What you got going on there? Ham, egg and chips?
Great British food.
'As a chef, food is my life.'
Lovely.
Ha-ha-ha-ha.
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 you can't spell,
and never eat anything you wouldn't want to step in.
THEY LAUGH
- 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.
'And always stuck with what I know.'
- Look, what'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.'
- Yes. - '..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.'
You're not talking food adventure?
Food adventure indeed.
- Oh-ho. - Oh-ho.
What's that I see, is it a tandoori chicken?
THEY LAUGH
- 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,
well, 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.
- HE GASPS - 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'll be eating our way around the suburbs of London,
starting with New Malden.
I just hope Len's got his elastic trousers on,
as we're going to be munching nonstop
on some very delicious morsels.
On today's menu, we'll be cooking on coals. Korean style.
People think, "Ah, he's going to swerve that." No.
Oh.
'Going Scandinavian with the best Swedish grub.'
- Hold my hand, please. - I told you, I warned you, Goran.
Look, look, look. This is what happens.
'And I'm going to lure Len into trying a brand-new dish
'inspired by today's food tour.'
So why won't I like it?
- Where are we? - This is New Malden.
- Ooh, posh. - It's like a suburb of London.
But I tell you what,
we've got some fantastic restaurants around here, great food.
You can put your trust in me.
- Oh, yeah? - Oh, yeah. - We'd better get going.
'First on the menu, I'm pushing Len right in at the deep end...
'..with a taste...
of Korea.'
New Malden is home to Europe's most thriving Korean population.
Of the 20,000 expats who settled here,
around 600 are from North Korea,
having fled the oppressive regime of their homeland.
Many compatriots settled here in the 1970s,
following the lead of the South Korean ambassador
whose former residence is nearby.
Even though Korea is 5,500 miles away,
culturally, New Malden, really is a home from home.
As well as the annual food festival,
there are nearly 20 Korean cafes and restaurants,
Korean church services and even a local Korean newspaper.
Len, I've got to say, this is a slightly unusual place here.
I know it's just an ordinary high street,
but there's something special about it, have you picked up on...
I've noticed there's an oriental flavour to a lot of the restaurants.
Yeah, and do you know what orient we're talking about here?
Not really, no.
Korean.
Korean. Isn't Korean food like Chinese food, like Japanese food?
But they very much have their own identity.
So we're going to have a go at a bit of Korean?
Yeah, Korean.
So now you've got to persuade me that Korean food
is going to tickle me taste buds.
Oh-ho, are you prepared for a little tickle?
- Always. - Come on, my man. - Go on.
I'm taking Len to one of the many Korean supermarkets in the area.
This Aladdin's cave contains some of the most diverse ingredients
in the world of cooking, some of which are even unknown to me.
But I have no idea whether seeing these unusual ingredients
will pique his interest or completely put him off.
Well, it's time to find out.
Look out. Korean fresh ginseng.
You know what that's for, don't you?
It's just, it makes you, makes you manly, makes you powerful.
Well, I might get
- a couple of pound of that. - AINSLEY LAUGHS
I like, on the plate, I like a variation of things.
- Right, OK. - So I like peas, carrots, potato...
- Yeah. - ..some fish or meat or whatever, you know, a mix of stuff.
This is called robot root. Look at this, look.
- LEN LAUGHS - Robot root? - Yeah.
You couldn't get that in your fridge, could you?
- No, you'd have to snap it. - Yeah.
- Remember the name - robot root. - Robot root.
- I'll remember robot... - Yeah. - ..and you remember root.
I don't like when the first taste is the same as the last taste.
What you got there, Len?
I don't know but I wouldn't want to eat it.
- Ah... - No. - That's lovely.
I've seen something now that's made me go quirky and queasy.
- What's that? - An octopus' tentacle.
It might be good cos of all those suckers,
to sort of stick on the fridge and write a note.
I like to mix it up a bit, mix and match.
But I don't want the same all the way through.
We are indeed creatures of habit, aren't we?
Yeah, well, I am, very much so, but you...
- you're going to break me of that habit. - I think so.
You get a few of them in a prawn cocktail, eh?
You'd need a big glass.
- You're going to be a bit of a noodler when I'm finished with ya. - Oh-ho-ho.
- I'm in heaven. - Oh.
- Look at him! - He's doing a spot volta, everyone.
He's doing a lovely spot volta, a Botafogo. Oh-ho-ho.
I'm going to find me a Newkie.
Supermarket owner Dan Shur,
has prepared a few traditional titbits for Len to try.
'Dan's made it his mission in life to spread the word of Korean cuisine.
'He hasn't met Len yet,
'and it could very well turn into a Mission: Impossible.'
Dan, it's been a real discovery walking around your supermarket.
- There's so many things that we've never actually seen before. - No.
What's that thing called robot root?
- Robot root. - What exactly is that?
Robot root - it's something you really thinly slice,
dry it out and then roast it to actually add to tea,
and then what it does, it's supposed to cleanse your body...
- OK. - ..of all the impurities.
Wow. Where do you store it? Do you put it in the fridge?
- Umbrella stand. - Yeah, umbrella stand is best, yeah.
Umbrella stand's a good one.
Now, you've come up with some typical Korean dishes here.
Yeah, I've just pulled out a few of the hero dishes
that represent authentic Korean cuisine.
So, for example, what you've just picked up there is kimchi
which is a fermented cabbage.
- It's fermented because over... - ALL LAUGH
He don't want to know, look.
Hoping I'm not scaring you, Len.
I think you've scared him already, mate, he's gone.
It's fermented because it kept vegetables fresh
in the cold winter months.
So it's like a pickled sauerkraut but slightly spicy.
'Hold up, folks, he's going in.'
- It's pickle-y... - Yeah. - ..and it's crunchy...
..and I don't mind it.
- Brilliant. - 'Kimchi's gone down well.'
'Time to stretch Len's palate a little but further.'
OK. So this is bulgogi.
It's very thinly cut beef
that's marinated in a sweet soya sauce,
that's not spicy and it's something that is often barbecued
in Korean restaurants or just thrown into a frying pan at home.
- Right. - There you go. Wide open.
- It's beef. - It's beef.
I think teriyaki actually was formed from this original sauce.
Wonderful. It's amazing the way history...it passes down
kind of different ideas to people, doesn't it?
- Absolutely. - And it stretches across the whole world
and here we are in Britain talking about Korean food.
- Superb. - Yeah, so... So far, so good.
What do you next recommend?
So I'd recommend...it's called gochujang in Korean
but it's actually a chilli paste.
This is a base product that's used by...
in so many different Korean dishes.
- Got slight after burn. - Mm-hm.
- Not too bad though. - No, not bad - NTB.
And what do you say in Korea for cheers?
- Gun bae. - Gun bae. - Gun bae. - Gun bae.
- Gun bae, gun bae. - Gun bae.
His eyes are watering.
I got a bit too much of that...what's it called?
Yeah, the gochujang on its own is a little bit spicy.
So, what do you think overall, Len?
Well, you know, when I first walked up and I looked at...
I thought, "No, please."
But I must say, you know, that this cabbage I liked.
The beef was lovely.
The only thing I took a little bit too much of this...
- Chilli paste. - ..chilli paste. And it was a bit of a shock to me.
- Yeah. - But the rest of it, lovely.
Brilliant, that's really kind of you.
- I'm proud, mate, I'm really, really proud. - I'm proud of myself.
In fact, do you know what? I'm going to salute myself.
- I'll salute you too. - I better salute you, as well, then.
- Thank you very much. - AINSLEY LAUGHS
'Well, the chilli paste was a bit of a shock to the system
'but, Ains, I've surprised myself a bit with my incredible bravery.'
'I'm certainly impressed but Len's not off the hook just yet.'
One of the best ways to explore the cuisine
is to experience a Korean barbecue.
And I know just the place.
Jin Go Gae grill has been welcoming local diners on the lookout
for authentic cuisine for the last seven years.
The family have been here since 1990
and have turned their own barbecue tradition
into a thriving business.
Using secret family recipes,
they've kept traditional taste and cooking methods alive.
Sisters Nicole and Sisil are proud of the genuine taste of home.
And I want them to share their passion with Len.
Hello, how are you?
- Hi. - Ainsley. - Sisil. - Nice to meet you, I'm Nicole.
- I'm Len. - Sisil, nice to meet you Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
So, we hear this is the best Korean food in town?
- Apparently so. - Yeah. - One of you can have a chat with Len
and I'll go in the kitchen, is that all right?
- Yeah. - Sure thing. - Yeah? - OK, get in there.
I'll see you in a minute.
'So, while Len goes and gets comfy in the restaurant,
'I'll get to work in the kitchen. Typical.'
Nicole, what have we got exactly going on here?
This is a seafood pancake
which we have in all occasions
or just for the kids at home.
It's just a favourite kind of comfort food.
Is it a traditional pancake batter?
Yeah, we just put flour with water and egg, a pinch of salt
and we've put very thinly sliced spring onion,
that's the key to it, to make it crunchy
with a little bit of seafood and some chillies.
Listen, I'm a bit of a Philistine when it comes to oriental food.
So is Korean food the same as Chinese food?
I think the use of ingredients are very similar.
I mean, we touch base with a lot of things, like, for example soya...
- Yeah. - ..sauce is huge with Chinese and Japanese. - Right.
And Koreans are very, very well known
for their fermentation marinade
and using ingredients in a way that the other cuisine wouldn't use.
Right.
What exactly is a Korean barbecue?
Put charcoal on the table and you basically cook anything you like.
It could be meat dishes, vegetables, seafood
and you kind of wrap it up with lettuce and some spring onion.
I've got to ask, what is that, there?
That's a white mooli kimchi, call it the white radish.
And the red stuff is what? Some spicy...
It's got shrimp paste, chilli, salt, sugar
- and it's fermented over several days... - Yeah.
..for all the flavour to absorb into the vegetable...
- Right. - ..and like mummifying it... - Yeah.
..in a food way.
Well, I must say, it looks most appetizing
and, in a way, I can't wait to get stuck in.
- Yes. - Yeah.
- Now, it's time for the pancake. - Yeah, it's ready.
- What's it called again? - Pajeon in Korean.
- Yeah. - And it's a seafood pancake.
- So simple, isn't it? - Yeah, very simple.
Smells good.
I love the idea of that, the combination of the spring onions
and the chillies and, of course,
- that little bit of squid did you say went in there? - Yeah, squid.
- Good? - It's very good.
I love it. And you talked about textures.
- The crunch, the crunch is definitely there. - Mm-hm.
Instantly you can taste the spring onions there.
- Thank you for that. - No problem.
Brilliant. Showing me how to do that.
- I can't wait to try the barbecue. - Definitely. That's the highlight.
Oh, that pajeon was tasty but, as Nicole says,
the barbecue is the Korean piece de resistance
and I want Len to get stuck in.
- So, shall we go for the beef first? - OK, yeah, whatever you think.
So, this one is...kalbi
which is a beef marinade,
- which is a family secret recipe. - Uh-oh. - Ah.
It's got a bit of garlic, we love garlic.
We put garlic in everything with a little bit of sesame oil.
- So, that actually stays in the foil pack then? - Mm-hm.
So it doesn't get burnt.
It's a handy trick that a lot of restaurants use in Korea.
- Yeah? - Yeah. - But how long would you normally cook that for?
It's almost similar to, like, the steak,
you can have it rare, medium rare.
- Once it's half cooked, we'll cut it into bite size... - OK.
And normally the customers would do this?
I think it's a lot more exciting to do it by yourself,
then you get the full experience.
- So, what you do... - Mm-hm. - ..is you get the lettuce...
Ah, now watch this.
And then you get a piece of your meat
and you dip it into our secret recipe sauce,
just brings out the sweetness of the meat.
- Got a lot of secrets in this restaurant. - Hm, definitely.
This is spring onion. You put that in the middle there.
Add the garlic that's been grilled here.
- And then, most importantly, is the bean paste. - OK. - Ssamjang.
That's not that stuff that nearly knocked my head off?
- It's very savoury but it's not very spicy. It's OK. - OK. - OK.
Because my palate isn't educated to spicy food,
I find some of the hotter spices very, very...
- disabling. - Undesirable.
THEY LAUGH
Yes.
- Yes. He's so polite, isn't he? - Yeah.
- I won't give this to you, then. - No, no. - No. - No.
You wrap it up like this into a small parcel
and then we put it in our mouths in one go.
- The whole thing? - Yeah, in one go.
Go, Ainsley.
Go on.
- May I have a go at doing my own? - Yes, of course.
So, a nice bit of lettuce and now off I go.
'Oh, Len's got that funny face on. Prepare yourself.'
Got the meat in, now what do you stick in?
And then your spring onion.
Oh, yeah, I like a bit of that.
Do you know what I... I like the idea of being the master
of my own little concoction.
- Yeah. - Mushroom. - I love a mushroom.
Then a bit of this sesame oil.
I'm going to give it a go,
I'm not messing about with anyone here.
Look what I'm doing, this is a bravery.
Grilled kimchi.
I'm putting the kimchi...
Look, people think, "Oh, he's going to swerve that."
No. I'm putting it in and that's what I'm like.
Well done, my man, well done.
- Hm. - There I go.
'Well, it's now or never for my first taste of Korean nosh.'
Hm.
How was that? Still going?
- Still working it out. - Sign language comes in useful here.
- It's delicious. - Oh, wow. - And I mean that.
It's lovely because...because it's such a little parcel
of different things, you get different reactions.
- Different hits in the mouth. - Yeah. - On the taste buds, yeah.
It's something you bite into and it just bursts, all the juices come out.
- Soy, sugar, all those lovely flavours. - Hm.
Garlic, very much so, and the kimchi,
I love that bitter taste to it.
And the lettuce cools the whole thing down.
So you get a bit of spice in there but then you've got the cool...
Calmness of the...yeah.
And what about you, Sisil,
did you have this when you were growing up too?
I mean, my dad is crazy about barbecue
so, I think, every Sunday rather than having the roast...
- Sunday roast. - ..the Sunday roast, it was a barbecue day.
- Ooh. - Ooh, nice.
No, but I tell you what. I like this.
Especially when you've got the hang of it a bit more.
- And you're in control. - It's a communal sort of performance.
- Yeah, very, very social. - Laughing and, "What shall we have next?
- "Oh, chuck a bit of that on." - Yeah, yeah.
Now, Len, tell you what, mate, you've got to stop eating soon
because we've got more places to go and more surprises coming your way.
Well, I tell you, whatever you're going to concoct,
it's going to do well to come anywhere near
- this marvellous Korean food. - Thank you. - Thank you.
- Thank you for your hospitality. - Thank you very much. - Pleasure.
- Thank you for everything. - Thank you.
- It was a pleasure. - Pleasure. - Really, really lovely.
We'll leave you girls and I'm going to come back in four hours
and I want everything here eaten.
THEY LAUGH
Cheerio.
- If not put it in a doggy bag and we'll take it home. - Yeah.
- See you later. - Bye. - Bye. - Bye. See ya.
'That was lovely.
'They're going to have to start to call me Len The Brave after this.'
Do you know, when you mentioned Korean food, I thought, "Give over."
But I must say that I loved the whole scenario.
- You know, cooking it yourself, wrapping it in a lettuce leaf. - Yeah?
I would genuinely bring my wife and say,
"Come on, we've got a real treat here."
It just was great.
You can tell by my face I'm happy. I'm really happy.
- It was great. - Ah, thank you.
Next up on the menu is another aromatic and locally produced item.
It's lavender.
The UK was the leading exporter of lavender from 1750 to 1890.
As London expanded and land prices rose,
one by one the lavender farmers sold up and the industry died out.
But for one former artist turned baker,
lavender has become a vital ingredient.
Julian Page has converted his old studio space
at the end of his garden into a thriving bakery.
Lavender's fantastic to work with.
Partly because of the smell,
just makes you feel so relaxed all the time.
Lavender's something I've used
almost from the start of my journey as a baker.
Julian gets his lavender from one of the last remaining farms
on the North Surrey Downs - Mayfield Farm,
run by husband and wife team Brendan and Lorna.
I built this through the sponsorship of a charity.
The charity approached me and said they could no longer afford
to keep this business running.
I really didn't want to see it die
so I agreed to buy it from the charity.
In 2006, he came home one day and said,
"I've had a mad rush of blood to the head
"and I've agreed to buy the lavender
"and I've got a lovely little project for you to take on."
Rather than being a stay-at-home mum,
I might enjoy being a lavender farmer.
Lavender's a great herb.
Related to rosemary
and goes with a remarkable different amount of foods.
Mainly sweet but I like it used as a savoury herb.
Julian not only makes bread and scones for his family
but also supplies the farm.
I found a recipe which used lavender in bread
and went up to the lavender farm and they gave me some
and that's how we started working together.
Me supplying them with bread and them supplying me, yeah.
Bread smells amazing when it's just come out the oven and I love that.
If you come down between 9.00 and 10.00,
the scones and the bread will still be warm.
Next on the menu is a cuisine which has really taken off
in recent years...
and it comes from Sweden.
So, Len, for my next surprise, if I said to you ABBA, Bjorn Borg,
what country would I be referring to?
- We're talking Sw... - Sweden. Sweden. - Sweden indeed.
- Oh, Sweden. - Yeah. - Now I know...I've been to Sweden in the '70s.
So what are you expecting from this kind of Swedish...
Watch my lips...smorgasbord.
Ooh. Yeah, so a beautiful smorgasbord of interesting food
is what I would like, stuff that I like.
Pickled fish.
Now, I don't know if I'm talking all pickled fish. I like rollmops.
Now, that's sort of Scandinavian.
- It is very Scandinavian. - I like fish.
Come on, my son.
Scandinavian people migrating to the British Isles is nothing new.
It's been happening for about 1,500 years.
Currently, there are around 23,000 Swedish people living in the UK
and taste for their cuisine is on the up.
There's more to Nordic cuisine than just herring and meatballs
and blazing the trail in South West London
is husband and wife team Goran and Majvor,
owners of Stockholm Restaurant and Deli.
'I want Len to experience Scandinavian food for himself
'but I think we'll start him off gently.'
- Chef Goran, how are you? - Hi, I'm fine how are you?
- Very good. - Lovely to meet you.
Goran, what have we got here?
We've got different kinds of pickled herrings.
We've got matches herring, mustard herring
and the original pickled herrings.
- That's right up your street, isn't it? - I like it. - Yeah, I know.
You know Swedish people, they love pickled things.
Is that because of, you know, the climate?
It is from the old days, you know,
- when they tried to preserve the food... - Mm-hm. - Yeah.
- ..when they didn't have fridges and freezers. - Yeah.
Would you like to try?
Now, I like herring so I'm up for it.
I'd like to try one of each. Oh, yummy.
What's the Swedish for herring?
- Sill. - Sill. - S-I-L-L.
Nice, easy word.
- What we're learning on the tour here... - Yeah.
- ..is not only about food but also language. - Yeah.
Now, what one is this again? Please tell me.
- That's the matches herring. - Matches?
It's stored in barrels and marinated in sandalwood,
allspice and cloves.
Let me try.
You like that?
Yum-yum, pig's bum, absolutely glorious.
- This tastes of the sea. - Yeah.
This one's a pickled herring?
That's a pickled herring, yeah. The original.
The original is normally the best.
So you start off with the raw fish, do you?
- I got the salted herring... - OK.
..import from Sweden, it's just too salty to eat.
So you have to soak it to take some of the salt out?
- Soak it and desalt it over 24 hours. - Mm-hmm.
- And then I can use it for pickling. - Beautiful.
I like the original.
- Got more kick. - That's the pickled one.
You like the idea of pickling.
How does that compare to the normal rollmop that you like?
Well, this is a little bit more arty, you know. All right.
Where I grew up as a child, there was a very Jewish community
and I used to have rollmops with me dad.
And they were a little bit more acidic.
But these, these are more...still got that flavour,
still got that bite but a little more delicate.
- It's also sugar in this one... - Yeah. - ..to lower the acidic.
- It's all about curing, isn't it? - Curing, yeah.
You're a good chef, you can start working here.
- You're going to give me a job? - Yeah, sure. - What about me?
You can work out the front, can't you?
I could go out...I'd pull in the punters.
You would pull in the punters, eh?
With my boyish grin, I think the place would be flooded.
Oh, can you imagine? The queue would be right down the road.
THEY LAUGH
Now, I'm going to go and sit down and I want you two
to knock out something that I can sit there and enjoy.
- Now get to work. - Will do.
AINSLEY SIGHS He's so tough, isn't he?
He's so tough. He cracks the whip
and suddenly you've just got to get on with it.
'Now bossy Len's off for a chat with Majvor,
'I'm keen to find out what we're going to be cooking.'
On our menu, we've got a reindeer burger.
- That's very, very popular. - You've made some up here?
- Shall I pop that on the grill for you? - Yeah, you can do that.
Anything else you're going to show me?
Yeah, we're going to make the Swedish hash.
I'm going to fry it in the pan so we need some butter.
- Let them cook down a bit. - And we got the onion.
- Enough there, Chef? - Yeah.
What's going in here then, Chef?
Roast beef, smoked ham.
And it's a Swedish sausage called falukorv.
- Falukorv. - Falukorv.
What do you think are the specialities of Swedish food?
I think it's all the pickled things we do.
And there's this joke, you know, in Sweden, as well,
that if you pickle it, the Swede will eat it.
Well, I like a bit of pickle. We called it slap and tickle.
When I was a kid, you had a nice bit of slap and tickle.
So this is a typical Swedish hash
and you're going to get this all over Sweden?
This is all over Sweden.
And the tradition is that it's leftovers.
- Ah. - That's from the old days, the leftovers...
- That's what a hash is though, isn't it? - Yeah.
A hash is like that, anything that's left over, throw it in.
And I think you do meats like elk?
Not so much elk, maybe.
We do more reindeer, you know.
- Is it popular? - Oh, very popular.
People are a bit suspicious to start with
but then they really love it.
I would be suspicious of reindeer, yeah.
See, I think with food,
- it's more or less what you get used to growing up. - It is.
You know? And, you know, when I was a kid in East London,
reindeer wasn't a popular dish.
I can imagine that.
Think they're getting there,
- I've turned the burger once, Chef. - Thanks.
- They are looking good. - Little bit... - Mmm.
- And you want a quick bit of flavour? - Yeah. - Absolutely.
- And then we have to fry an egg on top of this. - Oh, wow.
That's what you want, isn't it, eh?
So does Goran cooking up Swedish food,
does that bring back memories of living back in Sweden?
Oh, it certainly does and, in fact, my grandmother was a chef as well,
and worked on the ferries between Finland and Sweden.
As a child, I was allowed to eat as many sausages
and ice cream and strawberries as a I wished as well.
- Oh. - So, that is a nice memory.
Yeah, what a wonderful childhood. I would have loved to have been you,
steaming into the strawberries and everything. Marvellous.
Ainsley and Goran are in that kitchen
- cooking up some typical Swedish food for me to eat. - Yeah.
Now, should it be the case that I don't like it,
you can finish the plate for me.
OK. I will do but I'm sure you'll like it.
How about that? One reindeer burger.
- What would you call that in Sweden? - Pytt i panna.
Pytt i panna, Len, here comes your pytt i panna.
'Time for Len to sample a bit of Sweden.'
I must say, it's about time.
Don't you start.
There you go, my son.
- And one pytt i panna. - Pytt i panna.
Oh, I tell you, it all looks delicious.
Let me tell you that.
And, see, I don't tell everyone these little secrets,
I love beetroot.
So, I'm just going to try it
to see if it's up to my grandfather's standard.
I used to go down the market when I was a kid, Len,
and they'd be boiling the beetroots there in the market,
the steam would come out and the smell of it was just fantastic.
Can I...my grandmother's job, cos we were greengrocers, my family...
- Mm-hm. - My grandmother's job was to boil the beetroots
and it was a big cauldron thing with a flame underneath.
And fill it up with water and then when it was tepid,
she used to put me in it.
And I swear to you.
And that's how I got my bath every night
was in the beetroot boiler. And then out I'd come,
up would go the temperature, in would go the beetroot.
Len's beetroots.
Do you cook it the same way in Sweden, just boil them up
or do you have a different way of doing it?
We boil it and then we pickle it.
- Then you bathe in it? - Yeah.
THEY ALL LAUGH
- Lovely. - The beetroot is delicious. - Hm-mm.
Now look, tell me again what this is? This is potato, is it?
- It's like a hash. - Like a hash... - It's like a Swedish hash.
And it's got different...it's got the smoked sausage in it,
it's got the beef in it and the ham, right?
Traditionally Swedish.
- Hold my hand, please. - I told you. I warned you, Goran.
Look, look, look. This is what happens.
- Get him off, get him off. - Yeah, stop it.
THEY LAUGH
Goran, this tastes a little bit like heaven.
- Hm-mm. - Oh, wow.
One of my all-time favourites is ham, egg and chips
and this is a sort of a Swedish version of ham, egg and chips.
- Just chopped up a little bit smaller. - Yeah, but actually it's nicer.
- You see? - 'Wow, better than his favourite?'
'Let's see what he makes of the reindeer.'
- You've got to try that burger. - Now, what burger is this?
It's a burger.
I've got to be honest, I don't quite trust you. Is this a burger?
- It's a burger. - It's a burger, yeah.
Well, I'm not going to lie to you, it's a burger.
- We'll see if he can figure it out. - Yeah.
- It's got a smoother texture. - Smoother texture, OK.
I don't know what goes into a burger burger.
Well, this particular burger's got a big, red shiny nose.
- Don't tell me I'm eating Rudolph. - You are.
- OTHERS LAUGH - Is it really?
- Reindeer burger? - It's a reindeer burger, yeah.
Well, if I'm honest, I'm going to eat some more of it
because I don't mind it.
See, a lot of the time,
- it's the thought of what you're eating... - Hm. - Hm.
- rather than the taste... - Yeah. - ..of what you're eating.
That's why I didn't want to put you off to start with
so once you taste it, then you know.
Cos that's what it's all about with food, isn't it?
- Do you find the same thing? - Yeah. - Exactly.
- It's a discovery, isn't it? - It is.
And lots of our guests, they're a bit worried about eating reindeer.
- Yeah. - And I'm always explaining that if you don't support people
- who rear the reindeers, they will disappear. - Hm.
- The whole culture will disappear. - Yeah?
And it will be such a shame
- because it's a lovely game. - There'd be no Christmas.
No Christmas.
Very, very popular over there.
Chuck that on there.
It's not even gamey, you wouldn't know.
- No, you wouldn't. - No. Very lean. - Lean. - Not fatty.
No, that's right.
Well, thank you. I've got to say, this is a fabulous experience.
What do you think, Len?
This, I could eat, I could eat all of this,
and 100% I would have that every single day for my breakfast.
Other than herring, I've never had any Scandinavian food
and this is a real eye-opener, it's delicious.
- Nice to hear, thank you. - Well, it's the truth.
I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, "Uh-oh, reindeer."
Well, OK, it's reindeer but it is delicious.
'Nuff said.
- So, Len, any surprises eating Swedish food for the first time? - Yes.
I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.
Of course, I knew about the pickled herring
and I knew I'd like that, which I do,
but the breakfast hash with the egg was superb.
I found the Rudolph burger much more tasty
than I first imagined it.
I thought it was going to be totally different
and strange-tasting but it wasn't.
- It was good. - It was good.
Not bad. What's up next?
Come and show me.
Len's impressed me with his sense of adventure
but I'm not done with his taste buds yet.
I'm going to cook him something inspired by the flavours
I've introduced him to today.
Barbecued Korean salmon and mango salsa.
First thing I'm going to do is make up that marinade.
Brown sugar.
Now I'm going to add our sesame oil,
this one's toasted which gives it a richer flavour.
Bit of mirin.
And then our gochujang,
which is like a chilli paste.
And it's quite fiery, this, so just a little bit.
That's going to make that lovely and fiery, that.
That chilli paste is so important in Korean cooking.
Now we're moving onto the ginger.
I'm just going to grate that straight into our bowl.
And we're going to follow that with the garlic.
There you go.
Now, we're just going to whisk that all together.
That smells so good.
Just hope Len's going to like it.
OK, going to take our salmon and just slide that in.
Beautiful. Let that sit in there for about five, ten minutes,
then we'll whack it on the barbecue.
Now we'll make up that lovely mango salad.
The idea of the mango...you want it a little bit green,
that means a little bit underripe,
you don't want anything sort of too juicy and too sweet.
Now, I'm putting it straight onto the old mandoline.
Lovely. And you get those lovely little strips there of mango.
That's perfect, that's what you want.
And if you don't do it on something like a mandoline,
you can do it on your food processor, you've got one of those blades,
really up to you.
Now, for that onion, pickled ginger and chilli.
And, really, chilli is all about what you think you'd like.
I mean, if you want it really hot then add a little bit more.
If you want it milder, just put a little hint in there.
And I'm going to follow that with the picked ginger.
And now for the coriander.
And for the lime juice now.
Lime, Len's going to think it's a mojito.
HE LAUGHS
"Yeah, I like them, Ains."
Oh, dear.
All right, that's it.
And last but not least, just a little sprinkling of sugar.
OK, you don't need too much of it.
All right, just a little touch of that.
That's it.
Now, just bring those lovely flavours together now.
Look at that. Beautiful.
Just combine those flavours.
And now for the star of the show, it's the salmon.
It's been marinating there for about ten, 15 minutes
and we're just going to slap that straight onto our barbecue,
you can see that's nice and hot.
That's what we're looking for.
You want to cook that for about three or four minutes each side,
depending on the thickness of your salmon.
But you still want to keep that quite pink.
Now, whilst that's cooking, I'll just get a little bit of jasmine rice
so we can serve that on the side with our mango salad.
You can see that's cooking through really nicely there.
That's what I'm talking about it being a little bit pink, all right?
Don't overcook your fish.
I think that's why we Brits get a little bit funny about cooking fish
cos sometimes it dries out, yeah, I literally mean it dries out.
You don't want to do that, you want to retain a little bit
of that sort of moistness in your fish
cos that's when you get the real satisfaction of the flavour.
Give that a little bit more of a touch with this lovely marinade.
I think we're about ready to serve.
So, you can take a little bit of sesame if you want
to just put on that rice.
And we're going to just pop a little bit of this delicious mango salad
on the top there.
Lovely, there you go.
Now...
..no-one, I said, no-one is going to refuse that.
Oh, well, maybe apart from Len, that is.
But if he doesn't, there's always the lovely people of London.
Time to head out to my mobile kitchen and give it a go.
So what you doing?
Hey, I've cooked a beautiful bit of salmon on the Korean barbecue for you
and on top of it
I've served a delicious mango salad.
Oh, well, I must say it looks very appetizing.
There you go. You don't need that. Please.
- It does look nice. - Please, please.
- I like mango... - Yeah?
I like salmon, so why won't I like it?
- Is it a winner? - Winner, winner.
There's another dance coming along there, my son.
It's a winner. It's a winner.
- Well, it is a winner and I'll tell you why. - Yeah.
The salmon is moist, which I like,
and it is flavoursome.
In addition to that, you've got this lovely mango affair
which has got a sweetness to it.
Oh, absolutely.
And the sweetness with that tangy, lovely flavour of the salmon...
Well, I tell you what.
It is...
I've got to do it.
It is fabulous.
Wonderful.
I'm knocking up a bit for our lovely people of...
- New Malden. - New Malden.
So, I think we can get them over here, we want them to try.
And if they react like you do, I'll be a very, very happy man.
Chill out. I'm going to rustle up some people.
He's happy. I'm so overjoyed.
Right, line up, line up, let's be having ya.
- Please, come through and try this, please. - That looks amazing.
- There's one for you, my darling. - Thank you very much, Len.
- And take one of these. - Thank you. - There we are. - Do you want a doily?
Please take one.
- Yeah. - Yeah, come on, roll up, roll up, roll up, New Malden.
Come on, get yourself a wonderful Korean treat.
This salmon is very succulent, very juicy, you can...
and it goes really well with the rice.
The mango salad is very refreshing.
Yeah, beautiful. This is salmon with rice and some mango salad.
- Little chilli mango salad. - Yes, I love it. There you go.
- Hey-ho. - That's it. Mango salad. There you go.
I can taste the sesame, as well.
So I think it's brilliant for me. Yeah.
Well, I don't really eat salmon.
So, for me to like it, it's quite special.
- Do you like salmon? - I love salmon. - There you go. - Come and try it then.
Very, very, very light summery dish, very enjoyable.
Ah, Len, what an event that was.
What an event indeed, eh?
I must say, it's been a terrific day. You know?
I loved...I loved the Swedish food.
Well, they were on a winner straight away
because it was like posh ham, egg and chips.
Right, that was delicious.
I was very dubious about the Korean stuff.
Tell me about it, I saw your face.
Yeah. You know, I thought, "Oh, here we go."
But I loved the whole experience from the start.
Sitting there and the barbecue going
and then, you know, have a bit of this
and once that you got the smells of that food
- on those hot charcoal or whatever. - Yeah, it was.
And the smells, it made your mouth water.
So, Len, tell me, what about the salmon and mango, what was...?
- Well, I've got to say... - Erm, what was that like? - Yeah, I know, look...
No, what I don't want, Ainsley,
I don't want you getting all swollen headed, right?
- Oh. - But I've got to say... - Hm-mm.
..again, a culinary delight.
I loved the salmon, I loved the moistness.
And yet you just charred it round the edge
to give it a little bit of snap.
And then that sweetness of that mango.
And then you put the two together.
It was just a culinary explosion of flavours in me mouth,
it was delicious.
So, after our day of zingy Korean flavours...
- It's delicious. - Oh, wow. - And I mean that.
..and surprising Swedish dishes...
- Don't tell me I'm eating Rudolph. - You are.
- OTHERS LAUGH - Is it really?
Will any of today's plates make it into Len's top ten?
I'm going to make room
for that scrumptious Swedish hash.
So out goes my favourite,
ham, egg, and chips,
and in comes that pytt i panna.
Oh-oh-oh. Wonderful.
- You're on a roll, son. - I know.
But, you know, the only way now is down.
So you better keep me coming.
All right, I haven't done me salsa yet.
THEY LAUGH