Here we go.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): I'm going on my most ambitious British adventure yet-- It's going to put a smile on your face.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): --meeting some of the finest chefs in the world-- Raymond Blanc.

James.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): --cooking my way from the far south-- You've got beautiful blue eyes.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): --to the northernmost reaches of the land-- It's a magical experience.

Whoa!

You've got to do this.

It's amazing.

--and using some of the best produce you'll find anywhere.

It is a spectacular place, full of amazing people and amazing food.

This is going to be a bit special.

And some of the places require a little bit more effort to get to.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): I'll be traveling by land, air, and sea.

MAN: There.

Look.

Look.

- Dolphins.

MAN: Dolphins.

JAMES MARTIN (VOICEOVER): So join me as I explore the British Isles, from islands to highlands.

[seagulls calling] [soothing music] Today, my Islands to Highlands adventure brings me to the Isle of Man.

With its beautiful coastline and tranquil pastures, this peaceful place is home to around 85,000 people-- that is, until-- [rock music] --the TT motorbike race takes over.

[engines buzzing] Every summer, half the island's roads are shut down and turned into a racetrack, with thousands of bikers heading here to experience motorcycle nirvana.

This unique event has been going since 1907, and later, I'll be catching up with my good mate and TT legend John McGuinness to learn more about the thrill of riding a bike at 200 miles an hour on these Isle of Man roads.

But until then, I'm joined by another petrolhead, Michelin-starred chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

We're visiting the island during TT warm-up week, and we're riding something a little bit more comfortable than the superbikes.

Well, welcome to the Isle of Man.

Amazing.

JAMES: What do you know about it?

LISA: Not much, actually.

I've never been before.

But my mom's father was born and grew up on the Isle of Man, and then he moved to Liverpool and met my nan.

It all started in the Isle of Man.

Absolutely, yeah.

[rock music] JAMES: This place next week, all the cars get replaced by motorbikes.

It's literally the Mecca of biking, this place.

LISA: Yeah, I bet.

Didn't one of your family race here, or something like that, in the TT?

Yeah.

My cousin used to race at the TT, yeah.

JAMES: So we're actually on part of the course now.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, you behave yourself, yeah?

Yeah.

[laughs] So, on this road here, they'll probably be pushing 160, 180 mile an hour down here.

And that is the protection, that little bit of straw there, in that bag.

LISA: It's unreal, isn't it?

- Yeah, I know.

It's just insane, isn't it?

[engine revving] LISA: Wow, look at that coastline now.

JAMES: It's not bad, is it?

LISA: No, it's beautiful.

As well as that, it's an area that's so rich in food.

Obviously, you've got the Manx Kippers.

You've got the lamb.

LISA: Yeah, the lamb is amazing, isn't it?

JAMES: Yeah.

And like many islands, you've got amazing orchards.

And I'm gonna send you to one of these orchards while we're over here.

LISA: Yeah, definitely.

I'm looking forward to it.

I like exploring places that I've never really explored before.

JAMES: Were you doing it at a more leisurely pace?

Absolutely.

Chauffeured around, heated seats.

Yeah, exactly.

[pleasant music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): Located in the Irish sea between England and Ireland, the Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency.

At around 33 miles long and 13 miles wide, it might be small, but it produces a wide range of great-tasting food and drink.

♪ ♪ I've dropped Lisa off at the Apple Orphanage, and I'll be catching up with her a little bit later.

But now it's time for me to get cooking, and I found a fitting location for a biker favorite.

[seagulls calling] Well, welcome to Port Erin.

It's a fabulous little harbor, this, but steeped in history, really.

This pier itself is named after the guy who actually was the first person to close the roads officially for the TT, so he was a local governor.

This is the perfect place to do this dish.

I thought I'd do the ultimate biker food, burgers, but a double whammy burger with a nice hot and spicy apple sauce.

So the first thing we do-- grab a combination of two different apples.

I've got eating apples and cooking apples.

No need to peel them.

These all just basically just get chopped up, like that.

I'll get these cooking.

So a tiny bit of water.

[sizzling] Throw your apples in.

And what we're after is like a chunky sauce.

I love the word "chunky."

It's what people call me for the first time they see me.

Well, usually other stuff beyond that, I know, but that's on social media.

But look, stick this all in here, and just allow this to cook for about two or three minutes.

Now, you could, if you wanted to, put a bit of chili in here.

But I know bikers like a bit of spice in their food, so this comes from Korea.

This is gochujang paste, which is like a fermented chili paste.

It takes about three years to make really good gochujang, and it's done in sort of vats.

But this, mixed with the apples, is the perfect accompaniment with a pork burger.

So next up, I've got some pork mince here.

Now, it's really good idea, when getting pork mince, to get good-quality pork mince, particularly any burgers, really, because the fat you need to keep it nice and moist.

But literally, if you have cheap pork mince, and it goes on here, it'll spontaneously combust because the amount of fat that's gonna drip on it.

So not too dry, but a little bit of fat in there as well.

Get really good-quality sausages.

Open them all out, and you've got the perfect combination.

So a little bit of breadcrumbs, like that.

We'll take an egg yolk just to bind it together, black pepper, and some salt, and get your hands in.

[groovy music] So, once you've mixed it all together, that's when we can combine this into patties.

Now, there's burgers, and there's burgers.

That is not a burger.

That is a burger.

So once you've got that, flatten it all out, and we'll just stick your burgers straight on the barbie.

They're proper burgers.

Look at them.

[laughs] ♪ ♪ Meanwhile, I'm gonna go wash my hands.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ All right, well, this apple sauce is not far off.

The burgers are not far off.

Just leave that to cool down one side, and we'll take our buns and just char these as well.

A little bit of olive oil.

See, words are getting around that chef's here, look, with the bikers.

So I'm using a bun that's local to the Isle of Man.

It's called brioche.

Tastes good, though, in a burger.

Really is, just slightly toasted.

I'm just gonna leave those burgers just to cook slightly, finish it off.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna create a little salad with this, nice and simple.

We've just got onions, sliced up.

Bit of that.

Bit of chili, chopped up as well, and celery.

Touch of parsley in a bowl, some mayonnaise.

TT-- you love it, don't you?

Black pepper, a bit of salt, touch of lemon.

Mix this together.

[bass and drum music] And then all you got to do is assemble it, I suppose.

We've got our buns, some of this amazing apple sauce.

I always have this thing with burgers-- less is more.

It's always in the back of my head, and then I choose to ignore it.

But look.

Look at these burgers.

Just check that out.

[gasps] ♪ ♪ Look at that.

And then you've just got this slaw, this-- you just stick on the middle of it.

Look.

I love stuff like this.

You can give me all the cooking shows wandering around Tibet and all this sort of stuff, but Isle of Man, TT week, burger, motorbike-- oh, forgot the walnuts.

♪ ♪ Stick a stick in it, and there you have it, pork burger with a token walnut.

Cheers.

JAMES (VOICEOVER): Look at them, full-throttle burgers.

Cue the hairy bikers.

Sorry, hungry bikers.

FEMALE BIKER: This is what you want when you get off the bike.

[laughs] - That's a thumbs-up.

JAMES: Right.

I got two more bikers I found as well.

Go on, then.

- Oh, hi.

- So much!

- Get into that burger.

Go on.

FEMALE BIKER: I don't think I've ever had a burger like that, have I?

I really can't believe this is real.

[laughter] [adventurous music] ♪ ♪ JAMES (VOICEOVER): I'm on the Isle of Man with top chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

This place is home to the legendary TT motorbike race, as well as a fantastic variety of food and drink.

Meet Will Faulds and Charlotte Traynor of the Apple Orphanage, a place where good things don't go to waste, and great fruit juices are made, as Lisa is about to discover.

Hi, will.

How are you?

Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

Welcome to Apple Orphanage.

Wow, this place looks amazing.

WILL: Thank you very much.

I hear you need a hand with the bramble picking.

Yeah, that'd be amazing, yeah.

Do you want to come this way?

Yeah, absolutely.

LISA: So tell me a little bit about this apple orphanage.

Where did it all come about?

Ah, well, we set it up just about 10 years ago now.

We were gonna plant up an orchard because we had this kind of big interest in making the drinks.

And as we were chatting to people, people started offering us fruit to use, so we decided to really embrace that side of things.

So we run a fruit exchange, and about 90%, 95% of the fruit we have at the moment comes from other people's gardens or orchards, and we manage to utilize it.

So hence the orphanage kind of thing, where the byproducts go.

So it's kind of like an antiwaste thing as well.

Yeah, it is.

You're using the whole of the product.

Yeah.

And then, like we're doing today-- we'll forage for what bits and pieces we can as well.

So we do a lot with kind of elderflowers, gorse flowers.

Today we're trying bramble leaves.

In some ways, it's not the most exciting kind of crops that grow on the island, but there's actually more interesting flavors than you might think.

[pleasant music] Cool.

Let me introduce you to Charlotte.

She's made a head start on the bramble pick.

- Hi.

- Hi.

How are you?

Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

Looks like you've been busy here, right?

Yeah.

I've been down here for a few hours, picking brambles, but I think you're taking over now.

[laughs] - Absolutely.

You're putting me to work.

- Yes, I'll leave you to it.

Thank you.

All right.

WILL: So we're just looking for the younger leaves and avoiding any that have got the fruit buds on at the moment.

And then you should just be able to peel them away carefully.

- Oh, OK.

So if you were to try one of these leaves, what flavor would you get from it?

WILL: We should get kind of a fruity, curranty type of flavor, and then a tail end of an astringent, kind of tannic quality, so like we'd look for in a good-quality cider or maybe a tea.

Right.

What a beautiful view, though, to do it with.

Yeah, it's fantastic.

I suppose you can get lost down here-- a little bit of music, picking away.

- Yeah.

I mean, if you choose the right weather, this is a fantastic way to spend your time.

Cool, right.

Looks like we've got enough to move on to the next stage of the process, if you're keen on joining me to see that as well.

- Absolutely.

Brilliant.

Grab these, and off we go.

[pleasant music] ♪ ♪ Cool.

Here we are.

A mandatory hygiene hat for you.

Brilliant.

WILL: OK, so Charlotte made a head start.

OK, so we'll add in what we've gathered.

Right, yeah.

So tell me a bit about the ingredients that you use to make the syrup.

WILL: So we've got three key ingredients, which is sugar-- and supposedly, that really helps pull out the flavor.

We've got lemons, which helps correct the pH so that we get more flavor extraction; the bramble leaves; and then the final thing we'll add in is a really hot water.

So we kind of mix the whole thing around so that we get a really good infusion.

So, from start to finish, how long will this process take?

So we'd usually try and infuse the leaves or flowers for at least 24 hours.

But then we'll start experimenting with how we dilute it and what other additions we might make, and have other fruits, perhaps, before we get it into a drink.

So it could be a couple of months before we actually have it in a bottle to drink.

Yeah.

[chuckles] WILL: OK.

So, Lisa, I think it's time we get you working.

Absolutely.

Here you go.

I've been allowed with the paddle.

[laughter] WILL: So we want to just try and get all the sugar dissolved if we can.

So how many bottles of juice did you make in a year?

Last year, on apple juice, we processed about 35 tons of apples that otherwise would have gone to waste.

In apple juice, that was about 30,000 bottles.

Right.

Wow.

WILL: Right.

I think we've got enough water there, so if you could turn that up again for me, that'd be great.

Thank you.

[easygoing music] Well, this is definitely thirsty work.

I'm looking forward to trying these juices now.

Yeah, I think you've earned some drinks now, so we can leave this be.

Right.

We've set up a little tasting area for you here.

Nice.

Lose the hats.

LISA: Go on.

I'll let you choose your favorite.

WILL: As we're the Apple Orphanage, we better go for an apple juice.

And I've got the Blenheim orange here.

LISA: So the Blenheim orange is because it's that variety of apple.

- Yeah.

The name of the variety.

So, when we get enough of each type of apple, we'll separate them out and press them by themselves.

And I'd say 9 times out of 10, that makes for a really interesting juice.

So, in this one, you should be able to pick out kind of, like, hints of walnut.

And it is just that apple in there.

It's got that real zing to it as well.

I must say, you've got some pretty incredible products here.

Thank you very much.

[contemplative music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): What a fantastic venture.

This really is an island that continues to impress, a bit like my next biker-friendly dish.

And I've also found some lovely local drink that's perfect to go with it.

You see, this is one of the amazing things about doing trips like this.

You never know what you're gonna find.

And I've just found this, an amazing couple, Foraging Vintners, winery and bar.

Oh, who shook it up on the way here?

But this is a little elderflower fizz.

Do you know what?

That's not bad.

And so is this dish.

You'll like this one.

This is lamb two ways.

It starts off with a Sloppy Joe sauce.

So the first thing we do is just chop this up.

So a little bit of shallot, and nicely, finely chop it.

Right, oil, a little bit of veg oil.

You can use butter for this if you want.

The butter is coming later.

So a bit of that, a little bit of green chili.

I don't know why people take the seeds out of chilies.

And when you ask them, they go, I don't like it hot, Doreen.

Well, what's the point of using chili in the first place?

But a little bit of that.

It's quite a simple little quick sauce, this.

Now this, lamb mince.

We throw the lamb mince in here and get that cooking.

A bit of brown sugar.

I like to use this sort of soft brown sugar, really, rather than the demerara sugar.

You get a nice bit of flavor.

But this is the key to it, chipotle chili paste, which is kind of a smoked dry pepper.

But it's an amazing flavor to go well with this.

Touch of vinegar, a bit of white wine vinegar in here.

And then, to make this sticky, you do it two ways.

The sugar is gonna make it sticky as well.

Soy and ketchup.

The herbs that I'm gonna put in here-- a little bit of coriander, and a touch of mint.

And then we leave that cooking for about 10 minutes, the same amount of time that it's gonna take to cook our sausages.

So I've got some wonderful lamb sausages over here.

We're just gonna pop these straight on the barbie because this is a double whammy of lamb.

[bluesy piano music] You see, this is a dish that the crew like to eat, you see?

So much so, Johnny, who's on camera 2, has got so excited, he had to phone his mom for permission to eat this.

[laughter] Poor fella's put on a stone since he's joined us on this trip.

But look at this.

The sauce-- just let it bubbling away.

Now, what we're gonna do is take the baguette to serve it in.

We're gonna cut that right down the middle.

Open it all out.

I'm gonna take some garlic butter, and you spread that all in here.

I just love food.

What I love about TV programs nowadays-- everybody goes on about they invented this thing.

This is just winging it, but this is proper food.

Now we're gonna get some spring onions on here and just color this a little bit.

A little bit of oil, nicely chargrilled a bit.

Now coriander mint.

Coriander goes in here.

Look.

Sausages.

See?

The sun's just come out, just as I'm doing this.

Just look at this.

[gasps] Oh, je t'aime, je t'aime.

And then you take this Sloppy Joe.

Look.

And you pop it over the center.

I couldn't resist doing this, like that.

Our spring onions-- we'll just take a few of them off and pop a few of these over the top.

And then, finally, just finally, because we haven't finished it enough, you get these crispy onions.

You see?

And there you have it.

There is no finer plate or board of food currently on the Isle of Man than that.

How you eat it, I've got no idea.

Ask Johnny.

[playful music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): So, after Johnny takes a few lovely shots of this finished feast, and now with me on his camera, and permission from his mum, of course, he dives in.

CREW: Johnny, are you gonna phone your mum back?

I'm gonna give her a call.

Mum!

JAMES (VOICEOVER): See, this crew really likes to eat.

Today I'm in the Isle of Man, home of the death-defying TT motorbike race.

I'm here during TT warm-up week, and joining me is Michelin-starred chef and fellow petrolhead Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

Earlier, Lisa experienced the island's organic side, paying a visit to some local juice producers-- I must say, you've got some pretty incredible products here.

WILL: Thank you very much.

JAMES (VOICEOVER): --while I've been feeding some of the crew and a few of the local bikers.

I really can't believe this is real.

[laughter] JAMES (VOICEOVER): But now it's time for me to hop on the bike and explore some more of this fantastic island.

It is spectacular, though, the Isle of Man.

It's amazing.

When you visit north to south, east to west, it changes massively, like many islands that we've visited on this trip.

It is absolutely lovely.

But you've got great pasture here, and where you've got great pasture, you've got great dairy, great meats, great lamb, beef.

The list goes on and on and on.

So I'm en route now to go visit a lawyer-turned-farmer.

It's quite an interesting back story.

But now she's not only producing amazing meat, but making fantastic salami that's the talk of the town.

I've gotta catch him up.

[folksy music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): Tracey and Stephen Ridgeway are not your average farmers.

As a former city lawyer and IT manager, respectively, they moved to Close Leece Farm in 2009.

Through several years of hard work and determination, they taught themselves to make a range of charcuterie products that, in recent years, have been winning multiple awards.

I can't wait to find out more and have a little taste, too.

How are you?

TRACEY: Fine.

You all right?

It's good to see you.

Now, sort of tell me, how on Earth did this start?

Because this is not your upbringing, farming, at all.

No.

We used to have jobs in the city, in London, and we wanted to move out of London.

We discovered the Isle of Man was a nice place to live, and we discovered that there was an old farm house for sale.

So we bought it without any real intention of doing farming.

But then we got a few animals, and then a few more, and it became quite a time-consuming, expensive hobby.

Whose idea was it to get a few more?

I think me, for the animals.

And then he said, we've gotta make some money out of these animals.

That's the IT side of it, you see?

TRACEY: Yeah, yeah.

You're the legal side of it as well, really.

Oh, well, mine's the heart as well.

And the farm itself is actually quite small.

Yeah, it's only 42 acres.

But that's why we have to really focus on very premium niche products.

JAMES: So we've got the pigs behind us.

These are Tamworths?

STEPHEN AND TRACEY: Yeah.

JAMES: So why particularly Tamworths?

Well, the Tamworth is a rare breed.

They're breeds that are hardy.

They can be outside all the time.

And they also came top in a blind tasting as being the best pork.

And I've seen you've got amazing-looking sheep over here, and lamb.

TRACEY: Absolutely.

It's the Loaghtan lamb, so it's native to the Isle of Man.

They were brought over by the Vikings.

Again, rare breed; lovely, meaty taste.

Now, I'm intrigued to know how you make some of these dry cured meats, so can you teach me?

- Come and help us.

Come on, then.

[lighthearted music] [oinking] Tell you what.

This place looks all bright and shiny and new.

It was expensive.

Bet it was, yeah.

So explain to me what we're making, and what do we need?

So Loaghtan lamb salami.

So the first thing we need is Loaghtan lamb.

This has been cured for about 48 hours, so it's ready to be processed.

So what is it cured in?

It's cured in salt, sugar, and curing salt.

A little bit of Tamworth pork fat in there as well.

OK.

What we need to do is mix in a few ingredients into this.

Start out with a starter culture mix.

This is a special blend of cultures that helps the fermentation process.

Then we'll mix in some ground garlic.

JAMES: There is a lot of garlic.

Yeah, we like our garlic.

JAMES: Raw garlic.

STEPHEN: And raw garlic, yeah.

JAMES: OK.

By the time it's been through the next couple of months of the curing process, it won't taste so raw anymore.

And then we mix in the spice mix, which is pepper and fennel, primarily, and some rosemary for the lamb.

Right.

It's ready for the next step of the process, which is taking it over to a grinder.

Another shiny new machine.

This one's not new.

This one's just been cleaned.

Is it?

[laughter] [machine humming] So I take it the grade of the grinding is quite important as well.

You don't want it too fine, too thick?

STEPHEN: That's right.

That's certainly something we discovered along the way, that.

The exact way the meat's processed, between the grinding and the other types of cutting it up, makes a big difference for different types of charcuterie.

So how long has it taken you, roughly, to get from when you first started this on your kitchen table, with a hand machine, to where you're happy with now winning awards?

Seven years.

JAMES: Seven years.

You look as if you know what you're doing.

We've done it a few times, James.

STEPHEN: There's always things you can improve and things you can change.

[music playing] So the next stage is we put it into the mixer.

This is the key to it, is it?

STEPHEN: This is the key to it.

And now we need to pour this bottle of wine in there.

So tell me about the wine, then, because the wine must be quite important with this.

- Yeah.

Because the end product is typically not being cooked, you can really taste the wine that you put into it.

So it's not 3.99 plonk.

JAMES: It's Italian plonk.

STEPHEN: It is.

We use Italian wine for the salami.

We use Spanish wine for the chorizo.

So now we just wait until that gets to the right consistency.

So you're looking for it to just bring together?

Is that what you're after?

Or-- I'm looking for it to be a bit more together than it is there, but before the fat starts to smear.

OK, so you can see that, now, the meat's got a lot more of a bind to it.

Very stiff.

And that's the same mixture as what we've got in here?

STEPHEN: It's exactly the same, what we just did beforehand.

Cool, right.

Off we go.

STEPHEN: OK.

JAMES: Rather you than me for this bit.

I'm just gonna stand back and watch because I'm hopeless at this.

It's like Generation Game if I do this.

♪ ♪ When we first started doing this with the hand-cranked machine, it would literally take hours, this stage.

OK.

You made that look very easy.

What's next?

Here we've got a clipping machine, and we have some ready-made loops.

JAMES: And in here, these are little bits of metal we seal it all in.

STEPHEN: Yeah.

So this is quite a thick salami.

How long would it take to then mature-- STEPHEN: Well, we dry them until they lose about 40% of their weight.

And for this size, that's gonna take about six weeks, I'd say.

JAMES: Right.

STEPHEN: You should definitely have a go at this.

[lighthearted music] I'm gonna mess this up.

You do know that.

That's all right.

I'll cook with it, but I'm certainly gonna mess it up.

STEPHEN: So you're looking to create a nice gap between two bits, and then make this bit as tight as you can.

JAMES: Is that bit all right?

Yeah, it looks all right.

Clip it down.

- Straight down?

- Yeah.

Make a little bit of a gap again, and then put in one of those red things.

JAMES: Got it.

STEPHEN: Perfect.

Final stage-- we're gonna prick them all over.

And what that does is it makes sure if there's no little tiny air gaps.

And it lets that air out, and it also helps let the moisture out.

And then that's now ready to go into fermentation.

JAMES: Yeah.

And after that, it will hang for six weeks.

And then we can taste it.

STEPHEN: That's right.

It's only a few more to do.

JAMES: Yeah, I know.

Tell me about it.

Thanks.

That was only, like, 10% of the batch as well.

[laughter] ♪ ♪ JAMES (VOICEOVER): What a privilege to see how this wonderful charcuterie is made.

But now it's time to have a taste.

[soothing music] - Here you go, James.

That's service, isn't it?

[laughs] Oh, look at that.

Everything you do-- And a bacon sandwich.

--and a bacon sandwich.

So just finally tell me, is this life everything you thought it would be, having left the city?

It's very different to what we used to do, but I wouldn't go back.

Thank you so much.

And best of luck with everything as well.

- Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

Best of luck with your new venture as well.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Two months, this place has been open, but just check all this lot out.

This stuff tastes absolutely fantastic.

But, for all the bikers visiting the TT, you have to taste this.

I know this is a foodie program, and I cook all fancy stuff and all that sort of stuff, but when I go home, this is what I like to eat-- a bacon sandwich.

My granny produced the best bacon sandwiches in the world, I promise you.

But this, I can tell you, categorically, is the best bacon sandwich I've eaten since my granny was alive, 16 years ago.

And I'm filling my boots because it's a long way back.

[adventurous music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): I'll be sharing some of that fantastic charcuterie with the TT bikers later.

Next, I'm off to find another Isle of Man favorite, which is also famous for the way it's cured.

Manx Kippers have been produced on the island since the late 19th century.

They're herrings which have been salted and smoked using traditional methods in order to improve their flavor and preservation.

[engine starts] And I've got the perfect dish in mind.

♪ ♪ Now, the smell of these Manx Kippers are divine.

If I was a cat, I would be going nuts now because I love these.

They're my favorite ingredients.

And I'm gonna turn these into an amazing soup with some homemade bread.

So the first thing I'm gonna do is we're gonna cook our herring.

Now, pop these straight into the milk to cook.

And I'm probably gonna need about three of these.

They're going in there.

So, while they cook away nicely, we'll turn our attention to the bread.

I'm gonna do one of the easiest bread recipes, really-- really good, strong, plain flour.

I've got a touch of water, a little bit of salt, and some yeast.

And the key to bread, really, is get the best-quality flour you can afford.

So we grab some yeast here.

Now I'm gonna use the dried yeast.

You can use fresh if you want.

So a pinch of salt.

Note that the salt stays away from the yeast.

If you put salt directly on yeast, it will kill it.

Now, what yeast needs is a bit of moisture and warmth.

Now, you can do that with some water, of course, and we add the water to the dough.

It's important to get the moisture right, the moisture content, because different flours absorb different amounts of liquid.

So I can see from this, it needs a little bit more.

Big, common mistake when people are making bread at home-- they'll always make it too dry.

You'll know it's roughly there when everything combines off the edge of the bowl as well.

And the advantage with a machine like this-- you can now knead it for about three to four minutes.

[pleasant music] ♪ ♪ So, once this is kneaded, you see that it's quite tacky.

That's exactly what you want.

And then we need to leave that to one side and allow that to prove.

And after about an hour and a half, something like that, at room temperature, you end up with this, this proved mixture.

A little bit of flour, not too much, and we can bring this all together.

So just fold it all over, and you've got a nice little loaf.

Just once it's risen up about twice the size, pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes, about 220 degrees, so a nice, hot oven.

And what you end up with is a nice loaf of bread like that.

I'm gonna turn this into a very, very simple soup.

But for that, first of all, I want some shallots and some garlic.

I'm not gonna pass this soup, i.e.

to get rid of all the shallots and the garlic, so at this point, we need to make sure the shallots are nice and fine, and the same for the garlic.

And then what we want to do is just get a good knob of butter and start sweating off the shallots and the garlic in the pan.

Turn your attention to these, the kippers.

Just lift these out.

Just to allow them to cool slightly, and what you end up with is an amazing liquor, this milk that we can create a fantastic soup with, then flour.

This is quite important.

So you just want a tiny little bit.

Probably, for this bit, no more than a couple of tablespoons is all you need.

Mix this together.

Touch of wine to go with it, and you'll see this mixture start to thicken up.

Now, at the same time, keep the heat on, and then we can utilize some of this milk.

I use a sieve to stop the bones going in there, and we just keep adding a little bit at a time.

Keep going with the milk.

[pleasant music] Now, there is another thickening agent you could put in this, and that's potatoes.

These have just been small dice.

Cook them for about 10 minutes, 15 minutes.

Add these to the soup.

Now, we need to enrich this soup by adding some double cream as well, just a little bit.

So, while that's happening now, we can turn our attention to our kippers.

And for that, we can pick out the meat.

Now, you can do your very best to get rid of all the bones out of kippers, but you're never gonna get rid of them all.

It's amazing how much flavor you get from just small fish like this.

And that's down to the fact of the smokehouses.

There's no modern technique that can replicate something that's been done for centuries, really.

But look at this.

So, as it starts to warm up, you can take your pick through kippers, like that, and just stir it all in.

How good does that look?

♪ ♪ You want a good amount of black pepper to go with it.

Just a nice little bit of chopped parsley will do.

Give this a quick mix, a quick taste.

[lighthearted music] Bring it across.

This is right up there.

A few chives on the top, A little bit of leftover cream, fresh bread.

Do you know what?

I was gonna slice it.

I decided to slice it.

What you need with this-- you need to rip it up.

This is how you eat this sort of stuff, like this.

Not poncy slices.

This.

That's how you eat this.

Not this.

What am I talking about?

Idiot.

JAMES (VOICEOVER): Trust me.

However you eat this dish, you're gonna love it.

[mischievous rock music] I'm in the Isle of Man, the perfect place for food lovers and petrolheads.

And I'm lucky enough to be here during the buildup to the motorbike race itself.

It is pretty cool, though, to come here on TT week.

You get a real buzz that the island is starting to really come alive, hence all these bikers going past me.

So I'm en route now to visit a living legend who just happens to be a mate of mine.

It's John McGuinness, who still holds the record for the most amount of TT wins by a living person.

And I say "living" for a reason-- because in this game, the chances of not surviving are pretty high.

[engine whining] [blues music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): I'm meeting John in the Isle of Man's capital city, Douglas, where the official TT start line is.

It might only be practice week, but this place is already buzzing.

And what's more, the whole paddock has a really friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

♪ ♪ See, this is one of the great things about being here.

It's the first time I've been in.

Don't need tickets, no passes.

Just walk straight in.

JAMES (VOICEOVER): The TT is one of the most accessible events in motorsport.

Not only can fans get a close look at all the bikes and riders in the paddock, but during the race itself, spectators can get within touching distance of the motorbikes going at mind-boggling speeds.

And if there's anyone that can explain to me why these brave bikers risk their lives on such powerful machines, it's TT icon John McGuinness.

So these are one of a few bikes that you're racing.

Yeah.

Tell us about these ones, then.

JOHN: Well, that's a little 650 Superlight, Norton, sort of an introduction class into the TT.

It's good for the newcomers and the lads that are learning.

Got a top speed of what?

Top speed?

Probably 155 mile an hour, 160 if you're in a slipstream.

So the world's not going by you, and all the obstacles aren't going by you, at such speed as they do on these.

What is this?

Yeah, this is a Norton SG7, 1,000 cc, V4.

It's got 230 horsepower.

It weighs 165 kilos.

0 to 60 in God knows what, two seconds or something.

But a definite top speed of 200 mile an hour, maybe a bit more.

And I went through the speed trap the other night and lapped one at 183 miles an hour with a headwind.

And I haven't been on the track for a couple of years through injury, but I'll tell you, the heart was nearly bouncing out of my chest.

JAMES: So, for people who don't understand this, there's kind of nothing else like this.

Yeah, this is the Daddy circuit, if you like.

It's 38 miles round here.

There's 260 corners.

There's manholes.

There's jumps.

There's garden walls, lampposts, curbs.

It's an open road.

Like, the road is open now to the public.

Then they close the roads, and off we go racing.

So it's very, very unique, and only on the Isle of Man.

And dare I say, you are the oldest guy racing in the paddock.

Yeah, we're getting there.

Yeah, we're knocking on the door.

I'll tell you, in here's 21.

This is a little bit behind the eight ball a bit, at the minute.

But yeah, in my head, I'm 21, and I still-- the eyesight's good, the focus.

And the passion's still there for it as well.

It's like I have nothing left to prove here on the Isle of Man, at the TT races, but I still just love putting the helmet on and going around this.

It has to be the most famous, iconic track in the world, you know?

And if you can ever stand on that top step of the podium, and your national anthem's playing, I don't think it can be any better than that.

Dream come true.

Well, good luck with it anyway.

- Cheers.

Good luck.

Wish you all the best.

Rather you than me, but all the best.

You can get on the back, mate.

No, I'm not going on the back.

Definitely not, definitely not.

[bluesy rock music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): Not a chance.

Now John and his team of mechanics will be working flat-out to get these bikes ready for racing in a few days' time.

And it looks to me like they could all do with a decent bit of grub, especially as I think they've been living off nothing but chips for several days now.

Don't get me wrong.

I like festival food as much as the next biker.

I mean, who doesn't?

But I'm sure I can rustle up something new that these bikers will really like.

BIKER: Get you some tips, mate?

[laughs] Get you some tips.

♪ ♪ So I thought I'd join the guys in the paddock and cook them something to eat, really.

Now, I've got Mr.

McGuinness's list of ingredients that he likes-- pie, pie, chips, gravy, pie, neither of which I can cook on a disposable barbecue.

So I thought I'd do lamb chops, nice hispi cabbage with an olive glaze.

They'll love it.

I promise you, it's fantastic.

So the first thing we're gonna do is a little bit of hispi cabbage.

This is hispi cabbage, pointed cabbage.

It's a fantastic cabbage to actually barbecue as well.

A lot of people wouldn't normally cook with barbecued cabbage, but it does taste amazing.

But what you have to do, first of all, is basically just take this.

Cut it up into pieces like that.

Just cook it a little bit in our pan.

Pop it straight in there.

Stick that in there, and just slowly, slowly cook that a little bit.

Meanwhile, turn my attention to the sauce for this.

This is the one you'll really like-- really, really simple, all right?

So you take some water.

[coughs] A bit of water in here.

Sugar.

So it's sugar water.

That creates, like, a little stock syrup.

Then you put-- some of these little fellas are in here, the little star anise.

You see the reason why I'm doing this?

Look.

Method in madness.

Look.

There's star anise in here.

And then you just simply bring this to the boil and then throw in black olives, stoned black olives.

Once that's cooked for about two or three minutes, take it off the heat.

Take the star anise out.

Pass it to somebody, like that, and then just blitz it, blend it, and what you end up with is this amazing paste that's gonna go great with our lamb.

Now, we've got this fantastic rack of lamb.

Now, when you order this, get it French-trimmed.

And what I mean by "French-trimmed"-- the bone's been cleaned.

The chine underneath has been removed.

So when you either roast it whole or slice it like this, you can slice it down into lamb chops.

We've got quite a few guys here, so we'll put them all on.

So a little bit of that, salt and pepper, and then literally straight on the barbie.

[lively piano music] And this is gonna cook for about three to four minutes.

So, while that's cooking, I'll drain this off, and we'll wash this board.

Health and safety.

♪ ♪ [coughs] So I've taken orders for lamb.

Some of them want it rare.

Some want it medium.

Some of them want it well done.

So that's just left to rest.

Then I'm gonna take the cabbage.

Just drizzle it with some oil, and then you barbecue the cabbage.

So this has been cooked just in water for a couple of minutes, and then you just stick this in the barbecue just to char nicely.

Nearly there.

[coughs] But you know what I'm gonna do to help them out?

Take this.

Cook old-school.

Follow me, Ash.

Look.

♪ ♪ We're gonna get letters.

You see, this is how you do it when you're on the road.

You improvise.

Now, to be quite frank, I should have done sausages and beans, to be honest.

It's a lot easier.

[laughs] Take your cabbage out.

Barbecued hispi cabbage.

What's the problem?

♪ ♪ Right.

So I've got my cabbage.

Just to finish off this, a little bit of lemon, just a touch.

Over the top, and then a few bits of chives because these boys like chives.

[soulful music] ♪ ♪ Now, I know what you're thinking.

What on Earth is he doing?

To be honest, it's a first for me and all.

It's probably gonna be a last.

But look, a bit of that black pepper, touch of the old salt, and that, on its own, is fantastic.

But with this lamb, it's off the charts.

Now, I thought about putting this on the plate, to be honest with you.

But do you know what?

There's so many of them here.

I'll just stick it on there.

You just pop this over the top, like that.

The lamb uses this amazing glaze that we made.

Remember that olive glaze?

Just brush it.

Now, the key to this is the reason why I'm keeping my voice down.

Just don't tell John, because he doesn't like olives.

You've gotta try it once.

You could, if you wanted to, and didn't have a barbecue that was smoking out the entire paddock, pop this back on the barbecue to color these again a little bit more with the glaze on the top.

But a lot of the guys here want it sort of rare, so I thought I'd do it like that.

♪ ♪ There's a lot of them.

It's actually a lot more now.

Look.

Right.

Bit of that, and then, finally, some of this, a local yogurt, over the top.

And then you get some of this fabulous air-dried ham.

You stick this with it as well.

But you just pile it all on.

This is one place where less isn't more.

You just keep going.

And, then finally-- and it is finally-- a nice drizzle of olive oil.

♪ ♪ So there you have it, a mechanic's smorgasbord.

Mm.

My work is done.

[smooth bass music] JAMES (VOICEOVER): Well, it's definitely not chips and gravy, but let's see how John and his team like my barbecued lamb chops with olive glaze and hispi cabbage.

This'll be interesting.

- Go on.

Get in there.

[laughter, chatter] - That's nice.

- Oh, wow.

MECHANIC: Beautiful.

MECHANIC: Go, boss.

MECHANIC: That's gorgeous, that is.

Yeah.

I was just about to say, what's that, like, black glaze thing on it?

And apparently it's olives, yeah, but yeah.

Gearbox oil.

Yeah, it's nice.

MECHANIC: Cabbage is beautiful.

JOHN: Yeah, I sort of shy away from the vegetables.

I'm more of a pie man.

But we'll give it a go.

♪ ♪ I don't like the lemon!

[laughter] I'll stick to the meat.

[laughs] JAMES (VOICEOVER): So he'll ride a motorbike at over 200 miles an hour, but he doesn't like a bit of lemon?

Honestly, you couldn't make it up.

[uplifting music] JAMES: Well, what a fabulous time I've had in the Isle of Man.

It really is a special place full of beautiful scenery.

And I'm gonna leave you here, with Peel Castle behind me.

The highlights for me have to be that bacon sandwich.

It really is so, so special-- that and, of course, seeing your mates at the TT.

Lisa's enjoyed it, too.

There's some fabulous produce produced here on the island.

And I couldn't resist leaving this place without some of these, a pair of Manx Kippers.

♪ ♪ [theme music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪