Original subtitles

I've spent my life celebrating people through food and through music,

so I've seen first-hand the power a great party has

to bring us closer together.

Woo! Woo!

Now I'm taking my passion for parties the length and breadth of the UK...

Yeah!

Good afternoon, everybody! CH EERING

...as I organise from scratch eight fabulous feasts,

uniting eight very different communities.

There'll be food - loads of it.

I'm going to get together the best local produce,

get inspired and cook up a storm.

I cannot wait.

I'll track down talented local chefs to help me dream up...

There's a little touch of genius.

Perfection. That's out of control.

Oh, my God.

...and serve up unique dishes on a grand scale

that celebrate the story of the incredible people and places I visit.

Oh, fabulous!

This will be food with heart and soul that paints a picture of Britain.

Mm!

It's going to be a mammoth task.

God!

Look at my chandelier!

Have you got a kitchen here?

We have a microwave, about that big.

OK, that's not going to do it.

If I get this right...

You're so welcome.

...it's going to be epic.

WHISTLE BLOWS

The sun's out!

Some things I do know how to do,

and one of them is how to put on a really, really good party.

Across this series, I've helped people from all over the country

put on show-stopping community events.

This time I'm venturing closer to home -

Notting Hill, West London,

where I brought my daughter Miquita up back in the '80s.

I lived in this neighbourhood for about 17 years or something.

This is where I brought my daughter up,

Ladbroke Grove, Portobello Road, Golborne Road and hereabouts.

So it really is like coming home for me.

I want to see if it's as I remember it back then.

There was so much community spirit

and people really looked out for each other.

That was 40 years ago.

I want to find out if it's still the same.

And there's no-one better to help me do that

than my constant companion, my daughter, Miquita...

Oh, hey, honey.

Hi!

...who I raised on these streets.

We haven't been here in forever.

What do you think, by the way? 20 years?

No! No. But ten, maybe.

I'm so happy that Le Maroc, the butcher down there, is still there.

Ancl the fish guy is still here.

The fish guy is still there.

See, that's why I like Golborne,

because when I walk up it, I do feel like

there are things that have stayed that are really, like, crucial.

Crucial! What, like the cash and carry?

Yes! It's been here forever. Absolutely, though.

There was a lot of kind of community things

that were, like, set up to look after the people when we were here.

I know.

I relied on all sorts of community organisations here as a single mum,

from free nurseries to massively subsidised holiday clubs.

Every day, I would take you to school and come back up here.

These are the streets that grew us, Mama!

I know, I know.

Like, literally, I brought you up here,

but I also feel like this place brought me up...

Yeah. ..simultaneously.

We were both growing up. I was only 20.

# You're my kind of climate

# Swinging lost paradise

# Your touch, your smell Well, you can tell

# I ain't talking about heaven or hell

# You're my... #

Back in the day, I was in a band,

working three jobs and raising a child, too.

It was community that got me through.

But times change.

This area has always been one of contrasts,

with the wealthy living alongside those struggling to get by.

And the contrast now is as sharp as it's ever been.

What was really special about being a single parent with no money,

looking after you, and being in this neighbourhood,

is that we all looked after each other. Yeah.

I want to see for myself if the support networks

that helped me back in the day are still going strong.

I really hope they are.

So I'm headed to the base of the iconic Trellick Tower

to meet a couple running a Sicilian cafe

that I've been told is more than meets the eye.

Hi! Ciao! Hello.

Hello. Hi! Hi! Are you Giuseppe? Yes, nice to meet you.

Hello! What a pleasure to meet you.

How are you?

Nice to meet you. Beautiful people. Beautiful people.

What a gorgeous place!

Giuseppe and Caterina felt an instant connection

to the cafe space at Trellick...

We feel an energy when I came inside.

I don't know, the light, the location.

They remind me of Palermo. Oh! You know.

...so they decided to name it after a Sicilian snack

close to their hearts.

Look at that!

A traditional chickpea fritter.

Oh, my God!

Oh, my God.

Oh, it's delicious.

I love that separation, that skin and this soft bit.

Yeah, you see that skin on top?

I could eat this forever.

THEY LAUGH

But the couple wanted to help those who can't afford to eat here.

So once a month, on a Sunday,

Giuseppe and Caterina use their day off

to create a free meal for local people in need,

using donated produce and volunteer time.

Since starting in 2015,

the People's Kitchen have dished up 12,000 meals,

serving up to 60 locals at each of their Sunday sessions.

Fab-licious.

SHE LAUGHS

Everyone's really friendly, good vibes.

The community spirit is very strong.

And it's funded by donations

from paying customers throughout the week.

So people can pay, like, £5, I'm reading,

and donate a meal for somebody else.

Yes. You know, it connects the people who have more

with the people who have less.

Yes. The idea is to join all together, you know?

Yes. Especially less privileged people, elder people,

they eat not proper food.

That's a really good idea. I love that.

And also it reminds people to be kind.

Giuseppe wants to show me one of his most popular dishes.

One that gets everybody who tries it

digging into their pockets to donate what they can.

This is one of the most famous

because many people come for arancini.

Oh, arancini! Yes.

Arancini, because in Palermo they call arancina because...

Arancina! Yeah, arancina or arancini. Aha.

The only important is it has to be good.

The name arancini is derived

from the Italian word arancia, meaning orange,

because the rice balls are often similar in size and shape to oranges.

The starting point is the rice.

There are many ingredients here.

Saffron, salt, cheese,

and eggs as well, to make a little bit more... Eggs?

Oh, so it holds. Yes.

Ancl then we have the two most common filling,

which is alla carne, we call, which is a beef ragu. Gorgeous.

Ancl the al burro, which is with ham.

Bechamel here.

Is that the mozzarella? Mozzarella.

But you can use a different cheese.

It depends on what you have at home, you know. Yes.

He then finishes with fresh parsley, Parmesan and black pepper.

Cheesy, gooey, hammy goodness.

What's not going to be good about that?!

Now onto the beef.

A little bit of bechamel you put in, yeah?

I put a little bit cheese.

A bit of Parmesan.

I'm not usually put some mozzarella here,

but I know the people, they like.

Yeah, let's get some mozzarella in there

and let's gooey it up. LAUGHS

Giuseppe needs to pack the filling into chilled risotto,

and there's real skill to the shaping of it.

I like that, and you push it down with your thumb.

Yeah, so you make a well.

Then you start to squeeze a little bit.

You press, just to... Not too much.

Then the arancini needs a dip in a bath of flour and water,

a quick roll in breadcrumbs...

OK. Fantastico.

...and then into the deep fryer for crisp and colour.

# Yummy, yummy, yummy! I got love in my tummy. #

And once they've cooled, these Mediterranean morsels

are ready to eat.

Beautiful.

Oh, my God.

Mm. Mm?

Oh, man, you make me dance!

THEY LAUGH

You know what's quite interesting is this outside is quite thin,

like, the ratio... Yeah.

...how much filling you have to rice is really, really beautifully judged.

Mm!

Oh, my God.

You like? Oh!

It kind of makes your heart feel happy, doesn't it?

Yeah. This food, it's like you can taste...

It's got so much care in it, I can feel it.

Yeah. I can feel it when I'm eating it, honestly.

That's why I'm really happy to do something,

because when I see people happy,

I cannot describe how happy I am inside.

Yeah, I can see it in your eyes when you talk about it, I know. THEY LAUGH

I feel like it's people like you

and doing this incredible work that you're doing

that keep this part of London for everybody,

and it's just really important that that happens.

I'm very grateful to you and I'm sure everybody else is too.

I'm not surprised they love you.

I feel quite excited about the idea of doing something

to celebrate everything that makes W10 so unique.

There's nowhere quite like it. There really, really isn't,

so the idea that we can do a party is quite exciting for me.

I want to say thank you to our old neighbourhood,

and thank you to the people that are still doing the do.

But to put on a party that does my old neighbourhood proud,

I'll need to cook up an unforgettable feast.

There are people here that still know me, so I can't disappoint.

But where to start?

This part of London truly is a melting pot,

but one of the food cultures I remember most vividly is Moroccan.

It's a community that's grown here since the '60s,

when Moroccans were recruited into the booming hotel and catering trade,

earning this area the nickname Little Morocco.

A Moroccan flavour to my menu is a must,

so I'm headed to local institution Le Maroc butcher's

to meet community leader Souad Talsi.

Hello. Are you Souad?

I am! It's nice to meet you. Lovely to meet you.

How are you, darling? Welcome home!

Thank you!

Oh, my God, the best merguez in town, right? Absolutely.

I used to come here all the time.

I love, love, love this shop.

Souad wants to inspire me with one of her favourite dishes.

So I'm using lamb for my couscous today.

You're going to make a lamb couscous? Yes. That's my favourite.

ls my lamb ready? Yes. Fabulous.

Let's get this show on the road, yeah?

Souad arrived in the UK as a child in the early '70s,

and in 1985, seeing the need

for a support centre for women of Arab origin,

she founded the Al-Hasaniya Women's Centre,

based, like Panella, at the foot of Trellick Tower.

Nearly 40 years later, it's still providing invaluable help

and, in 2011, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list

for her services.

Welcome to our kitchen!

Oh, my goodness! It's lovely.

The centre provides a weekly lunch

and, today, Souad's cooking a Moroccan classic.

Couscous with lamb.

You look very Moroccan. Thank you.

First, we're adding chopped vegetables to the lamb

and seasoning it with ground ginger,

turmeric and cinnamon.

Next, Souad's browning the meat with the spices...

Smells fantastic.

...then adding water for deep flavour.

Come up to the meat like that, yeah?

Pepper, just for the sauce. It's not hot.

So do you put them in whole?

Yes. Because they're big like that, they're not hot.

Yeah. They're nice. They've got warmth. That's right.

A little bit of stock cube.

A bit more salt and flavour as well.

We're going to put the vegetables in. Yes.

Souad's adding courgette, turnip and squash.

Look at the size of those. Normally I think that's too big.

But when you do that in a couscous,

it's like this tender, beautiful thing that happens.

Yeah, and they go with their skin.

And you leave the skin on. That's right.

I'm loving Souad's large, skin-on vegetables.

It could be a great way to cater for a crowd.

Served with the stew

is the couscous itself, or semolina, a staple grain in Morocco.

Every couscous is different depending on the region in Morocco,

and everyone claims they have the best recipe. Of course.

So I'm going to make a North Kensington couscous.

A North Kensington couscous!

What you want is the semolina to be fluffy.

And Souad's got a great skill to perfect it.

Cold water. Cold water.

Don't be scared, just soak it up.

It really absorbs a lot, doesn't it? Yes.

And the secret is

don't stop stirring until all the water is absorbed.

Keep on stirring, so it remains separate.

Then the couscous gets steamed over the stew.

So couscous Fridays is an important moment in your week?

It's an absolute must.

So the ladies wake up in the morning, get ready,

some of them go shopping, and then they go to the local mosque.

When they come back, they've got wonderful couscous ready for them.

The centre Souad founded offers all Arabic women a range of services,

like legal advice, therapy and computer classes,

which they otherwise wouldn't have access to

because of language and other cultural barriers.

You must have helped so many women by now, over the years. Yeah.

And this weekly meal is a real taste of home,

served up with the couscous first, then the vegetables...

That's art.

...and the lamb on top to finish.

You place it so carefully.

It looks fantastic.

Give this a taste and tell me.

Oh, my God. It's beautiful.

It's so...

...tender.

Sehha. Sehha, which means to your health.

I will follow you.

Yeah? Yes.

Salaam. Salaam.

Salaam.

For these women and countless others, the support offered by the centre

has been essential to their lives in the UK...

Gorgeous.

...and being cooked this comforting taste of their homeland

has helped build a powerful bond of sisterhood.

You know, in Morocco, every Friday,

all the people do this couscous, every house.

You know, like here, we have Sunday lunch.

It's like the same, but different food.

There are a lot of people that can't go out from the house,

but Al-Hasaniya invites them to come in here.

So they come out on a Friday... Yeah.

...and you can find company.

Ancl they find this lovely food and lovely stuff. Mm.

it just tastes of home and heart

and all the good things.

Doesn't matter how many problems we've got,

we just leave it outside the door.

Then when we come here, they always help us,

especially English is second language.

We don't understand the law,

something like an important letter,

and we get scared. Mm-hm.

Pick up that letter, we come to the Al-Hasaniya,

and I said, "Souad, please can you explain to me this?

"I don't understand." She said, "Don't worry. Don't get scared."

50 you get proper support?

We came here very weak.

This Al-Hasaniya make us very strong women.

When you said to me, just now, when I met you at El Maroc,

you said, "Welcome home." I was like, "Aw!"

Because I really feel like it.

This part of London will always be a part of me.

So we're going to make loads of lovely food

and I would love it if you guys came as well.

Fabulous.

Thank you so much.

For me, it's so good to know that these community spaces

and this kind of care and nurture and love and support

is still happening because the pockets of community

that are still here, that are less fortunate than others,

are being looked after and engaged with and supported,

gives me quite a lot of hope.

When Miquita and I lived in W10,

making sure your neighbours were fed and looked after

was just as important.

No-one had much money and we relied on each other for support.

I've asked her to come with me to check out a street

we know only too well.

Powis Terrace was once home to the London Free School,

set up by local activist john "Hoppy" Hopkins.

In a house rented off Malcolm X,

it was part Citizens Advice Bureau,

part community action group,

a rehearsal space for Pink Floyd

and the base for the first two Notting Hill Carnivals.

And in the early '80s, this street was home to us.

This is Powis Terrace.

So we lived here till you were 15? 14.

Oh, my God.

I used to sit out here with my mates at night,

in the summertime, on the stoop.

Sit here with me.

The corner shop there used to have a book,

like, old-fashioned, like, credit book.

So throughout the week, when you were shopping and you ran out,

because you'd run out of money by Wednesday, Thursday usually,

and so Sergey would put it in the book.

On the corner there was the post office.

That's where I used to cash my child allowance,

you know, family, whatever.

And then I would go straight to Sergey's and pay the tab.

And I don't think people understand the kindness of

someone in your local boss man,

that he didn't just help us survive...

Well, he did. He did.

He kept us alive, in a way. He did.

There were times when if Sergey didn't have that big black book,

we would not have eaten.

It's hard, you know, you live with a constant state of fear.

It's like literally hand to mouth, day to day.

Oh! Oh, my God.

Hi!

Living in Powis Terrace was a roller-coaster ride

of good and bad times.

I've got, like, weird palpitations.

So coming back here is pretty overwhelming.

Go in? Yeah, OK.

I feel shaky.

MIQUITA SNIFFLES

So much has happened since there, but...

SNIFFLES

Sorry, it really does feel quite emotional

just because we haven't been there together since we left.

No, since the day we left.

I just really feel overwhelmed by everything Mum's clone...

Aw. ..from who we were there.

We really didn't have much,

but she just made it feel like we did.

Aw!

# I can still remember

# When we were much younger... #

Places you could hang out with mates and share food were vital.

And there's one spot in particular I remember being a lifeline.

This place here, the Globe.

That's the first place anyone ever paid me for food that I cooked.

There was no glass there.

There were no windows.

There was a hatch that you pulled across and somebody would go...

Somebody would go, "Yeah?"

I would come on Saturday afternoons.

Mum would cook chicken and rice and everything for everyone.

We had quite a good little system.

Yeah, we had a good little system.

I'm happy to see that some of the vibe hasn't changed around here.

It smells like home, doesn't it? Yeah.

Oh, my God. That chicken smells so good.

Thank you, honey. When's it ready?

Oh, gosh. You have to give me at least half an hour.

What was that? Is that your jerk sauce? Yeah.

Did you make that? That's where the magic was.

And then you've got to cover it and let the smoke in.

Because people get confused about jerk chicken.

It's also a cooking method. It's not just a spice, right?

No, it's closing it down, making sure it steams out.

And letting the smoke happen. Exactly. And then it's juicy.

Ancl then you get the coal inside.

You can taste that smoke.

Yeah, right. And then the crispy, you finish it off. Exactly.

You save me a couple of those I yes, sir?

Yes, I will, I promise. All right, darling. I'll see you guys shortly.

Very shortly! Yeah.

The Caribbean influence in Notting Hill

grew after World War ll,

when people were invited to help fill gaps left by lab our shortages.

My parents moved to the UK in the 1950s,

and by the end of that decade, this part of London

had one of the largest Caribbean populations in Britain.

I've got forks, yeah.

Look at that.

Look, this just makes her happy.

Look how happy she now is.

She's like, "Yay! Chicken."

Mm-hm.

Yeah. Oh, my God. That's some good jerk.

jerk is such a beautiful...recipe.

But it kind of just got homogenised a bit

and turned into the only thing that Caribbean food was about.

Yeah. Ancl it's kind of not jerk's fault.

Do you know how jerk was invented?

So the enslaved Africans went up into the hills

to hide from colonisers up in the hills in Jamaica,

and they were cooking and didn't want the soldiers to see the smoke,

so they covered the food that they were cooking.

All right. OK. All right.

Now it's a party! Now we're ready.

I always get brown stew because I'm a gravy head.

Your jerk vibes, and you get the gravy wetness.

That's the best of both worlds.

Chicken high.

THEY LAUGH

I definitely need to get jerk vibes into my feast.

But there's another way I know I can bring a Caribbean flavour.

Music.

I've heard great things about the Metronomes,

a steel band set up to help young people stay connected to their roots

and strengthen community bonds.

So I've come to meet band leader Eversley.

You're Eversley, right? Yes. How are you, darling?

I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing?

I'm good, thank you. That's good. Nice to see you.

OK.

Hi! How long has Metronome been going, then?

Since 1973.

Shut up! We're celebrating 50 years this year.

Shut up! That's amazing.

So you must have seen, ushered, how many generations now?

Oh, too many. Oh, my goodness.

Her mother. Yeah. My whole family.

The whole family. Your mother? Yeah. Grandad.

Your grandad?!

THEY LAUGH

What about you guys?

His mother and his father.

His aunt, his cousins.

Oh, my goodness!

So it's beyond community.

It's, like, heritage. Yeah, absolutely.

The band have a busy touring schedule,

having been a fixture at Carnival for 50 years.

When did you join Metronomes, then?

i joined Metronomes late '76.

And what did it give you when you were young?

Purpose. It gave me a sense of belonging.

And how about for you, my dear? Well, like, it's important because

it definitely gives you, like, a sense of belonging,

but it also kind of lets you embrace your culture.

You come and play every day as well?

All of you in here every day?

My goodness! Are these your stars?

Yeah, they're the young stars.

The young stars!

Listen, I've got a little request, right?

I'm having a party on Saturday.

I want to celebrate people like you,

who are keeping communities strong and beautiful and connected,

because what you do is glorious. It's just a wonderful thing.

I'd love it if you guys could be persuaded to come.

It would be beautiful. I'd love to have you there.

And I promise to feed you really, really well

and that you'll have a really nice time.

So, see you Saturday?

See you Saturday. Yeah! That's what I wanted to hear.

OK.

You know, I just didn't know how many powerful community things

were still happening here in W10.

What the young people get from it, what Eversley gets from it,

what every generation of those kids' families get from it

is irreplaceable.

You can't get that from anywhere else.

I feel very, very happy about my party.

I think it's all shaping up quite well.

While the food and entertainment is getting there,

there's one vital component to my party that's far from sorted -

a venue. No venue, no party.

But I've got an idea.

One building that loomed large in my time in W10

and is clearly still at the centre of life here

is Trellick Tower.

It's where Giuseppe and Souad both base their efforts

to bring joy to the community,

so it feels only right that I do too.

First, I need to scope it out.

Good morning!

And that means making friends with the concierge.

How are you? Are you Serge? Welcome to Trellick Tower.

Oh, thank you so much.

And you're Paul? Welcome to Trellick.

Nice to meet you all.

So you're the gatekeepers? We are. Yeah.

I like it.

These are the friendliest gatekeepers I've ever seen in my life!

Trellick Tower was designed by modernist architect Erno Goldfinger,

who pencil-sketched a big block

with an enclosed walkway every third floor, linking to a service tower

that contained lifts, stairs and refuse chutes,

with a cantilevered boiler room perched on top.

When it was completed in 1972,

it was the tallest residential building in Europe

and a flagship example of good social housing,

with a cutting-edge design replacing outdated Victorian slums.

Built of quality materials with large windows, expansive balconies,

plus space-saving sliding doors,

Trellick was planned as a family-friendly utopia,

but I don't remember it quite like that.

When I was much younger and I used to live around here,

you know, Trellick was quite hardcore.

You know, it wasn't necessarily the easiest place to be.

Has there always been a reception at Trellick?

I don't remember it. It's so funny.

I don't remember a concierge because there wasn't one.

But when crime soared and the building fell into disrepair,

in 1984, a residents association was formed,

putting pressure on the council to stop its decline.

In 1986, the council changed its policy,

so only people who wanted to live in the tower would be housed there.

To their surprise, the demand was huge, and in 1987,

residents finally got a concierge,

followed by CCTV video cameras,

entry phones and faster lifts.

11 years later, Trellick Tower was awarded Grade ll listed status

and despite the Right to Buy scheme,

today, an impressive 85% of the flats

are still occupied by council tenants.

So you know all the people who live in this block?

Yeah.

What's the mixture like?

I would call it United Nation building.

All over the world, everyone is here. Everyone is represented.

This makes me feel like the community is still going strong,

because when I lived in this bit of London,

there was so many people from all over the world,

from all walks of life, everybody just all together

and getting on with it.

Do you feel like Trellick is a bit like that?

Yeah.

That's nice. That's good to know.

That actually makes me feel good.

There are 217 flats in this 322ft high building.

21st floor.

Doors opening.

This really is a city in the sky.

Oh, goodness.

You see, the thing about Trellick is this view is insane.

It's funny because, you know, people wax lyrical about Trellick Tower

and the beauty of the architecture.

I think it's one of the ugliest places I've ever seen in my life!

I personally think it's a bit hideous physically,

but when you get inside,

there is something about being up high in a block like this

that actually, oddly, for me, is quite liberating.

You know, city living can sometimes feel so oppressive.

If you have views,

it changes the whole feeling of being in a block,

because it gives you this feeling of air and space around you.

It's actually quite clever.

I'm wondering if there's a way

I can utilise this view for our party.

You know, I've never noticed that before,

but there's a big, flat roof.

I wonder if you can get up onto that roof.

That would be cool.

I mean, imagine the sun is out,

we've got all our lovely community,

we're up on the roof.

What a way to start a big thank-you that would be, right?

Miquita has come to join me...

Oh, my God! ANDI LAUGHS

...as we've decided to drop in on an old friend of ours, Seamus...

It's the right one!

Oh, my God, you're so dapper! I can't stand it!

...who's a true Trellick super fan.

Look at your...

These flats are amazing, aren't they?

They really are. I'd forgotten how great they are inside, you know.

They're lovely, aren't they?

They're really incredible. They're beautiful for light.

Come on out here. Can we? This looks onto Golborne Road.

Look at this!

What floor are we on?

This is only...this is the sixth, right?

This is only the sixth floor?

I've got friends who live upstairs on the 27th...

SHE GASPS

Oh! ..and that's when you feel the sway when it gets stormy.

Yeah. Stop it! Actually? I'm not sure I like the sound of that.

THEY LAUGH

That sounds a little bit scary to me.

Seamus is a cinematographer, and for him, Trellick has a visual

beauty I'm yet to appreciate.

The architect took a photograph of the train

going past just here... Oh! ..and he

took a picture, and it was blurring

past, and he came up with the idea of the lift shaft... Oh, wow!

...through there. That's a train, that's the GWR express.

Right!

I realise I have an emotional, like, connection to this building,

like it's a landmark, but, aesthetically, I always think

it's quite ugly. I love it! Wow!

It's like there's something very, very solid about it, and some

might see it as brutalist, but I think it is so delicate.

It reminds me of a beehive. Ah! It's got all the little

holes in there, it's got all the people living in here.

One of the things that I always get concerned about with W10, W11

is gentrification of the neighbourhood

and all of that stuff.

Before we started making this film, I was like, "Well, there's nobody

"left out in W10, there's nothing for anyone, and I don't know

"how they manage," but since I've got here, I'm like, "Oh!" The people

that are still here, community-wise, in some ways it feels almost,

like, even stronger because you've had to be.

I think it is. Part of that is that the neighbourhood,

the Panella downstairs, people stop and talk to each other,

and it's always been that since I first moved here. No, it's true,

because, you know, when she was little, it was just me and her,

and I could have been isolated quite easily,

but there was just no chance, not with all those people,

on every corner, there was somebody.

There was always somebody looking out for you and always somebody

checking in or just, you know, just in passing,

"I was just passing," you know?

And all of that stuff made me feel

like I was always connected,

and that's kind of meant the world to me, actually.

Meeting Seamus has allayed any slight doubts

I had about having the party at Trellick.

It's the mothers hip of this community and I can now agree

it's a thing of beauty.

I just hope I can pull off a party that does the incredible people

I've met justice, and makes everyone in my old neighbourhood proud.

As a new day dawns over West London, the Trellick gods have spoken.

The good news is we've been granted permission to hold a party right

here at the tower.

The bad news is we have to do it tomorrow.

We're even allowed to hold a toast to Trellick on the flat roof

I spotted yesterday,

but the main event to celebrate the fabulous people doing incredible

work to help the wider W10 community will be in the gardens below.

See, look at this. This is cool, right?

I love this!

This is, like, ripe for a party.

These green spaces are so precious.

That's just earth. Having earth beneath your feet

when everything else is concrete,

it changes the way that you feel dynamically, you know?

We could set up, maybe, like, a marquee, food stuff.

This is gorgeous with the sun out.

And the great thing about this place is the decorations

are already sorted.

Look at the beautiful wall, I love this!

You know, when people complain about graffiti, to me

it's like humans surviving.

It's giving beauty, putting their personality into the place

they've been given to inhabit and turning

it into something that means something to them.

How can you object to that? How can you object to that?

The location is set, but to cook a feast that my old neighbours

will remember forever,

I'm going to need the best produce.

I can get my meat from Le Maroc

for my Moroccan-inspired lamb main,

but I'm also on the hunt for the freshest greens to create

a generous array of sides.

Happily, I know about a local well-kept secret, a four-acre

community park with a growing space, a stone's throw from Trellick Tower.

Are you Chandrika? I am. Hello! Hi, Andi. Hello!

Chandrika is the project manager here.

MUSIC: Double Barrel by Dave & Ansel Collins

It's so beautiful in here.

Thank you. This is amazing, cos not everybody knows

that you're down here, do they, doing all this stuff?

We're in this space, we're surrounded by all this green.

There's this massive, busy road right next to us.

There's, like, buses and, you know, it's quite loud,

but here still manages to be oddly tranquil... Yeah.

...at the same time, that's quite an achievement.

It is. I think the trees really help.

We have over 500 trees in the garden.

What? Yes. Wow! THEY LAUGH

These gardens were created in 1976,

the vision of local artist Jamie McCullough.

At a time of economic hardship, he badgered the council to let him

transform this derelict plot

into a community green space to bring

local people together over a common goal.

The council had no specific plans, so allowed him to use

it "in the meanwhile".

Thus, Meanwhile Gardens was born, and nearly half a century later,

despite constant pressure from developers, it remains a space

that locals cherish.

It's really productive down here.

It is! So, basically, in this space we're growing some edibles,

lots of cabbage this year.

Look at the size of this!

Look at the size of these leaves, they're so huge!

THEY LAUGH

As well as a place to teach people how to cultivate fresh produce,

there's an eco play hut here, and one of London's oldest skate parks.

We've got a variety of herbs.

I heard that you were interested in mint. Lovely!

There's some just there.

Yes, because I'm going to whip some feta. Oh, lovely!

So I'm thinking mint and flat-leaf parsley,

maybe some chives, spring onions. Sounds really good.

Oh!

I'm so pleased to be able to use the bounty of this hidden gem

as part of my feast.

Thank you so much for letting me come in here... You're welcome.

...it's beautiful!

But my range of side dishes may be about to get wider.

Seamus has told me about one of his neighbours, Lottie, a chef

who runs charity supper clubs, who's got a recipe she wants me to taste.

I hear she's an excellent chef, actually, she's quite keen

on the community.

She loves this block.

I want to get as many residents involved in the party as possible,

so I hope her dish delivers.

Hello... Hello! ..are you Lottie?

Yes. Hi, I'm Andi.

Lovely to meet you. Nice to meet you! Come in!

How long have you lived here?

A year and a half. Oh, so you're quite new? I'm a newbie.

And how does that feel?

Well, when I first arrived,

everyone was like, "You're the new girl,

"where have you come from?" Yeah. "Who are you?" Yeah, yeah.

Serge was, like, my best mate, and, yeah. Brilliant!

So you felt at home quite quickly and quite easily?

Yeah, it was unlike anywhere I'd ever been. Yeah.

Lottie's offering up a dish inspired by her Moroccan neighbours.

So it's zaalouk, spicy aubergine, tomato.

It can be a clip, but it can be under other things as well,

it goes really well with lamb.

So what's in here? We've got paprika, cumin... Seeds.

...toasted cumin seeds... Yeah. ..and just bash them slightly.

Tomatoes, some honey.

Put it all in together, it's so easy. And all in a pan?

Yeah. Pour in some olive oil,

put the lid on and go away. And just let it do its thing?

Come back and it's ready.

I love a little "just put the lid on and we'll go off" situation.

She serves it with yoghurt and a herbal sauce.

This is coriander,

a bit of cider vinegar... Yeah.

..and some lemon juice, and some olive oil. And some olive oil.

You just blitzed it all up? Blitzed it all up, yeah.

Shall we sit down? Let's sit. Sit.

Mm!

Yum!

The heat's good. Yeah? Mm-hm.

I'd really love it if...would you like to come and cook with us?

I would love that. That would be really great, right?

I'm delighted Lottie's going to help me prep the feast,

but this will only be a party if enough people come.

I've been getting everyone I meet to spread the word, but one final big

publicity push inside Trellick could make all the difference.

Hey, Serge, can I put this up somewhere?

It's for the party.

Yeah, you could put it there cos it's obvious

that everyone comes in... Right. "they'll see it.

Hello! We're having a party down there on the green, and I'd love

you to join us. Please, will you come?

Of course, I'd love it.

# I call it gladness... #

I mean, there's something about putting up the posters

that makes it real.

I need this party to celebrate

all the amazing projects I've seen here,

and honour the people doing incredible things to keep

the community strong, showing them that the residents of Trellick

and beyond truly appreciate it.

I'm starting to feel quite emotional about it, you know?

It's giving me a moment to reflect.

You know, when you're young and you have a baby on your own,

people have really low expectations of you, and coming back here

has reminded me of that, actually. And people make all sorts

of assumptions, or decide what road you're allowed to go down,

and I feel really proud of myself

cos I've never let them dictate it to me.

Never.

Tomorrow's the big day, and I'm planning an epic feast

no-one will forget. I just hope the sun shines on Trellick

and we put on a party that shows how appreciated the people are

who work so hard to uplift the community in this glorious part

of West London I once called home.

MUSIC: Pressure Drop by The Maytals

It's the morning of the big day and it's all happening.

The party's due to start in just four hours,

so while the venue's getting sorted, I need to cook up a storm,

creating my most fabulous feast yet,

inspired by the communities around Trellick Tower.

My sous chefs Randel and Chilli are on hand to help as always.

My main will be a Moroccan-inspired lamb dish

in tribute to Souad and the Al-Hasaniya centre...

I just thought it was the perfect thing to celebrate the community.

...but with a nod to Caribbean jerk.

I'm going to finish it on the barbecue,

just cos I want to add a little smoky element to it.

Into a pan of warm water,

I add some black peppercorns.

Star anise is going to go in there.

A little turmeric goes in.

It's quite sort of power spices.

Cumin seeds going in there.

And then this is cayenne pepper, really, really nice with lamb.

Then dial up the Moroccan flavours a little bit more.

A couple of cinnamon sticks.

MUSIC: Spiritual Healing by Toots Hibbert

Why don't we put in three? Let's not be shy.

A pinch of saffron there,

the king of spices.

And then we've got smoked paprika and sweet paprika.

Next, I add garlic...

Got a few fresh bay leaves going, I love fresh bay.

...then fresh ginger, red onion and a dash of salt.

But look how nice that looks in there already.

That looks like a party, doesn't it?

Now for the meat.

I'm using lamb shoulder.

That just slips into this poaching liquor like that.

Put it to bed.

You need to watch those water levels cos you want to keep it up.

So it goes on there on a nice low to medium heat.

While the lamb bubbles until tender,

I get cracking on my special hummus by rinsing chickpeas

with a special ingredient.

Randel, come here.

I want you to tell them why you put bicarbonate into the water.

To make the ting soft. To make the ting soft?

To make the ting soft. To mash up the ting? To mash it up.

THEY LAUGH

All right. Some science happens in the pot,

and it means that the chickpeas get softer and the skins all slip

off and stuff, so that when you're making your hummus,

it's lighter and easier to blitz,

it's not so granular.

The lamb and the chickpeas are bubbling away,

but the marquee's nearly ready,

and there's just two hours until guests arrive,

so I need to get moving with the rest of these dishes.

Thankfully, Lottie's arrived to help. Hello, darling.

How are you? Hiya.

How are you? Chilli and Randel.

Hello, Lottie. Hiya!

While she gets cracking on her aubergine and tomato zaalouk,

I'm rustling up an insanely good whipped feta packed with herbs.

We've got our green seasoning, spring onions, chives, parsley,

garlic, a little bit of chilli, and celery leaf,

that's the basic green seasoning.

And this classic Caribbean green seasoning

is the perfect flavour anchor here.

Add more chives. Oh, I love chives.

And then I'm going to add spring onions.

But that's not all,

I'm adding an unexpected bit of green, too...

These are tops of the carrots.

...which will add a really lovely herbal note I'm into.

Put a bit of rapeseed oil in there.

I love rapeseed oil.

Better get a whiz on...

Oh, look at that, she's beautiful.

...cos the marquees are up and guests arrive

in just under an hour.

With the base sauce ready,

next, it's the cheese.

The crumbled-up feta is going into here.

just crumble it up with your hands, break it up into little pieces.

Then one of my favourite Middle Eastern ingredients.

This is labneh, which is like a strained yoghurt,

you find it across Levantine cooking,

cos it's got this amazing sour strength to it.

Then blend that up until smooth, add some good olive oil and blitz a bit

more, and voila!

My gorgeously green whipped feta.

Beautiful.

Do you want a taste, Randel? Oh, yes, please.

Thanks. Chilli? Mm!

It's good, isn't it? Yeah, tasty.

Lottie, do you want a taste? Yes, please.

That's good, isn't it? Delicious! That's really tasty.

Sour, tart, bright. Fresh. Fresh.

To finish, a scattering of carrot tops, roasted seeds for crunch,

and a drizzle of golden oil.

Dress that up. Oh, Andi!

There you go, whipped feta.

I'm quite pleased with that.

I love it when a plan comes together.

MUSIC: Liquidator by Harry j Allstars

The food's looking fabulous,

but before I go any further, I've got an appointment to keep.

I've been allowed exclusive access to the roof

halfway up Trellick Tower to raise a glass to this inspirational building,

and give residents and locals a chance to give thanks to the people

in and around the tower who make this such a thriving community.

Oh, hi, guys.

Welcome to the roof! Oh, thank you.

It's lovely to meet you.

Oh, thank you.

She was saying she also didn't know about the roof.

I know, isn't it amazing?!

Still taking pictures of the building.

So dreamlike.

Hey!

Hello, Andi, how are you? How are you, darling?

I've never been up here before.

This is Lorna, this is Andi.

Have you never been up here, Seamus? Never.

Oh, what a great vista of the block.

So thank you, everybody,

just for popping up here onto the roof.

Who knew we could get on the roof, eh? Right.

And I just wanted to say thank you to everybody that's here,

because all of you have helped me to reconnect completely to why

this place is important to me, and actually why this place

is important to the community.

And everybody here has done something

to really underline for me

how powerful the community still is in W10,

how powerful people are, how much we need each other,

and how much importance

this spot actually has.

I've started to see this extraordinary building in a bit

of a different way.

Thank you, Trellick. And all the people that live

in it and around it,

and thank you to all of you as the community

for being so brilliant and reminding me that community still is important

here and that people do matter.

So here's to Trellick... Here's to Trellick!

...and here's to all of you.

Cheers to the tower!

Thank you, Trellick! Cheers!

It's great to see everyone having this one-off opportunity

to appreciate the building from this very special spot,

but before I can join the party proper, I've got a few more things

to prep for our barbecue.

When it comes to a party, I want everyone to eat well,

not just carnivores,

so I'm making a fuss of some baby courgettes to go on the grill, too.

But first, they're getting a love-up with some

of our all-purpose seasoning...

It's got some salt, pepper,

garlic, onion powder,

and paprika and pimento.

...then they're getting smothered in our green seasoning.

So you get that right into those little crosshatch bits,

like you would if you were working with meat, working with fish,

you would think about that stuff.

I think you've got to treat vegetables exactly the same.

LAUGHS: They're not an afterthought.

So I'm inviting carrots to the party, too.

I've steamed them and kept them large like Souad's.

Now I'm steeping them in fresh ginger and a different green sauce

I've conjured up earlier with celery and parsley.

It kind of works on everything.

And then we've got this gorgeousness,

which is rose harissa.

It's like a North African chilli paste.

Get it in there.

Don't be shy, love.

It's going to be smoky.

All ready for the barbecue.

Now for the hummus.

The chickpeas boiled for 20 minutes, then Randel mashed and blended

them with ice, another little trick for the airiest texture ever.

Don't know the science of that either.

But I just know that this ice and the bicarbonate of soda make

the chickpeas light and fluffy as all get-out.

Then I'm adding tahini, plus lemon juice, salt and garlic.

So you put oil in as it's mixing.

Somebody come and look at that.

That looks... Mm.

Oh, my God, it's really creamy.

I like to serve it up with a bit more oil and a sprinkling

of paprika.

Here you go.

Come on. And that's silky.

It's really smooth. It's really light.

It's kind of fluffy.

Insane.

That is so smooth. Mm. Gorgeous.

All right. We're in pretty good shape, though, right?

Yeah. I'm getting excited!

You know, there's like a moment when you're doing stuff

like this, where you start thinking, "Oh, my God, it all tastes really,

"really nice," and you can't wait to, like, give it to other people.

I'm feeling like that right now.

The hour of our big W10 party is upon us, and I'm delighted to say

lots of locals have shown up to celebrate the people

in and around Trellick, giving their all to bring joy

to the community, along with some blasts from the past.

Hello, darling, how are you? I haven't seen you for years.

And while Randell and Chilli get the barbecue going...

Let's get some of the carrots going!

Lovely.

You're doing the Lord's work, Chilli.

I'm delighted the Metronomes are here

to help us celebrate the Caribbean community

who've had such an inspiring influence on me, Miquita and so many

others growing up in this area.

STEEL DRUMS PLAY

CHEERING

Hello, everyone.

Thank you, everybody, for coming.

It's such a lovely sight to see.

We're here at the base of Trellick, an extraordinary landmark

and a testament to the power that we have when we talk

to each other and connect to each other and look out

for each other.

I'm so happy to know that the community is still

so strong here. It's such a powerful, beautiful thing.

So I just want to say from the bottom of my heart,

thank you so much.

So there is food, there is music,

we have each other and what do we do? We party!

CHEERING

And now to show my appreciation in the way that I know best -

through delicious food.

Get a little flow on the go. You all right, darling?

Poached in barbecue.

We've got Lottie's aubergine and tomato zaalouk-inspired side dish...

It's not very spicy.

...Randel's creamiest ever hummus...

...and my fabulous whipped feta and green sauce.

Lamb and merguez? Yes, please.

We've got Le Maroc's merguez sausages all grilled up.

And of course, the Moroccan lamb main, inspired by my visit

to the Al-Hasaniya centre.

Halal, yes. Yes, you can have a bit of both.

Of course you can.

And finally, my fragrant barbecued vegetables.

Come here. There you go.

Luckily, my lamb's a hit with the ladies who influenced it.

It's nice and soft and tender.

It really reflects the community here.

It does, you know.

Very nice. Really.

I've got some hummus, I've got some courgette, I've got some

carrots and I have some lamb. Together it's really tasty.

"|'m up to my elbows in delicious," she said.

The best thing anyone's ever said about my food, ever.

It's lovely to be here, like, in my back garden basically.

Mm.

Ancl to eat such delicious food by Andi, especially starting

the afternoon up there, a part of Trellick that I normally

don't get access to.

So it felt quite illicit, but it was the best view

of Trellick I've ever seen.

The whole idea of bringing the very diverse communities

and cultures together,

this is the way life should be.

Giuseppe just brought these beautiful...

Oh, my goodness.

Do you want to do some cannoli handing out?

For dessert I'm delighted to see two of the hardest working people, whose

kindness and generosity inspired my feast,

have come to join us.

Giuseppe and Caterina from Panella, the People's Kitchen, sharing

home-made Sicilian sweet treats.

For Caterina, seeing so many people gathered here

to celebrate their tireless

efforts to help and inspire the community is especially moving.

Thank you so much.

Honestly, I really appreciate you so much, because we need it,

you know, we need you. We need people like you.

Get some sleep.

Rest! Yes, yes.

What they do is exhausting.

And every day Giuseppe and Caterina extend themselves.

So it's just, I think, somebody making sure SHE was OK.

She's not used to it.

# You can get it if you really want

# You can get it... #

It's been really quite an emotional few days being back,

because before I got here, I was concerned about what was left

of community here.

# You'll succeed at last... #

What I didn't realise was that this place is bursting with life.

It's bursting with community.

It's bursting with love.

I realise that Trellick Tower is more than just a landmark.

And this part of W10,

there's something really quite magical about it.

The people here are strong.

They are united.

And I don't think they've ever been broken.

Cos I realise that the spirit I talk about that lives within me,

I think a lot of it was built right here.

This place grew me. It grew me, it helped me grow my child.

And it's doing the same generationally, again

and again and again.

And that gives me this feeling of continuity and makes me understand

that the future is beautiful, and that makes me happy.

# You'll succeed at last

# You can get it if you really want

# I know it

# You can get it if you really want

# Don't I show it? #