River Cottage

Foxtel and The LifeStyle Channel today announced the commissioning of new local production, River Cottage Australia, the first international version of the hugely successful series, co-produced by Granada Media Australia and Keo Films.

Mentored by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage Australia will search for the new ‘Aussie Hugh’ – testing their knowledge of food, enthusiasm for all things wild and local, and resilience in setting up a sustainable farm in the Australian countryside. Continue reading »

6:00pm – Saturday, December 22 on ABC1

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the River Cottage team serve up a festive menu with a twist in this Christmas special.

After a summer as a vegetarian, Hugh is ready to celebrate Christmas with a renewed sense not only of the value of meat but of the wonders of seasonal vegetables. This year, all the meat comes from the most free-ranging animals of them all — wild game — more specifically, those that are viewed by many people as pests; the River Cottage chefs sharpen their knives in pursuit of wild boar, muntjac deer and greylag geese.

Head gardener Mark Diacono and Hugh make the most of their vegetable patch, even in the depths of winter, unearthing some Christmas favourites and unusual heritage varieties.

Forager John Wright teams up with Pam ‘The Jam’ Corbin to make luxurious stocking stuffers. And the Canteen hosts a ‘Twelve Tasters of Christmas’ night packed with ideas for an array of canap�s and little bites, perfect for that festive drinks party.

The finale is a cozy Christmas get-together for friends and family in the River Cottage barn.

6:00pm – Thursday, June 21 on ABC1

The River Cottage garden is wintery and opulent. Out of it, however, Hugh harvests a surprising winter green salad. He adds roasted Jerusalem artichoke, goat’s cheese and hazelnuts for a light but mouthwatering lunch.

Instead of giving shop-bought boxes of chocolates to family and friends this Christmas, he decides to make his own. He conjures up a tray of lipsmacking chocolate brownies that take 10 minutes to prepare and two minutes to wrap.

Hugh’s slaughtered steer has now been hanging for a month. Butcher, Ray Smith, and Hugh set to work extracting cuts for a party Hugh is throwing: an ultimate roast beef dinner and all the trimmings to thank the staff at the River Cottage Canteen for their hard work during the year.

6:00pm – Thursday, June 14 on ABC1

With winter just around the corner, Hugh looks to his garden for inspiration and decides to turn the heat up with a chilli and pumpkin party for 200 people.

He also travels to Cornwall to join a group of fishermen who have found a sustainable and lucrative market in line-caught squid fishing.

Hugh’s campaign to get more rabbits back in the culinary food chain is picked up and championed by chef Tim Maddams.

The Landshare campaign also continues to capture the imagination of the nation. Hugh visits a community that has benefited from the match and is determined to grow and rear its own Christmas dinners.

6:00pm – Thursday, June 7 on ABC1

Hugh loves his garden and all that grows in it, however he’s not the only one. Rabbits have surrounded River Cottage and Hugh has concrete evidence they are decimating his winter vegetables. After coming to terms with the extent of the problem, he brings Ted and Derek to help him manage them.

Now that Hugh has a steady supply of rabbit meat and pelts, he takes the next logical step and heads straight for his local Women’s Institute. With the help of this institution and its nationwide networks, he hopes to get rabbits back on the British menu.

Wild mussels are ready for picking. Hugh and his children raid Devon’s rocky coves with French teacher Nathalie Arnold and her family. Also, Hugh and wine maker, Marko Bojcun, think last year’s wine is very drinkable, but will a discerning British public agree?

6:00pm – Thursday, May 31 on ABC1

Winter’s on the way as we return to River Cottage to join Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall who is growing, rearing, fishing and foraging for an array of winter treats. With his produce, he hopes to turn this traditionally chilly season into the warmest of the year.

Catching fish is one of Hugh’s great passions and he decides to take on free diving. After a crash course in holding huge breaths under water, he takes to the open sea to try and bag the ultimate of shellfish – scallops.

Foraging guru John Wright and Hugh snuffle about the woods looking for mushrooms, all of which will be destined for a succulent mushroom tart.

Also, Hugh’s Landshare campaign has been growing through the summer with more people finding local land on which to grow and rear their own food.

6:00pm – Thursday, April 19 on ABC1

Hugh is upset when he discovers that slugs have been gorging on his soft cabbages, so he plans some drastic revenge. Snails have long been on the River Cottage menu and Hugh wonders if he can turn slugs into a culinary hit too? The results are, at best, mixed.

Summer is warming up and Hugh heads to the coast to take on local restaurateur Mark Hix in a fish-off before they join forces to cook mouth-watering fish dishes to convince locals to eat sustainable catches.

Meanwhile, foraging friend John Wright invites Hugh over for a Chinese takeaway. First they have to forage for all the ingredients for their stir fry.

Back at River Cottage, Hugh and his son Oscar milk their goat and make a cheesecake with their product.

Baker’s apprentice Sarah Bilson discovers the joys of making her own sourdough bread and even her little daughter gets in on the fun.

6:00pm – Thursday, April 26 on ABC1

River Cottage celebrates the strawberry this summer with a massive strawberry fete. In preparation for it, Hugh and the River Cottage gardeners, Mark Diacano and Victoria Moorey, plant strawberries in every available space; boots, hanging water bottles and even old chamber pots! Eventually when the first strawberries appear, Hugh turns them into the ultimate berry-tastic breakfast.

River Cottage baker Dan Stevens sets baker’s apprentice Sarah Bilson her final challenge. She must bake a perfect sweet scone. Hugh teams up with ‘Pam the Jam’ to concoct a couple of strawberry jams with a surprising twist.

Hugh and Tim spend time fishing for a trout before ‘Strawberry day’ arrives and Hugh has his work cut out for him as he hosts a party for 500.

6:00pm – Thursday, April 12 on ABC1

Hugh wants to run a leftovers night at the River Cottage Canteen.

Together with River Cottage chef Tim Maddams, they make canapes from leftover fish, gnocchi from roast potatoes and puddings from breadcrumbs.

River Cottage has been attempting to do its bit for the environment, but Hugh would like to do more with the used cooking oil he and his chefs produce. He takes his car to Axe Valley Community College where chemistry students are running a program turning waste oil into car fuel.

Fishing has long been a favourite way of sourcing food for Hugh, but one thing he has never tried is throw-netting for mullet.

This year, Hugh is out to banish the sliced white loaf, so River Cottage baker, Dan Stevens, sets out to convince ‘can’t cook’ nursery school teacher Sarah Bilson of the joys of home bread making.

Hugh is off to Manchester to meet with food heroes Marg Dwyer and Doreen Wilkinson, who are tackling local youth crime by growing vegetables.

6:00pm – Thursday, April 5 on ABC1

The River Cottage vegetables are growing and Hugh is championing one of his favourites this year – the pea. He has tips on planting and some innovative approaches to turning peas into fine canapes and chilled pea soup shooters.

With the weather warming up it’s also time to shear the River Cottage sheep and to mark the event, Hugh is throwing a sheep-shearing party.

He will also be trying to turn the tide of opinion on an old political hot potato – veal.

Hugh visits a local farm that is producing welfare-friendly veal animals to explore the veal conundrum.

Armed with culinary veal delights, he then heads to Taunton farmers market to put the welfare-friendly meat to the public vote.

Hugh’s campaign to help people find local land to grow food on has taken off. The launch of the landlinking Landshare website has been a huge success, and Hugh is off to Manchester to celebrate with carrot cake.