All language subtitles for C.C.C.S01E01_track3_eng

I'm Chris, aka Flamebaster.

I'm a chef and I love cooking with
fire.

Flamebasting, baby!

And one thing it's taught me is that
food and fire

is a great way to bring people
together.

And I've been lucky enough to travel
the world cooking and feasting

at some of the coolest places on the
planet.

- Man, what you got? Oh!

- But to be honest, I haven't really
explored or cooked much

around my own country - Cymru.

In this series, I'm on a journey
through Cymru

to discover its food past... Woo!

..present and future.

Whoa! Waa!

I'll be hooking up with chefs... Nick.

..and local producers... Oh!

..showcasing some top foodie
destinations...

Whoa! ..and hidden legends who are
striving to protect

our food heritage,

and those taking it to the next level.

My journey starts in my hometown,
Caernarfon,

where there's some amazing produce
right on my doorstep.

Whoa! Mwah! Yes.

Between the mountains and the sea,

Caernarfon is ideally situated to reap
all sorts of tasty riches.

The Menai Strait here is full of
phenomenal seafood

and my favourite Menai treasure is the
glorious oyster.

There's a bed of these amazing
shellfish just under the water here.

Wow, look at that.

Oh... Boom. Can't beat it.

Can't get any fresher than that.

Best oysters in the world.

Woo!

Thousands of oysters are cultivated
here every year,

and they're exported all over the
world.

But it's hard to find a restaurant in
Caernarfon selling them,

and I think that's really sad.

But it hasn't always been this way.

Here in the 1890s, an Irish couple,
Martin and Elizabeth Conlan,

opened an oyster saloon.

Now, these saloons were massive in New
York and London back in the day,

and it was so cool we had one here
too.

Martin and his wife sold three things
-

stout, cigars and oysters.

Sounds like heaven to me.

I thought I'd pop in and see if the
locals

want to try some oysters.

Do you like oysters?
- No.

- Have you ever tried an oyster
before?
- No.

- How do you know you don't like it?
- I know.

- It's a tough crowd, so I'm going to
have to try extra hard

to convince them to try them.

And to do that I'm getting some help
from my mate Rhianna,

an oyster expert who promotes seafood
here in North Wales.

Oh! The treasure, the treasure.

- So we've got oysters here from the
Menai.

They're high in protein, sustainable
as well.

They're filter feeders, they clean our
oceans.

So, yeah, they're really cool
ecosystem warriors.

- It's bonkers for me. I've got a lot
of chef friends in London,

they have restaurants, you know, and I
go to see them

and there's always Menai oysters on
the menu in season, you know.

It's so hard without having contacts
in Caernarfon to buy them, eat them.

Nowhere sells them.

- I think it's because of the
perception of shellfish itself,

it's a bit scary when it comes to like
diseases

and things like that.
- People are scared of what they don't
know you.

- Yeah. So it's changing the minds of
people in any way you can

by doing stuff like this and
introducing it to the public

and changing their minds.

- So these are fabulous, eco-friendly,

protein-rich food right on our
doorstep.

But to try and make things a bit more
palatable

for these reluctant locals, I'm going
to serve these

wonderful oysters up with a classic
vinaigrette.

Let's see if anyone's brave enough.

Having a good lunch?
- Lovely, del.
- Just got better.

It's good for you.

Go on.

Ti'n licio fo? You like it?

Is this your first time doing an
oyster?
- Yeah.
- Wow, wow.

I'm so happy your first is with me.

LAUGHTER

- It's a ten.
- Yes!

Well, that's two converts.

And it might be the beer talking,

but The Crown locals seem to like
them.

How does it taste?
- Fishy.
- Fishy!

Wow, wow did I miss a mouth that big?

But if the thought of swallowing a raw
oyster makes you queasy,

I've got just the recipe for you.

As a tribute to the Conlans and the
Victorian era, Crown Caernarfon,

on the Maes in Caernarfon, I'm going
to recreate

a very special Victorian dish, beef
and oyster pie,

with some amazing Welsh beef from a
farm from down the road.

So let's start cooking.

First off, I'm going to fry the beef
in some olive oil and butter.

Sizzle, sizzle, baby.

Adding a bit of flour will thicken up
the gravy later.

In with some onions

and leeks to keep it Welsh.

This is Caernarfon soul food. CAR
HOOTS

After the veggies get a good char, out
it comes.

Yeah, looking good.

And I'm chopping up some anchovies
with garlic, rosemary and thyme

for a salty umami hit...

..and a good blob of tomato paste.

Stir it all in.

And now for my special ingredient
straight from the pub.

Welsh stout.

In we go.

Like Keith Floyd's always said, if the
booze ain't good enough

to drink, it ain't good enough to cook
with.

Whoa!

In with some beef stock,

cracked black pepper, salt.

Back in.

The stout and stock will reduce down

and give the pie an amazing depth of
flavour

after an hour on low heat.

You hungry?

Me too.

Yes!

With that beef falling apart,

in with some oyster juice for a hint
of the sea

and those beautiful Menai oysters.

For some extra flavour, I'm putting a
marrowbone in the middle,

as the Victorians used to do.

On with some shop-bought pastry...

..a little crimp,

and I'm finishing with egg wash.

Nice and rustic, just how I like it.

Now this goes back into the oven for
about 20 minutes,

just until that pastry's golden brown

and the bone marrow on top is dancing.

So I'm going to be testing it out on
my mate and pub landlord, Chunk,

one of the fussiest eaters in
Caernarfon.

- Iawn, boi? What have we got here,
Chris?

- Your favourite - steak pie.

- Oh! Let's go.

- The only seafood Chunk likes is fish
fingers.

If I told him there's oysters in this
pie,

I'd guarantee he'd turn his nose up at
it.

- Oh, nice. Oh, the steak, Chris, is
lovely.

- Mm.

- Amazing, Chris. Absolutely
unbelievable.

- So the inspiration for the recipe
goes back to the Victorian era.

So it's a beef and oyster pie.

- There's oyster in it?
- Yeah, there's oysters in it.

- THEY BOTH LAUGH

The oyster is just like a subtle hint
of the sea, yeah.

It complements the beef beautifully.
- It's just amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

- What you been doing?
- Nothing.

- You're behaving?
- Are you?

- No, I'm not.

This is Steff.

And before cooking took over my life,

I was a support worker with him for
over 17 years.

TRAIN HORN BLASTS

A friend for life, we still see a lot
of each other.

And like me, he loves his food.

Do you think it's going to rain?
- Yeah.

- I hope not.
- I hope not.

- Have you bought a brolly?
- No.

- I want to cook for Steff and the
Doniau Cudd band

which he's a part of.

Doniau Cudd is Welsh for Hidden
Talents,

a creative music project for people
who need extra support

here in Caernarfon.

I want to cook them something really
special,

so I need to get my hands on some next
level Welsh produce.

Hello, Wil.
- Hello, Wil.

- Hi, Chris. Sut wyt ti?

- Wil is my meat guru.

And good butchers like him are my rock
stars.

Oh, look at that stuff.

I hope he gives me a good price on a
massive piece of brisket

that I'm after.

Amazing marbling, great fat content,
deep colour.

All that collagen. Fat's going to melt
away low and slow.

- Once you've cooked it, it will
dissolve

and the flavour will be amazing.

- Off the hook, Wil. Yeah, we'll go
for that, Steff?

Is that big enough, or do you want a
bigger one?

- Erm...

No, we'll go for that one.

- Brilliant.

- Do you know which part of the cow
the brisket is?

- Erm, tummy.
- That's not far off.

Imagine me as a cow now.

Moo.

It's here, below my chest.

So this is the muscle, yeah.

Yeah, it's a muscle that's worked
hard, kind of like the pecs.

Look at the pecs on Wil. Teimla
rheina!

- Argol!

- THEY ALL LAUGH

Bag it up, Wil. On the slate.

- No problem.
- Good price, yeah, Wil.
- Oh, the best.

- Let's get cooking.
- Let's get cooking.

- Hopefully, this huge chunk of beef
will feed Steff

and all of his bandmates.

So while Steff spends the day
rehearsing with the Doniau Cudd crew

at the local arts centre...

..just outside, right on the
waterfront,

I'm going to be making super juicy
brisket buns for them

with a hot chilli pickle,

lots of flame and a banging barbecue
sauce.

Woo! I'm so excited. I'm buzzing.

Brisket is one of my favourite cuts to
cook.

And for prepping it, can't get any
simpler than this.

Going to start off - American mustard.

American mustard's really cool, it's
really cheap

and it just works like a binder for
the salt and pepper and garlic.

And this sea salt is made right here
just over the Menai on Anglesey,

literally like 300 yards away.

Cracked black pepper.

Next up - garlic granules.

And brown sugar.

I know it looks like a lot of brown
sugar on beef,

but it's a big piece of beef.

And I've done a million briskets in my
time,

and trust me, this rib recipe is the
best.

It's a fail-safe way of getting a
phenomenal bark.

If you don't know what bark is, when
the brisket comes off the smoker

when it's ready, it's the outer layer.

It's going to be black, as black as
charcoal,

but soft, juicy, caramelised, umami,

hit by the smoke, hit by the rendering
fat of the brisket.

Talk about bark does turn me on.

HE CHUCKLES

Slap it on the grill, but on the
colder side of the barbecue.

I've got my charcoal to one side, top
tip,

because I'm going to cook this
indirectly.

For a smoky hit, cherry wood that I
got off my neighbour

that will give the beef a smoky, sweet
kiss.

This big boy brisket will take a good
six hours,

but I'm going to check it every hour

and give it a spritz with a mix of
beef stock and red wine vinegar

to keep it juicy.

So six hours is up, and from all the
love that's gone into this,

I really hope it's perfect.

Big reveal.

Woo! And that's what I'm talking about
- bark.

I know it looks like it's burnt,

but you just give it a jiggle, the
whole brisket is dancing.

Perfect.

So it's quite tender, I'm using a
pizza peel to get it off.

Oh!

It's so heavy, it's broken my peel. HE
LAUGHS

Ooh!

Even though I want to smash it now,

it needs to rest so those juices
mingle with the meat.

So I've got time to cook up a super
simple barbecue sauce.

The easiest sauce recipe in the world,

but it bangs hard and it's vegan.

I know it's a bit weird doing a vegan
barbecue sauce on a brisket,

but any vegans watching can use it.

Into some oil and vegan butter goes
paprika and mustard powder...

..passata, plant-based Worcestershire
sauce,

apple cider vinegar,

brown sugar and veg stock.

Simple.

Next, a charred chilli pickle.

So I'm charring some fresh chillies

and chopping them up with sugar,
vinegar and salt.

As easy as that.

Pickle - done.

Steff and his mates are probably
really hungry after their rehearsal,

but I need a cheeky little taste
first.

Quality control and all that.

You know when the knife goes through
like butter

you've nailed it.

Ooh! Look at that.

Drip, drip, drip.

What a juicy brisket.

Yes!

Iawn, let's build a bap up.

You've got to toast your buns.

Load it up with barbecue sauce,

garlic mayo,

the juicy brisket that's bursting with
beefy goodness,

the fresh chilli pickle

and the final touch, burnt beef fat in
my trusty flamebaster.

Oh, yes!

It's a medieval cooking tool that adds
spectacular flaming fat

to turbo-charge the beef,

and it's where I get my name -
Flamebaster.

Glorious! Whoa!

Wow. And I want to eat this while the
beef fat is hot.

Wow. And there's no way of eating this
that isn't messy.

Mm.

Sweet, sticky, sexy.

A symphony of flavours going up and
down in my mouth.

I love it. Killer brisket bun.

Let's build some up for the Doniau
Cudd crew.

They are in for a treat.

Don't be shy. Come over. Iawn, Carys?

Iawn, met?

Oh, ho, ho. Bump elbow.

Iawn, Hannah?

Do you like beef? What's your
favourite?
- Lamb.

- Lamb? Oh, next time, Hannah, I'll do
lamb for you.

Fancy a beef bap, anyway?

- OK.
- Yeah?

This group of friends will always give
their true opinion on things.

They don't hold anything back.

Pwy sydd isio barbecue sauce?

And dishing this brisket out, I find
myself getting unusually nervous

at what they'll say about my cooking.

- Oh, epic, Chris.
- Yeah?

Epic!
- A1.
- A1.

- Wow!

Wow.
- A1.
- You guys made me the happiest man,

the happiest man in Cymru today.

I knew that brisket was fire.

And a genuine reaction to something
I've cooked

makes me feel warm inside.

- That's ten out of ten.
- Ten out of ten.

- Heaven.
- Heaven! Wow!

Well, I'll cook for you guys again.

Wow. For me, that's what it's all
about, you can't beat it,

cooking for Doniau Cudd.

These guys make me feel good. Yeah,
yeah.

It's just beautiful to be around them.

So positive, big energy.

Beautiful people.

Do you know what?

The baps are not bad either.

Next up, I'm heading into the hills
just outside Caernarfon

to Waunfawr, where a magical world is
blooming.

Here at Tyn-yr-Onnen Farm,

Gareth Griffith-Swain has started
cultivating

some magnificent mushrooms.

They're grown in a sustainable way

and he sells them to local
restaurants, big supermarkets

and really posh shops like Selfridges
in London.

Yo, Gareth.
- Hey, how's it going, Chris?

- How are you?
- Yeah, good, man.

- Great to meet you.
- Great to meet you too.

Welcome to the farm.
- Yeah. I'm so excited.

This is really cool. I love it.

- Yeah, do you want to have a look?
- Yeah. Give me a tour.

Have you heard this one before?
There's not mush-room here.

Oh, my God.
- Yeah, just a few times.
- THEY LAUGH

- It's been quite a journey.

I started growing mushrooms in my
bedroom, basically.

I used to live in London

and I was growing oyster mushrooms
just for myself,

and then I just kind of went full
throttle with it.

I'm fortunate that this is my
grandfather's farm.

- Taid's farm?
- It's my Taid's farm here, yeah.

And he was a sheep farmer here for all
his life, basically.

And when the farm was passed on, we
were looking at ways

of diversifying, and I was like,
hey...
- Shrooms, baby.

- That's it.
- Shrooms.
- That's it.

- Gareth grows these mushrooms in
sawdust waste from a local mill

and uses hydroelectricity to power his
set-up.

He grows loads of different kinds of
mushrooms here,

like these huge king oysters...

Ooh! Look at those big boys.
- Yeah.

- ..and one I'm particularly buzzing
about - the lion's mane.

- We got some lion's mane here.

- Can I hold one?
- Go for it.

- I'm totally buzzing to hold this
lion's mane.

- The lion's mane is great because
it's a really good gourmet mushroom,

but it also has a lot of health
properties as well.

So a lot of the medicinal health
mushrooms, they taste terrible.

But lion's mane is just this, like,
perfect mushroom.

It's good for the health and it tastes
really, really good as well.

- It's a wonder mushroom.
- Yeah, it doesn't look bad either.

- It doesn't look... It looks amazing,
yeah.

It kind of looks like a sheep from
afar.
- Yeah, it does a bit.

CHRIS CHUCKLES

I'm super excited to taste Gareth's
mushrooms.

So I'm heading to a restaurant in town
that uses them

to make Michelin level dishes.

Sheeps and Leeks is the brainchild of
Paul Hearn.

He honed his skills in high-end
restaurants across the UK and Europe

for over 25 years.

His spectacular seven and ten-course
tasting menus

always celebrates the freshest of
local produce,

and these elegant plates are a welcome
addition to this old town.

Yo!

He's kindly offered me a peek at the
inner workings of his kitchen...

So good to finally meet you.

..and how his young team assemble
these scrumptious creations.

- Chef de partie.
- Hi, Hazel.
- Hiya. Nice to meet you.

- How long have you been a chef?

- I've been a chef for about six years
now.

- You must be enjoying it, then.
- Yeah, definitely.

- Where are you from?
- I'm from Felinheli, just down the
road.

- Two minutes down the road.
- Yeah.
- Lawr y lon.
- Yeah.

- Iawn, get back to your prep.
- Iawn.
- Nice one. Diolch.

It's really cool to meet your team.
- Yeah.

I feel really lucky and privileged to
have such a talented team.

- I've just been to see Gareth and his
amazing mad world of fungi

and mushroom cultivating.

- The great thing is these small local
producers and suppliers,

they're passionate. It's almost a
hobby for them,

so they love what they're doing.

- Well, I can't wait to see you and
the team in action.

So let's go, yeah.
- Let's do it.
- Nice one.

So here I am about to see exactly what
Paul does with the mushrooms.

First up, sherry vinegar gel,

creme fraiche,

pickled radishes

and some wild garlic oil.

It's topped with spinach,

those stunning mushrooms,

fermented mushroom puree with mushroom
powder

and it's finished with croutons and
crispy capers.

Oh, beautiful. Beautiful.

Wow.

Smells just incredible.

Smells incredible.

CHRIS CHUCKLES

Just a roller-coaster of umami
flavours.

So, so good.

I love the intensity of the mushroom
powder on top too.

And for someone like Gareth, puts a
lot of love and work

into producing amazing mushrooms,

it must be awesome for him to see the
end result because this is...

..banging. It's banging.
- Diolch. Cheers.

- Everybody, you are smashing it.
- Lovely having you here.

- I can't believe I had food this good
in Caernarfon.

- Pleasure having you.
- Genius. Genius.

That was a very special experience.

I love having Paul here in Caernarfon,

and I love that he has three young
chefs

and they get to be creative and they
get to have input in the menu.

As a young chef, that is just amazing.

And he takes local produce to the next
level.

Hyper local.

Amazing celebration of food.

That's what it's all about, yeah.

That's what it's all about.

Fine dining may be a new thing in
town,

but there's stunning produce that's
always been readily available here.

There aren't many fishing boats
working out of Caernarfon any more,

but there's one local legend that
still goes out on his boat

to catch super fresh local fish.

This is Gary Brownley.

As someone that's worked out of this
harbour all his life,

he's one of the only people left
keeping the tradition alive

here in Caernarfon.

Iawn, Gary?
- Iawn, met? Iawn, boi?
- Ti'n iawn, met?
- Yndw, tad.

- Oh, you've been out? Ti 'di bod
allan?

- Do. Yes, I've been out. Got a few.

- I've promised to cook him a fish
dinner with whatever

he helps me catch today.

- Let's see what's biting, yeah?
- Yep. I can't, I've only got one
tooth.

THEY BOTH LAUGH

Let's go, mate.

There's a possibility to catch sea
bass, cod, herring,

whiting and mackerel.

HORN HOOTS

Fingers crossed I catch a big one,
because Gary is a hungry guy.

So, Gary, when did you start fishing?

- 42 years ago.

- Wow. And were you on the trawlers?

- When I was 14, 15, I started on
trawlers.
- Wow.

It's a beautiful day.
- Yeah.

Where are the fish, then?
- Oh.

Seaweed.

- I got them all this morning.

- I promise you, there's loads of fish
just underneath the surface,

but obviously they're camera shy.

Come on. Anything.

I'd even take a dogfish by now, Gary.

- A seagull would do fine today.

- THEY BOTH LAUGH

I don't want to let Gary down

so I've got a Plan B for dinner
tonight.

Gary, can I see some of the mackerels
you caught earlier?

- Of course you can. There's one,
look.

- Oh, good size too. Lovely.

You catch a few?
- Nine, I think I had.
- Nine? Ideal, mate.

No, I can't compete with Gary's
lifelong knowledge of catching fish,

so might as well use some of the
spoils

from his early morning haul.

With these super fresh mackerel, I
can't wait to get my cook on.

So I've set up the barbecue in Ysgubor
Goch,

or Sgubs as it's fondly known,

the estate where Gary lives and I grew
up.

I love this place and its people,

and Gary's going to bring some of his
fishing mates

to share this awesome fish platter.

Get a load of these beautiful Menai
mackerel.

Look at that - fresh.

And Gary's taken the bones out,
butterflied them

so you're left with two fillets, skin
intact.

Just makes it very easy for the
sizzle-sizzle on the barbecue.

So, yeah... Whoa! Beautiful fish.

But first I've got some killer sides
to grill up.

So it's on with everything.

Throw them on the fire.

Fennel and fish are a beautiful
combination,

and you can take these sliced fennel
bulbs to the max on the grill.

It mellows the aniseedy taste.

And don't worry about any gnarly
charred bits,

it's all flavour.

The same with the peas.

They're bursting with sweetness as
they are,

but a few minutes on the grill will
add a subtle, smoky hit.

And I love cooking here in Sgubs,
Ysgubor Goch.

I've lived on this street here, Lon
Eilian, seven years of my life.

My grandmother, my mam, all her side
of the family

are from this estate, so I've got a
very close connection.

Next, the stars of the show - the
Menai mackerel.

And on fish this fresh, I'm keeping it
simple.

Just some veg oil,

plenty of salt

and get right in there with it.

I'm using a fish grill.

You can get these online for a fiver
or so.

They make life a lot easier when you
flip the fish on the barbecue.

And this is a bit more of a low and
slow cook here, OK.

You don't want a fast, ferocious
sizzle-sizzle.

Give it some love.

These are your babies now for the next
five, ten minutes.

I'll be using the butter to baste the
mackerel

with a little home-made thyme brush.

Oh, I love it when butter drops, hits
the charcoal

and hits the mackerel back up with
butter-infused smoke.

CHRIS LAUGHS

Most of the cooking happens on the
skin side.

You only need a minute or so on the
flesh.

You're looking for these big dark
bubbles,

showing that the oil and salt has
turned the skin

into super crispy mackerel crackling.

With these beauties,

I'm serving some of the chopped
charred fennel...

...and the crunchy sweet peas.

Off the heat come the mackerel.

With that crispy skin and juicy flesh,

they're smelling divine.

To finish, I chop up some parsley

and sprinkle it with fresh fennel
tops.

Then a handful of chopped chillies

and chilli oil

before finishing off with lemon zest.

I can't wait for Captain Gary and his
fishermen friends

to chomp into these epic maxed-out
mackerel.

How is it?
- Smashing.

The taste of the chillies coming
through with the fish and, erm,

it's very crispy and very nice.

- The flavour of the mackerel's still
star of the show, yeah?

- I've never had mackerel taste that
good.

- Yes, mate.

Well, you caught it.
- I know, yeah.
- I cooked it.

It's a dream team.
- The best.

- Lovely.

- THEY ALL LAUGH

I love being back on the estate I grew
up on

cooking mackerel for Gary and his
fishermen mates.

And I have to tell you, that fish was
off-the-hook good.

Very, very simple, but amazing.

Mackerel doesn't need anything more.

Fire, smoke, a lot of love and you
can't beat it.

The best fish in the world.

I've loved every second of cooking in
Caernarfon,

connecting with friends, cooking with
amazing produce.

But I've got a lot more of Cymru to
see

and a lot more of Cymru to taste.