Original subtitles

GARETH HALE: Here in the English countryside...

...in amongst the greenery...

QUACKING

...and wildlife...

...perhaps an overnight stay in a 14th-century inn?

Boasting seductive accommodation...

...afternoon tea...

...cool drinks on a summer's day.

Or maybe you'd like something a little livelier?

HORNS BLARE

Yes, in the heart of the West Midlands,

just a few minutes off the M6, is a hotel...

Good morning, The Moat House, Chloe speaking, how can I help?

...offering sumptuous rooms with a bird's eye view

of the UK's longest motorway...

The M6 is the heart of the whole country,

so it's a very, very busy network.

...where frantic commuters can get away from the delays and hold-ups...

"Report of obstruction."

How many times do you see THAT on the motorway? Oh!

...weary drivers can escape the hell

of a Bank Holiday tailback... HORNS BEEPING

...for a spot of dinner-a-deux...

Perfect, to be honest, a lovely stay.

...and truckers can refuel with some grub in the bar.

Can I have bangers and mash, please? Yeah.

In The Motorway Hotel, it's all this, and more.

People just came five minutes off the motorway,

they find gems of places like this.

Enjoy your stay.

HORN BLARES

This time... It's started snowing.

Has quite a huge effect on us.

...the motorway hotel braces itself

for a cold snap and a freeze on takings...

Phones normally start ringing with cancellations.

...there's a new apprentice in the kitchen...

I've been here for two weeks.

...but he's not off to the best of starts...

You haven't seasoned the steak to start with.

That's a major error, really. You need to season the meat.

Vehicle breakdown, how can I help?

...and recovery driver, Greg...

Got it stuck, all right. He has got it stuck.

...is called out to rescue an embarrassed boss.

Disaster strikes.

ENGINE CHUGS

ON RADIO: The Met Office has issued a yellow warning

for snow on higher ground,

which could affect parts of the M6 later today.

So ensure you check the forecast before heading out.

It's a snowy morning at The Motorway Hotel.

Do you remember the clays when you used to, like,

run home from school in the snow?

No, I was never allowed. Didn't ya?

Loved snow clays. I absolutely loved 'em.

But for the hotel, bad weather spells trouble.

Started snowing.

Phones normally start ringing with cancellations.

A lot of our customers, urn, you know, start panicking.

They look at the road conditions and they take the view

that it's not worth coming out. So, like a day like today,

where we had a full restaurant for afternoon teas,

and now I think we've got two tables left.

Um, so it has quite a huge effect on us.

KNOCK ON DOOR Housekeeping?

But despite the afternoon cancellations,

the hotel is hoping the 50+ overnight guests

booked in for a gala dinner this evening will show up.

Busy clay, cos the ones coming in

wanna get in the rooms before the ones going out have gone.

And having been chock-a-block the night before

with a wedding function, the race is now on

to get all the rooms turned round and ready in time for check-in.

It's a very time-restraint job.

Take about 10, 15 minutes on each room.

Um, it's a quick pace, but we've got that many rooms to do.

The driving force behind today's big clean-up

is head housekeeper, Steph...

This is my 13th year.

...and her colleague, Sue.

It's my eighth year, yeah. Steph interviewed me.

She took me on straight away. GIGGLING

It's an unusually busy day for the dynamic duo...

We have a laugh after it, though, don't we?

...who have approximately six hours to clean, tidy, polish,

change the beds and replace hundreds of towels

in every one of the hotel's 41 bedrooms. Pressure.

There's no let-up in the ladies' schedule,

and today, they need to turn each room around in under ten minutes.

Dirty room. That's all I'm gonna say.

Keeping the hotel clean and tidy 365 days a year

is a grubby business... I did clean a toilet downstairs,

and it looked like someone had been murdered. Remember?

Yeah. ..but someone's gotta do it.

Got to be good with bodily fluids to work in housekeeping.

We do find a lot of, um, sexual aids in the rooms that people have left.

They just go straight into the bin.

Keeps us on our toes, it really does.

Steph and Sue have no time to be shocked by anything they find.

The clock is always ticking.

I need to get a move on. We don't get a break or anything.

It's exhausting, isn't it?

When I get home, my husband says to me,

"You've just clone a little bit of punishing, love.

"What's the matter?"

For now, traffic is still moving on the M6... Coming! Ha-ha!

...which means Steph and Sue need to have all the rooms ready.

I mean, why would you put them in your drawer?

And the snow means extra work for Chris, gritting and shovelling.

It's that mindset, you know? You know, just put a big coat on,

you know, put a woolly hat on and just get on with it.

He has to assume that if he clears it, they will come.

just get out there and do it.

Coming up... Chris and the staff wait to see

if the snow will put paid to a full house tonight...

it just stresses me out. Some of them are the early clays.

...new boss Emily feels the pressure of running the family business...

Someone really helpfully told me the other day

that most family businesses fail to make it to a third generation.

Um, so no pressure.

...and if a new apprentice can't stand the heat...

A bit tough on your feet, though, hasn't it?

It has, yeah. And my back.

...is he gonna have to get out of the kitchen?

He's a very good worker, and you know, he's willing,

but we need the best.

GARETH HALE: With the weather outside decidedly frightful

at The Motorway Hotel,

inside, housekeeping duo Steph and Sue have torn through 41 bedrooms...

...on the assumption that guests

will somehow make it for tonight's gala dinner.

Can you imagine that people were stranded on the motorway?

I don't know what I'd do.

just walk across the field.

Would ya? Get somewhere warm, wouldn't you?

it just stresses me out.

It's just a few hours until 50-odd guests sit down to eat

at this evening's event.

Hi. Checking in, please. Yes, of course. What's the name?

And with sighs of relief all round, customers start to arrive.

Have a lovely stay.

The hotel has a 110-strong workforce

catering to 50,000 customers every year...

In the event of an evacuation, will you require any assistance?

Probably!

..1,100 conferences and events and almost 90 weddings.

Tonight's event is the annual Maize Maze dinner.

And by 7pm, apart from a few stragglers,

nearly every guest has made it.

The dinner is for an organisation who, believe it or not,

makes mazes out of maize.

And it's causing some confusion.

What is it? Maize Maze.

They have mazes.

Look, actual mazes? Yeah, made of maize.

What's maize? Like, corn.

Corn? So they sell corn, not do mazes.

No, they do mazes out of maize. Yeah.

Very confusing.

And just a few hours later...

Welcome to the 2023 Annual Dinner.

CHEERING

...the gala dinner is up and running.

In the driving seat of tonight's festivities

is Maize Maze conference and dinner organiser, David.

People have travelled quite a way to get here.

Maize maze operators, you know, are kind of isolated

in rural areas, on their own.

So it's just a great opportunity for them to get together

with other maize maze operators once a year, have a chat,

let their hair down and just, yeah, enjoy.

Enjoy the company of fellow maize growers.

Maize mazes are a "growing" industry.

There's even an award for the best one tonight.

It's difficult to judge between all the different mazes.

We're all different sizes, do different stuff.

Yeah, it's just really satisfying

that the work that all the team put in is rewarded.

The winner is...

York Maze. CHEERING

On a snowy midweek night like this,

fully booked with 50-odd happy dinner guests,

hotel management must be counting their blessings.

All I can say, normal service is resumed.

CHEERS, APPLAUSE

To keep the party mood going,

organiser David has decided to take a risk

with some novel after-dinner entertainment.

We like to mix it up a bit, try to just add some excitement

and a bit of fun at the end of the conference.

They're a fun-loving group.

I think they will appreciate what Lil Dribble has got to show them.

We'll see what reaction he gets.

He's called upon the services of Lil Dribble,

the alter ego of 25-year-old maize-mazer, josh,

to take centre stage at the finale of their awards dinner.

David asked if I would provide the after-dinner entertainment tonight,

which is a bit odd, cos I am also attending this event

as josh, as myself.

Got a recent new act that I do.

Right, so... It's partly an escapology act,

so I've got me chains there.

josh is a well-liked figure amongst his colleagues,

so expectations are naturally high.

Right, nearly re... Well, I say nearly ready.

The props are all nearly ready, I've got to get changed, obviously.

Ancl as well as a cabaret act, I'm also a quick-change artist.

Watch this. Huah! Woop! Wup! Right. Fine.

This is the money shot. I'm getting me kit off now.

But his biggest corn-cern at the moment

appears to be Lil Dribble's introduction.

Please put your hands together. Don't say that.

Please put your hands together for the granny with the moves...

No! No.

Put your hands together for Lil Dribble. just do that. OK.

With David just about getting to grips with Josh's introduction,

the talent is ready for action.

Whoa! Treat her nice. Oh!

Here she is.

Another quiet clay in show business. josh is a drag act granny.

What a ridiculous way to pay a mortgage!

David is hoping Josh's act will go down a treat.

Feeling the pressure.

If this evening goes south,

at least josh probably knows a few mazes he could hide in.

Is that the right way around? Yeah, looks good. OK.

And josh's nerves are starting to grow.

Shall I go socks on, or socks off?

With minutes to go to his debut,

he knows his first gig for the Maize Maze Association

could also be his last.

Sure you want me to do this, David, or should we knock it on the head?

But it's too late now to back out. WOLF WHISTLES

We have one more interesting diversion for you.

She's bingo-winging her way back onto the entertainment scene.

Please put your hands together, Lil Dribble.

APPLAUSE

Hello, loves!

Bless you for such a warm introduction.

I always like to have a big hand on me opening.

SCATTERED LAUGHTER

I am the most affordable OAP in show business.

There's nothing I won't do for a "Tena".

SCATTERED LAUGHTER

So I'd like to kick things off, if you don't mind,

with a bit of mind reading.

It's not an encouraging start.

It's been a challenging audience, and at the minute, you are winning.

LAUGHTER BUILDS

But like a trooper, josh presses on.

Scientists have just discovered the "Jean" that is responsible

for people putting on weight.

Yeah, she works in Greggs. Now, look, I...

Josh's grubby granny routine is in danger of being a total car crash.

Oh, silly, silly.

Chairman David is looking worried. Oh, hello, Hugh.

How are you? Are you all cleared up down there now?

if josh can get the crowd going,

they'll keep drinking and keep the bar tills ringing.

It's a lovely jumper, you've got that.

|n't it amazing what you can pick up from Oxfam?

LAUGHTER I shouldn't... Look at you.

I'm up here. Thank you, Ray. I'm up here. Honestly.

Are you all right, love? You're all right.

But as the wine continues to flow...

Oh, bless. No, he's not around any more, my Derek. I do miss him.

If only I'd missed him that night at archery practice, he'd be here.

But I... LAUGHTER

...josh, slowly but surely, starts to win over his audience.

Are you doing a photo of me, are you?

Let's give you a bit of something to take a photo of, eh?

CHEERING

After a few more bawdy gags...

ls there anything in between the handkerchiefs?

No, there's "knot".

...josh has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

I thank you very much. Thank you!

Thank you! Thank you! Oh, thank you.

I'm Lil Dribble, good night!

And with that, the curtain falls on the evening's entertainment,

and not on David's reputation.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

ON RADIO: On the M6, the snow's cleared up,

but there's still one lane closed southbound

between junctions 14 and 13.

And northbound, there are delays due to roadworks between 16 and 17.

The Motorway Hotel has been at the centre of local life

for the past 35 years,

ever since Chris' family decided to expand the farmhouse

and its outbuildings into a hotel.

I've literally been here since the early parts of the business.

I've clone most things, you know? I've been sorta restaurant manager,

run the bar, I've clone the banqueting,

clone the weddings, ended up running the place.

I was actually here during the construction stages.

Chris' father and mother took the bold step in the late '80s

to convert some 16th-century farm buildings into a hotel.

18 months ago, Chris and Dawn

handed over its day-to-day running

to their 26-year-old daughter, Emily.

Right, I found these in the spare room, Emily,

and it's the start of the renovation of the farmhouse to the restaurant,

which would have been '87. Yeah.

Dawn has kept meticulous records of the original building work,

and she's keen to interest the new boss, who's never seen them.

Someone really helpfully told me the other clay

that most family businesses fail to make it to a third generation.

Um, so no pressure.

Is this like... proper demo?

Yeah, proper demolition of it.

Another of the early clays of it as just a farmhouse.

Is that like the back of the bar?

Yeah, the bar actually sits there at the moment. Yeah.

With junction 13 of the M6 so near, and Birmingham only 25 miles away,

the business case seemed solid, but expensive.

It cost us, I think, quarter of a million

to get to the foundation level,

because the piles went down that far.

That's all it is, it's the old Moat.

Took the wall out and left the top of the building just floating.

The whole building floating on some steel props.

That's terrifying. I'm sure that wouldn't be allowed today.

Chris' dad, john, is no longer alive,

but Chris' mum, Mary, is still part of the fabric of The Moat House.

Sometimes, I'm lying in bed

and I'm thinking what we've clone.

Farming,

then having a pub and a restaurant, and now, we've got hotels.

The Moat has been my life, and now, I can come down,

I can do the flowers. I can do what I want.

When I'm tired, I can go home.

But I still love coming down. I love my staff.

They're a pleasure to be with.

Looking at it now, probably not thinking proud,

but I'm thinking brave, really. Yeah.

There's just the scale of it. Ancl how much was taken on.

We actually did it, you know?

But Dawn's lovingly-curated photo albums

are looking increasingly like relics.

Thing is, in 30 years' time, are you gonna to be able to find the photos?

No. And I'm not bothered about that.

SIZZLING

Top and tail. Then we'll, um, chop them nice and fine, yeah? Yeah.

Dining is a crucial part of the hotel's yearly income.

Head chefjames has been here 28 years

and depends on not just quality produce,

but top-quality staff, too...

Fingers out of the way. Press down like that.

just lovely and small, small dice, like so, yeah?

...and he has a brand-new apprentice, Kaelan. OK? Yeah.

The UK's service sector is crying out for staff,

making it possible for Kaelan to switch careers.

Six legs of lamb. That's for... That's for Sunday. Yeah?

For James, it's a challenge to find staff - and keep them.

Still tough getting people to come into the industry, you know?

The world's changed, hasn't it?

Kids, you know, can make money from doing less nowadays.

So I think looking at being a chef,

you've really got to enjoy your food and want to be a cook.

I've been working here now for two weeks.

It really was just a case

of, you know, wanting to try something a bit different.

I wanted something more fast-paced, and where, you know,

you're always being challenged.

Um, and yeah, just felt like

the right sort of environment to come into at the time.

Until recently, Kaelan was an estate agent.

This new career couldn't provide a starker contrast.

I have two young children,

one's nearly two, the other's six months.

Ancl for me, I do feel like this is better with my work-life balance.

They come in, I think, sometimes, and feel, "Oh, it's a boring job",

you know, standing, peeling onions. Yes. Nice and small. Yeah.

It's all part of the... All part of the job, I think.

You know, we all start from the bottom and work our way up.

It's a huge gear-change for the 26 year old.

That "shallot".

No more tours around tired old terraces and avocado bathrooms,

just the heat and noise of a busy kitchen.

A lot of deadlines, sure the deadlines in your job,

obviously when you were selling the houses, etc, but I think

it's just a lot faster-paced and a lot more going on. It is, yeah.

Ancl you're, like, usually sitting in the office with a pen on you,

I suppose, not with a 12-inch sharp cook's knife

that you can take your fingers off with. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

To be honest, it's the first sort of apprentice I've had

that's come out of a job as, you know, as an office worker,

working as an estate agent.

To be honest, when I saw the, uh, saw the application, I was like,

"Oh, this is worrying." Been tough on your feet, hasn't it?

It has, yeah. And my back.

I have noticed last week he's lifting his feet

and holding his back a lot.

Going from sitting on your bottom in an office all clay,

to standing on your feet, it's... Definitely taxing.

...harder on your body, isn't it, as well? It is.

Ancl he's not a young apprentice either, are you? No. Eh?

To prove Kaelan's got what it takes,

boss James has devised a learner test in a couple of days' time

to see if this fresh meat can walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.

SIZZLING James has arranged a visit

to the hotel's local meat supplier,

and wants Kaelan to choose and then cook some choice cuts of meat.

And James won't be going easy on him.

Give me an insight to, you know, what he understands at present,

and obviously, he'll find out what he knows as well

and what he thinks he knows.

He's a very good worker and you know, he's willing,

but we need the best.

You know, he needs to be good, you know?

Dear, clear, clear. Coming up...

Bloody hell, trouble! How are you?

...breakdown rescuer Greg gets a call-out he wasn't expecting.

I bet you had a bit of a fright when it started going, didn't you?

And head chefjames... Did you season the steak?

Oh, no. No. Well, you haven't seasoned the steak to start with.

...turns up the gas under kitchen apprentice, Kaelan.

Shall we... Come on! You made me look like a mug.

GARETH HALE: Spring has sprung at The Motorway Hotel,

and owner Chris Lewis is on top of the world.

Or rather, his ride-on mower, which is the same thing.

ON RADIO: Looking at the cameras now,

traffic is flowing smoothly from junctions 12 through to 17.

A wide load is expected to cause disruption between 12 and 16...

And just a couple of miles away on the teeming M6...

Vehicle breakdown, how can I help? Stranded?

Motorway recovery operator Greg is on his way to a call

from a stranded courier just a few miles off his usual patch on the M6.

Quick to get you up and running, get the rest of your parcels delivered.

The driver is on a very tight schedule and needs Greg's help fast.

See you soon, thanks.

He sounded pretty distressed and pretty panicked,

because he's obviously very time sensitive with his job.

And obviously, the more time he's off the road,

the longer it is gonna be getting parcels delivered on time.

Time is money, so it's important to get

these types of call-outs completed as quickly as possible.

Let's go get it done.

Greg prides himself on getting to customers fast.

It's pedal to the metal to try and make it to the scene

within 30 minutes with two new tyres.

That phone rings, you drop what you're doing, go.

Off the motorway, one junction later,

Greg starts panning and scanning for the casualty vehicle.

All right, we're nearly there.

Think it's like an SUV-type of shape.

Where are you?

Ah, here he is, he's waving. That'll be the man.

That'll be the man that can. Oh, yes.

Within 25 minutes of receiving the call, he's made it.

OK.

Morning!

I would ask how you are, but I think I know the answer.

His customer, Gerry, has had his courier round stopped in its tracks.

I was out delivering parcels, pulled on to the kerb here,

and both my tyres have gone, instantaneously.

Check the kerb and there's one of the kerb stones,

it's off at an angle where it shouldn't be,

and that's obviously presented a sharp edge,

which has ripped both my tyres out. So, not happy.

Have you got your locking nut?

Obviously, I'm out delivering parcels,

everyone's got an ETA of my arrival,

and so I've had to reset all my ETAs.

The pressure is now on Greg to deliver...

One old one.

...get the car tyres changed as quickly as possible,

and get Gerry movin'-and-a-groovin'.

Putting a bit of tyre soap on,

which makes it a lot easier

to get the tyre onto the wheel/the bead...

HISSING

So, just balancing up the wheel now, putting some weight on,

that'll stop him getting any funny vibrations on the steering wheel.

Rubber on the rim, he's nearly ready to go.

Beautiful.

The only thing that could slow him down now is running low on air.

Sweet.

HISSING All fixed...

Cheers, Greg, appreciate it, mate. No problem at all.

...within just 30 minutes of arrival,

Greg's got Gerry back where he belongs, on the road.

The parcels are now gonna get delivered straight away.

It was a smooth operation,

urn, and he can get on with the rest of his day, and then, so can we.

But Greg's barely stopped waving at Gerry in the rear view mirror

before the phone's ringing. Again.

Vehicle breakdown, how can I help?

And this time, it's a voice he knows.

Moat House? Owner's got it stuck all right.

He has got it stuck.

Hotel boss Chris has been involved in an incident,

and he's called the man with the van.

Dear, dear, dear!

From engines, to the engine room.

Paul Hollywood, that is. innit, Pete? Yeah. Ha!

Ex-estate agent Kaelan is trying to convince head chefjames

that he's serious about a cooking career.

Gone from doing one shallot in a week

to one shallot in a couple of minutes now, so...

As he tries to get used to life in the kitchen,

the sorcerer has devised a test for his apprentice.

Um, so we're going out to one of the suppliers.

We're gonna see how they, you know, prepare steaks.

Chef definitely wants to see I can perform up to the task

and prove myself.

And see if he can be trusted to select and cook steak properly.

Definitely a lot of pressure, cos we do, you know,

a lot of steaks on our services.

Tuesday nights is our steak nights here,

so it'd be good to learn to help out in those instances.

...pieces and then dice them nice and small, yeah? Yeah.

The testjames proposes seems simple,

but it's not as easy as it sounds.

He's gonna be cooking three different types of steak

to different temperatures.

And, you know, he's obviously got to get it right. I'm gonna watch him.

I'll be sort of breathing over his shoulder and seeing how he gets on.

These steaks don't come cheap any more.

You know, the tomahawk steak we're doing,

they cost us nearly £17, you know?

We can't really afford to overcook them and throw them in the bin,

cos that's not how you run a business, you know?

Time to hit the road.

Right, Kaelan, we're gonna go up to Dunwood now, mate.

James and Kaelan are heading off to the 170-acre Dunwood Farm,

located on the Staffordshire Moorlands.

So do you eat a lot of steak at home, then, Kaelan?

Not really. No, never been a big steak person.

I think it's too, uh, costly to do at home, if I'm perfectly honest.

Hello, Will. Hey, mate, how you doing?

Yeah, ta, mate, you?

Will's family have been farming here since 1973...

...and breed Aberdeen Angus, Hereford and Longhorn cattle.

I brought Kaelan out today, obviously, to show him your farm

and where we get the lovely steaks from, etc.

Our plan today is to get three different cuts of steak from you,

perhaps a rib eye, a sirloin, and a nice rump steak,

take them back to work. And l(aelan's got the challenge of cooking them.

And then, we'll see how you get on, aren't we, Kaelan?

Yeah, no problem at all.

Put a hairnet on, James, because you need a hairnet.

This may be easy for James, but for a learner like Kaelan,

it's a whole lot trickier. Anything that you like the look of?

Do you want something with plenty of marbling?

Yeah, plenty of marbling. OK. I like this one up here.

That one there, yeah? Yeah. OK. All right, we can take that.

This visit is a huge opportunity for Kaelan

to understand more about food quality.

That rib of beef will have been ageing

for about five weeks on the salt walls.

If you look at the darkness to it, there, you can see the age in it.

That obviously just improves the flavour, doesn't it? Yeah.

Will's family sell directly to the public as well as the trade,

easily shifting 500 rib eye steaks a week.

We're going to take the bottom bones off here as well.

OK, so I'm just gonna take the age off that.

I'll just tidy it up a little bit,

and then we'll cut one of your steaks.

So that's obviously the rib eye, Kaelan.

It's up to you now to make sure it's cooked medium, seasoned well.

Yeah. We'll give it a try, won't we?

I don't wanna destroy a beautiful piece of meat like that. No.

It's nice to come out and visit, obviously Will today,

and see the produce and where it comes from.

It's just nice to get you...

Feed your brain with something different every now and then.

That's your sirloin...

Rather be here than in an office.

I mean, especially on a clay like today in a beautiful house.

After ten impressively-efficient minutes,

James and Kaelan have what they came for.

Put your rib eye, sirloin, rump. All right?

Best of luck. Cheers.

All right? Cheers, Will.

And two hours' later, it's time for Kaelan to showjames

what he can do with all this expensive beef.

Right, Kaelan, so we've got these lovely steaks.

So I'll leave you to it, then. It's all in your... your hands now.

Know what I need to do, got to get it executed now.

I just don't wanna mess up,

don't wanna ruin a good piece of meat.

I just wanna get it right first time and get on with it.

First, the easy bit.

Get a nice colour on there.

The first steakjames has asked to be cooked is a sirloin,

and he wants it rare.

Some tongs, there, use the tongs, saves burning yourself doesn't it?

It's difficult, cos they're coming in without any knowledge at all.

Can be frustrating. You gotta have patience.

Which my wife will say I haven't got any at all, really.

Feel a bit more pressured now.

It's hard for me not to jump in and show him what to do,

but I've got to leave him to do it now.

So yeah, we'll see in a few minutes.

Hopefully, we're getting the first steak in the oven in a minute,

so we're going for a rare with that one.

To start with, obviously, you don't know what rare is,

you don't know what medium is, what medium well is... The butter?

No, no. just sear it off again.

Did you season the steak? Oh, no...

Well, you haven't seasoned the steak to start with,

so yeah, we need to go back to that, get the steak out.

The butter needs to go over the top. Then needs to be seasoned, Kaelan.

So we get it out. Come on! You made me look like a mug.

Almost immediately, Kaelan's in hot water.

Forgot to season before it went in the oven.

So that's like, you know, a major error, really.

You need to season the meat.

Let's hope he gets perfection with this one.

Two more pricey steaks to go...

I wanna progress well, and I wanna you know, make a career of it.

And, you know, I wanna prove to chef that I can do it

and that can be trusted to do these sorts of things.

...and no room for another mistake.

HORNS BLARE

Semi-retired owner of the Motorway Hotel, Chris,

may have handled the day-to-day running

of the business over to his daughter Emily,

but nowadays, the gardens are his kingdom.

But this morning, there's a problem.

Disaster strikes.

Unlike driving on the M6, there's no other traffic to contend with.

But Chris has somehow managed to be involved in an incident.

Almost gone in the stream. Quite a lot of dew on the ground.

I'm cutting really close to the edge of the bank,

which I don't normally do.

A little bit of a bit of a rush, and, uh, lesson learnt.

The mower is heavy and very expensive.

Manhandling it out is a non-starter.

The Moat House owner's got his lawn mower stuck...

Who are you gonna call?

Why, local rescue super hero Greg Berger.

...so, second job of the clay is getting his mower out.

It happens, but not obviously every clay of the week.

Bloody hell, trouble! How are you?

Right.

I bet you had a bit of a fright when it started going, didn't you?

Well, all we need is your wheels to probably be somewhere here.

Ancl once I've got you here, I can go back a bit more,

and give you a bit more of a pull.

Yeah, I think we can get it to somewhere here,

it'd be more stable and sturdy then.

Chris couldn't have crashed in a more awkward spot if he'd tried.

A steep incline, with no room on the bank

to position Greg's truck properly.

Some ground pins that can go in the ground here.

Then I can just pull it straight in a straight line.

But if I'm pulling it a little bit this way, it's quite low down.

It should be OK, but it... it, you know,

it might just throw it a little bit, but all we can do is try.

Ancl if it looks a little bit...

I shouldn't have parked it there, should I? (!)

Well, not really, not really,

but hey, these things happen, so let's get it out.

That'll do.

Greg plans to rescue the stuck mower with his four-by-four's winch,

and wastes no time in getting set up for the first pull.

Delays you getting the grass cut for the clay, doesn't it?

But ride-on mowers aren't usually involved in collisions,

so there are no places to attach a winch...

Mm, what's the strongest part?

...and Greg's nervous about wrecking a machine worth a small fortune,

never mind being unsure if it can take the strain.

ls the handbrake on, or...?

Yeah. See how it goes, eh?

It's the moment of truth. Fingers crossed!

Coming up...

Classed as in neutral at the minute, is it?

...can Greg get the Lawn Mower King back on his steed?

All we can do is try.

If he gets the seasoning on it, then, yeah, we'll get it right.

And kitchen apprentice Kaelan struggles to make the grade.

When you do fail, sometimes, it's a learning curve, you know?

GARETH HALE: Hotel owner and overly-keen gardener Chris Lewis

has been involved in a vehicle-based incident.

We've got a winch up and we'll just pull it backwards.

He has ridden his pride and joy into a ditch,

and is blaming it on slippery conditions underfoot.

Classed as in neutral at the minute, is it?

Luckily for him, man-for-all-seasons, Greg Berger,

has arrived to take charge. All we can do is try.

With the help of a heavy-duty winch and some street smarts...

Absolutely sweet.

...Greg saves Chris' blushes...

Ancl I think that'll more or less come out on its own in a second.

...or in this case, hotel owner in distress.

Beautiful! Happy days- Happy clays.

Cheers. No problem at all.

Was that the first lawn mower rescue you've ever clone? No.

First one today!

I have clone one before, um, in a customer's back garden.

He was cutting lawn and it got dead wet, and then,

um, he got his lawn mower stuck.

He put his Range Rover in to get his lawn mower out, that got stuck.

That is reassuring. Yeah, it has been clone before.

MOWER ENGINE ROARS

Crisis over, Chris can get back to what he loves doing best.

Greg saved the clay. Hopefully, it'll be another few years

before I park the mower in the stream.

And as for Greg... What a job. What a job!

Hope I get a free bacon sandwich now, anyway.

So, yeah, well happy with that,

good result, it's out and he's mowing the lawns again.

Apprentice chef Kaelan

has been asked by The Motorway Hotel's head chef, James,

to cook three different steaks, three different ways.

Things got off to a shaky start

when Kaelan forgot to season an expensive sirloin.

That's the sirloin out the oven, and now it's going to be rare.

It's just leaving it to rest now for about th ree-to-five minutes.

Next, the rib eye, meant to be medium.

just about proving myself, isn't it?

Ancl trying to learn, and... The best I can.

He gets the seasoning on it, then, yeah, we'll get it right, won't we?

This time, Kaelan remembered the seasoning.

When you do fail, sometimes, it's a learning curve, you know?

The last steak to hit the pan is the rump.

To be cooked medium rare.

Cooking steak looks easy,

but a few seconds too long in the pan can spell disaster.

I think some of them are slightly over, but not completely ruined.

They're just not the "wellness" we would have liked out of them.

With all three now cooked and rested...

Here's the sirloin and the rump.

...it's time forjames to give his verdict.

Sirloin first. James has asked for this to be rare.

You've got a nice colour on there. We've got the seasoning, haven't we,

so we'll give it a cut and have a look, shall we?

See, that's... That one's totally over, isn't it, that one? Yeah.

That's been left in for a little bit too long.

So we've got more of a medium-well there.

It may not be rare, but how does it taste?

Lovely beef. Absolutely super cut.

Right. Should we try the rump next?

The next steak is meant to be medium rare.

Yeah, we've got a medium in there, haven't we?

Lovely flavour steak.

The final one is the rib-eye, isn't it?

Yeah, so we've gone for a medium on this one.

We got perfect medium on that one. Beautiful.

Yeah, that one's been cooked perfect.

I think the timing's... timing is bang on.

Seasoning's right.

Well clone, Kaelan. Good lad. Thank you.

It's really important for us to have these guys coming through,

and it's great for me to have a success story, you know?

And despite his 66% failure rate today,

Kaelan kept a cool head and stayed focused.

Pressure was on, cos chef was over my shoulder.

But I'm glad it's just over and clone with now,

and hopefully, you know, just go on from there, see where it takes me.

PHONE RINGS

Good afternoon, The Moat House, Stacy speaking, how can I help you?

The Moat House hotel turns over in the region of £35 million a year.

How have you been since last week? Very good.

You're in the nice room again today.

It employs over 100 staff, and many of them have been here for years.

Hi, Ada. Hello.

You OK? Yes, thank you.

And tonight is a special evening and a chance to look back - and forward.

Tonight, we are having a dinner to celebrate 35 years in business.

So we've invited our 25 longest-serving members of staff

to join us for a meal at The Moat House.

And as the man who has been here since the beginning,

it falls to owner Chris to be the MC.

So, good evening, everyone. On behalf of the Lewis family,

welcome to our long-service dinner to celebrate you,

the company's longest-serving members of staff.

With Emily now at the helm

and myself taking something of a backward step,

the future is really bright.

Head chefjames is normally cooking a meal like tonight's,

but he and his wife, Louise, met while working here,

and it's a rare chance to relax.

Last time me and Louise went out was our honeymoon, I think...

Yeah. ..so 17 years ago. Yeah, it's been a really nice night.

It's a bit of a scary thought to think that there are

people in this room who've worked for the company longer than,

like, I've been on this planet, but, you know, that's kind of

all the nature of a family business.

just finish off by congratulating you all on huge achievement.

If you've got a glass. MAN: Cheers!

APPLAUSE Cheers, guys.

It's never about the family, or the people at the top, it's...

You know, we can give direction,

but it's about the sort of, the whole team,

um, you know, and that's what management,

you know, is management top-down or bottom-up, you know?

And, uh, we're very lucky that we've got a succession plan,

but we've also got the people here in this room

that are gonna be here

for hopefully the next, you know, 10, 15, 20 years.

And since this evening all began with Chris parents,

perhaps the last word should go to mum, Mary?

It's been a mixed life, but a very enjoyable one.