Original subtitles

There is one special place where I worked as a young chef

that has remained close to my heart.

Didn't think I'd come to France and find a Barnsley chop.

And one region in particular that is full of passionate producers

and incredible ingredients.

This is Provence!

We are going to be discovering the secrets

of the very best and simplest French cooking.

That is a discovery.

LAUGHTER

Nice and easy. Simple dinner for one.

I'll be sharing tips, tricks and techniques...

We've got flavours of Provence.

There's sunshine for you.

..and enjoying a bit of friendly rivalry along the way...

That was close!

I'm a little nervous.

LAUGHTER

I knew I wouldn't be able to fool them.

Yes!

LAUGHTER

..all in the name of bringing you a simple taste of Provence.

There is one delicious food that is, without doubt, loved the world over.

It may have started life in South America

as the humble cocoa bean,

but it's the Swiss, Belgians and of course French

who've turned it into an ingredient we all adore.

But for all the posh chocolate there is out there,

I love a good old-fashioned bar of British chocolate.

But can the French convince me otherwise?

It's not bad.

To find out, I've come to meet Joel.

Eh, bonjour. Bonjour.

Joel. Marcus. Enchante, Joel. Marcus. Joel.

A master chocolatier who's got 30 years' experience

under his belt.

And Mina Kande, who's also a chef, is here to translate.

Yes, yes.

The smell, the aroma!

What a beautiful shop!

Joel creates 32 different flavours and is always experimenting.

What makes your chocolates so delicious?

Why are they so special?

It's a menu? C'est ma carte, un menu.

It's a menu. Exactement, un menu. It's a menu.

The chocolate menu.

Alphabetical. Yes.

Each letter is a flavour.

So "A" is for almond and so on.

In fact, Joel's speciality is infusing

his 74% dark chocolate with the flavours of Provence.

I love that idea.

So there's always the alphabet letters. Yes.

During the year, always the alphabet.

As the seasons change, he changes the flavour. Yes.

His chocolates are always square

because he started when he was around six years old.

Oh, wow. He was doing some for his friends

and it was always square. That's nice.

I need to taste some.

Rosemary.

Lavender - my favourite.

OK, he makes it himself? By himself.

Oh, perfect. Yeah.

It's interesting cos the flower, lavender... Yes.

..it's grown here, but yet it's not used much in cookery.

Mm. But in chocolate, this is a perfect ingredient.

Yes.

Mm!

The lavender - it just comes at the end as a perfume.

Mm. You can almost smell it afterwards

as you're starting to swallow.

Delicious, delicious.

So, rosemary?

Oh! Mon histoire, oui!

Rosemary's so strong.

Superb.

Merci beaucoup.

I've got something I'd like him to try.

Some British chocolate. Oh!

This is a chocolate I grew up with,

and my father would buy this and it was a treat on a Sunday. Aw.

And inside is fruit and nuts. Ah, oui!

Could you ask Joel what he thinks of British chocolate?

Oh, look, why are you laughing?

Why are you laughing? I'm not.

I'm not.

Joel, qu'est-ce que vous pensez du chocolat anglais?

Alors. Alors.

Alors.

LAUGHTER

So, he has nothing against, like, British chocolate.

So he believes, like, the British chocolate is more in-between

candy and chocolate.

Mm. Oh!

Oh!

It's like being back home.

Sweet. Very, very sweet.

LAUGHTER

Oui. C'est tres bon. C'est tres bon?

J'aime bien avec les raisins aussi dedans. Oui, oui.

Le raisin aussi? Oui.

Pardon.

I can't believe it!

Joel's come back for seconds!

It just goes to show,

more expensive fancy chocolate isn't always better.

But Joel's Provencal flavours have got my taste buds tingling.

I would love to do a recipe.

I'd love to see how Joel makes chocolates.

OK, et bah, c'est super.

It's been a long, long time since I've done this.

Ooh, so nice. A long time.

On y va? On y va. Oui, oui.

Oui. Allez. Allez. Super.

My wish has been granted.

Voila.

Ah, here we go.

I like an apron.

It looks like I'm the apprentice,

and Joel's making the ultimate taste of Provence in chocolate form

using almonds and olives.

Black olive? Oui. Oui?

Oui. Oui? Tres, tres bien.

Tres, tres bien.

OK, OK.

Now, I love nuts with raisins in my chocolate, but olives?

I'm not sure how that would go down back home,

but with just four ingredients -

almonds, olives, sugar and chocolate,

this recipe couldn't be simpler.

And Joel starts by making a caramel with the sugar.

So not too dark but hot enough to

er, to flash the olive.

Why does he use copper?

A lot of chocolate people would use copper.

Ne... n'accroche pas.

OK. It doesn't burn the caramel.

Ah. Voila. It's even.

OK, so first almond then the olives

because there is so much moisture that it has to be at last.

So the dry ingredients first

cos when you put the olives in

it'll bring out the oil which will change the sugar.

Yes. Got to move quickly now.

All the oil starts to come out.

Yeah, you can see it changing.

Then it's straight into the blender to create a smooth filling.

And that just leaves the final ingredient,

dark chocolate.

And what's the water for?

He's going to add the moisture in the chocolate.

Water into the chocolate? Oui.

Oui. I thought that was the enemy of chocolate?

This is the, this is the enemy.

Normalement c'est l'ennemi du chocolat, l'eau. Exactement.

Joel clearly knows something I don't.

I was always told, adding water to melting chocolate

was a cardinal sin

as it separates or splits the cocoa butter.

And it's getting thicker?

But it turns out with repeated mixing

the fats bind back together again.

This is where science begins.

Mm, it is.

Well, I've definitely learnt something new today.

With the chocolate added to our mix,

and a few more blasts...

..it's ready.

An almond and olive praline

that'll form the centre of Joel's sweets.

Mm.

So it's still got texture, is that what he's looking for?

Yes, that's what he was looking for. That's what he wants.

Now it needs to be rolled out,

and with a nod from the boss, it's my turn.

It's quite firm as well.

It really is like being back at catering college,

being shown something for the very first time.

Now cooled to room temperature, the praline's ready to be...

..painted?

C'est quoi, ca? C'est un melange de beurre de cacao

et de chocolat au lait pour celui-ci.

Cocoa butter and milk chocolate? Mm-hm.

He's sealing the flavour, yeah.

Mm. OK. He said he's like a painter.

We get the wall ready.

Ah. Van Gogh!

Ah, oui! C'est ca, c'est ca.

This is like plastering a wall so it's smooth enough to paint

because once cut into squares,

they'll be covered in a layer of dark chocolate

and Joel doesn't want any lumps or bumps showing.

I love painting.

I've just never painted chocolate before.

It's a first.

Is the thickness important?

Oui, alors, pas plus que ca.

OK, not... Not too much.

Voila, C'est bon? Super. Parfait.

I could do that all day.

That's the one he made earlier,

but I have to say I think my painting is so much better.

Je crois que oui.

Maybe this could be the start of a whole new career.

Now to cut the chocolate into pieces.

Am I correct in saying that the name for this is guillotine?

Uh, no, it's not guillotine, it's guitar.

Guitar? Oui. Guitar.

Cos the French invented the guillotine. Oui.

Yes, yeah. Ah, the strings.

It's even better, it's a double guitar.

Ah, so, OK, double.

Perfect. Music. Voila.

Donc celui-ci d'abord.

Non pas trop fort.

On laisse aller, oui.

Wow. Voila.

Voila, voila. Quite firm.

You have to be careful, don't you? Yeah. Mm. Yeah, yeah.

Ah!

Et voila, c'est pas si simple.

You can't relax when you've got the boss over your shoulder.

It's...it's quite intense.

And after the last coat of chocolate,

it's finally time to taste this unusual

almond and olive chocolate combo.

I love it.

The olive brings the fruit out of the chocolate.

Oui.

It just makes me smile because

it's the most unusual combination.

I have to confess Joel's proved me wrong,

but I want to raise the stakes with a challenge.

In here we have the tea... Mm-hm. ..Anglais.

Oui. Oh!

So the challenge, can Joel make a chocolate from English tea?

I'm going to leave these with Joel.

Mm. And I'm going to invite him to my place for dinner...

Oui. ..with his chocolates.

Challenge accepted? Le challenge est accepte, oui.

Merci. Merci.

While Joel gets to work,

I'm going to make something much simpler

using supermarket ingredients to create the perfect

sweet taste of Provence...

..although the idea behind it is from a little bit closer to home.

This is the inspiration for a chocolate sauce

that I'm going to be testing out on the locals.

So I've got some beautiful dark chocolate,

orange, not just the orange juice,

but I'm also going to be using the zest as well.

It couldn't be easier.

To a pan, add double cream,

honey, butter and orange peel.

Don't be afraid to experiment with other fruits or spices

because cream is a perfect ingredient for infusing flavour.

Just bringing the cream up to a gentle simmer

so that we can start to infuse

the orange zest into the cream itself,

diluting the honey

and, of course, melting the butter into it

so we've got a really lovely rich,

creamy texture going on here.

So, as it starts to boil, remove the mix from the heat...

I'm just going to leave that there, just to sit.

..and let the peel infuse.

To avoid waste, use the remaining orange to make a syrup

to give this sauce an extra flavour boost.

Just squeeze that in there.

What's nice about an orange more than any citrus fruit

is once you've taken the rind off

it's so easy to squeeze all the juice out.

What we're going to do is just going to reduce this down

and we're going to add that to our chocolate sauce.

Meanwhile, break up the chocolate into small chunks.

And I always find bitter chocolate has a beautiful fruitiness about it.

And here's a top tip for any time you're cooking with it.

Never put the chocolate into the hot mix,

it will just split.

So you always pour the warm liquid on top of the chocolate.

Sieve out the orange peel and whisk.

You've got to keep whisking to make sure you bring it together.

The chocolate's beautifully melting,

you're emulsifying the two fats together,

the cream and the chocolate.

Now for my orange juice reduction.

Oh, look at that I've got quite a bit on my spoon there.

Oh, dear!

Mm.

I might just eat this myself actually,

rather than share it out!

It's rich, smooth,

it's thick, it's delicious.

Oh!

Can't leave that in there!

And there it is, my chocolate-orange sauce Provencal-style.

But what will the locals think?

On the one hand, I have the French-style, orange-infused sauce

I made,

and on the other,

the British chocolate that inspired my recipe.

I wonder which one the people of Saint-Remy will prefer?

I won't lie,

I'm a little bit nervous testing my cooking on the general public.

Here goes.

Wish me luck!

C'est chocolat... Oui, oui. ..avec le orange.

And sauce?

Tres bien. Tres bien?

Very, very good. The inspiration is the chocolate Anglais. Oh!

Entre le deux?

This one or this one?

This one.

The chocolate, er, le Francais?

Oui, oui.

Merci, monsieur.

Well, there's one vote.

It's the French chocolate all day long.

Alors, un peu... Oui, oui.

Tout? Voila.

Monsieur? OK.

Which one do you prefer?

C'est chocolat Anglais, le sauce.

I prefer this.

Do you? Yeah.

I like this one because I like the orange flavour.

This one has more orange.

Oh, no, I do prefer that one.

Francais. Oui.

Moi, je prefere l'Anglais.

Prefere l'Anglais? Oui.

Pour moi... Francais? Pour moi le Francais.

Le Francais. Francais.

So Francais, Francais, Anglais.

And the winner is...

..France!

But as I cooked it, I'm also taking it as a victory for us Brits!

Now it's time to start thinking about dinner.

With Joel bringing dessert, I need a main course

and I'm taking inspiration from

a Provencal ingredient I'm obsessed with.

It can be served in sweet or savoury dishes.

It's figs.

Here they grow a variety you don't see much in Britain,

white figs.

Bonjour. Hey, bonjour. Bonjour, enchante.

So I've met up with local fig grower Aurelie,

who's agreed to give me some in exchange for a cookery lesson.

Naturally, I couldn't resist.

So this is the white figs.

The trees are not so old, it's only ten years old.

We don't really get to see them much back home.

No. The black fig, very popular.

The white fig, they don't last very long.

OK. So usually the professional, they don't want to buy that,

but it's the sweetest.

Before we get picking, can I try one? Yeah.

When you open it, and you see the sun shine on it...

It's like gold. ..it looks like sugar. Yeah.

The black figs are very good as well

but usually they're not as sweet.

It's very good.

And it's organic so you can eat that from the tree.

Aurelie also has some interesting facts to share about figs.

For example, she tells me that some varieties are pollinated

by a tiny wasp

that then dies inside the fig.

Luckily they're broken down by enzymes

which means we don't actually end up eating them.

I find that amazing. Yeah.

And the fig is not a fruit, it's a flower

but it's an inverted flower, you know.

No, no, no, no, no. Yes.

No. Yes. You see that?

Yeah, all of that. Yeah?

It's the flower but not growing from the outside but inside.

There's two key things I never, ever...

I did not know.

I was wondering if you could help me?

To do what? Because you have a speciality in your country,

it's the chutney. Yes.

And we don't know how to do that.

Seriously? Yeah, seriously,

and the chutney with the fig, it's wonderful. Yeah.

So maybe you can teach me that? Definitely. I'd love to show you.

Well, first of all we need to pick some. We need to pick some

but it's not as easy as it looks to harvest a fig.

Why? Because you have like milk inside.

Yes. And also the leaves, it's very itchy.

So you need absolutely to wear, like,

long sleeves when you harvest.

Well, I didn't get that message, I didn't get that message.

You don't have that but you have the gloves. OK.

I brought that for you,

otherwise you can have allergy and it can burn.

It turns out there's a lot more to figs than meets the eye.

But with chutney, I do know my stuff

and it's all about getting

the sweet and sour flavour combination just right,

but these sweeter white figs are new to me...

I'd say we've got enough.

..so I'm a bit nervous.

I'm starting by finely chopping the savoury ingredients.

So I've got just a little bit of olive oil in my pan. Yeah.

In with my shallots and some garlic.

We love garlic.

Then add a bunch of thyme.

And I've got a little bit of star anise as well.

It's the flavour I want.

OK.

And cut up the figs.

Now you can put them in whole,

you can leave them in pieces. Yeah.

I'm just being a little bit sparing with the sugar

cos I know that these are incredibly sweet. Yes.

And you can see it's starting to caramelise there.

Yeah.

So I'm just going to put in a little splash of vinegar.

I knew that you had to use a little bit of shallot

and garlic and vinegar. Yeah.

But I don't really know how to put it all together.

OK. So that's great to see. So here we go.

Yes, it's nice. You can already smell.

It's got the savoury notes, the garlic, the shallot. Wonderful.

Really important that it all cooks down.

It's really something that everybody can do at home. Yeah.

Yeah, it's very simple.

OK. Because I've never used these before... Yeah.

..I'm using all my experience...

Yes. ..to make this work so that I can impress you. OK.

SHE LAUGHS

So how long do you have to let it inside to cook?

It's until it's become almost like, like a jam.

OK. Like a jam, transparent? Yeah. OK.

And so because I've not used these figs so I'm just checking it.

Yeah, just check.

So it is taking quite a little bit more vinegar.

Yeah, and less sugar. Yeah.

How is it?

The sweetness, ha.

I think that's about there.

I'm going to let you try some. Yes.

Mm.

Yeah. You did a great job.

MARCUS LAUGHS

I was a bit nervous there. It's very, very good. No, it's great. Wonderful.

Back in my country we'd put this with what we call a ploughman's lunch...

Mm. ..which is for the farmers. OK. Yeah?

And it, it's not too dissimilar to what you have here. Yes.

You know, it's pies, meats, lots of bread and a beer.

With a salad, with a little bit of cheese.

Perfect. Perfect. Rose?

Yes.

Thank you. Oh maybe not! I have to wait two months.

Two more months, OK.

Yeah. I'll drink it for you then.

Great, you can.

I have to say, I really enjoyed my time with Aurelie.

She was fabulous.

She inspired me to try something a little bit different.

The white fig is incredibly sweet

but when you pick them off the tree and you taste them,

they are sensational.

In fact I actually think I prefer them

than your normal black fig.

Now it's time for dinner.

Dessert is sorted, after I challenged Joel to make

tea-flavoured chocolates.

But for the main course,

I'm taking inspiration from the fig chutney I made with Aurelie.

It's a simple twist on a classic pub dish.

It's my own ploughman's, Provencal style.

But can I impress my French dinner guests

with something so uniquely British?

A ploughman's for me is about chutneys,

great piece of meat, some bread,

a lovely bit of salad

and just a little bit of cheese as well on the side.

Back home, you might expect to see some ham or pork pie,

but I'm opting for chicken thighs.

I love the fat content of it,

I love the skin when it gets all crunchy and delicious.

It's a cheap cut but it's a delicious cut.

So what I've got here, of course, herbes de Provence.

Good sprinkling of it.

Then some smoked paprika and honey

to help the chicken caramelise.

And that sugar on the barbecue just burns

and gets nice and sticky, it's fantastic.

Season with salt, pepper and garlic.

Smash it up, taking out a little bit of aggression.

Didn't get much sleep last night.

There was a festival going on down the road.

You can always use the back of a knife,

I love using the palm of my hand.

Don't worry about the garlic skins,

they'll burn off on the barbie.

All you've got to do is just get your hands in there

and just mix it up, rub it together

and if you want to, you can do this the day before.

If you want to let it marinade for 24 hours, even 48 hours,

it'll just get better and better.

After a quick hand wash it's on to the barbecue.

Get that caramelisation, get them turning,

get all those delicious flavours working together.

There's a lot of smoke up here.

I feel like I'm in an '80s music video.

Top Of The Pops!

Trouble is, though, I can't sing.

I think I'll just stick to cooking, if I'm honest.

As the chicken thighs take at least 40 mins to cook,

get the outside caramelised over the fire first,

then to stop them burning,

move to an area with a gentle heat

so they can continue cooking all the way through.

That, for me, is the equivalent of slow cookery.

This is hot cookery, fierce cookery, searing,

that's like jumping into a pot of boiling water,

that's like sitting in a jacuzzi, having a great time.

And believe me, in this heat, that's tempting.

While I've got the barbecue lit, I've got some lettuce

and I'm going to make a little salad.

I know it may sound a bit odd, grilling a lettuce,

but we're not cooking it,

we're just going to get a little bit of that charred flavour on to it.

I always wash my salads when I buy them.

Putting them in the fridge with the freshness of washing them

just brings them back to life

and when they go in the fridge they just crisp up as well.

So, good tip there.

Season, add lemon zest and grill.

Sliced side down.

We are almost treating this like a vegetable.

It's getting all the flavourings and all the seasonings

but it's a salad.

When my old dad sees me doing this with a little lettuce like this

he'll think I've had too many roses.

Grilling lettuce?

Look, you can see,

nice and crispy in the centre.

I'm going to put a few of these beautiful white figs as well,

put them in there.

Bit of more lemon on top.

Look at that. There's a bowl of sunshine if there ever was one.

And for those final rustic touches,

my white fig chutney from earlier,

and, of course, cheese.

I've got a hard cheese and a goat's cheese there.

I know my guests will enjoy a bit of French cheese.

Now it's time to get the chicken out.

How do you know it's cooked? That's the question.

You can just cut on the bone

and you can see if it's cooked or not

or just by touch, and for me that's just lovely and firm.

And with that, I have my pub lunch classic.

A ploughman's with a French twist.

And, of course, hunks of crusty bread.

But will my dinner guests be impressed

with this uniquely British dish?

Here comes Joel, Aurelie and my foodie friend Pascale,

to find out.

Bonsoir. Hello. Nice to see you.

This is my little take on a ploughman's lunch

but with the beautiful ingredients of Provence.

Yeah, and beautiful view.

Nice and simple and you don't need to get too complicated.

It's the best. It's great. Is it?

So your beautiful figs. Thank you. Little pickle. Yeah.

So please, begin, begin, begin.

La salade. Salade.

Bon appetit!

Bon appetit!

Yeah, grilled lettuce. What do you think?

Never tried that.

That's very good. Mm.

It's very interesting that lettuce on the barbecue.

It's just, wow.

Just needs a bit more oil, yeah? It's nice.

Sweet, sour and smoked.

These are incredible.

Honestly. Thank you. I think this is my favourite.

Yeah? Yeah. Really?

I do. Mm.

So do you think if any of you ever visit the UK

you'll pop into a pub

and try what an English ploughman's is all about?

I'm not sure we're going to like it as much as this one. Thank you.

That's because you... Because it's got our terroir in it. That's it.

I'd say my Provencal style ploughman's is a hit.

But what about dessert?

Oooh! Breakfast tea, English breakfast tea.

Has Joel managed to deliver on a tea-flavoured chocolate?

Cos I'm very excited about this.

Black chocolate. Black chocolate.

And breakfast tea leaves.

Now the first question I need to ask, is Joel happy with this?

Je suis tres content. Je suis tres content de notre travail.

Aw, very happy.

Very happy. Your work together.

C'est tres delicat. Very delicate. Oh, beautiful.

I think that the chocolate looks lovely

but I think it would have looked a little bit better

if it had an English flag.

Ah! Il voulait un drapeau anglais. The flag anglais.

THEY LAUGH

C'est possible. C'est possible.

Can try your thing.

That's superb.

It's like then you taste wine.

That's the quality. Yeah. The quality of the chocolate. Absolument.

It's the first time I like chocolate. Oui. Mm. Dark chocolate.

Really? C'est vraiment la premiere fois. Ah, yeah.

Ah, what's that over there?

What is that over there? Look! Look! Look! Look!

Et voila.

Voila! There we go.

So the English tea,

the French chocolate,

it's a perfect "marr-age".

Is that...? Le the anglais.

C'est mariage anglais, le francais, la.

Oui, il y a des choses qui marchent quand meme?

Some weddings do work.

Some weddings....

And some don't.

I like that.

Now I love a brew, put it in chocolate,

my old man may not be too sure about that one,

there's no room for a teabag in a chocolate,

but made by a sensational chocolatier,

it was a marriage made in heaven.

But despite the efforts of the French,

Swiss and Belgian chocolatiers,

there's nothing quite like a bit of the old familiar.

British chocolate,

it takes a lot of beating.

Delicious.