In Jimmy and Shivis Farmhouse Breakfast Season 2 Episode 12, TV presenter and property expert Amanda Lamb joins Jimmy Doherty and Shivi Ramoutar for a day of delicious food, cocktails, and countryside charm.
The morning kicks off with strapatsada, a vibrant Greek-style scrambled egg dish, before Jimmy heads to the wildlife park to collect fresh eggs. Meanwhile, plant expert Chantal drops by with a masterclass in houseplant propagation, and Max gets creative in the workshop building the perfect bedside book stand.
Back in the kitchen, Jimmy and Shivi mix up a tropical piña colada for Amanda before teaming up to prepare a show-stopping honey-glazed duck breast with peach and burrata salad — the ultimate farmhouse treat.
#JimmyAndShivisFarmhouseBreakfast #AmandaLamb #CookingShow #FarmToTable #Channel4Food
Morning, Jimmy. You look uncharacteristically thoughtful today. Well, love to see you. I was just thinking about our amazing guest. Yeah. She was spotted as a teenage model, incredible modeling career, and then went on to a dazzling presenter career on TV. She did, didn’t she? And well, I was just thinking it could work the other way. You know, someone like, I don’t know, a TV farmer works in TV, then ends up as a fantastic model. Never going to happen. Jim, roll titles. It might. It just might. I think those days are gone. Welcome to the show that weekends were made for. We’ve got food. That is off the scale. We’ve got countryside. Right. Come on. We’ve got crafts. And we’ve got lots of wildlife. Come on, Mr. Armadillo. So, if you’re looking for some weekend cooking inspiration, you fancy a bit of DIY or a cheeky tipple. I’m liking this breakfast. Or if you just want to hang out with some famous friends, that’s the look of love. And some furry ones, too. You’re in the right place. Settle back for Jimmy and Shivy’s farmhouse breakfast. Good morning and welcome to Jimmy and Shivy’s farmhouse breakfast. Now, today’s guest has brought charm, style, and a centerass to TV for years. She’s helped us dream big with The Place of the Sun and taken us through some spectacular properties and always with warmth, wit, and her signature sparkle wherever she goes. Please welcome the amazing Amanda Lamb. So good to have you. Hello. What an intro. I know. I know. Well, I mean, you deserve it, right? Very sweet. I’ll be cooking up a delicious breakfast for Amanda very shortly. But first, let’s see what’s coming up on today’s show. I’m collecting eggs over at the wildlife park. Chantel Dawson joins us for a house plant masterass. Max is knocking up another creative design in the workshop. And of course, there’s a cocktail. But first, it’s breakfast. So, Shivy, what have we got? So, today I’ve got a Greek dish inspired by Straitada. Ooh. So, Amanda looks like she knows she loves you. Is it? I love Greek cuisine. Do you? I that thing of just sitting by a little harbor. Oh, haven’t. I’m there already. Except we’re in Suffuk, guys. We’re in Suffuk. Yeah. Let’s start. Yeah. And it’s a Yeah. So, do you know what? So, you know, then I’ve heard of it, but Okay. So, it’s quite interesting. It’s essentially a tomato scrambled egg, which sounds a bit weird, but it’s going to be a slow tomato cooked with spices. It’s going to be sweet. Well, tomatoes eggs go really well, don’t they? It does. And this is going to be softly cooked and it’s going to be served up. It’s going to be a plate in the sun for you. What a pie. What a party. So, breakfast in your house. What’s breakfast time like for you? Um, if it’s a school day, it’s absolute carnage. Is it? Tell me. I try and get really organized the day before and I sort of put everything out and then I think I’m winning at life. So everything’s out on the table and the kids just come and help themselves. But the weekends it’s a more sort of leisurely affair. And you know, eggs and tomatoes I think are probably my favorite combo. Do you know what? And this one as well, it can be a lunch dish and it’s served cold, but we’re going to serve it warm for you. We didn’t get chatting on what you need to do, Jimmy. Okay. So you going to help me? No. So you’re going to grate these tomatoes. Now you can use a tin of tomatoes but actually when we’re in tomato season which we are now it’s beautiful in the UK it’s fantastic. Also the corette please Jimmy. And then in here I’ll show you quickly what I’m doing. I’ve got garlic and I’ve got onions just softly cooking here. I’m going to add some spices. We’ve got oregano and paprika just to give it that lovely Mediterranean warm. Amazing. I love the whole concept of breakfast at a weekend when there’s not the rush and it slows down and you can have it at kind of 10 or 11 with the papers and the radio and you can’t you can’t beat that and I think it’s time that you catch up with the kids, decide what you’re going to do during the day and take time to enjoy the food cuz breakfast often is super rushed. It is. So So what is your go-to breakfast? What are you having? I love um grilled anything Greek. it. So, this is perfect for me. Greek, yogurt, honey, walnuts. That’ll be like my kind of starter. And do you cook it, Amanda? I do. Well, not yet. I do. I I like the prep. I’m I’m one of those people that likes doing this. I like sitting and talking to somebody else. Well, you can come back while they’re doing it all. Yeah, exactly. And then I love um fresh bread and tons of salty butter. Yes, it’s salty butter is the way. It has to be salty otherwise what’s the point? What is the point? So I imagine in your days of modeling and traveling you would have come across lots of different world breakfast. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think for for you know we used to film in France a lot as well. So that whole just sauntering down to the bonerie and getting your quissants and your fresh bread and practicing your terrible French. Oh it was awesome. Now I want to talk about your modeling career because Yes. You were spotted. I was at a young age weren’t you? I was well you say young. I was 20. That is young. But that’s positively prehistoric as a model. Yeah. In modeling terms it was. And I’d gone to the Do you remember the clothes show live? Yeah. It was like a religion that program, you know, every Sunday night everybody stopped what they were doing and watch sort of Jeff Banks and Selena Scott. Jeff Banks. Do you remember? And then they used to have an exhibition. Um, and I’d go on there with a girlfriend and I was standing outside waiting to get in and three or four agencies came up and said, “Have you ever thought of modeling?” and and I I kind of had but wasn’t brave enough to do it. And I was living down in Portsouth as an estate agent. My dad thought I was mad. He said, “What do you want to go to London for?” My mom was like, “Go, go, go, go.” And then that was the moment you were spotted and your career started. You never looked back because then you got the the um Scottish Widows contract, didn’t you? The the first year was tough because I rocked up all kind of hips and this and it was at the time that Kate Moss suddenly became every movement. So everyone and there’s no way I’m ever going to be a wife, Jimmy. No chance. There’s no chance. So I didn’t work for a year. So I worked in a pub. I cleaned houses. I did everything. It’s tough being being a model because you you’ve got your portfolio and you’re going from agency to agency, backwards and forwards. It’s hard. I think in in those days, I mean, we are talking, you know, dinosaur times. It was it was the ‘9s, so we didn’t have internet or mobiles or anything. So, I used to have one of those Az. And the night before I would have a list of castings and I’d have to work out how to get around London, which has been good cuz it’s given me a really good sense of direction. You’ve got the knowledge. How are those tomatoes going, Jimmy? They’re going. I’m just trying not to grate my fingers. Should I take some of that and start it? Really? You mean can you hurry up? Yeah, let me just take some of that. Go on. Look. So, I’m going to pop that in here. And then we’re just going to add some balance to this. So, a bit of vinegar and a bit of sugar just to balance those tomatoes. And that’s going to thicken. That’s going to take probably about 20 minutes, 25 minutes to really thicken along with the coette. Maybe get get some coette now. Jimmy, we don’t need a lot of that. Just to balance it. Um, and actually, the grating stuff is such a quick way. Oh, it’s it’s quick and it’s easy. Again, you can use chopped tomatoes. Yeah, I know. I know. We don’t want fingers in this. So, by the power of magic TV, we’ve thickened up the tomatoes and corettes with the onions. So, it has to be really thick, really concentrated like that. And now, we’re simply going to throw in our seasoned scrambled egg or seasoned beaten egg and scramble it. And the trick here is not to overcook it because, you know, in the residual heat, those eggs will thicken up and will cook. And then we’re going to sprinkle over some chopped mint and crumble over some feta. So, I’m just going to let this cook slowly. Now, I could eat feta every single day. Yes. It’s a perfect balance. one of those cheeses that are so versatile as well because you can use it in so much. So, when did the TV kick in then? So, I modeled for about eight or nine years and then I kind of got to the point where I was like, I’m sort of done now. Yeah. Um and I had a phone call from my agent. They were looking for um a presenter for a little known show called A Place in the Sun. They were doing six episodes and they wanted somebody that had estate agency background. So between the ages of 15 and 20, I worked in an estate agent. There you are. So I kind of combined them both. I was used to being in front of a camera because of modeling and I love property. I’m obsessed with it. And that’s so important because there’s there’s so many property shows on, but to have that real interest and the expertise, it comes through. Oh my gosh, it was my dream job. You know, I can remember walking on a beach in Fiji once thinking, is this really happening? I’m being paid to show someone a house in Fiji. I mean, that is anybody’s dream job, isn’t it? I think traveling is probably my favorite thing in the world. Yeah. Yeah. Seen other cultures. But I want to talk about another show cuz you’ve done so many different TV shows, so many different subject matters. But Market Kitchen. Oh my gosh. That’s where we first met. Yes. But that was a real sort of experimental show, wasn’t it? It was amazing. Yeah. So, it was very similar to this. And we used to have the most amazing chefs on. I always remember when I used to get into the studio, I was like, “Right, I’m not eating anything because I know that I’m about to have Tom Carriage and Theo Randall and people like that.” You had a little audience sitting around. Um, and that really brought it to life because when when you when you’re presenting with people that eating, you you’ve got the the diners, it it you know, the live activity of the market. It’s brilliant. It was a fantastic show. And what I and what it taught me, like you were just saying with the tomatoes, how to cook seasonally because I think we lose sight of that nowadays, don’t we? You know, we buy tomatoes all year round, but you know, when you’re in the thick of the kind of tomato season, we use it all the time. Absolutely. Right. So, we are getting on quite well. So, the eggs are just taking their sweet time. Everybody’s having a nice relaxed Saturday morning. So, are the eggs thickened up a bit here. Now, the key to this really is not to let it overcook. It still looks a bit runny there and that’s absolutely fine cuz you know eggs keep the heat and you want them to cook over the next few minutes. They will thicken up a little bit more. And you can dunk your bread in it as well. You can dunk your bread in it. Remember this isn’t scrambled egg as you know it. It’s going to be a little bit runny, a little bit that’s grand exotic. I love an egg. And you know what? So good. Fetilate than never. Oh, the feta goes on top like that. Little bit of crumble there. This will work wonderfully if you eat meat. You can have a little bit of Greek sausage with this as well. Put a little bit of chili in there. You can put some chili in there. You know, I love chili and anything. There we go. Give that a lovely crumble. It looks mint. Jimmy, can you do me a favor and grab some of the pa out of the oven for me? Yes. Yes. Yes. Some mint there as well. Anyway, that looks amazing. I think you’re going to enjoy this. This is my version of a strapada. Oh, look at that. That is a crowdleaser. Okay, look at this. The Greek sapatada. So, here we go. It’s kind of like a dig in. Yes, please. For all. I mean, look. Get in there. I’m just going to Let’s give it a try. Yeah. It’s a real tear and share. It’s a dunk, isn’t it? It’s a dunker. You can also pile it into the pitter as well. Let’s go in there. Oh, I love food shaves. M. That was so good. Another surprise in your voice there. You are surprised, Amanda. I’m a disaster in the kitchen. But you can use that on so many dishes as well, can’t you? Oh, it’s fantastic. That is unbelievably good. It’s really good. Really wholesome. A different way of eggs. Mhm. That is so good, isn’t it? Delicious. I I think it’s time to grab yourself a cuper cuz we’ll be back in a minute. And when we’re back, I’ll be checking on the chickens. We’ve got tips on house plants. And let’s see what Max has been up to in his workshop. So good. All right, let’s have another. Welcome back. We’re here with the amazing Amanda Lamb. Woo! We’ve already touched into breakfast and we’ve got loads more coming up. We’re learning how to propagate house plants with Chantel. Max is whipping up another clever design and we’ve got a cocktail to try naturally. But now it’s time to head to the wildlife park. Right, let’s go and check the rare breed chickens. I always love checking chickens and collecting eggs, and I’ve done it since I was a kid. There’s no better feeling than going into a chicken coupe and getting those freshly laid eggs. So, first things first is let these guys out. Here we go. Right. Come on, Chs. Here they come. Now, these are lovely chickens. These are the chickens of Suffukk. They’re called Xworths and they’re what we would describe as a dual purpose. They would have been eaten for the for the meat on a lovely sunny roast, but also great egg layers, but now sadly a rare breed. So what we’re going to do today, we’re not collecting the eggs here to make a fry up with or to cook with. These eggs are going to be incubated to create the next generation of these rare breed chickens. 1 2 3 4 5 six lovely group of six hens here. And we’ve got this beautiful roll. and hopefully he’s been servicing these hens and the eggs we’re collecting today will be fertile. I could let them sit naturally, but what I want to do is collect all the eggs up and make sure we get the best result we can by incubating them in an artificial incubator. Right, let’s see the eggs. Right, excellent. Look at this. Six lovely eggs. So when the birds are in full lay, you really would love an egg a day from each bird. But that’s one of the delights of keeping chickens and one of the reasons that chicken keeping is becoming more and more popular because the reward of harvesting your own eggs every morning is just fantastic. Now, right, let’s take these ones away. They’re great for the incubator. right? This is our little maternity ward. So, what I need to do on each egg is I need to just put on what they are. So, this one is the Xworth. Put an IX and I’m going to put the date on. And the date is really important because a chicken egg takes 21 days to incubate. So I need to know exactly when these eggs are going to hatch. Great. Let’s put that one there. So let’s open that up. One there. One there. And the incubator is a really clever gadget because what the mother hen will do is she’ll sit on the eggs and she’ll ruffle her wings a bit and move around and she’s turning the eggs. And that’s really important. If you just left an egg on its side, the yolk part would stick to one side and you wouldn’t get a hatch. So by turning the eggs, she’s making sure that the yolk isn’t sticking. So this incubator does exactly the same. It rocks backwards and forwards and that turns the egg. So basically this is mimicking the hen. The whole egg laying process is fascinating. So those little yolks are released by the hen and they travel down travel down into the ovary and on that on that journey the albamin the white is added and then after that the membrane is added and then after that the shell is added and then that travels down and eventually hardens off and then the pigment is added and that is going on every 24 hours. But look at this. I know what you’re thinking. Not an avocado. That is an emu egg. Incredible. And that coloration is added just at the end of the process. And of course with a clutch of these perfectly camouflaged because the emu is a ground nesting bird and it has to camouflage its eggs. This one is infertile. So I’m not going to put it in the incubator. It won’t hatch. But if I left it, it would go off. It would go bad. So there’s a really good way of preserving the eggshell and that’s by blowing the eggs. So, that’s what I’m going to do to this, right? I’ll see you guys in 21 days. And that is the emu egg. That is be Look at that. I did not expect that color. I’d like a dress made. So, this is the natural color. Yeah. Wow. It’s like a dragon’s egg, isn’t it? But hole at the top, hole at the bottom. You blow all the egg out. It’s a great way of preserving the shell. It’s something the kids can do with a chicken’s egg. Yeah. I think we’d do that for Easter. You know, decorate them. There we go. Look at that. And that will just last. Yep. That’ll last. Okay. Amazing. Well, from making eggs last to how to make your house plants last because I’ll tell you what, if you’re anything like me, I kill everything. And I think it’s time for Shantel, who’s back in the studio today, you to give us a little master classing house plants. Yes. House plant masterass. So, we’ve got lots to cover. So, shall we start with our propagation first? So, we’ve got three different methods. You each have three different plants. M. So Jimmy, you will do the propagating method by stem, right? And could you find a node? So a node here. So you’ve got a little node here. So that’s where the root will come out from once it’s in the water. So snip about here. Yeah. So in that pot in front of you is one that I cut last night. Yes. And you can see the cut and what it looks like because you’d have to let that cut heal over a little bit. Right. Because otherwise if you put that now directly into water, it will just rot. Yeah. I have propagated this one probably about 6 weeks ago. So 6 weeks in the water. And look already the roots. The roots are coming. It’s amazing. Yeah. Um what I would say is if you do pop any plants in water is change your water every week and a half, every two weeks because otherwise it gets quite green and you get algae in there. So just keep it fresh and just keep your um plants healthy by changing the water every week or so. And what am I doing Shantel? So you have a piece lily shivy and you will be dividing by root. What does that mean? So what we’ll do, we’ve got a bowl here. Okay. Got some tools if you need it. So you can take the plant out of the pot. So just Yeah. Comes out. See those lovely roots there as well. Look. Oh yeah. Look at that. Um falling apart. Come over the pot the the bowl here. So you want to remove most of that soil happening. and just split the plants. So, this is what propagation is, is you splitting your plants by making new. See, naturally with the plants here, so this is a great way of making more plants and it doesn’t cost you anything because you’re using the main plant to to create more. It is very satisfying playing with soil as well. There we go. If we put a nice Am I not doing a good job, Jimmy? No, you’re doing well. You’re doing well. But there we go. Look at that. You’ve got one, two, three. Amazing. Okay, that’s it. So, if you choose the plant that you want to pot up, you can go for a bigger one cuz you’ve got a bigger pot there. Okay, I’ll go for a bigger one then. And then we’ll go to the leaf. Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me. I want to live. It’s okay. What am I doing with it? Really easy for succulent propagation. So, I’ve brought some leaves along just to show you the aim of this. So you’ll be pulling some leaves apart from the succulent here and then you just leave them and then ultimately the roots just kind of grow like these have done. So are we going to pot up? We we are potting up. So Jimmy and Shivy you have the same soil because you have your tropical house plants whereas Amanda’s got a different soil because you’ve got succulents. So we can make a start with your soil. This one’s not coming out. Give it a rip. Oh, that one came out quite a house plant. So, we got different bowls here for different soils. Your bowls to mix in. This will come after. So, the first thing, so when I buy a soil, I always find it’s quite dense for my house plants. And when I water, the water just kind of sits in there rather than draining out and that could cause root rot. So, I’ve come up with a formula that I’ve made up just to make my house plant soil airrated, chunky, nice chunky mix with a nice fertilizer in. So you can chuck your peak free house plant soil in the whole thing. The whole thing because you’ve got we got the wind coming. You have a bigger All right. There we go. All of that in. So all of that in. Lovely. And then we can chuck in your bark. Bark. What kind of bark is this? This is just an orchid bark. It adds drainage to the soil. Lovely. And then you can add your perlite. Which is that? Tell us what what’s important about perlite. So perlite also adds drainage. So next we can add some cocoaquay. So it looks quite hairy, but that’s the outer shell of a coconut. I was going to say this looks familiar to me because it adds air into the soil so that the roots of your plants can breathe. So all of a sudden become much lighter. Yes. It’s free draining. Yes. But we want a bit more nutrients in there, do we? Yes. So this is where your nutrients come in. And what is in this? So this is worm castings. Oh, that’s worm poo, right? I remember that from last time. I learned something from you last time. So, this is a natural fertilizer. It’s slow release and it’s just really good and healthy for your plants. And this is your exclusive mixture. Shantel, I’ve spent many nights trying to perfect my soil recipe and this is what I’ve come up with. I’m going to pop this one up. Shall we do Amanda’s soil? I wonder. And then you can pop them all up together. So, this is slightly different. So, this is another Pete free soil. So, you can chuck all that in. And then I’ve got the wormy stuff. And then you’ve got worm. Why am I Why am I smelling that? Do you want to smell it and say anything? Doesn’t smell anything. The fact that I just went straight in. I was thinking that she’s I know. Don’t ask. So, we’re adding some sand. Because you’ve got succulents, we add we we want to make sure that we’ve got a nice gritty soil for succulents. So, it’s nice because natural environment would be desert, wouldn’t it? Yes. Exactly. And I’m just potting mine in. Right. That’s right. So depending on the size of your roots of your plant, maybe you can add 3/4. So we’ll just test it and see how far. Got to hold on to it cuz the soil is going everywhere in this. I’m going to start because I’ve got the world’s smallest TR and the world’s biggest pot. So I could be here until part four. We love giving you conundrums. There’s the tiniest tiniest tools for the biggest. Is that low enough? No. I don’t hate to say it, though. I’m already finished though, by the way. All right, Jimmy. I think I find you started before us. You have green thumbs, Jimmy. Is it green thumbs? Green fingers. Green fingers. Green fingers. Do you know what? I’m very pleased with this. It’s lovely. I’ve learned a lot. Well done. Well, I think that’s wonderful. Mine’s ready. So, Amanda’s looks quite good. You’ve just laid it on the top. Beautiful. That’s it. Easy. I’m determined to keep this alive. I shall. Lovely. Yeah, that looks really good. Mine’s potted. Just needs a bit of water. Yeah, it does, doesn’t it? But we have learned so much. Thank you very much. You’re very welcome. Confidence. Now, it’s time for a break. And when we come back, Max is in his workshop. Plus, we have got a cocktail coming. Yes. Yes. That’s also that’s why I’m here. Welcome back. We’ve had a great morning with our fantastic guest, Amanda. Yes. Having the best time. I’m never leaving. Oh, I hope you don’t. You can be part of the furniture. I’ve cooked a hearty breakfast. Jimmy’s been out and about. And we’ve had a brilliant masterass on how to look after your house plants. But now it’s time to see what Max has been up to over in the workshop. Here’s a product that frustrates me. The bookmark. It’s just a piece of cardboard. Get over it. So, I’m going to build an alternative to the bookmark in the form of a book open kind of page keeping device that incorporates somewhere to also store your tea. Now, something I do like is the pallet. And what I really love about pallets are these ones where they’re chunky, lovely bits of timber that you can sand and sculpt. And while I’m talking about sculpting, look at the wonderful shamfers that are already on this palette. Let’s celebrate that. Let’s harness that and let’s make something beautiful for your bedside table that also stores a lovely cup of tea. Okay, we need the distance of a cup of tea. Today we’re not using millimeters. We’re using teacups. So you need enough room for the back. Right. Going to clamp the wood nice and tight. This will take some cutting. This is a proper bit of timber. Just cuz it’s free doesn’t mean it’s not good. Wonderful. There we go. Few more of those, then we can sand it. Okay, the wood is all cut. These two components are going to make the roof. And that 90° angle there will be perfect resting your book over it to keep you on the desired page. That’s the back. That bit’s going to stick out. And that’s where your teacup goes. Like a coaster to stop it marking the surface of your bedside unit. So that could go to one side. This is where we need to cut 45° and that will be the pitched roof. Right. First things first, find the middle. Oh, good. 100 mm. Even I can divide that by two. Wonderful. I mean, it does look worryingly like a birdhouse, doesn’t it? I’m not going to put a hole in the back of it, that’s for sure. Let’s get sanding. Look at that. Look at the way the knots are already coming through. They are going to look lovely once we put some varnish on that. So, all the wood is cut and sanded and time to assemble it. Beautiful. It’s nice and smooth that. Okay, time for the roof. Okay, construction is complete. But as this is going by the side of your bed in your house, I think it needs finished a little bit more. So, I’m going to give it a coat, just a clear coat of varnish. Okay, this will hopefully seal it and make it look more beautiful. It does mean if anybody spills tea on it, it’ll wipe straight off. It won’t just soak in and stain it. As with painting, always be careful not to put it on too thick. Once you’ve got a run, you’re never getting it back. So, lots of thin layers rather than one thick layer. Okay. I’m not going to scrimp on the bottom bit here cuz in effect, that’s the coaster. If there is a spillage, that’s what’s going to happen. Might put two coats on there. That looks good. Right, I think that is dry. Oh yeah, can have a play now. Reading my book just before bed. I want to save it on page 149. But where do I put my cup of tea? On the built-in coaster. That’s actually quite fun and practical all at once. Better than a bookmark. Right. Well, there we go. What do you think? So, the idea sits by your bed, mug, book. I like it. Is that going to sell many houses? It’s It’s a masterpiece. Who needs a bookmark? Who needs a bookmark? Well, the good news is is that you can keep it, Amanda, because this is going to help you sell the next house. Thank you so much. Fantastic. You’re going to get a royalty clearly or probably Max should get the royalty, but not. But now it’s time for a cocktail. Do you like a cocktail? I love a cocktail. This is one of my favorite parts of the show, not going to lie. Yeah. And my question is both of you, do you like getting caught in the rain? 1 million% because I know this is one of my favorites. Is it? I’m a martini girl myself. So, you need to convince me with this one. Don’t you worry, I shall. So, this is my favorite pina colada recipe. It’s a bit of a decadent version cuz we’re going to throw ice cream in it as well. Dessert cocktail. What’s not to love? I love it. Okay, so it’s really simple. Pineapple rum, pineapple juice, angura bitters. This is a key. This adds a little bit of an aromatic grownup twinge to our pin colada and coconut cream as well. Um Jimmy, you’ve got some ice cream down there for me. I’m literally going to bung this all in here. Please put that lid on. Don’t you we wouldn’t do that to you. We want you to come back. And I kind of feel a place in the sun is a perfect cocktail. I’m surprised that you I’m not a massive fan because I thought you know all the time you spent in the sun for me you’d be sipping it whilst you’re selling the houses. It is just it is just it is holiday. Yeah. I must admit the smell of it as well doesn’t it just transports. Do you know what I find interesting as well Amanda? You left A Place in the Sun, but you came back this year with a special. Yes. Was it 15 years later? I think it probably was. I remember them calling me cuz they were they were um doing a revisit series and they said, you know, would you be up for doing it? I was like, absolutely. And it was great. We went back to Pulia in Italy, which is Pula is gorgeous and the food there is sensational and we did France as well. And everybody was in the house still. Everybody still loved there. Still loved it. Had fun. It was great. Yeah. It’s incredible to to to trace those journeys to go back and see see the people see how their lives have changed 100%. Yeah. And how all our hair has gone. Oh yeah. Yeah. Did you sort of see it was I think it was 15 years with with with a couple of the guys that I worked with and it was like oh we all look a bit different. Where’s your handle? A cruel. I’m going to be a bit noisy for a second. Oh. So you’ve just put everything in. It’s simple. Chucked everything in. And we’re going to add we’re going to add the ice cream in now. Did that make you have itchy feet? Did you want to return? Yeah, I loved that show. And you know, it was the it was the it was the one that set all of this up. So, it’s pretty iconic series, isn’t it? Yeah. All right. So, I’ve just added a bit of ice cream in there. Now, that ice cream isn’t a typical ingredient in a proper recipe, but you know, I love to have a bit of fun with these things. And I It’s summer and it’s so balmy hot today. Oh my gosh, that smells so good. Where would you two, if you had to buy in Europe, just Europe, cuz we’d be here all day if we did the world. Where would you Where would you two buy? I’d like southern Spain up in the mountains, the little village of Galine. Yeah. Those picturesque little whitewash villages. Beautiful. Absolutely adore that. What about you, Sh? I think I’d have to end up somewhere in Italy. Somewhere again on the coast, rolling fields, maybe a vineyard. I don’t know. But Greece as well. Greece as well. Oh, yeah. olive oil. I mean, can we can we have a few properties? Yeah, you could. You can straddle. I’d do Greece and Italy, I think, France. Oh, you see. Oh, tell me about some of your faux pawars when it comes to selling houses cuz you’ve got a classic. I mean, this is a classic. And this is a very um this is a story for everyone. If you buy a house, make sure you change the locks. I was trying to sell a house that I could not sell. It was on with several different agents and it was a mess. It was absolutely awful inside. And finally, I’d had enough. So, I’d got a viewing and I’d gone round armed with rubber gloves and a bin bag. I cleaned the house from top to bottom. I made the beds. I emptied all the curry cartons and the ashtrays, the whole kitten kaboodleoodle. And the next day, I had a phone call with an offer. And I was like, “Yes, I’ve done it. It really does make a difference.” I called the owner and he said, “Oh, no, no. I sold it three months ago.” So, what were you doing? Hey, so I basically broke into the new owner’s house, who that’s as messy as the old guy, and cleaned the house from top to bottom. Do you know what? This is much later, but I think you kind of deserve this drink for having done that. Oh, it’s got a cherry in it as well. Look, look, look. Hang on. We’re going to go all out for you. Proper Dellboyed up. Look at that. I mean, if you’re going to do it, you got to do it proper. You got to do it retro. You got to do it 80s. It’s a classic. But I think that’s the thing with a pin colada. You can really go to town. You can go to town. I think some people are kind of embarrassed about drinking pin coladas, but own it. Own it. Why would you look at this? Pina colada. Simple as what? All right, Amanda. Thank you. Cheers. Cheers. It’s basically a holiday in a glass. It is a holiday in a glass. Look at that. That is sunshine in a sip. Oh my god, that is brilliant. Oh, that’s really good. Yes. I’m a convert. You are. No more martinis. Let me just check one more time. And another. And another. What do you think, Jimmy? M. That is so good. That is so good. While we work our way through these, it is time for a break. But don’t go anywhere. We’ve still got one more delicious dish coming up. Oh, yeah. Look, we’re going to need more, aren’t we? Yeah, we are. Quick. Welcome back. We’ve had a great morning with our brilliant guest, Amanda Lamb. And we have got a great dish for you now. Yeah. Oh gosh, you’re going to love this one, Amanda. Yes. Yes. Do you like duck? I do. Yes. Fantastic. Duck. And what’s the salad? So, this is a quite a special salad. Uzzi baratha, peaches. Well, we’re using peaches. You can also use nectarines and have a honey and orange dressing. I could go on, but should we just get on with it? Let’s get on with it. Let’s get on. I’ve got a lovely freerange duck breast here. I like to just sear mine. So, skin down and then pop it in the oven for about something like this. About 11 12 minutes. What about you, Chef? Yeah. I put it on a cold pan. Do you? I put it on a cold pan and leave it to do its work when you whack the heat up and then the fat renders. You get crispy skin, juicy breast. Oh, yes. Cuz I was going to ask you, do you put oil in the pan, Jimmy, or do you just releases so much fat? Duck has got a lot of fat in it. And the thing is, never ever listen to that. Never ever good, isn’t it? Throw the fat away. Keep the duck fat because it’s great on your potatoes. It’s great on everything. And duck with fruit goes really well. Duck and fruit. And I think this is beautifully paired. You know, you’ve got this uzi baratha. Now, that’s a little bit extra, but you can also use mozzarella. I love baratha. It’s beautiful. And this this is so simple. Yeah. It’s so luxurious, isn’t it? Simple and luxurious. Okay. I’m going to wash my boards. Okay. Do you know what, Amanda? I absolutely love your Instagram. It’s like a one-stop shop. Beauty home. Yes. Oh, that is so You know, it was a real sort of organic process that And you do feel a bit silly sometimes just talking to yourself about You’re not though because we’re all tuning in. We’re all doom scrolling and what’s Amanda suggesting we do to sell our home? How do we elevate it? Well, that is an interesting one because um yeah, years and years and years of working in property shows and being an estate agent, there are things that you can do that will make it much much easier to sell. Okay. So, what what are the key elements? Well, the way that you sell a home now is very different to the prehistoric dark ages when I was an estate agent because now it’s all done online. Yeah. And the average person will spend less than 5 seconds when they’re scrolling through all the property websites to decide whether or not they’ll click on a sh on a on a property. So, you’ve got to make the front look good. Yeah. And, you know, they say things about, you know, brewing coffee and baking bread before you set. Does that work? It kind of The house needs to smell good. So, is that a difference between making it smell good rather than spraying perfume? Yeah. Don’t be doing any of that. Why not? Because it’s a difference. It looks like you’re masking something. Okay. Um, the other thing declutter that is so are you do you have a lot of clutter in your house? You know what? I’ve been quite brutal with my clutter, but it’s so difficult because there are things you want to hold on to that have such value and you think that people will see that. You think, do you know what? They’re going to notice this and they’re going to wonder what the history of it is. Eight out of 10 people that view your property cannot see past your clutter. Really? Yeah. So, I always say to people, imagine you’ve sold the house and imagine that the removal van is coming tomorrow. Okay. So, you need to start that decluttering process way before you put the house on the market. And it’s inexpensive. These things you’re suggesting, you’re not asking people to spend a lot of money to do it, right? It’s simple decluttering, making outside, plant some new plants. Yeah, absolutely. So, look at this guy. Look at the color there. Beautiful, Julie. Beautiful. So, I’m just going to flip that over. Yeah. I’m going to put some of the thyme cuz you’re here for a good time, not a long time. Time. Maybe both vote. Hope time is the essence, right? Okay. And a little bit of honey. Not delicious. Cuz then that’s going to echo the flavors of this salad as well. Completely. And then I’m going to pop that in the oven for about 12 minutes. Are you full of clutter? No. I’m quite a tidy person. Are you? And I think, you know, if you’re trying to sell a property, I’d really understand what you’re saying is you want to show the potential of the property 100%. But that’s why show houses in, you know, when you’ve got a big development and they have a showroom and they sell the dream. I mean, I I remember going into one and they had like some quissants and some reading glasses on top of a book and I was like, it’s a bit over the top, but it works. I can see that working. And I guess you’re looking at people imagining going into a house with no vision. So, you want to make it like a blank canvas and not put your own style on it, right? Absolutely. And I think maybe just sort of say to yourself, right, I’m going to do half an hour a day and I will tackle the junk drawer or I will tackle the pantry or the bathroom cabinet’s a good one to start with. So setting yourself very realistic goals, right? Because otherwise you’re just going to be so overwhelmed about looking at the competition. Well, not competition, but yes, 100%. So, if your house isn’t selling and it’s been on the market forever, there’s a reason why, you know. So, go online, look at the houses that are comparable to yours. Have a look at the ones that have sold. What’s different? Is it is it price? Is it presentation? Is it location? I mean, you can’t do anything about the location, but you can certainly do stuff about the presentation. Yeah. So, shall I just run through what I’ve done here? Yes. What have you done? So, Jimmy’s just caramelizing some walnuts there. So, we’re thinking textures here. So, we’ve got sweet flavors, and to balance that, we have that rich baratha. So that baratha is going to just ooze across all of these beautiful sweet honeyed summery flavors. And we’ve got a little sharpness from our dressing here which is just orange honey um and a bit of olive oil. And it should all sit beautifully with that gorgeous tender duck. So we’re ready to plate up now. So of all the countries you’ve been to, Amanda, and you filmed all over the world. What has been your favorite? What’s been the best food? I think the best food is it’s a real tough call between Greece and Italy. I just love. But it’s funny just watching you guys do this. I think the older you get, the more or certainly for me, I want to simplify things. Gone of the days of those recipe books with, you know, a recipe that long. I love simple good ingredients. Good ingredients, well-cooked food that that is an easy easy to cook, easy to eat. But I think Greece, if I had to, it would be Greece. But I did go to Margaret River in um Western Australia. Have you ever been there? I’ve not been there. Amazing. But I’ve had the wine. Oh, amazing. Oh my goodness. I think that’s probably my favorite place in the world. But Australia is blessed with amazing climate, but also the produce. You can buy everything from potatoes to bananas. Yeah. Which is it’s mad, isn’t it? Yeah. Right. These need to be laid out. Okay. So, I’m going to put this together here. I also love things like salads for summer because it’s just a you’re feasting with your eyes before you enjoy it. And you know when you see those bright colors, you know it’s going to taste fantastic. My favorite kind of sort of summer entertaining is to do that. Just two or three big bowls of salad that everyone can just tuck in. Should we see if this bara’s oozy? Little plump baratha. I know. I’m just going to pop that little baby. Here we go. I’m not going to pop it all away cuz I want it to ooze out on the tray. So, I’m going to pop this back here. Look at that. Oh, and what dressing have you got with that, Sh? So, I’ve got a simple orange, honey, and olive oil dressing. So, it’s echoing the sweetness of this dish. I’m going to put a seasoning on it as well. I’d like to get better at dressings. I just chuck a bit of olive oil on. Hopefully. So, it’s all about balance with dressing. So, you do the olive oil, you do a bit of citrus, a bit of sweet and seasoning, and that’s it. It doesn’t need to be complicated. No, I like doing refrigerator bingo. So, in in my fridge, you might have a a jar with a tiny little bit of pesto or a jar with a little bit of English mustard left. Then, I’d put in my vinegar and then I’d put in chopped parsing garlic and then olive oil. And then just shake whatever you’ve got left in the jar. And that becomes a dressing. And all of a sudden, it could be a bit of Greek yogurt you’ve get or you’ve got some mayonnaise left over and you just whatever you’ve got and just play bingo in the fridge. I love it. It’s brilliant. And you can’t really go wrong with that, can you? Oh, watch me. Right. I think the duck’s ready. Let’s try. And I think the salad looks good. Right. I think Let’s have a look, Jimmy. Oh, I can smell the honey and thyme already. Slightly over, but there we are. Beautiful. Look at that. Let’s get that on here. That smells so good. The whole thing looks incredible. And it is lovely because you always assume duck breast is for something wintry. It’s like a winter, but actually for summer it’s brilliant. Yeah, exactly. And I think um it’s such a versatile thing. And what’s important about this is it’s one duck breast. One duck breast can go a long way. Yeah. Nice little slices of it. Perfect summer dining with the salad. Look at that. Looks beautiful though. That is fantastic. There we go. And then our salad is ready as well. You got something nice to play that up with? I’m just going to put it on the salad. Is that okay? Pop that around. That is beautiful. Look at that. Summer in a plate. Unbelievable. Let’s pop that. It’s the colors as well. Yeah. It’s the feasting with your eyes first, isn’t it? Gorgeous. Gorgeous. That’s all good. There we go. Shiv, there we have it. Our duck breast, peaches, baratha salad. Wow. There we go. Right. Oh, there we go. That looks amazing. Let’s first dig in, but quickly because I want to have a go as well. I’m desperate for some of these peaches. Little bit of rocket. It’s such a lovely combination. Meat and fruit. Look at that. I’ve got a perfect little mouthful. I just shoved mine in. I didn’t even stop to look at it. The peach is so good. Sorry. The peach and the and the nuts. Oh my god. That is How’s the dark? Such a good combo. Also, the textural differences here. It’s beautiful. It’s really pleasant to eat. You just keep going on our testing. Well, we’ve had great food, great drink, and a wonderful guest, Amanda Lamb. Everyone, I have loved it. Can I come back again? I might come back every week. So, take care everyone. We’ll see you next week. See you. Right. Come on. Let’s finish this then. M. Heat. Heat.
Dining and Cooking