New On BBC Food In February, 2008

Written by TVSA Team from the blog BBC Food on 04 Feb 2008
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New on BBC Food in February, 2008:

Masterchef Goes Large Season 1
Premiere date: Monday, 4 February 2008 at 19h30
(Five half-hour episodes in a row - from 19h30 to 22h00)

Top chef and restaurateur John Torode, and vegetable guru Gregg Wallace are looking for the country's next star chef. Ninety six would-be-chefs are whittled down to a mere four in a series of gruelling challenges.

First they have to invent a dish from scratch in 30 minutes. Next, the 3 most talented will have to survive being thrown into the heat of a professional kitchen.

Finally, they will have to wow the judges with a 2-course meal.

TVSA Masterchef Goes Large Mini-site.

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Beyond River Cottage
Premiere date: Sunday, 10 February, 2008 at 14h00
(Five half-hour episodes weekly - from 14h00 - 16h30)

Food enthusiast Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his growing family are moving on from the cottage to a small farm nearby. Looking for a way to make the family farm financially viable he takes the tenancy on a ramshackle collection of old diary buildings which he plans to develop as a new culinary enterprise.

Episodes are as follows:

Episode 1
With 44 acres the farm has 10 times more land than he had at River Cottage, which allows for a lot more veg and livestock than his family needs. With this in mind Hugh is unable to resist the opportunity to expand further.

Episode 2
A few weeks later, Hugh's farm is still filled with mud and muck. He sets himself a ludicrous two-week deadline to create a working kitchen and a charming dining room out of the filth, after which he hopes to kick off his themed seasonal nights.

Episode 3
Hugh's sow Maggie is due to give birth to piglets. While he waits for Maggie to give birth, he must install proper plumbing and loos before he can welcome members of the public to The River Cottage HQ.

Episode 4
It's the opening night of The River Cottage HQ. For the first time Hugh hopes to serve food to 40 paying guests and he wants to cook them something spectacular. He chooses lobster. There's been a report of a three-foot lobster living on a wreck off the Dorset coast, and Hugh and his diving pal Tim Rudkin set off with a giant home-made metal trap to try and catch it.

Episode 5
Hugh has been invited to an Easter Blossom Picnic Party, where the stakes are high in a competition for the best picnic. Hugh gets into the swing of things and, with mushroom-hunter John Wright, goes to great lengths to find one of the most prized seasonal mushrooms around - morells - for his picnic terrine.

Episode 6
Hugh is tempted into installing beehives at The River Cottage HQ in order to reap the harvest of the bees' hard work. The only problem is his fear of being stung. He also takes on his biggest event yet, a wedding party. The newly-weds want food that is not only local and fresh but either wild or home-grown.

Episode 7
Hugh teams up with Lyme Regis fisherman John Wason to catch, cook and flog John's favourite fruit of the sea - whelks. Spiced up with some exotic ingredients from the polytunnel, they sell them on the beaches on Carnival day.

Episode 8
At River Cottage HQ, with the help of bee-keeper Ken Bishop, Hugh carefully extracts a healthy 25lbs of glowing golden sweetness. To prove the quality of the harvest, and his skills with honey in the kitchen, Hugh enters the bee-keeping classes at the Melplash Country Show.

Episode 9
Hugh's going with the seasonal flow and planning a menu for a special Autumn feast at River Cottage HQ. His hens have produced almost 30 chicks over the summer, and Hugh's looking to the young cockerels to provide the main course for the feast.

Episode 10
It's Christmas and Hugh is preparing for River Cottage HQ's final event of the year. The plan is to shoot, harvest, gather and cook enough food to furnish the tables for a magnificent medieval festive banquet.

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Tony & Giorgio
Premiere date: Monday, 18 February 2008 at 18h00
(Double episodes of a half hour each)

For Tony Allan and Giorgio Locatelli, cooking is about everything we eat, on any occasion, at any time of day. Tony and Giorgio's recipes enable viewers to cook simple, practical, healthy food for the 21st Century.

Episodes are as follows:

Episode 1
On a trip to Italy, the pair visit a bakery where ciabatta is sold by the metre. Back in the UK, they visit the best suppliers, and dish up mushroom risotto, lamb wellington, and wild berries with frozen yoghurt.

Episode 2
Tony loves fishing, while Giorgio loathes it - but they both think the British should cook more fish. They serve up pan-fried wild salmon with balsamic vinegar, crab linguine, griddled tuna, and eels with mashed potato and mustard buerre blanc.

Episode 3
Tony and Giorgio hate to waste food. In this episode, Giorgio rustles up a panzanella for his staff - an Italian salad made with leftover bread - and Tony reveals the secret of his bread-and-butter pudding.

Episode 4
The morning after the night before, Giorgio opts for fresh zabaglione, while Tony visits a traditional greasy-spoon cafe. They spend the rest of the day cooking up treats including fish and chips, a chorizo sandwich, and Giorgio's rescue remedy - spaghetti with tuna and anchovy.

Episode 5
Tony and Giorgio meet up with ex-footballer Vinnie Jones and his gamekeeper father to compare methods of cooking pheasant - and prepare Giorgio's classic pheasant ravioli, smoked haddock and ricotta tart and roast grouse with porridge risotto.

Episode 6
Tony and Giorgio brave the English weather to prepare an outdoor meal for footballer-turned-actor, Vinnie Jones. The menu includes Italian vegetable tart, seafood skewers and peaches in red wine.

Episode 7
Tony and Giorgio demonstrate real food for kids, including minestrone soup with alphabet pasta, authentic pizza and a chocolate cake made without eggs.

Episode 8
Tony and Giorgio return to the basics - simple food, wine, and good company - in the last of the series. On the menu are red onion, parmesan and green bean salad, chicken stew with lemon and artichoke, and summer berry pudding.

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The Thirsty Traveller Season 4
Premiere date: Sunday, 24 February 2008 at 14h00
(Five half-hour episodes weekly - from 14h00 - 16h30)

A journey into the heart of the world's greatest wine, beer and spirit producing regions, celebrating the essential character of each, from the sun-drenched hills of California to the old-world charm of the Rhone Valley in France, with guide Kevin Brauch.

Episodes are as follows:

Episode 1
Through the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh to the rolling hills of the Speyside Valley,to the salty water of the Island of Islay, Kevin is on 'the Whiskey Trail'.

Episode 2
Our Thirsty Traveller journeys through the heart of the French Champagne region, picking grapes, pressing, bottling and even savouring the odd bottle - and goes under ground, through miles of caves that house millions of fine bottles. He also dines at one of Europe's finest restaurants.

Episode 3
There is nothing more Irish than a pint of stout. The Thirsty Traveller explores the history of this dark ale and makes his way from the crowded streets of Dublin, through Waterford and Cork, from haunted castles to a yacht sailing to the local pub for a ceilidh; the Irish nectar is everywhere.

Episode 4
Beer, beer and more beer! The Thirsty Traveller journeys to Belgium, beer capital of the world. Everyone is making beer and has been for generations. Our traveller’s zest for the history of the drink leads him to the Orval Monastery, a rarely-seen abbey in the Ardennes Mountains of Belgium.

Episode 5
Our Thirsty Traveler heads to Kentucky and bourbon country. Folks around these parts have been distilling since Daniel Boone settled here in the 1700s. Today, fine Kentucky Bourbon goes hand in hand with this region's southern hospitality.

Episode 6
Kevin wraps up warm, to show how frozen grapes turn into Canada's premium dessert Icewine. This sweet winter-grown wine is fast becoming an International favourite. He and a local chef prepare a decadent meal using these Icewine grapes.

Episode 7
The Thirsty Traveler goes to the heart of the Mexican desert, where ground covered by volcanic ash make perfect growing conditions for the agave plant - the source of Mexico's legendary Tequila.

Episode 8
During the Second World War, whiskey was in short supply and a Jamaican company experimented on a drink that would serve as a substitute. Their smooth, light, fragrant rum proved to be very popular. Today, rum is a worldwide favourite. Kevin goes in search of the secrets behind this sugar-based elixir.

Episode 9
Sonoma County is now a mass of fine Californian Wineries. But it all started in the 1800s when a Spanish priest planted the first vines, a Hungarian Count brought vine cuttings, and then the Russians, Italians and Germans joined in. Kevin explores the history of the California melting pot.

Episode 10
The Japanese live longer than North Americans and Europeans; could it have something to do with what they are eating and drinking? Our Thirsty Traveller examines how they take their national food staple to a higher level and create Sake.

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