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00:00I'm Prue Leith, cook, restaurateur, cookery school founder, and writer of 15 cookbooks.
00:11That is the most delicious thing that we have cooked.
00:15I'm in my 80s, so I haven't got time to waste.
00:19This series is all about the things that really matter to me.
00:23Family, fun, food, and friends.
00:26Come on, what kind of day have you had?
00:28Get it out!
00:29Here you go, on your chair.
00:31We'll be sharing simple home-cooked recipes.
00:34Oh, brilliant.
00:35I'm going to take this bit home and save it for later.
00:37You idiot.
00:39She's such a gourmand.
00:40She's incredible.
00:42And celebrating the best produce.
00:46I am lucky enough to live in the astonishingly beautiful Cotswolds with my darling, sometimes darling, husband, John.
00:55Come on, you've had enough.
00:56Coming up today, Angela Griffin gets more than she bargained for.
01:04Wow, that is not what I thought that was going to taste like.
01:09John gets up close and personal at an alpaca farm.
01:13Hello, hello, hello.
01:14And then starts to lose his patience in the kitchen.
01:18I've got to wait for four hours, have I?
01:22Welcome to my Cotswold kitchen.
01:24As a lifelong lover of food, I've enjoyed gathering dishes from all over the world.
01:37Travelling is a great way to expand the mind and palate.
01:40But over the years, I've learned a lot of new things from people around me.
01:45Today, we are going to make what was almost the first fancy foreign dish that I cooked.
01:52And it is lasagna, which today is bog standard children's fair.
01:58But honestly, if it's well made, it is still pure gastronomy.
02:02It's wonderful.
02:03So I'm going to make two lasagnas, a meat one, classic, old-fashioned lasagna,
02:14and one, a vegetarian one, which is honestly, it's lighter, but it is just as delicious.
02:21So we're going to start with the meat one.
02:23And I think the first thing you need to do is to fry the meat really well so that it is very brown.
02:31So first of all, you get a little bit of oil, very hot.
02:37Now, when you get mincemeat from a supermarket, it comes flat like that.
02:42And that's great because that flat edge is what you're going to brown first.
02:47So don't break it up at this point.
02:48Just put it in whole.
02:51Like that.
02:52I honestly think the main trick is to mess it around as little as possible.
03:02Let it get brown.
03:03And then when that side's brown, you can start to break it up and brown all the bits inside.
03:16And this lovely brown stuff at the bottom is what's going to make the flavor.
03:20So don't let it burn.
03:22Just keep moving it about.
03:23In another pan, I'm also browning some pork for the bolognese sauce.
03:38I think pork gives it a sort of almost rich creaminess that you don't get from just beef.
03:44When you've got both the pork and the beef nice and brown, stick the two together.
03:59And this is going to be my bolognese pot eventually.
04:04And then a bit more oil.
04:11And now I'm going to brown chopped onion, chopped carrots, and chopped celery.
04:18So that's going in there.
04:20And then I'm just going to grate a couple of cloves of garlic in there.
04:31Hurrying it is the worst thing you can do.
04:33So we just have to be patient.
04:36And when the onions are just beginning to turn, do you see like that?
04:41They can go in there.
04:44And then we're going to put in a tablespoon of tomato puree.
04:48A teaspoon of dried oregano.
04:51One can of chopped tomato.
04:53And then 100 ml of red wine.
04:56And 250 ml of beef stock.
05:00Add a bay leaf and season well.
05:03And leave it to simmer slowly.
05:06Okay.
05:07See you in an hour.
05:12So now I'm going to do the vegetarian filling.
05:16Which also starts with a little bit of oil.
05:19But also a little bit of butter.
05:22Because I think butter gives just such a great flavor.
05:27And I'm going to sweat the chopped up leeks in it.
05:37So when the leek is soft but not brown, you want to chuck the mushrooms in.
05:44And put in a little bit more oil.
05:51You have to be careful with mushrooms because they absorb so much fat.
05:56And then when they're cooked, it all comes out again and swims around in a pool of fat.
06:01Not nice.
06:01I've got this on quite high because if I can get some of the mushrooms to color a bit, they'll have a deeper flavor.
06:10Once the mushrooms have reduced, add the garlic and then the spinach.
06:23Cook until it wilts and then take off the heat.
06:26Finally, add the ricotta cheese, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and some salt and pepper.
06:56Okay, so now we have two fillings.
07:01Veggie one and a meat one.
07:04So now I want to make the bechamel sauce.
07:07White sauce, it's just a white sauce.
07:09And then turn it into two different cheese sauces.
07:14So if you want to be French about it, I'm going to be turning bechamel into Mornay sauce.
07:20To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter, add the flour and stir together to make a roux, creating a smooth paste before you add the milk.
07:32If you put the milk in cold, you can put it in straight away.
07:39If it's hot, you want to put it in very gradually because otherwise it cooks the roux into lumps.
07:45So it's a good idea to have cold milk.
07:49And then as it heats, the butter in the roux melts and distributes the flour all beautifully evenly.
08:00Bechamel is one of the classic old French sauces.
08:04But you know what?
08:05It's still very useful today.
08:07As it gently simmers, keep stirring and the sauce will thicken.
08:13So we need to season it.
08:15Good pinch.
08:18Right, so that's our bechamel now seasoned.
08:22But we're going to turn it into Mornay sauce.
08:25So I'm going to put half of the white sauce into there.
08:29And I think we'll use the parmesan, which is this one, for the classic bolognese lasagna.
08:39And this is gruyere.
08:41And gruyere has that fantastically cheesy taste.
08:45And that will be great in the vegetarian one.
08:50And that's basically all a Mornay sauce is.
08:53Gruyere or parmesan cheese added to a bechamel.
08:59Right, now we're ready to layer up.
09:03So let's do the vegetarian one first.
09:08So for the veggie one, I'm going to put a little spoon of really cheesy.
09:14You can tell it's gruyere because it's got strings.
09:18The cheese goes lovely and stringy.
09:21Lasagna is made by layering the pasta, vegetable filling and the cheese sauce.
09:26I use fresh pasta as it's soft and you don't need to pre-boil it.
09:32Lasagna is actually the name of the pasta sheets in the dish.
09:36And the word originates from ancient Greece and they're laganon, the earliest form of pasta.
09:42You really need to get right over the corners.
09:47Otherwise, they'll dry out and they'll be too tough to eat.
09:52And then, just for fun, we'll just put a bit more gruyere on the top.
09:58As if we haven't got enough already in the sauce.
10:00So that goes into an oven at 180 degrees and it'll take about 40 or 45 minutes to get hot right through and brown on top.
10:12So now I'm just going to layer up the meat lasagna, much like I did the vegetable one.
10:18You need to start with a bit of sauce on the bottom.
10:20I first had lasagna when I was a student in Paris.
10:30I'd never had it at school or at home.
10:33So it was a big surprise and a big treat.
10:38You think of it as quite a simple dish.
10:41But it's actually quite complicated.
10:44I mean, nothing's difficult, but it takes a while and a bit of patience.
10:48Stop sucking your fingers, Prudence.
10:52For this one, I'm using some parmesan and adding mozzarella to the top.
10:59Right, so now we've got them both ready for the oven.
11:06There's a lot of lasagna there.
11:09But the cheerful thing about it is if you do make too much, it freezes brilliantly.
11:14And in just 45 minutes, both lasagnas are ready.
11:22The recipe for lasagna has now traveled the globe and everyone has their own variation.
11:28That is delicious.
11:31You can actually taste the spinach, the mushrooms, but most of all the cheese.
11:37Really gorgeous.
11:38And this one.
11:49It's absolutely delicious.
11:51I promise you all that browning of the meat was important.
11:55I like both.
11:56And they're both quite hearty.
11:59This is well-flavored, proper food.
12:03Delicious.
12:04Coming up, Angela Griffin helps me release the tensions of the day.
12:14Come on, what kind of day have you had?
12:16Get it out!
12:16Get it out!
12:18And I've got a hack for some delicious honeycomb.
12:21Living in the beautiful Cotswolds means my best thing is inviting friends, or indeed stars I've never met, to dinner.
12:40I'm so looking forward to meeting my next guest.
12:43She has played roles in TV shows such as Coronation Street, Holby City and Waterloo Road.
12:49And most recently, she has stepped behind the camera as a director.
12:56That's the wonderful Angela Griffin.
12:58Woo-hoo!
12:59Welcome to my Cotswold kitchen.
13:02Oh, thank you so much for having me in your Cotswolds kitchen.
13:05It's so beautiful.
13:06Well, you've got a lucky day today.
13:07We've got the sunshine, which we don't always have.
13:10No, no.
13:11I've actually, I've spent quite a bit of time in the Cotswolds.
13:14Oh, really?
13:14We've got a little place.
13:16Oh, really?
13:16Just down the way, near Bolton on the Water.
13:19And we've had that for about 10 years.
13:22So, I know about the Cotswolds rain, but I do know more about the Cotswolds sunshine.
13:26Well, now, I was told that you were a fan of spicy food, and you like prawns.
13:32That's right?
13:32I'm a huge, huge spice fan, a huge seafood fan.
13:37Have you ever heard of a Cambodian dish called anok?
13:41No, I haven't.
13:43Well, I've got a Cambodian daughter, but I have to confess, I've never made this before.
13:47Brilliant.
13:48We'll be doing it together.
13:54So, we make a shrimp paste.
13:56Just, if I stick a little bit of oil in the pan here, and get it going.
14:03If I need to do anything, let me know, I'm willing to get my hands dirty.
14:07Good.
14:09A fish amok is a Cambodian national dish, and quite often kept for special occasions.
14:15These flavorings are going to make a sort of paste.
14:18Okay.
14:20You have to really bash the lemongrass, otherwise you can't get into it.
14:26Get all the aggression out there, Prue.
14:28Come on, what kind of day have you had?
14:30Get it out!
14:31Get it out!
14:32I know.
14:34Oh, it smells amazing.
14:36You can really smell the lemongrass.
14:37You can smell the lemongrass.
14:38This is quite a lot of lemongrass, but I think you did say spicy, so...
14:42I really, really love spice.
14:44I really love spice.
14:46I'm adding the lemongrass to the blender, along with some chopped chilies.
14:51Then there's some shallots.
14:53I'm just chopping them up a bit to make it easier for that poor little machine.
14:56And then kaffir leaves.
15:01Nice.
15:03And a teaspoon of shrimp paste, which is basically concentrated shrimps.
15:10So this, can you just get this from a supermarket?
15:13Yes, you can get it in a really big supermarket, or you can buy it online.
15:17Shrimp pate or shrimp paste.
15:19Great.
15:19And then this is galangal, which is a bit like ginger.
15:24Yeah.
15:24I feel like I've bought galangal pastes before.
15:30I don't think I've ever seen it in its raw form.
15:32It's fresh, yeah, no.
15:32Yeah.
15:33It looks good.
15:34It's a root, obviously.
15:35Ooh.
15:35It smells really fresh.
15:37Yeah, nice, isn't it?
15:38Yeah.
15:39Can I bite it?
15:40Yeah, if you like.
15:41Will I like it?
15:42Yes, I think you'll like it.
15:43A couple of cloves of garlic, peeled.
15:47Ha!
15:49And that's just...
15:50That's really spicy!
15:53Wow, that is not what I thought that was going to taste like.
15:56I have a sip of tea.
15:57We'll need a cup of tea.
15:58This is when you need a brew.
16:00Wow.
16:01This is turmeric.
16:02Just a teaspoon of turmeric.
16:03I'm not tasting that.
16:04Give the spice mix a good blitz in the blender.
16:20I think that's all it's going to do.
16:23Then add the spice mix to a hot pan and stir for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
16:31Gosh, it does smell good.
16:32Yeah, amazing.
16:33I can still taste the Galangal, though, in fairness.
16:37I think that looks a little bit dry.
16:39I'm going to give it a tiny bit more oil.
16:41What kind of oil is that?
16:42To me, honestly, that's a mild olive oil, but any oil would do.
16:46It doesn't have to be olive.
16:48Are you a cook, Angela?
16:50Do you know what?
16:51I was once bought a Leith Cookery School voucher.
16:56When I left Holby City and everyone put together, they bought me a Leith Cookery School voucher.
17:02Oh, brilliant.
17:03Yeah, I did.
17:04How very kind of...
17:05I don't know whether that means I can cook or I can't cook.
17:08Of course it means you can cook.
17:09I think it means I'm definitely passionate about food.
17:12I can cook and I do really like it, but I've got to say, my husband does all the cooking.
17:18He really, really loves it.
17:19And he literally on the morning will say, what do you want today, my love?
17:24And I can say anything I want and he will go out and buy it and then he'll cook it for me that night.
17:29And he did the same with the kids.
17:31Oh, that's absolutely wonderful.
17:32Yeah.
17:32I've got two daughters.
17:33And one is 21 and the other is 18.
17:39Two grown-up daughters.
17:41Two grown-up daughters.
17:42And my eldest goes to university in Scotland.
17:44Oh, yes, yeah.
17:45My children went there.
17:46Oh, did they really?
17:47Yeah.
17:47Oh, my gosh.
17:48Isn't it beautiful?
17:49Yeah.
17:50But it is miles away.
17:51But this weekend we've just taken my daughter to Manchester where she's starting.
17:58But we're empty nesters.
18:00Me and my husband are now empty nesters.
18:02Are you enjoying that?
18:03I don't know.
18:04I don't know.
18:05When you had an empty nest, how did you do it?
18:08How did you find it?
18:10Do you know, I think I had always worked a lot.
18:15Yeah.
18:16And so I wasn't the classic hands-on mum all the time.
18:20Same.
18:21And so it didn't really feel all that different.
18:24Oh, interesting.
18:25See, I didn't think it would because exactly that.
18:28I've just spent seven months in Belfast where I come home on a weekend.
18:31And as I said earlier, my husband does all the cooking.
18:34He's really been the stay-at-home.
18:36So I thought when they go off to uni, I thought, oh, my husband will be really bothered about it.
18:41I'll be fine.
18:43But I'm strangely really not.
18:46The enticing smell from the spices means we're almost ready for the next stage.
18:51So now tell me about the stepping behind the camera and starting to direct.
18:55That must have been quite a jump.
18:57Yeah.
18:58It's 32 years ago.
18:59I went into Coronation Street and I've been acting ever since.
19:02But I have always had an interest in directing but didn't know how to do it.
19:08I didn't kind of formally train as an actor.
19:11I just...
19:12You didn't go to drama school.
19:13You went straight from school.
19:14No.
19:14Yeah.
19:14Coronation Street was my drama school.
19:16I kind of learned everything there, hitting a mark, making sure the light's on me.
19:22So that was kind of my training.
19:27So that is some veg stock going in there now.
19:30Nice.
19:31And then a few years ago when I was shooting on Waterloo Road, I asked my producers if I could direct.
19:39And initially they did say no.
19:41Well, I probably...
19:43They probably...
19:44Yeah.
19:44They probably get people saying all the time, I want to direct.
19:47Exactly.
19:47By the way, this is coconut cream going in there.
19:49It smells incredible.
19:51Wow.
19:52And then after a while I went and asked them again and they said okay.
19:56And I shot two episodes of Waterloo Road and they liked it.
20:03They liked it so much that they...
20:05Did you take a...
20:06Was it duck to water or did you...
20:08It felt like one of the most natural things I've ever done.
20:11Okay, so this is smelling really good.
20:14It's incredible.
20:15I couldn't really smell the galling down.
20:16We'll just let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
20:21Do you know what is so interesting is I hardly ever meet other women whose husbands are comfortable
20:29with them working all the time or being the breadwinner or...
20:34My husband is like yours.
20:35He's absolutely brilliant at it.
20:38He doesn't do all the cooking.
20:39He does no cooking, but he buys all my clothes.
20:43Brilliant.
20:44He shops for everything.
20:45He does the shops for groceries, for food, for anything.
20:50Amazing.
20:51And thank God he does because I hate shopping most in the world.
20:55Listen, we better get on with that.
20:56That's been simmering away for a few minutes.
20:58Beautiful.
20:58Now, the trick now, I think, is to put all these things in.
21:02What we've got here is little squares of fish.
21:05Any fish would do.
21:07And lots of prawns.
21:09People who don't cook never can believe that prawns like that are going to end up nice and pink.
21:14Go on, what's that?
21:15That's not a prawn.
21:16So, I'm going to stick these in, and they'll only take a couple of minutes to cook.
21:20Okay.
21:21So, we'll put them all in.
21:26Once the fish is in, I add a classic ingredient for an Asian dish, a dash of fish sauce.
21:34Angela, you're not just telly lady, are you?
21:37You have a big radio program.
21:39Yeah.
21:40Yeah.
21:40I've got a show on Radio 2 that goes out from 10pm till midnight on a Sunday night called Unwinds.
21:47Unwind with Angela Griffin.
21:49Unwinds with Angela Griffin.
21:50And I use the voice that I used to read bedtime stories to my children.
21:55I use that voice, not the ones that I used to shout at them at.
21:57And, yeah, it's very chilled out voice.
21:58So, it all makes everybody feel warm and happy.
22:02Exactly.
22:02Teaspoon of sugar.
22:04So, this is basically done, but I'm not going to thicken the sauce, which I'll do by putting...
22:10This is a beaten egg.
22:12I'm going to put this in to thicken it, but not quite yet, because first of all, I want
22:16to put this in for a couple of minutes, which is spinach.
22:20That really needs to go in at the end, because you want it to stay nice and green.
22:26And then we're going to serve it with some rice.
22:29Lovely.
22:29Lovely.
22:30You can use any steamed rice you like for this dish.
22:34You need to fill the bowl right up.
22:39This is an oiled bowl, so I hope it won't stick to the sides.
22:43Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, like that.
22:46Swash it down.
22:46Is it a sticky rice, or is it just a normal basmati?
22:48No, it's just ordinary basmati, right.
22:50So, with any luck, we can turn it out.
22:54Ah, look at that.
22:55Perfect.
22:55Perfect.
22:56It's only perfect, Prue.
22:57And then, I'll pour the egg in here, stir it around a bit.
23:05Do you see how it's thickened?
23:06Amazing, yeah.
23:07How it's thickened the sauce.
23:08I never knew that it did that.
23:09That's, um, I've learnt something new today.
23:12Good, that's great.
23:13The colours are gorgeous.
23:18Looks nice, doesn't it?
23:20Looks, it looks and smells delicious.
23:24So, there we are, Angela, your spicy prawns.
23:28I love it.
23:30The day I came for dinner with Prue,
23:33I'll be writing this in my diary.
23:35I kind of want to go with spoon,
23:36because it feels like that sauce is going to go spoon.
23:38I think I'm going to go with spoon, yeah.
23:40OK.
23:42I think I'm going to get a bit of rice
23:44in the bottom of the spoon, and then...
23:46Oh, that was a good idea.
23:47Right, I'm going to use a bit of...
23:48Prue's teaching everything.
23:50I've got a mix here.
23:51You have to have a big gob.
23:54OK, you ready?
23:54Open wide.
24:02Oh, my God.
24:03Good, isn't it?
24:06Oh, my gosh, that's really, really good.
24:08It needs a bit more chilli, doesn't it?
24:10I could have a bit more spice in there,
24:12but the flavour's really beautiful,
24:13because I don't want the spice to ever take over the flavour.
24:16No, you can taste the fish.
24:19And the coconut comes through.
24:20Mm.
24:21I think it's lovely.
24:23It's absolutely beautiful.
24:25Well, it's been so lovely to meet you, honestly.
24:28Thank you so much.
24:29And you've been an absolute pleasure.
24:31Just more chilli in that, and you'll be there.
24:33I'm not criticising.
24:34The flavours are there, so I'm happy, Prue.
24:38I am very, very, very happy.
24:40I think it was good.
24:47Coming up, my husband John gets a lesson in wool making.
24:51It's magic.
24:52It's pure magic.
24:53And we get a taste of a new gin distillery,
24:56quite literally on the water's edge.
24:58John and I are very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the UK.
25:12The name Cotswolds actually means sheep hills
25:16in reference to the rich history of wool production,
25:19which dates back to Roman times.
25:21The days of wool production in this area are long gone.
25:29But John has gone today to a farm
25:31where wool from a different animal is put to good use.
25:36In Cheltenham, Bridget and James have been running
25:39their alpaca farm for 22 years.
25:42Aren't they adorable?
25:44A born animal lover, John was keen to take a look.
25:50With breeding season coming to an end,
25:53Bridget and James have some new alpacas within the herd,
25:57and it looks like John's not the only one on a strict diet.
26:02Right, so, John, we're going to put a feed out.
26:05This is something called camelibra,
26:07which is a mineral supplement for them.
26:10Our soil's composition here is very different from Peru,
26:13so they get deficient.
26:15Could I do with a bit of this?
26:17Yes, probably.
26:18Probably.
26:19Just give them a little bit in each of the buckets,
26:22and they go all the way around the yard there.
26:27Bridget, what's in this?
26:29So this is a mixture of sugar beet,
26:31which is carbohydrates and good for lactating mums,
26:34and then the green stuff is chopped alfalfa,
26:37which is higher protein,
26:39which we don't normally feed at this time of year,
26:41but the weather's so dry and there's so little grass
26:44that we're just topping them up with that as well.
26:46Alpacas originate from Central South America,
26:49but they've adapted well here in the UK.
26:53They are absolutely adorable, aren't they?
26:56To monitor their health,
26:58the newborns need to be weighed regularly.
27:02Are they quite good?
27:03Do they jostle each other like puppies, or...?
27:06There's a bit of jostling,
27:08and sometimes there's a bit of spitting over food bowls.
27:11They're a lively bunch.
27:13He weighs 11 kilos.
27:16OK, do I let him out?
27:17Great.
27:18OK, there we go.
27:21I hope John's not just getting in the way.
27:25Hello, hello, hello.
27:26Hello.
27:27Bridget is a textile artist with over 30 years' experience,
27:31and is giving John a chance to try his hand at spinning.
27:36OK.
27:39Whoa!
27:40The aim is to create beautiful alpaca wool.
27:44Ah, that's it.
27:45You've got to get it on the downward stroke.
27:47Now, you can feel the wheel is pulling it in
27:50to go onto the bobbin.
27:51So you've got to do two things at once.
27:53This is pat your head...
27:54I'm a bloke.
27:55I can only do one thing at a time.
27:56And to give the wool its beautiful colours,
28:00Bridget uses a range of natural dyes.
28:05Some we grow here.
28:07Some I get from other places.
28:09This is an indigo dye vat.
28:13So this is hand-spun yarn.
28:16I'm going to put these three skeins in,
28:19so that's just a little sample.
28:22And you can see it's sort of greeny
28:24and quite clear.
28:26And I'm going to hold it there
28:29for a couple of moments.
28:31And then as I take the yarn out,
28:33it will oxidise and turn blue.
28:36It's magic.
28:36It's pure magic.
28:38And there, the magic happens.
28:41So I'm just opening the fibres up
28:43to let the oxygen get to individual strands.
28:46Oh, so this is continuing to darken.
28:49It's still darkening.
28:50I'm so delighted to see that the cotswolds are being used
28:55to produce such lovely, natural materials
28:58from these cheeky-looking creatures.
29:01Right, we're going to make honeycomb,
29:16and it's really exciting.
29:18This ultra-sweet confectionery is also known as
29:22hokey-pokey and cinder toffee.
29:24Cook her on medium heat.
29:26I'm adding five tablespoons of golden syrup
29:29to a pan on medium heat.
29:32Next, add the golden caster sugar.
29:37Right, once it starts to bubble,
29:39you can swirl it gently, but don't stir it.
29:42If you're really desperate,
29:44you can use a skewer
29:46to just gently push things together.
29:49But don't give it too much stirring
29:51because you'll just encourage it to crystallise.
29:55Once the sugar and syrup are golden and bubbling,
29:58the fun part starts.
30:00Add two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda,
30:04whisk like the devil,
30:05and then immediately tip it out
30:11into your lime tray.
30:15And don't touch it.
30:16Don't be tempted to try and spread it.
30:18Just leave it like that.
30:21Let the honeycomb cool for an hour
30:23before taking it off the paper.
30:26It's very sticky, so...
30:30And then, what are you going to do with it?
30:33It's usually just eaten broken up into chunks.
30:36You can put the pieces in a plastic bag
30:39in the freezer, and they'll keep absolutely fine.
30:42Or you could dip pieces of honeycomb
30:46in melted dark chocolate.
30:48You really need to cover the whole piece
30:51with dark chocolate
30:52so that the air can't get in it,
30:54and then it'll stay crunchy in the middle.
30:56We're going to serve it with ice cream later.
30:58If the crew don't eat at all, that is.
31:07Cooking is science with love thrown into the mix.
31:11But without good ingredients,
31:13it's hard to get the magic to work.
31:18Today's Food Hero is a small business
31:21that uses whatever nature has to offer
31:24to put some oomph into their product.
31:29In Selkham, on the beautiful South Devon coast,
31:33sits a distillery close to the water's edge.
31:36In fact, in such close proximity,
31:39its founders, Howard and Angus,
31:41often arrive by boat.
31:43We kind of set out on a bit of a mission
31:46to create what we hope will be
31:48one of the very best kind of gins in the world.
31:51Angus and I have both a quite a shared history
31:53here in Selkham,
31:54in that even as children,
31:56you know, both of our families
31:57used to come to Selkham on holiday
31:59every summer without fail.
32:01And then in Selkham,
32:02there used to be a sailing school here.
32:04And then as teenagers,
32:06you know, the thing to do in your holidays
32:07was to train as a sailing instructor
32:09and then go and teach children to sail
32:11as we did when we were kids.
32:13And that was where we met.
32:14And the pair continued sailing together
32:17into adulthood.
32:19Once we finished teaching sailing,
32:21normally first drink of the evening
32:22was a gin and tonic.
32:23Yeah, I think that was definitely
32:24the kind of idea seeded
32:26many, many, many years ago.
32:29The distillery took time to come together,
32:32but the boys were keen to get started.
32:34We were selling our gin over a chestnut table
32:37in the afternoons we'd made that morning.
32:39It was that hand-to-mouth.
32:41It's lovely where we can,
32:42if we can use some local ingredients
32:43in a lot of the gins that we create.
32:46And it's master gin maker Jason's job
32:49to go and find them.
32:51I started working with the guys
32:53on day one of distilling, really.
32:55And the recipe development part
32:57is the best bit and all the flavours.
33:00Foraging for things has always been a hobby.
33:02So this kind of love for recipe development
33:04was my background.
33:05Traditionally, a gin is made from a neutral base alcohol,
33:10then distilled with juniper berries
33:12and some added botanicals.
33:14And Jason's always on the lookout
33:16for different flavour combinations.
33:19As you can see before you,
33:20there's a lot to choose from.
33:22There's actually 80 different ingredients in this room,
33:25so no two gins will ever be the same.
33:27I have here a mixture of wheat, spirit and water,
33:34and this is enough to go into this small still here.
33:38This 2.5 litre still is handmade in Portugal
33:42and makes just one bottle of gin at a time.
33:45So we need to put into that our flavour ingredients,
33:49different foraged ingredients
33:50that have come from nearby.
33:51And when production needs to scale up,
34:02the team have it covered too.
34:04So this is Provident,
34:05our 450 litre Holstein still.
34:09This is the heart of the operation.
34:12This is where we make all of our gin,
34:14right here by the water in Silcombe,
34:16and we get some amazing gin from it.
34:21Howard and Agus are also experimenting
34:24with how they store their gin.
34:27And we've kind of treated the cask as a botanical.
34:30These casks have had portin,
34:32they've had tawny portin,
34:33and you think of those aroma and flavour profiles,
34:36so then we'll develop the gin
34:38specifically for this cask.
34:40Some are over 80 years old
34:42but have now been recycled
34:44to house a different kind of liquor.
34:47The gin's been ageing in this cask
34:49for about six and a half years now.
34:51All that colour, that's all natural.
34:57Yeah, absolutely brilliant.
34:59It is a bit of a leap of faith.
35:01It's quite expensive to do this.
35:03There's, you know,
35:03some very valuable liquid
35:04tied up in this cask.
35:07And so about six and a half years in,
35:09this one, its interaction with the cask
35:11and what it's drawing from the cask
35:12is that process is kind of complete.
35:15It's not going to get any better.
35:16So how does today's very local gin taste?
35:20So here we have the August Hedgefro gin
35:23that Jason made this morning.
35:25So should we give it a try?
35:26Yeah, look forward to it.
35:27That's delicious.
35:32Just need a larger one with plenty of rice.
35:34Yeah, exactly.
35:37And what better way to end the day
35:40than with the fruits of their labours?
35:42Still to come,
35:47John's in his element
35:48as we prepare one of his favourite desserts.
35:51Come on, you've had enough.
35:53And we revisit an old classic.
35:56Did you have banana splits in your restaurant?
35:59Good Lord, no.
36:00We were much too posh.
36:01John is in for a real treat today
36:17because he's obsessed with ice cream.
36:19In fact, he has a sort of ice cream radar.
36:21He can tell where there's ice cream on sale
36:24wherever we are.
36:26So, guess what?
36:27We're going to do Nick Blocker Glory
36:29and banana splits.
36:31How good is that?
36:32Terrific.
36:33Nice and childish.
36:34Can I dip my finger in there?
36:35No, you cannot.
36:42So, sweetheart,
36:43will you halve those apricots
36:44on that line
36:46and take the stone out
36:48and put them on there,
36:49cut side up,
36:50and then drizzle a little bit of honey
36:52onto each one.
36:53OK, do I start now?
36:54Yeah.
36:56Can I just reach over you and get that?
36:58How do I get the other stone out?
37:01That's right.
37:02Well done.
37:03So, I've got about 200 mils of cream
37:05and about 150 mils of honey.
37:11So, what you and I are doing now
37:13is getting stuff ready
37:15for decorating or topping our ice creams.
37:18Yep.
37:18And you're going to roast those
37:20when you've got them.
37:21OK.
37:21And I'm going to
37:23just heat the honey
37:25and cream together
37:26until they bubble.
37:30I think rum and raisin
37:32is probably my favourite ice cream.
37:35Yeah, I like that too.
37:37I just wish to point out
37:38that my wife has
37:40a wolfhound lick.
37:42If ever I have a cone of ice cream,
37:44she says,
37:45oh no, I don't eat ice cream.
37:47And I'm like that
37:47and I look around
37:48and the top's gone.
37:50So, now I always buy
37:51two ice creams.
37:53It is true.
37:54He always says,
37:55do you want an ice cream?
37:56I always say, no.
37:56He always buys one
37:57and I always eat it.
37:59I brought this to the bubble
38:01and now it's going to sit there
38:03and get cold.
38:03And then this goes in the oven?
38:04Yep.
38:06OK.
38:07Yep, that oven.
38:08Right.
38:09This is a big pot
38:10of double cream,
38:12600 mils,
38:14and a whole pot
38:15of sweetened condensed milk
38:17and they're going in together.
38:20This is a no-churn ice cream,
38:22by the way.
38:22It's really easy.
38:23You don't have to keep worrying
38:25about whether it's thickening up.
38:26It just will thicken up.
38:28Just hold that.
38:29OK.
38:29Ooh.
38:32OK.
38:35When I was young,
38:36you could buy condensed milk
38:38in tubes,
38:39which we used to have on it.
38:40Which you could suck out of.
38:42Oh, wonderful.
38:43You could take it on expeditions
38:44and keep it in your pocket.
38:46Ooh, thank you very much.
38:50Come on, you.
38:50Had enough.
38:53Now John's stopped
38:54scoffing the ice cream,
38:55I'm adding some amaretto
38:57into the mix.
38:59But just one shot.
39:02Can I lick that out as well?
39:05I like a bit of booze
39:06in ice cream,
39:07like real rum
39:07in rum with raisin ice cream.
39:09But if you put
39:10too much alcohol in,
39:11it won't freeze properly.
39:13So you have to be
39:14a bit careful.
39:16Otherwise,
39:16I would have put
39:17twice as much amaretto in.
39:25Whisk the cream
39:26until it just holds
39:27its shape.
39:29Then crumble
39:30the amaretti biscuits
39:31into the cream.
39:32So I'm going to just
39:35fold the biscuits in.
39:40I'm going to put
39:41about a third of this.
39:43One third of the way
39:44up the dish anyway.
39:45And then
39:46I'm going to just
39:49put a third of this.
39:50It's just raspberries
39:52sieves,
39:53so there are no
39:54pips in it.
39:55Why are you doing that?
39:56What's going to happen?
39:57We're sort of making
39:58raspberry ripple here.
39:59Oh, yes.
40:00And so I'm doing
40:01layers of raspberry.
40:03Right.
40:04Well, this is heart attack
40:04on a stick, isn't it?
40:06It's, uh...
40:07Probably.
40:08And how long
40:09will it take to freeze?
40:10I think about four hours,
40:12but overnight
40:13would be better.
40:14So four...
40:14I've got to wait
40:15for four hours.
40:16I've got one
40:18that I made earlier.
40:19Got that.
40:26Once I've drizzled
40:27raspberry puree
40:28into the final layer,
40:30it's time for John
40:31to get creative
40:32with the cocktail stick.
40:34Well, that looks
40:35like a Jackson Pollock.
40:36Yes.
40:37There we are.
40:38So then,
40:39once you've done
40:40the twizzling,
40:42you stick it
40:42in the freezer.
40:44Thanks, sweetheart.
40:46Much to John's delight,
40:47we're one step closer
40:49to tasting the ice cream,
40:50but first,
40:51we need to decorate
40:52the Nickerbocker glory,
40:54and that needs
40:55the apricots
40:55that have been
40:56roasting in the oven.
40:58They're perfect.
40:59They're still
41:00proper shape,
41:02but they're soft.
41:03Okay.
41:04John, if you could
41:05put a couple of apricots
41:06into the bottom of there,
41:08and I'll get the ice cream
41:09out of just one in each
41:10right to the bottom.
41:12It's a bit like
41:12a Christmas stocking,
41:13then.
41:13It's putting the orange
41:14in the bottom.
41:16So the raspberry ripple
41:17one is going
41:18to be part
41:19of the banana split,
41:21and the Nickerbocker glory
41:23one is honey ice cream.
41:25Do you want
41:25to scoop a bit?
41:26Okay.
41:28Ooh.
41:32And then another
41:33apricot in each?
41:34Okay.
41:35Keep building
41:36the layers of ice cream
41:38and apricot,
41:39and once you've
41:39filled the glass,
41:40it's ready to decorate.
41:42And I've got
41:43just the thing
41:43which I made earlier.
41:46Frozen honeycomb.
41:50And the trick
41:51about honeycomb,
41:52if it's been frozen,
41:53is you need
41:54to immediately
41:55break it up
41:55into a few little bits.
41:59Oh, it's very sticky.
42:01Yeah, it gets stickier.
42:02Is that enough?
42:03That's enough, yeah.
42:04And then
42:05maybe we'll have
42:07a big squirrely-whirly
42:09because it is
42:10a Nickerbocker glory
42:11after all.
42:12The Nickerbocker glory
42:13originated from the States
42:15but became popular here
42:17in ice cream parlors
42:18from the 1930s.
42:21And then,
42:22do you remember,
42:23right at the beginning,
42:23we mixed honey and cream
42:25and we had to wait
42:26until it got cold
42:27because obviously
42:29you don't want to put
42:29hot sauce on
42:30unless you're going
42:31to eat it at once.
42:33A few nuts.
42:36I mean,
42:36that is a slightly
42:38classier
42:39Nickerbocker glory
42:40and it will taste delicious.
42:42It does look good.
42:44Okay, banana split.
42:46Any banana split
42:47is just a split banana
42:48with a whole lot
42:48of ice cream inside it
42:50and any decoration
42:51or addition
42:53or chocolate
42:53or whatever you want
42:54to do on top of it.
42:56So,
42:57you have one
42:58and I'll have the other one.
43:00Now we need
43:13the ice cream.
43:15Okay.
43:15And I'm going
43:16to put my bananas
43:17in last
43:17because otherwise
43:18they're going
43:18to get buried.
43:25Looks good.
43:27I just need
43:28a little bit
43:28just to top up
43:29down there.
43:30Do you want
43:36vibes of cream?
43:37I've never
43:38ever done this before.
43:39Okay, well now,
43:41hang on,
43:41let me give you
43:42a quick lesson.
43:42Okay.
43:44You need to hold it
43:46upright.
43:47Okay.
43:48Bottom hand
43:49just on the bottom.
43:50Okay.
43:50So you squeeze
43:51from the top
43:52and hold it
43:52close down.
44:01When ice cream
44:02was invented,
44:03somebody must have
44:04thought of a banana split
44:05because you hardly
44:07because you hardly
44:07ever see them
44:07anymore,
44:08but they are
44:08good fun.
44:10Well,
44:10every sort of cafe
44:11in my youth
44:12would have
44:12banana splits.
44:15Did you have
44:16banana splits
44:17in your restaurant?
44:18Good Lord,
44:18no.
44:19We were much
44:19too posh.
44:21That's my
44:22contribution.
44:24With chocolate
44:25sauce.
44:25Is that all right?
44:33It looks lovely.
44:36A couple of cherries.
44:41I think they look
44:42almost exactly the same
44:43except yours
44:44is always a bit
44:45neater than mine.
44:47I think I won.
44:49You definitely won.
44:51That's fine.
44:52But they do look
44:53good, don't they?
44:54And I think
44:55they'll taste lovely
44:56because they're
44:57homemade ice cream
44:58with no additives,
44:59stabilisers or
45:00rubbish in it
45:01and fresh fruit
45:04and lovely things.
45:05Can we have a go?
45:06Yeah.
45:10There's so much
45:11topping you could
45:12maybe not get
45:13any ice cream.
45:15Do you know,
45:15I thought that was
45:15going to be a sugar
45:16blitz, but it's not.
45:18It's very creamy.
45:21Very nice.
45:23Fresh raspberries
45:23are lovely.
45:24Now this one.
45:27Yeah.
45:29You have to dig
45:30down for the
45:31apricot.
45:33Oh.
45:35Mmm.
45:38It's really...
45:39That again
45:39is not a sugar blitz.
45:41It's sweeter than that.
45:42But I think
45:43that's the honey.
45:44The honeycomb
45:45is very sweet.
45:45Mmm.
45:49Mmm.
45:51It's lovely.
45:52Well, that was
45:55very successful.
45:56Most enjoyable.
45:57Yeah, it was good,
45:58wasn't it?
45:58Yeah.
45:59And you know what?
46:00Next week,
46:01we will have
46:02some more
46:03absolutely delicious
46:04recipes
46:04and a very interesting
46:06guest.
46:07And a very interesting guest.
46:07And some more
46:16Some people
46:18have
46:19recipes
46:21and
46:21start
46:23And we'll
46:25there
46:25some more
46:26in here
46:27and
46:28decir
46:28and
46:28there
46:29might
46:29in here
46:29and
46:30it's been there
46:30early here and
46:31some more
46:31about the
46:32100%.
46:33it's great.
46:33There sü
46:34have
46:35You
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