- 12 hours ago
Dermot O'Leary's Taste of Ireland - Season 2 Episode 5
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00:01The island of Ireland.
00:05Wild, welcoming.
00:06Sláinte. Sláinte.
00:08And full of stories I've only just begun to uncover.
00:11I'm so excited. We're literally on the Giant's Causeway.
00:13This place has always meant something special to me.
00:17It's where my roots lie and where some of my favourite memories were made.
00:21It's on. It's on, baby.
00:24Now, I'm back.
00:25To explore more of this extraordinary island.
00:28This coastline, isn't it? Stunning.
00:30From the rugged beauty of the Causeway coastal route.
00:33Beautiful. So gorgeous, huh?
00:34To the sweeping drama of the Wild Atlantic Way.
00:37How could you forget this?
00:39I'll be following the edge of the land, diving into the life,
00:42and occasionally, the Atlantic itself.
00:45Oh, it's incredible.
00:47Along the way, I'll be meeting the people who bring this place to life.
00:51That is cracking!
00:53The farmers. Come on. Come on.
00:56Fishers.
00:57They're lobster fishing.
00:58And chefs.
00:59That's Nectar of the Gods.
01:01That is a masterclass.
01:03Slaying it.
01:04That is a dream.
01:04Who doesn't love a lobster roll?
01:06Go on, team.
01:07I'll be discovering the flavours.
01:09Like Winnie the Pooh right now.
01:10The traditions.
01:11This is so special.
01:13And the stories that define Ireland today.
01:16That was insane. It was so lovely.
01:18This is my taste of Ireland.
01:27I've been travelling along the north coast of Northern Ireland.
01:31Taking in its sights.
01:33Sláinte.
01:34Sláinte.
01:34And tasting its food.
01:36Oh my God, that's amazing.
01:38And I've now reached the halfway point of my culinary adventure.
01:42One of the island of Ireland's most loved cities.
01:45The end of the Causewick coastal route has brought me here to the fabulous walled city of Derry.
01:50Never been here before.
01:51I've heard so much about it.
01:52It's a place that's evolved so much over the last few years.
01:55And that includes its food scene.
01:56So let's get eaten.
02:03Today, we're going to explore the food scene here in Derry, Londonderry.
02:07The second city of Northern Ireland.
02:10I'll have a smashing time in a brewery.
02:13He's not going down without a fight, this guy.
02:15And we'll go crackers.
02:17Tasting beer and cheese.
02:19Oh, that's great.
02:20We'll have fun on the foil.
02:22Beautiful.
02:23So gorgeous, huh?
02:25And I'll meet a pioneering Derry chef.
02:27Look at this.
02:30I'll learn how to make a sublime squid taco.
02:33Beautiful, man.
02:36It's a place that's going to stay with me for a very long time.
02:38I have a special place right for.
02:41I'm kicking off in the newly developed Eberington Square.
02:45With one of my favourite things.
02:48So where I'm stood now used to be an army barracks.
02:51But like much of the city, it's evolved and its purpose has changed.
02:54What better way to celebrate that change in purpose than to open a brewery.
03:00Of course.
03:01The Irish have a long and storied history with brewing.
03:04Dating back over 5,000 years.
03:08Home to some of the most famous beer brands in the world.
03:12It's a hive of craft brewmasters conjuring up new and exciting tastes.
03:17Like James.
03:18Hey, James.
03:19Dermot.
03:20How are you, my man?
03:21Thank you for having me.
03:22Yeah, great to see you.
03:23Great building.
03:24You're so beautiful.
03:25What was here before?
03:26This building itself is an incredible history.
03:28It was both in 1871, but it was actually the intelligence office for the army during the trouble.
03:32So this site's always sort of been about conflict and now it's about people coming and they come in here
03:38and they argue about beer and cheese.
03:40So nice you're reclaiming that.
03:41It is, yeah.
03:42And it's regeneration and I suppose it's about healing, you know.
03:45Both sides of the community come here and we brew, or I brew, all the beers here.
03:49You're Willy Wonka.
03:50I mean, you can do what you want.
03:51That's the beauty of it.
03:52And that's what keeps me happy.
03:54I come in at half six in the morning and sometimes I don't know what beer I'm brewing and I'm
03:57like a chef.
03:57Do you wake up halfway through the night and just go, Marmite and cheese.
04:01That's right.
04:02There you go.
04:02You can do anything.
04:05Well, listen, I'm thirsty.
04:06All this chatting.
04:07Too much of this for me.
04:09Not enough of this.
04:10Shall we?
04:11Brilliant.
04:11Let's go.
04:12James is taking me behind the curtain to see his beer laboratory.
04:16Otherwise known as a brewery.
04:18So here it is, where the magic happens.
04:21This is my sandpit.
04:22Remember, this is where I have my phone.
04:25But what we're doing here this morning, Dermot, is we are brewing a beer called Foyster.
04:30So this is a lock foil native oyster stout.
04:33And we use the oyster in the stout to give us sort of a lovely creaminess and a bit of
04:37calcium to the beer as well.
04:38So we're making sort of four and a half percent alcohol here.
04:41This process will take about eight hours.
04:43What exactly is happening here?
04:44This is a malt pipe and there's 40 kilos of malted barley and then six kilos of chocolate malt.
04:51And what we're doing here, it's almost like making porridge.
04:53So we're extracting the sugars from the barley.
04:56Mm-hmm.
04:57And we're getting a very, very sweet liquid here, which is called wort or wort, the Germans call it.
05:02And we're going to then put that into our fermenter.
05:04We add the yeast and that's for the magic happens.
05:07Do you want a little taste of what this is like?
05:08Yes.
05:09OK.
05:09So what am I...
05:10Now, remember, there's no alcohol in this.
05:11Right.
05:12OK?
05:12So it's just a very, very sweet liquid.
05:14But you're also going to get all those sort of aromas and flavours that we want in the stout.
05:19Yeah.
05:19Maybe a bit of coffee as well.
05:23Oh, it's lovely.
05:24It's not good?
05:25Exactly.
05:25This is great.
05:26Yeah.
05:26Just stop now.
05:27Just tell this.
05:28It's delicious, I know.
05:29Great.
05:29What should we do now?
05:30So we're going to use these oysters.
05:34This is oyster stout, as you know, so I would like you to smash some of them.
05:37Is there an M.O. other than just hit it really hard with a mallet?
05:40No.
05:41Just get out all that aggression and just smash it up.
05:44Man.
05:44Well, a plastic guy.
05:49They're tough, aren't they?
05:53There we go.
05:54Perfect.
05:55Another wee bit and that is us.
05:59That's perfect.
06:00He's not going down without a fight, this guy.
06:03Feels like fish food, right?
06:04Am I just sprinkling it in like there's a goldfish in there?
06:07Yeah, yeah.
06:07If you just sprinkle it in, then basically what's going to happen is the calcium's going to
06:10dissolve in it.
06:11Yeah, fishy, fishy.
06:12So that's our stout.
06:14What have we got here?
06:15So this is spent grain and what we've done is we've extracted all the sugars from the
06:19malted barley.
06:19So this is essentially a by-product now?
06:21It is a by-product, yeah.
06:22And what we thought about was sort of trying to upcycle a little bit, so we actually have
06:25put it into a kind of cracker called a lavash cracker.
06:28Lavash.
06:28And we make that and we serve it with cheeses and our beers.
06:33Oh, great.
06:33All right.
06:33Should we go make some crackers?
06:34Let's make crackers.
06:35Go.
06:40What have we got here?
06:41So what have we got here, we've got spent grain, we've got 200 grams of flour, and then
06:46we've got some fennel seeds with a black pepper, chaves, some olive oil and then just a wee
06:51bit of water as well.
06:52So we're going to make a dough for the crackers.
06:53Go on, Ed.
06:54Yeah.
06:54Yeah.
06:56It's great that you do this.
06:57Add in the fennel seed, we'll hold that all first.
06:59Yeah.
07:00All of this goes in?
07:00Yep.
07:01Ooh, punchy, like it.
07:02The chaves.
07:04Nice.
07:06So olive oil next.
07:07Yeah.
07:07And then we'll have to add a little bit of water just to loosen it up.
07:10So about half of that we'll start with, and then we'll start making the dough.
07:14In goes the water, and then I become the dough boy.
07:18And then just add a wee bit more water as you sort of feed it.
07:23I mean, the lavash cracker itself, it's sort of an unleavened cracker.
07:26It's actually a recipe from, you know, two or three thousand years ago.
07:28Oh, that's so nice.
07:29Yeah, it is.
07:30Yeah, yeah.
07:30So there's obviously no yeast in this, so it won't rise or anything, but basically it
07:33just gives this lovely sort of almost Middle East flatbread kind of thing.
07:37Yeah, great.
07:38After a couple of minutes kneading, the dough comes together.
07:41So, we're just going to grab this.
07:43That's beautiful.
07:44That is great dough.
07:46And we're going to roll it out, put in the oven for about maybe ten or twelve minutes,
07:51and we're going to have lavash crackers, and we might try a bit of cheese and try some beers.
07:56Yes.
07:57Let's do it.
08:00Oh, this I'm looking forward to.
08:02James's beer with local Irish cheese on our homemade lavash crackers.
08:08So these are the fruits of our labour, Dermot, here today.
08:12The first one is our main beer, which is called Kicks.
08:15Kicks.
08:16Named after the undertones.
08:18Of course.
08:18Cheers.
08:19Here's the Fergal.
08:19So this is a very light kind of Pilsner style.
08:24Oh, it's lovely.
08:25Mm.
08:26And what we're going to pair this one with is a lovely ghost cheese, local ghost cheese.
08:32Great.
08:32We're going to eat them on the crackers.
08:37Oh, that's great.
08:39Ghost cheese, because there's so much flavour going on there.
08:41Mm-hmm.
08:41You want something sort of kind of light as well, because you want to go see to sort of sing,
08:45you know?
08:46Yeah, I get that totally.
08:47So, oh good.
08:48The next one is foister.
08:51So, this was brewed about three weeks ago.
08:56Mm.
08:56Oh, it's super mellow, isn't it?
08:58Yeah.
08:58Yeah.
08:59What are we pairing this up with?
09:00So, we're going to go with a little bit of the Alpine cheese.
09:04So this has kind of got a little bit of nuttiness, which goes well with that chocolate and toastiness.
09:14The nuttiness of the cheese I love.
09:16Yeah.
09:16So good, isn't it?
09:17Now, the next beer, it's called 1689.
09:22And...
09:22I thought that was a wine bottle.
09:23Yeah.
09:24Well, it's actually, it's kind of like upcycling again.
09:27Basically, I went back to the Siege of Derry, which was in 1689 between King James and King
09:31William.
09:32So, this is an imperial stout with an A's and a whisky bar.
09:35Imperial stout?
09:37Yeah.
09:37What classifies it as an imperial stout?
09:39It's kind of stronger, maybe above 7% or 8%.
09:41You can see already the foam is a little bit darker.
09:45Mm-hmm.
09:47That is super interesting.
09:48So, we've got loads going on here, right?
09:50So, we've got the caramel.
09:51I think it's probably safer to say what isn't going on in here.
09:55It's everything.
09:56Yeah.
09:56So, you've got the caramel, the honey.
09:58I'm definitely getting the whisky.
09:59Yeah.
09:59From the bar alimization.
10:01It's a really interesting taste.
10:02I like it a lot.
10:03We're going to go with the blue cheese here.
10:04Yeah.
10:06It is a siege of the senses, you know.
10:08But I would like to think that they sort of mellow each other out.
10:11That is great blue cheese.
10:13Well, James has certainly brewed up a storm today.
10:17Listen, thank you.
10:18I've had such an education today.
10:20You're such a brilliantly curious and interesting man.
10:24And lovely to see how the city has evolved and you're sort of a proper embodiment of that.
10:29How, for you, has it changed over the last talk?
10:31Yeah, I mean, if you go back to, you know, we left here in 1995, 30 years ago.
10:35And the city was just aching from everything that was going on in the area.
10:39But we're coming back now and it is a renaissance.
10:41It's regeneration and it's kind of healing, you know.
10:45We've got so many stories to tell in Ireland and now we can tell our stories through food and drink.
10:49Thanks, James.
10:50Love it.
10:50Really lovely meeting you.
10:52Taste buds well and truly tingling, I'm heading across the river.
10:56Look at those guys.
10:58Wow.
10:59For a modern taste of this ancient city.
11:01So simple but so beautiful.
11:11The Causeway Coastal Route has brought me to the vibrant and historic walled city.
11:17And what better way to experience it than from the water?
11:21Oh, Michelle.
11:23This is the stuff, isn't it?
11:25Yeah.
11:26On the River Foil with my guide, Michelle.
11:28How are we doing?
11:29You're doing great.
11:32The River Foil is the city's greatest asset.
11:35A lifeline for industry and a gateway for settlers across the centuries.
11:41Beautiful.
11:42So gorgeous, huh?
11:45I like this double bridge.
11:47What's the deal with this?
11:48So this is called the Craig Avon Bridge.
11:50This historic structure is one of the few double-deck road bridges in Europe and the only one in the
11:56island of Ireland.
11:57It originally carried trains on the lower deck.
12:00It's impressive, isn't it?
12:01Yeah.
12:02But it's now traffic on both levels and a primary archery linking the two sides of the city.
12:07Oh, what a view as you turn the corner.
12:10Yeah.
12:10It's gorgeous, isn't it?
12:15It is the most beautiful way to see this incredible river and this great city.
12:22We're approaching the iconic landmark that is the Peace Bridge.
12:27Michelle, tell me this.
12:29What difference has this bridge made to Derry?
12:31Oh, it's been amazing.
12:33So it has.
12:33You wouldn't think it.
12:34Just a footbridge would be so important now.
12:38It's like, how did we ever do without it?
12:40You know what I mean?
12:40It connects everything.
12:42We've got...
12:42It's just completely changed the city.
12:44Oh, massively.
12:45Yeah.
12:45Yeah.
12:46And also uniting two communities.
12:48Oh, definitely.
12:49Yes.
12:49100%.
12:50That's the symbol of it.
12:51You see the two, like, things going out in different ways.
12:54And then when they meet in the middle.
12:56Yeah.
12:56So that's what it symbolises.
12:59So, I mean, I guess just physically and as a metaphor, it's just, you know, changed the place, right?
13:04Well, you can see the shape of it.
13:05That's what it means.
13:06Like the two different sides coming together, you know?
13:09So it's really, really good.
13:13It's handshake design across the river stands as a powerful symbol of reconciliation and peace after decades of conflict.
13:22Come and stay.
13:25Yeah, do the Bennett.
13:27I've always wanted to come.
13:29I've never been to Derry before.
13:31So I'm thrilled.
13:33Oh, it's great to see it.
13:39So in here, there's loads of lovely restaurants and all.
13:42It's all sort of sprouted up.
13:45Oh, that's nice.
13:45But the one you're going, it's gorgeous.
13:47See the big, the double-decker to your left?
13:51Oh, nice.
13:55I'm getting back on dry land to meet local food hero, Kevin Pike.
14:01Hello, Kevin.
14:02How are you doing?
14:03It's so good to meet you.
14:04How are you, my man?
14:04Your reputation precedes you.
14:06Well, they've supported me now for the last 12 years.
14:08It's been amazing.
14:09Is it?
14:09I'm blessed.
14:10I'm blessed.
14:11Are you here from here originally?
14:12I'm from Derry originally, yeah, yeah.
14:14And I moved away when I was about 14 and I came back when I was about 25, 26.
14:19So what brought you back here?
14:20What was the pull?
14:20I just always wanted to come back home.
14:22Loved it.
14:23The food scene has changed dramatically in the last 10 years.
14:25You know, from when I first came back when I was 26 and then until now, it has transformed.
14:31Yeah.
14:31And it's been good, man.
14:33It's been good.
14:33Right, come on.
14:34I've had enough of this talk.
14:35I've heard so much about the pikes and the poms.
14:38Right, come on.
14:39Let's go.
14:40Kevin had the bright idea of serving his street food in a double-decker bus.
14:43Oh, man.
14:48I mean, that's going to take some shifting.
14:51How long's that been there?
14:52That's not going anywhere.
14:53It's not going anywhere, is it?
14:54I know.
14:56He started the business in a little trailer, which is now a fishmonger's, and it was so
15:01successful, he upgraded.
15:04It's worked, and people, they do love it.
15:07Can you try some?
15:08Let's do it.
15:08Can we try some?
15:09Let's go and try some, shall we?
15:15Look at this!
15:17This is way too much.
15:19But I'll manage.
15:20Well, that's good, that's good.
15:22You've got a wee flavour of everything.
15:23I can't mind it come off.
15:24I think it's a good idea.
15:25It's serious.
15:26It gets messy, man.
15:27It's a serious time for serious men.
15:28Where did the love come from?
15:30Where did the inspiration come from?
15:31Because I'm seeing Central America and Mexican influenced a lot of this, right?
15:34There is.
15:35There is.
15:35I suppose I did a wee jaunt in London.
15:40Epic, yeah.
15:40And I got a wee bit of inspiration from a couple of street favelas in London.
15:45Obviously, there's a couple of wee dishes there, like the squid has a wee Asian twist
15:49to it, where I spent a bit of time in Thailand.
15:51I suppose it's the fresh fish stuff from here in Ireland, and we kind of just blend it all
15:57together.
15:57Well, the lovely thing is you're using the Irish ingredients, aren't you?
15:59And then you're just giving it this kind of lovely hybrid of flavours and tastes.
16:04It's just epic.
16:05Where do we start?
16:06The brisket is kind of one of my favourites, and the squid has to be.
16:10I'm going to start with the squid.
16:11Good idea.
16:11Good idea.
16:12Are we squeezing a line?
16:14That's so good.
16:16I love how thin you cut the squid as well.
16:19Mmm.
16:19Nice and crispy.
16:20Really crispy.
16:23It was hard to put a taco, wasn't it?
16:26I love it.
16:26It's great.
16:27It's just small bite sizes, and it's bursting my flavour, isn't it?
16:31I'm happy.
16:32This is my happy place.
16:33You can't go home without knowing how to do this.
16:35We can do that.
16:35This guy's the keeper.
16:36That's the keeper.
16:37All right.
16:37That's the keeper.
16:38Let's go.
16:38Go.
16:40Kevin and I headed back into the city for a taco masterclass.
16:47This is highly unorthodox.
16:49Normally we cook the food and then I eat it.
16:51Now I've eaten the food and now I've got to cook it.
16:54It's good to see how you put it all together.
16:56Fresh squid.
16:57Have you prepped fresh squid before?
16:59No, I haven't.
17:00And this is all lovely and local, Cole.
17:02This is all local.
17:03This is from the Atlantic Ocean right at our doorstep, man.
17:06Amazing produce.
17:07So cut here.
17:08So we're going to just cut.
17:10Before or after?
17:10This is just after the eyes.
17:12We need to do a nice wee moving.
17:14That's the boy there.
17:15We're going to take that away.
17:16What I want you to do now is just lift this,
17:17and we're just going to gently, gently pull out.
17:19You'll feel it just one day.
17:21Yes, you got it, sir.
17:23So look, we're left with this beautiful tentacles,
17:25and we're going to remove the wings.
17:27So these just gently come away, as you can see.
17:30And now you'll have a quill in there.
17:31You can see it's started.
17:32And there's a...
17:34Isn't that amazing?
17:35The beach is so crazy.
17:37It's so alien-like, isn't it?
17:38Because it feels like...
17:39It's incredible.
17:40I mean, it's just...
17:41It's almost like a perspex leaf, isn't it?
17:44They blow my mind.
17:45So basically what we're going to do now is,
17:47we're just going to open this up and give it a wee clean.
17:52That's it, Dermot.
17:53You got it, man.
17:54All right.
17:55Perfect, sir.
17:55Perfect.
17:56Be gentle, Dermot.
17:58Very gentle.
18:00Beautiful, man.
18:01We're just going to get a gooey score on each side.
18:06Natural.
18:07Absolutely natural, sir.
18:09Thanks, boss.
18:10Next move, we're going to just...
18:12We're just going to run the knife across it.
18:13It's just the scariest bit.
18:15You are fast, Kev.
18:17That's so, Dermot.
18:18Mind if I just go a little bit slower?
18:20It's not too bad there, sir.
18:21Not too bad.
18:22Is that all right?
18:22That's all right.
18:23It's not too thick, is it?
18:24Yeah.
18:24Perfect.
18:25You're on.
18:26You're hired.
18:27Squid sliced, it needs its coat.
18:30So what have we got in here?
18:31So we've got, like, paprika, chilli.
18:33Yeah, lovely.
18:33We have garlic powder, I think.
18:35There's onion powder in there.
18:36There's dried coriander, dried oregano, potato starch.
18:41That's about it.
18:42Yeah.
18:42The squid goes into the spiced flour.
18:45Love and coat it.
18:47Rest that there.
18:48I'm going to get you to make the wee pico de gallo.
18:50Pico de gallo, amazing!
18:51Just a wee simple little sort of diced salsa.
18:53You got onions?
18:54Yeah.
18:54We've got some tomatoes, fresh coriander.
18:56We've got a little bit of chilli, a little bit of sugar.
18:59And that's about it.
19:00So if you want to put all these together.
19:04The finely chopped ingredients all go into a bowl with the juice and one lime.
19:09So what do you want to finish that with now is the lemon oil.
19:13You want to just give it a good wee mix around.
19:15That's us.
19:16We have a wee peek of the gallo.
19:17So that should be, like, slightly sweet, acidity.
19:21Perfect over the top.
19:22Yeah, gorgeous.
19:23Pico by name, pecant by nature.
19:27We're going to season the cabbage.
19:28It's just a red and white cabbage.
19:30Oh, that is really lovely.
19:31It's nice and fine.
19:32Isn't it?
19:32That's it, that's it.
19:34And what we're going to add to that is the engine behind everything in these wee tacos.
19:38Pickling liquor, salty, sweet and sharp.
19:41A wee bit of chilli flake and a wee bit of sesame in there too.
19:43And finally, a little coriander.
19:46So we are nearly assembled for this now.
19:48It's just, we're going to fry the squids.
19:50Oh, this is it.
19:52Once you drop it down the fryer, we just want to give it a wee quick move around.
19:56All right, guys.
19:58And they're in.
19:59Whoa.
20:00But not for long.
20:02Quick fry is all it takes.
20:03Only 30 to 40 seconds.
20:05We need it there.
20:06All right.
20:07What do you reckon?
20:08Look at those guys.
20:10Wow.
20:14We're going to take our taco shells and we're just going to bowl the sweet dish.
20:17Mm-hmm.
20:17Great.
20:18First some lime mayo.
20:20We're going to add a wee bit of peanuts.
20:24Then the cabbage combo.
20:26We're going to add a wee bit of squid there, damn it.
20:29My lovely calamari.
20:31A peak of the gallo.
20:34And finally a hit of mayo and some thinly sliced radish.
20:38Slay there.
20:40Simple.
20:43Beautiful, man.
20:44Wow.
20:46I like it.
20:49Perfect, man.
20:50Perfect.
20:50Wow.
20:51So simple but so beautiful.
20:52Ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap.
20:56So lovely, mate.
20:57It was a pleasure, man.
20:58Brilliant.
20:59It was an absolute pleasure.
21:00Tacos from heaven.
21:02The perfect way to top off my time in this incredible city.
21:06Ireland is changing.
21:08It's evolving all the time.
21:09And no city that I've seen embodies that more than this one.
21:13That's really reflected in the food as well.
21:15It's a place that's going to stay with me for a very long time.
21:17I have a special place right here.
21:19I really enjoyed it.
21:22And it's the end of the Causeway Coastal Route.
21:25It's delivered sensational food, incredible people, and breathtaking beauty.
21:32Next stop, County Donegal, and the start of the Wild Atlantic Way.
21:37Welcome to Donegal.
21:39Absolutely.
21:40I love honey.
21:41Hello.
21:42It doesn't get much more fresh than that, does it?
21:45Perfect.
21:46Okay, now it's getting silly.
21:48I'd serve that in the restaurant.
22:14I'd serve that in the restaurant.
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