A Cook On The Wild Side

Record ID: 119512
  • Title: A Cook On The Wild Side
  • Date: 16th August 1995
  • Summary: This week Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall goes in search of some Norfolk pachers to help him hunt game for a pie. First stop has to be the pub, where Hugh meets a reformed poacher. Barbara Blyth was a matron in a boarding school but was made redundant when it closed. With no money to buy meat for the pot she decided to poach. For beginners she recommends the easiest method - babbing for eels (fishing with a bait of worms sewn onto wool). Barbara gave up poaching when she got a better job, but she can remember the excitement of her moonlight flits. "Once you start paching the thrill of it gets to you - the thrill of getting something for nothing....and actually going out hunting to feed the kids," she recalls. Babbing for eels yields nothing so Robert, a fourth generation Norfolk farmer, helps Hugh out early the next morning, before the breakfast pangs become too intense. A large net is the answer and they catch some 15 pounds of eels. Robert performs the unappealing task of skinning the eels while Hugh prepares to smoke them over oak sawdust. After a tasty breakfast of eel sandwiches Hugh heads off in search of more covert countryside types. George Monbiot has a high-minded approach to trespass. He believes in freedom to wander over private land as long as the land is not damaged. He takes Hugh on a wander for wild plants - meadowsweet for hangovers and valarium for a good night's sleep. Clive Houlder points out where Hugh can get some additional flavourings for his poacher's pie - the top of a very old oak. After a hairy climb Hugh captures his prize - Chicken in the Woods - actually a fungus with a dense, meaty texture. Still without a real animal for his pie, Hugh decides to stay within the law and accompanies gamekeeper Tony Smith as he inspects the nests of his game birds. He is less worried about the 'one for the pot' poacher than the professional types who fill sacks with birds. One of Tony's tasks is to stop pigeons eating the local pea crops so he turns his gun on them, thus providing the final ingredients for Hugh's supper. As the day ends, Hugh has all the ingredients but is worried about the etiquette of seating poacher and gamekeeper at the same table to eat a pie with legal and illegal ingredients.
  • Description:SIX PART SERIES,PRESENTED BY HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL,ABOUT EATING FOR FREEIN THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE.
  • Broadcaster:Channel 4
  • Collection: Channel 4
  • Genre:Entertainment
  • Producer:Stephens Kerr Ltd.
  • Programme Episode:Episode 2
  • Transmission Date:16/08/1995
  • Rights:On Request
  • Decade: 1990s
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