(egg cracked into pan)
(pan sizzles)
(bright happy sparkles)
- Hello and welcome back to Sorted Food.
- Now today, is a very special day
because we have Poppy back in the studio!
- What!?
- Yes! And she will be reviewing
some potentially pretentious ingredients.
- Now Poppy, the first question we have to ask you
is what does pretentious mean to you?
- Oh. Something that people think is worth more
than it actually is.
- That's a really simple way of looking.
Yeah, makes a lot of sense.
- Should've said that for the last three years or so.
Shouldn't we have? Yeah.
- Okay, I'm really excited.
- Should we start with product number one?
- Yes!
- Lift the cloche
- Okay. CBD bitters, non alcoholic.
Oh but it's got CBD in it,
so I suppose I actually don't need the alcohol. Okay.
- So Poppy, this is the world's first
non-alcoholic, CBD bitters that have been designed
to amplify tonics, juices, and cocktails,
helping to enhance social experiences and support overall
wellbeing. Or so they say.
- As a chef, do you use bitters often, in food or in drink?
- Cocktails yes, definitely.
But for myself, I don't like bitter drinks or bitter food,
really. That's my own personal preference.
- So not much experience in bitters.
- [Poppy] No.
- What about in CBD?
- No. Um, I gave it to my dog to calm it down.
(all laugh)
- Is that advised?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, For anxious dogs, anxious dogs.
Um, so, no. I haven't really tried it properly.
- So this is by a company called OTO
and they say that they've combined pure CBD,
cultivated from organically grown hemp plants,
with a bespoke range of botanicals with antioxidant
properties.
- It says on the box, it's spice botanical
with a hint of bitter orange, licorice, cardamom, and cacao.
- Ooh
- It is a little bit pretentious,
because look at the packaging and the bottle,
it is lovely though.
But it does look a little bit like a cologne maybe,
or like a shower gel also.
- Yeah, it's like a shower gel you get in a fancy hotel, isn't it.
- Yeah! And you nick it.
- The reputation behind CBD is that it takes all of the
antianxiety, the relaxation elements of cannabis,
but removes the bit that gets you high.
There are lots of conversations about CBD oils
and CBD products. We're not scientists. We don't
- Speak for yourself.
- We aren't scientists.
We're just here to see if it tastes good.
Okay. Poppy, to help you decide whether the CBD bitters
are pretentious or not.
We've given you a very pretentious looking cocktail.
It's a plum gin sour. Now at the moment,
it doesn't have any of the bitters in it.
So you can taste it. See what you think.
- So you can add three large dashes of the bitters
to your cocktail. They reckon that will deliver
an effective daily serving of 40 to 60 milligrams of CBD.
- That's very good on its own. It smells very good. Oh.
- I'm glad we got a chef in to stir the drink with a knife.
(upbeat happy music)
- Okay. Okay. It is botanically. It's herby.
You kind of get that cocoay back tone. I'm enjoying that.
That's actually very nice.
And it says you can put it in more than just a cocktail.
So you can put in juices and hot coffees.
That would be quite, that would be good in a coffee,
those botanical kind of flavours.
It's a little bit like Jagermeister flavour that very herby,
- Oh, interesting.
- Very nice, okay.
- Which really compliments that and I can imagine
would compliment quite a few things.
That's not like a bitters I've had before. I've got to say.
- Well, should we talk about price?
- That's what I'm nervous about.
- [Jamie] Okay
- Look at the, the packaging, the box,
everything screams expensive. I'm going to say £25.99.
- So for the OTO CBD bitters, we paid £89.99.
- No! No, I just put about half of it into there.
Oh my God. I'll just carry on drinking.
I'm going to put a bit more in.
- Well, there's only one question left to ask.
- Poppy, CBD Bitters, pretentious or not?
- Ah, I like it, but it is pretentious,
it's a hundred percent one of the most pretentious things
I've ever seen in my life.
And I'm going to buy one and put it on my bar
and make people look at it and go,
do you know how much this is? 89 quid. Cheers.
- And we're off to the races.
Strong start.
- Bring on the next? Poppy, you know what to do.
- Da da da. What is this? This looks beautiful.
- [Barry] Yes it does.
- Okay.
Oh! It's a load of dates
and they're filled with good things.
- These are Bateel's Assorted Filled Dates,
Bateel's say their gourmet dates are like no other.
These gold toned, ribbon wrapped boxes transform the aged
and revered fruit into a tasting experience
of sticky indulgence. Oh.
- Oh
- Sticky indulgence.
- Organically grown
- That's the best kind of date.
- The best kind of date, sticky indulgence. Come on,
organically grown and packed with the essential nutrients.
The Arabesque Collection is stuffed with an assortment
of caramelized nuts and dried fruit. Please, enjoy.
- Wow, I don't know what to go for first.
There's a pecan one. There's pistachio.
There's, there's an almond.
- Almond?
- Do they have almond ones?
- Yeah, they've got a-
- Right, not almond?
- Almond
- Almonds
- [All] Almond
- Almond
- Almonds
- Almond. Well we've really gone off track here.
- What, how do you say it?
- Almond
- Why are you doing? Almond
- Almond
Uh, I'll go for the almond first.
(upbeat happy music)
Sticky. It's lovely.
It's one of the nicest dates I've probably ever have had.
It's very sweet. It is like a, a candy.
And I can see if like,
maybe you don't want a box of chocolates.
This would be up absolutely delightful.
- I've gone for pistachio.
- [Jamie] I've gone for pecan.
- The pecan looks really good.
- I've got a lovely lovely flavor of pecan there.
- So these are grown just north of Riyadh
and they've got like over a hundred thousand trees.
Have you ever considered like buying dates as a gift,
as a trink? I'm guessing that's what the box is for.
- Yeah, no, no, because I don't think they are as popular
in the UK as they are in other countries.
And I don't think they are with the younger generations,
especially. I think it's lovely.
And I think there is a place for it.
And I think somebody would very much enjoy this.
I think one of the best things about it
is that you get to keep this box after,
which is a beautiful box.
- So consider that these are delicacy
and new to us in the UK,
what would you think that box there is priced at?
- Oh, I'm going to say we're looking towards
£60 to £70, maybe more.
Oh my god, it's so much more. Isn't it?
- Have another guess.
£100, £130
- £129.99
- Yes! That was my first guess.
Don't think I'll ever be in a position
where I can spend £129.99 on a box of dates.
I love it. And I think maybe for a special occasion,
if it's something that's close to you and that you
appreciate more than me, a hundred percent worth it,
cause they are delicious.
- Bateel's Assorted Dates, pretentious or not?
- I think for some people it's a hundred percent worth it,
so I don't think it's pretentious.
I think when there's that much,
that goes into it with any kind of product,
if it's, especially with produce as well,
because there is so much that you have to do to grow produce
and to keep that kind of,
what was it like a DOP or like a keeping it to what it is
and itself and making sure no one else can mimic it
is worth something. That, it is worth it.
It's just a lot of money. No, it's not pretentious.
- Oh my God. That's a £100 worth of dates.
(upbeat pop music)
Halfway through. How are you feeling?
- Calm, focused, and sweet and sticky.
I'm feeling good.
- I never thought I'd miss Ben's innuendos.
- No. I know!
- Lift the cloche.
- What? Okay. This is alcohol, I think.
And it's got gold in it. Yes!
- Poppy, this is Il Gustos Diamond Pink Vodka
with 22 carat gold flakes.
Packaged in a diamond shaped bottle,
this flavored pink vodka from Il Gusto features edible gold
flakes. And they say it's an excellent choice
for mixing drinks.
- Oh.
- I don't want to sound. It's a bit tacky. It's a bit tacky.
- Oh! Tacky?
- Tacky? This is a pretentious episode. How dare you?
- I don't know if it says anything different on the bottle,
but from what I can see, it's flavored vodka.
- [Poppy] Yeah!
- But the flavor is pink.
- I love that flavor of food, everything that I like.
I just that's what I that's why I'm a chef.
I just make pink.
- There's only one way to find out
what flavor this is, Poppy.
- Yeah! Are you guys having some?
- There are the shot glasses.
- Okay.
- [Poppy] Yay!
(upbeat happy music)
- It was
- [Poppy] Fruity!
- It is fruity.
- Its proper, okay pink's quite nice.
- It does smell pink.
- It does smell
- It does smell pink. Cheers?
That's very dangerous.
- That does not taste like vodka.
- [Poppy] No
- It tastes like sugar.
- It does taste a lot like sugar.
- Oh! That's really dangerous, that is.
Because you could, that's, that's like squash.
- Does it say what percentage is on the bottle?
- Uh, 20%. I don't, I don't believe
that there's alcohol in that.
- As a chef, can you pick out a flavor in there?
- It's berryish. Possibly a bit of rose.
Kind of in the floraly?
It's floraly berries, I think. I like it.
- So keen viewers, will remember that we purchased
a gin by the same company that was served
in a high heel shoe.
- I like it. I like the taste of it. I like the gold in it.
It's kind of cute. I just don't like the bottle.
For me, this is like something that someone buys you
for Christmas who doesn't know you very well.
- Oh yeah.
- Yeah. The taste of it's nice.
It's not, it's too easy to drink.
I think is my, is one of my problems with it.
- Well, would you like to taste it
in a traditional vodka setting?
- What? A pub?
(all laugh)
- Don't know what kind of pubs you go to, Poppy,
but this is a vodka martini
made with the pink diamond vodka.
- Oh, okay, that looks very, very pretty.
(upbeat happy music)
Okay. It doesn't taste like alcohol,
so it's a worrying thing. It's very nice. Very nice.
- So the point of a, like a martini or gin martini
or a vodka martini for me is essentially it's pure alcohol
you're drinking, and you sip it and it's ice cold,
and it's absolutely delicious. Is that coming through?
Is it spoiling it, is it making it better?
- It's like a liquor martini rather than a vodka martini.
It's kind of thick, which is, adds to the flavor it is nice.
It's a little bit like drinking Squash
that's got gold in it.
- So let's talk price. How much do you think we paid
for the bottle of Il Gusto Diamond Pink Vodka?
- I'm going to say £44.
- £35
- Good, okay. That's better. That's better. It's not great.
It should be about 11 quid from a corner shop.
- Yeah. I think the £35 you could get
a very nice bottle of vodka.
But I don't know if it's doing the job of trying to be
- True, very true.
- [Jamie] A good bottle of vodka.
- It's, I think it's definitely there for a present.
I don't think you'd buy this for yourself. I mean,
I'm still drinking it. I'm enjoying it. It's very nice.
I just don't personally like the aesthetic of it.
- So Poppy, the big question. Is it pretentious?
- It's pretentious.
(upbeat hiphop music)
- Okay. Poppy, are you ready?
- Yes.
- Let me just prepare you for what's underneath.
Don't expect a pretentious ingredient.
- Okay
- Expect a dish of which you will be needed to discover
what the pretentious ingredient might be. Lift it.
- That looks delicious. That looks absolutely fantastic.
I mean the colors, everything.
- Have a dig around. See if you can find the ingredient,
we might be talking about today.
- If it's like a bulls penis. I'm going to really cry.
I know it's definitely not, it's fish.
- A fishes penis?
- Whale [censored]
- Okay so, we've got salmon roe, or keta I believe,
which I don't think it's that pretentious.
I think is it like, I'll put this out, is it like snow crab?
- So in front of you, you have micro herbs, flowers,
leak terrine, keta split with dill oil,
and some glazed king crab. And you're right,
the thing we're looking at, is the crab itself.
- It's lovely.
- So, what we're looking at now is Chatka King Crab.
It's a Russian king crab and it's the most highly
sought-after king crab in the world.
Caught in the cold waters of the seas of Ot,
oh god this is going to be hard to say, Okhhotsk,
- Oh, I've been there.
- Bering, and Barents. Their succulent meat
is a true delicacy and is considered by many
to be tastier than lobster.
- I've actually never used this product before
or heard of it. So this is very interesting.
- What I'm interested, what crab meat
do you usually cook with?
- Like a cut crab. So, a male crab from the southwest coast?
- I mean, your first guest was snow crab.
So what sets it apart from standard crab for you?
- Difficult to source basically.
So I don't know much about this, but I'm assuming
if it's in like cold waters and that stuff,
it is difficult to get hold of and there's a limited supply.
And it has got a different texture.
It's different because it's also a tinned as well.
So that's gonna add to the texture and the flavor.
- And you're right, these are very hard to catch.
Um, since 1930, they've been like tackling
very uninviting seas to catch what is now called red gold.
- Oh wow.
- The best part of the crab is the leg meat.
- Yes
- And that tin there is 60% leg meat.
- Wow. I think because of it being tinned, it does,
I don't know what texture is like if it's fresh.
I'm only comparing it to crab, British crab basically.
And it's thicker. The strands of meat you see kind of
it, it flakes. That's how crab is, it kind of flakes
into little strands. And it's like a thicker texture
and it's more, got more of a bite to it than tradit,
tradition, the crab that I'm used to,
which is freshly. kind of like cooked.
So, whether that's in the tinning process or canning process
or whether that is what it's meant to be like. It's lovely.
- They weigh up to 12 kilograms,
and measure up to 1.8 meters in wingspan.
- What?
- That's about
- These crabs have got wings.
- I know! That's why they're hard to catch.
- They're in the air!
- It's lovely.
- Where could you see yourself using it?
- Something nice and simple. You want to highlight,
you want to showcase the meat on its own.
You want like a little bit, of like, a bit of butter,
like you know warm, clarified butter with a bit of garlic
would be like, fantastic. But the way it's been done here
is beautiful. But I think I'm holding myself back
from enjoying it because I know
it's going to be very expensive.
- Right, let's get cost out of the way to help you relax.
Now, bearing in mind that Harvey Nichols, a premium retailer
in the UK, says that it's the most highly sought after
crab in the world. So what'd you think that tin there costs?
- I'm going to say maybe then £50.
- £25.95
- Oh, well why they going on about it then?
Like the way they've gone on about it
is like you can't get it anywhere else in the world.
- Yeah but more-so-over, it's tinned crab.
- It is expensive for a tin of crab.
But, again, there's the whole backstory of it.
It is one of the most difficult crabs to catch.
It's this, it's that, it's harvested,
so I can get why it's so much money.
- Poppy, Chatka King Crab, pretentious or not?
- I think, with the whole kind of like,
uh, marketing spiel about it, yes.
It becomes a pretentious product
because it's put up there as some kind of like holy grail
of crab, but it's tinned crab.
Like you can see here, this is beautiful,
but I'm still saying I prefer freshly caught
crab or lobster. Um, so I do believe that it is pretentious,
but I think it's a lovely product,
but they've made it sound pretentious.
- So Poppy reckoned three out of those four ingredients
were pretentious, but what did you think?
Comment down below. Let us know.
- Also, let us know what format
you'd like Poppy to turn up in next and we'll beg
to see if she comes back.
- And instead of a blooper today,
we're going to ask Poppy some of your quickfire questions.
- Bring it on!
(all laugh)
- [Barry] We have an app. It's called Meal Packs
and helps you plan and then cook a week's worth of meals
using one set of ingredients, saving you money,
cutting down on food waste,
and answering the age old question;
What should we have for dinner?
It's free to try for a whole month.
The link is in the description box below.
(happy jazz music)
- Okay. We've known each other for a while now,
I feel like we can be honest with each other,
which one of the three normals is the worst cook
in your opinion and why?
- Oh! Uhm, Mike, Because on the pass it on
he didn't do anything at the end of the thing,
he just put it on the plate.
- Oh! Ugh! And he's not here. Smart. Right.
Your guilty fast food pleasure?
- Oh God. Um oh, then I'm not guilty about any of them.
I love all fast food. Body positivity!
- I like that. What would you be doing
if you weren't a chef?
- Uh, I'd be, I'd still be working in hospitality
I'd probably be a waitress or a behind the bar,
um because I love that. And it's very social part
of hospitality. It's really good fun.
- Does Ben know your secret plans to replace him
as a chef and his puns?
- Not yet.
- He does now.
(all evil laughing)