(energetic music)
- This is a dish that our community have
suggested we try for a while.
- I can't let you beat me at geography again.
Wow, this is incredible.
- What, is that?
I'm getting quite full.
Amazing. - [Jamie] Not to my taste.
I wouldn't go outta my way to make it.
(laughs) I hate this game
so much. - The best game ever.
(upbeat music)
- Okay boys, are you ready for round one?
- Oh yes. - Mm hm!
- Simple game, you guys have been
pretty close at this so far.
Today we want a winner.
Remove your blindfolds on the first dish in 3, 2, 1.
What do we got?
- Oof. - Ho ho, we've got
Barry's chicken pie!
- We've got up, a beautifully...
A beautiful pie.
Now, interesting.
What're your bets inside?
- Blackbirds.
- Christmas-y?
- [Jamie] Christmas blackbirds.
Mince! - [Barry] Mincey.
- Mince. (Barry laughs)
- We've given it to you just on its own today,
but typically it might be served
with roasted vegetables,
perhaps some pickled vegetables,
a dollop of cranberry sauce,
a bit of tartness,
or sometimes even ketchup.
- It's actually quite, very delicately spiced.
- It is, it's earthy.
- For something so meaty,
it's quite fragrant as well.
- What meat are we talking?
- Beef.
- And?
- Yeah, I'm gonna say beef and pork.
It's like bolognese-y.
- [Ben] With a mirepoix base.
And you're right, you're picking
out some of those Christmas spices.
It's got, nutmeg, clove, little bit of cinnamon,
and some potato in it,
to kinda help bind it. - [Barry] Ooh!
- It's flipping fantastic
is what it is. - [Barry] Oh yeah, love it.
It feels really obvious as a pie.
I'm amazed I've never had it before. (laughs)
- Different regions in this particular country
will have slightly different versions.
It might not be made with pork and beef.
It could have veal in it,
it could have game meat in it.
The pastry, in this case,
is short crust around the sides
and base and puff on top.
This is a dish that our community
have suggested we try for a while.
You're obviously enjoying it, Jay.
Any idea which country it's from?
I need you to jot it down on your board.
If you get it spot on, you get five points.
If you both get it wrong,
then whoever is closest takes a point.
1, 2, 3!
France and Ireland.
- Ooh! - Ooh.
- interesting, yeah. - Ireland!
- Really?
- Why did you both pick those places?
- It feels very close to home.
You know what I mean?
They're ingredients that we, again,
with the root vegetables and so on,
said to me, you're not gonna go
too far away from our own shores.
- I put France because of things like mirepoix,
things like-
- He threw you there.
- It could be veal.
- Mhm.
- That led me down the more European
route than being UK based.
- This dish is from...
Canada.
It is French Canadian.
- Oh! - Quebec.
- The clues were there.
- I'm closer. (laughs)
(everyone laughing)
- So whilst Jamie, you are on the right tracks.
Unfortunately Barry is 680 miles closer.
- I hate this game so much. - This is the best game ever.
- Therefore takes one point.
What you have in front of you is Tourtiere.
So it is sometimes made with veal or game,
- Funny, sounds French.
- It is, it is French. - That game,
could even be moose. I didn't wanna give you that clue.
- That's right. - Of course, yeah, yeah.
- French Canadian.
Think Quebec originally, but now all
over different regions of Canada.
Right down to the boarder of the USA.
And if you think about the climate in the country,
it's the hearty, wholesome, really rich calorific dishes
like Poutine or in this case Tourtiere,
very similar in their comfort blanket style,
especially at Christmas.
Typically it might be served after midnight mass.
So where Christians go to church
and welcome in Christmas Day in honour of Jesus.
This would be kind of that hearty dish to come home
to as that first taste of Christmas.
- What I love about it is like we are used to
in the UK having like a centrepiece meat-based dish.
- Yeah.
- But you usually spend a lot of money on,
it's a bit scary to do.
In this case, you're taking minced meat,
which is cheaper.
- I really like that.
I can see ways of cheating that.
- Yeah.
- To make it easier to do with less
technique in making the pastry.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- But I would love to, you know, grow the...
Nads, the moose nads to be able to make it
from scratch and do it properly.
- Maybe this year's your year.
As you take one point for your closest guess.
Let's move on to round two.
(upbeat music)
- Round number two.
Remove the blindfolds.
- Ooh. - Ooh.
- [Ben] Merry Christmas.
- Christmas. It's wrapped like a present.
- [Jamie] It is.
- [Ben] What's the gift inside?
- Twill? Banana leaf.
- The leaf, yeah.
It looks like it's been charred on the outside as well.
It's like it's been cooked in the-
- Banana leaf, yeah.
- Yeah, the wrapping paper.
- [Ben] Perfect for Christmas, right?
And the country in mind. this would
just be one thing as part of a Christmas meal.
Along with lots of other ingredients
- What's that? - [Ben] like chicken stews,
- I don't know what it is. - [Ben] pastries...
and the alike.
- Tell you, this reminds me of like tamales in terms of-
- Yeah.
- It looks like a...
A steamed starch.
- [Ben] Yeah.
The starch is corn.
- [Barry] Okay.
- Ooh.
- Yeah, it looks like you got kind of, pulled porky looks.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Ben] Let's play guess the meat.
- I'm guessing,
by looking at, pork. - Pork.
- [Ben] Where in the world is your tongue going?
- Oh, okay.
They're the flavours.
They didn't smack you in the face.
I was expecting really spicy.
- There's no spice.
- No.
- No like, heat spice.
But there is beautifully tender pork.
It's sweet, capers.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- The corn on the outside is amazing.
- When we discussed the cooking methods around the world
and we actually made our own tamales.
It's a similar process.
It's kind of got a stock through the massive flour
and then the filling inside has got all sorts in there.
You've already spotted so many of those
from capers to dried fruit.
It's got some olives and it's got mixed cooked meat,
pork, chicken, beef...
Slow cooked, obviously quite a process to
pull it together and then to wrap it in the corn,
dough and then to wrap that in the banana leaf
as you spotted and then to tie that
and then to heat them.
So, in this instance, in this country,
part of a feast at Christmas.
On the count three, turn your boards around.
1,
2,
3.
You've both gone.
- No! - Yes!
- [Ben] Venezuela, why?
- I, my head show went towards Brazil
because of weirdly the banana leaf, the pulled pork.
It feels like I've had dishes
from Brazil with those ingredients.
But then we've done Brazil recently
and I kind of thought that you go next to Brazil.
- Yeah.
- Venezuela is something we haven't looked too much into.
- I can reveal that one of you,
have got it as close as the other, bang on.
- We did it.
- No way!
- [Ben] Venezuela.
- [Jamie] Yeah! (laughs)
- [Barry] Come on! - Five points each,
Merry Christmas.
- Oh. - Oh, wow.
- Look at us. - Look at us.
And it's meaningless now cause-
- Yeah.
(both laughing)
- This is Hallacas.
It originated when the enslaved people during
the colonial times would've made an amazing Christmas meal,
for the landowners and all the off cuts of meat,
they would then mix with dried fruit, capers, olives,
all those wonderful flavours and spices,
bound it up and that was what they
enjoyed as a Christmas meal.
And still to this day, it's a part of that celebration,
and every family does it slightly differently
but it's part of a feast along with other pastries
and chicken stew and other bits and pieces.
- Personally, I have no idea how to make
that myself at home, it looks quite daunting to me.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
What I find really interesting,
I know we've explored this recently as well is
food that has come out of necessity using
the off-cuts of meat that were being served
to the landowners for instance, and turning it
into something that's incredible in its own right.
That's astonishing.
- And interestingly now to flip it, to go and create that
now you need to go and buy pork and beef and chicken.
It's actually now quite an involved and...
Like high-end dish because you need all
of those different proteins to pull together to make a dish.
Where as you're absolutely right,
it kind of came out of necessity.
But Christmas, regardless of your situation
it's still possible to come round great food
and celebrate, and that's what that dish
originally did and still does today.
So Jay, congratulations.
You've got five points.
Unfortunately Barry's still just ahead
with six, the halfway mark.
Let's move on to round three.
- [Announcer] If you are enjoying this, there are some small
things you can do that make a big difference to us.
Like the video.
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Thanks.
(upbeat music)
- Okey dokey.
Number three, remove the blindfolds.
- I'm getting quite full.
- Oh! - Oh no!
- Don't be fooled yet.
- Wait a minute... - [Ben] Merry Christmas.
- [Barry] You've got, that looks
like gammon and mystery pie.
- [Ben] So you've got some kale and a nice glazed ham
but the real dish we're concentrating on here...
Is in the blue dish.
- [Barry] Ooh. - [Jamie] Ooh.
- What, is that?
- That's not what I was expecting in there.
- [Ben] What were you expecting?
- [Barry] I was expecting some sort of like gooey meat.
- Mm, cottage pie.
- I can smell.
Yeah, I can smell.
Root vegetables, like sweet potato or swede.
- Oh, breadcrumbs are not stuck on well.
(Ben laughs)
- It's got a crispy breadcrumb-y top.
The filling is enriched with egg and cream, some spices
- [Jamie] Nutmeg.
- Bit of nutmeg, got some ginger in there.
- It looks sweeter than it is.
- It has got a little bit of sweetness through it.
I think a little bit of treacle
goes into this particular dish.
Again, every version is slightly different.
- Treacle... - Treacle?
- [Ben] But, do you like it?
- [Barry] I do like it as a side.
- [Ben] Yup.
To your ham and kale. - [Barry] Gotcha, gotcha.
- [Ben] But it is this dish that crops up at Christmas
quite a lot in this particular country.
- I'm unsure of it in terms of flavour and I think it's
because one of the main ingredients in there
is something I'm not a fan of.
Is it turnip?
- No, it's not turnip.
Although sometimes it goes by the name wax turnip.
- Swede?
- Rutabaga.
- What is that?
- Otherwise known, as swede.
- Oh, okay.
- But where do you think this is from?
Flip your boards in 3, 2, 1.
You have the Netherlands and South Africa.
- For the same reason.
- [Jamie] The Dutch.
- [Barry] I thought there was a big Dutch influence on this.
- Yeah.
- I thought there was a big like European influence.
Therefore I said South Africa.
- But I went cold because of the root veg and the,
the warmly-ness of it.
- Yeah, no, true.
- You've gone for a very logical reason.
You're both wrong.
(Jamie laughs)
- [Ben] But, let me explain the logic.
This particular country also has really harsh winters
and therefore things like root vegetables
along with oats and barley last a long time.
So rutabaga or the wax turnip or swede...
In this casserole is really common at Christmas.
This dish is from, Finland.
- Think you might be closer.
- I'll take that one.
(Barry laughs) I'll take that one.
- Which Jay puts you a little bit closer.
5,352 miles closer.
- I, do you know what Finland crossed my mind because
of the temperature. - Yeah, yeah.
- It was the temperature thing that I was going for.
- Yeah.
- Finland crossed my mind but it wasn't fermented,
(Ben and Barry laughing)
and I just thought there's nothing fermented there.
So there's no shark or anything like that.
So it can't be Finland.
- Yep. That's from Finland.
Do you wanna know what it's called?
- Can you pronounce what it's called?
- Oh, wow.
- L A N T T U L A A T I K K O.
Lanttulaatikko, no, we'll put it on screen.
(Jamie laughs)
- [Jamie] That's not gone to the top of my Christmas list.
- [Ben] Not even as one of the sides on the table?
- [Jamie] No, I-
- As an elevated version of your smashed swede?
- I'd have a bit of it.
I would have a bit of it because it was there.
- Yeah.
- [Jamie] I personally, it's not to my taste.
I wouldn't go outta my way to make it.
- I think that's fair.
I think it's quite a homely, comforting dish.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Ben] What I actually think is that would be a great meal
for the days between Christmas and New Year
because it is that still comforting thing.
But loads of kale, a little bit of baked ham
and that swede casserole with those spices, hit the spot.
- [Jamie] Interesting. (gasps)
We're back to even Stevens.
- It puts you level pegging at six points
each as we go into the final round.
- You couldn't write this stuff.
- I know!
- Let's see if we can find ourselves a Christmas winner.
(upbeat music)
Round four.
You got your lucky Christmas hats on reveal in 3, 2, 1.
- Oh my god.
- Wha... (laughs) - Gosh!
What have we done?
- Merry Christmas.
- [Barry] Whatever country this is they're the
luckiest people in the world.
(Jamie laughs) Because this is insane.
- [Jamie] That is a cacophony...
- [Barry] Mm. - [Jamie] Of food.
- [Ben] Start digging in like what have we got there?
- Like tuna, tartare.
- Yep. Classic extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper.
- [Barry] Sea bass an celeriac.
- You've got bream there.
- [Barry] Bream. - Yup.
And it's on top of some fennel in bits and pieces.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- [Ben] You've got chilli, garlic mussels,
giant extra large mussels.
- You got a pasta dish.
- [Ben] Yup, tomato and chilli with all
sorts of seafood and shellfish.
We've got a seafood soup with some wonderful crostinies.
It's got pine nuts in it as well.
Octopus... Squid...
Mussels... Prawns...
And basil leaves, as like a fritto misto.
- That's the most ridiculous calamari I've ever had.
Wow. This is incredible.
- [Ben] Obviously an absolute feast there.
And the dishes themselves will again change
from Christmas to Christmas and family to family.
But there is obviously a common theme.
Where in the world do you think we are?
Turn around your boards...
in 3... 2... 1...
Go!
Italy and Spain,
specifically San Sebastian. - Oh.
- [Barry] I purely went down Sebastian because
I was like I've never been, but in my head it's
like topse-y, fishy wonders from around.
- I went Italy because okay, sure.
- Yeah. - A linguini dish.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- But, basil leaves.
- Yeah. - Pine nuts.
- Yeah. - For what it,
and you know like the anchovy.
What it led me to was a more specific region,
of Italy, I was thinking more like Sardinia,
and that kind of, you know like-
- [Barry] Because the sardines.
- Yeah, because of sardines, yeah.
But it just...
Yeah.
- But what annoys me is that I go Italy a lot.
And I've never ever heard of this,
so that's why I was like, it can't be.
- Have you been there at Christmas?
- No, I haven't.
- Well, there we go.
- I kind of like your thinking, Jay, because
it was level pegging and we thought that
if you both guessed the same country
we'd ask you for a city within the country.
Jay, you are incredibly correct with South Italy.
- Well done. (cheering and applauding)
- [Ben] It is a Southern Italy tradition.
- Well done.
- [Ben] Actually, commonly - [Jamie] Yes.
- [Ben] now eaten by lots of Italian Americans,
in America, but traditionally originated in Italy.
It is the Feast of Seven Fishes,
and it is enjoyed on Christmas Eve.
- [Jamie] Wow. - [Barry] Wow.
- I mean that is such...
- Wow. - A feast.
- Seven different dishes.
Yes, the dishes change but they
are a celebration of feast, special times.
And it is that that magic number seven
which has so many kind of traditions in a lot
of religion and in this case the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
- Amazing.
- That is a sensational platter.
Heavens, what does that do to the final scores?
Just out of interest.
- [Ben] Well- - What's he doing?
- [Ben] Just to remind you, you were level pegging
before that final round. - Mhm.
- [Ben] and then you took five points, Jamie,
- [Jamie] Oh, wow.
- [Ben] so you win with 11 to 6.
- Congratulations Jamie.
You know what?
When the food tastes this good
I don't care who wins.
- [Ben] We're all winning.
- Some days, astonishing.
- But you do care a little. (Ben laughs)
- [Barry] No, I don't care.
- But you do care a little bit.
- No, I don't.
- You know how at Christmas families argue over games?
- [Jamie] Mm. - Yes. (laughs)
Well done Jamie, you take this year's,
Christmas dishes from around the world win.
And thank you to you guys for sharing all of your ideas.
It's what Christmas is about.