Filming Saturday Kitchen

(by peter)

I was informed prior to this shoot that some sort of boating activity had been arranged.

Given my recent history with Saturday Kitchen shoots, including firing artillery guns and riding atop tanks, I half expected some sort of mini submarine or pocket battleship.

In the event, it was more of a dinghy, and the only battle I had to fight was to wriggle out of wearing a wetsuit (which would have been obligatory under health & safety regulations until recently, I was informed).

The lifejacket was non-negotiable, however.

We were at the Queen Mary Sailing Club just outside Walton-on-Thames (our nominal destination for the day’s filming).

This vast reservoir was an eye-opener for me. It covers some 700 acres and averages around 50 feet in depth; if you do the sums that’s quite some capacity. We were told this was London’s largest drinking water reservoir and is one of the last holding lakes before the water is fed into the capital’s taps.

It is also, apparently, one possible ditching site for pilots using Heathrow, in the event of an emergency.

And these weren’t the only things I learnt on this shoot. Another swift lesson followed in the art of handling a jib on a Laser Bahia, courtesy of my trusty captain Rowan, as we swanned across the reservoir delivering pieces to camera.

Cameraman James and producer Andy followed on in a powerboat, looking for the world like we were all on a very pleasant day’s boating excursion.

Though we didn’t get any video of me on the boat (you’ll have to wait for Saturday for that particular joy), we did do a piece after we regained dry land (which you can view at the bottom of this piece).

This week it is Tana Ramsay cooking prosciutto-wrapped lamb sausages and Gennaro Contaldo rustling up a cooked mozzarella sandwich.

For the former, we were in Sainsbury’s hunting down a fabulous everyday red. For the latter, the lovely people of Waitrose were our hosts as we truffled out a toothsome white.

As ever, tune in on Saturday from 10am (8th May) to witness the Saturday Kitchen phenomenon and get your wine fix.