What to Eat Now (2008)
What to Eat Now is a six-part series, broadcast on BBC Two and presented by chef Valentine Warner. The basic message behind the series is that people should eat food that is in season. The series has covered autumnal foods, both meats such as rabbit and pigeon, and fruits and vegetables and fungi, including apples, pears, pumpkins, chicory, beetroot and truffle as part of the series. The programme was first broadcast on 15 September 2008. In looking at apples, the show visited Benedictine monks, and talked about how they could find the best apples to make a dish called "apple charlotte". In looking at beetroot, the show visited a farmer who practiced biodynamic farming, believing that the phases of the moon could affect plant growth. The show travelled to Lindisfarne to illustrate mussel catching. Warner has also published two books entitled "What to Eat Now" and "What to Eat Now - More Please!" to accompany the series'. A second series was broadcast in 2009.
Seasons & Episode
This programme is bursting with mouthwatering recipes as Valentine tracks down the best ingredients to make your summer barbecue sizzle. He reveals his top five barbecue tips, the perfect way to cook beef on the grill, and how to make a lobster meal that will take you to a higher state of consciousness. Don’t waste time and money eating tasteless food flown from thousands of miles away. The best way to eat is to eat food that is in season – it is plentiful, cheap, packed full of flavour and, cooked Valentine’s way, it is always absolutely delicious.
Valentine unpacks the best ingredients for the perfect picnic. He reveals his top five picnic tips, searches out salad leaves for the ultimate summer salad, ‘bigs up’ the broad bean and bakes the sweetest cake. Don’t waste time and money eating tasteless food flown from thousands of miles away. The best way to eat is to eat food that is in season – it is plentiful, cheap, packed full of flavour and, cooked Valentine’s way, it is always absolutely delicious.
Valentine gives his top tips on how to make truly memorable meals for special occasions. He heads to the Cornish coast to conjure up a fantastic fish supper, fresh from the sea; makes a pig of himself with delicious recipes for cooking plump and tasty guinea fowl; and serves up a seriously sticky apricot upside down tart, the perfect summer treat.
He gives his top tips on how to make refreshing drinks, guaranteed to keep you cool, and finds out that there is such a thing as a free lunch, as he harvests wild herbs on a field trip to Glastonbury. He meets a gardening club who share his passion for fresh peas and cooks up an amazingly tasty dish of Sardinian-style octopus and peas. He also creates the ultimate sweet summer treats – lavender cream meringues. If you want to know what to eat now, Valentine is here to tell you.
Valentine tracks down the tastiest tomatoes to create his favourite pizza topping, and wades into a Scottish river to learn the art of tickling trout. He also brings the gooseberry back into fashion with a recipe for heavenly gooseberry snow, and gives us his top tips on making a delicious meal out of yesterday’s leftovers.
Valentine hopes for divine assistance when he makes a heavenly summer pudding for an order of Benedictine nuns, and engages in a battle of the berries to see who should be crowned king – the raspberry or the strawberry. He also celebrates the arrival of the British cherry season with a sumptuous cherry pie and gives us his top tips on how to keep cool using summer’s fruity bounty, including a wonderful recipe for raspberry ripple ice cream.