A cook’s tour of the UK: James Martin’s Islands to Highlands
From lobster in the Scillies to langoustines on the Isle of Skye, James Martin says some of the world’s greatest food is here…
Ed Grenby - 25 June 2021
James Martin’s Islands to Highlands Monday 8.00pm ITV
Fancy a deep-fried chocolate pizza? Neither does James Martin. “I was given one in New Orleans once, and it was just vile,” remembers the chef and long-time presenter of BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and now James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV. “But it made me so happy that I live in Britain, not America. We have some of the world’s best food right here.” He should know, too. A head chef at 22, and recipient of the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs Special Award at 40, he also happens to have cooked (and eaten!) his way around the whole country for his series, James Martin’s Islands to Highlands, which continues this week. So, we asked Martin for his favourite culinary corners of the UK – and his answer was a four-course banquet. Tuck in!
SCILLY SEAFOOD SPECIAL
“Believe it or not, 20 miles off the Cornish coast and you feel like you’re in the Caribbean. The Scillies have this sub-tropical micro-climate, so stuff grows there that doesn’t grow anywhere else in the UK, and there are these incredibly clear aquamarine waters, too. I went swimming with seals when I was there for the TV show – and that wasn’t even the best thing! What I loved was Tanglewood: this one-table restaurant that’s basically in the back of the post office. So you might go in for stamps or envelopes and end up with the amazing local crab and lobster prepared by the husband and wife who run it. Great food, and a wonderful experience. Normally I just have a Twix and Red Bull for breakfast, but I made an exception there…” tanglewoodkitchen.co.uk
NORTH YORKSHIRE BUNS
“I was brought up on the estate at Castle Howard – in fact that’s where I first cut my kitchen teeth, washing pots there – and that area’s a beautiful place to visit. Anyone who knows Yorkshire knows the road from Pickering to Whitby, which goes over the Moors, past Fylingdales and Goathland (made famous by Heartbeat); or you can get the steam train that runs between them, which is pretty spectacular, too. “But the real reason I’m sending you to Whitby is for the UK’s best fish and chips. Order ‘one of each and a bag o’ scraps’ – which means one cod, one haddock and the leftover little bits of beef-dripping batter – and wash it down with a can of shandy. Amazing. For dessert, you’ll want a lemon iced bun from Botham’s, which has been going 155 years. But do it the local way – tear it in half, then squash the two iced surfaces together like they’re the filling of a sandwich – or everyone will know you’re a tourist.” botham.co.uk
THE BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE
“This one’s all about the food. When we were filming Islands to Highlands we came to a restaurant called Ynyshir, run by chef Gareth Ward, and it was one of the best meals of my life. I’ve now been back four times and it’s got better. “There’s no choice – it’s a 31-course tasting menu – but you’ll have dishes where you’ve never tasted anything like it before: for instance, he taps sap from birch trees then reduces it down and won’t use it until it’s ready – 24 or 36 months later! “It’s smack in the middle of the Snowdonia mountains, about three miles from the coast – very Nordic in appearance, very beautiful – and you could make a great road trip out of it. I’m a big petrolhead but I wouldn’t take one of my motorbikes up there: I’ve lost a few mates on bikes over the years, so mine are more for ornament than use now. Instead I’d take the 380SL Merc I bought last week (it’s one of those 80s Bobby Ewing jobs), and I’d stop off at the Walnut Tree in Abergavenny to make a weekend of it.” ynyshir.co.uk, thewalnuttreeinn.com
SCOTLAND’S FINEST
“I’m a country bumpkin, and I love the wide open spaces of Scotland – particularly the west coast and the islands. On the Isle of Skye I remember saying to our camera crew, ‘How can we bring across the light of this place?’ It’s like you’ve been born again with new eyes, the colours you see there. “And the flavours! The Scots have it all: the lobster, the langoustines, the game, fish, meat, veggies. They’ve got the best raspberries in the world, the best beef, the best shellfish – I’ve never tasted crab like I did in Shetland. (My favourite drink is from Scotland, too: if you’ve never tried the Harviestoun Brewery’s Schiehallion lager, order some now. I’ve converted about ten chefs to it.) “You can eat anywhere out that way and have an amazing meal. In fact, the only thing you have to watch out for is the Glasgow salad. I was asked if I wanted one, and I said sure, why not. When it arrived, of course, it was a plate of chips.” harviestoun.com
ED GRENBY
James Martin’s Islands to Highlands Monday 8.00pm ITV
James Martin’s Islands to Highlands Monday 8.00pm ITV
Fancy a deep-fried chocolate pizza? Neither does James Martin. “I was given one in New Orleans once, and it was just vile,” remembers the chef and long-time presenter of BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and now James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV. “But it made me so happy that I live in Britain, not America. We have some of the world’s best food right here.” He should know, too. A head chef at 22, and recipient of the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs Special Award at 40, he also happens to have cooked (and eaten!) his way around the whole country for his series, James Martin’s Islands to Highlands, which continues this week. So, we asked Martin for his favourite culinary corners of the UK – and his answer was a four-course banquet. Tuck in!
SCILLY SEAFOOD SPECIAL
“Believe it or not, 20 miles off the Cornish coast and you feel like you’re in the Caribbean. The Scillies have this sub-tropical micro-climate, so stuff grows there that doesn’t grow anywhere else in the UK, and there are these incredibly clear aquamarine waters, too. I went swimming with seals when I was there for the TV show – and that wasn’t even the best thing! What I loved was Tanglewood: this one-table restaurant that’s basically in the back of the post office. So you might go in for stamps or envelopes and end up with the amazing local crab and lobster prepared by the husband and wife who run it. Great food, and a wonderful experience. Normally I just have a Twix and Red Bull for breakfast, but I made an exception there…” tanglewoodkitchen.co.uk
NORTH YORKSHIRE BUNS
“I was brought up on the estate at Castle Howard – in fact that’s where I first cut my kitchen teeth, washing pots there – and that area’s a beautiful place to visit. Anyone who knows Yorkshire knows the road from Pickering to Whitby, which goes over the Moors, past Fylingdales and Goathland (made famous by Heartbeat); or you can get the steam train that runs between them, which is pretty spectacular, too. “But the real reason I’m sending you to Whitby is for the UK’s best fish and chips. Order ‘one of each and a bag o’ scraps’ – which means one cod, one haddock and the leftover little bits of beef-dripping batter – and wash it down with a can of shandy. Amazing. For dessert, you’ll want a lemon iced bun from Botham’s, which has been going 155 years. But do it the local way – tear it in half, then squash the two iced surfaces together like they’re the filling of a sandwich – or everyone will know you’re a tourist.” botham.co.uk
THE BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE
“This one’s all about the food. When we were filming Islands to Highlands we came to a restaurant called Ynyshir, run by chef Gareth Ward, and it was one of the best meals of my life. I’ve now been back four times and it’s got better. “There’s no choice – it’s a 31-course tasting menu – but you’ll have dishes where you’ve never tasted anything like it before: for instance, he taps sap from birch trees then reduces it down and won’t use it until it’s ready – 24 or 36 months later! “It’s smack in the middle of the Snowdonia mountains, about three miles from the coast – very Nordic in appearance, very beautiful – and you could make a great road trip out of it. I’m a big petrolhead but I wouldn’t take one of my motorbikes up there: I’ve lost a few mates on bikes over the years, so mine are more for ornament than use now. Instead I’d take the 380SL Merc I bought last week (it’s one of those 80s Bobby Ewing jobs), and I’d stop off at the Walnut Tree in Abergavenny to make a weekend of it.” ynyshir.co.uk, thewalnuttreeinn.com
SCOTLAND’S FINEST
“I’m a country bumpkin, and I love the wide open spaces of Scotland – particularly the west coast and the islands. On the Isle of Skye I remember saying to our camera crew, ‘How can we bring across the light of this place?’ It’s like you’ve been born again with new eyes, the colours you see there. “And the flavours! The Scots have it all: the lobster, the langoustines, the game, fish, meat, veggies. They’ve got the best raspberries in the world, the best beef, the best shellfish – I’ve never tasted crab like I did in Shetland. (My favourite drink is from Scotland, too: if you’ve never tried the Harviestoun Brewery’s Schiehallion lager, order some now. I’ve converted about ten chefs to it.) “You can eat anywhere out that way and have an amazing meal. In fact, the only thing you have to watch out for is the Glasgow salad. I was asked if I wanted one, and I said sure, why not. When it arrived, of course, it was a plate of chips.” harviestoun.com
ED GRENBY
James Martin’s Islands to Highlands Monday 8.00pm ITV