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Talented young cooks take over the kitchen and celebrate their heritage by cooking some very special recipes. We find out where these dishes and ingredients come from along the way.
2018
Eddie's mum is Italian and has taught him how to make a traditional Italian pizza. Eddie makes a delicious cheese and olive pizza using homemade dough and a tasty tomato sauce. His friends are in for a real treat when they see that Eddie's mum cooks the pizza in their traditional pizza oven. He tops his pizza with black olives, but some of Eddie's friends aren't too sure about olives when they taste them on their own.
On the menu is delicious tandoori chicken cooked in a traditional clay oven called a tandoor. Ria and Rohan use their grandma's special oven to make their version of this classic Indian dish. They cook chicken coated in a yoghurt sauce, which is spiced and full of flavour. They serve it to their friends alongside naan bread and yoghurt mint sauce.
Connor lives in Scotland. He makes a delicious vegetarian haggis, to share with his friends. He serves his tasty haggis with freshly mashed neeps and tatties. As an extra special surprise, Connor has arranged for a special guest to play the Scottish bagpipes as the haggis is served, and his friends have no idea about this special surprise! They are all looking forward to trying the food, but they were not very keen on fresh coriander, which is one of the ingredients.
Je'naé is cooking her favourite meal of Jamaican saltfish and cabbage. Her family are Jamaican, and in Jamaica saltfish and cabbage is a very popular meal. Lots of people eat it for their breakfast, but Je'naé is cooking it as a very special dinner for her friends. She is using saltfish, fresh cabbage and colourful peppers in her meal. Je'naé's friends have mixed opinions about the taste of fresh green pepper. She hopes that they will like it cooked in her recipe.
Meet Orson, our talented cook from the Midlands. Orson is cooking his very special version of bakewell tart for his friends. Some people say that a bakewell tart recipe comes from the Midlands, so Orson's version should be very good. Let's hope his friends like it too! He is using lots of delicious ingredients like raspberry jam and flaked almonds but is really hoping that his friends will like the lemony taste of the tart, as this is his special ingredient.
Naima's family are from Algeria. Naima is cooking a special Algerian borek for her friends to try. Borek is made from pastry, mashed potato, meat, cheese and olives. The great thing about borek is that you can add lots of different ingredients depending on what you like, and that's exactly what Naima is doing today. Naima mashes her potatoes, cuts some spring onions and sprinkles in some cinnamon before she gets the table ready for her Algerian feast.
Larry's family come from China. China is famous for its wonderful food, so Larry's friends are very excited to come over for his Chinese-themed meal. Larry's steamed tofu, egg and prawn recipe is cooked in his mum's special steamer but it can be made in an ordinary oven too. Larry's mum has even made some vegetable fried rice to serve with his dish.
Molly brings the flavours of the Caribbean to her home by cooking up a Saint Lucian-themed meal for her friends. She makes a feast of jerk sea bass, spiced potato wedges and a tangy avocado and pineapple salsa. Molly loves cooking and has learnt to make this flavourful feast from her dad, who is originally from St Lucia. Her friends taste some raw spring onions and tell us what they think.
Chocolate challah bread is on the menu today. Lewis's family come from Israel, where challah bread is cooked and eaten on special occasions. It's a dish he really likes to eat, so he has decided to make it for his friends to enjoy too. The chocolate Lewis uses is dark chocolate and might be a little bit different to the type of chocolate that his friends are used to eating, so let's see if they like it in his recipe.
Charlotte's dad is Irish and he has shown Charlotte how to make Irish boxty for her friends. Ireland is an interesting place and we learn all about it as Charlotte cooks her meal. She uses mashed and grated potatoes to make her boxty, and she flavours the potato mixture with lots of delicious ingredients including fresh rosemary. Charlotte thinks that rosemary smells like fresh air but some of her friends are not so keen and don't really like the taste of rosemary on its own.
Sienna's dad is from Nigeria and he has taught her a unique way of making Nigerian Jollof rice. Sienna asks her friends to try tasting fresh thyme, which is one of the ingredients in her Jollof rice, before they come round for a special Nigerian meal. No one is at all keen on the taste of the thyme, but Sienna is confident that she can change their minds when they try some of her food.
Talented young chef Ben is cooking German zwiebelkuchen. Ben's parents are German, and zwiebelkuchen is a very popular recipe in Germany. It is one of Ben's favourite foods, so he is very happy to teach us all to make it. Zwiebelkuchen is an onion tart that is made from pastry, onions and German ham. Ben is adding lots of extra flavour by using caraway seeds.
Cassava cake is a very popular dessert in the Philippines, so Reese is making a very special version for her friends to try when they come to visit. Reese's family come from the Philippines and this recipe is a family favourite. This is a cake that has lots of savoury ingredients such as cheddar cheese and cassava but also includes sweet flavours such as condensed milk and coconut cream.
Valentina is making a Greek vegetarian moussaka for her friends because her family is from Greece. Her delicious recipe is loaded with fresh vegetables such as courgettes and aubergines and topped with green lentils packed with goodness. She finishes it off by making a yoghurt topping and covering everything with grated cheese. Some of Valentina's friends don't like the taste of cooked aubergine on its own.
Malika shows us how to make her family recipe for fish ball tagine. Malika's dad is Moroccan and he has taught Malika to cook this tasty dish for her friends. She uses fresh fish poached in a range of spices and flavours including saffron, which makes the food turn a lovely yellow colour. Malika cooks the fish in a traditional Moroccan tagine, which has a cone shaped lid and a round pot. It's perfect for slow cooking fish, vegetables and even meat.
Ainsley Harriott
Self - Narrator
Sienna Ogunyemi
Streaming availability information not available
2019
Ameliya's family come from a country called Trinidad and Tobago, and today she is cooking a popular Trinidadian dish: pepper roti. Ameliya rolls out her dough into big circles before adding a very colourful filling of carrot, red pepper, cheese and her special ingredient, spinach. The roti are then rolled up into a cone, flattened and rolled out again before being cooked. Ameliya has a very special Trinidadian surprise for her friends while they eat, but will they enjoy her tasty spinach?
2018
Marina takes us to Mexico, cooking a traditional dish called enchiladas. Marina's dad has shown her how to make the recipe, which she really loves to eat. Marina grates, mixes and wraps up all her ingredients in tortilla bread and finishes with a squeeze of lime. Marina's friends taste the lime before they arrive, but they think it is a bit sour. Hopefully they will be impressed by her cooking and her special guest musicians: a traditional mariachi band.
Izaac is making a traditional recipe from his home county of Lancashire. The Chorley cakes are made from circles of pastry filled with a fruity filling of dried cherries and currants. Izaac works hard tickling the flour and butter together before turning it into dough, which he then has to carefully roll out. When Izaac's friends arrive he gives them a red rose, the symbol of Lancashire. Will Izaac's friends guess the special ingredient and will they enjoy it in his Chorley cakes?
Aniyah is cooking a Brazilian national dish for us today: Feijoada, a stew containing black beans and lots of other delicious ingredients which is served with rice. Aniyah works hard to prepare all the ingredients, including squeezing her own fresh orange juice and tearing up cabbage leaves to go on top. Brazil is famous for its carnivals, so Aniyah's table is carnival themed, complete with bright, colourful headdresses for her friends to wear while they eat.
Kugelis is a recipe from Lithuania that contains bacon and grated potato. Harry has so many potatoes to grate that he has to get his sister to help him! They both work incredibly hard to prepare the dish, which also uses eggs and spring onions. Harry cleverly decorates his table using traditional, beautifully coloured Lithuanian sashes. The kugelis is served with sour cream - let's hope Harry's friends love the taste!
Aksara is cooking a curry from Sri Lanka which contains a very special ingredient: tamarind paste. Her friends find the taste quite unusual at first, so let's hope they like it in the finished curry, once it has been cooked with lots of other lovely ingredients. Aksara has so many delicious ingredients to prepare that she has to get her sister to help! Aksara serves the curry in a traditional way - with rice and roti bread, on a banana leaf and with no knives and forks.
Mateo's mum is from Chile and she has shown him how to make a special Chilean dish. Sopaipillas are made with sweet potato dough and served with a colourful pebre made from tomatoes, spring onions and coriander. Mateo decorates his table with lots of plants and colourful flowers. There are even a few alpacas and llamas joining the party! Mateo also shows off his dancing skills to his friends while wearing a traditional Chilean costume.
Esmae is inviting her friends to her special seaside themed meal, complete with everyone's favourite seaside food. Esmae serves delicious fish with sweet potato wedges and tartar sauce, which contains her special ingredient: capers. Her friends are not too sure about the taste of capers when they try them before the meal, but let's hope Esmae can change their minds with the finished sauce. Esmae has even decorated her table to look like the beach!
Jake is making traditional Australian meat pies using a recipe that his dad has shown him. Jake makes two sets of different sized pastry circles and fills them with a mixture made from lamb mince. One of Jake's ingredients is black pepper, but his friends are not too sure about the taste when they try it before the meal. Let's hope they enjoy it in the cooked pies!
Choekyi has been shown a traditional way to make momos, which are a type of dumpling. First, Choekyi makes dough that is then rolled out into circles. She fills these circles with a mixture of spinach, cheese and mushrooms. When they tried mushrooms at first, Choekyi's friends did not really like the taste or smell. Let's hope they prefer them when they are cooked in the momos. Choekyi's recipe comes from Tibet, so when her friends arrive she greets them in a traditional Tibetan way.
Iaia is cooking for us today and he is making a delicious stew from Guinea-Bissau called Kansiye. The dish is made with lentils, although not all of his friends are sure about the taste and smell of them when they try them before the meal. Let's hope Iaia's cooked recipe, served with rice and carrots, changes their minds. Before serving, Iaia puts a vase of olive branches on his table, as these are a symbol of Guinea-Bissau.
Elsa is using salt fish to make a fishcake recipe she has learnt from her father. She starts by mashing potatoes with butter before adding lots of other tasty ingredients such as chives. Not everyone likes the taste of chives before they are cooked, but hopefully they will enjoy them in the finished recipe. When her friends arrive, Elsa greets them with a special pineapple drink served in pineapple-shaped cups. The fruity fun continues when Elsa's dad brings a plantain salad for them to enjoy with their fishcakes.
Banoffi pie was thought to have been invented in Sussex, and today Sonny-Mac is showing us how to make it. Sonny-Mac puts bananas and cream on top of a tasty base of crushed biscuits. He also adds his special ingredient, dates, to make it lovely and sweet. Not all his friends like the taste of dates at first, so let's hope they enjoy them when the pie is ready. Sonny-Mac serves the pie to his friends at a special tea party, where everyone dresses very smartly.
Marian is making gyuveche today, and works hard layering peppers, tomatoes and feta in beautiful Bulgarian pots. He then puts an egg on top of each one before it cooks in the oven. When his friends arrive, Marian is wearing traditional national dress and gives them all a traditional bracelet as a gift.
Nyama is a type of stew from Zimbabwe. It uses a special type of young cabbage leaf called spring greens, which Pippa adds to her stew along with lots of other delicious ingredients. Pippa works hard preparing all the spices, chicken, and shallots.
Brunsli Biscuits are a traditional Swiss recipe that taste and smell very Christmassy. Tilly adds spices such as ground nutmeg to her chocolate biscuit dough, before cutting it into snowflake shapes. With the help of her sister, Tilly decorates her biscuits with a beautiful white icing. Tilly's table has lots of Christmas decorations on it as well as the traditional flower of Switzerland, edelweiss. Let's hope Tilly's friends enjoy the taste of the biscuits!
Mason is making a traditional recipe from Yorkshire. Mason's recipe, Yorkshire pudding, is named after the place it comes from, and he hopes all his friends will like it as much as he does. Mason serves his recipe with broccoli, parsley and traditional Yorkshire gravy. One of his ingredients is horseradish, which none of his friends like the taste of at first.
Annabel's mum has shown her a special way to make a traditional Austrian desert called Kaiserschmarren, which she serves with blueberries and raspberries. Austria is famous for wonderful cakes, pastries and puddings, so let's hope that Annabel's friends like it as much as she does. Annabel dresses in traditional clothing and invites her friends to eat in her wooden Austrian chalet.
Naomi's mum has taught her a very special way to make a special Senegalese seafood dish called mafe fish. Naomi prepares all the ingredients for her friends, including her one very special vegetable, savoy cabbage. When they taste the savoy cabbage for the first time, Naomi's friends don't like it, so let's hope she can change their minds once it is cooked.
Today, Gabriel is making a famous dish from Cornwall that his mum has taught him. Cornish pasties are a traditional lunchtime meal where meat, vegetables or both are wrapped in a pastry case. Gabriel is using the vegetable swede, but his friends don't like the taste of it on its own. Hopefully they'll prefer it when they taste it in the finished pasties. Gabriel shows us a really clever way to crimp the pastry case and serves the pasties to his friends in a traditional way.
Indigo is showing us how to make a desert from New Zealand called pavlova. She works hard whisking the egg whites to make crispy nests called meringues. These are filled with kiwi fruit, a fruit that is named after a bird from New Zealand! Indigo also adds strawberries and whipped cream to her meringues. When her friends arrive, Indigo greets them with a traditional New Zealand greeting. Let's hope Indigo's friends like the taste of kiwi fruit when they eat it in her pavlova!
Kay has invited his friends to taste his Polish dill pickle soup, which his mum has shown him how to cook all by himself. Dill pickle is a popular Polish ingredient and Kay gets his friends to taste it before they eat the soup. Not all of his friends like the taste at first, but Kay hopes they will all enjoy the finished soup. As well as dill pickle, he uses spring onions, potatoes and carrot in his soup.
Hanna is cooking a very popular Japanese dish called sushi. Her recipe uses rice, which is one of the main crops from Japan. Hanna's special ingredient is Japanese seaweed called nori, which she uses to wrap up all of her colourful ingredients. Hanna and her friends eat the sushi with soy sauce after cleaning their hands with traditional hot towels.
Lexi and her family are from Wales and she is cooking Glamorgan sausages using two very special Welsh ingredients. Lexi uses Caerphilly cheese in her recipe, but her most important ingredient is leek, the Welsh national vegetable. She cuts, crumbles, rolls and cooks all the ingredients together into sausage shapes before serving them to her friends on her Welsh-themed table.
Balthazar is in the kitchen cooking a traditional Turkish revani cake, helped by his sister Serena and brother Ted. Coconut is a really important ingredient in his recipe, as it is put in the cake as well as on top. Balthazar invites his friends to taste the coconut before he cooks it, but they don't like it very much. He thinks he'll change their minds when they taste his finished cake.
Scarlet is cooking a colourful French vegetarian ratatouille, which her mum has taught her to make. The recipe is full of lovely fresh vegetables that Scarlet chops up and cooks for her friends. Scarlet's friends taste one of the main ingredients before they come round, but aren't too sure about courgettes at first. Hopefully Scarlet's recipe can change their minds. She serves it with french bread and creates a beautiful floral table setting.
Ryan's mum is Vietnamese and he is cooking a dish from Vietnam that she has taught him. He works hard in the kitchen mixing lots of ingredients together, including pork, prawns and fresh mint. He even finds time to teach us the Vietnamese word for egg! One of Ryan's ingredients is fresh mint, but not all of Ryan's friends like the taste or smell of it at first.
Talib is cooking a recipe that his mum has taught him, a colourful Tanzanian banana curry. After lots of chopping and mixing in the kitchen, Talib decorates a beautiful Tanzanian-themed table complete with gold animals. He also greets his friends with a greeting spoken in Swahili, a language spoken in Tanzania. Unripened bananas are an important ingredient in his curry, but not all of his friends are keen on the taste when they try it at first.
Catfish is a popular fish in Thailand and today Pearlina is serving it with sticky rice. She works hard in the kitchen, combining lots of ingredients to make a special Thai dressing to brush all over the fish. Before they come over, Pearlina's friends taste one of her important ingredients - lemongrass. They're not too keen on it at first, but Pearlina hopes they will like the taste of lemongrass when they taste it in her finished recipe.
Okai has invited his friends over for a traditional Ghanaian meal. Before they arrive, they have a taste of a very special ingredient, okra, which is also known as ladies fingers! Okai's friends don't really like the taste or texture very much, so he has to work very hard in the kitchen to make a tasty, colourful stew for them to enjoy. Okai also impresses his friends by wearing a brightly coloured Ghanaian shirt that matches his beautiful Ghanaian table decorations.
