Kitchen Gardens episode 4
Kitchen Gardens episode 4
Transcript
00:00Raymond Blanc is passionate about his garden at Le Manoir Quatre Saisons and the amazing
00:08array of fruit and vegetables it provides throughout the year.
00:11Oh, they look so beautiful.
00:13But he's not alone. His Majesty King Charles III has long championed the kitchen garden
00:20and the importance of growing sustainable, seasonal food. Now, Raymond has been invited
00:26to take a glimpse behind the scenes at the productive gardens of some of the nation's
00:31most spectacular royal palaces.
00:34This garden is a true inspiration for creating wonderful dishes.
00:39Raymond will be travelling the length and breadth of the kingdom. He'll meet the dedicated
00:43people who care for these unique gardens.
00:46Little genius. How do you manage?
00:50It's really about inspiring our visitors and showing people what they can grow in their
00:54own gardens.
00:55My celery looks like that already.
00:58He'll celebrate the extraordinary edible treasures they produce with the chefs who use them every
01:04day.
01:05Give me any food, especially when it comes from the garden. Perfect.
01:10Is the egg runny?
01:11Oh la la.
01:12Speechless, chef. Speechless.
01:13Absolutely fantastic.
01:14I wouldn't mind having that every day.
01:18Yeah, not bad.
01:20And by his travels, Raymond will also share mouth-watering recipes of his own.
01:25Heavenly.
01:26I hope you're going to make it in your own home. Bon appétit.
01:31All, but for a king.
01:33Long live the king.
01:34Long live the king.
01:36Join me as I journey through the royal kitchen gardens.
01:51Just like Raymond Blanc, whose penchant for cooking is matched by his lifelong love of
01:56gardening, King Charles III is known for his devotion to all things green, thanks to the
02:03public work of his charity supporting sustainable farming and his own private passion for horticulture.
02:10His Majesty's knowledge of food, of garden, how to grow garden, all sort of heritage,
02:18rare varieties, organically, is immense.
02:23For decades, the king has been recognised as one of the earliest advocates for the benefits
02:28of home-grown seasonal produce, a shared interest which he and chef have had in common for many
02:36years.
02:40And he's the latest in a long line of monarchs who have created and cared for productive
02:45gardens at many of our most important palaces, castles and great estates.
02:57Today, Raymond's in Northern Ireland, soaking up the palatial splendour of Hillsborough Castle.
03:04He'll be discovering a wealth of royal history in the house.
03:08The dinner table at the moment, it's set for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
03:14I was expecting a long, long 25 course meal.
03:22And comparing notes on its majestic walled garden.
03:36Head chef Jamie Penny will be serving him a tasty treat fresh from the veg patch,
03:41pea puree on toasted sourdough with feta and poached eggs.
03:46Is the egg runny?
03:48Absolutely, let's see. That's a big test now. Oh, la, la.
03:53And Raymond will be making delicious dishes inspired by his visit.
03:59A simple summer fruit gratin.
04:03And his rustic poulot pot with an Asian twist.
04:07And I hope you're going to make it in your own home. Bon appétit.
04:20Welcome to Hillsborough Castle, a wonderful place with a grand history of celebration,
04:26lifestyle and joie de vivre and of course diplomacy.
04:30A place which is really, really special.
04:34One of Northern Ireland's most iconic landmarks,
04:37the current house began life in the 1770s as a lavish townhouse
04:42for the aristocratic Hill family to entertain the great and the good.
04:48At the centre of political life here ever since,
04:51its sumptuously decorated state rooms have welcomed many famous figures
04:56and visiting dignitaries from around the world.
05:00Hillsborough Castle was actually built in the 18th century,
05:05but really it is not a castle.
05:08It's a grand house, but more importantly it is a royal residence,
05:13a place which witnessed pivotal moments in history for more than 300 years.
05:20A key location during the Irish peace talks,
05:23today it remains the official home of both the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
05:28and of course the royal family.
05:32There are almost 100 acres of ornamental gardens, woodlands,
05:36meandering streams and tranquil glens for visitors to enjoy.
05:43I am truly excited as I'm going through these magnificent grounds.
05:47I'm about to enter a four-acre walled garden.
05:51It's going to be very special.
05:54First laid out in the 1760s,
05:57the sheer scale of the castle's crowning glory is breathtaking.
06:03I've never seen such an immense walled garden.
06:06Wildflowers and we have vegetables and fruits, it's unbelievable.
06:11I cannot wait to discover it.
06:16In 2014, a major restoration project returned the kitchen garden to its heyday,
06:22creating a contemporary design which pays homage to its grand historic layout.
06:28What I really love about this walled garden, it is Georgian.
06:33Yes, there are plenty of squares, rectangles,
06:37but within these rectangles there's a huge element of design
06:42and curves within curves and beautiful structures around.
06:47Tended by four full-time gardeners and a team of volunteers,
06:51there are more than 200 varieties of fruit and vegetables.
06:56So imagine the number of dishes you could do in your own home.
07:01That's a true inspiration to any chef or any cook.
07:05I am standing here by a beautiful plot of rhubarb
07:10and I look at this rhubarb, yes, it's lovely, but it's quite small.
07:14My mum's rhubarb grew stems thick like that and was high like that, like a forest.
07:21Why? It's very simple.
07:23If you give good food to a vegetable or to a human being,
07:27it will grow strong and big and healthy.
07:30My mum had a compost heap and the rhubarb would grow by the compost heap
07:35and all the nutrients would go into it to give it its magnificent flavour.
07:40And that rhubarb as well has the virtue to grow almost as old as me.
07:45It was 65 years old when my mum went away and that rhubarb was so healthy.
07:52To find out more about its long tradition of growing food,
07:56Raymond's meeting Christine from the castle's visitor experience team.
08:01Can you tell me a bit the history of this extraordinary walled garden?
08:05Absolutely. So the garden dates all the way back to the 1760s.
08:10So this garden would have had year-round harvests to feed the house.
08:15We have about four acres here and traditionally one acre would feed about 12 people for a year.
08:22I was a family at home and we had a one-acre garden. We had a family of seven.
08:27Maybe you could have got a little more efficiency out of your garden.
08:32Because all the children were working at it as well.
08:37Well, here they were trying to feed roughly between 40 and 50 people.
08:41And of course, when you came to Hillsborough Castle for a banquet,
08:44you'd find the king of the fruit at the centre of the table in the Georgian era.
08:49Ah, pineapple. Growing pineapple in the north of Ireland.
08:53Yes, indeed. It's quite a challenge.
08:54That's pretty daring, is it?
08:55Absolutely.
08:56It's like me trying to grow mangoes. I tried and I failed miserably.
09:00So can you explain to me how they did that?
09:02So they built huge glass houses with hot walls with a burning stove at the base.
09:08But I've also learned apparently that a pineapple in today's cash,
09:14if you had to, with this kind of system, it would cost the best part of £5,000 for one pineapple.
09:22Yes. The pineapple, because it took almost two years to come to full fruit, it was really expensive.
09:27But there was a raging pineapple rental market in Georgian society.
09:31Because if you were a Georgian noble, you wanted to show your status and your wealth.
09:37There's a pineapple. Now you wouldn't eat it.
09:40Nobody would have known what it tasted like because, of course, it had to be taken back to the owner.
09:45You pass it on to another house who wanted to show off as well.
09:47Exactly. So the pineapples had a better social life than the Georgians did.
09:51Definitely.
09:58Coming up, it's time to honour the hard work of the people who care for the castle's magnificent kitchen garden.
10:06Queen of the cauliflower. Best cauliflower I've ever seen.
10:13Head chef Jamie will be serving a simple but delicious summer dish,
10:17pea puree on toasted sourdough with feta and poached eggs.
10:22Give me any food, especially when it comes from the garden, perfect.
10:27And Raymond prepares two versions of a French peasant dish dedicated to a king,
10:33poulot pot and Asian vermicelli.
10:37It's about home, it's about my French culture and, of course, creating a beautiful Asian broth
10:43with lots of spice, lots of flavours and so easy to make.
10:48See you after the break.
10:58MUSIC
11:03Welcome back to Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens.
11:07Today, Raymond's savouring the stately surroundings of Hillsborough Castle,
11:12the official residence of His Majesty the King in Northern Ireland.
11:17He's already been wowed by the remarkable produce in its glorious grounds.
11:23I've never seen such an immense small garden.
11:26Wildflowers and we have vegetables and fruits, it's unbelievable.
11:31Later, head chef Jamie Penny will be rustling him up a sublime taste of the castle's seasonal vegetables.
11:39The gardeners and the chefs work very closely with each other.
11:42Which is nice. Yeah, absolutely.
11:44And there's a course in regal culinary history with collections manager David.
11:49French history, through the revolution, the chefs suddenly didn't have a job.
11:54Yes, yeah. So they migrated all over Europe.
12:02But first, Raymond's continuing his gastronomic tour with visitor experience leader Christine.
12:09And with over 200 varieties of fruit and vegetables on show, he's spotted an old favourite.
12:15I've seen just something here which I would like to check up, OK?
12:19Yes.
12:20The plant, most people would think that's celery.
12:22Yes.
12:23It is not, it is actually celeriac.
12:25And they are gorgeous, good, healthy, very healthy plants.
12:29And that you can do beautiful soups with the leaves, smell it, bite into it, you know.
12:35It's so strong and peppery.
12:37And look, this beautiful little root here is going to grow a bulb like that.
12:42The flavour is really strong.
12:43And you can roast it.
12:44Oh my goodness.
12:45You can roast it, you can do milfoil, you can do beautiful soups with everything.
12:50So never throw that leaves away because it can make some beautiful dishes.
12:55You can deep fry it as well as garnish.
12:57It's amazing.
12:58I noticed you're about two weeks behind us in terms of growing.
13:04Yes.
13:05My celery is like that already.
13:08Oh yeah.
13:09Like that.
13:10Only two weeks.
13:11Our climate is so chilly, I'm surprised.
13:18Despite Northern Ireland's cool climate,
13:21the garden not only keeps the Castle Cafe supplied with fresh produce,
13:25there's even a surplus which is sold in the estate shop.
13:30Really, what a beautiful sight it is to see all these amazing produce
13:36picked freshly from the ground.
13:38And of course, a lot of it goes to the kitchen.
13:41But as well, a lot of people coming to the castle will visit these gardens
13:45and buy these very fresh, organically grown vegetables.
13:50Raymond's meeting gardener Adele to find out what's been flying off the shelves.
13:56I must say it's a wonderful display of beautiful vegetables and fruits.
14:01But the one who caught my eye is this one.
14:03I've never managed to grow such a big cauliflower.
14:06Healthy, full, heavy, gorgeous.
14:10How do you do it?
14:11Well, this is the first year we've been able to grow them to this size.
14:14Starting them off in our polytunnels just to get them on a little bit
14:18and then we've used some seaweed fertilizer.
14:22But the main thing is our own compost mulch that we add to our beds every year.
14:27So we do a no-dig policy and each year it's just getting better.
14:30So you've got to give me the recipe, Adele, OK?
14:32Yes, certainly.
14:33Definitely.
14:34So I'm going to crown you, definitely.
14:35Oh, thank you.
14:37Queen of the cauliflower.
14:39Best cauliflower I've ever seen.
14:41Thank you.
14:43Thank you.
14:44And of course, you've got this wonderful area of fruits.
14:47You've got strawberries, some beautiful mackerel.
14:50How do you say it in English?
14:52That is a gooseberry.
14:53Gooseberry, yes.
14:55Gooseberry, yes.
14:56Beautiful, gorgeous.
14:57And so many dishes you could actually do with them.
15:00Well, this year especially, the weather has really helped us.
15:03We had quite a sunny, dry spell, which is unusual for Northern Ireland.
15:07And then suddenly we've had this large spell of rain and everything has just popped.
15:13So it's been the perfect time for harvesting.
15:15Variety?
15:16This is Sovereign.
15:17Oh, you know your varieties well.
15:19Yes.
15:20One of the best varieties, definitely.
15:21Well, it's a very old English variety, which is very, very good.
15:25It gives a good yield and good flavor, but it's lovely.
15:28I love it.
15:29Well, they're very popular with all our visitors here.
15:31It's a great thing for people to be able to take home with them,
15:34something that they've seen on their walk.
15:36They can see how it's been grown.
15:38And it's freshly picked that day, so it's a nice little souvenir.
15:41What you have here is something which is pure.
15:44I think more and more the modern guests want purity, authenticity,
15:50and the least comicals.
15:52And this beautiful Isleborough Castle embraces all of these values.
15:57And that's fantastic. To you.
15:59Thank you.
16:03And Raymond has an easy, elegant dessert
16:06to make the best of the berries from his own garden.
16:11Summer fruit gratin.
16:14So now, I'm going to create a beautiful dish,
16:17which is a sabayon, so light and airy,
16:20made with a bit of muscat wine and beautiful summer fruits here.
16:25And they are the best.
16:27They are right in season.
16:28Garigas strawberries, glendoll raspberries,
16:31and a few blueberries.
16:32And why not a bit of grapes?
16:34But it's really up to you to put any fruits you wish.
16:37Soft fruits.
16:38All we're going to do is to prepare these fruits,
16:42the big one, I'm going to cut them in half.
16:45Look how ripe, how gorgeous they are.
16:47The others are easy.
16:49Just you pull everything out.
16:53So a few grapes.
16:56And now, just 10% sugar.
16:58Not even that. I'm going to put even that.
17:00That's plenty.
17:02And what's going to happen here?
17:03The sugar is going to permeate the strawberry,
17:06permeate the grapes,
17:08and the sugar is going to permeate the strawberry,
17:11permeate every single fruit,
17:13and the fruit will start releasing its juice.
17:16To that, I could add all sorts of different herbs.
17:19I use mint.
17:20Peppermint.
17:21I keep the little top here for the garnish later.
17:25You roll it like that.
17:28And then just very finely slice.
17:31And that will give that gorgeous, really extra minty flavor,
17:35which makes a big difference.
17:37You can use other herbs, such as basil,
17:39which is very, very good.
17:41Now we're going to add a bit of pepper.
17:43That will spice up the fruit.
17:45Pepper is also a catalyst of flavor, not too much.
17:51And now all we're going to do,
17:53and you can see, look, look, already,
17:55look how the sugar is already reacting
17:57onto the strawberries, onto the fruits.
18:00Already it's absorbed the sugar
18:02and then released its own juices.
18:04And that will create that maceration,
18:06that little miracle, you know?
18:08Voila.
18:10That's good.
18:11So we leave that here now, see?
18:13Let's hope that the bees are not going to come.
18:16And now we're going to prepare a sabayon.
18:18Actually, sabayon is not a French invention.
18:22It was created by the Italians.
18:24The French love to claim it is their own,
18:26but actually it's not true.
18:28That comes from Italy, 15th century.
18:30But then the French took all the great pâtissiers from Italy
18:34and created their own gastronomy, world-class.
18:37So now we're going to separate the egg yolk
18:40from a strand of white.
18:42So for this recipe, you do not need, actually, the egg white.
18:46You can use it for a meringue,
18:48or if you love a beautiful egg white omelette,
18:50it's absolutely delicious.
18:52You don't throw it away.
18:54Now I'm going to prepare my sabayon,
18:57just egg yolk, okay?
19:01You need some lovely sweet wine.
19:04That's musca.
19:09Lemon juice to sharpen it up.
19:12And, of course, the sugar.
19:14Very little sugar.
19:16There's 30 grams of sugar here.
19:18All together, so simple.
19:21And then don't use a glass bowl.
19:26Use a stainless steel bowl, which has a better conduction.
19:30But look at that.
19:32Already, by trapping air, I'm increasing the volume.
19:38I'm always quite amazed by the magic of food.
19:42Our ingredients can create something very special,
19:45especially eggs.
19:47I found them because you can use soufflé,
19:49they bind, they do some beautiful sabayon,
19:51all of this sauce, beautiful creme caramel,
19:53creme brulée, et cetera.
19:55They do all that and so much more.
19:57And here, you can see it, the egg yolk
20:00start to emulsify the sweet white wine with the sugar.
20:06So we already have 67...
20:08Adam, can you do it?
20:09Because really, we need to be too...
20:11Because you can easily cook the sabayon.
20:15Okay, that should be about 70 degrees.
20:17Voilà.
20:19Thank you, Adam.
20:20You're welcome.
20:21Nice thing, yeah.
20:24So it's 65.
20:25We need to go to about 75 degrees.
20:28So I'm trapping air into it.
20:3077.
20:3177, okay, out.
20:33It took exactly four minutes to create.
20:37Thank you, Adam.
20:38You're welcome.
20:40What I'm doing here is cooling my sabayon.
20:43Look at the result you have.
20:44Look how gorgeous it is.
20:46Okay, and when it's cooled down,
20:47we'll add a bit of whipped cream inside
20:49to lighten it further.
20:51To that sabayon, you can add chocolate, caramel,
20:54think of all the gorgeous things,
20:56raspberries, pistachios, whatever you wish,
20:58and you have the most extraordinary dessert.
21:01So I have let my beautiful sabayon cool down,
21:05and I'm going to add 100 grams of cream.
21:15And you just fold it very nicely.
21:19Gorgeous colors.
21:21Et voila.
21:23And that, actually, you can prepare it the day before.
21:26So you can macerate your food the day before,
21:28make your sabayon the day before,
21:30and you're ready to serve.
21:32So now we've got our macerated fruit.
21:36You can see the different texture,
21:38the lovely juice that has given up,
21:41and that you've got really some on your plate.
21:44So we are ready to serve.
21:48Très, très bien.
21:50Full of mint, gorgeous flavors.
21:54Oh, a few more here, voila.
21:57OK, so that is a wonderful dessert on its own.
22:01Very fresh, very clean, low sugar,
22:03lots of beautiful fruits.
22:05And now we're going to see sabayon here.
22:08Just go in nicely.
22:10We're going to put a bit of icing sugar.
22:18And now, I know it's a bit of a gadget.
22:21Very low.
22:24Très bien.
22:25We're going to gratinate the top surface,
22:28and that will create a lovely crunch.
22:31Very delicate.
22:33The gratinating of the flame
22:35will create a beautiful pellicle of caramelized sugar.
22:40And with the fruit, the fruit will love it completely.
22:43So will you.
22:45Et voila.
22:48Then you can put a bit of mint if you want to.
22:51And with a gorgeous, gorgeous dessert.
22:54A great classic is steeped fruits
22:57topped with a gratinated sabayon.
23:00The word sabayon comes from sabaglione.
23:03It's an Italian recipe stolen by the French.
23:06Here we are.
23:07But it's still delicious.
23:08I'm going to show you.
23:09Try to make it in your home.
23:11It's worth it.
23:13Bon appétit.
23:15Coming up, Hillsborough's head chef, Jamie Penny,
23:19shares a brunch favourite packed with fresh produce.
23:24You've got an extraordinary garden.
23:26Yes, not bad.
23:28To have all that and put it on the plate is quite fabulous.
23:33And there's an entente cordiale,
23:35as Raymond uncovers an aristocratic link with his homeland.
23:39This is all in French.
23:40Yes, that's right.
23:41Vive la France.
24:01Welcome back to Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens
24:05and historic Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.
24:10Today, chef's been hearing about its aristocratic horticultural heritage.
24:15It would cost the best part of £5,000 for one pineapple.
24:20Yes.
24:22And he's prepared a simple seasonal dish
24:25with a fascinating history of its own.
24:28His summer fruit gratin.
24:31It's an Italian recipe stolen by the French.
24:34Here we are.
24:35Later, he'll be paying a visit to the castle's splendid state dining room,
24:40which has been the scene of many significant events.
24:44There's no better place than to meet around the table.
24:48But first, head chef Jamie Penny is on the hunt for ingredients
24:53for a dish he's hoping will give Raymond a unique taste of Hillsborough.
24:58I've come to get peas now and beans.
25:00There's a selection of different peas and beans in the garden,
25:04a complete different variety than you would find in your traditional supermarkets
25:09and shops and even your kitchen suppliers,
25:12which is the added benefit of having a kitchen garden on your doorstep.
25:18We'd have a very big involvement with what they're growing in the gardens.
25:21We would sit down at different times of the year and plan sort of the seasons.
25:25We tend to work two or three seasons in advance
25:29and they would start everything from seed.
25:31So you have to work a lot more in advance than you would typically in a regular kitchen
25:36where you can just lift the phone and order produce from anywhere at any time of the year.
25:41The weather over here sometimes isn't forgiving.
25:44I'd like to grow sort of more tomatoes,
25:47but we're looking at what varieties we would be able to grow
25:51and it's kind of a learning curve even for the gardeners.
25:54We've had to change the menu on a couple of occasions.
25:56One in particular where the slugs had took out a whole bed of cabbages.
26:00So working closely with the gardeners is very beneficial for us in the kitchen.
26:05It's definitely fresher coming to pick it on the day yourself.
26:09You can't really get any fresher than this coming out straight from the garden.
26:13If we're running low on stock during the day,
26:15we're not having to wait for the next day for supplies.
26:18We can just come out during service and pick and talk to the visitors within the gardens
26:23while we're doing it and explaining what we're using,
26:26which is quite interesting and brings a different depth to what we do here.
26:32On Jamie's menu for Raymond today is pea puree on toasted sourdough
26:37with feta, tomatoes and poached eggs.
26:41Hello Jamie.
26:42Hi.
26:43Lovely to meet you. I would like to congratulate you
26:45because you've got an extraordinary garden.
26:47Ah yes, not bad.
26:50And to have all that translated and put it on the plate is quite fabulous.
26:55Being a chef, you want to be able to take what you see out here
27:00and it's a responsibility to bring that to people's plates.
27:03So what are you going to do for us?
27:05Toasted sourdough, pea puree, a bit of crumbled feta, some fresh tomatoes.
27:10You eat it with a knife or you eat it like that?
27:12To eat poached egg like that might be a bit risky.
27:15Yeah, so knife and fork or just get stuck in.
27:18So we're going to add the peas.
27:20So all fresh from the garden, are they?
27:22Yep, so all I've done here is just put them in boiling water
27:25just for a couple of minutes just to be able to take them out of the shell.
27:28Okay.
27:30I notice that you're using a stock.
27:32So I use the peas, sweet them a little bit, a tiny bit of olive oil
27:36and then boiling water.
27:37Boil them for two minutes and you've got a beautiful stock of pea flavour.
27:40Maybe that's something you could change because you have different flavours here.
27:45As a chef, we're always learning.
27:47Yeah, we all do, absolutely.
27:48So in here I've just got the stock and the beans and the peas in there
27:52and we're just going to blitz it up there.
27:54Okay.
27:56Have you put all the stock inside here?
27:58Yeah, the full stock's in there and then add a little bit of salt,
28:04a little bit of pepper to that.
28:07And we're just going to whisk it up again there.
28:11You don't want it coarse, you want it very fine.
28:14Yeah, you want it fine.
28:15So here's some I've done earlier.
28:17You can see you're getting the flavours of the peas.
28:19And then we're going to take some of these tomatoes here.
28:23Oh, they don't look like they come from here.
28:26Where did you buy these tomatoes?
28:28These were from a supplier locally at the moment
28:32and they're not quite ready in the grounds here.
28:34Pea season comes three months before the tomatoes or two months before.
28:39Yeah, so we're not quite there with the tomatoes as you can probably see.
28:43So you chunk it?
28:44Yeah, so very roughly, not overthinking it.
28:48And then we're going to put some of these little golden tomatoes in.
28:51You know, I have seen in your garden vegetables and so many herbs.
28:56I was amazed by the quantity which you are able to use in your kitchen.
29:00And it's amazing.
29:02We're very much spoiled for choice here.
29:04We're going to have a bit of...
29:06Are your chefs helping the garden as well?
29:08Yeah, so we would sit down at the beginning of the year
29:11and plan with the gardeners the rotation.
29:13But then, you know, we'd be coming out every morning
29:16and seeing what's available that day,
29:18what we're probably going to be coming up with the next few days.
29:21The gardeners and the chefs work very closely with each other.
29:24Which is nice.
29:25Absolutely.
29:27So we've just got a little bit of salt and pepper and a bit of rapeseed on there.
29:30We're just going to leave that.
29:31We're ready to plate up.
29:32So if you wouldn't mind just dropping a couple of those poached eggs that I've done.
29:36I'm a good colleague, you know.
29:39And then we've got some lovely toasted sourdough bread.
29:42The water is just under the simmering pan, just to warm it up.
29:50I try not to mess it up.
29:52I'm sure you'll be fine.
29:54And here we've got our pea puree.
29:58It looks lovely, really colourful.
30:01My eggs are ready now.
30:03You don't want to overcook them.
30:05And then you're going to blame me for it.
30:07And then we're going to take a bit of the feta.
30:10We're going to crumble a bit of the feta.
30:12Then we're going to take our poached eggs.
30:16Just put them on top there.
30:18And then we're going to put a little bit of black pepper on there.
30:25A little bit of lemon juice.
30:29Just a little tiny bit.
30:32And then just a bit of herbs from the garden there.
30:36And we're just going to finish with some of these lovely…
30:39Yeah, around it, absolutely.
30:41Just to show them off.
30:43There we go.
30:44And that's the toasted sourdough, pea puree, poached eggs and tomatoes.
30:49Well, I must say, it looks very appetising.
30:51Really lovely.
30:53Obviously, that's one dish you want to cut.
30:55You don't want to hang it too much.
30:57A lot of catastrophes could happen.
31:02Hey, not bad, eh?
31:10Lovely.
31:11Lovely flavour.
31:14Of course, you can do avocado.
31:16You can do any puree of cauliflower.
31:18Curried cauliflower.
31:20All sorts of things.
31:21It's just a template to create so many other dishes.
31:25Oh, you could add any cheese you wanted.
31:27Or, you know, you could leave…
31:28Even Comté, a French Comté would be OK.
31:31Yeah, you put any cheese you want, if you want.
31:34Or if you didn't want any cheese, you could have, you know, toasted seeds and stuff like that on as well.
31:38It lends itself, you know, very well to a lot of different dishes.
31:41More importantly, is the egg runny?
31:44Absolutely. Let's see.
31:46That's a big test now.
31:47Oh, la la.
31:48Yeah.
31:50It's OK.
31:51I'll have some of that, definitely.
31:53A little glass of Pinot Noir, please.
31:56OK, Jamie.
31:58As well, you must taste your food, Jamie.
32:00Go on, then.
32:01Of course.
32:02Give me any food, especially when it comes from the garden.
32:05Perfect.
32:08Yeah, not bad.
32:09Lovely.
32:10Beautiful for summer, for a picnic.
32:12Amazing.
32:13Al fresco.
32:15Very summery.
32:17Jamie, it was great to cook with you in the garden, in your garden.
32:20It was a pleasure.
32:21Lovely food.
32:22Thank you.
32:23Merci.
32:28Coming up, chef has a lesson in the delicate art of royal fine dining with Castle Collections manager, David.
32:36The dinner table at the moment, it's set for Queen Elizabeth II.
32:40A Frenchman loves to cook roast beef.
32:44Oh, brilliant.
32:45Yeah.
32:46And it's not a pun.
32:47Yeah.
32:48It's real.
32:49And Raymond prepares two variations on a French peasant dish dedicated to a king.
32:54King Henry IV declared that every peasant should have a poulot pot every Sunday.
33:02And if that had happened, believe me, there would be no revolution whatsoever.
33:23Welcome back to Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens.
33:27This time, chef's been immersing himself in the illustrious heritage of Hillsborough Castle,
33:32His Majesty the King's official home in Northern Ireland.
33:38Taking inspiration from its grand Georgian walled garden,
33:42he's celebrated the fabulous flavours of fresh berries with his summer fruit gratter.
33:50Now he's catching up with Collections manager, David,
33:53in the lavish state dining room where a very special royal event took place 70 years ago.
34:00Monsieur David.
34:01Hello, how are you?
34:02Bonjour.
34:03Good to meet you.
34:04I think there's no better place than to meet around the table.
34:09The dinner table at the moment, it's set for the coronation dinner of Queen Elizabeth II,
34:14where she was on her coronation tour of Northern Ireland.
34:17And the household team and myself take pride in setting the table up.
34:21We like to measure each of the positions to make sure they're just right.
34:25To the millimetre.
34:26Exactly.
34:27So we like to look up the side of the table where the plates are and the glasses are.
34:31Let's have a look.
34:32Just to make sure that they look right.
34:35Not quite straight here.
34:37Not yet, no, but we've got a couple of maybe additions and changes to make to it.
34:40Because once I was a commie, and we would stand with a cordeau, with a thread,
34:46and every glass had to be loud.
34:49And I can see here there's a little bit of a laissez-faire.
34:52And what about this beautiful chinaware?
34:54This is a dessert service which was created by Spood in London,
34:58and it was commissioned by the governor's wife at the time,
35:01in anticipation of this great dinner.
35:04Queen Elizabeth's coronation.
35:06And I'm looking at this menu and I'm quite fascinated.
35:10Okay, yes.
35:11Because it's all in French.
35:13Yes, that's right.
35:14Vive la France.
35:15Vive la France.
35:16In the 1950s, it was still common for menus to be written in French.
35:21In particular, there would have been French influence on the menus,
35:24but also within the household as well, particularly with chefs, etc.,
35:27with their experience.
35:29And do you know why a French cook should be able to cook the food in Northern Ireland?
35:35Why?
35:36No, I don't, but I'm wondering if you're going to tell me.
35:38Of course, I want to tell you.
35:40Because it's really a great history because it's all part of the great French history
35:44through the revolution.
35:46The chefs were cooking for all the great houses, great castles, and so on,
35:51and suddenly they didn't have a job.
35:53So they all migrated to England, to Russia, to all over Europe to find a job.
36:00And, of course, had a big influence on food in England, what food we are.
36:05And still today, among the repertoire of cuisine,
36:09the French still have a huge influence.
36:11But it's really, really lovely.
36:13Interesting menu, really.
36:14Because I was expecting a long, long 25-course meal.
36:18No, not like that.
36:19Very short.
36:20Very little appetite.
36:22There was still a little bit of rationing going on as well after the Second World War.
36:25So it could be quite difficult to get some of the different foods for the menu.
36:31Consommé Julienne, imagine.
36:32Beautiful, fresh consommé to start with.
36:34Then you move on directly to fillet of sole Véronique,
36:38which was a double sole with grapes.
36:40Roti de Boeuf Garni.
36:42A Frenchman loves to cook roast beef.
36:45Oh, brilliant.
36:46And it's not a pun.
36:47Yeah.
36:48It's real.
36:49Because, yeah, roast beef is really one of the great, great British dish.
36:53So roast beef, asparagus, although it's not the season,
36:57because the season of asparagus is in May, April, May.
37:02Yeah.
37:03So that's a bit late.
37:04You must have imported them from France.
37:05Yeah, that's it.
37:07There's no wine.
37:09Did they drink water?
37:11I don't think so.
37:12That's a good note.
37:13There would have been wine.
37:14It's just that I don't think it's been mentioned on the menu at the time.
37:16What a shame.
37:17Yeah.
37:18Meringue au fraise.
37:19Yep.
37:20Meringue with strawberries.
37:21Correct.
37:22I'm so happy to see that piece of history,
37:24and that's a coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
37:28And, of course, the royal family still stay here to this day.
37:31They have apartments here, and they still have dinners at this very table
37:34and host banquets and receptions.
37:38Inspired by his visit to Hilbre Castle,
37:42to finish, chef has two takes on a rustic French chicken soup
37:46with royal connections,
37:48poulopotte and Asian vermicelli.
37:53The dish that I'm about to do is actually branded in French history.
37:57When the good king Henry IV, way back in the 17th century,
38:02during the famine, declared that every peasant
38:06should have a poulopotte every Sunday.
38:09And if that had happened, believe me, there would be no revolution whatsoever.
38:14So here I've got three liters of water, just water, no stock.
38:18The stock, that's the chicken, the vegetables, the herbs,
38:21that's going to make it, okay?
38:23A nice bit of salt.
38:25Voila.
38:27Just black pepper, which will diffuse spiciness inside the dish.
38:32Bay leaf, and that's enough.
38:35In the past, la poulopotte means a whole chicken.
38:38And usually you would use a hen, an old hen.
38:41Then we had made thousands of eggs, and it was good for the pot.
38:45Instead of the whole chicken, I've got four legs.
38:48And I left one with the skin,
38:50because the skin gives so much more flavor to the stock.
38:53There's so many good fats to be had.
38:55And then you can always skim it off at the end,
38:58and the flavor will remain in the pot.
39:01Voila, I place my chicken legs nicely.
39:04You can easily replace the chicken by turkey, by any meat you want to,
39:08with a sausage de morto as well.
39:10That would be absolutely delicious.
39:13So I'm going to wash my hands.
39:15I've touched the chicken.
39:17Okay, très bien.
39:18So what I have here is a bit of leeks, some onions,
39:21a bit of celery, not too much celery.
39:23It's very, very strong flavors.
39:24Onion, a little bit of turnip, carrots.
39:27So you may wonder why I use cold water.
39:29For a very good reason.
39:31Because when the heat will rise,
39:33it will coagulate all the albumen of the chicken
39:37and lift it to the top, and you want to skim it up
39:39so you have a clear, beautiful stock.
39:42And then slow, slow, gentle simmer.
39:45Very gentle, so the chicken cooks beautifully.
39:49I think for most of us,
39:51soup, chicken soup, or broth,
39:54is about comfort food.
39:56It's about home.
39:58It's about maybe feeling not too well,
40:01and that soup is a huge comfort.
40:04It is light, it is nourishing,
40:07and often when one feels ill or not too well,
40:10a chicken soup is the first thing we call for.
40:13I also understand that I'm not the only one who thinks so.
40:16I have a few words here from the celebrated Auguste Escoffier,
40:20who was a great French chef, modern chef,
40:23way back in 1900.
40:25And he says,
40:26good food is a celebration of genuine happiness.
40:30Oh, I love that one.
40:31Lots of happiness.
40:33Another quote of his,
40:34soup puts the heart at ease,
40:36calms down the violence of anger,
40:39no, hunger, sorry,
40:41and eliminates the tension of the day
40:43and awakens and refines the appetite.
40:46The French can only think of their little tummy,
40:49aren't they?
40:51My soup is nearly coming to a boil,
40:53and you can see it's starting to bubble up.
40:56The protein and the albumen is sitting at the top of it.
41:00Look at that, you see?
41:02And we're going to have a very clear stock afterward.
41:07Very, very clear.
41:10Voila.
41:11Très bien.
41:12And now, slowly, slowly,
41:15we're going to bring it to a gentle simmering point.
41:19One bubble only.
41:20All the flavors of vegetables,
41:22the herbs and the chicken
41:24will merge very, very slowly.
41:26At this stage, place the lid on
41:28and make sure it's not boiling,
41:30because if it's boiling,
41:31you are actually murdering the dish itself.
41:34Okay, so gentle, gentle heat.
41:38I think we have here
41:40the most beautiful private garden.
41:42I remember it so well, this garden,
41:44because I tried to do a four-season herb garden,
41:48and I failed miserably.
41:50So now it's all about wildness.
41:52But in my failure, actually,
41:54we have something, a beautiful wildness,
41:57which is serene,
41:59and very happy to be in here,
42:01to be cooking at the Manoir.
42:03So now, my beautiful poulopo,
42:06that only the force has created
42:09many, many centuries ago,
42:12is ready to be tasted.
42:16It is so delicious.
42:17But I've got a lot of broth,
42:19so I want to show you a little dish
42:21which is so easy to make
42:23and brings a different culture within it.
42:26So pick up a lot of this stock.
42:31Et voilà.
42:33So what you have here,
42:34this gorgeous nest of rice noodles,
42:37okay, that we're going to put aside.
42:39I'm going to prepare my vegetables.
42:41Could be broccoli,
42:42could be a bit of cabbage leaves,
42:44young cabbage leaves,
42:45put them in roughly.
42:49Chili pepper, that's plenty.
42:52That will be the spice.
42:53Leave the seeds in, it's perfect, right?
42:55The seed actually has the least hot part
42:57of the pepper.
43:00A little bit of garlic,
43:01because it's all part of it.
43:05Only half will be plenty.
43:07It's a small portion.
43:13A bit of coriander,
43:14very rough.
43:15You leave all the stock,
43:17it's perfect, right?
43:18Gives a lovely texture
43:20and cut it rough.
43:22And all that will go together
43:24in my broth.
43:25And the onion.
43:28Et voilà.
43:30My onion is ready.
43:32I've taken some dried mushrooms,
43:34chopped them up a little bit
43:36and soaked them with a bit of water.
43:38And that is an extraordinary flavor.
43:41I'm boiling my vermicelli
43:43in the chicken stock for about two minutes.
43:45I'm going to add a little bit
43:47of soy sauce,
43:49not too much.
43:50It's very salty.
43:52My mushrooms, all the mushrooms here.
43:55And now you place
43:57all of your vegetables,
44:00chili, coriander,
44:01bit of cabbage or broccoli,
44:03spring onions.
44:05And just another one minute
44:08and we are ready to serve.
44:10As simple as that.
44:12In your dry cupboards,
44:13please always have dried mushrooms,
44:16vermicelli, noodles, pasta,
44:19passata, all these things
44:20which are easy to make a dish together.
44:23So let's first serve
44:25the poulopo
44:26with the lovely legs.
44:28And the meat should fall apart, no?
44:31If it's beautifully cooked.
44:33So I hope I pass the test.
44:36Okay, so you have these wonderful
44:38vegetables.
44:40Look at that.
44:41Meat together.
44:42And that's really a lovely dish.
44:45And then my other dish,
44:47you just pour it in.
44:49So appetizing, so colorful.
44:52Because the soy sauce
44:53has just seasoned it perfectly.
44:55The chili has just given it
44:56spice, it's fire.
44:58And you finish by a little bit
44:59of spring onions,
45:00make it attractive
45:01and a bit more.
45:03Et voilà.
45:04La poulopo
45:05and the Asian vermicelli.
45:08What we have here is two dishes
45:09from two different cultures.
45:11My French culture,
45:12la poulopo,
45:13a huge traditional dish in France.
45:16And of course,
45:17a little variation
45:19using the stock of the poulopo,
45:21creating a beautiful Asian broth
45:23with lots of spice,
45:24lots of flavors,
45:26and so easy to make.
45:27And I hope you're going to make it
45:28in your own home very soon.
45:31Bon appetit.
45:40I really have enjoyed
45:41discovering Hillsbury Castle.
45:44Of course, for history,
45:46for all the diplomacy around it,
45:48with all the grand architectures.
45:51But the gardens,
45:52it's a wonderful place,
45:54and it's full of colors,
45:55wonderful scents,
45:57and you can,
45:58and it's full of peace,
45:59of course, serenity.
46:01It's really a wonderful
46:02place to come,
46:04and I know I will come back again,
46:06and I hope you will too.
46:08cello plays softly
46:38cello plays softly