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 the 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.

Ha-ha ha-ha!

Nice and easy, simple dinner for one.

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

We've got flavours of Provence.

That's sunshine for you.

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

That was close!

I'm a little nervous. Ha-ha ha-ha!

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

Yes. Ha-ha ha-ha!

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

Let's talk about meat.

There's something that a lot of us get excited about

when we see it on a menu.

It's something we're known for in the UK.

In fact, there's one term that the French endearingly call the English.

Les rosbifs.

Les rosbifs, fin.

Les rosbifs.

Les rosbifs.

Ah, you see, les rosbifs. Voila!

But when it comes to beef, especially in this part of France,

I'm told to expect something a little bit different.

My neighbour Jerome has invited me

to his restaurant for a lesson in local boeuf.

And I'm just wondering

whether he could teach this rosbif something a little bit different.

The nickname started in the 1800s

because our roast beef was so admired.

These days, I'm still fiercely proud of our British beef and farmers.

Hey, hi Marcus. Jerome, good to see you.

How are you? Very well. Good. Nice to see you.

So let's have a seat, OK? I'd love to.

Right, Jerome. I want you to be honest with me now.

What is the reputation of British chefs?

Ah, British chefs.

Or British cookery, British cookery. Ah, right, OK.

If you've never been to the UK, well,

the reputation is terrible, all right?

Is it really? I'm sorry, Marcus.

Yes, the reputation is terrible.

Ah, this is something I've got to change.

Tell me, what's your speciality?

We try to you know, pay a tribute in a way,

to the local producers, and the local food.

What is local food?

Local food is really interesting here, you've got a lot,

a lot of vegetables, you've got a lot of fish not very far

away from here, and you've got also something really interesting.

I'm not sure you know.

OK, so, a delicacy, or a local ingredient?

Yeah, that's a local meat.

So this mystery meat is Provence's answer to beef,

and I'm not going to lie, I am a little nervous.

Mm, right. Here we go.

On the menu it's written "Tagine."

OK, but, it's our own version of tagine, actually.

It's beautifully cooked.

It's incredibly tender, but I have to say it is strong.

It is. It's almost gamey in a way.

Why is that? Taureau.

This is bull. That's bull?

That's bull. Is it really? Wow!

I have to say...

I didn't expect that, that's a first,

and in fact, I don't think I've eaten bull before.

It's really good.

So, this is something you can find in all villages in Provence.

It used to be something, you know, you would cook in a family

when you don't have a lot of money, because it's way cheaper than beef.

What's your favourite? Bull or beef?

I would go with bulls, but I also like beef,

so, I think it really depends on the way it's done

and how you cook and so on.

But from a simpler, cheaper, more affordable cut, bull.

I would rather go with bulls, yeah, of course.

Yeah, yeah, and it's really local,

so it's like, five minutes away from the restaurant.

Jerome has offered to take me to see the local bulls.

I can't quite believe I'm going to willingly walk into a field

with a whole herd of bulls,

and stand toe-to-toe with these massive beasts,

but at Manade Caillan bull farm, father and son Francis

and Francois seem to be in one piece.

Just in case, I've left my red shirt at home.

Enchante. Enchante.

Francis, enchante. Nice to meet you.

Ca va? Tout va bien? Va bien, tres bien.

Can I just say, I thought, I don't know why,

when we were having lunch today and you were telling me about bull,

in my head I was thinking of the big, big, big bull.

Big head, huge, huge animal. Ah.

They actually just look like normal cattle.

Le taureau est si...

So, they're like sportive bulls.

Venez avec nous voir le troupeau,

nous on a besoin de votre aide pour porter les balles, oui.

OK, so they invite us to go with them

to check on the cattle, but we need to help them with the hay.

I'd love to, yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah.

Oh! It's heavy, that.

Thank you very much.

Bull has been eaten in Provence for centuries

and is so popular, 5,000 tonnes of it are produced every year.

Do they stay outside all year? All year.

All year long. Wow!

Even in the cold in the winter? Yeah.

Meme quand il fait tres froid.

The entire life they, they stay there, just free.

It's fascinating, because cows, in the winter,

they go into the sheds, and they get fed indoors. Yes.

Is the swimming pool!

Ha-ha ha-ha!

Why has one got a bell and the others haven't?

La nuit ils entendent la cloche,

Ils savent, ou il est, lui la.

Because it's like the head chef, it's a male and he is like,

guiding the rest.

But, whoa. Aren't they all male?

They're um, est-ce-qu'ils tous hommes?

Aren't they all male?

No, ca est un homme, ca, femelle la fin.

Femelle.

So, here you've got a male and that's a female,

but you call them taureaux. Un troupeau.

And you call them... Now hold on, hold on.

A bull... Yes.

..is all male.

You call them bull, taureau. Taureau.

But they've got a mix between male and female,

but we call them bulls. Do you really? Yeah, yeah.

Surprising. That's, yeah.

I have to say, I think it's the first time I thought

I'd ever get to stroke a bull, that's for sure.

She was born on Valentine's Day,

hence the name, Valentine.

They feel so powerful, so strong, aren't they?

So, because you've got a mixture of male and females,

so they're more or less, it's a breed of cattle.

It's like champagne!

Comme le champagne. Comme le champagne.

Now it's time to head into the belly of the beast.

Well, to feed their bellies.

There they come, there they come. Yes.

They're going there, look.

They don't seem to be my friend.

I have to say, with a herd of 180 bulls, I wasn't expecting us

to be do the chasing.

Maybe I should have worn a red shirt after all.

I'm starting to take it personally.

Do you know what, I think there's a big possibility

they know there's a chef on board. Ha-ha!

Elles doivent savoir que c'est un chef.

Eh oui, oui, oui, oui. Il fault qu'elles partent.

I have this effect on everybody.

I would really love to be able to cook a steak, just fry some up,

because I want to try it in its natural form.

Is that something we can do? Yeah, for sure.

I can do that? Oui, OK, encore!

So, I cook. You provide.

Good man. Allez!

What better way to really understand this protected Provencal beef

than fresh from the farm?

I have to say, from just looking at that, how dark it is.

I expected that, because I've tasted this,

at your restaurant,

and there was a depth of colour to the meat.

But now you see it in the raw state.

That's incredible, and this cut is the rump?

Yes. It's the rump.

So, I've got my pan, I brought it with me, here we are.

I feel like you're in my little restaurant bar here. Yes!

Right, what we're going to do, we'll add a little bit of oil,

little salt.

I'm expecting this to be, to be rich in flavour,

but almost like, you know what? It looks like venison.

Straight into the pan.

I'm treating this just like I would regular beef.

Et voila. Voila! Voila.

Do you guys like steak sandwiches?

I don't know. I have to try.

Right, well. I'm ging to put you three to the taste test.

I'm going to invite you over to my house...

All right, perfect.

..and I'm going to cook all of us

a steak sandwich from beef that I've got,

and I'm going to use this... Oh, perfect.

..and we see which is the best.

Smells good. Smell is so good.

Mm.

Me first!

I cook.

Oh, I am curious. That looks amazing. Yeah.

It looks great. Yeah.

Mm. That is superb.

It's like beef that's been to the gym.

Oui, oui.

You know, we talk about gamey, but in a good way.

It's not gamey, it's strong, it's powerful, but yet so tender.

I might have stitched myself up inviting them

for a beef versus bull steak off, but it's happening.

So now that I've met the bulls,

I want to get familiar with the beef around here.

There's a classic Provencal dish that a local cook has offered

to show me how to prepare.

But first, I've been sent to the butchers with strict

instructions to pick up the meat.

Wish me luck! Bonjour!

Bonjour. Bonjour. Wow!

Yep, that's definitely meat.

I'd even go so far as to say it's beef, but I need a slow-cooking cut

for the recipe and I have no idea what to ask for in French.

Daube de boeuf. Oui, avec grand plaisir.

Where is this cut?

Le palleron c'est dans l'epaule. This side? Oui. Bien.

So the shoulder? C'est ca.

The daube de boeuf. Ah, non, ici.

Blade, blade, blade. Got it.

Palleron de boeuf. C'est ca.

Un kilo. Oui. Ca ira? Oui.

Perfect. Avec ca? Oui, c'est bon.

Ca sera tout? I hope I've got the right thing.

In fact, my instinct is telling me that I've got the right thing,

but it's actually quite nice cos we've got a little English

translator over there on the wall, which is absolutely brilliant.

Et voila. Merci!

Merci a vous. Au revoir.

Au revoir, bonne journee. Merci.

I'm going to be cooking with an adopted local, Stephanie,

who has fully embraced the Provencal philosophy of simple,

delicious food, and she runs her own cookery school in the area.

She's going to share the secrets of one of the region's most

loved dishes, daube de boeuf.

Also known as a beef stew.

Right, shall we have a look at this? Let's see what I've got.

I'll go ahead and take the beef, maybe you can prep some of the veg?

OK. For the daube.

Could you imagine though,

if the locals knew that there was an American and an Englishman...

Cooking...

..cooking one of their biggest classic dishes,

and just coming up with our version.

I'm sure they'd be excited. Are you sure about that?

The secret to this simple,

traditional dish is building layers of flavour.

Stephanie starts by frying off lardons,

removing the crispy bacon bits

and leaving that rendered pork fat ready to brown the beef.

What I love about a dish like this is that this is a really,

really cheap cut of beef.

The chuck steak, the silverside,

but when you cook it slowly like we're about to do,

that all becomes gelatinous and delicious and so, so good.

Daube de boeuf originated in Provence as a preservation

technique, allowing farmers to store beef in wine for several weeks

without spoiling.

The recipe has been refined over the centuries to become

a dish that is loved all over France.

So now you're just sealing off the beef.

Getting that lovely colour and caramelisation,

and then what's the process after that, Stephanie?

What do you do next?

Now we're going to put everything in the pot,

and then we'll add in two orange peels.

I've done a bit too much. You did!

You did a little bit... I've done the whole orange.

I'm so sorry. We'll keep some for cocktails.

Get the cocktails later, OK. There you go.

So in goes onions, garlic,

and an optional splash of cognac to deglaze the pan.

Then the beef and lardons go back in, followed by carrots,

roasted tomatoes, a whole bottle of wine,

yep you heard me, a whole bottle of wine.

For a more cost-effective option, you could use a glass of wine

and replace the rest with beef stock.

It's so simple, just throw everything in the pot.

Last in are herbs and orange peel.

It certainly smells good. It does smell good already.

One of my favourite things to have with daube is mashed potatoes.

Mash, I guess you guys call it in, in the UK.

I know exactly what you're talking about.

I don't know if you've walked into a mash-off.

I'm going to actually remove my watch, cos it...

Oh, no! Yes, well, you started this. All right fine.

Well, you know me, given a chance to compete, I'll take it.

So here we go, Brits versus Yanks, mash-off.

Whose recipe will come out on top?

I've gone straight in there with a classic masher,

but Stephanie is cheating with a ricer which makes mash extra smooth.

Well, if she's going to use a ricer,

I'm pulling out all the stops and going big on butter.

Most importantly, cold butter, cos you don't want wet, oily butter.

Cream. Ah, you've got cream? Yeah.

I'm surprised a little bit, by how much butter you're using.

A, well, in for a penny, or should that be a pound of butter?

What, I'm sweating.

Why am I sweating?

We're very concentrated, aren't we? No way!

It's when, it's whenever... No way!

..anyone says we're having a competition,

it's amazing how chefs just go silent!

Shall we taste? I think we should.

Are you ready? I'm ready.

Mm. Shall I, maybe I'll heat mine for you?

Do you know what's missing? Butter?

Stop! That last bit of butter.

Stop! Well, it is, come on.

That's one whole packet of butter in my mash alone.

It's going to take some beating.

I think they're good as is.

Mm. That's good. Yeah.

Stephanie's is smooth and creamy,

but with all the butter in mine, I have a really silky texture.

That looks fantastic.

It's almost like square, the way it folds.

This isn't an everyday mash but it's worth trying if you want a treat.

Lovely.

Beautiful! There we go.

Both delicious, both beautiful.

And remember we're allies!

All right, so, the one we prepared still has a few hours.

Leave that one. Few hours to braise.

So, luckily I prepared one in advance

that we can taste right now. Good, good, good.

Cos why wait? Put that on there.

Why wait?

I think that looks great.

I think it's, it smells incredible,

and it's beautiful the way it cooks down, and you know it's ready

because all the meat starts to break up a little bit.

How do you find the simple, Provencal style?

Have you embraced it? Absolutely.

Is it part of your lifestyle now? It is, totally.

Fresh ingredients, delicious flavours.

Simple. You don't have to do too much.

Oh, can I try it? Let's have a taste.

There you are, I'll get you. Thanks.

Silence is usually a good sign when someone's eating.

Very true.

Mm, and you've got my mashed potatoes.

It's good, it's good.

And what about that all important beef?

How can something so affordable be so delicious?

So good. It's incredible. Mm.

The deglazing, or the cleaning of the pan with the cognac,

I thought was a lovely idea. Mm.

I love cognac in food, but I love the way you just put

enough in just to clean the bottom of the pan.

Just in the background, but the bottle of wine was genius.

I just think that, for that much flavour, with no stock added,

just says how good the quality of the ingredients,

but also, how good the cook is too.

It's just, well, thanks.

You know your stuff.

Stephanie's daube de boeuf is delicious, but,

when it comes to potato puree, I think I nailed that one.

We'll let you have it.

We'll let you have it!

So I've sampled the local beef as well as the bull,

and the day of the epic steak sandwich cook-off has arrived.

Got my winning shirt on, time to get the barbie going.

I love cooking on the barbecue,

and so I thought I'd show you some tips and little tricks

that I've learnt along the way,

that I think could really help your cooking.

I like cooking on wood, cos I think it just gives a different

dimension, it just, also, can add some flavour.

And the key to a fire is just making sure that the air can flow,

so don't stack them all in a row like so.

You don't want to do that.

Side by side, put one on top.

Now, it may look like there's quite a lot there,

but that's absolutely perfect, and then on this side,

I always like cooking on charcoal as well,

cos I like a different type of heat.

Coal up.

Sprinkle that on.

Just lift a couple of the coal up, little bit of kindling on top there.

Same over there.

There we have it, charcoal with a little bit of kindling,

and I've got my wood over there.

Two different temperatures.

Ready to go!

Now, we can light our barbecue and let the magic begin.

But a little tip, if you've got the front and the back,

don't light the front first.

Start at the back, you've got a firelighter at the back there,

and then just work your way to the front.

Let it get to the right temperature, we can start cooking

and the most important thing is, you can enjoy yourself.

The beauty of using both wood and coal is it gives you more control.

You have the intense heat of the coal that's great for quick

grilling plus the slower burn of the wood that gives you the extra

smoky flavour, perfect for a large cut of meat.

No-one cleans the barbecue once you've used it,

cos when you finish cooking, all you wan to do is,

is serve your guests and eat, but before you start cooking again,

let it burn away, let that get to temperature, and then you

just get a little brush, over the top, and brush it off.

So that your barbecue is nice and clean.

That's getting a little bit hot.

Right, while that's burning away, prep to do.

It's time for the Anglo-French beef versus bull cook-off.

I'm making simple but so tasty minute steak sandwiches

with a herby green Provence inspired sauce,

and a sweet and smoky spice rub for the meat.

I'm cooking the beef and bull in exactly the same way,

but looking at these two side by side,

I might have bitten off more than I can chew with this challenge.

Well, I think I've got the guys coming round,

and I thought I'd crack out the barbecue shirt.

In fact, I think it's my son's.

It's either my son's or my dad's.

I know I didn't buy it.

I thought it's the perfect shirt for today.

Right, onions in.

Starting with my green sauce.

Onions, capers, fresh tarragon, parsley

and oregano in the mixer with a good glug of olive oil,

white wine vinegar and seasoning, simple as that.

Quick taste.

Mm.

Beautiful, fresh, definitely taste the tarragon.

Lovely little bit of acidity with the white wine vinegar.

That is good to go.

There we have it, a beautiful green sauce.

That's not a sauce that's just for steaks,

that would be great with pasta, bit of a drizzle into a salad,

over some cheese and tomato, perfect.

And if you don't use all of it, just put it into a little jug,

into a little jar, put the lid on, into your fridge

and it'll keep for a good few days.

Right, now, we're going to get on to cutting my bread.

My sauce is made.

So, I've got these beautiful baguettes.

I'm just going to cut them in half lengthways.

Always take your time when you're cutting anything like this,

put your hand on top, keep it nice and flat, and just take your time.

Stop every now and again, check both sides,

make sure you've got a nice, even cut.

It reminds me of when I was at catering college

and you used to have to cut a Victoria sponge cake,

so you'd make your sponge cake and you had to cut it

on the little turntable, and your teacher was always standing

over your shoulder, making sure that you got it absolutely perfect.

Wasn't always the case, but we certainly learnt a skill.

There we go.

Baguettes cut in half.

Just drizzle a little bit of olive oil onto the bread, and then

we're just going to go straight onto the grill, quickly toast.

So, that little bit of toasting just makes the bread,

where it's been sliced, nice and crunchy and dry.

You also get the flavour of the charred barbecue,

which is what we want, but it just prevents the bread

from getting soggy once we put the meat on.

My bread is beautifully toasted, now it's time to get the steaks out,

get them on a grill and put them to the test.

There we have it, look at these.

There's the bull and there's the beef.

Definitely see the difference.

So, I'm going to go with the bull first.

Just going to open them up, first of all just a little

drizzling of oil, so that the rub sticks to it.

I have a secret weapon for easily elevating the flavour of any steak,

a dry rub made with brown sugar and any herbs and spices you like.

Mine's got smoked paprika and herbes de Provence.

Right, over to the grill, here we go.

Just check to make sure they're not stuck,

just give them about 30, 30 seconds.

Look at that. Turn it over.

Halfway there.

Doesn't get much easier than that, does it?

Just what it says on the tin.

So the minute steak,

basically refers to the time that it takes to cook.

So, it can actually be different cuts of beef, but the beauty

of it is, it works with the cheapest cuts like featherblade and rump.

The key is the thickness and then it only takes a minute.

Look at that, there we go.

Get the last bit of charring.

Yeah, I'd say that's about a minute.

There we go.

That's the bull.

Now, minute.

Let's get on with the beef.

A long time ago, I had a job in Upstate New York in a place

called the Adirondack mountains, and we used to have to do barbecues

on a rock that was called The Point cos it pointed out into, into

Lake Placid, and it, actually, this reminds me, because we had a view

over there, not quite like this, it was more mountainous, but it was

on a massive barbecue, where we were just barbecuing for our guests.

Great, absolutely brilliant.

It was very hot.

It was great views.

The only difference is I was cooking for customers.

And here I'm cooking for my guests.

There we go.

The minute steak is the perfect steak for a sandwich.

Why?

Because it cooks nice and quickly, it's nice and thin,

so that you get a nice, thin layer of the steak and it's really,

really great value.

You get more for your money with a minute steak.

What's really interesting though, I have to show you is that

if I just lift this tray up there, that's the juice from the bull meat.

Then look at all of the juice that's come out of the beef.

That tells me that the bull is much leaner than the beef,

which in theory says that the bull is a better product,

but we'll put that to the taste test.

On there.

Little sneaky taste.

Mm, it is good.

It is good.

Drizzle of sauce.

Oh, they're going to love this.

Lid on.

Lid on.

That's my bull.

Now it's onto the beef.

Green sauce over the top.

Twist of pepper.

Lid on.

I hope the guys are hungry.

Last one.

There we go.

Bull sandwich, beef sandwich.

Now that is what you call a feast!

And just in time for my hopefully hungry guests to arrive.

Bonjour. Bonjour. Hello.

Bonjour, come round, come round. Come round!

Hey, how are you? Hey, Jerome, good to see you.

I'm good. Bonjour. Bonsoir! Come in, come in, come in.

They're looking very serious, these two!

Do you want to explain what we're doing.

Little competition.

Can you recognise...

Number one.

On va essayer de gouter

et de deviner lequel est le boeuf ou le, ou le taureau.

I hope you guys are hungry. Yes.

Hungry? Yes! OK!

There we go. Thank you.

But before we begin, sante. Sante. Sante.

Let the competition begin.

A la votre. Ah, yes.

Now, down to business and the beef sandwich is up first.

They just don't know it yet.

Very interesting.

It's very soft. Mm.

The meat, yeah? Mm.

Francis and Francois are playing their cards close to their chests.

We'll go for the second one now, OK? OK.

That's right. Voila.

Thank you. Merci.

Here comes the bull.

Monsieur. Thank you.

Gosh, that bread's crunchy!

Break it open.

Taste is a bit stronger for this one.

Un peu plus fort. Mm.

La couleur aussi, la couleur, la texture...

La couleur.

It's a bit chewier, the second one. Yeah. Oui, yes.

So, you've got one meat that I heard you speak about that was nice

and tender, and delicious and juicy,

was, I think, was the words I heard.

Not that I'm trying to influence anyone.

And then the other one was a little bit chewy

and strong in flavour. Yeah.

So, Jerome, this is a crucial question.

I'm going to ask the most experienced man on the terrace

what he thinks first.

Monsieur? Number one or number two prefer?

Number two. Number two? Yes. OK.

I would go with number one. Number one? Yeah.

Les deux sont tres bons, one and two for me!

One and two. Very good.

Your English is getting, your English is getting good!

For me, I'm the same as you.

One and two.

I prefer them both, I think they're very, very good.

They're quite unique in their both ways.

So which one, number one or number two is the bull?

Which one is the beef?

L'expert. Let's ask the boss.

Number, number two, number two, the bull.

Is the bull? Mm. Jerome?

Yeah, I would say the same. Number two?

Yeah, yeah. It is the two. Two? Number two.

Two yeah, for the bull.

For the couleur, for the...

The taste, the colour.

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

These guys know what they're talking about.

On a gagne, non? Yes!

Provence won!

I suppose the question is, who's won the shirt competition?

We're just, it's between me and the old man here.

Classique. It's classic.

Classique et... Not so classic.

Definitely not classic!

Although I didn't manage to fool them, I think it's safe to say

that Provence has taught me that there is more

to this versatile ingredient than just roast beef.

It doesn't matter if you're using beef or bull, they're both

incredible, they're both affordable, and they're both delicious.

A minute steak sandwich, can't beat it.