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Marcus Wareing - Simply Provence S01 complete (1080p, soft English subtitles)
A feast for the senses. The Michelin-starred chef celebrates the south of France, unlocking the secrets of simple, seasonal cuisine - and adding a British twist to the classics.
E01
When you think of French food, certain things spring to mind: wine, cheese, frogs’ legs. But often it’s a simple ingredient at the centre of the greatest Provençal food. Whether you consider it a fruit or a vegetable, there’s no denying that here the tomato is king. Marcus's mission is to discover the ultimate simple Provençal tomato recipe. After searching for inspiration in the local market, he whips up a batch cook classic: simple and delicious Provençal tomato sauce that’s traditional, versatile and easy. He then visits an organic local farm with over 50 varieties to harvest, taking a basketful to a local school to get a lesson in simple French cooking from dinner lady Maude. Marcus helps make soupe au pistou, which uses the tomatoes he harvested blanched in a pesto-style sauce.
E02
There is one beautiful thing that Brits and the French have in common, and that’s the pride we take in our local dishes. Marcus was born and bred in Lancashire, where they know a thing or two about good food, and there is a particular dish that they gifted to the British canon: Lancashire hotpot. Can the French persuade Marcus there’s a local lamb dish to rival his beloved hotpot, and can Provençal lamb top what we get in the UK? To find out, Marcus visits a local chef who shows him his signature lamb burger. Marcus makes things interesting by whipping up a classic British mint sauce to see if he can convince him that we Brits know what we’re talking about when it comes to condiments. Back at his rooftop kitchen, Marcus makes a Provençal style hotpot of his own using local French lamb chops, a vegetable stew and crispy potatoes.
E03
There is one thing in France which seems even more important than food: sport - be it football, tennis or pétanque. Marcus combines the French passions of food and sport to impress some local pétanque players. He hunts for the best of an ingredient he knows the French adore: cheese, visiting a local producer of goats' cheese who gives him a whirlwind apprenticeship in all things goat. The result is a fresh and creamy cheese which inspires a fabulously simple recipe of deep fried courgettes with goats' cheese and lavender honey. Also, Saint Remy restaurant owner Jana shows Marcus how she makes a Middle Eastern-inspired no-cook dish of goats' cheese labneh. On the day of the pétanque match, Marcus attempts to win over the locals by bringing a cheese board with a simple homemade tapenade that’s sure to secure his place on the team.
E04
In Provence, you don't have to walk far or turn too many corners before you find yourself surrounded by local produce. But there's one particular fruit that is synonymous with the region: the mighty olive. They’ve been grown here for over three and a half thousand years, and Marcus wants to understand Provence’s passion for them. He discovers the secrets of their most famous by-product: olive oil, visiting a local olive farm and helping them test if the olives are ready to be harvested. After, he meets a chef in Saint Remy who’s doing something rather unusual with olives and olive oil: a dessert. Marcus is unconvinced but the olive mille-feuille turns out to be delicious. Marcus keeps things simply by grilling cod and serving it with a tomato and olive sauce. It's just the fuel he needs to prepare for the 51st annual olive breaking competition.
E05
Marcus is visiting a local farmers' market, where each week a local French chef impresses the crowds with a live cooking demo. However, he’s been told that this time, a British chef is cooking, and that chef is Marcus. The locals don’t have the best opinion of British cooking, so the pressure is on. Luckily, he loves a challenge and is determined to seek out the best ingredients to fly the flag for British cuisine.
He starts with a meat that is loved equally by the Brits and the French – pork. He visits a farm in the foothills of Mont Ventoux, where pigs live amongst the acorn trees. Here, Marcus finds out that the French take a nose-to-tail approach to eating pork and tries some charcuterie that includes a Pâté made from a pig's head. But it’s pork steaks he really wants to cook with, so he takes some back to his rooftop kitchen to whip up a simple grilled pork with fennel and roasted orange salad. Continuing his hunt for simple, economic and delicious ingredients, Marcus is going to a snail farm, where he learns that there's a lot more to rearing them than meets the eye. Although he admits they’re not his favourite thing to eat, after making a quick and easy dish of snails in garlic and herb butter, he finds that these Provençal escargot are absolutely delicious. It's time for the big market cook-off, and he knows it has to be pork to convince the locals that we Brits know how to cook. Marcus makes pork steaks with salsa and a fig and basil salad, which goes down a storm.
E06
There’s one essential in France that simply can’t be ignored. It's cheap as chips, eaten daily and is in almost every household – the French baguette. It's popular for sandwiches, which we Brits invented, but can it be the foundations of a sandwich to beat Marcus’ favourite egg and cress on sliced white? Baguette in hand, he hits the market looking for filling-spiration, and it’s not long before he’s found one of the most French things of all… a stall selling dozens of rotisserie chickens. That inspires a classic chicken, lettuce and mayo baguette sandwich. It’s good, but is it the best? Marcus thinks he can do better, so he visits a local baker who grows his own wheat and grinds it into flour to use in his sourdough bread. The baker invites Marcus to join his team for a shift in the bakery, where he helps bake the day’s loaves. Marcus takes one away with him to make what he thinks might just be France’s most famous sandwich… the croque monsieur. A budget-friendly, dressed-up cheese and ham toastie that couldn’t be easier to make.
E07
In Provence, the markets and shops are awash with an extraordinary array of fresh fruit, all locally produced, and it’s got Marcus thinking. Back home, we love our fruit-based classics like strawberries and cream or apple crumble, and Marcus wants to discover if it’s the same here in France. Do they have a passion for retro recipes? And what simple fruity French dishes could rival our traditional British favourites? Marcus starts with melons, the most popular fruit in Provence. But after trying out a British retro favourite of prawn cocktail served in a melon-half on some local farmers, he quickly realises that the French don’t mess with their melons. It doesn’t go down well. Keen to redeem himself, Marcus meets a local chef for a France-versus-Britain classic pudding cook-off. Chef Julie makes a traditional apple clafoutis, while Marcus goes for the ultimate simple pud that we all love at home: apple crumble. Determined to further prove that he can do the fruit justice, Marcus then invites the melon farmers over for a dinner of charcuterie, mackerel Pâté and baked cheese, accompanied by simple melon slices, much to the relief and delight of the farmers.
E08
We have many things in common with our French neighbours: a passion for rugby, the colours of our flags and a love of dogs. But it’s fair to say we don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to cuisine. However, there is one meat that we both love equally. It’s the epitome of comfort and it shows up in an astonishing number of delicious dishes: chicken. Marcus wants to give the French a run for their money with a new take on our most popular Sunday lunch - roast chicken. But first, he needs the perfect poulet, so he visits local farmer Alex to check out the local poultry. While there, he gives a masterclass in how to portion a whole chicken, the ultimate cost-saving tip. Next, he’s after the perfect accompaniment to chicken, so visits a local organic winemaker to help crush this year’s grape harvest and discover the secrets of Provençal wine. After that, Marcus settles on a chicken dish. It’s comforting, delicious, and simple. It’s a cheat's chicken bourguignon with red wine, and who better to test it out on than Alex the chicken farmer and Bastien the winemaker.
E09
There is one delicious food that is adored across the world. It may have started life in South America as the humble cocoa bean, but it’s the Swiss, Belgians and French who’ve turned it into an ingredient we all adore. But Marcus loves a good old-fashioned British bar of chocolate, so can the French convince him that they do it better?
To find out, he visits Joel, a local chocolatier who takes inspiration from Provence to create chocolates with unusual flavour combinations such as almonds and olives. Marcus is surprised by how good it is. He challenges Joel to make chocolates using English breakfast tea bags and invites him to dinner to try them out. With Joel bringing dessert, Marcus needs a main course and he’s taking inspiration from a Provençal ingredient he’s obsessed with: figs. Here, they grow white figs, a variety you don’t see much in Britain, so Marcus meets up with local fig farmer Aurelie, who agrees to give him some in exchange for a lesson in how to make fig chutney. Marcus decides he’ll use the chutney in his simple twist on a classic British pub dish: a Provençal style ploughman's, which he serves for dinner followed by Joel‘s English tea-flavoured chocolates.
E10
It is fair to say that when it comes to their national classic dishes, the French and Brits like to do things differently. But they all have a passion for poisson. Forty-five per cent of French households eat fish at least once a week, and Marcus wants to find out what kind of fish they like, and if there’s a dish here to rival the great British fish and chips.
First, Marcus needs to know what kind of seafood is available, so he visits Carro, one of the last coastal villages in Provence, where local fishermen still bring in their daily catch to sell directly to customers on the quayside. This is where he discovers an abundance of local fish and seafood. He visits a local chef who puts a spin on what might be the closest Marcus will get to fish and chips in Provence… moules frites. But the sauce for these mussels is a rich tomato and pork ragu, and the chips are not made with potatoes. It is delicious, but certainly not a classic. So, Marcus decides to make a super simple version of Provence’s most well-known fish dish, bouillabaisse. Offering plenty of culinary cheats while keeping plenty of flavour, Marcus makes a delicious dish served with his roasted garlic aioli, which he’s been invited to bring along to an aioli festival in the town. In Provence, they like their aioli very strong with lots of raw garlic, so how will Marcus’s milder version go down?
E11
There is plenty of amazing food in Provence, but one special ingredient in particular garners a lot of excitement when seen on the menu: beef. It is something the UK is known for, but when it comes to beef in this part of France, Marcus has been told to expect something a little different to the norm. Marcus is meeting his neighbour Jerome at his restaurant for a lesson in local boeuf and is surprised to learn that the speciality around here is, in fact, bull. Jerome takes Marcus to a bull farm on the outskirts of town, where he is a little apprehensive to meet the herd, but he quickly learns that these aren’t like the huge bulls in the UK. Here, they are actually quite small and are a breed of cattle that has been eaten in Provence for hundreds of years. Never one to shy away from a competition, Marcus invites Jerome and the bull farmers for a steak sandwich cook-off, beef versus bull, to see which one reigns supreme. Before he takes on the challenge, Marcus needs to get familiar with the beef in Provence. He meets up with a local cook to make the region’s most famous stew: daube de boeuf, a delicious, simple and hearty dish that makes even the cheapest cuts of beef taste luxurious. Then it is time for the steak sandwich cook-off... which meat will be crowned the winner, beef or bull?
E12
There are simple ingredients in the cupboards and gardens of British homes that can economically transform a humdrum dish into a flavourful feast: herbs. Where would tomatoes be without basil? Curry without coriander? And lamb without mint? In Provence, they have created their own signature blend of herbs and put it in pretty much everything: herbes de Provence. With no equivalent in Britain, Marcus wants to create his own simple mix that will not only rival this French classic but turn any dull dish into a truly tasty treat. Marcus starts with a visit to the local herb shop, where he discovers that, despite it being the flower of Provence, lavender is not used in the famous dried herb mix. However, it is one of Marcus’s favourite herbs, so he can’t resist adding it to his own recipe. He then tries this flavour combination out on some local chefs in the town. First Natasha, who uses it in her super simple breaded root vegetable recipe, and then Patrick, who agrees to try it with his flambed lamb. The final test is using it to create a meal for the owner of the herb shop to see if he will agree to sell Marcus’s mix.
E13
When in France, it’s very easy to focus on the savoury food offerings. That's not surprising with the incredible meat, fish, veg and cheese in such beautiful abundance. But Marcus wants to discover what simple sweet treats are on offer in Provence.
After a visit to the market, where he finds pastries, jams and nougat to tempt him, he makes the simplest sweet imaginable: lavender sugar. It’s the perfect thing to take to his neighbour Emilie’s house, where he’s been invited to cook quince. Traditionally, they're made into a sweet paste, but Marcus wants to come up with a quick and easy way to cook them. And using his lavender sugar, he and Emilie make a delicious caramel quince compote. Then, he discovers the importance of almonds in the region’s most famous sweet, Calisson. He also visits a local factory, where he gets a crash course in making the marzipan-like sweets.
E14
Marcus has a VIP guest coming for dinner, the mayor of Saint-Remy’s sister, and he really wants to impress. As she is a bit of a history buff, he decides to do some research into the origins of some local produce to find culinary inspiration. There’s one simple ingredient he has in mind that’s not only a classic and worldwide staple but cost effective too. It has been eaten for millennia, and it turns out it’s even grown here in the south of France… rice. There’s a unique variety called camargue red rice that only grows in this region. Marcus heads for the rice fields to find out more, and he gets the opportunity to help with the harvest, which means getting to drive a huge combine harvester. There’s also another surprising ingredient growing in Provence. Originating in Asia and introduced to Europe by the Romans, this is the first time it’s been grown here since antiquity. We know it as a salty snack, but there’s so much more to it… pistachios. Marcus helps farmer Benoit with his first harvest, before settling on a recipe for dinner: a stunning yet simple salad using the red rice and pistachios. But will it impress his VIP guest?
E15
Marcus’s time in Saint-Remy is nearly at an end. During his trip, he’s been a sous-chef, been run over by goats, searched for snails, steered a combine harvester, and met some incredibly passionate producers along the way. But, the main thing he’s learnt when it comes to food is to keep it simple. Now, he’s been invited to a local farm party, but the catch is he has to bring a dish. He needs inspiration for a celebratory, but of course simple, recipe. He’s helped out by farmer Sebastien who runs a community-supported agriculture project, Le Jardin du Papet, where he creates individual veg boxes for his customers in the local community from veg grown on his own farm. Marcus is astonished by the variety of veg he has growing and starts thinking about what he could make for the party. He stops by a local restaurant, where he learns how to make one of the region’s most famous vegetable dishes with artichokes. It’s the best thing he’s eaten in Provence, but not quite right for a party, so it’s back to his rooftop kitchen one last time, where he makes simple veg and bean topped toasts that celebrate the abundance of produce in Provence. They’re beautiful to look at, but how do they taste, and how will they go down at the party with the locals?
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