01x01 - Florence Pugh's English Odyssey

[bunniefuu]

[Antoni Porowski]

I'm Antoni Porowski.

-[worker] Hello, friend.

-Hello.

[Antoni]

And as a son of immigrants,

-I know that food

-Whoo!

can tell you more

about who you are

Nothing makes me feel

more Polish than this.

and where

you've come from

-This is it.

-than you ever imagined.

So now, I'm leading

six curious Hollywood stars.

-Are you excited for this?

-Yeah.

[Antoni] on their very own

journeys of a lifetime.

I've been waiting

for this moment my entire life.

[Antoni] I'll be delving into

their family histories

[gasps]

-Florence?

-Yeah.

[Antoni] and tracking

down culinary clues

Oh my gosh, it's so good.

[Antoni]

to unlock the past.

It almost feels unreal to think

that I descend from a king.

[Antoni]

And it all begins

-Yeah!

-For you, Nonna.

-[Antoni] with just one

-Mm.

-[laughing]

-[Antoni] family recipe.

-[kissing noise]

-[Antoni] It's crispy.

Mm!

-[photographer] Florence!

-[Antoni] This time,

Florence Pugh,

star of Dune Two,

Oppenheimer,

and Little Women

[Florence] Cheers.

I'd to say thanks

for the love of food, guys.

Cheers.

[Antoni] goes on

an epic journey in England.

Oh, hang on,

you cheeky sausages.

-[laughing]

-Whoa.

-Oh, this is so satisfying.

-It is, right?

Oh, I could do this all day.

[Antoni] where we cook

and taste our way

to some shocking discoveries.

Do you see those

two buildings over there?

Those are the workhouses

that they were in.

[Antoni]

and powerful revelations.

They were kind of escaping,

and they decided to come here

for a better life.

-No.

-Mm-hmm.

[bell tolling]

[Antoni] I've decided to start

our ancestral adventure

in the ancient

English city of Oxford,

because this is where

Florence grew up.

[bicycle bell ringing]

-Wow.

-Yeah.

Okay, so tell me

about this place.

-This is the covered market.

-Okay.

And it's been open since 1774.

Seventeen oh, you, like,

know the facts.

-I actually know, yeah.

-Okay.

This is like one of our jewels

in Oxford.

-Wow.

-Mm-hmm.

-Would you come here as a kid?

-Yeah, all the time.

The flower shop that

we're actually going to

-is really, really beautiful.

-Mm-hmm.

And the butchers

was very special.

I love that as a kid,

you were like,

"I love going

to the butcher."

[both laughing]

I'm understanding more and more

the type of person you are.

I'm loving it.

Acting may be

Florence's first love,

but food has always come

a close second.

It's a passion shared

by her whole family.

My granny will be so surprised

that you bought her flowers.

Really?

And today, we're joining

Florence's mum

Thank you so much.

and Grandma for lunch.

Anything I should know?

[Florence]

We're all very bossy.

-Yay.

-[laughter]

[Grandma Pat]

A tick early, then?

We've come

bearing flowers.

-How lovely.

-[Antoni] Hello.

Today, Granny Pat is hosting.

-And flowers for you.

-Oh, that's so kind.

With help from Mom,

Deborah.

[Florence]

And flowers.

[Deborah]

Look at them.

[Antoni laughing]

Mama, do you want me

to chop up an onion real quick,

and then you can be

in charge of the pan?

[Deborah]

If you'd like to do that.

Well, I can probably do that

quite a bit quicker.

What, quicker than me?

I really love how quickly

we're getting into it.

Sorry.

[laughing]

We're gonna make

shepherd's pie.

-Okay.

-[burner clicking]

[Antoni] This ancient dish

has been passed down

in the family for generations,

and its name

gives a hint

of its star ingredient, lamb.

[Deborah] You'd have

the steak or the chops,

and then all

the bits left behind,

you would mince,

wouldn't you?

-[Antoni] Yeah, yeah.

-But nowadays, I don't think

they put the ears

and the testicles in.

[Florence laughing]

You would love those,

wouldn't you?

You would love those.

I thought you

were talking to Florence, then.

[laughter]

[Antoni] The ground lamb

is mixed with vegetables

and topped

with mashed potato.

But beyond that, well,

it depends on who you ask.

Are tomatoes traditional

in shepherd's pie?

-No.

-Okay.

I wouldn't put them in,

but I do put tomato puree in.

So, we're having an argument

about that, that's fine.

Florence likes

to put tomatoes in.

-The puree is brilliant.

-Tinned tomatoes

-go well, as well.

-See, Granny says

tinned tomatoes go well.

Yeah, all right.

That's fine.

We all disagree.

It makes it

more interesting

that you all have

different opinions.

It's just, we all think that

our recipe is the best.

[laughing]

[Antoni] It's striking

how passionate Florence,

her mum, and her gran are about

how this dish should be made.

I'm really getting a sense

of just how seriously

they take their cooking.

So, I see that

the women in this family

are very much into food.

What about your dad, Florence?

Daddy's equally into food.

Grew up in a pub,

and from the moment he could,

he's been running

restaurants, so

-Oh, wow.

-Food and hosting

has been a massive part

of our lives.

[Antoni]

While raising their children,

Clinton ran the restaurants

and Deborah taught dance.

But despite their busy lives,

the family always came together

for a daily home-cooked dinner.

[Deborah]

This is the kind of thing

I would have made for the kids.

You can put vegetables in

and children don't notice.

[chuckles]

[Florence] As kids, we'd always

be bringing food to the table,

getting the cutlery ready,

-or getting the glasses ready.

-[Deborah] Yeah.

[Florence]

It was always a family affair.

-It's not just the food.

-Right.

It's about bringing people in,

and it's about

cooking for people.

You know, the stakes were high,

but in a great way.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] Knowing how much

every meal means in this family

has only made me more eager

to taste our lunch.

Should we check

on the shepherd's pie?

[Florence]

It smells like shepherd's.

I smell it.

I smell it.

-[Florence gasps]

-[Antoni] Gorgeous.

-Wow, look at that.

-Oh my gosh, the browning.

-[Pat] There's a lovely color.

-[Antoni] I'm so excited.

-[crunching]

-Oh, do you hear that?

Oh, I like it.

Very good crunch.

-Is it juicy enough?

-Oh, it's

-[Antoni] Oh, yeah.

-It's juicy, Mum.

Thank you.

Oh my gosh.

Mm!

Mm.

Oh, all those beautiful layers.

My goodness.

[Deborah] And isn't it amazing

to think that tomorrow

-it'll be twice as good.

-[Antoni laughing]

And then the day after that,

three times as good.

It's still pretty good

right now, I have to say.

It's just the flavors

just get better

-and better and better.

-Of course.

[Antoni]

This hearty no-nonsense dish

is comfort food at its finest,

and a delicious first taste

of Florence's

culinary heritage.

So, Florence,

as we start our journey,

what do you hope

to gain from this?

"A," obviously, find out

the history of my family,

find out the food history

of my family.

-Mm-hmm.

-And, equally,

we have so much love for food,

so I want to see where

the passion of food came from.

[Antoni] It looks like

we have lots to explore,

and this shepherd's pie

is our first clue.

What do you know

about your family history?

Just that my father

was from Thirsk, in Yorkshire.

I used to go to Thirsk

quite a lot

when I was, you know,

four, five, six,

and Yorkshire

was a lovely county.

-[Antoni] Mm.

-Yes.

I'm excited to dig into that.

Speaking of digging in

-[dog whimpering]

-Billy, you are missing out.

-[laughter]

-She's like, "I know."

[Antoni] So, Florence has some

big questions about food

and her family history,

and now, we have somewhere

to start looking for answers.

The historic county of

Yorkshire in Northern England

has Thirsk at its very heart.

And digging into the archives,

I've discovered

Granny Pat's ancestors

have deep roots in this famous

sheep-rearing region.

Easy to see

why shepherd's pie

would be such

a family favorite.

[sheep bleating]

So, here we are, this is where

the journey kinda starts.

I feel at one with the sheep.

-Ta-da.

-[laughter]

[Antoni]

Here they are.

Your great-great-

great-grandfather

-Right.

-on your maternal side,

a man by the name

of James Tose.

He was raised in a village

very close to here.

Not only was Florence's

great-great-great-grandfather,

James Tose,

from a farming family,

but by 1879,

the records reveal

he was also the landlord

of a Thirsk pub,

the Red Bear,

where he served something

these Yorkshire hills

could supply in abundance.

He was famous

for his mutton chops.

He prepared them

for, like, cricket teams,

for these, like, stately homes,

a bit of, like,

catering as well.

-So, he was a bit of a chef.

-He was a bit of a chef, yeah.

That's cool.

[Antoni]

Famed for his hospitality,

James even made the papers

when his chops

fueled one man's challenge

to push a wheelbarrow

across the country.

Everyone wanted a taste

-Of James Tose mutton chops?

-of James Tose mutton chops.

[Antoni] To understand

what made the meat

James cooked so delicious,

I need Florence

to see how sheep here were

reared in his family's day.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-How are you doing?

[Antoni] Like James Tose,

Tommy Banks is a pub chef

whose parents also own a farm,

and they've agreed to show us.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Lovely to see you.

Welcome to Yorkshire.

[Antoni] I feel like I've only

seen sheep since I've been here.

-Why is that?

-[Tommy's dad] So many sheep.

-Thousands of sheep.

-Yeah.

Sheep are the things

that survive

so well on this sort of country.

[Antoni]

With nothing to do all day

but graze the evergreen

Yorkshire grass

that gives them

their distinctive taste,

it's not long

before these sheep

finish off every

edible blade in a field.

I'm gonna make you work

for your supper today.

We've gotta move the sheep up

to get them fed.

[Antoni]

A skill James Tose

would have been

very familiar with.

If they start moving,

we're gonna go with them.

-Come on, stay with the fam.

-Uh-oh.

Oh, look at that one running!

[Florence] Oh, hang on,

you cheeky sausages!

[Tommy's dad] You won't

be able to keep them.

You go up the hill a bit,

Antoni.

-Up the hill, Antoni.

-Go up the hill,

and you'll hold 'em back.

[Florence laughing]

-[Tommy's dad] Here we go.

-[Florence] Come on.

[Tommy's dad] No, I think

they settled down now.

[Florence]

They're all smiling.

[Antoni] Finally,

we've got these sheep

to their new source

of sustenance.

And with the flock

happily grazing

Do you guys want

to come in and have some food?

-Let's have some of your food.

-Yes!

[Antoni]

We are heading to Tommy's pub

to sample a Yorkshire dish

James Tose would

certainly have known.

-Oh.

-What a beaut oh!

[Antoni]

And this is just the beginning.

[Florence]

I want that bit.

That is beautiful.

That smells insane.

[Antoni] The star attraction

on Chef Tommy's pub menu

might not be

the Yorkshire mutton

Florence's ancestor,

James Tose, cooked.

-Yum.

-[laughing]

[Antoni] But it's pretty close,

because this is hogget.

Lamb, everyone's familiar with,

young sheep.

Hogget are animals

which are over a year old.

And then, when they get to two,

they become known as mutton.

And when you fed them on grass,

I mean, they just have

this most incredible flavor.

[Antoni]

Mm-hmm.

In James Tose's day,

Yorkshire may have had sheep

in abundance,

but farmers were thrifty.

They wanted to make

the most of their livestock,

and this led to the creation

of a very famous accompaniment

to their delicious meat.

[Tommy] As the meat rests,

you've got all this lovely fat

that's rendered out of it,

and that's what you make

Yorkshire puddings out of.

So, have you made

Yorkshire puddings before?

-[Florence] I have, yeah.

-[Antoni] Never.

-Yeah.

-[Florence] They're very fun

'cause they just

poof up in the oven,

and sometimes even

the weird-looking ones

-are the best.

-[laughing]

[Antoni]

Despite their name,

Yorkshire puddings

aren't desserts.

They're a savory dish.

James Tose would have

been an expert

in taking the meat dripping.

So, you need

a nice amount of fat

-Oh, wow, yeah.

-because that's gonna soak

into the bottom.

That goes in the oven.

[Florence]

Great.

[Antoni]

Making an egg batter.

I actually whisk

the wrong way around.

-Is there a right way?

-Supposed to go that way.

-There you go.

-That is so weird.

[Antoni]

And combining the two

They look like

deep-fried little pancakes.

before the mix

hits the oven to rise.

[Florence]

Oh my goodness.

[Antoni]

Which amazingly, it does,

powered purely by the steam

created by the hot oil.

-There's no baking soda in here.

-[Tommy] No.

-So, it's all about the heat.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] Once cooked,

the puddings will be filled

with a rich

hogget shoulder stew.

But that's not all.

[Tommy] So, we're cooking a dish

which I hope pays homage

to your

great-great-great-grandad?

-Yes.

-I believe he was famous

for cooking mutton chops

-Yep.

-in his pub.

So, I'm gonna cook

some hogget chops.

Oh, did you see

the browning on that?

I did, I did.

-This is exciting.

-[Antoni] I know.

Mm.

[Antoni] But in Tose's day,

even this festival of hogget

wouldn't have been complete

without an extra flourish.

So, there's a traditional

thing in Yorkshire

that not many people

sort of do anymore,

called Yorkshire salad.

It's pretty simple.

Basically involves mint,

and lettuce, and onion.

This is exactly what James Tose

would have had,

super traditional thing.

I mean, lamb and mint

[sputtering]

my all-time favorite

flavor combination, I think.

-[Antoni] Right?

-[Tommy] Like, it works.

-So, Yorkshire puddings.

-[Antoni] Yes.

-Oh, yes.

-[Florence] Stop it.

I'm shocked at how much

they've grown.

Oh, I'm happy

with those.

[Florence]

They look like flowers.

I have never seen

anything like this in my life.

Wow.

You can see

the blistering on the outside.

-[Florence] Yes.

-You would never achieve that

if you didn't have

all that lovely fat.

[Florence] You could put that

in your bra, actually.

-[Antoni] In a what?

-Put it in your bra.

-[laughing]

-You'd go into work a double-D,

-and then leave work an A.

-[laughter]

'Cause you've had it

for your lunch.

-Yeah.

-[laughter]

[Tommy]

I just think if you come in

from the cold into a pub,

that is what you want.

[Antoni]

In honor of Mister Tose.

[Florence]

Mm!

[Antoni]

Oh, my God. Wow.

-[Bleep]!

-This is incredible.

-It's so tender.

-It's so soft.

That is amazing.

I think people would assume,

older animal, tough.

-Yeah.

-That's exactly what I thought.

There's nothing tough

about that.

This is more tender

than most, like,

-lamb that I've had.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] Pure melt-in-the-mouth

perfection.

Mm!

[Antoni] This is what

centuries-old

farming traditions

and Yorkshire's green,

green grass gives you.

I'm gonna squat.

Ready?

[Antoni laughing]

-Mm!

-[laughing and clapping]

[Tommy] This is food

that transcends time.

This was delicious in 1870,

it's gonna be delicious in 2070.

Yeah.

If James made this,

-no wonder he was a wonder.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] As is traditional

with English pubs,

James Tose's Red Bear

would have been the center

of his community's life.

And hosting

with meals this good

Mm!

this famously

hospitable chef

must surely have been every bit

as passionate about food

as Florence

and her modern-day family.

You've been walking

in the environment

where James would have been.

Are you starting to get a sense

of what his life

was kind of like?

-Yeah.

-Mm-hmm.

And it's just really cool

and amazing to see

that in my family, to host,

and to provide, and to feed,

I mean, clearly is something

that runs true

-through many generations.

-Yeah.

I know it's tricky

to kind of understand

what a great-great-

great-grandfather

looks like to you

in a personal way.

If you look

at your Granny Pat.

-Yeah.

-Her grandma

-Yeah?

-was his daughter.

-Does that make it

-That's not that far away.

No. No.

-Cheers, darling.

-Ah.

So glad

you're from these parts.

[both laughing]

[Antoni] With Florence's family

so big on food and hospitality,

it's surprising

Granny Pat knew nothing

about James Tose and his pub.

-Excited for tomorrow?

-What comes next?

[Antoni] But I found

something in the archives

that might explain why.

♪♪

[Antoni] Oh.

-Look at that little bridge.

-That is so pretty!

-Oh, my God.

-Wow.

[Antoni] Florence and I

are leaving Yorkshire's hills,

because combing

through the archives,

I've discovered that in 1883,

her ancestor James Tose's life

took a dramatic turn.

Okay, so before I tell you

where we're headed,

-let's do a little recap.

-Okay.

All right, so yesterday,

we learned

your three-times

great-grandfather James Tose

-Yes.

-opened up the Red Bear.

[Florence] Yeah.

Family business.

But after that, things took

a turn, unfortunately.

Oh, no.

-"The curious affair at Thirsk."

-Yeah.

This really crazy thing

happened at the Red Bear.

Someone fell out of a window

in the middle of the night.

There's so much that

we don't know about this.

I mean, there could have been

a payout involved.

He had to file for bankruptcy,

and he lost the Red Bear.

Oh my goodness.

[Antoni] With a family

of four to support,

James needed a job fast.

And again, he turned to food.

-He decided he was gonna adapt.

-Okay.

And so, he decided

to become a fishmonger.

Wow.

I'm proud of James.

And we're gonna learn about

the importance of fish today.

Love fish.

[Antoni] Just 40 miles from

James' hometown, Thirsk,

lies the seaside town

of Whitby.

And in James' day here,

fish were big business.

In the late 1800s, Whitby

was actually one of, like,

the major fish ports

of the north of the UK.

-Whitby was?

-Yeah.

[Antoni]

Whitby was famous, above all,

for its huge hauls of cheap,

nutritious herring,

which locals made something

very special with

kippers.

-Are we going in there?

-Should we check it out?

-Are we actually?

-Let's check it out.

[gasps]

You're joking.

-We've been

-Let's check it out.

smelling it

all the way here.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-I'm Florence.

-Florence, pleased to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you.

-It's good to see you, Barry.

Thank you so much

for having us.

Welcome.

Okay, so for someone

who doesn't understand,

what's the difference between

kipper and herring?

[Barry]

A kipper is a smoked herring.

So, that would be the herring

before it's smoked.

-Okay, mm-hmm.

-And that would be kipper.

-[Florence] Wow.

-[Antoni] Oh. Gorgeous.

-[Florence] It's amazing.

-Oh, that looks beautiful.

[Antoni] Smoked kippers

last up to 10 times longer

than fresh herring,

perfect for an age

before refrigerators.

James Tose would have

sold them by the bucketload.

Kippers were like

a staple part of the diet then.

Wow.

[Antoni] Barry Brown's family

have been making kippers

for six generations.

We established 1872.

So, maybe

our ancestors mingled.

-[laughing]

-Probably and possibly, yeah.

-[Antoni] Yeah.

-[laughing]

[Antoni] And today,

Barry's agreed

to share the secrets

of traditional

kipper production with us.

-[laughing]

-Whoa.

That is art.

The Brown family have turned

herring into kippers here

for more than 150 years.

And Barry still follows exactly

the same hallowed process.

These have all been

butterflied and brined.

-[Florence] Okay.

-Ready for hanging on hooks.

And we start off

with one fish on,

and just work

our way across it.

Wow. Okay.

Can I give it a go?

[laughter]

-Is that okay?

-Here.

-So, I'll explain first.

-Okay.

Put your fish up

and open it up.

Yeah.

And then just

open your fingers,

touch the bottom

of the hook.

Touch the bottom

of the hook, yeah.

And then just pin it on.

Yeah, like that?

Oh, too high.

-Too high.

-Too high?

-Take it off.

-Just about there, to its gill.

-Like that?

-Yeah.

-Oh, this is so satisfying.

-It is. It is, right?

Oh, I could do this all day.

-Do you have any openings?

-[laughing]

I actually would.

[Antoni] Hollywood actress

she might be,

but it seems Florence shares

plenty of James Tose's DNA.

It's like we've been

doing this forever.

[Barry] It is.

You're naturals.

[Florence]

Thank you.

[Antoni]

The next stage of kippering

is to hang up the fish

and smoke it

And then,

the darker wood is all oak.

[Antoni]

Right.

for a full 20 hours.

And that's safe

just to leave?

Yeah, we just leave that.

[Antoni] Seeing the pride

with which Barry

follows this age-old

kippering ritual

has been a real privilege.

[Florence] May I take a picture

of you in front of your fish?

-Of course.

-[Antoni gasps]

-Oh, this is amazing.

-[camera clicking]

-[Antoni] There we go.

-[Florence] Yes.

Thank you.

Thanks for having us.

[Antoni] And now,

as our day draws to a close,

we're heading to a café

down the road.

-[Florence laughing]

-Whoa.

-[server] Here we go, guys.

-[gasps] Oh my goodness.

Two kipper sandwiches.

[Antoni] For kippers served

just the way James Tose

would have enjoyed them,

sandwiched in white bread.

Are we ready?

Mm.

That is good.

Flakey.

It's very rich.

[Florence] So rich.

It feels like it's doing good

-to your bones and your skin.

-Mm-hmm.

It is pretty incredible,

if you think about it.

This tastes exactly the same

as it did in James Tose's time.

-Yeah.

-Mm-hmm.

It's so smooth and silky.

Not just fish.

It's the best fish.

-[Antoni] The best fish.

-[laughter]

Wow.

At first, I was kinda surprised

when I found out

James Tose pivoted

from an innkeeper

-to being a fishmonger.

-Mm-hmm.

Providing people

with comfort and food,

and it's that notion

which I feel like is something

that's so central

to who you are as a person.

Totally, and the lengths you go

for good and delicious produce.

Mm-hmm.

That's a really,

really wonderful gift.

Yeah.

Here in Yorkshire,

we've discovered deep roots

for Florence's family's

passion for ingredients

and love

of cooking and hosting.

But now, we're moving on

to a side of the family

whose story is not

one of plenty

but of hunger and a fight

for their very survival.

[ship horn blowing]

Okay, so I have

a little surprise for you,

'cause I love

a dramatic entrance.

What's the surprise?

Three, two, one.

[Florence]

It's opening!

Oh my goodness.

It's beautiful.

[Antoni]

In our search for the source

of her family's passion

for food,

I'm taking Florence along

the mighty Thames River

into London, the UK's capital

and her current home.

Hi!

-Aw.

-[laughing]

[Antoni] Florence's

father's family hail from here

and I want to share

a fascinating discovery

on dad Clinton's side,

about Florence's

great-great-great-grandparents,

Mauritz and Anna Maria,

and their daughter Johannah.

Now, I can officially say

that the Tower Bridge

of London opened.

-For you.

-[laughing]

Well, for our boat.

-[Antoni] For our boat.

-For our boat. Wow.

[ship horn blowing]

[Antoni] What do you know

in terms of your family history,

like, the countries from where

your ancestors came from?

To my knowledge,

we are from here.

-We're from England.

-From here.

But I don't know.

We don't know.

Okay.

So, 1860s, a man

by the name of Mauritz

-and his wife Anna Maria

-Yeah.

came with their

young daughter, Johannah,

and they came from Rotterdam,

right down here,

on a boat kind of like this.

Okay.

So, your London roots actually

come from a Dutch family line.

-No!

-Mm-hmm.

I've got a little bit

of a c*ck going on.

Yeah.

-Oh, I love that.

-Mm-hmm.

[Antoni] A growing

industrial city,

London in the 1860s

was a magnet

for immigrants

seeking a better life.

And Florence's ancestors,

Mauritz and Anna Maria,

had more reason

than most to want that.

But they basically

fled the Netherlands

'cause it was, like, pretty

extreme poverty going on there.

-Right.

-We did find records

of one of Mauritz's parents

being caught for petty theft,

which was usually

attributed to

-Right, hungry.

-probably like stealing food.

-Hunger. Yeah.

-Yeah.

So, they were escaping,

and they decided to come here.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] In Victorian London,

working-class families

like Mauritz and Anna Maria's

rarely had kitchens.

Instead, they were fed

by over 6,000 street vendors

offering everything from

pea soup to jellied eels.

But one of the most popular

and affordable meals

was something that today

is considered a real delicacy.

So, my family's been

growing oysters in Essex,

-in England for

-Wow.

about 300 years now.

[Antoni] And someone who knows

all about it is Tom Howard.

In the 1700s, my fifth

great-grandfather's side,

cultivating farming oysters

and then shipping them

up the Thames into London.

And we are, I think,

the oldest oyster-farming

family in the world.

-[gasps]

-Really?

Yeah, yeah.

[Antoni] Farmed and fished

in the Thames estuary,

oysters provided a vital source

of cheap protein for the poor.

You could buy two dozen for

the price of a loaf of bread.

For context, at the moment,

I sell about

one and a half million

oysters a year.

-Geez!

-They were doing that in a week.

Oh!

So, it's very likely

that your ancestors

were eating the oysters

that my family grew.

-I love that. That's amazing.

-It's really, really likely.

[Florence]

That's really cool.

[Antoni] In Mauritz

and Anna Maria's time,

London's Columbia Road

was packed

with working-class families.

And today,

you can still see traces

of the Victorian world

they'd have known.

But you're gonna see

something here,

which is kind of quintessential

of what we've been

talking about, really.

-Oh my gosh.

-Wow.

[Antoni]

Including, you guessed it,

an oyster stall.

This is Connor, who I supply

quite a few thousand oysters

to each week.

-Do you?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Oh!

-Hello.

-Wow.

-What a great date spot.

-[Antoni] Okay, what do we have?

-[Florence] Yeah.

[Connor] We've got some

of the finest oysters

that Tom and his family

have to offer.

These are the native

flathead European,

so called because they grow

naturally in Europe.

So, my ancestors ate

-probably a lot of these?

-Yes, true.

How would they have

eaten them back in 1860?

So, they would have

put it into stews,

-Oh, I see.

-Into pies.

But they would have

also eaten them raw,

and they would have been a huge

staple part of their diet.

-[Antoni] Should we try some?

-Absolutely.

[Antoni]

Now, just as in the 1800s,

the first thing you need to do

with an oyster is open it.

[Connor] And maybe,

if you're feeling brave enough,

you can give it a go yourself.

Okay, let's do this.

[Antoni] A process

that's called shucking.

-[laughter]

-[Florence] Okay, so my hand

-is going on top of that.

-Very, very firm, yeah.

Popping it in that hole.

This feels so dangerous.

It probably is.

[Antoni] Thankfully,

modern oyster stalls

do at least come

with safety gloves.

-[grunting]

-[Connor] Be careful, though.

Trying to pull

the chain mail up.

[laughter]

-I think if you just turned it.

-Yeah?

-Pop hey!

-[Antoni gasps]

-I did it. Whoo!

-Perfect.

-Magic!

-[laughing]

It's in her genes.

Look how pretty that is,

it looks like a flower.

[laughter]

Mm!

They're quite sweet, actually.

Almost like a rich treat.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

[Antoni]

Today's taste of Florence's

great-great-great-grandparents

Mauritz and Anna Maria's diet

has been a real delight.

[both]

Mm!

But now, I want to turn

to their daughter

and her family.

So, remember,

we were introduced

-to little Johannah today?

-Yes.

Well, she grew up

and she met a man,

a Welshman by the name

of Louis Pugh.

That's where the Pugh came in!

That's where the Pugh came in.

And they got married.

And this is their daughter's

act of birth.

Do you see her name?

[gasps]

-No!

-Yeah!

-Florence?

-Yeah!

Florence Pugh,

so there's already been

I feel quite emotional.

There's already been

a Florence Pugh.

She was born the 25th

of November, 1882.

-That's crazy.

-Your parents never mentioned

-anything or grandparents about?

-No. No.

No idea.

My parents had no idea.

-Really?

-No, I was named after the city.

-My mum's gonna scream.

-Aw!

[Antoni] We've got

a lot more to explore

about the Pughs of the 1800s.

Let's have a toast

to Florence.

Ooh.

Because I've unearthed

something extraordinary

that could explain

why food means so much

to Florence's

modern-day family.

Every day must be so much

information to take in.

-Mm.

-But I'm always curious about,

-like, what sticks.

-Yeah, I mean,

my reaction yesterday

was utter shock.

I'm so intrigued that

there was another Florence.

-Right.

-And where is she?

Where did she go?

Where did she live?

-Did she have children?

-Yeah.

Florence is bursting

with questions

about her

19th-century namesake.

And to find out what happened

to her and her family

[Florence]

Saint Pancras gardens.

Mystery continues.

[Antoni] I'm taking

Florence to the place

they ended up after a series

of unfortunate events.

So, at the time,

because of the air quality

and the pollution here,

the quality of life

was really tough.

Little Florence,

unfortunately,

just shy of her

fifth birthday

-[gasps]

-passed away.

No.

Most probably

from tuberculosis.

That was the case

of most children in those times.

Oh, no.

Whoa.

-[stuttering] Okay.

-Yeah.

Wait, what?

You wanted to say something.

So, this is also

just very strange,

because I had many struggles

growing up with my breathing,

and constantly being ill and

going in and out of hospitals.

My gosh.

I wasn't supposed to live.

When I was born,

they told my parents

that I

that it wasn't gonna happen,

and just, like, enjoy the time

whilst you have it.

[Antoni] Little Florence's

story has struck a chord.

Her parents did go on to have

another daughter, Alice,

but then the family was hit

by tragedy again.

-So, unfortunately

-Alice didn't die, did she?

No.

Johannah, the mother.

-[gasps] No!

-She passed away,

and Alice went into a workhouse.

That's really bleak.

Do you see those

two buildings over there?

-Yeah.

-So, those are the workhouses.

-[gasps]

-That she was in.

Workhouses gave the poor

and destitute shelter

in exchange for work.

Conditions were

notoriously bad.

Forced child labor,

malnutrition,

and beatings were common.

This, Saint Pancras workhouse,

was one of nearly 50

such institutions in London.

Oof, that's a tough

that's a heavy

-That's heavy.

-Yeah.

Isn't it crazy

how you can live in a city

and walk past something,

and have no idea

that your relatives

spent such a large portion

-of their life right there?

-Right.

[Antoni] Alice stayed at

Saint Pancras workhouse

until she was 14.

But then,

her fortunes changed.

And to tell us what happened,

I've invited genealogist

Megan Owens to join us.

-[overlapping greetings]

-Hi. Nice to meet you.

When a family falls on

hard times, the workhouse

-was a place of last resort.

-Right.

So, the workhouse is a dark

-and worrying place.

-Yeah.

But in 1904,

there's a bit of a ray of light,

because Alice was taken

from this workhouse

and sent out

into the countryside.

[Antoni] A dozen miles

outside of London,

Leavesden was home to a school

that taught girls like Alice

a practical curriculum designed

to help them find work.

They learned skills

like laundry,

housework, and cooking.

-Aha.

-Yeah.

So, there's another bit.

Alice learns to cook.

She did really well at that

because she uses that

to advance herself

to move up in the world.

[Antoni] After doing

so well at Leavesden

that she received

a coveted Best Pupil award,

the records reveal

Alice landed a job

for a wealthy London family.

And there's no prizes

for guessing her role.

[Megan]

Alice found work cooking.

-No way.

-Yeah.

-Whoa.

-Yeah.

Opportunity to thrive.

-Yeah, and to learn new skills.

-And to live.

-Exactly.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] As a cook,

Alice would have been a master

at making many different meals.

-I'm so happy you did it.

-[laughter]

[Antoni] But for a taste

of how she'd cater

for one of England's

most famous culinary occasions,

we've come to a tea room

for afternoon tea.

[Megan] Do you know

about the origins of tea time?

Queen Victoria had

a significant lady-in-waiting

in the first few years

of her reign

who felt that it was

a bit too late

to have dinner

between 8 and 9 o'clock,

and so she started having

people for afternoon tea,

and one of those people

was Queen Victoria.

Clever.

And she really got

into the whole concept

of the afternoon tea.

I love another

opportunity to eat.

-[laughter]

-[Antoni] Yeah.

[Antoni] Cake was a centerpiece

of afternoon tea.

One cake in particular

became very popular.

-[Megan] Look at this.

-[Antoni] Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

My goodness.

[Antoni] A fluffy sponge

and whipped cream creation

so beloved by Victoria

That's a Victoria sponge

if ever I've seen one.

[Antoni]

it was named after her.

It's gonna be a mouthful.

[Megan] Alice would have

been excellent

at a bit of cake baking.

So, she would have laid

on this sort of thing, for sure.

[Florence]

Oh, good aim. Mm.

That's beautiful.

-It feels super light.

-[Antoni] Yeah. [laughing]

You can eat this

on a diet, right?

-[Antoni] Oh.

-You can eat it on a diet.

-[laughing]

-Mm-hmm, 'cause it's so light.

Mm.

[Antoni] Thank you

so much for all this.

This is really,

really enlightening.

And just wonderful to hear

your passion about my family.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

[Antoni] It's inspiring

that Alice managed

to escape the tragic

poverty and suffering

of her workhouse childhood

though her passion

and talent for food.

Alice, you know, she made

the best out of, like,

a really unfortunate

life situation.

Well, she had an opportunity

-Yeah.

-Yeah, and she took it.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

She was amazing.

[Antoni] Our culinary adventure

is drawing to a close,

but we do have one last stop.

So, we're seeing

your parents tomorrow.

What are you gonna tell them

about this journey?

I've saved

a few pieces of information.

I haven't told them

about Florence.

-Mm.

-Which will be

-fascinating to hear, yeah.

-I think that'll be really nice.

Yeah, I don't know

how they're gonna take it.

I'm so excited.

Should we celebrate

with one more?

-Oh, you went big!

-[laughing]

-I went aggro. Cheers.

-Cheers.

Mm.

You're adorable.

You really are.

[Antoni] Are you excited

to see the whole fam bam?

Yeah, very excited

to see the fam bam.

Mad fam bam.

What's the energy

gonna be like?

I think it will be loud.

[laughter]

[Antoni] A week ago, Florence

and I set out to explore

the roots of her family's

passion for food.

-[Florence] Home, sweet home.

-Let's do this.

And now, it's time to share

what we've discovered.

-[Florence] Yoohoo!

-Oh, my God.

[Antoni] Nearly the whole g*ng

have made it,

including restaurateur dad,

Clinton.

Hi, Dad.

-Hi, Granny.

-Hello, babe.

[Antoni]

And Florence's brother Toby

with his girlfriend,

Scarlet.

[laughing]

You're pulling my clothes off.

Antoni, nice to meet you.

-Hello! We're reunited.

-[laughing]

Hi, sir, nice to meet you.

This being the Pugh family,

we're of course

meeting over food.

And today being Sunday,

we're having one of Britain's

most iconic meals.

So, why are Sunday roasts

so important to your family?

We've always eaten together.

It's very important.

And the Sunday roast

is a particular important thing

that we never never miss.

One of my favorite things

about our Sunday roast,

if we've all been away,

and everybody comes back home,

-it's a bookend to the week.

-Mm.

And it's a time for everybody

to catch up with each other.

-This is like it's a ritual.

-Yeah.

[Antoni] The centerpiece

of a Sunday roast is the meat,

and the most traditional choice

is roast beef.

So, this is Daddy's way

of doing his beef.

Rub a load of oil over here,

and then sprinkle

with a load of the salt.

[Antoni] The beef will soon be

joined in the oven by potatoes.

[Clinton] Have you got

the garlic, Florence?

Yep, right here.

[Antoni] Clinton likes to add

garlic and thyme

before roasting his.

I think the art of the perfect

potato is debatable.

You see, lots of people

come from different angles.

And I would say my potatoes

are now as good as his.

[blows raspberry]

Give over!

-No, Mum.

-So, this is the first fight.

[laughter]

[Antoni] No Sunday roast

would be complete

without seasonal vegetables.

We cook the carrots

with orange juice

-so they get zingy.

-Love. So nice.

And finally, there's a Sunday

roast essential

I'm now very familiar with.

Guys, we're gonna make

Yorkshire puddings.

[Florence]

Yorkshire pudding oh!

We know how

to make this, don't we?

-We do know how to make it.

-We know how to make it.

Funnily enough,

it was one of the things

that we ate

at the beginning of the week.

We had a Yorkshire pudding

cooked in lamb fat.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-Ohh.

[Florence] And we found out

how our ancestor

James Tose cooked

beautiful mutton.

-Oh, yeah?

-[food sizzling]

[Florence] And then,

you have on Dad's side,

Mauritz Becht

and Anna Maria, his wife,

came over from Rotterdam.

They were very hungry,

very poor,

and their

granddaughter's called

[gasps]

No.

-It's Florence.

-Florence Pugh?

There was another Florence Pugh,

and it was in our family,

-and we didn't know about it.

-Florence Pugh.

It gets a little bit weirder.

-She had bronchiole issues.

-Spooky.

And when she was five,

she died.

After that, another child,

Alice Pugh,

ended up going to the workhouse.

But then she learned cooking,

became essentially

the star pupil,

and she got hired by a family

that wanted her

to work in their home.

-Doesn't that sound wild?

-My word.

Isn't that amazing?

[Florence] Okay.

Super, super exciting.

[Antoni] We've given the Pughs

plenty of food for thought.

[Florence] Ooh, you get that one

'cause you're the guest.

-It's huge.

-[laughing]

Granny, this is one

of the smaller ones.

[Antoni]

And talking about food,

the Sunday roast is finally

ready to be served.

Ah, what a spread.

-[Florence] Mm.

-[Scarlet] Whoa.

All right, Florence,

I'm doing a little homage

to how we started our week.

-I'll do it, too.

-A little sandwich

-with some gravy.

-With some beef.

-Ready?

-Mm-hmm.

-Mm.

-[Florence exclaiming]

-Mm.

-[laughing]

That is so good.

-Mm.

-It's great.

[Florence] It's been

so thrilling to find out

about my ancestors.

I love learning

that food has been

this kind of beating drum

throughout many generations

-of both sides of my family.

-Mm-hmm.

[Florence]

Like, looking at Granny's side

of James Tose and his family,

where the enjoyment of living

around and raising food.

And then, also my dad's side

where food was a scarcity.

Alice Pugh, needing to learn

how to cook to earn money,

it makes sense.

-Yeah.

-Like, that all makes sense

that we are the way

that we are.

-Right, right.

-We love providing food.

We love cooking good food.

We love hosting.

-Yeah.

-We maybe didn't know

where that came from,

but actually, like,

it's something

that is clearly

a really important part

-of our genes.

-Yeah.

-I've met my match. Yeah.

-[laughing]

[Antoni] It's been fascinating

uncovering the deep roots

of the Pugh family's

culinary passion,

and I've got a feeling

their infatuation with food

will live on for many

generations to come.

A toast to all the ancestors.

-Cheers.

-Thank you so much

-for having me.

-[all] Cheers.

And I'd like to say thanks

for the love of food, guys.

Can you imagine

if we didn't have it?

-Exactly.

-Misery.

-Misery.

-Misery.

[laughter]

[upbeat string music

playing]