What you got going on there, ham, egg and chips?
Great British food.
As a chef, food is my life.
Lovely.
LAUGHTER
Don't try that at home!
But as far as my mate Len goes, we're on a different planet.
My rules are this -
never eat anything that you can't spell,
and never eat anything you wouldn't want to step in.
LAUGHTER
This is the chicken's feet.
- Chicken's feet? - That's right. - No!
I've travelled the world
but never had the courage to experience new cuisines.
LAUGHTER
And always stuck with what I know.
- Look, that's your favourite there. - Chips.
- Chips! - But after using a pancake once to wipe me face...
What is he like?
..me family decided enough was enough,
and that my taste buds needed to be brought into the 21st century.
- Hot. - There's a lot more to this culinary world of ours
than pickled walnut.
It's time for me to show Len a whole new culinary world...
- I'm going to do it. - ..that will make his palate purr.
LAUGHTER
You're not talking food adventure?
Food adventure, indeed.
LAUGHTER
What's that I see? Is it a tandoori chicken?
LAUGHTER
I liked it.
And that's all I need to know.
For the last decade, I've been a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
London born and bred, 71 years ago,
my taste buds have been influenced by my nan's cooking.
I've never eaten spaghetti, had a curry, and even pizza...
wow, looks a bit exotic.
I was also born and brought up in London, but as a chef,
my palate has experienced and travelled to every part of the globe.
Over the last 20 years, there's been a food explosion across Britain,
and now, no matter what you desire, every cuisine is catered for.
For me, I have ten favourites that are never far
away from the table at home.
And my perfect dinner, well,
prawn cocktail to start,
full English breakfast,
oh and a jam roly-poly!
Oh, it's food heaven!
My mission during our time together is to educate his taste buds
and see if I can replace anything on the ten-from-Len board and
show him that there's more to life than a prawn cocktail from 1976.
Today, we have brought the kitchen and our palates to the
West Country and the great English city of Bristol.
With a busy day ahead, we've a lot on the menu.
Ainsley gives me a taste of HIS childhood as I sniff out
Caribbean cuisine.
Go on, Len, have a try, see what you think.
I'm only smelling it, just to smell it.
And I keep me cool with Spanish soup.
Soup is hot.
Cold soup - no, thanks.
I'll be dishing up dinner for the local crowds.
All right, Bristol, you're about to have a wonderful treat.
Go on! It's lovely.
Nice and tender, that lamb?
- It melts. - Yeah? - It's lovely.
And the tables are turned when Len gets a lesson in flamenco.
Here we are. This is a bit all right, isn't it, eh?
Please don't think this is a reflection on you
or your judgment, but...Bristol?
Yeah, it's a really lovely, multicultural city.
And, as a consequence, there's some fabulous restaurants here.
- Really? - Yeah, absolutely.
And I'm going to take you somewhere where you're going to be
taken on a bit of a culinary journey.
Oooooh! Come on, my old sausage!
First, I'm giving Len a taste of a country that's close
to my own heart.
Jamaica.
Bristol's position on the River Avon and Frome has allowed
the city to flourish as a major trading location since Roman time.
At the height of its success in the 18th century, Bristol was
the second most important provincial port after London.
Its main export was woollen cloth, but, infamously,
Bristol profited heavily from its involvement with the slave trade,
and slave-produced goods included sugar and tobacco.
While a few enslaved Africans made their way into Bristol,
the city's strong Afro-Caribbean population arrived in recent years.
In the late 1940s,
the British government called on its overseas colonies, including Jamaica,
for help with its considerable shortage of labour.
A large wave of Jamaicans came to the country to live and work.
Those who came to Bristol established a strong community.
I'm keen to show Len some of that history through what else but food.
If I said to you "Jamaica", what does that conjure up in your mind
when it comes to food?
Well, it's, like, hot and spicy, isn't it? And it burns your lips.
Oh, no, give me some more water, no.
It doesn't have to be like that, though, you know, there's
so many different elements,
there's so many exciting flavours that come out of Jamaica,
that come out of the Caribbean in general, and they've got all
those lovely influences, a bit of India and a bit of Chinese,
and of course
the European influence - there's so much going on there.
Are you saying, "Not hot and spicy."
Or are you saying, "Prepare yourself"?
I'm saying,
"Prepare yourself," because it's not necessarily hot and spicy.
Better to think the worst and then get the best.
- Could that happen? - You're a man after my own heart.
- Come on! - He is.
- Let's go and do it. - Come on, then!
BOTH WHOOP
My parents were born in Jamaica,
so I had an early passion for Caribbean food.
Mum taught me how to cook, her kitchen skills had come
from my grandfather, a proud chef, who once cooked at the White House.
I know - I'm very proud of that.
I'm desperate for Len to love this cuisine that's closest to my heart.
But I'm a bit nervous.
I'm nervous because I fear he'll not like the spicy food
and it will get the better of him.
I hope that this authentic Jamaican restaurant in
the north of the city will put Len's mind at rest.
It's run by Branatic Neufville in the kitchen,
who simply likes to be called Chef.
And looking after the front of house is Chef's partner, Barbara.
- Good morning! - Hello, how are you? - Welcome.
Nice to see you, Barb, this is the lovely Len.
- Hi, nice to meet you. - It's lovely to meet you.
- Well, this is a very nice, Barb. Yeah. - We try to keep it cosy.
- Oh, right, then. - Len, would you like to have a seat there? - Yes.
Chef's waiting for you in the kitchen.
Oh, right then, am I going to the kitchen?
- I'll see you in a minute, eh? - See you in a minute.
One day it's going to be the other way round, I'll sit there.
- LAUGHTER See you later. - Right.
Whilst I take the weight off and have a chat with Barbara
for a crash course in all things Jamaican,
Ainsley heads into the kitchen to reminisce with Chef.
With Chef's help, I'm determined to show Len he can enjoy
traditional Jamaican dishes just as much as his beloved steak and chips.
Chef, the smells are everywhere,
how many dishes do you actually have on here?
Ohhh...about 12.
- 12? - Yeah. - And every morning you make it fresh?
Yeah, yeah, every morning.
I just love pleasing people... And waking up, I look forward to
coming in the kitchen to make sure I've got some happy customers again.
Yeah.
And it just becomes like a hobby now, instead of a chore.
- Yeah. - I just love doing it.
- Well, I must say, Barbara, it's a lovely place. - Thank you.
How long you been here?
So, the restaurant has been here... It's kind of our sixth year.
But before that we were a takeaway for, gosh, going on ten years.
And what is it about Jamaican food you think is so appealing?
- Like the yellow in my dress, it's like sunshine. - Yeah.
I think it's a lot of things - flavour, texture, um, vibrancy,
it's just, it is... It's like sunshine on a plate.
- Lovely sunshine on a plate, sounds lovely! - Yeah.
What are you going to be giving Len, then?
Well, I want to give him a comprehensive taste, in this
- session, of Jamaica, yeah, definitely. - Mm-hm.
I want to give him a bit of curried goat.
I'm going to do my mother's stuffed chicken breast, some rice and peas.
- I noticed on your menu sheet... - Mm-hm...
There...
Goat.
See, that's not something I've ever sampled, I don't think.
- Have you had a good curry? - Never had a curry in my life.
- Really?! - Ever!
- Oh, my word! - I promise you.
- OK. So, goat is similar in texture to... - Chicken?
- ..beef or lamb. - Yeah? - Mmm.
And it has to be kind of well-stewed and well-seasoned and well-cooked.
It's like a good beef stew but with a bit of kick.
Bit of kick!
Well, I don't think Barb's sold that too well to Len, he looks petrified.
But just seeing and smelling that pot on the stove takes me
back to my childhood, where my mum always had something sweet
cooking on the stove.
And all my friends at school went, "Urgh, what's that?"
"Goat, urgh." Yet it's become more and more popular in this country.
What is the benefits of a curried goat compared to
something like a lamb stew, what would you say?
Oh, the curried goat has got a much richer flavour,
there's no comparison.
When it gets tender, it's just so succulent.
Absolutely.
And it just needs low heat and it just stays there and just simmers.
- I saw some funny words... - OK.
..on your menu. Now, ackee?
So, ackee is actually a fruit, but it's cooked like a vegetable.
- It takes on the flavour of the other things that are cooked with it. - Right.
So, it's actually the Jamaican national dish, so...
What, ackee?
Ackee and saltfish. And I think it's an acquired taste.
- Right. - But I think it's lovely.
- I'm always hopeful... - Absolutely.
- ..that, you know, yeah... - You're going to give it a try.
This is the saltfish, OK, and it's got a particularly, kind of,
quite a pungent, strong smell which does put some people off.
- Yeah. - These are the ackees here.
Now, they're like little kind of seashells of scrambled egg,
really, is that the best way to describe them?
- Yeah, that's how most people do. - OK.
Now you can see they're very soft, if I push that in my fingers,
it's very, very soft indeed.
But that's cooked down and expressed off, you've got the onions,
you've got peppers, wonderful fresh thyme going through it,
all of that's cooked down.
- It's just a quick stir fry, really. - All right.
Once you've got all the ingredients, it's cooked, you just want to
incorporate them together and get all the flavours going through that.
Stir fry for five minutes - and that's it.
So, what have you eaten?
Ham, egg and chips, roast dinners, you know, what my nan used to cook.
OK. Yeah, yeah. You'll love our cooking.
- Really? - I guarantee it.
- LAUGHS: - Wahey! Come on Ainsley and Chef, get it out here!
Absolutely.
Chef's next dish is a far cry from anything cooked by Len's nan.
- What are we doing here, Chef? - This is soya protein.
Yeah.
With beans and carrots. Vegan, perfect vegan main course.
- What is this dish called, Chef? - Veggie chunks and beans.
- Veggie chunks and beans? - Yeah.
Actually, I like that term, everybody understands veggie chunks...
Yeah.
..and beans, you know exactly what you're getting.
We add that carrot and it just gives it that rich colour.
I must say, it's a really funky area around here,
lots of stuff going on and colourful houses.
Is this a big Jamaican area just round here?
It's a very diverse area and it's known as the Arts Quarter.
So this is where Banksy originated.
So as you walk down the street you'll see colour,
graffiti, and there are walls that are dedicated just for art,
so all kinds of people live around here, it's brilliant.
- Yeah. And they all come in here? - Lots of them come in here, yeah.
LAUGHTER
I'm really enjoying being in a Caribbean kitchen,
with a chef who learned through his family, same as me, really.
You remind me of my mum so much when it...
In terms of how you taste the food,
you put a little bit in the palm of your hand and you lick it away.
Does that come from your mother, too?
- My grandmother. - Your grandmother, you see!
There is no traditional Jamaican dish that she wouldn't cook at home.
- Yeah. - So I learned all of this from her.
I think Len is going to get a real taste of the Caribbean coming here
and fingers crossed that he likes it.
The last dish on Len's Jamaican tasting plate is Chef's mum's
callaloo stuffed chicken breast. Lovely!
That callaloo is, it's like a spinach, isn't it?
- Yeah. - That's the best way of describing it, a cross between
a cabbage and a spinach.
Come on then, Chef.
Come on, guys.
- Oh, lovely. - Look at this. - Let me clear this.
That's a portion and a half there for you, isn't it, mate?
'Ooh, yeah, but now it's the moment of truth.
'Will this sunny Jamaican food light up Len's taste buds?'
I can see, Chef, that you don't eat a lot of this, cos you're so skinny.
No, never trust a skinny chef!
LAUGHTER Exactly.
What've we got up this end?
You've got the Jamaican national dish, there,
ackee and saltfish. We call that chunks and beans.
You've got our second most famous dish in Jamaica, the curried goat.
'Oh, dear, look at that face.'
'What, my boyish charm?! You're having a laugh.'
'That'll be it, Len(!)'
What would you go for first?
I would tuck into that chicken first.
Shall we do it?
It's like a little thing of mysteries, innit?
What is it? What have we got going on in here, Chef?
This is chicken fillet stuffed with callaloo.
Callaloo, does that...?
No, is it a place or a food?
It's a food.
Go on, Len, have a try, see what you think.
- I'm only smelling it, just to smell it. - All right.
You know, people smell food cos they don't trust it,
it's not that sort of smell.
Why don't I believe you?
Well, that's the truth, I'm telling you. And here we go.
'Oh, will Branatic's recipe be a hit
'and get the marks on the board?'
Tickle my bum and call me Donald.
- Is it nice? - It's nice.
LAUGHTER
- Give us another bit, come on. - Go on, then, yeah.
My perception was this was going to be really hot,
but it's not, it's supple.
It's good for the male.
- Good for the male? - Yeah.
- The male what? - Aphrodisiac.
Really? What, like an oyster?
Oh, I'm going to have another...
What's it called?
- I'm going to get some of that callaloo. - Callaloo.
Oooh, callaloo!
Callaloo-jah!
LAUGHTER
Yeah, I like it.
'Well, that's got Lenny going, I didn't expect that.'
What now? Hold your horses.
'But next up is Jamaica's national dish, ackee and saltfish.
'This one's definitely a challenge.
'Barbara said it's an acquired taste.'
Not one of your favourites, Len?
Well, I don't dislike it, if you know what I mean.
Hey! Now what've we got here?
This is soya protein.
- There's no meat in this, then? - No, just soya.
Yeah.
'And now the dish Len's worried about most.'
- What've we got here coming up? - Curried goat.
Curried goat.
Everybody's got to hold their breath, he's never had curry before.
- Not too spicy? - No.
If somebody had said, "Well, that's lamb..."
- You'd be perfectly... - Oh, yeah.
- It could be a bit of mutton, let's be honest. - Mutton, it could be mutton.
It could be mutton, because it's a slightly sort of stronger flavour.
I'm thrilled that Len likes this because, you know...
I do. That, I'm telling you, that there...
- The chicken. - The chicken with the...
- Callaloo. - Fabulous. - Yeah.
And there's tens of thousands of people in Britain...
who are like myself.
Maybe not to the extreme,
but they know what they like and that's what they eat.
And what's been great is, for me... is to try these other things...
And there's a sort of a fear about eating them,
and there is nothing to fear at all.
- Absolutely. - Because once you try them and...
- They're lovely. - Exactly.
Excellent.
- Well done. - Well done! - Thank you. - Cheers, guys.
Your first taste of the Caribbean, maybe?
Yeah, definitely.
And, you know... I can't believe my braveness,
- because I did go for it, didn't I? - Yeah.
I mean, I went for it and I must say, overall, I enjoyed it,
especially the chicken, the first dish.
- With the callaloo. - The old callaloo!
- Wonderful. A real taste of Jamaica... - Yeah.
- ..just sort of captured on the plate there. - Yeah.
You know, you probably liked 70% of the food.
- I did. - Yeah. - I did. Now, onwards and upwards.
'Oof, what a relief.
'From egg and chips to curried goat, I'm totally made up that the
'food of my ancestors went down so well with my mate Len.'
Next on the menu today, it's something a bit closer to home.
Whoa-ho-ho...
local produce!
Two miles down the road, this award-winning deli sells cheese,
wines, meat and store-cupboard essentials from all over the world.
But I'm after something a bit more familiar to Len's palate.
I know he loves a dollop of marmalade on his toast
in the morning,
so I'm treating him to a taste test of three different marmalades.
But the origins of this traditional treat aren't
quite as British as he might think.
Do you know where the marmalades come from, Len?
The British are known for their marmalades
but we don't grow a lot of oranges.
No, it appears it's quintessentially English, you know, we sit down,
it's like a breakfast item we've got to have, but, in fact,
it originated...
I think it was about the 15th century -
it was the Portuguese.
- Ohhh! - Marmelos. - Oh, marmelos. - Marmelos.
- Oh, oh, oh! - It's like a marmelos.
And we've got the Greeks, I think
the Greeks referred to it as marmalada,
and the Italians, what would the Italians call it, do you think?
Ah, the Italians would call it monolotto.
HE LAUGHS
You're very close. Marmellata.
- Oh, marmellata. - Marmellata.
To ease Len in, I'm starting off with a traditional Seville orange marmalade.
I'm a bit of a classic man, meself.
I kind of like... I like the old classics.
So do I. Oh, it's got a slightly red hue.
See, you can see it's kind of slightly dense.
Yeah, it is. And it's got a rich colour to it.
Yeah, but how lovely is that, eh? I love it. I dunno...
And I can have tea, I can't do coffee in the morning with this.
Cup of tea. I like me toast slightly more burnt.
All they've done is sort of stood this behind an exhaust pipe.
AINSLEY LAUGHS
'What's he like?
'Time to push the boundaries with some innovative flavours.'
This one's got pink grapefruit in it.
I can taste the grapefruit.
Mmm. A little hint of vanilla, does that come through?
Yeah, vanilla. Delicious.
'The final marmalade I've chosen should really stretch Len's
'traditional taste buds.'
Now, this looks much lighter.
Mmm. It looks more like lemon curd.
- I was just going to say... I love lemon curd. - I do.
- That one is slightly unusual. - Let me think...
- It doesn't have any alcohol in it, does it? - Ohhh. - Has it?
- You're sharp, you know? - Has it?
For someone who just says, "I like plain food..."
You just pick up on stuff. It's got a bit of vodka in it.
- No! - Yeah, honestly. - Blimey.
That one's got a bit of vodka in it, with a bit of vanilla.
- I love it. - It probably would go down well in Russia.
- Well, it would do. - Yeah.
Yeah, when you cook like that, you burn the alcohol off,
you put the alcohol in and you fire it up and you burn the alcohol off.
- Oh, right. - So you only get the lovely flavour.
Yeah, just a hint. Now, my nan used to make marmalade...
- Oh... - ..and when I was a kid, I didn't like it much.
As I got older, I got to love it,
but as a kid, me palate hadn't matured, and you...
See, I'm not a very mature person, in fact,
- I'm just really an adolescent. - We're both a bit silly!
Yeah, but my palate is really getting matured because of you,
and before we leave, I'm going to have this for the journey.
Go on, then, you can take one of those.
- Come on then, bring it with you. - I'm coming with you.
'Well, I have to say, so far, I'm loving Bristol.'
'Yeah, me too. I just hope it lasts.'
With 91 different languages now spoken within the
eclectic communities here,
it's not just Jamaican food that Bristol has to offer.
Over the last few years,
there has been an economic downturn across Europe and this has
brought new cultures to Britain...
and with it, a wealth of new cuisines.
Next on today's menu is one of those.
It's a taste of Spain.
Espana!
Now, Len, you said you'd be interested in trying anything
- on our food tour. - Yeah. - Yeah? - Mmm.
What about Spanish cuisine, how does that grab you?
Obviously, I've been to Spain, playing golf and this
and that, little holidays. So there's certain things I have tried.
What I wouldn't, you know... I don't like paella, that...
Why is that? That's one of the absolute classics.
I know, but it's... It's in a huge cauldron.
I'm always frightened I might fall in.
LAUGHTER
What about things like the gazpacho Andalusia, that type...
- Do you like those? - What is that, is that like cold soup?
- Yeah. - No. Cold soup? No, thanks. No, soup is hot.
Hot soup. Now, if that's in, I'm off.
Oh, dear, I've got my work cut out here.
It's been such a successful day in Bristol so far,
I don't want Len to get his grumpy face on again.
But I'm hopeful that my last stop will serve up Spanish dishes
that will make his taste buds dance.
El Puerto is a tapas restaurant in the heart of the city,
near the dockside, and prides itself on cooking authentic Spanish cuisine.
The manager, Laura Fosbudiele, will guide him through.
- Ah, you must be Laura. - Yes, it's a pleasure. - Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, as well. - Pleased to meet you, mwah.
- Nice to meet you. - It really is.
- I'm kissing her hand because I've got disappear to the kitchen. - Go on.
SHE LAUGHS
- See you later. - See you later.
Owner and head chef Tariq Rodriguez learnt his craft after taking
a cookery course when he was in the Spanish army.
He's been cooking in Bristol for five years now.
- Chef. - Hello. - Hi, Ainsley. - Tariq.
- Nice to meet you.
Oh, fantastic, Tariq, what are we doing here, then?
Today we're going to make a very traditional dish, OK.
With Serrano ham, some prawns and wild mushrooms.
- Wow. - Yeah.
Is this from a certain area of Spain or...?
Yeah, this is usually from the north of Spain,
because obviously the wild mushrooms are more frequent
there because it is wet weather and everything.
So what do you specialise in,
is there any special things that you do here or...?
- The most important thing here are the tapas. - Yeah.
We've three kind of them, meat tapas, seafood tapas,
plus for vegetarian people, plus we've got paella as well.
- I don't know if you know paella? - I do, I don't like the look of it.
Yeah, no, it's not really my cup of tea, I don't think, Laura.
Don't be angry.
We're going to add some olive oil
and then we're going to add the garlic when the oil
takes the proper temperature.
Where did your passion come from, was it from your family,
your mum or your grandmother?
Yeah, I have different mixes in my family, and they love food.
My father is from Tunisia, my grandmum is from the north of Spain.
When the garlic starts to get cold, you know,
that's when we give the proper flavour to the dish.
- And now... - It's beautiful. - ..we're going to add the wild mushrooms.
- Straight in, Chef? - Yeah, please!
- Beautiful. - Wow, nice. So, if you smell the...?
- Yeah! - All the garlic.
I tell you what I like when I go to Spain,
you have that ham on the big leg of...
Spanish ham?
And you have it up in the air, or something, and they carve it up.
- That is delicious. - I know. - Yeah.
- I know, I really love it. - I hope I get some Spanish ham.
I'd like a lot of Spanish ham and not so much the...
Not so much the paella, really...
No, you're killing me with that.
- I know, I'm so sorry. - I'm sorry.
SHE LAUGHS
'At least Len's guaranteed to like ONE of the elements of this dish.
'And I'm not surprised, it's a beautiful product.'
Tell me about the Serrano ham,
there's different grades of it, isn't there?
It's to do with the ageing,
also the difference in the species of pork we have in Spain.
It depends how you're feeding the pork,
and these things make the meat more quality, really.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, more quality, it's cured,
so you get different sort of flavours and stuff like that.
- Yeah. - And how much of this, Chef?
- Like, half. - A half of that. - Half of that, yeah.
Is there a large Spanish community here in Bristol?
Yeah, we are quite a lot of people living in Bristol, plus in all UK.
So when you first came here, could you speak pretty good English?
No, absolutely no.
No? A little bit?
No, my English was just what I studied in my school.
- I was really bad! - Really? Well, you're good now.
Yes. Thanks a lot.
I can understand everything, you speak it better than me.
So, now we're going to add the prawns. OK, yes, three prawns.
- OK. - Straight in?
Yeah, straight in, yeah. Perfect.
The amount of the prawns is just because obviously you want
the perfect combination of the fishy flavour and the Serrano ham.
- And it smells nice. Can I have a little smell of it? - Yeah, of course.
Oh, that's wonderful, Chef.
Look at that, oh, my word, that's beautiful. Lovely.
Can you pass me the two glasses at the end, the salt and egg please?
Yes, here we are. OK, Chef. There's the egg.
And just add the egg yourself.
- OK. - Yeah. - Beautiful. - It's perfect.
Mix up all the flavours, I love them.
Beautiful, beautiful. Looks so appetising.
- Yeah. - Lovely.
I think it's time we sat down and we tried the food.
- Of course. - OK. - No worries.
Now, what's this dish called, Chef?
Really, it is wild mushrooms with ham
and prawns, with a touch of honey olive oil.
- Honey olive oil? - Yeah.
'In true tapas style, we've got
'a couple of other dishes for Len to try.'
- Wow. - Well done, mate.
'There's aubergine and goat's cheese stack,
'and I'm making him face his fears with a cold soup with a difference.'
- Hello, Chef. - Nice to meet you. - Lovely.
Wow, this looks interesting.
I want to put that in front of you
because the chef's just made this and I want you to try that, Len.
What we got there, Chef?
OK, we have king prawns, we have Serrano ham,
garlic, wild mushrooms and a little bit of a touch of wine and olive oil.
'Well, it looks pretty exotic and smells amazing,
'so I'm not messing about, I'm going straight in.'
Ohh, you got a wink. He doesn't wink very often, Tariq.
No. This is lovely.
- Have a little bit, there, come on. - Yeah?
No, don't take this, because I want to eat some more.
LAUGHTER
'Well, that's a good start. Onto the next dish.'
This is our aubergine, OK, with a crispy coat,
and we have goat's cheese between each slice of aubergine.
So, we put that...on top.
Do you like the aubergine, is that one of your...?
I don't know that I've ever had it.
'Never tried aubergine before?
'Oof, this could be risky.'
- It's nice. - It's nice?
- It's crunchy. - Yeah.
It's got crunchy moments...
..and also the softness in the goat's cheese.
- This is excellent. - Thank you very much.
- It's lovely, honestly. - All right. - Yeah.
'Well, that's two out of three, but now it's the moment of truth.
'Len got a real grump on earlier about gazpacho, so I'm worried about
'how he'll react to the challenge of this chilled melon and ham soup.'
This, I'm not too sure about.
Well, this is it, you know what, this is the journey that we're on.
Now, answer this so I can prepare myself - is it hot or cold?
It's cold.
Don't look at me, don't look at me! It's...
I said to you - "I don't want cold soup."
I know, but it's traditional.
And maybe this might be the one time you'll taste it.
In the soup we have mint, we have wine, we have melon.
Yeah.
- And a little bit of sugar... - Yeah.
'A twist on a classic Spanish dish.
'Sounds great to me.'
You pour this on top?
- Yeah. - And that is Serrano ham.
'But I just hope Len can overcome the mental barrier
'and let his taste buds be the judge.'
SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC
- Yeah. - Now, this is a first.
- It's all right. - All right?
Yeah, I mean it.
Yeah, because I like... I like mint.
Loads of flavour, you know, it's almost like bacon that...
- What's it called? - Serrano ham, yeah. - Serrano ham.
I said to Ainsley, "I don't want cold soup, don't like it."
But I must say, I congratulate you, this is very, very refreshing.
Yeah.
And it's very nice.
'Hoorah! This could be a real breakthrough.
'If I can get Len facing his fears over a simple chilled soup,
'who knows what I can get him enjoying.'
You know, the thing I was dreading, look, I'm having another go at it.
Truly, I've been converted.
LAUGHTER
All the time I've been to Spain and I've had...
- Yes! - Ham... You know, egg and chips...
And do you know what I'm going to do now?
I'm going to salute you.
Wheeey!
Tariq, I'll give you a high five, mate. Gracias!
Hey, let's have some flamencoooooo!
BOTH: OOOOOHHH!
HE SINGS IN SPANISH
Hey, hey!
'Come on, Lenny, it's fiesta time.'
Oh!
Hey, hey!
Ohhh!
Hey, hey!
Whey!
'Oh-ho, look at Ainsley go. Strictly Come Flamenco.'
'Who needs to go to the gym when you can work out like this?'
This is knackering, innit?
La, la, la, la, la!
Whoa, come on!
Wahey!
Hey, la, la, la!
LAUGHTER AND WHOOPING
'Dunno about you, Ains, but I'm ready for a siesta.'
SPANISH MUSIC CONTINUES
- Well, you might have been there on holiday... - Yeah.
..but I don't think you've tried the cuisine to that standard.
What did you overall think, then, Len?
The soup, in particular, I was dreading,
but how refreshing and how tasty.
And the aubergine and cheesy thing.
Yeah, goat's cheese layered up, yeah.
It was brilliant, I promise you, and the first... With the prawns
and the sausage or whatever that...
That's it, the Serrano ham, the mushrooms, the prawns and the egg.
I guess it's a snapshot of Spanish food,
but those three dishes were fantastic.
I've been a coward when it came to food, basically, you know,
I'm frightened to try other things,
but you are certainly turning me into a foodie.
Cold soup is on the menu from now on.
You wait till I get home... Let's go and phone my wife up.
AINSLEY LAUGHS
I really have enjoyed the day in Bristol,
and all the exotic tastes and flavours.
But do you know what, I can't keep Ainsley out the kitchen.
Yeah, it's my turn to try and titillate Len's taste buds.
And I want to go back to my roots and push the boundaries just
that little bit more, with a take on a classic dish.
Jerk lamb kebabs with a spread of jerk mayo.
I'm going to start by preparing my jerk seasoning,
it's not a dry seasoning, this is much more of a wet one.
I've got different types of onion here, you can use one onion
if you like. Chop it all up, let's get it going.
Just keep that nice and chunky,
it's all going to go into a food processor anyway.
All of that.
Now, the Scotch bonnet chilli is one of the
hottest chillies in the world.
But I tell you what, it's full of wonderful flavour. You know,
people think of chillies as just heat. It's not, it's flavour,
it's got this kind of real pungency, it's got its own identity,
that's a great way of describing it.
Now I'm going to take the thyme, the garlic, the beautiful chilli
and ginger, and we're going to put that in with the onions.
A little bit of allspice.
Now I'm going to pop in that white wine vinegar,
we're going to get some moisture in there, that's going to add that
lovely acidity, all right.
And that's going to be followed by our soy sauce.
Unusual that soy sauce, people don't expect to get the
soy sauce in Caribbean cuisine, but I tell you what, it's used a lot.
Maybe it's the Chinese influence?
When you combine it with all those other flavours, you get
the pepperiness, you get the acidity,
sweet, sour kind of taste, all of that's going on, and of course
you've got that wonderful sweetness of those spices, the allspice,
that's going to make that meat lovely and succulent and taste heavenly.
All we have to do now is blitz it down,
I'm just going to pop that into the food processor.
Great.
Can't beat a good marinade.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Oh, those smells that you associate with the Caribbean,
and they're on that spoon right now.
You can use a leg steak of lamb or...
You really are looking for quite a tender cut here, something
that's not going to necessarily require slow-cooking, guys.
Rub your meat into that lovely marinade
and just allow that to soak up all those lovely flavours.
And we'll get our pineapple and peppers on the go.
Ah, it's so good.
Make sure you keep it nice and chunky, all right.
Wants to be roughly the same size as your pieces of lamb.
Now, I'm using red pepper here, but you could use green or yellow.
Well, this is the fun bit, putting it altogether now,
making up our lovely little skewers.
Nice bit of fresh pineapple going on there.
Bit of pepper, followed by a piece of meat.
I'm just doing it this way, but you can really do anything you want.
Giving it a little bit of a twist,
sometimes it's difficult to sort of get the skewer into the meat,
just twist it around, you know, that's it.
Just gorgeous. Lovely.
The smell...
And you've got to be cooking this on the barbecue,
you want to do quite a... Medium-hot coals, all right, guys.
Lovely flavours.
But if not, you could do it on a griddle pan or you could do
it under your grill at home, it really doesn't matter.
Just be careful of those wooden skewers,
make sure you soak them in the water beforehand, OK, so they don't burn.
Just keep rotating these around, you know,
they're going to take anywhere between sort of five to ten minutes.
OK, whilst that's cooking away,
I've got the lovely coleslaw made up here, that's just cabbage
and carrots that I've shredded up. You can see that.
And I've put a little bit of spring onion in there, and I've made
a sugar and vinegar reduction, you know, about equal quantities,
just boil that down a little bit and pour that on the top whilst it's
still warm, you don't need to put mayonnaise or anything like that.
You can if you want, of course.
And...speaking of mayonnaise, I've got some here.
A bit of mayo, and I'm going to take some of the jerk seasoning
I had to start with, that I put with my lamb, and just stir it through.
OK.
A few tablespoons of it, you'll be able to judge,
you'll be able to say, "Oh, I like that a little bit more,
"a little bit more of a kick with that."
And just kind of stir that through.
And then you've got a lovely...
..jerk mayo.
A little bit of chopped coriander to finish it off, and Bob's your uncle.
Oh, I'm sure Len is going to absolutely adore this.
Not forgetting the people of Bristol, too, I've got the mobile kitchen
ready to inject a taste of the Caribbean into the city centre.
Just look at these, Len. How about that, my son?
- Beautiful. - And what's that?
And we're serving that with a jerk mayonnaise.
What does it mean when it says "jerk"?
Well, jerk is kind of a little bit spicy,
- it's got all these lovely spices with it. - Oh, right.
'This lamb dish packs a punch.
'It's probably the spiciest thing Len's had all day.
'I've got no idea how he's going to take it.
'Oh, dear.'
Oh-ho.
AINSLEY LAUGHS
- It's so tender. - Oh, that's the idea.
It's so tender.
It's been marinating in those lovely spices, Len, that's the secret.
It's just lovely. The pineapple - it really sets it off.
AINSLEY LAUGHS
People will watch this show and say,
"Well, he's saying that, he's got to."
- It's great. - Oh, fantastic.
What do you think the people of Bristol will think?
They will love it, they're going to love it.
All right, Bristol, you're about to have a wonderful treat.
'A successful day all round.'
Madam, do you want to try it?
'Ainsley's challenged, surprised and spoilt me with those tasty kebabs.
'I reckon I'd better help him shift 'em.'
Be brave, go on! It's lovely.
I promise you, I'm fussy as anything.
- It's nice, innit? - Mmm.
Look at this, we had a bowl of it...
We're running out of everything. This is unbelievable.
Yeah, it's really tender, the meat's delicious.
- How's it going there, love? - It's really lovely.
You're loving that?
Nice and tender, that lamb?
- It melts... - Yeah? - It's lovely.
Lovely.
You've got the pineapple going through there.
- Lovely spice, as well. - Really good. - The spice is lovely.
- Any more? - Here we are, you need one of those, because you've got a wet nose.
LAUGHTER
Definitely a ten.
I love you, you can come on the show!
Get out the way, you!
LAUGHTER
- Len, what a day. Eh? - Bristol?
I know. I thought, "Bristol?!"
- Cider. - Cider, that's about it.
But no...
It's been a festive feast. Honestly, it's been lovely.
Wonderful.
- I loved that... The Jamaican food. - Yeah! - Eh?
What was that like? That was a complete surprise.
Well, I was expecting it all hot and, you know...
You know, like having a big spoonful of mustard.
- And you had that callaloo in that chicken. - Yeah.
Which you loved. Your face...
I loved, that was my favourite, yeah.
And then, oh...
- The Spanish... - Oh, wow, yeah...
Right, I must say, the Spanish food...
Stop it!
AINSLEY LAUGHS
You should have seen your...
LAUGHTER
That Spanish food, I've got to say, was fantastic.
And even that cold soup. Cold soup! Listen, I'm 71,
I've spent 60 years at least, saying, "Cold soup? Give over!"
- Yeah. - "Soup's for winter."
Yeah.
But no, that was so refreshing, so tasty, it was great.
What's making me happy is that you remember it, because...
- Yes. - ..you've got a food memory, you've tasted it, you've identified with it...
- Yeah. - ..and you remember it. - You know,
I've never been a, you know, one of those people that can experiment...
- Yeah. - ..or try different things.
But honestly, this is really opening my eyes.
So, after a jam-packed day of tasty tapas...
Ohhhh, you got a wink!
..and cool Caribbean flavours...
- It's nice. - It's nice!
LAUGHTER
..will any of today's dishes make it into Len's top ten?
I never thought I'd say this, but that cold soup...
Well, it gave me a warm glow.
I'm going to salute you.
Wheeey!
Tariq, I'll give you a high five, mate.
I'm sorry to say, out goes pea and mint soup,
and in comes cold melon and mint soup.
Ohhh, with Serrano ham, ole!
Bristol!
Let's salute Bristol.
- You were great. - Onwards and upwards.
- Go! - Come on!