(upbeat music)
- Hello and welcome back.
Today is one of our favorite games.
It's pretentious ingredients.
- [Mike] And today we have the Prince of Pretension
and a Parisian in the hot seat.
- Wait. (Barry laughs)
- Alex FrenchGuyCooking.
- [Alex] I would never step foot in production ever.
Thank you for having me.
- No problem. Thank you for joining us.
- In which case we'll dive straight into cloche number one.
- Lift it please.
- Okay. - You're our guest.
Welcome to Pretentious.
- Ahh!
- Ooh, it looks like saffron, yeah.
- [Alex] At first.
- Big, long strands of saffron. What's it feel like?
You know, when you get really thick hair in your beard?
One of those.
- I'm still waiting.
(Barry laughs)
- Because I was expecting like a culinary comment at first
and he said, you know like these hair in your beard,
I were, alright.
(group chuckles)
- Yeasty.
- By all means, have a taste if you want,
if you can identify it. Your first impression was saffron.
This is not that.
- It smells metallic.
- There's a bit of heat going on with this.
There's a bit of heat. It's like the peel of a chili.
Maybe it's the skin of a chili.
That's just supposed to be fine.
That's why you would smell like paprika
and have a bit of heat maybe.
- It's sweet. It's sweet as well.
- Well, boys, this is angel hair chili.
- [Ben] Not the hair of a human, the hair of an angel.
- So these are hot and fruity strands
of chili and are stunning decoration
on top of noodle, sushi, and ramen.
- So some sort of super thin then.
- Yeah, so it, from the north region of China
and it's a particular chili and they are cut so fine
that they become beautiful, beautiful garnish.
- Ooh.
- So pretentious. Even the title is in French.
(group laughs)
- I didn't wanna say it. (Alex speaks in French)
You can. (Alex speaks in French)
- Okay.
- [Mike] So it comes from a company that was set up
by a French guy who traveled the world
and loved finding new ingredients
and was bringing them back.
- Cut after harvesting, this light angel hair adorns
and spices up your dishes. I understand its purpose now.
And there is a very subtle flavor to it.
And I think it, I think it could finish off the dish nicely.
- Should we find out?
- Or setting it up? - Sure.
- [Mike] So this is crab rice. So it's rice mixed
with white and brown crab meat,
sesame oil mirin and soy topped with caviar,
crisp pork skin, crisp pork skin, crab meat.
- Get outta here.
- Pickled vegetables and angel hair chili,
served in a crab shell.
- We whip how the caviar for this man?
- [Mike] Obviously. - Wow.
- It's the pretentious series, right?
(group laughs)
- Dig in. - [Alex] It's like on brand.
- Have a taste and see whether the angel hair chili
makes any difference whatsoever.
(upbeat music)
- A lot of caviar there.
- It tastes amazing though. - Wow.
- There's no heat going through it.
If there was some heat, maybe that would be interesting,
but I don't think it's serving a purpose.
I hope this is not too expensive.
- On its own, it tastes of something, not much,
but something. On a very delicate well-balanced dish
that it's absolutely divine, it disappears.
- It gets lost. - [Barry] Yeah.
- It's definitely got the visual appeal.
We had some before we started filming this.
And you have to have a fair few strands and I was getting-
- That's what I thought.
- [Ben] The same notes- - Exactly.
- [Ben] You were getting. - My thoughts exactly.
- [Ben] Slightly metallic.
- It's a little bit about the company, Terre Exo-
Oh, I'm gonna be judged here. Terre Exotique.
So the founder tasted pepper in the Pena Plantation
in Cameroon and he yearned to try other specialist peppers
and spices. So founded the company.
And they work closely with specialist farmers and producers
around the world to bring the very best pepper spices
and salts to our tables.
- Sometimes they are used in Japanese cuisine as well,
where they go by another name.
But essentially I'm sensing more style of a substance.
(Nick speaks in Japanese)
- Thank you.
- Would you like to guess how much that tin cost?
Key, tin. They never produce anything in plastic.
- I'd say it's probably a 10er?
- 10 pounds from Alex.
- 10 pounds. Remembering the episode we're in,
I'm gonna say 15.
- Would we change your opinion if I told you
that this sells for £5.99?
- Oh.
- Yes. For me at least.
- Yeah. And you get quite a lot crammed into a tin.
Even though it's not like a flavor sensation,
it does make the dish look better.
- The eating experience that you keep coming back to though,
isn't it?
- Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Mike] Both of you.
- It's also something we can't achieve on our own.
I can only buy it and so if I can only buy it,
I'd rather buy it, you know, affordable,
at an affordable price than an expensive one.
- I think having reviewed some of the other spices and herbs
and chilies from this company,
I think what they do is open up the opportunity
for you to try new things and go on a bit of a journey.
Whether when you bring it back,
it's something you want to eat on your plate,
is another question.
- Well it's the name of the game.
Alex, the angel hair chili, pretentious or not?
- I think it's a bit pretentious. Yeah.
It's not snobbish but it's like irrelevant and like useless.
- Not snobbish, but irrelevant and useless.
- It's style of a substance.
- He loves it.
- I love it. (group laughs)
No, I think 'cause that it falls
into the pretentious category, just.
- If it were to be scotching hot.
- Mm. - I would love it.
- Mm.
- One down. Two pretentious is. Let's move on to number two.
- Pretenti? - [Alex] Okay.
- Two pretenti.
(upbeat music)
- Boys, lift the cloche on number two.
- [Both] Ooh.
- What do you think? Straight off the bat then?
- It's olive oil. I mean that's the initial vibe right?
- [Ben] Yeah. Initial. It's a very luminous green olive oil
metics. - It can be quite green.
- Cheers. - Cheers man.
- That smells like olive oil.
- [Ben] Okay.
- Jeff?
- He's very fruity. Extremely fruity. It's crazy.
It's almost like peach, almost.
- Tasting note.
- Barry, just wants to drink it.
- Have a couple of tasting notes from each of you.
- [Mike] Alex is really getting into it
and Barry's is like, "Bro, hurry up. I want to eat it."
- I've got a, I've got a potential quote for this one.
Usually with wine and fast, they say you pick it up,
you look at it, you smell it, and then you put it back.
And then you talk about it.
- Just shove it your mouth.
- Okay, sorry.
(Barry laughs)
- So you start off and you have some really delicate flavors
but then the olive oil burn starts to come as well.
- Like the throat pinch.
- The pepperiness is it?
- [Alex] Anybody could feel that this smells amazing.
It's like complex. Whatever there is,
there are flavors in there.
- It gives me like freshly cut grass vibes.
- Yes. - [Barry] As well.
- [Alex] Sunny one, sunny one.
- Excellent tasting note.
- There's also tomato vibe going.
- Oh yeah. - Tomato vibe.
- Tomato vine. - Yes. Vine. Tomato vine.
- It's like, yeah, yeah.
- [Mike] I'm gonna put you out of your misery.
This is first day harvest gold reserve
extra virgin olive oil. And it's been made
in partnership with Monica Galetti.
- Okay right. Yes. - This is almost.
- This is a single mart. Okay. Almost.
- It comes in a glitter cannon.
- Well, I mean. To be honest, 'cause I'm gonna,
I'm expecting this is gonna be super pricey.
The butter is just like, ugh.
I'm paying full price for this.
I expect a cork, you know.
- Ooh.
- And also a dark butter 'cause this is going to damage
the oil inside. Like I'm slightly disappointed
by the lightness of the glass.
- And also the tin comes it in, gives me tennis ball vibes.
- Oh. - I mean.
- Is that a tennis ball smell?
- Yeah. - Looking for a smell as well.
- Yeah.
- Yeah I'm getting, (indistinct) maybe.
(Barry laughs)
- Should I give you some of the tasting notes
that they suggest you might get from it?
This is startling green, intensely pure olive oil
with notes of freshly mowed lawns.
- Yes.
- Oh.
- [Ben] Tomato vines.
- Yes.
- Stuffed vine leaves, artichoke, granny smiths,
and aromatic sap of fig trees.
- What does first day of harvest really mean?
- So exactly that. It is the first harvest
and first pressing. So we're talking the greener olives
before they've had chance to really ripen.
You get more of that acidity,
but also that sort of brassy vegetal green notes,
which is what gives it its vibrancy.
- And is that mean they're less juicy?
So it's harder to get. - And you get less from it?
- [Barry] Oil out from it? - Yeah.
So it's also a supply and demand kind of thing.
Much like grapes, if you wait later in the season,
they plump up, they become juicier, they become riper,
and then you get more oil from it.
But it's a softer flavor.
- We don't even know which species of like olive they use.
- It might be on the back, but I don't-
- Yeah, but it should be- - [Ben] It might not be.
- It should be on the front at least.
'Cause they should be proud of it.
- [Ben] Yeah. Yeah.
- It's almost like if it's super expensive,
they should make the ingredient shine at least.
- For a second. Just appreciate how bang on we got it.
I can't-
- Your tasting notes were good. Well done.
- [Barry] It's Amazing. - I gave you pat on the back.
Alex, let's move on.
- I want more. I'm never ever doing it that close.
- Alex, you did a great job.
- Would you like some food to try it with?
- Yes.
(upbeat music)
- What'd you make of that lads?
- [Barry] Flipping heck.
- [Alex] Yeah that looks amazing.
- [Ben] Given it's the Spanish olive oil.
It's more of an Italian dish.
Strap your teller, baratta.
- [Mike] If you are loving the sound of this,
you can check it out on our brand new sorted food tab
on sidekick. Scan the QR code now or click the link
in the description box below.
- Right. Let me just open this up.
Oh dear.
- [Mike] It's very slow pour.
- [Barry] Oh yeah, I love that.
- [Mike] It's a nicely controlled, very slow pour.
- [Ben] Oh my goodness. Look at that.
- That looks like a burger almost right?
- Yeah, it needs a top isn't it?
- Yeah. - Yup.
- Dig in. - [Alex] Come in.
Yes. Okay, cool.
- [Ben] As is.
- [Mike] Has his got jaw locked.
- The last round, delicate dish.
Delicate ingredient. Ingredient was lost.
On this, both delicate, but the olive oil
is still punching through.
- So Monica said, so she tried the oil
from this particular producer, which is in Andalusia, Spain.
And she said she loved it from the first time she tried it
at La Gavroche when she was working there.
And she said that she began to use it on everything,
from dressing, even cooking, simply as a dip for bread,
but versatile across everything.
And she since worked directly with that grower and that mill
to get to do this first day harvest.
And the mill is, well it's won over 50 awards
and has been accredited as the best olive oil mill
in Spain by the corporation.
- [Mike] So what do you think?
- What's the price on this?
- Whoa. Good question. You have to guess.
- What do you think it might be?
- First day of harvest. It sounds like a song almost.
The first day of harvest. They harvest this
on the first moon of August. I'm thinking like 28,
but that doesn't sound enough. I'm gonna go 35 maybe.
- Whoa. I'm going a little bit lower at like 25 pounds.
- That bottle there.
- No, I don't like that face.
- Is 95 pounds.
- See. Thought about this. This is a scam.
95 pounds for a pint of olive oil.
- Is that pint? - It's pint.
- Pint's quite expensive in London.
- Olive oil is expensive. Good olive oil is very expensive.
That is great olive oil. And that is extortion.
- [Alex] Extortion.
- It jumps up from being an expensive bottle of oil to out,
something that's inaccessible.
- In which case, only one question left.
- I don't think it's pretentious.
I think it's like off charts in terms of price,
but I think it's so good. I wouldn't buy it.
But is it pretentious? I don't think so.
Even if I were to be wealthy, I would buy this all the time.
I would only buy it. I would bathe.
No, I wouldn't bathe in it.
- I think you are right. At 95 pounds of bottle
for olive oil, it's not pretentious.
- It's premium?
- It's just very premium.
- It's very expensive.
- Right.
It's time to wrap your flip flops out because this summer,
sorted live brings you the wild weekender.
A festival style weekender of live streamed sorted mayhem.
(upbeat music)
Tickets available now. See the link below
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Boys. Number three, last one. Lift the cloche.
- Please.
- Oh.
- What do we have there?
- That I think.
- Could that be like that honey
that you can find in Indonesia?
The one that is very hard to get.
- [Barry] It looks like almost like in color.
Tamarind color. It's a very dark-
- [Alex] It's very dark. - [Barry] Dark honey if it is.
- Grab it, sniff it, taste it. Tell us your thoughts.
- It's sniffing like honey. It's woody almost.
It's like a robust.
- Compared to a cheap drizzly honey. It's not as sticky.
It's like, it's got more texture to it and more grainy
but not like in a good way.
- Not a set honey as such. But it's getting there.
- Yeah, yeah.
- It's very strong though.
- Boys. This is Manuka Health MGO 1000 plus Manuka Honey.
- [Alex] Now this is a packaging.
- Oh no I-
- It's like a wedding proposal.
- Do you like that packaging?
- I love that packaging.
- I love that packaging as well.
I love a good story. This is a great story.
- I'm really nervous.
- Why? - Why?
- I'm worried because I've bought a,
some Manuka honey in the past,
and it's been expensive and it's been like 10 MGO.
- So I think 30 is the lowest of the scale.
But it goes from 30 up to, well this is a thousand plus.
- So this exclusive single origin Manuka honey
comes from the far north of New Zealand,
a region known for producing exceptional Manuka honey.
It's sustainably sourced. The purity, potency,
and exceptional natural properties
have been carefully protective from hive to jar.
Manuka honey is generally expensive as you said
mainly because it's limited supply
and it's labor intensive process required to produce it.
- [Ben] Manuka being the name of the tree
that the bees use to, and they have a very,
very short season. So during that very short season,
bees get the pollination and it's out
in those very remote regions.
- So why does it say health on it?
- You'll see some abbreviations.
You've got MGO and you've got UMF.
MGO stands for methyl glyoxal,
which is a natural compound found in high concentrations
in Manuka honey, is responsible
for the honey's antibacterial properties.
And the higher the MGO levels,
the more potent the antibacterial effects.
- It has got that almost caramelized note to it.
And you said woody in one the tasted notes.
And I think that is testament to the manuka trees as well.
Rather than if you were to get, you know,
a Spanish orange blossom honey,
which is much more floral and citrusy.
This gives you that almost woody resin like note.
- I can't think when I'd use it,
other than just as a spoon full.
- Well, to be perfectly honest,
because of the health or perceived health properties,
it's actually designed for a spoonful.
- Oh, spoonful. Okay.
- So UMF, which you'll also see on the label,
is short for unique manuka factor.
So it's a grading system specific to manuka honey.
So the UMF measures the presence of certain chemical markers
which contribute to its unique properties.
- As with so many of these things
it's cause and correlation as well.
Like there are so many antioxidants in that
and we know they are good for the body.
Whether eating a teaspoon of it,
triggers the same reaction is another story.
But we are not scientists, nutritionists, dieticians.
We are just telling you about the grading system.
- Obviously as a guest, Alex,
we couldn't just have you eating this off teaspoons.
- Okay. Okay. Sorry. 'Cause I was going for another one.
- [Mike] Honey sandwiches?
- Wow. (Barry laughs)
- Wow. Really amping up like the presentation.
- This is just-
- That series deserves the name.
- Wind him up. - The title.
"Pretentious ingredients." That's crazy.
What is that? Yogurt.
- That's just a bowl of yogurt.
So we keep it super simple.
- I'm glad I came to be honest.
Such an amazing present.
- What's happening here?
- Pooh would appreciate it.
- A couple of things to eat it in situ.
If you wish to eat it, like honey.
Drizzle it over some yogurt.
- Okay.
- [Nick] Stick it on some- - All right.
- Wonderful. Freshly baked pan.
- I wouldn't use the P word if I were you.
- No, no. Don't use the French word for this one.
- This is weird honey. - [Nick] Straight in.
- [Barry] Honey and yogurts sandwich.
- First of all, I've never heard of Manuka honey
before that taste. Never, ever.
I'm not even sure what that tree looks like.
- There's such remote parts of the island,
that there's no other air traffic, transport traffic, other-
- But from the plane. That's taking the honey from it.
I wish I experienced the same sensation
that you are experiencing right now.
It's almost like you're glowing. Are you?
(Mike laughs)
In a good way. In a good way. In a good way.
- That's the health benefits.
- [Alex] No, no, no. Yes.
- Let's talk price. So considering the MGO content
is a thousand plus and Manuka honey starts at 30.
- Wow. - [Mike] How much do you think
we paid for this specific honey?
- I'm gonna have to guess. 'Cause as I told you,
this is the first time I'm even having manuka honey
and this one seems to be like the apex of all Manuka honey.
So I'm thinking maybe it's gonna be 150, maybe.
- [Ben] 150 Alex.
- I've seen Manukas out there for over a thousand pounds.
- What?
- I am afraid.
- [Ben] That you know us.
- Afraid that we have not bought that bottle.
And I'm gonna go down to like even,
just even the idea of just 200
makes people a little bit sick, but 200 quid.
- Well I can tell you this specific jar retails
for 300 pounds.
- Wow.
- And I think that was even reduced by a 100.
- It doesn't make it tastier to be honest.
And since I haven't experienced the health benefits,
I'm just like- - Yeah.
- Blind. - You wait till later.
On night, you're gonna be floating.
- You think? You think so?
I might have another spoon full.
- It'll be buzzing. It'll be buzzing.
- [Alex] I'd be buzzing. Right.
- [Mike] So pretentious or not?
- Of course it is.
- Yes. It'd have to be.
- Double pretentious. Question is, it's over to you guys.
What did you think about those three ingredients?
Pretentious or not? You decide in the comments down below.
- [Mike] And thank you Alex for joining us.
- Pleasure.
- Go and follow Alex, go and subscribe to his channel.
It's absolutely amazing. All the details are down below.