(inspiring music) - For me, family comes first, but food comes a very close second.

I love it!

It's the joy of growing- It looks like ringlets, doesn't it?

Cooking- It's a bit of all right.

And eating it.

Well, it can't be bad if I'm having a second lot.

- Howay man, Mary!

- I'm getting a bit sort of happy.

And I love meeting the people who share this passion.

- (blows kiss) Exquisite.

(kids cheering) - And best of all, there's still so much wonderful food to discover.

Gorgeous color, look at it.

It's most exciting.

(food sizzling) Looking good.

So let's get cracking.

(inspiring music continues) (bright music) I've spent most of my life teaching new cooks foolproof recipes so they can feed their family and friends and they'll be thrilled to think that you've spent time and trouble and love making them.

A mouthwatering stir fry to build up some kitchen confidence.

My delicious open burger.

Perfect to show off newfound skills.

And a showstopping biscuit that's ideal if you've never baked before.

But I'm starting off with my absolute go-to for beginners.

A strawberry jam and cream-filled Victoria sandwich.

Victoria sandwich is the cake that I've made most in my life because everybody likes it.

Everybody loves it.

Pretty easy, just follow the recipe carefully.

It's a good idea to be organized.

It'll give you confidence.

Ready to get going.

Let me show you.

First of all, start off with the eggs.

So, four eggs.

(shell cracking) These are really fresh and the white holds together.

225 grams of caster sugar and the same of self raising flour.

Easy to remember.

Then exactly one level teaspoon of baking powder.

What happens if you are too generous with the baking powder?

It rises up in the oven to begin with and if you've got a glass door you can see this, and then it goes down again.

But the secret to a perfect sponge is to use 225 grams of baking spread straight from the fridge.

I used to use butter.

It's quite difficult to get the butter just at the right consistency.

That's everything in, and I'm mixing slowly on a low setting so I don't shower myself in flour.

(mixer whirs) That looks about right to me.

It's lighter in color.

It's as simple as that.

You can't go wrong.

Split the mixture as evenly as possible between two buttered and lined 20 centimeter tins.

If you are reading the recipe, often it says soft dropping and that is what is called soft dropping.

Fairly good description, isn't it?

I'm now going to level it.

Those go in a preheated oven at 160 fan for about 25 minutes.

You can have a peek after 20 minutes, but don't open the door before then or the cakes may sink.

The filling couldn't be more straightforward.

Just whisk up 300 mil of pouring double cream.

You can also buy cream that is thick, non-pouring and it's not suitable for putting in a sponge sandwich.

So look for the word pouring on the side.

(mixer whirs) (mixer stops) It's not coming up in peaks.

I want it in peaks, but I'm going to do it by hand because I don't want to over whip it.

(bright folk music) (bowl clanking) That's just perfect.

Look.

Just right.

I can smell those delicious sponges but it's worth checking first.

To test them, I usually just put my finger on and if it springs back, I know it's done and it should be shrinking away from the sides.

Look at those golden beauties.

Gorgeous.

Give them five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Once they've cooled, it's time to make the sandwich.

Now I bet you think I would do jam there.

I have found that when I put the jam on the underside, in a day's time, the jam has sunk a little bit into the cake.

So, I'm going to put cream on the underneath side and on this one I'm going to put jam.

Take the cream and just plonk it on.

I must say, I like to be generous.

(bright music) Looks fairly level to me.

And now for its crowning glory, that strawberry jam.

And then I'm going to just lift it over the top here.

(music pauses) It does look something very special, doesn't it?

(bright music resumes) I promise you it really doesn't get better than that.

It is absolutely delicious.

And there's lots more for everybody else.

A sponge may be the best place to start for some new cooks, but for others a hearty pie does her job.

The Men's Pie Club is based in Newcastle and was set up over three years ago by Jamie Sadler.

He realized that men's social isolation was a problem.

So decided that helping them to connect while learning how to cook could be a solution.

- I know guys that, you know, don't like football, don't like cricket, don't go, don't like golf but I don't know many guys that don't enjoy a good pie.

We've got guys as well who quite literally have not cooked for years and years.

It's really kind of ignited a spark in some of the guys and that's, you know, brilliant to see.

- I divn't fancy all them stairs, mind.

Be knackered by the time I get to the top.

- Yeah, some stairs on that, like.

- [Mary] Today they're holding their weekly club on top of the castle and I'll be there to taste their pies later.

- Yes!

- How'd you like this, eh?

- Oh, what a view.

- Hey, better than the riverside, innit?

- [Billy] Aye, it's amazing up here, like, innit?

- Good venue for Pie Club, eh, Billy?

- Yeah.

- It's canny.

- [Billy] It's lovely, innit?

Wish me kitchen had a view like this.

(gentle acoustic guitar music) - [Mary] On the menu is a spiced chicken and apricot tagine pie, thought up by a club member and passionate cook, Stuart Friskin.

- [Billy] How long you been at the Pie Club, Stuart?

- About three years.

- Three years.

It's about 18 months for me, like.

- Yeah.

Yeah, I just couldn't resist pies so I went along.

- [Jamie] So before Pie Club, did you not cook that much?

- Not a bit.

- So what do you do now?

What kind of things do you make?

- Well, it encourages you to try something different that you've never done before.

- [Jamie] Yeah.

Yeah.

- Add in a little bit of herbs or cutting things up and cooking them differently than you would do previously, you know?

(gentle piano music) (train softly rattles past) The Pie Club I joined because I had lost my son in 2006, my daughter in 2015, my wife in 2016, my brother in 2018.

So I am totally alone.

Never expect you to lose your bairns.

It's the worst thing that you can ever experience.

The Pie Club has helped us out of my shell.

It's help us bloom.

It's helped us to have people that care about us and I know they care about us.

- [Mary] This groundbreaking group has become a vital social hub for over 120 local members.

Jeff Howard started cooking here 18 months ago and hasn't looked back.

- When my depression has been bad I've ended up being in the house.

I tend to lock myself away and it just gets us back out the house and you get to meet like other blokes and get to talk about similar sort of things.

It's been something really like positive in my life in the last 18 months.

And you always get a pie at the end and everybody loves a pie.

- [Mary] I'm certainly a pie fan and I can see how cooking has allowed these men to develop a close bond.

- I would hope that Mary would be well impressed with this pie, 'cause it's made with tender loving care.

- [Mary] Well, I'm already impressed and I can't wait to try them later when they're done.

(bright percussive music) My next recipe is ideal no matter what your skill level is.

A pub classic with a twist.

Salmon and dill burgers.

We all know about beef burgers, lamb burgers.

Now it's salmon burgers for a change with fresh salmon and smoked salmon.

Absolutely cram jam full of flavor, simple to make and good news that you can make it ahead.

I'm going to chop up the fish but keep a bit of texture.

The first bit of fish I'm going to use is the smoked salmon and just chop that up to a very rough paste.

(mixer whirring) It's chopped up but there's still plenty of texture.

Along with 100 grams of smoked salmon, add 500 grams of fresh salmon chunks, 125 grams of Panko breadcrumbs and some dill.

It is a good idea to chop the dill because it doesn't get chopped up enough in the short time that it's in there.

Four tablespoons of mayonnaise will help to bind the mixture together with the juice of half a lemon and some seasoning.

(mixer whirs) I think that's quite enough.

If you do it for too long, it will take away the texture.

The purpose of pushing it all together is that when you make it into the burger, when you cook it, it all keeps together and doesn't crumble.

This is proper home... (bird tweeting loudly) Can you hear this bird?

It's arguing with me.

There we are.

It is so lovely to be outside to have a bit of sunshine.

Right.

(bird continues tweeting) Cut it into eight.

(bright music) I think that's pretty even.

Shape the balls about an inch thick.

We don't need egg to bind it.

I've packed away the rest.

I'm just going to cook three and now I'm going to make a lovely lemon caper mayonnaise.

So three tablespoon fulls of good mayonnaise.

That's it.

Then I'm going to add the juice of half a lemon.

So quite sharp, and some capers.

Capers are the flower bud of a Mediterranean shrub and they are salted and they really add flavor to the mayonnaise.

I've chopped those up and added them in there.

A little salt and pepper.

Just mix that all together.

Good home cooking is about adding the bits you love.

For me, it's a layer of finely shredded fennel cooked until meltingly golden.

A little oil in the pan.

(pan sizzles) In it goes.

If you don't fancy fennel, you could use fried onions with it, Cooked in the same way.

The burgers will only take a few minutes each side to cook.

You'll be able to see how they cook because once the salmon becomes a flat pink, you know that it's done, turn it over the other side.

Do you know, I can smell the fish.

It's lovely.

The dill is coming up.

Lovely smell.

They just want to be that gorgeous golden brown color.

(bright music) (burgers sizzle) Right.

The burger's done, the fennel's done.

All I've got to do is assemble it.

Now I'm only going to use half the bun, which I've toasted.

If everybody's starving, you can put the top bun on top.

So first of all, a little bit of lettuce.

Then on goes the burger.

Now look at that.

Doesn't it look good?

That's it.

Then the fennel, remember that's hot as well.

A slice of pickle on top of that.

And then some of this glorious mayo.

So if you are new to cooking and you've made this, you'd be very proud and everyone would think you are rather an expert.

Think I've got a bit of everything.

(bright music) I'm really chuffed with that.

(upbeat music) I've arrived in Newcastle along with the rain.

I tell you what, I'm really looking forward to tasting those pies and meeting the men who've made them.

(upbeat music continues) As the pies come out, so does the sun.

And after climbing all these stairs, I think I've earned one.

I've just climbed a mountain.

Something smells absolutely wonderful.

- Hi Mary.

- I think it's wonderful that you are all actually cooking.

- This is our delicious chicken tagine pie.

Packed full, obviously, of chicken, chickpeas, preserved lemon and loads of spices and dried fruit.

- I think you've all achieved beautiful pies and a great thing for friendship.

You're no longer alone.

- Yeah - You're mixing with other blokes you're mixing with other men, and you're not sitting on the settee and watching the world go by which is so easy to do.

- Aren't any girls in your class?

(Billy laughs) - That's dreadful, that is.

- No luck like that.

- No, come on.

I want to try.

- No soggy bottoms.

- Here goes.

Mm, it's as crisp as can be.

I can taste coriander.

- Yeah.

- Mm.

- [Billy] I hope you can taste the honey in mine.

- And not quite so spicy.

- I didn't put spices in mine.

I'm not so keen on spices.

- It's very, very good.

It's sweeter than the others.

- Hm.

Yeah, yeah - It's got a lot of chicken in there.

- Oh, there's lots of chicken.

- It's delicious.

- [Billy] There's plenty of chicken in.

- Jeff.

You've got a lovely color there.

- Why, I know.

- Crispy pastry.

- So Mary, I'm gonna put you on the spot.

Which pie is best?

- I'm not going to say which pie's the best.

- Oh, howay.

- I enjoyed them all.

They're very similar, it's a very good recipe.

- My brother, when he found out I was gonna meet you, he turned around and he says, "Will you tell Mary one of the first cookbooks I ever got was the best cookbook and it was the "Hamlyn All Color Cookbook" and he... - That's still not gonna make you first in the pies.

- Ah, howay, man, Mary.

(all laughing) Howay!

(all laughing) - So Stuart, what's on the cards for next week?

- Steak and kidneys or something like that.

- Steak and kidney.

I'll be back.

You be careful.

- Alright.

- [Mary] Those pies were first class, especially for beginners.

I think the Men's Pie Club would also enjoy my next recipe.

Hoisin chicken is one of my go-to recipes.

That's simple quick, and is really great for building confidence when you haven't done much cooking.

So first, make the marinade.

Grate some ginger, a tablespoon will do.

I'm going to add three tablespoons of hoisin sauce, that's made from soya bean, And then the juice of half a lemon.

(bright music) Like that.

And a teaspoon full, that's a little squirt, of runny honey.

And that's the marinade done.

It couldn't be simpler.

Give it a quick mix to combine those aromatic flavors, season and then in with the chicken.

I've got three good sized chicken breasts here.

All in at once.

This particular marinade needs minimum half an hour in the fridge.

If it's longer, all for the better.

(bright music) (oven shelf clanks) (bright music continues) (water running) Now all those lovely flavors will be permeated into the chicken, Chop three spring onions and everything is ready.

Once the pan is hot, it will be a very quick cook.

The best way to tell whether a pan is getting hot is just to hold your hand out, feel until it's really, really hot.

And then put the oil in.

And this is sunflower oil.

So just a zigzag across the top of the pan like that.

I find it best to do this in two batches.

Spread it about.

(pan sizzling) Like the sizzle, don't you?

(bright music) - That's about half, and it will have this gorgeous color.

Look at it.

It's most, most exciting.

They need only a few moments on each side until cooked through and beautifully caramelized.

Smells absolutely delicious.

For a final flourish, fry off some cashew nuts and the spring onions in the same pan.

That'll just soften them, Looks most tempting, doesn't it?

So there's the nuts, just on top like that.

And that is ready to serve right now.

Doesn't like waiting.

I can't resist.

(bright music) Mm.

But it is really full of maximum flavor.

(bright music swells) No matter how simple the recipe, it helps to have a few shortcuts up your sleeve.

Here are some of my favorites.

I think there'll be some things you'll learn.

(upbeat music) My first is a genius tip to stop pasta water boiling over.

Simply put a wooden spoon across the top.

The wood repels the starchy, bubbling water.

(blade whooshes) I love anything that allows me to get ahead.

This is a great tip to remember.

With potatoes, if you just left them, they would go brown.

So, put them in water, cold water.

Make sure the water covers it and keep them in a cool place, and you can do that a day ahead.

(blade whooshes) Another time saver is to microwave lemons, making it easier to squeeze out every drop.

No effort at all.

(upbeat music continues) (blade whooshes) Finally, if you are new to using fresh herbs, a few pointers for thyme.

Just simply put the sprig in.

The leaves will fall in during cooking, and take out the bare branch at the end.

And with rosemary, finely chop the leaves first or there'll be sharp shards in the sauce.

I certainly don't fancy eating that.

(upbeat music ends) (bright music) It's a joy to meet people who are just as passionate about teaching others to cook as I am.

- You'll be on the barbecue this time.

- Definitely, bruv.

I'm the pro at that.

- Brothers Shaun and Craig McAnuff are food bloggers dedicated to passing on their family recipes to thousands of new followers.

- We love to cook because we love to eat.

We love to cook because we love to see smiles on people's faces.

- Yep.

- We love to cook because we wanna pass it down to our children.

- [Mary] Today is all about their incredible grandmother, Lurleen, who ignited their passion.

I've been invited to the family barbecue celebrating her 86th birthday.

- You ready, yeah?

You got all your seasonings?

Good.

Let's go.

- [Mary] On the menu is the Caribbean classic, jerk chicken and cousins Ashley and Malachi are making it for the first time.

- [Craig] All right, so firstly we're gonna get the chicken.

I'm gonna ask you guys just to kind of score the chicken so the seasonings get into the chicken, yeah?

- [Mary] The marinade is onions, garlic, and thyme.

- All right, next you're gonna do the pimento seeds.

So traditionally in jerk chicken, it's about the pimento wood's fragrance in the actual chicken.

And this is like an extract from the pimento wood.

- [Mary] Mixed spices, nutmeg and browning are next.

- You know grandma always says, dash it in.

Perfect.

That's it.

Nice one.

- [Mary] A de-seeded scotch bonnet, lime juice.

Then it's ready to blend.

(blender whirs) - Wow.

Look at that.

So I think this is good to go.

How's it smell?

- Good.

- It's good?

- Yeah.

- That's smells powerful.

- Powerful, man.

- I can't wait to eat this.

- In Jamaica, we love to season.

We're gonna actually pour in the jerk marinade.

This is a family recipe that's been passed down so treat it with some tender loving care.

Now you guys know it as well.

Yeah?

- I can take over.

- [Craig] You can take over?

(laughs) - [Mary] It's cooked on a traditional jerk pan made from an old oil drum which heats and smokes at the same time.

- [Shaun] You see that smoke?

- Yep.

- You see that sizzle?

- Yep.

- That's what you call real Jamaican jerk cooking.

- Okay.

- You cook for about eight to 10 minutes on each side.

Flip it over two or three times until you're happy.

(bright music) - [Mary] Their mother, Blossom is on hand to help too.

- Nanny, nanny.

- Yes, son.

- What do you think of the jerk chicken?

The kids, they've been doing a great job.

- Great job.

- Ooh.

- That's nice.

- Shaun and Craig certainly share my passion to teach but I want to meet the woman that taught them.

- Welcome.

(all greeting) - Would it be a party without a cake?

- Welcome you to my party.

(laughs) - [Mary] It looks very dangerous.

- Enjoy it, darling.

- Health.

- Enjoy it.

- Mary, we've got, we've not just got rum punch for you.

We've got rice and peas, we've got coleslaw, nannies famous coleslaw that she's taught us.

So we like the curry goat pie.

It's a cross between shepherd's pie but instead we're using curry goat underneath as the filling instead of the minced meat.

- Shepherd's pie on top.

- That'll be in my next book.

- Yeah.

(all laugh) - [Shaun] Come and have a look.

(meat sizzling) - Wow.

Why do you boys like teaching so much?

- We were blessed by our mother and grandmother teaching us.

So we want to give back to people who love cooking and are passionate about cooking.

- Exactly.

It's just that natural instinct of just passing things on.

- Yeah.

- So grandma, are you proud of them now?

- Oh Yes.

Very proud.

(bright music) - Gosh, that's good.

You've done a wonderful job passing on all your skills to your seven children- - Seven children.

- And further.

So happy birthday.

- Thank you very much.

- [Mary] I think Lurleen would agree, the next recipe is a great one to get children into the kitchen.

My crunchy and chewy ginger biscuits.

There's nothing quite like a homemade biscuit and one of my favorite ones are ginger.

I like ginger in any shape or form.

And this ginger is crystallized ginger.

You'll find it in the supermarket where you'll find all the sweet things to use in baking.

But I don't want it too fine.

It's lovely when you come across the biscuit and you've got a little bit of that soft, sweet ginger.

It makes it extra delicious.

(bright music) So just loosely chop it through.

In fact, that's perfect.

So I've got a pan and I've got 50 grams of butter here going in.

And then a tablespoon of golden syrup.

If you put too much golden syrup, they'll spread.

So be very careful to do it.

Right to the top but no more.

Let the butter and syrup gently melt and get cracking with the dry ingredients.

And really you can't go wrong if you've weighed very carefully.

First, 175 grams of self raising flour.

No need to sieve it.

Straight in there.

A teaspoon full of bicarb, which is the secret to their texture.

That just makes a nice crackly effect on top of the biscuit and gives it a little bit of extra rise.

One tablespoon of ground ginger powder.

I use two different sugars, each with their own purpose.

Light muscovado sugar, that's a natural sugar and it gives a lovely flavor.

Demerara sugar, so you get the little bit of crunch from Demerara, and that's 50 grams.

Finally, crystallized ginger, the melted butter and syrup and one medium egg.

(spoon clacking) That's it.

In that goes.

(bright gentle music) I shall just work it with my hand for the last bit.

(bright music continues) So that's the biscuit mixture made.

Just work that together to a round.

Simply divide the mixture into 16 equal pieces.

You don't need a degree in higher mathematics to do this.

Roll those into balls and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick parchment.

And if you don't space them out fairly well, they'll spread and knock each other.

There we are.

I've got my 16 biscuits.

I'm just going to flatten those down till they're about one centimeter.

They go into a preheated oven at 140 fan for about 25 minutes, but pop back and check how they're doing after 20.

They should be spread looking a little bit cracked on top and we're wanting a gorgeous, sort of light golden brown.

They look perfect.

They need to be crispened off.

If you put them straight down on a plate, you'll find that the condensation goes onto the plate and they don't get quite as crisp.

Now for the tricky bit.

Resist eating them for 20 minutes while they cool.

Any beginner could make these deliciously crunchy biscuits.

I could easily eat one after another.

(biscuit crunches) I just love these biscuits and they keep well in a tin, but honestly, in our house they go light lightning.

(bright music) Cooking is more than just making something scrumptious to eat.

It's about the joy of feeding those you love, connecting and sharing with others while learning a new skill.

And it's something that everyone can do.

You just have to give it a try.

Well, it just doesn't get much better.

It is absolutely scrumptious.

(uplifting music) Next time, it's maximum flavor- Does look amazing and it's going to taste even better.

At minimum cost.

A little luxury that'll go a long way.

- You can't make chocolate cake without chocolate.

- No.

Look at that.

(fork taps) Not bad.

(uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (music quietens) (soft sparkling music) (no audio) (no audio)