Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens episode 7
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Raymond Blanc is passionate about his garden at Le Manoir Quatre Saisons
00:07and the amazing array of fruit and vegetables it provides throughout the year.
00:11Oh, they look so beautiful.
00:13But he's not alone.
00:15His Majesty King Charles III has long championed the kitchen garden
00:20and the importance of growing sustainable, seasonal food.
00:24Now, Raymond has been invited to take a glimpse behind the scenes
00:28at the productive gardens of some of the nation's most 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.
00:42He'll meet the dedicated people who care for these unique gardens.
00:46Little genius. How do you manage?
00:49It's really about inspiring our visitors
00:52and showing people what they can grow in their own gardens.
00:55My celery looks like that already.
00:58He'll celebrate the extraordinary edible treasures they produce
01:02with the chefs who use them every day.
01:06Give me any food, especially when it comes from the garden.
01:09Perfect.
01:10Is the egg runny?
01:12Speechless, chef, speechless.
01:14Absolutely fantastic.
01:16I wouldn't mind having that every day.
01:18Yeah, not bad.
01:20Inspired by his travels, Raymond will also share mouth-watering recipes of his own.
01:26Heavenly.
01:28I 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.
01:41For many years, Raymond and His Majesty the King
01:44have shared a passion for gardening and home-grown produce.
01:49Lifelong loves which have led to mutual respect
01:52and sometimes friendly rivalry.
01:56Way back in 2013, I was invited to be a speaker at Highgrove
02:01in front of the Royal Garden.
02:04Way back in 2013, I was invited to be a speaker at Highgrove
02:09in front of the Zen Prince Charms.
02:12And I visited these wonderful gardens.
02:15Although I found them very beautiful,
02:17I felt I needed to see my own gardens.
02:20And I invited him.
02:22And two or three months after, he came.
02:25And we planted a tree together.
02:29It was a moment I totally treasure.
02:32And I tell you, his tree is far better than mine,
02:35so he must be obviously a better gardener than me.
02:40And the king's commitment to horticulture
02:43is the latest chapter in a long royal tradition
02:46of creating remarkable kitchen gardens.
02:49MUSIC
03:00Today, Raymond is back in the north of Scotland
03:03at the magnificent Castle of May.
03:09The holiday retreat where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth,
03:12the Queen Mother, is said to have felt most at home.
03:16On his last visit, Raymond enjoyed a lesson
03:19in royal dining etiquette with guide Jim.
03:23Welcome to the dining room.
03:25The conversation went round the table, never across.
03:29If it was in France, it doesn't work that way.
03:32Everyone talk at the same time as they listen.
03:35And discovered the challenges of caring for mainland Britain's
03:39most northerly walled garden.
03:43It's not raining unless it's horizontal, you know what I mean?
03:46It's as simple as that. There's always a wind.
03:48I'm shivering already.
03:50And it's only end of July.
03:52Yeah, exactly. It's the middle of summer.
03:57This time, he'll be hearing how the king is continuing
04:00his late grandmother's horticultural legacy.
04:03To come right to the Castle of May,
04:05I never expected to see such gorgeous woods.
04:08Maybe in the south of France,
04:10but not in the right, the north part of Scotland.
04:14Castle chef Martin Duffy will be preparing
04:17two much-loved tastes of Scotland.
04:20Cheese scones and Cullen skink.
04:23It's such a joy to see such a beautiful Scottish dish.
04:26It's so addictive. Yes.
04:29Delicious. No haddock smokiness.
04:34Raymond will also be sharing some fabulous food of his own.
04:37Barbecued langoustine with paprika butter.
04:41And baked peaches with orange and lavender.
04:50It is so lovely to be back at the Castle of May.
04:57Spectacularly positioned high above the windswept coastline
05:01of the Pentland Firth, the Castle of May was built
05:04by the 4th Earl of Caithness in 1573.
05:10Behind its imposing tower and turrets lie fine interiors,
05:14added in 1819 by the 12th Earl,
05:17who turned the 16th-century fortress into a grand Georgian home.
05:26It's a romantic place, full of drama.
05:30The castle's royal links began in 1952
05:33when it was bought by the Queen Mother as a private bolthole.
05:38Today, one of its most famous features
05:41is her magical two-acre kitchen garden.
05:44I cannot wait to visit again these extraordinary gardens.
05:51Protected by high walls and divided into more intimate spaces
05:55by tall hedging,
05:57its clever design offers a sheltered haven
06:00for 150 different varieties of fruit and vegetables.
06:05But today, Raymond's catching up with Head Gardener Chris,
06:09away from the wind, to see some of the castle's more tender specimens.
06:17This is our main glasshouse here,
06:19where we grow most of our vegetables.
06:24These are our peppers that you can see here.
06:27Amazing varieties.
06:29Some nice chillies and buttersquash.
06:32Tomatoes.
06:33Some nice tomatoes there, nice and ripe.
06:35You know, I could imagine I can already do about 25 dishes now,
06:39with all these wonderful fruits.
06:41Tomatoes look good, but I think you've got a little problem here.
06:45See, the skin? Look.
06:47We had a couple of weeks of very hot weather here.
06:49We were sitting at 44.8.
06:52We were actually hosing down the floor every hour
06:56to try and keep...
06:57That was us keeping the temperature at 44.8.
06:59We couldn't get below.
07:01Hence, we're having this with the tomatoes
07:03that you're saying they've had too much heat.
07:05That's what the problem is.
07:06That's why it's peeling like that.
07:09They're still nice, OK.
07:11What has been your biggest challenge here?
07:14Biggest challenge, I would say, was last year.
07:16I decided to show off and grow some melons.
07:20You're a very courageous man.
07:22Why not mangoes?
07:24We are the most northerly walled garden in mainland UK.
07:28So, yeah, we do have our challenges.
07:30You can be outside and it can be reading six.
07:33You come inside, we're in the 30s.
07:35It's getting out of that wind.
07:37We don't get the frosts because everybody thinks it's cold,
07:41but it's more the windburns that we get up here.
07:44So, it's just adapting.
07:45Well, I've got a lot of sympathy for you.
07:47All this difference of temperature, the short winters.
07:49My God, you're doing brilliantly well.
07:51I've seen your garden and I'm so humbled
07:54because you have done so well
07:56and you've done it all mostly by yourself.
07:58Well, thank you.
07:59I've got 12 gardens, so I must do something wrong.
08:06Coming up, Raymond takes a trip along the coast
08:09to find out more about Caithness's connection with the sea.
08:13All around Scotland, there is abundance of fish.
08:16You just have to know where to go.
08:19And castle chef Martin Duffy forages in the garden
08:22for ingredients for two Scottish classics,
08:25cheese scones and Cullen skink.
08:28Not too much.
08:29Oh, you are very mean with that.
08:31Not too much.
08:32Because I'm around and you know that.
08:34You like my food nice.
08:35You've seen it yourself.
08:36I'll give you a little bit more.
08:38Come on, go for it.
08:42Join me after the break.
08:44A bientot.
08:46A bientot.
08:57Welcome back to Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens
09:01and the majestic Castle of May.
09:07When it was purchased by the late Queen Mother
09:09following the death of her husband King George VI,
09:13years of neglect had left the castle in a poor condition
09:17and Her Majesty undertook a painstaking project to restore it
09:21and the surrounding 30-acre estate to their former glory.
09:27Fifty years later, in 2002,
09:30what had long been her private sanctuary
09:32was opened to the public by the then Prince of Wales.
09:38And today, thousands of visitors come to enjoy
09:41its perfectly preserved period interiors
09:43and remarkable seaside setting every year.
09:49It was the breathtaking coastal scenery
09:52which in part drew the Queen Mother to the spectacular north of Scotland.
09:57So Raymond's travelled a few miles from the castle
10:00on the hunt for more culinary inspiration.
10:04I love the produce of Scotland,
10:07especially around the seas of Scotland.
10:10There's such a bounty of fish, different varieties.
10:14And for a chef, it is something really that special.
10:21The UK's most northerly mainland port,
10:24Scrabster is a vital gateway
10:27to the fertile but perilous fishing grounds of the Atlantic.
10:32Local fisherman Jay has been battling the elements
10:35to catch some of Scotland's finest seafood for almost four decades.
10:42Jay. Good morning. Nice to meet you.
10:44Pleased to meet you too, Raymond.
10:46At the Castle of May, I was really watching the most extraordinary scenery
10:50where Earth meets sea, and the North Sea meeting the Atlantic.
10:55It was quite a beautiful sight.
10:57Are these waters treachery and difficult?
11:01Well, we call it... It's known as the Pentland Firth.
11:04Yes, you have to have a bit of respect for that.
11:07In the wind and the tide against each other,
11:09there's a few boats in the rocks here.
11:11And what kind of fish do you catch?
11:13Line caught mackerel and pollock,
11:15but there's also, in the fish market here,
11:17there'll be haddock, cod, leng, pollock, seith.
11:21We get some longistines, we get scallops landed here.
11:24Quite a variety. So much beautiful fish.
11:27A variety of fish.
11:28And we have some deepwater fish as well,
11:30like blue leng and black halibut.
11:33And no big fat cod with eyes like that?
11:36Oh, some big cod, yeah.
11:38All around Scotland, there is abundance of fish.
11:41You just have to know where to go.
11:43And maybe, I think, we should enjoy more
11:46of this extraordinary quality of beautiful food in our own homes.
11:51Yes, we should eat more local product. It's beautiful.
11:54You're talking about air miles and distance miles,
11:57food travel in these days.
11:59You should eat more local.
12:00It's all down to educating people,
12:02to get generations of people into the way.
12:04Years ago, yes, a lot of the fish sold here was eaten locally.
12:08You have kids yourself. Do your kids eat fish?
12:10Oh, they're mad for fish, my kids.
12:12They're all grown up now, they all work.
12:14I always taught them that fish was brain food.
12:17OK.
12:18Well, I think it worked because they're all quite clever.
12:20I've learned as well that you worked in France for two years in Dieppe.
12:24Yes, I worked there.
12:25What did you learn from that?
12:27I learned how to cook French cuisine.
12:29By the captain.
12:30Yes, I could only cook mince and potatoes and British food,
12:33but I learned how to cook it to your style of cooking.
12:36In France, the children are educated in cooking in the school,
12:40how to deal with seafood, crabs, shellfish, whitefish.
12:43They're taught how to cook it, which I think in this country
12:46don't get educated in school how to handle seafood properly.
12:49Too much fast food, too much prepared food.
12:51People don't have time or think they don't have time.
12:54But to be fair, we live a very stressed life.
12:57But what a shame, OK, not to understand how important food is
13:01and to have a meal together across the table with your family.
13:05Yeah.
13:06So it should happen at least twice or three times a week.
13:08Oh, I agree totally. They should make time.
13:10Although you're retired, you're still fishing.
13:12Can you tell me why?
13:14Well, after 38 years, I think it's in the blood.
13:17You have to, yeah.
13:18Yes.
13:19You'll see a lot of fishermen.
13:21Though they're old, we passed one earlier on.
13:23He's late 60s, he's still fishing, you know.
13:27So it's in the blood.
13:31And Raymond has a fitting tribute
13:33to honour Keith Ness' heroic fisherman,
13:36barbecued longustines with paprika butter.
13:41My favourite dishes are most often the simplest one.
13:46And here we've got these wonderful longustines from Scotland,
13:50and I'm simply going to grill them.
13:52Three minutes and you have a feast.
13:55But I must say, I always like to add a little bit of complications.
13:58I'm going to give the choice of two butters,
14:01so you can choose which one you prefer.
14:03I'm going to do a hot smoked paprika butter,
14:06and chilli, and lemon.
14:08And here I am going to do a beautiful herb butter, traditional.
14:11OK, with garlic, with shallots, parsley, tarragon, and butter.
14:16That's a lot of butter, but you can actually roll it and freeze it.
14:21So my first butter, smoked paprika.
14:24See what a nice colour. Be generous with it.
14:27Voilà.
14:30A little bit of salt.
14:33The chilli.
14:34Or you can use chilli powder if you want to.
14:38So now we're going to make it very fine.
14:41Voilà.
14:43And that will give that lovely, lovely spice.
14:48So you hold your blades this way,
14:50and just let it balance itself very nicely.
14:54So it's up to you.
14:55There are so many wonderful butters you can use.
14:57You know, algae, anchovies,
15:00so many amazing flavours you can put into your butter.
15:06I think that's good.
15:08Oh, what's happened to that one?
15:10It escaped.
15:12Absolutely.
15:13Hey, you.
15:19So yeah, that goes in my butter here.
15:24Now we're going to add a little bit of lemon.
15:27That's enough. Plenty.
15:30So all that you have to do now is to mix it together.
15:35So that you notice I've done a great deal.
15:38So you can roll it up, like I've just done here.
15:44In a greaseproof paper, lock it up in the deep freeze.
15:48That will keep forever.
15:50So any excess, you can refrigerate it or freeze it.
15:55Voilà.
15:56So let's taste.
16:00That little bit of lemon juice makes that difference.
16:04Sharpen it up, bring it alive.
16:06The smokiness comes through.
16:08Spiciness as well.
16:10So now my first butter is done.
16:12Now to her butter.
16:14So first, shallot.
16:16Shallot.
16:24Voilà.
16:36This is the first part.
16:38A bit of fresh garlic.
16:40So use a bit of salt to brown them.
16:46The great thing about these butters
16:48is you can do a multitude of flavours and colours.
16:51It's not just about langoustines.
16:53You can use them in so many wonderful dishes.
16:56So on a steak, for example, that chilli butter will do better.
17:00And that one by some beautiful prawn pescargo.
17:03I know not many of you will, but why not?
17:07Try it.
17:12So yeah.
17:14Voilà.
17:15I'm going to do now my herbs.
17:17Parsley.
17:18Because they've got a lot of stalks, those parsley.
17:21Yeah.
17:22So I'm going to remove some of it.
17:24I'll keep that for a soup.
17:25I will not throw it away.
17:27Now a bit of tarragon.
17:29Tarragon is so beautiful.
17:31These langoustines absolutely love it.
17:33Slightly aniseed.
17:37Roll it together.
17:43Again.
17:46Oh, beautiful smell.
17:48Parsley, tarragon.
17:49All the garden is here.
17:52Oh, tarragon is such a little-used herb,
17:55and yet it's so characteristic.
17:57It's got that lovely sweetness, aniseed flavour.
18:04And with a bit of salt now, of course.
18:08Two pinches.
18:10A bit of pepper.
18:14And that's called escargot butter.
18:17You can always add a bit of chervil,
18:19but the escargot love it.
18:21And the Frenchmen love escargot.
18:23But now more and more Englishmen and women love escargot too.
18:28Voilà.
18:32And now we're going to do a little bit of butter.
18:36Voilà.
18:40Just mix a lot, so simple.
18:43So now my butters are done.
18:45My langoustines I'm going to wash with olive oil.
18:57So of course, langoustines are very expensive,
18:59but you can do it with many other shellfish,
19:02or indeed some prawns which are less expensive,
19:05and they are delicious.
19:06But that is a treat.
19:08From Scotland.
19:13You can do them directly under your grill at home,
19:17and that will take exactly the same amount of time.
19:22Hey, you.
19:24I couldn't tell, but a few new potatoes.
19:26Those are the first José potatoes that I've cooked here.
19:30And all that I'm going to do is to add a bit of that herb butter,
19:33which is going to create a lovely emulsion with the water I put in here.
19:38So our new potatoes are on.
19:40Okay.
19:41So look at that.
19:43Nice color.
19:48Voilà.
19:49Perfect.
19:50My potatoes are ready.
19:51I'm going to do my paprika butter.
19:54Melt it down with a little bit of water to create a lovely emulsion.
20:00My potatoes.
20:01Yes.
20:05Hot smoked paprika butter is done.
20:09My beautiful langoustine is ready.
20:11Et voilà.
20:27You pour that beautiful butter
20:30lovely emulsion onto your langoustine.
20:35And that's heavenly.
20:38We have a very simple dish here of grilled langoustine
20:41with paprika butter.
20:43Bon appétit.
20:44Hey, let's not forget the little José potatoes.
20:47They are delicious.
20:48C'est parfait.
20:50Bon appétit.
20:55Coming up.
20:56Castle chef Martin Duffy cooks a tasty duo of Scottish treats.
21:02Cheese scones and Cullen skink.
21:05Wow, the smell is absolutely amazing.
21:07The cheese scone looks very attractive.
21:10I like it very much.
21:13And Raymond discovers some surprising royal riches with head gardener Chris.
21:19All the big houses wanted to have something that could show off,
21:22so why not have a peach?
21:27Welcome back to Raymond Blanc's royal kitchen gardens
21:31and the stately Castle of May.
21:34Today, Raymond's back in Scotland,
21:36discovering the horticultural delights of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
21:40the Queen Mother's treasured retreat.
21:43This is our main glasshouse here.
21:45I couldn't imagine a canola house without a canola.
21:48It's a beautiful place.
21:49It's a beautiful place.
21:50It's a beautiful place.
21:51It's a beautiful place.
21:52It's a beautiful place.
21:53This is our main glasshouse here.
21:54I couldn't imagine a canola to do about 25 dishes now.
21:58With all these wonderful fruits.
22:02Later, chef will be having a privileged peek at a highly prized royal harvest
22:08before creating an easy, elegant dessert to die for.
22:11His baked peaches with lavender and orange.
22:15All the fruits are wrapping very beautifully
22:18and I've decided to do a simple dish.
22:24For five decades, the late Queen Mother returned to the tranquility of Caithness
22:30and the Castle of May every summer
22:32to enjoy a brief escape from the demands of her official duties.
22:38It's a custom King Charles III has maintained
22:41since he inherited the castle when she passed away in 2002.
22:45Today, head gardener Chris still takes great pride in caring
22:49for the quiet corner of the estate his Majesty's grandmother was most fond of.
22:56This is the Queen Mother's shell garden.
22:58She used to love to come into the garden, sit on the bench
23:01and just sit and enjoy the smell coming off of the roof.
23:04It's a lovely place.
23:05It's a lovely place.
23:06It's a lovely place.
23:07It's a lovely place.
23:08It's a lovely place.
23:09It's a lovely place.
23:10It's a lovely place.
23:11It's a lovely place.
23:12It's a lovely place.
23:13Just sit and enjoy the smell coming off of the roses.
23:16Having the wall behind her, she's got that nice bit of heat and protection.
23:20She used to collect shells, hence that we actually use the shells
23:23around the roses just to set them off.
23:26The benches are a very popular spot for the public.
23:28They love to sit there.
23:30To keep them looking good and flush, we give them a good bit of feed.
23:34Every second year, we'll give it a good dose of a good old rotted horse muck.
23:38And in between it, what I do like to use is an organic fertilizer
23:42which is just a chicken manure.
23:44I find that very good for them.
23:46And if I think they're lacking a wee bit of colour, I do use a little cheat
23:50and I'll give them a wee thing of Epsom salts.
23:53It's a little tonic, a wee pick-me-up, because it just greens them up.
23:57Coming here, it's like a different little heaven.
23:59The little birds are singing their hearts out.
24:01You're full of perfume.
24:02It's so peaceful.
24:04Yet, we're so northerly, it's unbelievable.
24:06You wouldn't expect to come into this.
24:08I feel very lucky to work here.
24:10It's very special to me.
24:14As well as the Queen Mother's adored roses,
24:16the Walled Garden is also home to an enviable feast of edible produce too.
24:21And resident chef Martin Duffy is combing the veg beds
24:25in search of fresh ingredients to give Raymond another taste of the castle on a plate.
24:32Just pulled some lovely spring onions, as fresh as a daisy from the garden.
24:35There's some lovely beetroots, carrots,
24:37and we've got some lovely kale and broccoli.
24:41We have some leeks here.
24:42There's three varieties.
24:44I use them for leek and potato soup, along with potatoes.
24:47We've got a lot of potatoes in the garden.
24:49This is broad beans.
24:50I love broad beans.
24:52They're a spectacular vegetable.
24:53I really like them.
24:54Just blanch them, refresh, and then just lightly fry them
24:59with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper.
25:02I often use them as a garnish to a fish dish.
25:05Vibrant green colour, and only a couple of minutes' walk from my kitchen.
25:12The location, the spectacular views that we have, it's quite a special place.
25:16I can see why Queen Mother wanted to stay here, because it's stunning.
25:36Back in the charming setting of the castle's 1950s kitchen,
25:40where meals were prepared for the Queen Mother for five decades,
25:44Martin's treating Raymond to his take on two tasty Scots favourites,
25:49cheese and onion scones with Cullen skink.
25:54So what are you going to cook for us today?
25:56We're going to make cheese scones,
25:58and what I'm going to do is make you a traditional Scottish soup
26:01to go alongside the scone, which I think will compliment it very nice.
26:04Cullen skink.
26:06Cullen, no Cullen, skink.
26:08Cullen skink, yeah.
26:09Soup that originated in the town of Cullen on the North Aberdeenshire coastline, yeah.
26:14So what do you have here?
26:16This is the self-raising flour and the baking powder.
26:18Self-raising and baking powder to make sure the scones go up.
26:22Go up, yes.
26:23And then we'll put in our unsalted butter.
26:26So now what do you put on?
26:27Cheese, yeah.
26:28All of it?
26:29Yes, cheddar cheese.
26:30Some spring onions and red onions from the garden.
26:33It'll be very nice.
26:34More flavour.
26:35I'm going to start putting some cheese into my scones soon.
26:38Ah, cool.
26:40I think I'll put in the seasoning as well.
26:42So you put your salt and pepper here?
26:44Yes, salt and pepper.
26:45Very little, eh?
26:46Not a lot.
26:50And put in this milk here.
26:55Martina's father, about 52 years ago,
26:58came, her first job was in a pub, and the chef fell ill.
27:01So the boss asked, who can cook?
27:03I said, I can.
27:04And my first job was to do the scones.
27:06So totally, it's an old part of my culture.
27:09I thought, what's that?
27:11But actually I managed quite well because those very recipes
27:15are still at the manor today.
27:17Is it, yeah?
27:18So you must taste my scones one day, OK?
27:20Yeah, will do.
27:21I think this could be the right consistency we've got here just now.
27:24OK.
27:27Ah, voilà.
27:28I love to see all these colours, these textures.
27:31It looks appetising.
27:33It's quite fun, eh?
27:34You don't want them too hard, do you?
27:36No, no, no.
27:37OK, Raymond, what we'll do now is put them on a baking tray.
27:40OK.
27:41Brush it with some milk.
27:42Then we'll put a little bit more cheddar cheese on top,
27:44and then we'll finish it with some toasted seeds.
27:46OK.
27:47Put them in at probably 195 for five or six minutes,
27:50and then they probably take about another 10 minutes at 170.
27:53Yeah.
27:54And then that'll be them ready.
27:55So the first part is for the colour and the rice.
27:57Yeah, the rice, and then to bake.
27:59Parfait.
28:01OK, Raymond, what I'm going to do is make you
28:03a traditional Scottish soup, Cullen Skink,
28:05to go alongside the scone.
28:07I love this traditional flavour of the smoked haddock.
28:10Haddock is landed in Scrabster.
28:12The smokehouse is only about four or five miles from the castle,
28:15like you know.
28:16We've got some shallots out of Castle Garden,
28:18King Edward potatoes from the garden as well.
28:20OK, yeah.
28:21Rapeseed oil in here just now.
28:23That's very unusual in Scotland.
28:25Yeah, a little bit of rapeseed oil,
28:26to keep us all healthy.
28:27OK, très bien.
28:28And now we'll add the shallots.
28:30You don't want to brown them, eh?
28:31No, I just want them opaque.
28:33So you sweeten them?
28:34Yeah.
28:35Now what I like to do is put a little bit
28:37of the smoked haddock in with the shallots,
28:40just to get a little bit of flavour.
28:42Not a lot, just a little bit.
28:44No more than that?
28:45Yeah, just a little bit.
28:46Yeah, a little bit more taste, eh?
28:47Yeah, more flavour, just to get it in for the shallots.
28:50I love the smell.
28:51What an absolutely gorgeous smell.
28:53Rapeseed oil, smoked haddock,
28:55shallots from the garden.
28:56Yeah.
28:57Very nicely, yeah.
28:58We sweat this down, yeah?
29:00Then I'll add some milk.
29:02Then we'll cook the potatoes in the milk, yeah?
29:04Yeah.
29:05And then at the end,
29:06I will have my haddock sliced nicely into portion sizes.
29:10I will take the soup off the heat
29:12and put the haddock into the thing
29:14and let the haddock cook.
29:15And what about adding, for example,
29:17vegetables such as a leek?
29:19You could add what you want, that works.
29:21What you want, exactly.
29:22Leeks would give lovely colour as well.
29:24OK, Raymond, that's sweated down enough now,
29:26so put a few potatoes in there.
29:28I think that's enough.
29:30We'll just cover up with more milk just now.
29:32Yeah, it's a rich soup, you know?
29:34Yeah, yeah.
29:35But you want it because,
29:36I understand you want it here
29:37because the winters are hard,
29:38so you need that juiciness, richness,
29:41in order to keep you doing your day.
29:43Voila.
29:44Ah, sprinkle that in here.
29:46And then just give it a wee stir in here
29:48in the residual heat then.
29:50Once this is cooked, we will enrich it slightly
29:52with a wee bit of the double cream
29:54and then we'll finish it off.
29:55Double?
29:56Yeah, and then we'll finish it off.
29:58You're serious about your cream?
29:59Yeah, a little bit, but not too much, yeah.
30:02And then a little bit of double cream
30:03and finish it off with the chopped chives from the garden
30:06and then it'll be us.
30:08So that's just a bit ready.
30:10Very simple to make.
30:11Very simple, but very tasty, yeah.
30:13Not too much.
30:15Oh, you are very mean with double cream, eh?
30:17Not too much.
30:18Because I'm around, you know that,
30:19you like my food light, eh?
30:20Ah, you've seen it yourself,
30:21I'll give you a little bit more.
30:23But you're getting no more than that.
30:24Come on, go for it, please.
30:26Make it really Scottish, eh?
30:28No, that's good.
30:29So I'm happy with that, I think.
30:32When I came in Scotland the first time,
30:34about 25 years ago,
30:36that's the first dish I had.
30:38But I felt there was too much whiskey in it.
30:40You know, I like whiskey,
30:41and I don't think I'd ever like whiskey
30:43in any kind of soup.
30:44So there was so much whiskey in that soup,
30:46and you got drunk.
30:48But I love the idea of the smoke,
30:52the flavour it gives.
30:54And you're a bit mean all the time.
30:56Can you have a bit more, please?
30:57I'm just mean all over, isn't I?
30:58A bit of green, a bit of the garden, you know?
31:00Yes, a little bit of that.
31:01All right, we'll get the scones now, yeah?
31:03Wow, the smell is absolutely amazing.
31:06The cheese scone looks very attractive,
31:08beautiful colours, beautiful textures.
31:11I like it very much.
31:13It looks a lovely dish.
31:21Really delicious.
31:22And that smokiness, I like it,
31:24because it's not over-cured,
31:26it's not over-smoked.
31:28It's delicate.
31:29Yeah, it's delicate.
31:30It's one of my favourite soups.
31:31Yeah, yeah.
31:32It is so lovely.
31:33It's so addictive.
31:34Yes, yes.
31:35It's delicious.
31:36The smokiness is...
31:38You could add a lot more cream to that,
31:40thicken it up much more,
31:41make it more unctuous,
31:42but then a lot more calories, you know?
31:44So I like to try and make it not too...
31:46I know my Scottish friends like to dip...
31:49Yeah, yeah.
31:50...the cheese scone in the soup.
31:52So are the French.
31:54Let's try it, see how it works.
32:00It works, definitely.
32:02It's such a joy to see such a beautiful Scottish dish
32:05being eaten in the Queen's Mother's kitchen.
32:08It's a lovely kitchen.
32:09It's special.
32:10Martin, beautiful meal.
32:11Thank you very much.
32:12Give me a big hug.
32:13All right, thank you very much.
32:14Thank you very much, mate.
32:15Cheers.
32:24Whether it's the luxurious flavours
32:26of Raymond's Barbecue Longysteen...
32:31...or the hearty taste of smoked haddock,
32:34Scotland's waters are blessed with a wealth of wonderful fish.
32:39And here's a simple step-by-step guide
32:42to help you create a contemporary twist
32:44on one of its most famous varieties.
32:54Start by combining grated red beetroot
32:56with chopped fresh dill.
33:02Add lemon zest,
33:04sea salt,
33:06caster sugar
33:08and ground pepper.
33:13Spread half of the mixture on a baking sheet.
33:17Arrange the salmon on top and cover with the rest.
33:22Place in the fridge for six hours,
33:24which will allow the salt to draw the moisture out of the salmon
33:27and lightly cure it.
33:30Next, thinly slice golden beetroot.
33:34Place in a bowl and season.
33:40Add vinegar
33:43and olive oil.
33:45Then leave to one side to lightly pickle.
33:50To plain yoghurt, add horseradish.
33:54To plain yoghurt, add horseradish,
33:58cayenne pepper,
34:02lemon juice and salt.
34:05Then mix.
34:08To serve, carefully remove the marinade
34:13before slicing thickly and chopping into dice.
34:18Spoon into a ring and press down.
34:23Top with the horseradish cream and pickled beetroot.
34:27Then garnish with sprigs of dill
34:31for the perfect pairing of land and sea.
34:35MUSIC
34:52Coming up, Raymond risks all
34:54for a bite of some royal forbidden fruit.
34:58I feel very tempted to have one.
35:00But I don't know if I can.
35:02If I can, just in case the king decides to put me in the Tower of London
35:06for stealing his beautiful peaches.
35:09And he creates an elegant dessert dedicated to His Majesty.
35:14Baked peaches with orange, lavender and Chantilly cream.
35:20I hope you really enjoy it.
35:22Maybe with a little glass of champagne bubbles
35:24or indeed sparkling one.
35:26British.
35:33MUSIC
35:38Welcome back to Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens.
35:43This time he's been revelling in the rugged splendour
35:46of the Castle of May in Scotland.
35:49This difference of temperature, the short winters,
35:51my God, you're doing brilliantly well.
35:53I've seen your garden and I'm so humbled.
35:57Inspired by the fantastic produce he's found,
36:00Raymond's shared two sublime salutes to Scots seafood.
36:04Barbecued longustines with paprika butter
36:07and beetroot-marinated salmon tartare.
36:12Later, he'll be serving a divine dessert
36:14in honour of one of His Majesty's best-loved fruits.
36:18It's an extraordinarily simple dessert.
36:20You have that jus, which is absolutely...
36:24..wonderful, and you can feel that lavender,
36:26which has permeated that flavour.
36:29But first, head gardener Chris is keen to show Raymond
36:33an unexpected feature of the castle,
36:35which is a firm favourite of King Charles III.
36:40Would you look at that? May I touch her?
36:43Yeah, you can have a bit of touch.
36:46So blushing and beautiful colours.
36:49What an incredible sight, because you expect peaches
36:52to be grown at this very moment in the south of Holland.
36:56But not in the right, the north part of Scotland.
37:00All the big houses always wanted to have something
37:03they could show off to their guests or whatever.
37:06So why not have a peach?
37:09Oh, they look beautiful.
37:11And I feel very tempted to have one.
37:13But I don't know if I can.
37:15If I can, just in case the king decides to put me in the Tower of London
37:19for stealing his beautiful peaches.
37:21I'm sure we might manage something for you there.
37:23Really?
37:24Hey, have you got a knife?
37:26Yeah.
37:27Well, here we go.
37:28Smudge your fingers.
37:29Thank you very much.
37:35Oh!
37:36I got it right.
37:38I got two.
37:40I will be in big trouble, eh?
37:42So let's have a look.
37:46No chemicals?
37:47Oh, definitely no chemicals on it, no.
37:49Oh, look at that.
37:51It's a beautiful flesh.
37:54Oh, mon Dieu, c'est incroyable.
37:56Thank you.
37:57It's a little present.
37:58So a Frenchman knows how to share, no?
38:00Mm.
38:01Still a little bit of a way to go, but nearly there.
38:04Not too bad, though.
38:07Now you can see you've had one of the royal peaches.
38:09I'm really so impressed.
38:11And a bit envious, I must say,
38:13that you can grow these beautiful peaches at the Castle of May,
38:16and I've not been able to.
38:18So I'm going to try very hard.
38:21Maybe you can give me the recipe,
38:23you can give me the quality of the soil you are using here,
38:26but they are so delicious.
38:28I'll have to come down and try yours once you've got them growing.
38:31All you have to do is remember that because they flower in February,
38:35we actually have to put on heating
38:38just to bring up the temperature a little bit.
38:41There's very little insects going around,
38:44so obviously you can get varieties now that are self-pollinating,
38:47so you don't have to worry so much,
38:49because the old way was you would actually have to have come out
38:52with a rabbit's tail, and you would actually go over the flowers
38:55with the little rabbit's tail and dust them,
38:57just to get them to pollinate.
38:59So if you buy a self-pollinator...
39:01But if you get a self-pollinator, you wouldn't have to worry about that,
39:03but you just have to get a slight frost protection in the early months.
39:06I love to see your professionalism,
39:08and I love to see your knowledge,
39:11and to come right to the Castle of May,
39:14I never expected to see such gorgeous fruits.
39:17I just think it's my everyday job, it's as simple as that.
39:20It's been a pleasure to meet you.
39:22Thank you, same.
39:27In homage to his time at the Castle of May and its current custodian,
39:31Chef's final dish is baked peaches with orange and lavender.
39:39We're right in the middle of the summer,
39:42all the fruits are ripening very beautifully,
39:45and I've decided to do a simple dish,
39:48which I'm sure you'll be happy.
39:50Actually, this dish was created not by me,
39:52but actually by my son Olivier,
39:54a baked peach with lavender.
39:56And lavender, I really believe, is underused.
39:58It's got the most wonderful fragrance,
40:01it has got the most gorgeous color,
40:03because when you see lavender, you think of Provence,
40:06you think of the sun, and that makes you smile.
40:08Well, it makes me smile anyway.
40:10And it smells delicious, and it will add to those peaches
40:13a wonderful flavor.
40:15So I've got four peaches here, perfectly ripe.
40:17And that's very important, because that's why you have
40:19all the perfumes, the tenderness, fantastic flavors and textures.
40:24And then all you have to do is to
40:27just a little cross like that, not deep.
40:30That will be easy after to remove the skin.
40:33What I want to do is to accompany my peaches with the jus.
40:37And the jus of the peach will come out, but that's not enough.
40:41So I've got a piece of lemon here,
40:43and the lemon will lengthen the flavor.
40:46The acidity is very much part of the buildup of flavors.
40:50Otherwise it will be flat.
40:52Okay, so I've got my lemon, and now we're going to squeeze the orange.
40:57And squeeze that, juice it up very nicely, see?
41:00You shall waste not. Okay, that's very much part of it.
41:04Et voilà.
41:06Now I'm going to put all these ingredients together in one pot.
41:09The butter, only 15 grams.
41:12There's only 6 grams of fat per fruit.
41:16I'm going to add to the butter the orange juice.
41:20I'm going to add a bit of vanilla.
41:23Not too much.
41:25So I'm using a vanilla puree, which you can buy anywhere now in supermarkets.
41:29So easy, and that will give that wonderful fragrance as well.
41:33So then some beautiful brown sugar.
41:36There's only 15 grams, okay, no more.
41:40So then I put a bit of lemon juice as well, for sharpness.
41:46Two twigs of lavender in the jus.
41:50Voilà.
41:53That is simple as that, okay?
41:55And that will create the most extraordinary, beautiful jus,
41:58where all the flavors are going to mingle together,
42:01and you'll see the power of the lavender.
42:05So in.
42:07So in the oven.
42:09160 degrees for 25 minutes.
42:13And then we will take it out and rest it for another 15 minutes.
42:17Why?
42:19Because the residual heat will permeate right through the peach without overcooking it.
42:24And if you overcook it, the flesh gets pappy, and it's soft.
42:28No, too soft, okay?
42:30It will crumble, and it will collapse.
42:32We don't want any collapse.
42:34We want flavor.
42:35We want wonderful textures.
42:37And that's why the resting time is that important.
42:42Voilà.
42:44Yes.
42:45That's gorgeous.
42:46It's a lovely jus.
42:48And I'm going to rest it so more juices come out.
42:52So now I'm going to do a shortening cream.
42:56The very simple cream is about 10 grams of sugar.
43:00I like cuisine which doesn't punish you.
43:02Just a little bit of excess.
43:04So you can have it or not.
43:05You choose.
43:06Okay?
43:13Make sure when you do a cream, you just don't overbeat it.
43:17Otherwise, you'll separate the butterflies.
43:19And you can put a bit of vanilla if you want to.
43:22Thickening beautifully.
43:24So you can see the texture has already changed.
43:28We're nearly there.
43:31That's lovely.
43:33No more.
43:34If you go a bit more, the cream will separate.
43:37And you'll make butter.
43:44Wow.
43:45I think that's it.
43:47So my peach has rested.
43:49There's more juice escaping from them.
43:53You can smell it from here.
43:55You can smell it from here.
43:57It's a mingling of lavender.
43:58It's absolutely fabulous.
44:00So I'm going to take one out here.
44:05So now I'm ready to peel my peach.
44:08The skin should fall away beautifully.
44:11Yes, it does.
44:13You see the lovely blushing colors here.
44:15She's very ripe and beautiful fruit that you would want to give to anyone you love.
44:20Full of that summer, that sun and that sweetness.
44:24All that you have to do now is to collect that lovely juice.
44:28There's plenty of it.
44:30It's an extraordinarily simple dessert.
44:32And you have that juice, which is absolutely wonderful.
44:37And you can feel that lavender, which has permeated that flavor.
44:40And this wonderful complexity.
44:42The peach juice, the lemon, the orange juice.
44:45And of course, a little bit of lavender.
44:48I hope you really enjoyed it.
44:50Maybe a little glass of champagne bubbles.
44:53Or indeed, sparkling one.
44:55British.
44:56¶¶
45:16I can certainly understand why the Queen Mother loved it so much here.
45:22It's a romantic place full of drama.
45:25And above all, there's an abundance of beautiful produce.
45:29I am absolutely amazed with what they can grow.
45:33It is such a special place.
45:36It may be a castle, but actually, it feels like home.
45:40¶¶
46:09¶¶