Saturday Kitchen 24.4.10

(by peter)

We had something of a Saturday Kitchen special last weekend.

I was appearing on the programme while we were simultaneously winging our way to Surrey for star producer/director Andy Clarke’s nuptials.

I’m glad to report that both went swimmingly.

We’d filmed in Farnborough earlier in the week (more on which you can find here) and had a great day out under bright blue skies featuring, for the first time in quite a while, vapour trails from commercial airlines which had resumed normal operations just hours before.

So it was somewhat appropriate we filmed our introduction in an airport.

On the day, the wines got a great reception in studio.

The lovely Jason Atherton was very complimentary about the match between his subtle masterpiece of sea bream with fennel salad and blood orange dressing and the Taste the Difference Gavi (£6.99, Sainsbury’s).

He termed it “a perfect match”. “I really like that,” he said, “it’s got a real clean finish and a real summery feel.”

Studio guest Julia Bradbury thought it was “spot on” with the dish. James Martin, though describing it as a “great wine” and a “bargain”, opined it was better drunk with food than without. Quick as a flash, the charismatic Paul Rankin quipped, “I could knock back a pint of that on its own no problem.”

As far as I’m concerned, that kind of feedback represents a job well done.

For Paul’s chargrilled lamb fillet with garlic purée, borlotti beans and wild garlic, I’d gone for the Extra Special Marqués del Norte Rioja Reserva 2004 (from £7, Asda), the logic of which he fully endorsed. “If you’re ever looking for a partnership for lamb, you can’t really go far wrong with Rioja,” he sagely counselled, adding, “it’s working really well”.

James added, “I love it; brilliant with this dish”, while Jason said the combination was “fantastic”.

For Julia’s food heaven (baked sea bass with braised baby purple artichokes, asparagus and a white wine foam), I chose the Château Saint-Jean-des-Graves Bordeaux Blanc (£7.69, Waitrose).

View the programme for the next week on BBC iplayer by clicking on the link here. Wine bits start at 0:15:18 and 0:55:56.