Original subtitles

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.