- I know cooking can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it doesn't need to be.

- To be honest, it's all a bit stressful.

- So, in this series, I'm joining some wonderful, familiar faces.

- Bee!

- [Mary] Each with their own dilemmas in the kitchen.

- Would you like some turkey dinosaur?

- [Mary] Not a lot.

I'm going to show them how it's done with easy new recipes.

- I'm your sous chef.

I love this.

- [Mary] In the most glorious locations.

- You are a natural.

- All right, Mary.

- Bez, you've gotta multi task.

- [Mary] Dishes anyone can whip up.

- Wow!

I like cooking with you.

- [Mary] I've recipes for beginners.

- I've never made anything in my life, that's the trouble.

- [Mary] Those who find cooking stressful.

- There's no messing about here, is there?

- I told you it was quick.

Would like to entertain more.

- Oh!

(Mary laughs) - [Mary] Or in need of some inspiration.

- I can do this.

- Here's the blender.

- Blender Brethyn.

- It will all be beautifully easy, I promise.

- You're my type of woman, Mary.

- I'm here in London's colorful West End.

to meet musical theater star and keen cook Michael Ball.

Michael knows his way around a kitchen, but he wants to be more adventurous.

Even the most passionate cooks can get stuck cooking the same recipes time and again.

I've got some easy recipes that are a little bit different to the everyday.

Time to drag him away from rehearsal so we can start cooking.

♪ Love will never, never let you be the same ♪ (Mary applauds) - Bravo.

- Hello, my lovely.

How are you?

- I'm very well.

This is very, very exciting.

- Welcome.

- "Aspects of Love."

- Yeah, it's a show that means so much to me.

I did it 34 years ago.

It sort of changed everything for me.

It started the most important time in my career and it's that thing of going a full circle, you know, of being the young juvenile lead to the elder statesman, I suppose, is what I am.

- A proper grownup.

- Yeah, proper grownup.

- [Mary] This is such a beautiful theater, but I'm not here to talk all about that.

- I know you're not, but have you ever danced on a West End stage?

- Oh, good gracious, no.

♪ I want to be the last man you forget ♪ - There you are.

- You're an absolute natural, a romantic.

- I am a romantic.

- And how about your cooking?

- I love cooking, but I need to be a bit more adventurous.

- Well, come and I've got some things ready for you.

- All right, let me lead the way.

- I can't steal the star for too long.

So, we've found a corner of the theater to cook in.

Have you ever made gazpacho?

- No, is that what we're doing?

- Yes.

- Oh, fantastic.

- It's a chilled Spanish soup that's much easier to make than most people imagine.

Perfect for an adventurous start to a lazy summer lunch.

The one thing about gazpacho is you want to have really, really ripe tomatoes, otherwise it doesn't look right.

This recipe is the rare occasion where I take the skins off, but it can be a dobble.

Just put a cross in the top and that loosens the skin.

- See, now there we are.

There's the first tip I needed.

- We just drop them in there.

It'll take about a minute in boiling water for the skins to loosen.

Get some cold water ready.

- I'm your sous chef, I love this.

- You're a very handsome sous chef.

- Oh.

- Then drop them in.

Now it's so simple to skin them.

- [Michael] That's so easy.

- [Mary] That's one lesson learned then.

- Yeah.

- You like Spain, don't you?

- Yeah, we normally go to Majorca.

It's a fantastic island.

It's got so much history and the food is incredible, absolutely incredible.

- This recipe couldn't be better for Michael.

Cut the tomatoes and remove the seeds.

Do you tidy up as you go along?

- No.

Luckily, my wife Kathy does all of the tidying up.

I'll make the mess and she'll tidy.

- Well, I'm not clearing up after you today.

- No, I know, I know.

- I'm going to have to keep an eye on this one.

Right, back.

A slice of stale bread is ideal to thicken the gazpacho.

This is what I like.

Actually, I'd like that with a bit of butter on the top.

- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- But I'm being controlled.

So, where did your interest in cooking start?

- It came from being a student and being sick of tins of steak and kidney, but which were delicious, I have to tell you.

And I thought, no, I need to actually learn to do this.

- That can just go in there like that.

And just pour water over it and it soaks it up and it adds to the texture.

- Right.

- Now, to bring it all together.

A roughly chopped shallot, a de-seeded red pepper, and while I remember, garlic.

- Garlic.

- One clove grated and a peeled cucumber, de-seeded of course.

- Oh, you and your pips.

- [Mary] A teaspoon down the middle makes easy work of it.

We're getting there, aren't we?

- Yeah, clean as we go.

- In there, that's right.

- You taught me that.

- [Mary] Then in with the soaked bread and four tablespoons of good olive oil.

(playful music) Two tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

- Right.

Oops.

- That's it.

(playful music) A tablespoon of tomato puree, then a dash of sugar, and seasoning to bring out all the flavors.

And lastly, the tomatoes that we have lovingly prepared.

- [Michael] We have.

- Then all we've got to do is turn the processor on.

It may start slowly, but watch as those colors and flavors blend.

(playful music) - Oh, I see what the bread's doing.

- Just thickening it up.

- Yeah.

- It just takes a few moments.

Open the lid.

- You clever sausage.

(Michael laughs) - I've never been called a sausage before.

So, here we are, my gazpacho, a simple and stunning dish to add some adventure to Michael's repertoire.

- That's absolutely fabulous.

And it's so fresh and healthy tasting.

This is absolutely up my street.

Mm, it's so simple.

- So easy.

(upbeat music) Sometimes being adventurous is all about bringing new life to an old favorite.

Minced beef is such a staple, but watch what I'm going to do with it.

In this pie, I've got two layers of mince and in the middle, a surprise layer of aubergines and cream cheese and herbs, with a good crisp top of filo.

It's a winner.

Soften two chopped onions in a little sunflower oil.

Just a little bit of color there, that's perfect.

Then brown 400 grams of lean minced beef.

So, you can see what I'm doing, I'm breaking up all that mince, turning it with the onion, and it's beginning to lose that bright redness and turning brown.

Keep the heat on high so the liquid evaporates and doesn't end up stewing the mince.

Now, that needs some garlic.

Three cloves grated, and you put the garlic in towards the end of cooking the mince because otherwise it burns.

So, that's perfect, we've browned the meat a little, so, I'm going to add a couple of cans of chopped tomatoes, which will make a rich tomato sauce.

I hope you can hear me over this noise.

There it is all mixed in.

Bring out the flavor of those tomatoes with a dash of sugar and a tablespoon of tomato puree.

That's it.

Season and stir.

Then I'm going to put the lid on, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.

If you leave it open, you'll evaporate all the juices from the tomatoes and that's not what we want.

We want a slow, slow cook to make that mince really, really tender.

(playful music) Now it starts to get exciting.

Season two sliced aubergines and drizzle with sunflower oil.

I want to soften them in a 180 fan oven for 20 minutes.

(playful music) Finally, mix chopped parsley, 280 grams of cream cheese, two cloves of grated garlic and seasoning.

How much easier this is than making a cheese sauce like a bechamel.

That's it.

Now to assembling the layers.

A tablespoon of thyme and four of parsley is just the beginning.

If you add them earlier, they lose their color.

Spread half of the mince in a baking dish, (playful music) add all the aubergine next.

It may overlap a little, that's good.

Then the cream cheese mix.

And you can't exactly spread it, but you can sort of put blobs on.

I love doing this because it looks neat and methodical and I know it's going to be absolutely delicious.

Top with the remaining mince.

It's a very strong garlicky smell here.

And now, to top my glorious pie, four sheets of filo pastry.

Once upon a time when I was at college, I made filo pastry and there was an awful lot of laughter because you have to keep stretching it.

You can imagine a whole class all pulling it, and pulling it, and pulling it.

It took the whole of a morning and thank goodness it comes in packets now.

Brush with butter.

Then cut each sheet in half.

Now, here's the adventurous bit.

Scrunch the pastry and cover the whole top, right to the edges like that, filling in all gaps.

So easy and so effective.

Doesn't that look fun?

Pop into a 180 fan oven for 25 minutes and your work is done.

(playful music) I think that looks really impressive.

We all make lasagnas and moussakas, but this is a totally new creation.

(playful music) Right, here goes.

I love that crunch.

In it goes.

There look at that.

(playful music) This is a great new recipe for Michael to make himself.

- Do you wanna take your seats kids?

- Wow, Michael, this is fantastic.

- While Michael and the cast finish rehearsing, it's a chance to stroll through Chinatown, which borders the theater district.

I love walking along these streets.

Such wonderful food wherever I look.

It's inspiration for my next recipe.

And I have some tricks to make it easy to cook at home.

When we're out with the family at a restaurant, they love Peking duck, but to create it at home is quite tricky.

This is my alternative using chicken.

It's less expensive than duck, easy to do, and just as delicious.

The secret is its stunning marinade, not the classic, but still delicious.

First of all, five spice, two tablespoons into a dish.

One, two.

Two tablespoons of hoisin sauce and runny honey, that helps to get it really brown.

Three tablespoons of soy sauce, two teaspoons of rice wine vinegar, and tomato puree.

That's it.

Finally, a grated clove of garlic.

So, all the ingredients are in there.

I'm just gonna move that round so it's well mixed.

It's smelling very, very spicy.

And the marinade is going to make it a real dark, dark brown chicken and the flavor superb.

So, in goes the chicken, massage it in.

Turn it over and cover it all over.

I like this part.

This is an ideal recipe for someone who wants to be a little bit more adventurous.

It needs to marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, ideally overnight, to absorb all that flavor.

Then season and pop onto a baking tray.

And then I'm just going to pour that over the top and make sure it covers it all.

And any that drips on the tray will bubble up and give even more flavor.

That's it.

So, that goes into the oven at 180 for an hour and a quarter.

After 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.

It will protect the chicken from burning and keep it beautifully moist.

That looks and smells amazing.

Don't be alarmed by the color, that's exactly how it should be, it's not burnt.

I'm going to serve my chicken just as you would with Peking Duck.

A little hoisin sauce, put that down the middle.

Bit like painting it.

And of course the traditional spring onion for flavor, cucumber for freshness, and I've added carrot for crunch too.

And now for some chicken, cut some off the breast.

Perfect and a bit of skin.

That's it.

Fold that over and you've got that lovely little parcel.

It is cram jam full, but that's how I like it.

Right.

So simple, so special, my Chinese-inspired chicken with pancakes.

That is wonderful.

I feel as though I'm having a restaurant meal at home.

(upbeat music) My job is to make the difficult parts of cooking look really easy.

I think life in the theater is just the same.

- So welcome to my world.

- [Mary] I have never been backstage before.

- You're joking?

What you see on the stage is all very calm, slick, and beautiful.

Backstage is chaos.

There are a lot of very quick scene changes and costume changes.

Here's some of the frocks, the quality- - [Mary] Just look at the back of that.

- Stunning, isn't it.

- Oh, beautiful.

And huge hooks because you've gotta be quick.

- [Michael] You know, you think about it, you're doing eight shows a week, ripped off, put back on.

So, they have to be nicely made.

- Have you any favorite costume?

- Without question, my favorite costume, my favorite looks were for "Hairspray" where I'm playing Edna Turnblad, an overweight mother of one from Baltimore.

(Michael laughs) With the biggest hair you've ever seen.

- What a wonderful insight.

But I can't be backstage without trying something on myself.

It's very grand, isn't it?

Beautifully made.

- Actually, it really suits you.

I think this is more my style.

(playful music) - Oh, I love the little curl in the front.

(Michael laughs) - There's a scene in a circus and we have a high wire act.

- You are not on the high wire?

- No, I most certainly am not.

- You're far too valuable.

You might fall.

- Absolutely.

(Michael chuckles) - For a showman like Michael every performance is a celebration.

So, this next adventurous recipe is ideal for his growing repertoire.

It looks impressive, but I promise you it's easy.

Let's get cracking with the chocolate sponge.

So, I've got 30 grams of cocoa here.

It gives it a really chocolate flavor.

Don't pick up drinking chocolate by mistake.

Use five tablespoons of boiling water to mix it into a paste.

Adding very hot water to the cocoa cooks it a bit and gives the very best flavor.

So, four eggs.

225 grams of baking spread straight from the fridge.

The same amount of castor sugar.

275 grams of self-raising flour.

One teaspoon of baking powder.

And lastly, just one tablespoon of milk.

So simple.

It's the all-in-one method.

That is everything in the bowl together and then a good beat.

Into the cake tin, bake it and it's done.

That looks about right to me.

That's it.

Then dollop into a lined, tray bake tin, spread that evenly into the corners.

This will be our first sponge, but we'll need two for the cake.

If you've got two tins, you can bake them in the oven together.

If you haven't, you make one and then make another.

Into the oven at 160 fan for about 35 minutes.

While that bakes, it's onto the gloriously rich ganache.

Ganache sounds a bit technical, a bit posh, but all it is is equal quantity of cream and chocolate.

Bring 450 ml of double pouring cream almost to the boil.

In goes the chocolate all in one go and stir at once.

Coming together nicely now and it'll have a nice shine to it too.

Set the ganache and sponges aside to cool completely before decorating.

Well, I'm organized.

Cakes are made.

They look good, don't they?

Then I've got my ganache there, some of it in the piping bag and the cream is already whipped.

This is a grownup celebration cake, therefore, I'm going to add a little Irish cream.

Add a splash over the bottom sponge.

This is a really boozy cake, and why not.

Dollop on the cream.

Spread it evenly into each corner.

Then place the second sponge on top.

I can see that you're wondering whether I'm gonna do it properly.

One, two, three, on there, get it square.

That's it.

And then, press it down until the cream's just coming to the outside line.

That's it.

Use a palette knife to neaten, and then it's ready for that wicked ganache.

Spread that all over.

Draw a fork across the sides for a smart finish before decorating the top.

So with the piping, keep it upright and then press it down and up.

Little out, down and up.

It's quite easy and you know, you get quite confident when you get round to about here, you start going a bit faster.

The very first piping that I did, I was doing The City and Guild's 244, it's as though it was yesterday, and I was so nervous.

But you know, it turned out all right, luckily.

That's it.

I think that looks rather good.

In fact, I think it looks a bit professional.

Shop-bought chopped truffles and chocolates are a perfect finish.

Anything left, definitely perk for the cook.

There we have it, my decadent, boozy, chocolate celebration cake.

It really is too beautiful to cut, but I'm going to.

I'm not stupid, I've cut the corner bit, I get that extra icing.

This is such a treat.

The cake is so moist and the cream just enriches it.

I'm pretty partial to a boozy cake and that's one of the best.

I wonder how I can help Michael with his own grand finale?

When it comes to puds, how are you with them?

- Rubbish.

I just don't do them.

I love a little, you know, just two or three that I could just go, "I know how to do that.

I know how to do it quickly."

- This is absolutely scrumptious sweet.

- Is it?

- And it's a little bit sharp and it's easy.

- It's everything I love.

- This zesty key lime pie looks flashy, but it's oh so easy, ideal for my theatrical friend.

I can just imagine you going in with a huge smile and whatever.

- Something I've whipped up.

- Whipped up.

- Mary taught me actually.

- [Mary] These are digestive biscuits.

- Yeah.

- And we're gonna crunch those up.

- Okay.

- Meanwhile, I'll put some butter on to melt.

- Okay.

- [Mary] That's 55 grams of butter and 155 grams of biscuits that Michael is taking care of.

- Catharsis.

- Let's have a look.

Let's have a look in there.

There we are, that's absolutely perfect.

So, you can manage this so far?

- I'm all right so far.

- Dead easy.

- It's like a cheesecake.

- You can make a cheesecake?

- No, I can't, but I've eaten them.

(Michael chuckles) - Remove the melted butter from the heat and add the biscuits.

That's it.

You can give it a stir until all the crumbs are mixed with the butter.

- We call this incorporating, don't we?

- Oh, we do.

Add just a dash of natural demerara sugar.

- Oh, okay.

- That's all.

- How's that, Mary?

- Perfect.

Spread the buttery crumbs into the tin and press down.

- Can your husband cook?

- My husband cook?

No, no.

- No?

- Absolutely useless.

If I'm not there and haven't left something, it's cornflake.

(Michael laughs) - Excellent.

- Right.

I'm going to chill that in the fridge to firm up that base.

- Okay.

- Next, we need the zest of four limes.

And that gives so much flavor.

So, Michael, do you eat together with the cast at all?

- What often happens is that people will do a bake at home and then they'll bring something in to share around the cast and it's really appreciated.

- I can see that you get on rather well with everybody.

- I love them, I really do.

I mean, I've been very fortunate in my career, I've always had great relationships with casts and companies.

It's sort of perfect.

- You never take the smile off your face, do you?

- I have a good life, Mary, who wouldn't be smiling, cooking a key lime pie with you.

- [Mary] The topping is 115 grams of cream cheese mixed with the juice of the limes.

- I think we're a good team, Mary.

- We're all right, aren't we?

- Yes.

- [Mary] Slowly add a tin of deliciously, naughty, condensed milk and then start to pour the juice in here.

- Okay.

(playful music) - [Mary] Throw in half of the lime zest - Oh, and you get the color coming as well.

- Good, isn't it?

- Yeah.

- You're learning, tidying up as as we go along.

- If I take nothing else from this, I will be doing that.

- Keep mixing until absolutely smooth.

Perfect, that's it.

(Michael chuckles) You're childish and it's all on your beard.

Go on.

- Is it?

- Pour onto the crunchy biscuit base.

Lovely flecks of lime zest.

And just want it beautifully even.

Let it chill in the fridge before topping with whipped cream.

(playful music) You're doing that with great precision, that's lovely.

Now for the remaining lime zest.

If it's a little bit higgledy-piggledy and all up one end, they know you haven't bought it.

So, what do you think of the masterpiece you've made?

- It's just fabulous.

It's simple, it's elegant, it's beautiful.

It's sweet, little bit sharp.

It's you.

It's you on a plate.

- [Mary] I think you should share it with your cast.

- [Michael] I think they would be thrilled.

- Well, come on then.

- All right.

Shall I carry it?

- You can carry it, yes.

- What did you say I needed to do?

Elegantly.

- You're a showman.

- I really am.

(playful music) Look out, here we come.

(cast members cheer) Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mary.

- Hello, all of you.

- And this is the key lime pie.

(cast members cheer) - All his own work.

(Michael scoffs) - I think you might have helped quite a bit.

- A wonderful pupil.

- Oh, bless you.

One thing that Mary has taught me is be tidy.

So, Mary, fingers, toes.

- Oh!

(Michael laughs) - [Michael] Take a seat.

- [Mary] All we need is a glowing review to encourage Michael to be more adventurous in the future.

- That is so good.

- It's amazing we have anything left because he tipped into all the time.

And we've just had enough to spread across the top.

- You make it simple, you make it easy to follow and you make it enjoyable.

And most importantly, you make it taste fantastic.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you so much.

- I've had such fun.

- Now that you've taught Michael how to cook something, are you gonna now do a number for us in the show?

- You must be joking.

(cast members laugh) (upbeat orchestral music) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (upbeat orchestral music continues)