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00:01We do do sponsor Neven's English food tour too.
00:06The gas part is only part of it.
00:43The picturesque village of Blanchland is on the border between Northumberland and County Durham, in the Upper Derwent Valley.
00:50And it's a convenient starting point for many of the walks you can take in the North Pennines national landscape.
00:57We're in the square here in what is effectively a planned village.
01:01So a few hundred years ago, this village was planned.
01:03It was drawn out on the ruins of an abbey, the Blanchland Abbey.
01:07And as you can see, on a day like this, it's a gorgeous place. It's a great place to visit.
01:10It's stunning. I'm looking at the windows, I'm looking at the doors, all the red doors.
01:14Like, it's just picture perfect.
01:16Yeah, absolutely. So the doors and windows, you'll notice that they're all red because they're all the same landowner.
01:21Okay. So the Lord Cruz Charity. And you'll notice the stone mullions and they're all of a particular period.
01:27But a lot of the stone was from the abbey. So it's reused and built in this style.
01:31And it's a vernacular architecture. All the roof shapes are the same.
01:35Yeah. The same stone roofs, the same stone used for the main walls, which is why it looks all of
01:40a piece.
01:41And let's be fair, it looks really good as well. It does.
01:44So Simon, is this where people would start their walk from this village?
01:46Yeah, a great place to base yourself to start walking in the North Pennines.
01:51All the facilities you need to base yourself for a day or indeed a longer stay.
01:57Yeah, a great place to start on things like our Roof of England walk, which is our long distance walk
02:01that comes through here.
02:02And having said that, shall we get underway?
02:04We better.
02:05We're lucky with the weather.
02:07Oh, indeed, yeah.
02:08Good.
02:14So we're a couple of miles on from Queensland now, on our walk.
02:18Coming to Powerhill Country Park, which is a lovely little place to start a walk or indeed pick up on
02:22your way.
02:23And talking about nature, lots of mushrooms.
02:25Oh yeah, the fungi. Great time of year for them, of course. Autumn, when they all come fruiting out.
02:29I love them cooked with butter, a bit of garlic, a bit of parsley.
02:33Spoken like a true chef.
02:36It's a very nice pad. It's nice and calm, isn't it, and flat.
02:39It is. It's lovely and tranquil, isn't it?
02:40And that's what people come here for, really.
02:44The visitors to the North Pennines come for that tranquility, that access to nature.
02:48Just coming up to a little bit of a view for you, I think, that you might enjoy.
02:53That is stunning.
02:54Not bad.
02:55Look how calm it is.
03:03We're in Powerhill Country Park and this is the neighbouring Derwent Reservoir.
03:07Beautiful.
03:08Yeah, lovely, isn't it?
03:09So, built with a dam to hold water, for water supply, but now heavily used for recreation.
03:15Loads of people come here to fish and to just enjoy nature.
03:18It's also the area through which our Roof of England walk passes.
03:21And what is the Roof of England walk?
03:23So, it's a new walk that we've created that runs through all three counties of the North Pennines.
03:29So, County, Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria.
03:31It's a multi-day, 14 days in total, with carefully timed stops in villages.
03:38And it's just over 300 kilometres in length, but it takes you right through the North Pennines,
03:44through all its incredible special qualities and habitats.
03:47And it's a real, I suppose, an exploration and a celebration of nature and heritage.
03:53One thing I've noticed is that the landscape and the scenery is so beautiful and natural and stunning here.
03:58Yeah, absolutely. So, the North Pennines is designated as an important landscape nationally.
04:02But it's also, you know, all this wildlife is what makes it really special, I would say,
04:06in a place like Pow Hill here, which has incredible habitats for nature.
04:10There's red squirrel here, some quite interesting and rare bog plants.
04:15And the snake, the adder, is here as well.
04:17Tell me more. We don't have snakes in Ireland. Your snake's here.
04:21Yes, yeah, yeah. So, this is one of the sites where the North Pennines adders are present.
04:25So, adder are a reasonably rare reptile in England now.
04:29But they are venomous, but that's not to worry anybody.
04:33In actual fact, they're much more scared of humans than humans are of them.
04:37But we're doing some research at the moment to track where they are and check their DNA
04:41and really get an idea of where they are and also look after them.
04:45Make sure that we're looking after those populations of the snake.
04:48Wonderful things to see.
04:50And if you're really lucky, you'll see one on a sunny day like this, basking, getting warm.
04:54I'll take your word for it.
04:56Tell me about some of the birds too here.
04:58Yeah. So, in springtime, this is a really important area for what we call breeding upland waders.
05:04So, birds that you might associate with the coast, curlew, oyster catcher, lapwing, red shank,
05:09they come up to the North Pennines, to the high moors, to the high farmland to breed.
05:13And this is a very famous place for the dark skies too.
05:16Yeah. So, this place where we are here, actually, Pow Hill, is a dark sky discovery site.
05:20So, they're places where you can see our galaxy, the Milky Way with the naked eye at night.
05:25And this time of year is particularly important for that.
05:27So, as we move into the end of the summer, into autumn, great to come and see just an absolute
05:31blanket of stars.
05:33God, that really is so much to do in this area.
05:35I've had the most wonderful morning with you.
05:37Built up a bit of an appetite.
05:38Will we go and get a cup of tea in them, maybe?
05:40Let's do that.
05:40A sandwich or something?
05:41Yeah, brilliant.
05:54Farm shops are very well established here in England.
05:56And it's great to see more and more of them popping up in Ireland.
06:00This is a really inspirational story of a sixth generation farm in family,
06:04who have really diversified and changed the whole business model.
06:07They have a butcher's counter, a bakery, a restaurant and this fabulous farm shop.
06:15Rachel, you have a fabulous set up here at Knitsley Farm. How did it all begin?
06:18I met my husband back in 2002. He's sixth generation on the family farm.
06:24And he had a range of disused farm buildings, so the cattle actually used to be housed in this courtyard
06:31where we're sitting.
06:32So, Rachel, why did you have to diversify?
06:33When you take prime stock, livestock to market, you don't set the price.
06:38So, you go and Edward said, he says, I'm basically sick of feeling like Oliver and asking, please, sir, how
06:45much can I have?
06:46Because the buyers and the supermarkets and the big companies set how much they will give you.
06:50So, you can't say it's costing me £100 to produce this lamb, I need £150.
06:56You get what you're giving.
06:58OK.
06:59And so, he felt by taking his produce direct to market that he'd have a better control of that.
07:04So, it was back in 2005, really, that we came up with the idea.
07:07It took about two and a half years to do the whole complex that started the business for the shop
07:12and the cafe.
07:13And are you still farming here now in the land?
07:15We are, yeah. So, it's mainly livestock, which is the stock that goes through the shop.
07:20So, we're more or less self-sufficient in lamb. So, we run a flock of about 260 ewes.
07:26So, we have round about 550 lambs every year.
07:29Rachel, you said you were the sixth generation. Is there a seventh generation?
07:32There is a seventh generation, yes.
07:34So, Edward's the sixth generation. I'm married into the family.
07:38And the seventh generation, three ever-growing children, who are involved in the farm and in the business in varying
07:45roles.
07:45Little one, William, who's 12, loves the farming side and particularly passionate about pigs.
07:51And so, he's now starting to raise piglets. We don't breed them.
07:56So, just sort of take them from piglets to fat.
07:59And then, he buys them with the savings and then he sells them to his dad in the shop for
08:04the sausages.
08:05But aren't they great life skills like for your kids, you know, farmers, butchers, bakers?
08:10Yeah.
08:10You know, a bit of everything.
08:11They do, yes, literally. And even that could be in one day.
08:14So, they can be on the farm in the morning helping their dad and then changed and drop into the
08:18shop or vice versa.
08:19If it's late night, lemon shifts and things.
08:21That's fantastic. Tell me about your pies because you're famous for your pies.
08:24Yeah. So, the pies, we used to do maybe half a dozen across the board.
08:28And then, we put in a specific pie production unit.
08:32And then, the butchers produce the sausage meats or the pork pie filling for the sausage rolls, the pork pies.
08:38And we do about 75,000 pies a year, hand pressed.
08:43That's incredible. That's across all types.
08:44Large, small, minced steak, everything.
08:47Is there anything you don't make?
08:49Very little.
08:50Oh, we even make soap.
08:51So, yeah.
08:52You know, that is, you know, like a farmer diversifying at its best.
08:57An amazing story what you've done here.
08:59You know, incredible seeing, you know, your lovely cafe with the food.
09:03Your, obviously, your butcher counter, your bakery.
09:05It's inspirational. It really is.
09:09Rachel mentioned the pies.
09:10So, I asked to see how their famous pork pies are made.
09:15This is a hot crust pastry, which is half butter, half large, butter and flour.
09:21So, just feed it in.
09:23And because it's hot crust pastry, it moves quite well.
09:27Mm-hmm.
09:27And that's another reason why it has to be at room temperature.
09:30Otherwise, it wouldn't move.
09:31And as you said, you don't want it cracking. You want it nice and smooth on the outside.
09:34No, I want it nice and smooth.
09:35Love it.
09:36So, I have got rather a lot of access there.
09:38So, I'll just cut the access off.
09:40I love your technique. You're using the back of your hand.
09:42Yes, I have.
09:42Nice and gently getting right in there.
09:44Right in.
09:44So, make sure it's hitting all the sides and it's all the way down.
09:48Probably well done.
09:48No holes in.
09:49So, that's a good thing.
09:51And then, I put the pork pie meat in.
09:53This is your pork pie meat.
09:55Okay.
09:55So, what's in this?
09:57It's all the edges of the pork.
09:59And then, it's got rusk, nutmeg, sage and a bit of thyme in.
10:04Lovely.
10:05And salt and pepper.
10:05And that's it.
10:06And you can see it's lovely, kind of coarsely minced.
10:08Yes.
10:09So, I fill it nice and full because it will shrink down slightly as it's cooked.
10:15And then, what I would do then, is I would just take the edges, just slightly ring round.
10:21So, you're removing it from the pastry.
10:22I'm just removing it from the pastry.
10:24Because when I put the pork fat in, that will fill up nicely.
10:28Put the jelly around the outside.
10:30Gotcha.
10:31And it will hold the pastry and the pork pie meat perfectly.
10:34And then, it's just a big egg wash on.
10:37Yeah.
10:38And then, the lid.
10:39I love seeing this.
10:40There's a real art in this.
10:42The way you decorate it and all.
10:44So, you cut it out in the centre.
10:45Yes.
10:45So, to let the steam come out.
10:47That's to let the steam come out, yeah.
10:48And then, I just place it on.
10:51And then, literally just make sure it's sticking all the way down.
10:55Yeah.
10:55So, you have it all the way round.
10:57So, it's all sealed.
10:59And then, it's just with my finger and thumb.
11:01That's class.
11:02It's all the way round.
11:04I have a little leaf.
11:06We pattern the larger pork pies.
11:08We don't pattern the small ones.
11:10Keep them plain.
11:11Just keep them plain.
11:12Okay.
11:13Because it's a pork pie, it doesn't get egg wash all over it.
11:17On the outside, no?
11:19No.
11:19It just gets the egg wash to keep the pastry in place.
11:23That's interesting.
11:24The pie glaze.
11:25Okay.
11:26This is...
11:26Would just be all glazed on top.
11:29It looks a bit like a thin gravy.
11:31And do you brush all your pies with this glaze?
11:33We do.
11:34We don't...
11:35We cook with an egg wash with all our other pies.
11:37But we put the glaze on when it's finished.
11:39So, you can use this beforehand and after.
11:42And after.
11:42Yeah.
11:43That's the finished product.
11:44Look at that.
11:45Into the oven.
11:46It would go on 180 for 30 minutes.
11:50And then 160 for a further 15 minutes.
11:53That's brilliant.
11:54And here's one we made earlier.
11:55And here's one we made earlier.
11:56It just gets a little bit more glaze.
11:59So, it's shiny.
12:00You can glaze it all the way around.
12:02And then the final important bit is the pork jelly.
12:07Jelly.
12:07So, this is made with the bones of the pork.
12:10Yes.
12:11And water.
12:12And boiled down.
12:14And then it makes the jelly.
12:15It's set overnight.
12:16We heat it up.
12:18And then filling up the pie.
12:20It won't take any more once it's full.
12:23And that'll keep it lovely and moist too, won't it?
12:25It keeps it moist, yes.
12:26So, now it's ready to be cut.
12:27So, a good serrated edge knife.
12:28Yes.
12:28I'm looking here.
12:29Yes, it is.
12:30That's just breaking into the pastry.
12:31Yes, just breaking into the pastry.
12:33And then you can see.
12:34Oh, wow.
12:34You can see the herbs and all.
12:35Look it.
12:36That's gorgeous.
12:37Can it taste a bit?
12:37You can, of course.
12:38You don't mind.
12:38I'll move this out of your way now.
12:40What would you normally serve this?
12:41Would this be served warm?
12:42You can either have pork pie cold or warm.
12:45Either way.
12:48I love the pastry.
12:49You can taste it.
12:50You said it was mason that or nutmeg?
12:52Yes.
12:53Nutmeg, yes.
12:54That's delicious.
12:55I've loved watching you make this.
12:57Yeah.
12:58You get a slice too.
12:59We'll share it.
13:00We will.
13:01Thank you so much.
13:01You're welcome.
13:02This is so good.
13:26The historic city of Durham is dominated by this amazing cathedral, which I'll be visiting
13:31later.
13:33The centre of the city is located on a small peninsula accessed by a couple of bridges which
13:38cross the River Ware.
13:41This is a restaurant called The Cellar Door.
13:42Just up from the main square is a restaurant called The Cellar Door.
13:44And when you go through the door, you'll understand how it got its name.
14:05Here, when you come through the front door, come out here, you don't expect a view like
14:08this.
14:08It's pretty spectacular.
14:09Yeah, no, definitely.
14:10It's amazing.
14:10It's something which you'd have no idea when you go through the front entrance that it's
14:15so vast and expansive and obviously our little picturesque part of Durham.
14:20Now, what are you going to make for me today?
14:22So today we're going to go through how to make our honey panna cotta.
14:26So that utilizes North London honey.
14:28Lovely.
14:29First step, we just have a little bit of powdered gelatin to which we add some water, which blooms
14:33the gelatin, activates it, brings it up to the point where it's ready to use, put into
14:37the recipe.
14:38You don't stir it or whisk it in?
14:39No.
14:39You can just let that sit and that will naturally hydrate.
14:42Next step, we're going to bring our pan up to the heat and add our honey.
14:47Your honey.
14:48Here we go.
14:49We've been working with North London honey for a number of years.
14:52Their hives are located about half an hour from here.
14:56And it's all naturally pollinated from the hills of Northumberland.
15:00So to this, we just add our lemon juice.
15:04Just lemon juice?
15:05Yes.
15:05So we use Italian lemons.
15:07They have a natural sweetness to them, which really helps with pastry dishes.
15:12I'm very excited about this because I've never seen a panna cotta made like this with
15:15the honey caramelized, the lemon.
15:17It's going to be delicious.
15:18Yeah.
15:19It's one of those things where obviously we use the honey as a substitute for the
15:21sugar.
15:22Yeah.
15:22There's no actual sugar in this recipe.
15:24But the smell is lovely.
15:25Yeah.
15:25The citrus as you said, the lemon.
15:26Yeah.
15:26And the honey.
15:27It's gorgeous honey.
15:28So.
15:29Okay.
15:29We're going to let that cool a little bit.
15:31Part one done.
15:31And while we're waiting for that to cool slightly, we're just going to bring the cream
15:35up to the heat.
15:36So we're looking for an ideal temperature of somewhere around 80 degrees before we add
15:39the gelatin.
15:39Very interesting.
15:40Which will help the gelatin to incorporate into the rest of the mix.
15:44That is about ready to go.
15:45Okay.
15:46So you can see it has that sort of creamy color to it.
15:49Yeah.
15:49Which comes from the caramelization of the honey.
15:51And at this point, we're going to put in the gelatin.
15:54So as you can see, that's been hydrated.
15:55It's like a piece, doesn't it?
15:57Like it really is.
15:57Yeah.
15:58Definitely.
15:58I like your particular about the gelatin you're using.
16:00Yes.
16:01So we use fish gelatin in all our pastry.
16:03It makes it a lot more accessible.
16:04So obviously we have some pescatarian diners who wouldn't eat meat gelatin.
16:08Of course.
16:08But will eat fish.
16:09So that's absolutely fine.
16:10This is a very clever gadget.
16:11This is what we call a piston gun.
16:14Okay.
16:14So it helps us to regulate the exact amount that goes into the molds.
16:18That's brilliant.
16:19These are your molds.
16:20Tell me about these.
16:20Yes.
16:21So these are essentially, they emulate obviously a honeycomb.
16:24So we're going to pour the mix into these molds and they'll set and you'll end up
16:28with a comb pattern all the way around, which we'll then use to fill the honey into as
16:33well.
16:34So this stage now you let it cool.
16:35Yes.
16:35And then into the freezer.
16:36Yes.
16:36And then this will go into the freezer.
16:37It will take approximately an hour or so to set.
16:40And then once they're frozen, we'll turn them out the molds and they'll be ready to plate.
16:44So next we're going to go through how to make the base.
16:46So we're starting off with Ivoire white chocolate.
16:48Make sure that's nice and melted.
16:50And then we have some pistachio praliné, which we're going to add.
16:54That's here?
16:54Yep.
16:54We're going to add that to the melted chocolate.
16:56The praliné is made with a 6% blend of pistachio, now it's 40% caramel.
17:01Fabulous.
17:01You can see it's quite thick.
17:02A nice texture to it too.
17:04Yes.
17:04So the whole point of this is when this dries, the chocolate will set it.
17:08The fouetine will add a bit of crispiness to it.
17:10And the whole thing will basically be a nice crunchy base.
17:13Gorgeous.
17:14To offset the softness of the rest of the dish.
17:16So once we've fully incorporated the chocolate into the praliné, we're going to finish it off.
17:23And add the fouetine.
17:25Do you like making desserts and pastry?
17:27Yeah, so I think the one thing about this is with pastry, it's the perfect balance between science and art.
17:33It's not, say, a pinch of salt or a little bit of extra butter.
17:36You have to know exactly what you're doing beforehand.
17:38And there's multiple steps which have to be followed very precisely to ensure the product doesn't go wrong.
17:45So that's it all mixed up. It's ready, is it?
17:46Yes, so this is ready to go.
17:48So this will now get bagged.
17:50We'll vacuum seal the bag and then we'll use an adjustable rolling pin to roll it out to a 4mm
17:55thickness,
17:55which is perfect for the size of the panna cottas.
17:59So it won't be too thick.
18:00It'll just give the right amount of crunch and a bit of texture to the rest of the dish.
18:03I cannot wait to taste this.
18:05So now this has come out of the freezer and we're ready to plate this dish.
18:08We're going to start off with the praliné and we're just going to gently cut this out.
18:12You can hear that crunch.
18:13Yep, this is exactly what we're looking for.
18:15So every other element on this dish tends to be quite soft.
18:18So this just gives it a lovely texture or balance.
18:21Lovely. They're so cool. Love it.
18:24Soften very quickly, so you have to be quite gentle with this one.
18:27And now that's on the plate, we're going to use some of the Northumberland honey.
18:31More honey.
18:31And fill in various combs within this panna cotta.
18:35So this just brings an added sweetness to the dish,
18:38which balances out quite well with the acidity from the yoghurt.
18:41So we're just emulating a natural hive.
18:45This is just some yoghurt, which we've thickened overnight, removed all the whey.
18:48Yes.
18:49And we've replaced that with some Madagascan vanilla.
18:51Mm-hmm.
18:52Our blueberry sorbet is made using just blueberry puree, some sugar,
18:58a little bit of glucose and water.
19:00And finally...
19:02Now that is attention to detail.
19:04...bee crackers to finish off our dish.
19:08That's too nice to eat, but...
19:10Help yourself.
19:11Somebody has to.
19:12Oh, my God.
19:13I love it. All the detail.
19:15Okay, I'm going to go for the panna cotta.
19:17And the crunch.
19:19Pistachio is beautiful.
19:20Balances very well with the honey.
19:21Oh, my God.
19:22And this is your yoghurt and the vanilla.
19:24Yep.
19:24That brings a bit of fruitiness to the whole dish.
19:26I love it.
19:27Just love the whole combination.
19:28It's a great story.
19:29Local honey.
19:30Yeah.
19:30I'm going to finish it now.
19:32Help yourself.
19:43Durham Cathedral was completed in 1033,
19:46and for almost a thousand years, it's been attracting pilgrims.
19:50My guide is the Reverend James Shelton,
19:52Director of the Cuthbert Centre for Pilgrimage and Prayer.
19:58James, this is a stunning cathedral, and it has an amazing history.
20:02It does indeed.
20:03It was built in response to the need for a new church
20:06to house the relics of St Cuthbert.
20:08So you could say this amazing structure wouldn't stand were it not
20:12for Cuthbert's body being brought here in the year 995.
20:16And who was St Cuthbert?
20:17St Cuthbert was an amazing holy man who came to faith
20:21after a supernatural vision was given to him.
20:24He followed Christ and performed amazing miracles during his life.
20:28And his life was touched by times of being a monk in the monastery
20:32at Melrose, but most famously at Holy Island, Lindisfarne,
20:36where he later became a bishop and then a hermit,
20:39deeply rooted in prayer on a small island off of Lindisfarne.
20:43So what happened when Cuthbert died?
20:45He was brought back by the monks to the mainland, to Holy Island.
20:49And some years later, his coffin was opened.
20:51There were lots of people coming in response to his death,
20:55making pilgrimage, if you like.
20:56And they found when they opened his coffin that his body was uncorrupt,
21:00which was a sign of his holy life that he had led, a blessing, if you like, of God.
21:04Of course.
21:21And people gather there every day to pay their respects, to perhaps explore their curiosity about this amazing person
21:29and why he's so important to the people of the North East.
21:32And he was very much associated with pilgrims.
21:34Yeah.
21:34Through the Middle Ages, medieval pilgrims would come here in great number.
21:39In fact, we have a chapel of nine altars, which gives you an indication of just how many people were
21:44coming.
21:45And to this day, this is a place of importance when it comes to that theme of pilgrimage.
21:50People still make a pilgrimage here, walking in the footsteps of Cuthbert.
21:56The cathedral was founded by the Benedictines, a holy order known for its hospitality,
22:01which might go so many to explain why so many pilgrims came here.
22:05I'm fascinated to learn what the monks and pilgrims ate over the centuries.
22:12The key to understanding what the Benedictine monks ate was, first of all, the Benedictine rule,
22:17which was created by St Benedict.
22:19It was about eating in a moderate way, so you wouldn't be gorging, but equally you wouldn't starve
22:24because you need a certain amount of food to be able to get up in the night and do your
22:27services and live your life.
22:30So they'd have a very simple diet of pulses, beans, meat occasionally if you're sick, some wine and so on.
22:37But very, very sort of frugal and what you'd imagine a monk would eat.
22:41And the wonderful thing is that we know what people ate here through two routes.
22:45We know because the kitchen was excavated in 2011 and they found lots and lots of evidence underneath of what
22:53was cooked in there.
22:54There was bones of a porpoise and a frog and then lots and lots of cattle and sheep and pigs
23:01and geese and all that sort of thing.
23:03And also 21 species of fish. So there was quite a rich and varied diet.
23:07And Alison, what happened on feast days?
23:08Well, obviously it's a feast. It's a time to celebrate. So you push the boat out a bit.
23:13So you're going to have better food, more meat. Meat is the thing. Meat is the thing that everybody wants.
23:18Perhaps some sweet or spicy dishes as well.
23:21The most important feast day, which it still is, is St Cuthbert's Day, which is March the 20th.
23:26And it's a very, very special day because we're here because of St Cuthbert.
23:29So that would be the big one. But there was feasts all year.
23:32So much history here. You're a wealth of knowledge, you know that. I could listen to you all day talk
23:36about food.
23:37It's great to see you.
23:43In the next episode, I'll continue to explore County Durham.
23:47I'll be in Bishop Auckland, a former mining town being transformed into a destination for art, heritage and of course
23:54food.
23:56I'll visit the Weardale Railway and fulfil a childhood dream to drive a locomotive.
24:01And I'll be back in Durham to visit another of the city's excellent restaurants. I hope you'll join me.
24:07Bye, bye bye.
24:08Bye.
24:13Bye.
24:23Bye.
24:35We do do sponsor Neven's English Food Tour too.
24:40The gas part is only part of it.
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