Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted (2019) s01e03 Episode Script

20
- Take. - Harness?
- Oui. - But where are the mushrooms?
Down.
- The mushrooms are where? - There.
Holy.
The name is Gordon James, yeah, not James Bond.
Look at that.
All this for a mushroom.
It better be delicious.
This is insane.
I'm in Morocco, North Africa,
to discover the hidden culinary secrets of this incredible country.
I've always loved Moroccan food
because every bite is steeped in history.
Over the centuries the Arabs,
Spanish, Ottomans and French have all left their mark
on the cuisine of the indigenous Berber people.
My journey of discovery begins in Fes, North West Morocco,
the country's culinary capital,
located on the edge of the Middle Atlas Mountains.
The Medina of Fes
is one of the oldest walled cities in the world.
It feels like I've been transported back in time.
Incredible and beautiful and confusing all at the same fricking time.
Man, so.
This place is like a labyrinth.
This is crazy.
There's over 9,000 alleyways
and I think I've been down every one.
The most confusing maze ever.
I'm supposed to be meeting one of Morocco's finest chefs,
Najat Kaanache.
I am lost.
But finding our rendezvous point is proving trickier
than I expected.
Okay, I'm pretty sure this is the spot.
- Oh my god! How are you? - Finally.
Najat Kaanache
is one of a small band of pioneering female chefs,
changing the face of Moroccan cuisine.
Voila.
After earning her stripes at a string of Michelin Star establishments
across Europe and America,
her own restaurant in the heart of the Medina
is already gaining quite a reputation.
The first thing I thought about,
what would it be like to have a restaurant here
with all this product on your doorstep.
Amazing.
Do you ever get lost down here?
You get lost.
Even if you live in here you get lost.
It is, it is, it is
So I'm not the only one.
I get lost and I used to walk in this Medina barefoot
so imagine.
- In bare feet. - Barefoot.
- It's so nice to meet you. - Thank you.
Now I'm dying to get really underneath
this incredible oasis.
Thank you very much for coming here.
- Can you lead the way 'cause I'm useless. - We walk.
- Okay. - Shall we go?
Straight up? Go on. Thank you.
This place is crazy!
Najat tells me this has been a food market
since the ninth century.
This is the flavors of Morocco.
Like here,
- look at the colors. - Just the colors, the colors.
- Try this one. - Thank you.
- Mm, that's delicious. - You know chilies.
You're too white for hotness, I understand.
I'm too white for hotness,
did you just say that to me?
I love chili.
Delicious, Pretty good, thank you.
Amazing.
Look, look at the meat man.
You like to speak French yeah?
- What is that? - This is a smooth butter.
I need you to smell.
Oh, bloody hell.
Yes, I've made filo but that's not filo though.
Okay right, okay.
It looks like my grandma's curtains.
So is it flour and water?
You're hilarious. This is water and flour.
That is beautiful.
I think you should go inside and try.
- Try that? - Yes.
And if I
Now I'm going to correct you
- because I'm allowed to do that today. - Right
Would you tell her I'm a cook in English?
She's looking at me like I'm an idiot.
Okay now let's go.
You have to stretch it without pressing.
- Bravo. - Bravo she says.
It's so wonderful to see you do this.
Yes.
When Najat finally stops laughing at me,
I manage to finish my pastry.
Now stretch it and bring it in here yeah.
Let's go. Wow.
Mr. Gordon, man, bravo! Awesome.
You like this more.
It's thin enough?
So now, hello, now you have to be careful when it cooks.
You gotta bring it up.
- Gotcha. - Take it up.
That on top.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
- So easy. - I wouldn't say easy.
Au revoir. Merci beaucoup.
Man, it's a lot harder than it looks, let me tell you.
I'm not very good at being
crap at doing something, so
I felt a little bit awkward.
That was difficult.
Well not difficult, it's a lot of practice Chef.
Najat is a little firecracker.
That's how feisty she is.
Right now I feel like a fish out of water.
I'm going to invite you to serve us
two beautiful magical glasses of tea,
how about that?
You'd like a glass.
Well, I'd like glass poured by you from all the way up.
Come on, you can do it.
Ready?
Go, oh my god you're a pro.
Yeah, that's it. You've passed your exam.
I've made a discovery about Najat
that may just explain her attitude towards me.
You are a powerful chef here, aren't you?
Yes, sir.
And you applied to work in my restaurant seven times.
Yeah and you never hired me.
You should have phoned me.
I would have given you a job any day.
Stop it.
I can't believe I didn't hire Najat.
Hopefully she's moved past it
or the only dish I'll be eating
on my Moroccan journey is humble pie.
I want you to go to the mountains.
- you want me to go to the mountains. - Yes.
To the Berber land with the people
who really still have the traditions
and the way of cooking.
Right.
At the end of this week
is the New Years for the Berber people.
Wait, at the end of the week is New Year's Eve?
You and me going to cook.
But I want you to kick my butt in there.
We will, that's my territory.
So that's how it's gonna work,
you're sending me out there.
I want to send you out there
and if you don't apply to all this knowledge
that you got from this beautiful Fes, we're going to butcher you.
How about that?
Najat has just dropped the bombshell
because not only am I going to the mountains
to understand that Berber culture,
I'm cooking a feast at the end of the week
on one of the most important nights of the year, New Year's Eve.
Where do I start?
First, I would really love you to meet the mushroom man.
He's super magical and he has white hair like you but he's great.
And he has the best truffles,
the best morels, the best
They're the Rolls Royce of mushrooms, morel mushrooms.
- Yes. - This is amazing. Cheers.
I think he's gonna find a few difficulties
'cause you have to go from three star Michelin chef
to be in the nature, to be with the Berber people.
So he's gonna have a couple of few difficulties in that.
With just five days 'til we cook a feast for New Year,
my mission is clear;
head into the mountains
to get to grips with the magic of Berber cuisine.
Look at this view.
Come on!
It doesn't get any better than that.
Najat's arranged for her mushroom hunters to meet me.
She said that these guys are secretive,
so secretive that they've got special ways
to get you to the locations of these mushrooms.
Najat's being a bit coy about what she's set up
but she's told me to expect quite an adventure.
The air conditioner's work in here.
Just checking the brakes are working.
Bonjour. Merci beaucoup.
Ca va.
Oui.
My first surprise comes
when my guide starts looking to harness me up.
But where are the mushrooms?
Down.
The mushrooms are where?
Oh, you are kidding me!
Najat's crazy.
- There must be an easier way to get to these mushrooms. - Okay.
The name is Gordon James, yeah, not James Bond.
I just want to pick mushrooms.
But apparently this is Najat's idea of a good time.
Listen I love mushrooms but this is insane.
All this for a mushroom.
It'd better be delicious.
Look at that.
Holy !
Oh man!
Seriously?
Really?
I think I'm paying the price
for not giving Moroccan chef Najat a job.
She's sent me on the scenic route
to meet up with mysterious mushroom hunters.
I'm a big adventurer and I love mushrooms
but that's the scariest descent
that I've ever done for a mushroom, but I loved it.
As soon as I got down to the bottom I wanted to go back up
to the top and come back down.
Bonjour!
Okay, where are the mushrooms?
Who wanna come?
- Thanks a lot. - Okay.
These mushrooms better taste delicious.
Come, come.
Good, good.
Yo, yo, yeah.
Bonjour, how are you?
I'm the king of the mushrooms.
You're the king of the mushrooms.
Where are the bloody mushrooms?
- Let's go. - All right, now.
- Let's go. - Okay.
I doubt anyone's following us.
Abdullah is Chef Najat's main mushroom supplier.
He and his men have spent the last few days
foraging this remote forest,
and today they're willing to share with me
the pick of their bounty.
Every chef in Britain
would love to get their hands on that basket.
Oh my Lord!
Thank you.
Chanterelle.
Chanterelle, girolle, chanterelle, morille.
Ceps and morels.
All in the same back garden.
From a chef's point of view, it's a magical basket.
Can you imagine what they taste like cooked?
Have you heard about
Medfouna?
Yes, that's what I plan to do now.
- It's like a - A Berber pizza.
- A Berber pizza. - Yes.
My newfound friend,
Berrin, gives me a masterclass
on how the Berbers cook pizza
in the mountains.
Spoiler alert, it's a bit different from Domino's.
You use the most expensive mushrooms in the world.
Abdullah, magic.
This is a dream for me, Abdullah.
I love you.
We'll put the porcini in first.
Then the girolle there.
Then I'll put the morel
and then trumpet,
some onions and garlic.
Ras el hanout.
Ras el hanout
is a mix of spices widely used
in Moroccan cuisine.
- Perfect. - Bread.
I saw this on my visit in the Medina.
Yeah so nice and flat.
Now I'm starting to understand what Najat was explaining,
get closer to the Berbers,
understand what the village is doing.
Mushrooms in. Look at this.
Now goat cheese.
Wow, this is getting better and better and better.
So goat cheese and give it saltiness right?
- Yes. - Nice.
It's a very nice combination yeah?
This is a beautiful combination.
Now for the lid.
That goes on top. Back on.
The Berber's, they like making this.
They live in the mountains
and there the mushrooms are everywhere, you know.
What a treat.
Take some olive branches.
Right so it's cooking
On the bottom and the top, yes.
- Yeah. Amazing. - And warming us up.
And keeping us warm, yeah.
I've rappelled for them,
I've swam for them
and now it's finally time
to eat these precious mushrooms.
Look at that!
Really beautiful.
Look, I mean it just looks delicious.
That is absolutely delicious.
That was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten.
Putting a slice of that on my menu back home in London,
you'd have to charge an excess of £100.
It's delicious.
The shock for me
is that for the boys it's a staple,
they eat that every day.
That's, that's the big surprise.
The luxuriousness
of those mushrooms sandwiched between
two slices of dough,
brilliant.
Now I wanna be a Berber.
With the Berber New Year just days away,
the pressure is really on.
I'm desperate to show Chef Najat
that I can cut it in the world of Moroccan cuisine,
and that means understanding every aspect of the Berber life.
Cold. Froid.
I'm so thrilled that Karda,
one of Abdullah's mushroom hunters,
has invited me to lunch
in the village where he and his family live.
Amazing.
- So this is it? - Yes.
- A la maison. - A la maison.
Hello.
Bonjour.
Tu vas bien? How are you?
- She's a little bit shy. - She's a little bit shy.
And what's her name?
- Fatima. - Fatima.
Fatima, it's a beautiful name.
And how old is Fatima?
- Nine years. - Nine.
After you. Thank you.
Karda and his daughter Fatima
want to show me every element of Berber life,
including the barn that houses their four‐legged friend.
Huge donkey!
Is that your taxi to school?
My daughters get an Uber, you get a donkey.
I'd love to try and ride that thing.
You show me?
Okay.
You sure it's gonna take my weight?
You sure? Fatima?
Sugar!
I'm too old to ride a donkey.
You want to make it move you say
Please!
Okay, good.
Right.
Okay. Thank you, thank you.
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
I've never been shown how to ride one so thank you,
Fatima, well done.
After embarrassing myself riding the donkey,
Karda and Fatima show me around the village
and its traditional way of life.
Bonjour.
Karda introduces me to his mum.
She still uses carpet weaving techniques
that go back to the 12th century.
- What kind of wool is that? - Sheep.
- Sheep's wool. - Sheep wool.
It's amazing how it's not breaking.
Oh look at the speed of her.
Look, right.
Grandma you make this look so easy.
And where will you sell these carpets?
They just take it to the nearest town.
- So you go into the Medina? - yes.
And how much would one of these cost?
about 2,500 Moroccan Dirham.
2,500 Dirham is about 260 bucks.
Okay. Here we go.
She's saying you're too slow.
Too slow!
Happy mamma?
Oh man! Oh Fatima!
That is an amazing skill. Merci madame.
Now for the bit of Berber culture I'm most intrigued by, lunch.
- Yes please. - Of course.
So this is the dining room.
- Come. - Thank you. Amazing.
This is lovely in here.
Some local food. This is what the people eat.
They look like lentils.
Lentils. This is clarified butter.
Right.
This is olive oil
and this is olive from this same make of this one.
Wow, the bread is baked here as well?
Yes, People here they make their own food,
they don't buy bread from a shop.
This food looks incredible.
Before we eat we always say Bismillah.
- Bismillah. - Bismillah.
- Yes. - Bismillah. Thank you.
They're delicious.
It's so good.
I'm so excited to be here.
This weekend is your Berber New Year celebration.
Berber New Year is a very big day here
in the Atlas Mountains.
Everyone in the village celebrate you know.
And it's all about the food and the celebration.
It's all about the food yes.
The pressures on me even more now,
not just for the standard you produce
but the New Year celebration.
Boy!
Better to be ready.
Yeah and I'd better be ready.
- Do you like it? - It is delicious.
Do you know any British food?
Yes! That's good, that's very good.
Thank you.
This local olive oil tastes amazing,
so I'm keen to discover how the Berber's make it.
Bonjour.
They've been making olive oil in this region
since before Roman times
and I'm dying to get my hands on some
to use in my New Year feast.
Oh man!
- And these have just been picked right? - yes.
- Okay. - Okay, let's try.
The first thing I've got to do
is crush down the olives using the ancient grinder.
But it's bloody hard work.
What?
The mule.
- The mule. - Yes.
- This way, turn, turn. - Okay this is fine.
- That's perfect. - Okay.
Now come on you stubborn mule, please!
He's allowed to go to the toilet.
Just as I think I've mastered the medieval olive press.
The mule gets a bout of stage fright.
Come on please.
I'm getting beaten by a mule here.
- Slow him down. Slow him down! - Faster.
- It's hard to tell him to slow down. - Okay.
After crushing them down,
I've now got to bag them up before we press the oil out.
- Scoop it in? - Yeah.
What an amazing process. The smell is incredible, right?
- Smells nice huh? - Isn't it?
I mean talk about fresh pressed.
- Oh look, look at that. - Coming out?
Yeah, it's definitely coming out.
- So tasty. - Do you have any bread in your pocket?
Oh my lord. That is beautiful.
Now I've heard of extra virgin
but this is gonna be extra, extra virgin.
Look at that shine.
I've never tasted olive oil straight from the press.
That is amazing.
And it's another lesson I can take into my Berber New Year feast,
to produce something really special for these hospitable people.
Thank you.
I want to give back, you know, I want to show them what I can do
and try to make this day a day to remember.
With just two days until I deliver my New Year Berber banquet,
the pressure is really on and I can't afford to come up short
in front of Chef Najat.
So I'm heading back to Fes in search of a special dish.
At home, we do rib eye or a fillet steak for a special occasion,
but here in Morocco,
Najat tells me there's a much more revered meat.
Jamal, have you ever eaten camel?
I've enlisted the help of Jamal, a local guide,
to take me to the only camel butcher in the Medina.
Bonjour. Omar.
You are the only camel butcher in the Medina right?
Yeah, he's the only one.
What's so special about camel meat?
- Like beef? - Yeah.
As good as beef?
Camel much better than beef.
Camel's better than beef?
Yeah, the taste and actually the benefits.
What is that?
- The hump. - The hump. The camel hump.
- Yeah. - But it looks like just fat.
But actually, I'd say no, it's quite different from the cow fat.
It gives smoke, it gives taste, flavor.
- Right. - Amazing yeah.
How long ago was he beheaded?
- Four days ago now. - Four days ago.
We would never be able to get
a camel's butcher shop like this in the East End of London,
we wouldn't be allowed this.
I would love to taste some camel.
- He's inviting you to tonight for a dinner. - Right.
He's gonna make a specialty, a Tangier with camel.
- Tangier camel, yes, yes. - That sounds amazing.
- Merci beaucoup. Thank you Omar. - À bientôt. À bientôt.
How exciting is that.
This is gonna be the first time I've ever eaten camel.
There's not many things I haven't eaten but camel is one of them.
So, I can't wait to take up Omar's offer
of a slap up Tangier dinner tonight.
It must have been amazing for you growing up in here.
- Yeah, yeah. - Bonsoir, mon ami.
Bonjour. Ça va.
Let's go, please.
How big is this restaurant?
What? What are we doing in here?
This is the weirdest restaurant I've ever seen.
Are you crazy?
Look at that oven!
Whoa man.
Bonsoir.
Is this your head chef?
Yes chef, new chef.
What is he doing in there?
Jamal what's going on?
Actually, he's keeping the fire, you know,
on, and this is the oven of the Hammam.
To heat up the rooms.
He's boiling water?
Yeah.
It turns out I've been brought
to the basement of a public bathing house,
called a Hammam, and so far, not a camel in sight.
Morocco's public bathing houses
originated with the Ottomans in the 12th century,
which also feels like the last time I ate anything.
Omar, dinner?
This is the dinner, Tangier.
And what's in there?
Camel meat with some spices, with onions.
The Berber's have used Tangier clay pots to cook
since before Roman times.
Traditionally the workers of the Medina
leave their Tangiers here to slow cook
and kill time by taking a bath upstairs.
I do, I do. Never had one.
It's gonna be fun. You're gonna like it.
Merci. Be careful.
Don't get shriveled too much in there.
Watch that beard.
This camel better be good.
Honestly.
Come and have a good bath.
You said we're coming for dinner and now look at us.
Stark naked.
Tell him to go easy on me.
Fuck's sake.
The last person to bath me was my mum.
I'm not that supple.
There's nothing like a delicate massage
and this is nothing like a delicate massage.
Do you know I'm not training Olympics.
- Jamal? - Yeah.
I am enjoying it okay, this is, this is beautiful.
I told you.
But surely that Tangier must be ready by now.
It should be ready by now.
- It should be ready by now. - Yes.
Is there somewhere I can dry my hair?
Do you have a hairdryer in here?
My mum always told me to wash my hands before dinner,
but that was something else.
I feel cleansed, I feel refreshed,
but most of all I feel absolutely bloody starving.
Time for some camel.
Mm, see that, that smells delicious.
That looks incredible.
- Now just the way it dropped onto the plate. - Yeah.
It bounced, it's so tender.
That is incredible.
It's so delicious.
Really nice and spicy, fragrant coating on the meat.
The big surprise for me is how deep the richness of that meat is.
That's the spice and the citrus.
Omar's combined chunks of the camel's shoulder
with tail and fat from the hump.
What vegetables are in there?
- It's a Tangier, healthy. - Healthy.
- Yeah. - Yes.
You may get a little bit hot or horny after that.
Eating camel makes you horny?
- Yeah. - Omar come on.
- Yeah like a stallion. - Like a stallion!
That camel looked like a one‐pot wonder.
But that was way better than any stew my mum's cooked,
let me tell you that.
That meat is so tender.
Right now I don't know what's more tender, my back or the meat.
Delicious, really good.
Merci beaucoup.
- Thank you. - Take care.
The slow, and I really do mean slow,
cooked camel meat is a revelation.
It's definitely gonna be part of my New Year Berber feast.
Tangier!
So, Omar's invited me to his farm
to collect the meat
before I head back up into the mountains.
Man. Wow!
What an amazing herd of camels.
All these camels are reared purely for meat, for eating?
- No, meat and milk. - So, meat and dairy.
Yeah.
Okay, you're gonna milk it.
- I'm gonna milk it. - Yeah.
I've never milked a camel.
Where's the teat?
You'll have to show me where, where, where?
It's a male!
Oh it's a male.
We're not milking that one obviously.
Come on, seriously!
I'll get you back later.
After a quick masterclass from Omar,
it's time to milk my first camel.
Hopefully my hands aren't too cold.
Man, they're strong no?
I have two jobs today,
getting milk from a camel
and not getting kicked in the face by a camel.
Oh that's it.
So it looks like a cappuccino in there.
- It's rich huh? - Yeah.
- Creamy. - Yeah.
It's boiling, it's so hot.
Yeah, it's come in directly from the teat.
- It's delicious, really delicious. - Yeah.
I thought it was gonna be a little bit sweet
but it's not that sweet,
but it's creamy, it's very rich.
That was insane.
I mean what buggers, took me to a male camel.
I'm looking thinking how do you milk this thing?
With camel meat for the New Year's feast secured,
I'm back on the road heading deep into the mid Atlas Mountains.
But I'm still on the look out for more ingredients.
Throughout my journey
I've noticed kids selling heart of palm on the roadside,
but Najat has tipped me off about which area has the best ones.
Bonjour.
How are you? We good?
Can I have a little taste please?
It's almost like a sort of sweet cucumber.
That is delicious.
And are there lots more?
Oh there's a lot more up there right.
How far off?
Like ten minutes.
I need about six more.
We can do that, yeah.
- Let's go. - Let's do it.
- Let's go, let's go, thank you. - All right.
So ten minutes up.
Ten minutes.
Those fresh hearts of palm taste so good.
They're worth climbing a mountain for.
It's a very, very, very long ten minutes.
Are you sure?
But that's if we make it before I reach retirement age.
They'd better taste good.
- Oh my god. - They will.
Gentlemen slow down.
- Gordon! - Come on.
Come on.
Look at these boys, they're as fit as a mountain goat.
Look at the speed they get up there.
- Yeah. - Wait for grandad.
There we are, this is the best place.
Finally.
Can you see the technique?
Yeah I'm watching the technique.
The trick is to cut the palm
as close to the ground as possible
to get to the juiciest part.
Stand back please.
It also helps if you've seen The Shining.
When was the last time this was sharpened?
There you go.
- You didn't cut it correctly. - No God!
- The best part of it stays in the hole, to the ground. - Inside.
Yeah, inside.
So I've got the top but not the heart.
Okay, right this one.
Second time.
It's almost there. There you go.
There you go.
- Finally. - There you go.
Merci. Look at that.
- You can try it. - That's so fresh.
Delicious.
It's almost like a raw artichoke
but sweeter than an artichoke.
So I've seen the majority of these come out of a can.
To actually cut them down fresh,
yeah that's freshness on a different level.
- High five. - There we are.
- Up. Good job. - High five.
Good job.
Najat's tip off has delivered.
These are definitely going on my menu.
The day has finally arrived.
The villagers are getting ready to celebrate the Berber New Year.
Today's my final day in Morocco
and I'm cooking for Karda and his Berber family.
It's a big celebration,
it's New Year's Day so one of the most important days
across their calendar.
I'm going head to head
with Najat Kaanache,
one of Morocco's finest chefs.
Najat.
- We're good? - How are you doing?
What a week.
- How was everything? - Uh, crazy.
Let me help you sort that wood.
Last time I saw her, I realized I screwed up
by not giving her a job.
Now did you miss me?
No.
And the next thing I knew
I was rappelling down a waterfall.
But I'm sure that that was just a coincidence.
Now Omar, my camel man,
I was supposed to go for dinner,
had a hammam instead
- and then whilst I was getting washed and dressed - I don't
I don't want to know, thank you.
- But, please - Good, yeah.
Hang on, I think it's best
I just hurry up and tell her
what I'm gonna cook, camel.
That's gonna be one big main course.
With all this?
Ras el hanout.
Paprika, the maize, salt, pepper.
I mean beautiful.
Amazing. Let me show you what I've got.
Surprise, surprise. Najat is also using camel.
That's the leg.
- Yes. - Amazing.
This?
- That's the hump. - The hump.
Yeah.
Which we're gonna use to braise this a little bit,
to give a little color.
Beautiful.
Now we should not talk anymore
and we should just go and cook
because we have a this New Year,
Berber New Year that you have to surprise us.
Yes. I'm going to try and surprise you but I want to learn.
We can talk.
- Come around. - If I fall behind, help me. Please.
- Yes, we will help you, no worries. - Yes?
- We're many of us, we do it. - Okay, good luck.
- Yes thank you very much. - Let's go.
I might be a Michelin Star chef but here that counts for nothing.
Najat's been cooking authentic Moroccan cuisine all her life.
I just hope I can live up to her standards.
My days eating Moroccan food in restaurants in London,
trust me, are miles away from
preparing and cooking food here in the Atlas Mountains.
Now the dice is a little bit smaller
than Omar showed me because
I haven't got eight hours and time for hammam this afternoon.
I'm using the camel
shoulder and the cheek,
gonna mix them together,
almost like an oxtail and a shin.
You okay?
Super okay, thank you.
About ten years ago
Najat sent several letters as a job application
to come and work for me.
I didn't get to see those and she never made it through the door.
I think she's using this moment to get her own back.
- Najat. - Yeah.
Do you have a knife sharpener please?
No.
We're supposed to be friends.
- Najat. - Yeah?
You okay? Need some help?
I'm in my territory my friend.
I know, I know it's your territory.
I'm going head to head against one of Morocco's finest chefs,
Najat Kaanache.
Under pressure to deliver a feast worthy of a Berber New Year.
Chef Gordon.
Happy New Year.
Damn, the guests are here
and I am running behind.
Right now, I feel like a fish out of water.
Najat's good, she's not giving much away.
She's a proper chef; close guarded, don't ask me for help.
That's how feisty she is.
I've never ever cooked with olive oil
that I've pressed literally 100 meters away.
You can smell it, it is absolutely incredible.
Meat in.
My main dish is a slow cooked camel tangier,
inspired by the one I tasted with Omar in Fes.
You can smell that, that fragrance is just incredible.
Lemons in.
I want the lemons to sort of disintegrate
so it gives that really nice acidic flavor.
The chick peas will release starch
and literally allow this thing to thicken up naturally.
It's gonna take about 90 minutes.
Beautiful.
- Oh my god! I smell some deliciousness. - Hi, Najat.
- What? - What's happening here?
I'm using some of the shoulder, the jowl.
Sounds very nice, face the trick.
- Ras el hanout. - Ras el hanout.
- That's my tangier. - It's amazing.
Welcome to Morocco.
- Thank you. - So maybe you can move this one
and put this one there.
Yeah, I'm gonna start cooking on there again in a minute.
- Oh okay. - But thank you chef.
You said get into the mountains and understand,
I'm still learning, okay?
- No problem. - Forgive me.
Fine.
Remember, the proof is at the end, in the flavor, right?
Next on my menu is a chicken rfissa,
a classic Berber dish,
traditionally served for celebrations.
It's the baby chickens with the most amazing spice.
The idea is to coat those chickens in all of this.
Please be quiet.
Guess what's happened,
that's what's gonna happen to you next.
Come on.
Yes, but did you rappel down a waterfall
with your hands to get them?
I don't think so.
Now, peas in, to the amazing chicken.
And then look, these amazing morel mushrooms.
That's gonna elevate that chicken dish into
something absolutely stunning.
With my chicken rfissa and tangier slow cooking,
it's on to my side dish,
caramelized carrots.
But I'm missing one vital ingredient.
Fatima, do you have any honey for my carrots?
- Yeah. - Yes? Thank you.
Thank goodness for my nine‐year‐old sous chef.
Whereabouts?
Karda's daughter, Fatima, says her grandma may be able to help.
Probably got no idea what I'm saying.
It'll all make sense when you taste my carrots.
It's a Berber New Year tradition,
to exchange food with your neighbors.
Although not to bring a pasty British chef
to your grandma's house.
Fingers crossed, I can swap some heart of palm
for her local honey.
Bonjour madame.
Merci. Wow, Looks amazing.
All of this? Wow, Happy New Year.
Oh gift, gift, and Madame, some hearts of palm.
Yes, thank you so much.
Happy New Year.
Caramelized carrots with Grandma's honey.
How good is that?
Mm, it's good.
That should keep them quiet.
Annoyingly, Najat plates up first.
She's serving braised camel and a chicken stew,
alongside some delicious sautéed mushrooms.
I'm serving my chicken rfissa on a bed of warka pastry,
that I learned how to make with Najat in the Medina in Fes.
Look at that, my god.
Beautiful.
It smells incredible.
And the piece de resistance, my camel tangier.
The one that I'm most excited for.
Really beautiful.
With hungry guests waiting,
I've just got time to put the finishing touches to my final side dish,
freshly picked heart of palm and a goat's cheese dip.
Najat you ready?
A week isn't long enough to understand that Berber magic.
Now I don't want egg on my face
but right now I could be a little bit out of my league.
I just hope I've shown Najat
that I've come to grips with the secrets of Berber cuisine.
Bonjour.
Bonjour, bonjour.
And finally, the chicken.
Please enjoy. Bon appetite. Happy New Year.
- Happy New Year. - Happy New Year.
Mushroom man, nice to see you.
- Mushroom. - Bonjour Abdullah.
It's very wonderful.
That was very wonderful, yeah.
What an amazing day and what an amazing cook
because a New Year's celebration is a feast,
more importantly it brings the community and the families together.
A little bit nervous to begin with
because you need to respect their culture
and not cook out of their zone.
I've gone to hell and back to get those ingredients
and it's just so nice to see everybody happy.
Excellent.
Now it's the moment of truth.
Have I managed to cook like a Berber?
How was it?
Which camel dish did you prefer?
This one or that one over there?
They prefer this one more.
Damn, Najat's got the upper hand.
What is it that's given her dish the edge over mine?
Did you cook yours with a different stock?
No, same one.
No? Did you cut it smaller?
Just cumin, pepper and ginger.
Cumin, pepper and ginger.
Skin of orange, lemon.
Ah, okay, I love that idea.
Any other dish?
He's saying this one was perfect.
Oh good.
At least my chicken was a hit.
Now I need my sous chef to weigh in.
Fatima, which camel dish do you prefer?
- I love you. - She likes Mr. Gordon!
Thank you all.
I've learned a lot because I've never used camel.
It's something that we've never eaten in England.
You've really given me an insight
to an amazing way of how to eat and cook.
Thank you so much.
Thank you very much for being here.
Amazing.
Happy New Year!
- Happy New Year. - Thank you everybody. Amazing.
It was great to see everyone enjoy our meal.
And while I may not have got every vote,
I got the one that mattered.
He did amazing. I liked it very much.
His energy is awesome,
he understood the whole cultural process.
He has a great spirit and he's Gordon Ramsay,
he's the person that we all seen with a great soul.
Good job. Good job.
Thank you.
What an amazing week and I've fallen in love with Morocco.
I've really understood that Berber culture.
I've been humbled by these people's incredible hospitality.
I've learned techniques
that go back centuries
and I've been reminded,
you don't need a fancy kitchen
to produce truly outstanding cuisine.
To see them happy,
they start their year off with a great feast,
for any chef, anywhere in the world,
that is a meal that ends as a dream come true.
Now onto my next adventure.