm going to marinate a thick fillet of cod

00:34:45in miso.

00:34:46Look at that for a shot. Um, miso, sake and mirin. I'm going to roast it in a pan until

00:34:52it's chiles.

00:34:53I'm going to serve it on a bed of wild rice sushi. Can I tell you? Yeah, go on.

00:34:57Um, I don't have a problem with eating on camera. No? Great. That's what we like.

00:35:02Yeah, that's what we like, I guess. Uh, anyway, always looking for food else, steak and swede.

00:35:07So I'm going to make a classic steak tagliata, which combines rare soy-loin steak with some rocket parmesan

00:35:12tomatoes. Uh, for an extra headish touch, I'm going to toss in some crispy fried sweet gnocchi.

00:35:17Uh, the choice is yours. Log on to the website now.

00:35:20Can we stop focusing on Alex? Let him eat.

00:35:24Right, grab your life jackets. It's time bobbing along the Thames now with Dame Mary Berry,

00:35:28uh, to visit a river community with their own fruit and veg growing gardens. Take a look.

00:35:33Oh my God.

00:35:39The Tidal Thames has some wonderful hidden gems. This is Tarbridge Moorings, one of its oldest river

00:35:47communities. Seven of the barges here have stunning gardens growing an amazing array of fruit and

00:35:57vegetables. I promise you I'm as sober as a judge. It's very difficult coming along here. It's just

00:36:06like this, but I'm here. I've been invited to have a look round by Suj, who's lived here for 14

00:36:15years.

00:36:17What an amazing view. It is. It's beautiful. I feel so blessed and lucky to call this place my home.

00:36:25How many barges are here? We have about 50 barges and over 100 people living here now.

00:36:31And do you all get together, um, for sort of occasions here? We do have a communal barge.

00:36:37So we have a lot of community events like book clubs, film clubs. Yeah. Hello, you've just popped up from

00:36:44nowhere.

00:36:46They grow everything here from citrus fruits to green leaf veg. This is a crab up here. Yes.

00:36:54I'm going to get out of the rain and whip out something simple and delicious for Suj and his friends.

00:37:02I've cooked in some very strange places in my time, never on the Thames. And I've got Tarbridge on my

00:37:09right. But what better than a warm chicken salad? Very simple. The heart of this delicious salad is the

00:37:18mouth-watering dressing. First of all, creme fraiche. And you know me, always full fat.

00:37:27Then I'm going to add some Dijon mustard.

00:37:31Gives a bit of bite. And you need a bit of bite when it's chilly like it is today.

00:37:36A touch of sugar for sweetness and a squeeze of lemon juice will bring out the freshness

00:37:41I'm looking for. Some Parmesan cheese gives it bite, which makes it extra warming.

00:37:52This is so quick and simple. I just need to layer it up.

00:37:56Some iceberg lettuce, which I'm going to start at the bottom. Some spring onion and sprinkle that all

00:38:03over the top. Sweet pickled cucumber, the kind that come in a jar and add a bit of sweetness to

00:38:09it.

00:38:10And then I've got this dill, bright green and fresh.

00:38:14The star ingredient is my pan-fried chicken glazed in honey with paprika.

00:38:22Some extra Parmesan shavings are always welcome.

00:38:26Then a few pea shoots on top.

00:38:31It's looking good, isn't it? Finally, that creme fraiche Parmesan and lemon dressing.

00:38:37And plenty of it.

00:38:42All I need now is a few hungry people to try it.

00:38:52I hope you're starving.

00:38:54We are.

00:38:55Yeah, we are.

00:38:59How do you like it?

00:39:01I love it.

00:39:10I like nothing better than a warm salad.

00:39:14And my idea of indulgent comfort is a rich citron tart to follow.

00:39:22I've made my sweet shortcrust pastry, but you can buy some ready-made if you want to.

00:39:28If you find it difficult to roll it round the rolling pin,

00:39:31get the base of your crunch sandwich tin, slip it underneath.

00:39:38And then, to transport it, just pull that forward.

00:39:44And no fear of it cracking.

00:39:51Lift up the edges, gently pressing the pastry into the tin.

00:39:58I'm now going to prick the base, because if I don't, it domes up and I wouldn't get my filling

00:40:03in.

00:40:04Blind-bake the pastry for 15 minutes at 180 fan, then without the beans for a further five.

00:40:18There it is, just as I wanted it to be.

00:40:21All crispy round the outside, pale golden, and beautifully cooked.

00:40:26Pastry's cooling, and now I'm going to make the lemon posset filling, which is to die for.

00:40:31In goes the cream, double pouring cream, nothing but the best.

00:40:38150 grams of caster sugar, and then the zest of three lemons.

00:40:45And just stir until the sugar has dissolved.

00:40:52My tip is to let the lemon cream cool slightly before adding some lemon juice to stop it curdling.

00:41:00And the lemon juice has a magic setting quality.

00:41:04You don't need any gelatin, you don't need any cornflour, it's just the lemons that make it set.

00:41:10And you can actually see it's beginning to thicken like magic.

00:41:23Chill in the fridge for a minimum four hours, but ideally overnight.

00:41:37Look at that.

00:41:38Perfect set.

00:41:42Let's hope if I push that down it'll come off.

00:41:47It did, didn't it?

00:41:51For a finishing touch, some sweet raspberries will work a treat.

00:42:00That is pure lemon indulgence, happiness on a plate.

00:42:12Thanks for that, Mary.

00:42:13Still to come, Tom Parker Bowles brings a taste allowed to the table with his delicious chicken

00:42:17larp.

00:42:18And what do you want me to make at the end of the show?

00:42:19Will it be Alex's food heaven, miso cod with wild rice with edamame salad?

00:42:23Or her idea of food health steak tagliata with crispy fried swede gnocchi?

00:42:27Log on to the website now and have your say.

00:42:29Right, Jess, past the course.

00:42:30What are we making?

00:42:31So we're doing a rich slow cooked sausage ragu and we're making fresh cavatelli.

00:42:37Nice.

00:42:37Which I'm going to show you first and you're going to do a spring salad for me.

00:42:40Salad of fish.

00:42:41Yeah.

00:42:41Okay, so what's in this pasta there?

00:42:43So this is super simple.

00:42:45It's just durham wheat, semolina flour and water and you need it for about six minutes

00:42:50and then let it rest for about half an hour under a bowl so it doesn't dry out.

00:42:54So do you do that instead of wrapping in cling film?

00:42:57I do and save the planet.

00:42:59Sure.

00:42:59Yeah.

00:43:00Fair enough.

00:43:01So this is quite a basic pasta dough.

00:43:04Very basic, yeah.

00:43:04Where's it from?

00:43:05It's two.

00:43:06The quantities are two to one so 400 grams of semolina flour to 200 mils of water.

00:43:11Okay.

00:43:11It's from Puglia originally and it's called cavatelli because they're shaped like little caves so it

00:43:18captures the sauce really beautifully.

00:43:20Okay.

00:43:21So I've just cut a little wedge off and I'm just rolling it out and this is a really nice

00:43:26thing to do at home I think.

00:43:28Do it with your kids if you have kids.

00:43:30You do this in the restaurant?

00:43:31Yes, I do.

00:43:34Maybe on a quieter lunch.

00:43:35I was going to say, it's quite sort of labour intensive.

00:43:38Yeah, it is.

00:43:39But for a simple pasta dish, there's a lot going on isn't there?

00:43:42And so then I'm cutting each one into little centimetre nuggets.

00:43:48Okay.

00:43:49Yeah.

00:43:49And then I'll show you.

00:43:50So with the board you literally just push down with your thumb and let it roll off.

00:43:55Right.

00:43:56So you can see it's got a little sort of cave in the middle.

00:43:59Sure.

00:43:59And it's got the lovely ridges that capture the sauce as well.

00:44:02And that's the idea, isn't it?

00:44:03Yeah.

00:44:04If you haven't got one of those?

00:44:05If you haven't got a board, you can do it with your fingers.

00:44:08So I'll just show you.

00:44:08So you just push down your two fingers and drag it towards you.

00:44:12Okay.

00:44:12Like that.

00:44:13I would imagine a dish this kind of labour intensive makes the chefs very aware of,

00:44:19you know, what they're putting in the finished dish, what they're throwing away maybe,

00:44:24or leaving in the pasta basket.

00:44:25Yeah, definitely.

00:44:26I think so.

00:44:27So I'm just whacking this thing because it takes about five to six minutes.

00:44:31So I'm going to put this in the water, which I've just salted straight away.

00:44:36And then I'm going to make it in your own pasta, right?

00:44:39I am.

00:44:39Yeah.

00:44:39I've never made that though.

00:44:40Although I think it was, that was in the last Godfather movie.

00:44:44Godfather movie.

00:44:45Good rest of course.

00:44:47Yes.

00:44:47Andy Garcia.

00:44:49Andy Garcia doing it.

00:44:49They're pushing together.

00:44:51That's right.

00:44:51Yes.

00:44:52Somebody told me that's in the cinemas again.

00:44:54What, Godfather movie?

00:44:55Godfather movie.

00:44:56Maybe I'm wrong.

00:44:58So now I'm going to brown off the sausage.

00:45:02Um, in a.

00:45:03It's a bit of food.

00:45:03Yeah, just a bit of food.

00:45:05It's what I do.

00:45:07So let's talk about your background.

00:45:09Yeah.

00:45:10So you started in food PR.

00:45:11Yes, I did.

00:45:12With that for a number of years.

00:45:13Yes, I did.

00:45:13How'd you get into a kitchen?

00:45:15Um, so I think I, I always, well I know I always wanted to be a chef.

00:45:18I was just, I think a bit intimidated of professional kitchens.

00:45:21Mm-hmm.

00:45:22And so, um, I worked in food PR for a few years and then I realised I needed to just

00:45:27bite the

00:45:27bullet and follow my passion and.

00:45:29That wasn't really.

00:45:30Retrain.

00:45:31That's in there was it?

00:45:31It wasn't.

00:45:32Okay.

00:45:32Um, so I retrained for six months and then I was lucky enough to get a job at the

00:45:37River Cafe where I worked for six years.

00:45:40Wow.

00:45:40Yeah.

00:45:41Okay.

00:45:41So you went, when you say you retrained you went to Leith's didn't you?

00:45:44I went to Leith's for six months, yeah.

00:46:14Okay.

00:46:15This is the River Cafe, right?

00:46:45Carrot aficionado.

00:46:47Okay.

00:46:47Carrot aficionado.

00:46:49Yeah.

00:46:50Alex likes carrot.

00:46:51Told me earlier.

00:46:52Um, and you're very much about championing women in kitchens.

00:46:56Yes.

00:46:56Yeah.

00:46:56Like, uh, the River Cafe, like.

00:46:58Yeah.

00:46:58Uh, I've been very lucky that I've worked for a lot of very inspirational women.

00:47:03Ruthie at the River Cafe and then Alice and Angela Hartnett has been really supportive

00:47:09of me since I've opened Canteen.

00:47:10So, I knew that when I started Canteen, I wanted to create a restaurant that really sort of supported

00:47:17and empowered women.

00:47:18Okay.

00:47:18And bearing in mind, you know, Angela runs some exceptional Italian restaurants.

00:47:22Yeah, she does.

00:47:23Uh, she did say recently on a podcast that you're the, um, her favorite, the, you know,

00:47:29restaurant that's doing the best Italian women.

00:47:30She gave me a shout out, which was so kind of her.

00:47:32Yeah.

00:47:32Yeah, which was lovely.

00:47:33She comes a lot and last weekend we actually did a collaboration for International Women's

00:47:38Day.

00:47:38Okay.

00:47:39Um, yeah, I have 14 chefs and 11 of them are women at the moment, which is great.

00:47:43Wow.

00:47:44Yeah.

00:47:44Oh, cool.

00:47:45I mean, how has, that's changed since the 90s?

00:47:48Wow.

00:47:48How many do you have in your kitchen, ladies?

00:47:50Uh, when I worked in London?

00:47:52No, when you cooked in your, in your restaurant.

00:47:54One.

00:47:55One out of four.

00:47:56All right, that's all right.

00:47:56You know what I mean?

00:47:57Yeah.

00:47:57That's not bad.

00:47:58It's changed massively, hasn't it?

00:47:59Yeah.

00:48:00Absolutely.

00:48:00But, uh, Tom, you're, you're a big fan, aren't you?

00:48:02I, I thought canteen is just what you want.

00:48:04It's laid back, beautifully cooked, seasonally, produce-led, all those words.

00:48:09Yeah.

00:48:09But you know, it's just food you want to eat.

00:48:11Yeah.

00:48:11It's really lovely.

00:48:12You sit, linger over a long lunch.

00:48:14Yes.

00:48:14I'm hearing tales also of a fantastic bar, which I want to visit as well.

00:48:18You can sit at the bar as well, can't you?

00:48:19Oh, upstairs.

00:48:20Upstairs is a bar, yes.

00:48:21The Fat Badger, which has, they have a comedy night and they have live music and it's really fun.

00:48:26Oh, that's cool.

00:48:27Yeah.

00:48:28Uh, make pizzas.

00:48:29Yeah, we've got two wood ovens, so we do fresh pizzas.

00:48:32Uh, we make fresh pasta every morning.

00:48:35We have a changing menu, it changes every day, which is really nice so that regulars and locals

00:48:40can come back every day, which is great.

00:48:42Great.

00:48:42And then we've also got a, um, a farm in the Cotswolds, which provides us with loads of

00:48:48our produce, which is amazing as well.

00:48:50Okay.

00:48:50And you're doing a pop-up?

00:48:51Yes, we are.

00:48:52We're doing a pop-up near the farm.

00:48:54Busy, aren't you?

00:48:55Yeah.

00:48:57A little.

00:48:58Uh, so that's opening in, uh, at the end of April.

00:49:02Okay.

00:49:02Until September.

00:49:03Yeah.

00:49:03That sounds great.

00:49:05Right.

00:49:05Okay, so where are we at with this?

00:49:06So, sorry, yes.

00:49:08Pork goes in.

00:49:09Uh, exactly.

00:49:09The pork goes in and then we'll put the, a little bit of nutmeg, bit of dried chilli,

00:49:13red wine, let that cook off a little bit.

00:49:16Okay.

00:49:16I mushed up the tomatoes in my hand.

00:49:18I always think that makes it a bit nicer and more emulsified.

00:49:20Is that because you're not blitzing the seeds?

00:49:22Yeah, exactly.

00:49:22A lot of people say that makes it bitter.

00:49:23Yeah.

00:49:24Okay.

00:49:24And you don't want big lumps.

00:49:25Um, and then I'm gonna whack that in the oven for two hours.

00:49:28Mm-hmm.

00:49:29Uh, and then this is the finished product.

00:49:32Um, and you say in your, in a restaurant you've got these beautiful wood ovens.

00:49:35So when they're, when they're calming down overnight, after they've done their work,

00:49:38this is the sort of thing you would put in overnight.

00:49:40Yeah, exactly.

00:49:41So we always have a ragu on the menu.

00:49:43Um, and different one every day.

00:49:46And at night time we, uh, put it in the oven.

00:49:49Yeah, we do lovely chicken stocks, veal stocks.

00:49:53Um, overnight and come in the next morning and they're absolutely perfect.

00:49:57Really?

00:49:57Yeah, it's so lovely having two wood ovens.

00:50:00That's, um, well there's a lot of heat there to be utilised, isn't there?

00:50:03Yeah, so much.

00:50:04I mean, they stay warm all night.

00:50:06It's crazy.

00:50:07Any, um, was that a bit trial and error?

00:50:11Yeah.

00:50:12Definitely the first week we came in a few times to find some dried up chicken bones.

00:50:16Right.

00:50:17And nothing else.

00:50:18Yeah, I mean, that's...

00:50:19You have to get the quantities, liquid quantities right.

00:50:21Getting used to, uh, new, new environments and stuff like that.

00:50:25Yeah, exactly.

00:50:25Uh, right, so this salad, we've got, uh, radishes, we've got fresh, uh, peas, peach shoots, gem lettuce, shallot.

00:50:32Um, I liked your, the little touch where you, you throw the mint into the water.

00:50:37Yes.

00:50:37And even though the peas are already in there for a short time.

00:50:42Just to get a bit of essence.

00:50:43Right, okay.

00:50:43I'm just finishing this with a little bit of seasoning.

00:50:47Okay.

00:50:47And, uh, you've got some cream there.

00:50:49Does that go in right at the end?

00:50:50Yeah.

00:50:50So once it's been in the oven for around two hours.

00:50:53Yeah.

00:50:54Then a good glug of cream just to make it nice and bit.

00:50:57So is this a traditional recipe or is this your kind of take on?

00:51:00Mmm, I would say a bit of both.

00:51:03I think I've slightly developed a traditional recipe.

00:51:06Okay.

00:51:06Yeah.

00:51:06That's, uh, is delicious.

00:51:08I want to get a spoon in it.

00:51:09But you can't because I've got to read this.

00:51:10If you want to make Jess's cracking cavatelli at home, you can find the recipe at bbc.co.dk.

00:51:15or scan the QR code below and it'll take you straight to this dish.

00:51:19Right.

00:51:19Just going to finish it with a lashings of parmesan.

00:51:24That's delicious.

00:51:25I love it.

00:51:26That's so delicious.

00:51:28How long does the pork cook for?

00:51:29A little bit of pepper.

00:51:30Well, ideally around two hours, yeah.

00:51:33But if you can leave it for longer or even overnight, if you have enough liquid red wine, tomato in

00:51:38there, then it'll be great.

00:51:40That looks beautiful.

00:51:40Yeah.

00:51:41Remind us what it's called.

00:51:42This is slow cooked sausage ragu with fresh cavatelli and a spring salad with new season peas and pea shoots.

00:51:49Awesome.

00:51:49Now relax.

00:51:49That's it.

00:51:54That's it.

00:51:55That's it.

00:51:56That's it.

00:51:56Right.

00:51:57There's a glass of wine under there for you, Jess.

00:52:00Oh, yeah.

00:52:00There you are, Alex.

00:52:02Dive into that.

00:52:03Salad.

00:52:04What have we got, Al?

00:52:05Well, it's such a delicious dish.

00:52:07I felt completely head over heels with it in rehearsal, Jess.

00:52:09It's a smasher.

00:52:10It really is.

00:52:10It's kind of in my magic cupboard along with Frenchy's dish.

00:52:12Do you remember that wonderful?

00:52:13Uh, yes.

00:52:14Yeah.

00:52:14Anyway.

00:52:15Salsa-fee with the egg.

00:52:16Yeah, that one.

00:52:16Yeah.

00:52:17So it's up there.

00:52:18So, gotta be an Italian red.

00:52:19And this is also from Puglia, as the dish is inspired by.

00:52:22So this is the Co-op's irresistible Salice Salentino Reserva for £8.50.

00:52:27Reserva's a key word here.

00:52:28That means they keep the wine back.

00:52:30So it mellows and matures for like two years with six months and oak.

00:52:34Reserve it.

00:52:34Exactly.

00:52:35So it's kind of wine's answer to mellow mocha.

00:52:38You know, it's got that wonderful richness to it.

00:52:39And it does, you know, in the flavour, it tastes really much pricier I think than £8.50.

00:52:45You know, sort of think of it like plums but all wearing velvet romper suits.

00:52:49It's just like really soft.

00:52:50What an image.

00:52:51I'm imagining you in a velvet romper suit.

00:52:53And how are you feeling about that?

00:52:54I'm okay with it.

00:52:56Strangely okay.

00:52:57What am I doing?

00:52:57Am I just relaxing?

00:52:58Keep going.

00:52:59Anyway.

00:52:59It's so delicious.

00:53:00How is it so cheap?

00:53:01Well, I think it's because Solice Celentino, people don't know really what it is.

00:53:04It's an area of Puglia on the Heel, landlocked.

00:53:07You get incredible, it's an off-the-beaten-track grape, Negro Amaro, and it's made by a co-op.

00:53:11So for those three reasons, the price is very keen.

00:53:13And it also has such character.

00:53:15So it's definitely one to try.

00:53:16And I would say if you're looking for a gift for Mother's Day, £8.50 well spent.

00:53:19Oh yeah, good reference.

00:53:21Just saying.

00:53:21Well done.

00:53:21Remember Mother's Room.

00:53:22And for Alex also, I've got the Trip Mindful Blend Blood Orange, which is from £1.50 and widely available.

00:53:29And it's got all sorts of things in it, like lion's mane and ashwagandha and magnesium.

00:53:33But it basically tastes rather nice.

00:53:35And I think blood oranges and southern Italy, kind of those bedfellows together.

00:53:39Yeah.

00:53:39Actually, yes, it does.

00:53:41Both of your pairings have been really spot on.

00:53:43Oh, thank you so much.

00:53:44Amazing.

00:53:44I'm delighted.

00:53:44How's the food?

00:53:46Mmm.

00:53:47I mean, I'm not really talking.

00:53:50Great, right?

00:53:50I'm just eating.

00:53:51It's really good.

00:53:53It's delicious.

00:53:53The pasta.

00:53:54And you've got that little bit of spice, creaminess.

00:53:56It's just gorgeous.

00:53:58Beautiful.

00:53:58Well done.

00:53:58Delicious.

00:53:59I mean, got a bib gourmand, right?

00:54:00Yes, we did.

00:54:02Absolutely thrilled to get that, yeah.

00:54:03Pretty good.

00:54:04Soon after opening.

00:54:04Well done, you.

00:54:05Anyone else got anything to add?

00:54:08That wine book.

00:54:09Fair enough.

00:54:10In rehearsal.

00:54:11Yeah, you tried it.

00:54:13Full bodied, yeah, Tom was just...

00:54:14But listen, between you and house, you find these wines that I always write down desperate,

00:54:18and then you go to the shop and it's sold out.

00:54:21Yeah, I think this should be one of those.

00:54:23It's one of those ones I would say, if you see it, because you probably aren't familiar with

00:54:25it, it's one to definitely try.

00:54:27And if you're a fan of, like, rich oaky reds, like, you know, things like, even Chianti

00:54:31and Rioja, you're going to absolutely love this, but it's turned up to the max.

00:54:34Rich.

00:54:34There you go.

00:54:35Paralyzing.

00:54:35Well.

00:54:36Right, let's head to France now with Marcus Waring, and he's uncovering what goes into

00:54:41the classic mix of Herd of Provence.

00:54:49There's one ingredient we have in our cupboards and gardens all over the world that can totally

00:54:55transform a Hondron dish into a flavourful feast.

00:55:00I'm talking about herbs.

00:55:03Where would tomatoes be without basil, curry without coriander, and lamb without mint?

00:55:08Here in Provence, they've created their own blend of herbs and they put it in pretty much

00:55:13everything.

00:55:15Herbs the Provence.

00:55:16But with no equivalent in Britain, I want to create my own simple mix that will not only

00:55:22rival the French classic, but turn any dull dish into a truly tasty meal.

00:55:27And there's one man who can help me.

00:55:30Bonjour Marcus.

00:55:32Stéphane.

00:55:33Stéphane.

00:55:33Oui.

00:55:34Enchanté.

00:55:35Merci.

00:55:36Stéphane has run this herb and spice shop for 20 years and has his own recipe for the

00:55:41famous local mix.

00:55:43Herb de Provence is, for me as a chef, it's been something that I remember from a young chef,

00:55:50that the chef de cuisine would say, go get the Herb de Provence, go get the Herb de Provence.

00:55:54It was always a herb that was used in so much cookery.

00:55:58What is in it?

00:55:59Some people can change a little bit because there is no official appellation.

00:56:04OK.

00:56:04For our, we have savory, sariette, we have thyme, thyme, oregano, and rosemary.

00:56:13It's everywhere in France, Herb de Provence is the joker.

00:56:17You don't know what to use, put a little bit in Herb de Provence and OK, it will be good.

00:56:23Lavender is a herb that I have heard.

00:56:27You're laughing at me, you're laughing at me.

00:56:30Yes, yes.

00:56:31Some people put in Herb de Provence.

00:56:34I don't use...

00:56:36Really?

00:56:37Really?

00:56:37I don't say it's not good, but I don't like it with cooking.

00:56:43OK.

00:56:43And the only person who said, where is lavender in your Herb de Provence are American.

00:56:49Lavender is, for me, one of my favorites.

00:56:52I use it in jam, I use it with fish, I use it in salad.

00:56:55It's quite unusual.

00:56:56And what I like about it is that when you put it into food delicately, carefully, there's always, ooh, what's

00:57:03that?

00:57:03You can use lavender to a topping.

00:57:06Yeah.

00:57:07Effectively.

00:57:08OK.

00:57:08In salad for fish.

00:57:10Yes.

00:57:10But for me, Herb de Provence is really general herbs and lavender, it's not a general herbs.

00:57:19I'm a huge fan of dried herbs.

00:57:21I think they have stronger flavor and are much more cost effective than buying fresh.

00:57:26You're also far less likely to waste them.

00:57:29I wonder if Stefan feels the same way.

00:57:31The only herbs I prefer really fresh, it's basilic.

00:57:37Basilic, yes.

00:57:37Yes.

00:57:38It's the only one.

00:57:39We have dry and it's really different.

00:57:42But in winter, you don't have the choice.

00:57:45I think I agree with you.

00:57:46This has been superb.

00:57:47Thank you so much.

00:57:48Before I go, I just have to check out Stefan's collection of spices as well.

00:57:53I feel like I'm in a sweet shop, a chef's sweet shop.

00:57:57This one brings back some memories.

00:57:59This is the one spice that I used very happily on my egg custard tart that I cooked for the

00:58:04Queen on her 80th birthday.

00:58:05I was also told that this was one of the most expensive spices that you could buy back in the

00:58:11olden days.

00:58:11This little nugget of deliciousness.

00:58:16Back to herbs.

00:58:17And I want to come up with my own mix to rival the local favorite.

00:58:22Blending dried herbs is one of the quickest and simplest ways to add a super boost of flavor to your

00:58:28food.

00:58:28And mine is sure to bring a taste of Provence to your cooking, even if it does stray a little

00:58:34from the classic.

00:58:35I've chosen some special ones.

00:58:37Special ones because I think they pack a punch, they pack flavor, and they're also very familiar.

00:58:41Thyme.

00:58:42Never got enough thyme.

00:58:43Rosemary.

00:58:44There we go.

00:58:45But I've also got a few little pink peppercorns here.

00:58:48A, they just bring a little bit of a fiery touch to this mix, and I just think they just

00:58:53look good too.

00:58:55Just put them on your board, take a knife, you don't need to chop them or smash them, and just

00:59:02break them.

00:59:03They're quite soft.

00:59:05You just put them in, and just mix them up.

00:59:09It looks interesting, it's colorful, and it does now smell good too.

00:59:13So, we've got here, we've got fennel seeds, oregano.

00:59:19You know, there's something for me really, really nostalgic about dried herbs.

00:59:24And I always used to remember my mum, my lovely mum, when she used to open a packet of sage

00:59:29and onion stuffing for our chicken dinner.

00:59:31The memory of the sage flavor was magical for me.

00:59:35And still today, I use the same stuffing for my roast dinners with my children and my family.

00:59:41And it is nostalgia, it is lovely.

00:59:43Pepper.

00:59:45Lots of it.

00:59:48You know what, the way this is looking right now, and the way it's smelling.

00:59:53This could give Herb de Provence a little bit of a run for its money.

00:59:57Look at that.

00:59:59I can actually smell the heat coming off those pink peppercorns, fantastic.

01:00:03This for me, lavender, is the one ingredient that I think is going to mix it up here in Provence.

01:00:09And I think it will bring something very, very special to this herb mix.

01:00:11I'm always getting teased about how much I love lavender, I've always loved it.

01:00:15The day I got married, my wife had the sort of little lavender flower on her wedding dress and also

01:00:20had some of it in her bouquet.

01:00:22There's love for you.

01:00:24There we go.

01:00:25Look at that.

01:00:26There's a herb mix with a point of difference.

01:00:29I really cannot wait to get cooking with this.

01:00:32A little bit of sauté chicken.

01:00:34Sprinkle it over a roast.

01:00:36Maybe even just a piece of fish.

01:00:37Put it in a marinade.

01:00:39This will just keep giving you so much pleasure.

01:00:41Flavour after flavour, time and time again.

01:00:44There we have it.

01:00:45A little flavour of Provence with a twist.

01:00:54Host for the most, Marcus Waring there.

01:00:55Right, the website vote is now closed and we're going to soon find out whether it's food heaven or food

01:00:59hell for Alex.

01:01:01Tom, let's make this...

01:01:03Larb guy.

01:01:03Telly gold.

01:01:04Larb telly gold.

01:01:05Yeah?

01:01:05Let's do it.

01:01:06What are we doing?

01:01:07This is a larb guy.

01:01:07It's a natural dish of a...

01:01:09I call it Laos, but Laos.

01:01:11Beautiful landlocked country in South East Asia.

01:01:14It shares obviously huge similarities with Thai food.

01:01:16As I'm talking, I'm going to do it.

01:01:17Chicken stock.

01:01:19Minced chicken.

01:01:19They have special knives to do it, to chop the chicken very, very finely.

01:01:22I use chicken breast.

01:01:23It's a rare time I use chicken breast actually.

01:01:26But it does, you know, it gives you the right...

01:01:27So you like to mince the chicken yourself or chop it up?

01:01:31You chop it.

01:01:32You just slice it into small bits and you can see it's very soothing.

01:01:35I have a cleaver and a larb knife.

01:01:36You just...

01:01:37How long do you just spend over it?

01:01:39Ten minutes.

01:01:40Oh, okay.

01:01:40But you can ask your butcher and he'll be delighted to do it.

01:01:43No, he won't.

01:01:43Or not.

01:01:44He really won't.

01:01:46Chuck it in the mincer.

01:01:48But like all these dishes, it's about the...

01:01:50I'm walking over there.

01:01:52It's about the mixture...

01:01:53Do you need a really sharp knife?

01:01:54No.

01:01:55It's a mixture of the salty, the hop from the chilli

01:01:58and the acidic from the lime juice.

01:02:00So it's...

01:02:01Here we go.

01:02:01So it's really, you know, it's herby.

01:02:03Yeah.

01:02:03And it's got texture from the roasted rice batter.

01:02:05Now this is here.

01:02:06Sticky rice.

01:02:07It's the food that's kind of influenced you the most, isn't it?

01:02:09I love Thai food, Laotian food.

01:02:11I don't profess to cook it like, you know, as a proper Thai chef would do,

01:02:15but David Thompson's one of my heroes.

01:02:17One of the great, you know, speaks Thai, married to a Thai man.

01:02:20Well, not to go on about it, but the fella I was talking about earlier.

01:02:23Yeah, yeah.

01:02:24He used to work for David Thompson.

01:02:25Well, David is...

01:02:26As did so many...

01:02:27In Australia, he's, you know, and across the world, his book,

01:02:30Thai food is possibly one of the great works on Thai food

01:02:33in the English language, seeing I don't speak Thai.

01:02:36Do you still go out there much?

01:02:38Yeah, once a year, always.

01:02:39Oh, really?

01:02:39And go and see David, and travel around the north and the south,

01:02:43and, you know, and you need someone who speaks Thai and understands it,

01:02:46but it is...

01:02:47For me, Thai food is the most scintillating thing.

01:02:50Anyone else?

01:02:51Thailand?

01:02:52Yeah.

01:02:53Yeah?

01:02:53Yeah, big fan.

01:02:54Yeah, especially...

01:02:54I've never been on my bucket list.

01:02:56You?

01:02:57No, lived in Indonesia for a while, love that food,

01:02:59and Thai food I adore.

01:03:00I lived in Indonesia for a while.

01:03:01I taught English.

01:03:02I'm sure you make this up.

01:03:03I don't make these things up.

01:03:04Have we?

01:03:05Yeah.

01:03:05I lived in Jambi in Sumatra.

01:03:07I worked at the university.

01:03:08Were you in Sumatra?

01:03:08He's like one of those people like, how does he fit it in?

01:03:10Are you a spy?

01:03:12No, I'm not.

01:03:13Did he work in a university?

01:03:14I did work in a university, and I'm not a spy.

01:03:16I bet you are.

01:03:17I'm blushing now.

01:03:17Somebody check him out.

01:03:18What about you, Jess?

01:03:20I have never been to Thailand.

01:03:21I'd love to go, but I love Thai food.

01:03:22I had a takeaway last night, actually, from Thai 101 in Hammersmith.

01:03:26Yeah.

01:03:26Now...

01:03:27That's so good, isn't it?

01:03:28Isn't it?

01:03:29Is that where we went?

01:03:30No, we went to Fitu, which is another...

01:03:32OK.

01:03:32Really hot.

01:03:33Honestly, it's so good.

01:03:34101 is the best.

01:03:35And also, Fitu's great as well.

01:03:37But you have...

01:03:37Don't ever go to those places where they dole down,

01:03:40make it, like, sweet and over-sweet and boring.

01:03:41Get to know the chefs in the kitchen and say,

01:03:44Pet Mat Mat, which means very, very spicy.

01:03:46Pet Mat Mat.

01:03:46And not farang.

01:03:47Not farang food.

01:03:48OK.

01:03:49And then you'll start tasting the true taste of regional Thai food.

01:03:53Right, will you pick the herbs?

01:03:54Yeah, I'm doing it.

01:03:55So, I'm roasting this sticky rice.

01:03:56What it does is it brings a really nice, nutty flavour,

01:03:59and it brings texture to the dish as well.

01:04:02So, you have this roasted sticky rice, glutinous rice, chillies as well.

01:04:05When you're doing this, open the windows,

01:04:07because it's like tear gas.

01:04:10If anyone's familiar.

01:04:14You know, we've all got tear gas.

01:04:18So, yeah, you're just roasting them, not burning them,

01:04:20getting a bit of colour.

01:04:22Actually, it's smelling rather nice.

01:04:23I do love watching you cook, Tom,

01:04:25because obviously everyone knows great food critic,

01:04:27but also you are a brilliant chef and all the...

01:04:29Well, cook, cook, defo cook.

01:04:31Sorry, cook.

01:04:32But the dishes you actually prepare,

01:04:34the thing I love about them is that they are always full on flavour

01:04:36and balanced.

01:04:37Well, you're very kind to say that.

01:04:39What do you think, Matt?

01:04:40Hear, hear.

01:04:42Pet, nut, nut.

01:04:42Pet, mac, mac.

01:04:43Pet, mac, mac.

01:04:44Mac, mac.

01:04:45OK.

01:04:46Yes, let's talk about you as a critic.

01:04:49Have you been anywhere nice?

01:04:50Do you know, I went to Sevenoaks in Kent

01:04:53in a place called Shwen Shwen by Maria Bradley.

01:04:56I think the review's out this week.

01:04:57OK.

01:04:57I don't know anything about the food of Sierra Leone,

01:05:00but my gosh, it was amazing.

01:05:02Oh, really?

01:05:02It was thrilling and, you know,

01:05:04when you don't know about something

01:05:05and you're learning about a new cuisine...

01:05:06Yeah.

01:05:07..it's just brilliant

01:05:08and that food was out of this world.

01:05:10I mean, how often now do you go to a restaurant

01:05:12and you get really excited?

01:05:14Because I find, you know,

01:05:16I do go to quite a lot of restaurants,

01:05:18very fortunate like that.

01:05:19Yeah.

01:05:19And it's, you know, they're good,

01:05:21they're samey, some of them,

01:05:22and then occasionally you hit one and you go,

01:05:23wow, this is stunning.

01:05:25This is like stepping back in time,

01:05:28in excitement.

01:05:29It is, it's, yeah, you know,

01:05:31there's a lot of, it's a tough time for restaurants.

01:05:33Yeah.

01:05:34As you guys all know, it really is, you know,

01:05:36if the government just cut VATs,

01:05:38this is getting worse,

01:05:38cut VAT by, you know, 10%,

01:05:40that surely would help.

01:05:41I mean, the government,

01:05:43governments haven't helped restaurants

01:05:44over the last 10, 20 years at all.

01:05:46No.

01:05:47And, you know, the amount of people it employs,

01:05:49I mean, you know,

01:05:50yes, we have touched normally,

01:05:51but we have with the highest VAT rate in Europe,

01:05:54don't we?

01:05:54Yeah, it's ridiculous.

01:05:55It's just ridiculous.

01:05:56There's no support.

01:05:56I saw a thing out the other day,

01:05:58and everyone else gets a bit of a helper.

01:06:00Yeah.

01:06:01Not here.

01:06:02Not here.

01:06:02Anyway.

01:06:03So, basically, that's what we've done.

01:06:04We've roasted it,

01:06:06put it into your traditionalist,

01:06:07you've done a pestle and mortar,

01:06:08I'd use a spice driver.

01:06:11Let's do the chillies.

01:06:12So the whole thing is this pan.

01:06:13So the chillies, right,

01:06:14let's have a look at this.

01:06:14So, is this done?

01:06:17That's done.

01:06:18Take off the heat.

01:06:19OK, I'll take that off.

01:06:21These chillies,

01:06:22you know, if you can get hold of those tiny ones

01:06:24called mousetropping chillies.

01:06:25Mousetropping?

01:06:26Well, that's a polite name.

01:06:29And they have this wonderful fragrance and freshness.

01:06:35OK, so you have a crack at this.

01:06:36And do you like chilli?

01:06:37Me?

01:06:38Yeah.

01:06:38You know I like chilli.

01:06:39Well, yeah, you say that.

01:06:40You just make a conversation.

01:06:42Have we dried up, Tom?

01:06:43No.

01:06:44We're there in this relationship.

01:06:45We're not, we're not.

01:06:46Don't do that.

01:06:46Tom, you were saying you've done this with buffalo meat?

01:06:49Well, no, you'd have it with buffalo in Laos.

01:06:52You'd have it with buffalo meat, buffalo skin, raw buffalo.

01:06:55Yeah.

01:06:56And it's, you know, it's often a raw salad.

01:06:59But it is just, I mean, buffalo's fairly hard to come by around these parts.

01:07:03So, well, not really.

01:07:04I went to a buffalo farm in the UK.

01:07:05Did you?

01:07:05Oh, it's really checked.

01:07:06Was it not that one?

01:07:07No, it was it Laverstone.

01:07:08Yeah.

01:07:09And they used the dairy to make the ice cream.

01:07:12Yes.

01:07:12And the mozzarella and all of that.

01:07:14I'm sure there's one.

01:07:16There's another one as well.

01:07:18Yeah.

01:07:18Because they're big, big, terrifying beasts.

01:07:21Yeah.

01:07:21But the ice cream.

01:07:22I wanted to ride the ice cream.

01:07:23What?

01:07:24Maybe it's your spirit animal.

01:07:26A buffalo?

01:07:27Yeah.

01:07:28Maybe.

01:07:29Is that or a peacock?

01:07:30Can't decide.

01:07:31Or a buffalo with peacock's feathers.

01:07:33I saw a koala in the wild.

01:07:35I know.

01:07:36Did you?

01:07:36Yeah.

01:07:36Where was I?

01:07:43We're getting there.

01:07:44Okay.

01:07:44So, in Thailand, you would have pork lard, but it would be pounded raw, wouldn't it?

01:07:51It would be pork, it would be raw, yes.

01:07:53In the Issan region, you know, you're going to find...

01:07:56It's a great name.

01:07:57That.

01:07:58Yes, but it's just this salad, and the whole key is all these herbs and vitamins that need

01:08:01to grab all of this.

01:08:02Delicious.

01:08:03Anything you want?

01:08:04Um, have you got any sugar in there?

01:08:06Oh, yeah.

01:08:06You've done that.

01:08:07So you want that balanced sweetness.

01:08:09Yeah.

01:08:09You want a bit of acidity from the lime.

01:08:10You want the chilli heat, and all of it in some form of balance.

01:08:13Not just in the dish, but on the table.

01:08:16All the different dishes.

01:08:17Okay.

01:08:17You know, so you're going to have bland things, you're going to have hot things.

01:08:19How far away are you?

01:08:20Shall I start?

01:08:20Yeah.

01:08:21Yeah, yeah.

01:08:22Right, we've got some rice here.

01:08:26That was quite...

01:08:27Yeah.

01:08:27I thought no stores, but it's all right.

01:08:29Where are you looking?

01:08:30You all right?

01:08:31It's moaning there.

01:08:32Okay, why are you moaning?

01:08:32Don't moan.

01:08:33It's all good.

01:08:34Saturday morning.

01:08:35It's very chilled.

01:08:36If you want to make Tom's take on lab at home, you can find the recipe at bbc.co.dk

01:08:42forward slash Saturday kitchen.

01:08:43Or scan the QR code below, and it'll take you straight to his dish.

01:08:46So you put the chilli powder in here.

01:08:49Like that.

01:08:51I'm turning down the chilli slightly, but not massive.

01:08:54Fish sauce in there?

01:08:54Lots of fish sauce, yeah.

01:08:55Okay.

01:08:57Um...

01:08:58So...

01:08:59How do you eat this?

01:09:00This is like...

01:09:00With the sticky rice with your hands, or with the lettuce, so...

01:09:04Okay.

01:09:05Let me just try this for one more.

01:09:06What are you after?

01:09:06I'm ready to go just to try it.

01:09:11Um...

01:09:12There you go.

01:09:14Mmm.

01:09:14Great.

01:09:15Alright?

01:09:17Happy?

01:09:17Happy.

01:09:18Happy, happy, happy.

01:09:19It's quite wet.

01:09:20It is wet.

01:09:20It's meant to be wet.

01:09:21Okay.

01:09:22I mean, you could make it a little bit dry if you want, but you know.

01:09:24Okay.

01:09:25Yes, chef.

01:09:26Any other...

01:09:26Yes, chef.

01:09:28We, chef.

01:09:29Yes, Michael.

01:09:31There we go.

01:09:32And what you're doing with this sticky rice powder, you get this nutty, wonderful texture as well from it.

01:09:36So, alright?

01:09:37Happy?

01:09:38Happy, happy.

01:09:38We're there?

01:09:39Nice.

01:09:40What's it called?

01:09:41That is my take on Laotian chicken log.

01:09:44Very good.

01:09:45Well done.

01:09:45Very good.

01:09:49Okay.

01:09:50There you go.

01:09:52Tuck in, Alex.

01:09:53Wow.

01:09:54Let's dive in.

01:09:55But this is for all of us.

01:09:56Yes.

01:09:57Yes.

01:09:59Oh, he's having a taste?

01:10:00Show me how to do it.

01:10:01Just tuck it in.

01:10:02Tom, you should have a drink under the counter somewhere there.

01:10:04Yeah, you do me.

01:10:05Fantastic.

01:10:06There we go.

01:10:06Got it.

01:10:06Nice.

01:10:07Right, what have we got?

01:10:08Well, with larb, because of the spice, the fragrance, the bold flavours, you want something

01:10:11that's as refreshing as skiing in a swimsuit.

01:10:14You basically need to feel that absolute briskness.

01:10:16It's got to be quenching.

01:10:18And you don't want something that's going to take over too many flavours either.

01:10:20This is a historic lager beer from Germany and I'm so pleased to see it widely available.

01:10:25I've been, aside from Harvey's Best, which is my favourite beer all the time, this is probably up there with

01:10:29my favourite lagers.

01:10:29This is Agostina Lager Beer Hell.

01:10:32It's £3.30 in Sainsbury's.

01:10:33Hell just means bright.

01:10:34So if you think about all the kind of hops that make it fresh.

01:10:37Super pure.

01:10:38Just barley, yeast, water and hops.

01:10:40And it has this magic richness to it.

01:10:42It's nice.

01:10:43It's enthralling.

01:10:44It's easy drinking.

01:10:45Exactly.

01:10:45It's that first sort of beer by the pool.

01:10:47It's that feeling.

01:10:48But it has good complexity as well.

01:10:50They've been going since 13, is it 1328, something like that.

01:10:53And you were saying, you know, it's a monastery in Bavaria.

01:10:55It's the oldest brewery there, still privately owned, doing a magnificent job.

01:10:58How do you know that, Alex?

01:10:59Sorry.

01:11:00It was round the corner from where my ex-husband grew up.

01:11:04That's a good story.

01:11:05Tell us more.

01:11:05Well, I will leap in and talk about the non-alcoholic pairing, which is a scot-free lager from Stuart

01:11:12Brewing.

01:11:13It's £2, widely available.

01:11:15I absolutely love this because it's very hard to make a good lager that's alcohol-free.

01:11:20Yeah.

01:11:21They're using really interesting hops.

01:11:22Magnum, Sars, Tetanang, and they're floral spicy.

01:11:25Keep going on.

01:11:25And Herbie, I'm keeping going.

01:11:26Keep going on.

01:11:26Yeah, for me, the guys up at Stuart Brewing, Joe and Dave, they've just done a cracking job in Edinburgh.

01:11:30And it has all the weight, the texture.

01:11:32They're using basically a lazy yeast and, you know, to not ferment out too much.

01:11:37Yeah.

01:11:38And the warts, they're doing it so that that's the sort of base liquid.

01:11:40They're making it so that, again, it doesn't have too much of an effect on the alcohol.

01:11:43It's hopsy.

01:11:44Exactly.

01:11:45Oh, thank you.

01:11:45Hopsy, full of flavour.

01:11:47I think an absolute icon of Edinburgh.

01:11:49I'm a big fan of those guys, yeah.

01:11:50Very nice.

01:11:51Typical.

01:11:52This is a good beer.

01:11:53It's nice.

01:11:53Yeah.

01:11:54Really good.

01:11:55Agostina.

01:11:56Tom, yeah, what a dude.

01:11:58So good.

01:11:59Blown away at rehearsal.

01:12:00Love it.

01:12:02I love that you're so involved with your food.

01:12:04You really love it.

01:12:05Yeah, I do.

01:12:06It's so nice.

01:12:07Yeah, I really do.

01:12:08I mean, food.

01:12:09It's half of life.

01:12:10Yes, it is.

01:12:10Food, friendship, a good glass, I couldn't agree more.

01:12:12Yeah.

01:12:13What alcohol is it?

01:12:14Cheers.

01:12:15On that note, we're going to soon find out whether you voted for Alex's Food Heaven or Food Hell.

01:12:18But first, the Hairy Bikers are rustling up a decadent treat to round off their trip around the north.

01:12:23It's so nice.

01:12:24Cheers.

01:12:30Our final cook of the trip, Si, so let's make it special.

01:12:34Yeah, and let's use the formal dining room.

01:12:37And we've certainly got the ingredients for a lordly banquet.

01:12:41We've got the best steak, we've got the best lobster, and some blooming good beer.

01:12:45Exactly, come on.

01:12:46What more could we want, really?

01:12:47Wait, nothing.

01:12:48Light the fire.

01:12:49Come on, Nick.

01:12:50This is going to be epic.

01:12:53Let's do it.

01:12:54The best surf and turf.

01:12:57Fabulous fresh lobster, and a magnificent Côte de Boeuf.

01:13:03Served with beer-battered onion rings, and a beer bernet sauce.

01:13:07What I need to do, is I need to season this beautiful steak, and then seal it off.

01:13:12And look, you know, when you get quality of meat particularly this good, that's all you need.

01:13:17It just needs salt and pepper.

01:13:18That's it.

01:13:19So, dude, what I'm going to do is, I'm going to take this beautiful fat here, and I'm going to

01:13:22render that out in the pan.

01:13:24And then, we'll seal either side of it, and the ends, and then we'll finish it off in the oven.

01:13:29So, let's get some lovely colour on it.

01:13:32I'm going to get on with the bernets while you're doing that, Kingy.

01:13:35Aye, good idea.

01:13:36What beer are you using?

01:13:37Are we using a pale ale?

01:13:38Is it a...

01:13:38Yes.

01:13:39I think it's important for the beer bernets that it's not a beer-y beer.

01:13:43They're a good brewery, Al Masti.

01:13:45Right, half a shallot, chopped finely.

01:13:48A sprig of tarragon.

01:13:50Half a teaspoon of peppercorns.

01:13:52A tablespoon of white wine vinegar.

01:13:57And about 50ml of beer, not too hoppy.

01:14:00It's half a wine glass full, so let's just...

01:14:04I mean, apart from the beer, it's a pretty classic kind of reduction.

01:14:09That is looking fabulous, isn't it?

01:14:12Right, what I'll do, I'll put that in the oven, and we're going to start the 25-minute countdown.

01:14:17I'm going to get some garlic butter on for the lobsters, and also for the dippies for your claws.

01:14:21I've got about 100 grams of butter, and I'm going to grate about six cloves of garlic into there.

01:14:26A little pinch of salt.

01:14:28Because that's going to season the lobster tails as well.

01:14:30Some parsley, and I'm just going to warm it through.

01:14:32Nice, nice.

01:14:34Now, lobsters.

01:14:35I take my poultry shears, and cut down the shell, like so.

01:14:42And then cut down through the tail.

01:14:46And that gives me a cavity to fill with the garlic butter.

01:14:50Beautiful.

01:14:51Now, the garlic butter.

01:14:53I'm going to spoon this on, Kingy, because I want, like, loads.

01:14:56And this leaves plenty for us to dip the claw meat in two.

01:14:59Man, that looks great.

01:15:00Yeah, yeah.

01:15:02The beef is done.

01:15:04Right, so, that's the coat de berth resting.

01:15:06Yeah.

01:15:06The lobster tails are ready to go in.

01:15:10Now, it's time to make our Bionese sauce.

01:15:13This is the reduction, and I'm just going to strain that and whisk the eggs and heat it up, emulsify

01:15:19it,

01:15:19and start adding cubes of cold butter.

01:15:22While you're doing that, then, dude, I'll blanch off these claws.

01:15:26So they're perfect to eat.

01:15:28Oh, yeah.

01:15:28Eggs, come on.

01:15:29Could you hold that for me, dear boy?

01:15:30Come on, do you?

01:15:32And the reduction.

01:15:34My God, that's reduced as we're looking at it.

01:15:39Right?

01:15:40First butter.

01:15:42I'm doing one cube at a time.

01:15:44When one blob's gone, you put another one in.

01:15:47And you just keep whisking.

01:15:53Oh, look at that, mate.

01:15:54I've got a proper mayonnaise-y texture.

01:15:56Lovely.

01:15:57Which is what you want.

01:15:59And I will just finish with some fresh herbs at the end.

01:16:02Some fresh tarragon.

01:16:04Whoa.

01:16:08I'm so pleased with the texture.

01:16:12I think that's one of the best mayonnaise sauces I've ever tasted.

01:16:15Spot on, dude.

01:16:17Right.

01:16:18I'll bowl it up.

01:16:22The lobster tails are cooked.

01:16:24Time to plate up.

01:16:26Oh, look at that.

01:16:27Look at that.

01:16:28It's relaxed to a point of apathy.

01:16:30Give us a bit.

01:16:31Go on.

01:16:32Want that bit?

01:16:32Yeah.

01:16:34Want that bit?

01:16:34Oh.

01:16:36Oh.

01:16:38Makes you go weaker than these, that.

01:16:39That's good, isn't it?

01:16:40Oh, yeah.

01:16:41This is lovely and rested.

01:16:43That's cooked perfectly for me.

01:16:45These lobster tails.

01:16:48Right.

01:16:49I'm going to put these claws.

01:16:50Where should we put those?

01:16:51There.

01:16:51Oh, I think so.

01:16:52Just provocative.

01:16:54Mate, this is incredible.

01:16:55We've got that beer bernese, garlic butter, the claws to dip in there.

01:17:01We're serving it with some beer-battered onion rings.

01:17:05Amazing.

01:17:06The ultimate surf and turf.

01:17:09Showcasing the best produce the North East has to offer.

01:17:12A fitting last supper for our incredible northern adventure.

01:17:18Come on, dude.

01:17:18Let's dig in.

01:17:19I'm going to...

01:17:20Lobster tail.

01:17:24Yes.

01:17:24Some of this amazing beef bernese sauce.

01:17:28That's all what you did there.

01:17:29Yeah.

01:17:31Mmm.

01:17:32Oh, this beef's pretty spectacular, isn't it?

01:17:36The beer works great, doesn't it, Si?

01:17:39That is so good.

01:17:40Well, this is a memorable meal that I...

01:17:43I don't want to finish, Kingy.

01:17:45That's true.

01:17:47Well done.

01:17:48Get in.

01:17:49Must just take my time.

01:18:01Thanks, boys.

01:18:02Right, time to find out whether it's Food Heaven or Food for Hell for Alex.

01:18:05So, Food Heaven was Japanese foods, miso, cod, all here.

01:18:10Hell was Swede, root veg, and steak.

01:18:14Thank you to everyone who voted.

01:18:16Oh, it was quite close.

01:18:1755% of people went for...

01:18:20Heaven!

01:18:21Woo!

01:18:21Yay!

01:18:23It was close.

01:18:25Do you want to put that in the fridge?

01:18:27Of course.

01:18:27Thank you very much.

01:18:28Right, let's go on with this.

01:18:29What are we doing?

01:18:30Okay, so, I've got some...

01:18:34Right, I'm going to do this cod.

01:18:35So, the cod...

01:18:37Actually, Paul, if I give you this...

01:18:38Yep.

01:18:38Can you chop that up?

01:18:40Of course I can.

01:18:40Nice and small.

01:18:41We've got a little dressing here.

01:18:43That's the salad.

01:18:43Right, miso, cod.

01:18:44So, I've got some white miso here.

01:18:47I've got some sugar and some sake and mirin.

01:18:51Give those a good mix together.

01:18:53Then you want to leave it, ideally, for about two to three days.

01:18:58There's obviously quite a lot of sugar in this.

01:19:03And that's what creates that kind of classic sort of black caramelised look.

01:19:09So...

01:19:10And this was...

01:19:11Well, this has come from Nobu, right?

01:19:14That cod was a great Nobu dish.

01:19:16It was a huge Nobu dish.

01:19:17Yeah.

01:19:17It was the one that you kind of...

01:19:18Yeah, it became very famous.

01:19:20Yeah.

01:19:21But anyway, so, it's very delicious.

01:19:23So, leave that and it'll firm the cod up.

01:19:26So, then, when you cook it, we're going to grill this.

01:19:28It'll go sort of nice and flaky and just sort of push it apart.

01:19:31So, in there, like so.

01:19:35And then, okay, and then imagine that three days later.

01:19:41Thanks.

01:19:42Wow.

01:19:42And then we'll put that under the grill.

01:19:46Paul, you're cracking on with a salad.

01:19:48Yep.

01:19:49Thank you for that.

01:19:50Right, that goes under there.

01:19:51So, Alex, let's talk about...

01:19:53There's a love of Japanese food.

01:19:54So, he comes from LA.

01:19:55You spent 20-odd years there.

01:19:56Yes.

01:19:57Absolutely.

01:19:58When I was working on ER.

01:20:00Although I wasn't on ER for 20 years, but I just had settled...

01:20:04Right.

01:20:04...and then started commuting, actually, back to England to work.

01:20:08That is a commute, I know.

01:20:09Is it hard to leave LA?

01:20:11I mean, it sounds glamorous.

01:20:12To be perfectly honest, given everything that's sort of happened in America since 2017, let's

01:20:22say, I'm quite happy to be back.

01:20:25Yeah.

01:20:26Sure.

01:20:27And what's the day-to-day like?

01:20:29The day-to-day?

01:20:30What's the day-to-day like living in there?

01:20:32I mean, it's all sunshine and smoothies.

01:20:34It's always sunshine.

01:20:34100%.

01:20:35The funny thing is, it's almost like Groundhog Day because it's...

01:20:38You wake up and it's always that same blue sky and...

01:20:41Sounds horrendous.

01:20:42I...

01:20:42Well, actually, funnily enough, I think that time passes really quickly if you don't have

01:20:49any markers in the year.

01:20:51Okay.

01:20:52So, for me, 22 years literally felt like just two years.

01:20:57Yeah.

01:20:57And so, I actually much prefer being back in England where you have proper seasons

01:21:01because I actually feel like that slows time down.

01:21:04Oh, really?

01:21:05Yeah.

01:21:05Well, there's a theory that that's why we're, you know, we produce such great musicians

01:21:08and writers and all the rest of it, because the weather gives us something to talk about.

01:21:11Yeah.

01:21:12So, Shakespeare was kind of looking at all of the kind of chiaroscuro of it all thinking,

01:21:16Well, I think I might have done that.

01:21:17Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:21:19Very profound.

01:21:20Anyway.

01:21:20That's great.

01:21:21Well, I'm not sure, because it's very traumatic.

01:21:24It's a point.

01:21:24Lots of times with dark nights.

01:21:25Yeah.

01:21:25Dark nights, really sunny days, mellow.

01:21:27It's the way it makes you feel very different through other seasons, right?

01:21:30Anyway.

01:21:30I always feel amazing at the sun shining.

01:21:32And you look amazing.

01:21:34Thanks.

01:21:35I wasn't fishing for a compliment.

01:21:36But no, when you wake up in the morning, the sun shining, it makes you just...

01:21:39But you see, but the thing is, I think the British, we're so sort of lacking in sunshine

01:21:43a lot of the time, that when we do have it, we're so grateful for it.

01:21:47Everyone's half naked in the park.

01:21:48Everyone's half naked.

01:21:49Everybody's out on the streets, you know, outside the pumps or whatever.

01:21:52I mean, the Americans would never dream of going in the chilly weather just because there's

01:21:56a little bit of sunshine.

01:21:57But so, I feel like, you know, we have small things please us.

01:22:01That's very true.

01:22:02And I think that's a good way to be.

01:22:04I think everything should be delightable in.

01:22:06Yes.

01:22:07Talking of which, I've got a drink to pour, which is delightable in.

01:22:10Oh.

01:22:10OK.

01:22:11There we go.

01:22:12Great.

01:22:13It was incredible.

01:22:14Wasn't it?

01:22:14I mean, I was getting there.

01:22:15I completely forgot to go to the drink.

01:22:17You did!

01:22:17But no one had noticed, so I did my segue, but now we're just talking about the segue.

01:22:21It's fine.

01:22:22This is Luscombe's Fiery Ginger Beer.

01:22:25And I'm a big fan of, like, miso flavours, very umami.

01:22:27You want something fragrant and punchy.

01:22:29This ginger beer, I love it because it's Peruvian ginger, which has a lot of gingerol in it.

01:22:33It's a really pronounced flavour.

01:22:35Organic.

01:22:35Organic Sicilian lemons in it as well.

01:22:37Soft, down spring water.

01:22:39You know, it's not as sweet as some of them.

01:22:41It's got this nice sense of zing to it.

01:22:43It is, you have to buy 12, £26.50, which is, you know, it's an investment.

01:22:48It is, however, one of the greats.

01:22:49They were the first drinks in the UK producers to get the soil accreditation for being organic.

01:22:54They've got the King's Royal Warrant, and I just love that they create something so pure and delicious.

01:23:00It's absolutely delicious.

01:23:01I think it's definitely worth it.

01:23:02I think so, yeah.

01:23:03It's the nicest ginger beer I've ever heard.

01:23:05But you want ginger beer that has a big ginger punch.

01:23:08Oh, yeah.

01:23:08And you want the acidity in the back so it's not too shizzly.

01:23:11This is lovely.

01:23:12And, you know, made here, but, you know, bringing the world to us.

01:23:15Oh, it's really refreshing as well, isn't it?

01:23:18Oh, my gosh.

01:23:18It's not too sweet.

01:23:19Yeah, that's exactly the thing.

01:23:20They're often really sweet.

01:23:20Yeah, they can be, and I think you don't need that, not when you've got ingredients that really sing.

01:23:24Mmm.

01:23:25Mmm.

01:23:26Talking of singing, you all right over there?

01:23:27Set in fire to seaweed.

01:23:28Are you burning some seaweed?

01:23:29Yeah.

01:23:30Is that a ritual, like burning sage and purifying the studio?

01:23:33Oh, I'm moving.

01:23:33Oh, well done.

01:23:34Like those fish, right?

01:23:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:23:36That was Scottish.

01:23:37I mean, you've cut yourself, you're going to burn yourself.

01:23:39What's going on?

01:23:41Just another day.

01:23:42So, Alex, how do you feel about, I mean, ER, it was a while ago now, but now it's been

01:23:46introduced to a brand new audience.

01:23:49It's back on Netflix.

01:23:49It's come back.

01:23:50Yes, it has.

01:23:51It's come back.

01:23:51And, oh, I'm thrilled, because I actually think that it holds up.

01:23:55Yeah, it does.

01:23:55Because of the way that we filmed with handheld cameras, you know, it was one of the only shows that

01:24:02ever sort of, like, pushed out and experimented in that way.

01:24:05And so it still has a sort of an energy and an urgency because of the camerawork that keeps it,

01:24:14I think, feeling very current.

01:24:16Yeah, and it's Netflix, isn't it?

01:24:18It's on Netflix now, yeah.

01:24:19The whole dump of everything, the whole dump.

01:24:21Yeah, but it launched you and George Clooney and, you know, as Matt says, it'll introduce you to a whole,

01:24:26you know, new gamut of people.

01:24:27Yeah, my daughter started watching it.

01:24:29That was, you know, 18, never watched it before, obsessed.

01:24:32My God, have you heard this programme?

01:24:33Yeah.

01:24:33Yeah, it's iconic.

01:24:35My daughter loves it.

01:24:36What?

01:24:37Yeah.

01:24:37Yeah, lots of people are discovering it, you know, for the first time.

01:24:41You know, it's like the Beatles, isn't it?

01:24:43I remember my children telling me all about the Beatles.

01:24:46And again, talking about, you know, learning when you're doing something, like me learning now about quantum physics.

01:24:54I learned all about, you know, medicine.

01:24:59And so, alongside the acting, I felt like I was getting a real education.

01:25:03OK.

01:25:04I was very good with the scalpel by the end.

01:25:06So, if someone says, is there a doctor in the house, you can go forward.

01:25:10Yeah.

01:25:11Sort of.

01:25:12Sort of.

01:25:12No, that's when they hold me back.

01:25:14Yeah.

01:25:16Can I tell you that?

01:25:17Uh, lovely.

01:25:18Thank you very much, Paul.

01:25:19Pleasure.

01:25:19Um, the other thing you obviously touched on strictly.

01:25:23Oh, yes.

01:25:24Another skill.

01:25:24Yes.

01:25:25Were you a dancer before that?

01:25:26No, I wasn't.

01:25:27Um, and, oh, my gosh, I just had the best time.

01:25:31And I could dance forever, actually, if I had the opportunity to.

01:25:35I would just do that all the time.

01:25:37Really?

01:25:37Yeah.

01:25:38You went down brilliantly.

01:25:39I mean, I was on Strictly Textile.

01:25:40We were loving you.

01:25:41And you and Jojo, what a team!

01:25:43Yeah, we were, we were team joking.

01:25:45You were team joking.

01:25:46Is it scary to do?

01:25:48No, I didn't find it scary.

01:25:49I just loved it so much.

01:25:50Are you asking for a friend, Tom?

01:25:52No.

01:25:54I enjoyed it so much that, you know.

01:25:56And, um, uh, that sort of just held me through it.

01:26:01Yeah.

01:26:02So exhausting?

01:26:04Exhausting, but in a really good way.

01:26:06Yeah.

01:26:07Until you get into it, then it's not so great.

01:26:09But for me, being in the studio was like just doing live theatre.

01:26:14Oh, yeah.

01:26:14So it wasn't so intimidating, I think, for me, as maybe somebody who's an influencer or something.

01:26:20Do you know what I mean?

01:26:21Yeah.

01:26:22Yeah, it'd be terrible.

01:26:23Yeah.

01:26:23But it was, yeah, it was an incredible experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

01:26:28Was it a sort of snap decision or have they been asking you for a...

01:26:30They had been asking me for, uh, over the, over the years they'd been asking me and it was never

01:26:35like the right time.

01:26:36Um, but this time was right for me.

01:26:39Yeah.

01:26:40And you've loved it.

01:26:40I've loved it.

01:26:41And you know what?

01:26:42You've just got to jump in and do the things that you've always dreamt or hoped that you would do

01:26:46in your life but been a bit too scared to.

01:26:48Yeah.

01:26:49You've just got to go for it.

01:26:51Because what's going to happen?

01:26:52You're just going to regret it when you can't any longer.

01:26:55What's the worst that could happen?

01:26:56What's the worst that could happen?

01:26:57What's the worst that could happen?

01:26:58You could end up hosting a live TV show.

01:27:04Right, can I have a little bit of that cheese?

01:27:06Okay, so here we go.

01:27:07We've got that little salad, uh, with that dressing.

01:27:10Oh, that's cool, mate.

01:27:11Nice.

01:27:12Do it the old fashioned way.

01:27:13Um, and then we've got that, uh, that cod.

01:27:17Uh, just keep an eye on it under the grill.

01:27:19It won't take long.

01:27:20Uh, six, six, eight minutes.

01:27:21Something like that.

01:27:22But that's, that colour is what you get from that sugar and the, uh, the meat set.

01:27:26Uh, that's pretty much it.

01:27:28We're good.

01:27:28I've just got to say, I can't wait to see you, uh, in the show.

01:27:30It's the Hampstead Theatre, isn't it?

01:27:32Yes, Hampstead Theatre.

01:27:32When does it click off?

01:27:33Is it March?

01:27:34Uh, we first preview the 27th of March.

01:27:36And press is 7th of April.

01:27:38Break a leg, you'll be amazing.

01:27:39Thank you, thank you.

01:27:40What a show.

01:27:41Um, you tuck in, tuck into that, Alex.

01:27:43Oh my goodness.

01:27:45Let's know what you think of that.

01:27:46Okay.

01:27:46And you've got wild rice in here as well.

01:27:49How delicious is that?

01:27:50I've just got quite into wild rice.

01:27:52I love it.

01:27:53Not too much of it.

01:27:54Yeah.

01:27:54You need to mix it.

01:27:55It's not a rice, is it?

01:27:56No, it's a grass.

01:27:58It's a seed.

01:27:58Is it grass?

01:27:59It's a grass.

01:28:00Is it a grass?

01:28:01Yeah.

01:28:02It sounds even more inviting.

01:28:04Um, but once you put that dressing on, I think it's really nice.

01:28:08And presumably it's really good for you, wild rice.

01:28:10Oh my God.

01:28:11It's got to be.

01:28:12Yeah.

01:28:12How's that?

01:28:12Is that right?

01:28:13Oh.

01:28:14Or are you just saying that because you're on telly?

01:28:16No.

01:28:18This is really good.

01:28:20And you marinated this for three days?

01:28:22Three days.

01:28:23Wow.

01:28:23Yeah.

01:28:24Oh.

01:28:25Nice, good.

01:28:26Thanks for that.

01:28:27That's delicious.

01:28:27That was a nice chilled show, wasn't it?

01:28:29That's all from us today on Saturday Kitchen Live.

01:28:32Thanks to Paul, Jess, Tom, Ollie and of course Alex.

01:28:35All the recipes from the studio on the website, bbc.co.uk forward slash Saturday Kitchen.

01:28:39I'll be back here live tomorrow on BBC One at 11.30 for a Celebration Kitchen Eid special

01:28:44with fabulous food and guests.

01:28:46And I'm back here on Saturday Kitchen Live next week as usual.

01:28:50Enjoy the rest of your day.

01:28:52See you tomorrow.

01:28:52Bye-bye.

01:28:53Bye-bye.

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