[theme music] ♪ ♪ As a chef, I've been privileged to travel to all corners of the globe, but there are one small group of islands that, in my mind, has it all.

♪ ♪ From farmers to fishermen.

And great seafood!

These are delicious, absolutely delicious.

Joining me on my journey, I'll be meeting some of my mates, who just happen to be some of the finest chefs in the entire world.

[laughs] Butter.

[laughs] Where is that special place?

Great Britain, of course.

Woo-hoo!

♪ ♪ [upbeat music] JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): My adventure continues in the rolling countryside, in Nottinghamshire, to be exact, the county that's home to Sherwood Forest, an abundance of hearty produce, and, in my opinion, one of the country's-- in fact, the world's-- finest chefs, Sat Bains, who I've somehow managed to squeeze into the Mini next to me.

It's good, the suspension on a Mini.

[laughs] It's hard to exaggerate.

It is.

[laughs] So, Mr.

Sat Bains, or I'm gonna call you Mr.

Nottingham.

No, because in fact, Mr.

Global Domination, with one restaurant in Nottingham.

- Oh, yeah.

- But you-- - That's enough.

- Congratulations.

You've won every single award going, haven't you?

Hey, listen, I've got a phenomenal team.

You know what it's like.

JAMES MARTIN: And what you do-- you create taste like I've never tasted before, just by simple veg or a potato or a carrot or-- but that-- that takes an element of skill that's-- I don't know.

Where does that come from?

I've been very fortunate, James.

I've been lucky enough to stay in one place 18 years, honing my skills.

I'm 47 now.

I've trained hard.

I work hard.

But I love it.

JAMES MARTIN: So tell me about Nottingham in terms of the food team, 'cause the produce you have here is spectacular.

I love it.

We're landlocked, so we're in the middle.

JAMES MARTIN: Yeah?

Brilliant vegetables, brilliant fruit, some great farms around us, beautiful cattle, some beautiful Lavinton lamb.

JAMES MARTIN: Yeah.

And what's nice is that that represents the menu.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Nottingham's a thriving city in the heart of the East Midlands, completely surrounded by glorious countryside, which is an Aladdin's cave of produce.

Like any accredited chef, Sat's a busy man, so I've dropped him at his restaurant, where I'll catch up with him a little bit later.

And I've headed deep into the forest.

What better place to cook up a hearty stew made from fresh, local ingredients?

Now, there are so many dishes that I could do in these parts, so many ingredients that come from these parts.

But there is so much to choose from.

So I'm gonna do this wonderful casserole, really.

It's perfect for this setting.

We're actually in part of Sherwood Forest.

Now, what I've got in here is a selection of different types of pork.

We've got these beautiful pork sausages.

Look at this fat bacon.

Look at that.

A proper amount of fat, equal quantities.

Look at this streaky bacon.

Oh, ho, ho, ho.

Get in there.

Look at that streaky.

Lovely.

And we're gonna combine that with a little bit of hock and make this wonderful little casserole.

So the first thing I'm gonna do is cook our sausages.

Now, we've got olive oil here, which we're never gonna use in a month of Sundays, 'cause what I got from the butchers is beef dripping and lard.

Now, this is lard.

This comes from the pig.

This beautiful thing comes from the fat of beef, with the jelly in it.

But what I'm gonna use is use the lard to start off with.

So we put a little bit of this in the pan and get cooking these sausages.

So straight in.

Now, while that's happening, we can turn our attention to our bacon.

And all I'm gonna do with this is just fry it off in the pan with the sausages.

Beautiful bit of that bacon.

You just want a little bit of color on the sausages first.

I'm gonna use some of this wonderful streaky bacon.

We'll just fry that off nicely.

Now, as that's starting to cook down nicely, we can turn our attention to our veg.

We've got some carrots.

I've got some leek.

And all I'm gonna do with this is basically just chop this up-- we don't have to be too fancy-- together with the leek.

[birds chirping] Look at that.

A bit of shallot.

And then we've got some celery.

Now, very often unused, I think, celery.

So in we go with this.

And at the same time now, we can turn our attention to the beans.

Now, you can put any type of bean in with this, really.

But you want to get the ones out of a jar.

It's far, far easier.

If you're gonna buy the dried ones, then you got to soak them for 24 hours and then cook them for about three or four hours.

This is not baked beans.

And these beauties are haricot beans.

So this is kind of like the ultimate one-pot.

You just put everything together and keep cooking it and cooking it.

Now we turn our attention to the apple, of course.

Bramley apples-- another thing that's famous around these parts as well.

There is so much food around here.

That's the thing.

As I was driving here, you've got amazing fields full of-- I mean, I saw sugar beet.

I saw bits and pieces of sweet corn.

I saw fresh fruit.

I saw apples, pear plantations.

There is so much food.

In amongst all that, you've got great pasture, so you've got great cattle.

You've got great milk.

And you've got great farms selling amazing pigs.

But the Bramley apple-- again, chop this all up because the whole point about doing it this sort of size is that you almost want the Bramley apple to break down fully.

And it starts to thicken this casserole.

And the liquid form of this-- we're gonna grab some cider.

That's gonna go in.

And we're gonna use some Henderson's relish or a little bit of Worcester sauce.

It's entirely up to you.

But a good dollop of that.

We've just got some of this pre-made stock that just sits in there as well.

Now everything now will start to stew down nicely.

A few bits of rosemary, and what's amazing with pork, in particular, sausages-- honey.

This is your natural sweetness, 'cause remember, the apples are quite sharp with being the Bramleys.

So this will balance the flavor of this dish.

All we're gonna do now is just take this hock.

So this is kind of like a pot of pork.

But this is delicious.

Just break it all up.

And what I mean by that, literally, just break it all up.

Grab it.

Rip it apart.

Chop it up.

And stick it in the pot as well as additional flavor.

Now, I'm gonna leave that to stew nicely, and that wants to cook for about 10 minutes.

In between time, it gives you a chance to have a starter, which is this, sliced bread.

When I first had this starter, it was back at home, on white sliced bread.

We used to have massive fights about this starter at my house, I mean, proper fights, because this, ladies and gentlemen, is beef dripping.

Beef dripping as a starter, the ultimate, ultimate starter.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ So after about five, six minutes, the apples start to break down.

And what happens is you get this sauce.

It starts to thicken up.

So it's natural sauce, really.

You've got that and the honey, the sweetness, everything else.

So now we can season this up.

Just a little bit of that.

Now, I'm gonna use these carrot tops 'cause I don't like to waste anything.

♪ ♪ Why not?

Look at that.

You know, you've seen how easy it is to make a dish.

So often, when you come to these sort of woods and stuff like that, you can generally have, like, burgers and sausages that are nuked on the barbecue.

But next time, bring a pan with you.

Just kind of all you need, really.

And with this, you can mess around.

You can serve mashed potato and that kind of stuff.

But me-- chunks of bread is the best thing to serve with this.

So you can basically just dunk in and help yourself.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ That is a proper pan of food.

That's what that is.

Cheers.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): And there it is, my pork and apple stew made from locally sourced ingredients.

The beef dripping starter is optional, of course.

[playful music] ♪ ♪ Earlier, I got a tour of the area from local chef Sat Bains, and now I'm heading to his two-star Michelin restaurant, which is in a rather unlikely location.

SAT BAINS: This is all, like, an industrial estate, so it adds a bit of quality to the restaurant.

[laughs] I see-- I love your place.

It's right by-- look, Pelican Colts Football Club-- SAT BAINS: Subway.

Subway.

Pitch and Putt.

[laughs] JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): But don't be fooled by this, because people flock here from all over the world to taste Sat's award-winning menu.

And he's invited me into the kitchen so I can see how he turns simple fare into mouthwatering meals.

Right then, Chief.

You got me in a chef's jacket.

- I know.

You look good.

- Yeah.

So what are we gonna do?

You're gonna show me two of your dishes.

Yeah, so the first one is the-- we call it On the Embers.

And the idea is that you get something really classic, jacket potato.

This is no ordinary jacket potato, though.

So where do we start?

So we're just reheating it.

It's already been poached with kombu.

So kombu's a seaweed.

So this has been gently cooked.

This variety is called Nicola.

And we're gonna sit this on the embers, so you get that lovely kind of blackened skin.

It's got that lovely kind of toasted jacket potato feel.

Now, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret.

I've actually had this dish.

This is utterly amazing, this dish.

But it's literally-- no oil, nothing, just straight on-- straight on the embers.

So it's-- so with that, we've got cream cheese and chives.

OK.

You've just got cream cheese and chives.

SAT BAINS: Again, classic.

Let's have a look at these.

Don't burn your spuds.

SAT BAINS: No.

And the beauty is the embers are, like, what?

380 degrees.

You end up with that, lovely bit of char.

JAMES MARTIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Looking good.

- And you can smell it as well.

- Yeah.

- The toasted skin.

- Yeah, yeah.

So the chive oil.

And then we've also got the actual kombu puree.

It's almost like-- it fills your mouth full of umami now.

So it's, like, pulling-- The initial hit's the anchovy, sort of.

Yeah.

Well, it's from the sea, so-- it's crazy, isn't it?

So you add that, and that adds, like-- almost like, again, a secret layer-- JAMES MARTIN: Right.

- --underneath.

And you don't know it's there.

When you think of two-star Michelin and three-star Michelin, you think of little bits, fine dining, all mess around with-- yours is, dare I say, quite simple, but very honest, but very clever.

Yeah.

The secret-- The flavor is-- Yeah, it's flavor-driven.

It looks so simple.

But the flavor profile is up there.

That's always been intriguing to me.

I've never been interested in fancy food.

I've been interested in naturally looking food that has very high levels of flavor.

That's the clever bit, isn't it?

I think what you said earlier was the honesty of it.

Two words I love is "genuinity" and "authenticity."

If you can do that in your cooking-- "Genuinity."

Is that a word?

No, I just made it up.

[laughter] So, nice and scorched.

JAMES MARTIN: Oh, that's good.

SAT BAINS: So it's got a beautiful crust on it.

And then what you do-- you always crack it like this so you get that fluff.

And then what you want is a nice dollop of these shallots.

What's those, pickled shallots.

JAMES MARTIN: Pickled shallots.

Yeah, so in wine.

So it's got this acidulation.

So obviously, it's quite a rich dish.

A little bit of salt.

And then we've got this beautiful Exmoor caviar.

That's the luxury.

I like to call it working class two star.

JAMES MARTIN: [laughs] SAT BAINS: And that's it.

Baked potato, English caviar, kombu, cream cheese, chive oil.

JAMES MARTIN: May I taste this while you-- SAT BAINS: Yeah.

JAMES MARTIN: --you crack on and do the other dish?

SAT BAINS: So what we did is we do a beef and beetroot dish.

And there's beef, aged 140 days-- 140-day-old beef.

So it's salt-chambered, and you've got these incredible shallots, capers, and gherkin, pinch of salt.

I've got here some croutons.

I've got here some candied beetroot.

And again, these are all the things that make the dish.

How do you make a potato taste like that?

[laughs] Well, that's the key, isn't it?

That's the million-dollar question.

I don't know.

So this is quite interesting.

This is Australian winter truffles.

Smell that.

It's ridiculous.

Tartare-- and all we're doing is free form.

But you want it where you're gonna get a nice piece of every bit.

I always say about five mouthfuls.

I've got two more to go on these potatoes.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Is that right?

So this is 25-year-old balsamic.

JAMES MARTIN: Yeah?

Acidity, caramel.

I've got smoked oak mayonnaise, and this is actually oak from Sherwood Forest.

I remember this dish as well.

Beetroot ketchup, acidity.

So what you're doing is seasoning nearly every area.

So you're basically doing this 'cause you want everybody to have a little mouth-- You're gonna automatically get a bit of everything.

So this is, again, truffle ketchup, truffle puree.

Truffle ketchup in here.

So-- yeah.

So it's quite strong, so you don't need a lot.

And then we've got our truffle.

And the reason I've cut them into nice chunks-- You know when you get truffle in a restaurant, there's all these thin shavings.

Eat that.

Yeah, 'cause it comes in these shavings.

Yeah, but what's nice-- it's actually got an incredible texture.

You're actually getting truffle.

You're not-- you see what I mean?

It makes a lot of sense.

So again, scatter that over the top.

And these are oyster leaves from the garden.

So they're-- taste of oyster.

These are amazing.

Beef and oyster, as a combo-- you can't beat it.

It's amazing you get that flavor out of a leaf, innit, really?

Yeah.

And then this is beef tendon and crispy potato.

So when you eat it, you get a crunch, because what the crunch does-- it relieves the palate.

If everything was too soft, you slowly start getting bored of the same texture.

So it piques your interest.

So tell me what's in this, because this is the-- bit that turns it into the piece of art, then.

SAT BAINS: So this is basically a beetroot gel.

It encases the whole dish.

So when you eat it, everything stick to it, so it's like eating a pie.

And then to finish it, we've made a little vinaigrette of the beetroot.

And that's it.

That's aged beef, beets, tubers, as in truffle, and smoked oak mayonnaise.

JAMES MARTIN: So this is your version of a pie.

Well, beef tartare, aged beef.

JAMES MARTIN: I'm gonna go in with a fork.

SAT BAINS: Yeah, go in with a fork.

That's a better spoon, plastic spoon.

[laughs] Do you know what I love about great chefs?

They just-- when they've served the food, they don't need to say anything.

It's a very clever dish, that, Chief.

SAT BAINS: Thank you very much.

You've got to come and taste it.

It's as simple as that.

[upbeat music] JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Sat really is an inspiration, a tough act to follow.

But that's not going to stop me going back to basics and trying something new.

♪ ♪ What Sat is amazing at doing is making simple things like veg taste off the charts.

And I'm gonna use these parsnips to create a wonderful dish using some venison and a few bits of hispi cabbage.

So the first thing we're gonna do is peel them.

Now, some chefs would call this parsnip three ways, three different sort of methods of cooking these, really, three different textures, anyway.

But what I want to do, first of all, is make a simple little puree.

Now, keep these peelings as well to one side.

And then grab the parsnips, and then chop them up.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And all I'm gonna do is just cook this now with milk.

Cover it over, bring that to the boil, and cook that for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, we need a few more parsnips for our next bit.

Now, I'm actually gonna leave these parsnips with the skin on, and I'm gonna roast these.

It's a good idea to use maybe the smaller-sized parsnips, which are generally a little bit more sweeter and lend themselves really well for roasting like this.

But cut these into quarters.

And quite simply, a hot pan on the stove, a few knobs of butter, and start to throw in the parsnips.

Now, you're gonna cook these for about 30 seconds to get a little bit of color.

So while our parsnips are coloring into our pan, I'm gonna turn my attention to the cabbage.

Now, this is called hispi cabbage.

Some people call this a pointed cabbage, for obvious reasons.

Remove just the center bit, and then just cut this up, straight in half, and stick it in the pan.

So often with veg like this, particularly cabbage, you would just boil.

But trust me, like this, roasted, tastes delicious.

So we're just gonna flavor that with a bit of rosemary, a nice drizzle of Nottinghamshire honey.

And then this is what you really want, a nice splash of sherry.

And then take the entire lot and roast it in a hot oven for about 10 to 15 minutes.

And now to turn our attention to this lovely venison.

Now, I've got in here a trimmed saddle of venison.

This is a fantastic cut of meat that you can simply cook.

And a piece of meat like this, you can treat like a steak.

So a little bit of oil in the pan.

I like to add half oil, half butter for this.

And then simply pan fry this.

This is gonna take about two to three minutes.

[gentle music] And what you want to do is get a little color on the venison, turn it over, and just pop it in the oven for about four to five minutes.

And then for our third and final installment of these parsnips, we can just peel what we've got left and make these into crisps.

It's all about building up textures.

Although you've got the same flavors, the textures are just as important.

We can utilize the skins from earlier, mix these together, and then you want the oil about 180.

Not too hot.

About that temperature will get them nice and golden brown, but above all else, crispy.

We fry these for about two to three minutes.

♪ ♪ Parsnip crisps, done.

So we'll take those off.

Just sprinkle them with a bit of salt.

And then we can take our venison out.

Now, what you do need to do with venison is leave it to rest.

In between time, we can make a sauce in this pan.

And the sauce is a little bit of red wine.

You just deglaze the pan out.

A touch of the sherry to keep the same theme going.

This is veal stock.

And you just put it in the pan, allow this to boil for about three or four minutes.

In between time, we can blend these parsnips.

[bright music] ♪ ♪ And what you end up with is this little cheffy puree.

It's like the best creamy mashed potato.

It really is delicious and so, so simple to make.

A bit of seasoning and nothing else.

So the sauce is starting to reduce down nicely.

I think the best way to have this is just with a little bit of butter.

So you've got the nice little puree ready.

We've got our lovely crisps.

Our venison's left to rest.

And then all we've got in the oven is this, our roast cabbage with the roast parsnips, this lovely sherry dressing and everything else that you've got with it.

And then to serve it, I'm gonna keep it really simple.

I think we've done enough cheffiness.

We'll put a little bit of puree on the plate, some of our parsnips.

We can trim off a bit of cabbage.

Fantastic.

You've got your sliced venison.

You've got to cook this medium.

You cannot overcook it.

Sprinkle a little bit of the sauce over the top and then a few parsnip crisps to go with it.

I know what you're thinking.

That's a bit cheffy.

It is, but Sat might be watching.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Voila.

Melt-in-the-mouth venison with parsnips cooked three different ways.

Sat, I hope you're impressed.

[upbeat music] I'm in Nottinghamshire, a region full of culinary treasure.

But it's not just the food here that's legendary.

I'm en route now through Sherwood Forest, and it really is spectacular.

And obviously, if you're gonna talk about this place, you've got to talk about the legend, the myth, or mystique, which is Robin Hood.

And of course, famous for his bow and arrow, there is a producer around here that still makes them the old traditional way.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): KG Archery, just outside of Nottingham, specializes in bows and arrows that are made to Olympic standard.

The business was set up by Keith Gascoigne, who's been making archery equipment by hand for more than 50 years.

- Nice to meet you.

- Show me the shop.

Yeah.

So, Keith, how on Earth did you get into this?

When did it all start for you?

It started in 1962, when my two school teachers got me a job as apprentice bow maker with a local bowyer, Les Howis.

I wanted to be a cabinet maker by choice, but there was no apprenticeships.

But I got one as apprentice bow maker.

JAMES MARTIN: I mean, some of these are serious.

Some of these-- but this one's old school, by the looks of things.

Well, that is the first bow I actually made as apprenticeship.

- Is it really?

- Yeah.

I was 15 when I made that.

15?

KEITH GASCOIGNE: 15.

I mean, still, the workmanship is-- Yeah.

It's walnut, and these are Brazilian rosewood trims.

This particular bow was probably the first all-carbon bow available commercially, and I designed that one in 1992.

This went on to win the Olympic gold medal in the Paralympics in Sydney.

- This bow.

This bow, this actual bow.

So this one actually won the Olympics.

KEITH GASCOIGNE: Yeah, Olympic gold medal.

JAMES MARTIN: Look at that.

And what about these ones that we've got on here?

All different types of wood?

KEITH GASCOIGNE: Well, this is running through the ages.

This is my history on manufacturing.

- Your history on this wall.

- On this wall, yes.

JAMES MARTIN: This is fantastic.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Keith's clearly a true craftsman.

And over the years, he's made bows out of some incredibly precious materials.

Gold.

22-carat gold plate.

Any reason why?

Yeah, because somebody said I couldn't do it.

All right.

Fair enough, I suppose, fair enough.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): But he doesn't just knock them up.

Each bow takes around 50 hours to make, and he's forever coming up with new designs.

This workshop's amazing.

But where do your ideas come from, then?

Well, the first idea comes when I'm usually having a shower.

In the shower.

Yeah.

And I draw the actual shape on the actual glass panels.

Really?

And then I remember what I've drawn.

And then I transfer my image onto paper.

It's the old-fashioned way of doing things, I know.

You know, pen and-- Well, drawing on the shower cubicle.

No, drawing on paper.

[laughter] JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Keith's bows are made by hand.

He's so busy, he's got a trained team of carpenters to help him.

So while I'm able to take a rare break from the kitchen, I can't resist getting my hands dirty.

Right.

Well, I feel like your apprentice now.

I'm dressed for the part.

This is-- this is the business end, is it?

This is the business end.

You've seen how they've been made.

Yeah?

Now you've got to finish it off.

- OK.

- OK?

So what I'd like you to do is to carefully file this.

Is this somebody's bow?

This is-- somebody's ordered this.

Well, you're gonna be-- I do apologize if this is-- You're gonna be using this later.

All right, OK.

Fine.

So you've got to finish the bow to shoot it.

All right, that's fine.

Fair enough.

So I want you to file that nice and smooth, and then finish it off with abrasive paper, OK?

JAMES MARTIN: OK, I'll do that.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ Last time I was in a workshop like this was at school.

I feel a bit more under pressure here.

I might be here a while.

♪ ♪ JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Well, they do say the best things in life come to those that wait.

And in my opinion, something really worth waiting for is a savory made with freshly baked pastry.

I thought I'd make sausage rolls, but the key to sausage rolls, I think, as well as the sausage meat, is pastry, and particularly rough puff pastry.

So the first thing I'm gonna do is throw the butter into the flour, a nice pinch of salt, and then we add water and just mix this in by hand.

And it all comes together as one big lump.

So once we've got that done, add a bit of flour onto the board.

And you can see it's got big lumps of butter in.

But as you roll in it, the butter gets nice and thin.

Looks a bit weird to start with, but for sausage rolls, this is perfect.

Then we can create what we call a book turn.

Now, you think of it like a book.

So you fold it over and then fold it over again.

And then we roll it out again and then create another book turn.

So fold it over.

The more you roll it, the more the butter starts to disperse.

So once you get to that stage, we'll fold it over again and again and over again.

What I like to do is just wrap it in a little bit of cling film and then pop it in the fridge.

[bright music] I've got one that needs a couple more turns.

♪ ♪ And that's our pastry there.

And I'll just leave that to one side.

Now we can turn our attention to the filling.

Now, the great thing about this is in the UK, we have amazing pork.

I've got in here the stuffing from inside really good-quality sausages.

It's generally better quality sausage meat that has a better percentage of fat to meat.

You want that fat, but you don't want too much of it.

So I haven't done anything to this 'cause the butcher's seasoned it, and everything's prepared, really.

So what I'm gonna do is turn my attention to the puff pastry.

So I'm gonna pin it all out, and then we can start to trim it up a bit.

Cut it in half like that.

Get your egg wash ready.

A bit of egg wash down there and on the edges.

And then all you do, simply, is take your filling and pipe it down the center.

Now, the great thing about this is you can make this filling out of anything-- game, chicken.

It's entirely up to you.

And then once you get to this stage, basically, you just lift up your pastry.

Roll it over.

Tuck it in.

And then as you do that, the egg wash creates like a little glue.

And what you want to end up with is the joint of the sausage roll underneath.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Again, some egg wash.

Plenty of egg wash over the top.

Now, you can top this with cranberries if you want, apple even, but I love onion.

It's perfect for this 'cause as it cooks, it caramelizes.

These are only gonna take about 15 minutes to cook, not very long at all.

But just a few bits of these, just sprinkled and stuck onto the top.

And then take the whole lot and pop it in the oven.

It's in quite a high oven.

Now, the dressing for this is ace.

A lot of chefs are on about this umami sort of flavor.

Well, you're gonna get that using this simple dressing that uses two ingredients.

What I've got in here is some sultanas.

All I've done is soak them overnight in water.

And then I'm gonna take these sultanas and just chuck them in a blender.

Now, we just blend this now with the classic brown sauce that was invented in Nottingham.

Just two ingredients, blitzed, and it gives you this amazing sauce.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm not saying anything yet because it's as much about the dressing.

And the dressing-- you've got to try this.

Now, I'm not a great lover of brown sauce.

I was always a ketchup man on my bacon sandwiches.

But this, with the sultanas-- oh.

Takes it to a whole different level.

Now, what I've got to finish this is a little bit of this sauce and some crispy bacon.

And I'm gonna top this for a little bit of texture.

So I'm just gonna take some of this sauce, and we'll just literally just drizzle this over the top.

This is gonna be like a little glue for our crispy bacon.

You just know that this is gonna taste good.

And then we can cut this up into pieces.

When you make your own puff pastry, there's a massive difference in terms of what it looks like, but above all else, what it tastes like.

And they don't take very long at all in the oven.

Literally, we're talking minutes.

And you've got to have them while they're still warm.

Just look at that.

You've got this lovely, light pastry.

You've got the onions on the top, the crispiness of the bacon.

And you've got that great bit of sausage meat.

And then you can take your little dressing like that and give them a dunk.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): A British classic, fresh sausage rolls topped with onion and bacon, served with a tangy sultana and brown sauce dip.

[upbeat music] I'm in Nottinghamshire, home to double-Michelin star chef Sat Bains, who makes the most simple ingredients melt in your mouth.

How do you make a potato taste like that?

[laughs] Well, that's the million-dollar question.

I've never tasted a potato like that in my life.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): It's plain to see why Sat's called this county home.

Its rolling hills are rich in farmland, which are a wealth of fine local produce.

But before I'm reunited with Sat, I've just enough time to make one last dish with ingredients fresh from the forest.

Now, this is a wonderful dish.

It's kind of this area.

I suppose we can expand a little bit further into Staffordshire, where these oatcakes ideas come from.

But it's a wonderful salad of pears, Stilton, and celery and some walnuts.

Really, really easy.

Now, first thing in this pan over here, I'm poaching my pears in a little bit of sugar.

And I've used some elderflower.

Now, obviously, elderflower is seasonal, but elderflower cordial, you can mix together with a bit of water and some sugar and get the same effect.

So these have been poaching away no more than 10 minutes for these small pairs.

And then I'm gonna turn my attention to the candied walnuts.

Now, the walnuts are really easy to candy these.

These can be used sweet or savory.

It's entirely up to you.

But you start off with sugar and a bit of water.

So get a hot pan on the stove.

Pop the sugar in.

Now, a small amount of water, not too much, and then throw in the walnuts.

What you want to do, really, is just keep them on the stove.

And if you mix it together, the sugar starts to candy the walnuts.

Now, at this point, if you wanted to add a little bit of spice on it, this is where you get that idea of sweet and the savory you can use these for as well.

So this would be great on a salad, like I'm doing now, with the sweetness, but also great on a dessert.

But look, you can see it as they're in there.

It almost goes from this liquid, and then it starts to crystallize again.

It's not caramelized.

That's not what you're looking for.

So they're almost recrystallized back to a sugar again.

So you've got these candied walnuts.

Nice and simple.

I can lift that to one side.

Meanwhile, we'll take our pan off the heat with our pears 'cause they've been cooking away nicely.

It's a nice way to cook it, with that elderflower.

Most people just do pears with lemon juice or a little bit of vanilla, but with elderflower, it's a wonderful combination, like I said, sweet or savory.

But this is a little bit about the Staffordshire oatcakes, really.

And what I start off with with this is oatmeal.

The key to this is getting the right oatmeal.

And so often, you don't get the right stuff, 'cause you get a fine grain, a medium grain, or a larger grain.

Now, this is the grain I've got.

It's a medium grain.

So I'm gonna use a combination of this and flour, wholemeal flour.

So we put all that oatmeal in here.

And then here, I've got the combination of wholemeal flour and yeast.

It's kind of like a pancake, but not a pancake 'cause it hasn't got any eggs in it.

But what it does have is a little pinch of sugar.

Just a touch.

And some milk.

And what we do is we pour the milk in like that and mix this together.

Now once you've added the milk, quickly whisk it.

What you need to do, because you've got the yeast in there, is allow it to prove.

Now, it's not gonna prove like a bit of bread.

It's actually gonna prove flat, which is what this is.

So this looks like a really sloppy porridge.

Anyway, a little bit of oil on here.

And then what we do is we just pop our little oatcakes on here.

And we're just gonna just gently cook these.

Take your time and allow that skillet to get nice and hot.

We're just gonna flip these over.

So a little bit of color on it.

So you want to cook those all the way through, really.

Now, I'm gonna take some water.

And then I'm gonna use the center part of the celery, this sweet part, this bit right in the middle, because this, I think, is the best part of the celery, really.

Use some of the leaves as well.

Keep your eye on your little skillet there, and just flip these over like that.

Should be just ever so slightly lightly colored there.

You can see that just nice little lightly colored bit.

That's all you need.

So while they're cooking away, I'll probably get a few more on.

Now, you can put these on a dry skillet or ones with a little bit of butter.

It's entirely up to you.

But you can take these off the heat now.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ Now, ideally, what you want to do with celery is shock it into ice cold water.

But because this is 32 degrees out here, my ice is melted.

So it's in lukewarm water, really, so it's going a bit limp.

In we go with a nice little bit of elderflower.

That sits in there.

And then we can turn our attention to the cheeses.

Now, this-- I couldn't resist buying this.

This is a little bit further away from Nottingham.

This is Sage Derby.

But you've got this amazing cheese.

Look at the color of that.

That's the sage that's layered in there.

But obviously, this neck of the woods, we've got to then use the classic Stilton.

That combination of Stilton, celery, and these pears-- wonderful combination.

And simply to serve this, we can take our nice little oatcakes.

♪ ♪ Just pop these on as well.

And then our nice pears.

♪ ♪ Just a few of these over the top.

Then, of course, you've got the candied walnuts.

You can just sprinkle a few of them on the top.

♪ ♪ And a bit of Stilton, which you can just break up.

And then finally, we can take our bits of celery, just the leaves, the little tops, and a nice little bit of elderflower over there.

And you really want to bring this together with something.

And the easiest way to do that is honey because honey and Stilton-- [gasps] just a great combination.

But you can use honey, or you can use the honeycomb.

And I couldn't resist buying this.

Look at the honeycomb.

Just break it up.

It is just-- when you taste honeycomb like this, oh.

And eat it.

Don't start turning it into candles.

Eat it.

Look.

That is a great plate of food, a really great plate of food.

I like that.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): A dish that pays tribute to the Nottinghamshire countryside, poached pear and oatcake salad, drizzled with local honeycomb.

My tour of Nottingham is almost over, but I can't leave this place without saluting the legend of Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood.

And while I'm at it, I want to see if I can grab a free meal out of superstar chef Sat Bains.

So, Sat, I knew you'd like this bit.

This is Keith.

He's the amazing maker of these bows.

- How are you?

- Nice to meet you.

So we thought we'd have a little wager.

Dinner at your restaurant.

Yeah, any time Monday, Tuesday's fine.

When you're closed?

Yeah.

Three arrows.

- OK.

Off you go, 'cause I know you're competitive.

Listen, I don't know where you heard that.

Right.

You are.

Right.

- OK.

So-- I'll step back out of the way.

That's it.

Load the bow.

That's it.

[classical music] JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): 9, 18.

I think the target needs to be moved back a bit.

[laughs] Listen, you can't come to Nottingham and I'll let you show me how to use a bow.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): This is gonna be tough to beat.

26.

That's a bit serious, isn't it?

Well, no, I don't mess around.

What you need now is a 10 and two 9s.

Yeah, I know what I need, Keith.

I probably ain't gonna get it, am I?

KEITH GASCOIGNE: What are you doing?

Leave them in.

SAT BAINS: He's gonna to use your arrows.

[laughs] KEITH GASCOIGNE: I can't remember where they were now.

SAT BAINS: I can remember.

It was a 2, a 1, a 3.

[laughter] No cheating, gentlemen.

Have you-- have you been to his restaurant?

It's gonna cost me a fortune.

Right.

You're a natural.

I'm not the modern-day Robin Hood.

JAMES MARTIN: All right, pressure's on.

Go down a bit.

Jolly good.

Oh, hello.

Now the pressure's on him.

No, not on me.

I'm done.

[laughter] JAMES MARTIN: So if I get them all in the yellow, I've won.

Yes.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Yes.

But I still need 9 to win.

Go away!

This is the money shot!

[laughs] SAT BAINS: Good luck.

Good luck, James.

JAMES MARTIN: Keith, please let me beat you-- KEITH GASCOIGNE: Good luck.

JAMES MARTIN: --'cause I can't beat him in the-- in the kitchen.

KEITH GASCOIGNE: Just do what you've done before.

JAMES MARTIN: Yeah.

KEITH GASCOIGNE: All right.

And just calm down.

SAT BAINS: [laughs] Be calm and collected.

[laughter] Yes!

A 10.

[laughter] I've been-- I've been stitched up, haven't I?

I've been stitched up.

A 10!

Who's that behind us, shooting an arrow?

That's Robin Hood.

[laughter] JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): What a great way to round off my trip to Nottinghamshire.

I've relished the county's culinary curiosities, paid homage to Robin Hood.

The last time I was in a workshop like this was at school.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): And I've been lucky enough to have a truly inspiring masterclass with Sat.

I'm forever in awe of his creativity in the kitchen.

And as a thank you for showing me around, I've got him the perfect gift from the land of Robin Hood.

This is from me to you.

No, it's not.

This is from me to you, 'cause, I mean, words cannot describe how talented you are in the kitchen.

Keith's made this.

SAT BAINS: Oh, Keith.

That's incredible.

It's got your name on it.

Wow, I'm speechless.

That's incredible.

You just need to practice.

I do now.

Thanks a lot.

- Cheers, mate.

Cheers, James.

Thank you very much.

That's incredible.

It's your own bow and arrow.

Wow.

Thanks, Keith.

I'll treasure that.

- Limited edition.

- Is it really?

- Yeah.

It's incredible.

Look at it.

JAMES MARTIN: Did you want to have a go with it?

SAT BAINS: I do, yeah.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): Sat Bains, in my opinion, the true legend of Sherwood Forest.

[theme music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪