1
00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:02,800
Speaker 1: New Jersey and Amanda.

2
00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,600
Speaker 2: Jam Nation Well, our next guest is a multi award

3
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 2: winning writer and broadcaster. The TV series that he created,

4
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,680
Speaker 2: called River Cottage, became so successful it had everyone wanting

5
00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,120
Speaker 2: to move to the country and cook ethically produced food to.

6
00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,599
Speaker 3: Share with the village. Except for you, Brennan. You'll still

7
00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:19,800
Speaker 3: stick to your light and easy right.

8
00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,119
Speaker 2: Well now, Hugh Firley with Winning Stall, is heading down

9
00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,600
Speaker 2: Under to join the Viva Health and Wellness Festival.

10
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:32,080
Speaker 3: Hugh, Hello, good morning, so nice to talk to you.

11
00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:33,920
Speaker 2: I love watching your show and I was stunned to

12
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,040
Speaker 2: see that it started in nineteen ninety nine.

13
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,480
Speaker 3: I didn't realize went back that far.

14
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,840
Speaker 1: Unbelievable, twenty five years ago. I know times live.

15
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,160
Speaker 4: Wow, do you remember the first things you were eating

16
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,080
Speaker 4: back then in nineteen ninety nine? What was the avant

17
00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:49,840
Speaker 4: garde food?

18
00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,840
Speaker 1: Well, what we were doing that was fun and different

19
00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,320
Speaker 1: for TV? I think was we I mean, I've been

20
00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,360
Speaker 1: living in the city. I was brought up in the country,

21
00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,480
Speaker 1: moved to the city in my twenties, and I just

22
00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,240
Speaker 1: wanted to get back to the country. So I found

23
00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,360
Speaker 1: a little cottage and started digging up the flowers and

24
00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,679
Speaker 1: planting veggies and just growing stuff that my mum and

25
00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,680
Speaker 1: dad used to grow when I were growing up. And

26
00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:16,280
Speaker 1: then the really fun it was tuning into the local

27
00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,679
Speaker 1: farmers and the community and thinking, you know what, I

28
00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,600
Speaker 1: could keep a couple of chickens that's gone, Well, maybe

29
00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,040
Speaker 1: I'll try growing a couple of pigs and fattening them up.

30
00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,640
Speaker 1: And so I was quite wet behind the ears in

31
00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:28,760
Speaker 1: those days, but I was ready to give everything a go.

32
00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,919
Speaker 1: And people seem to enjoy following our antics on the screen,

33
00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,800
Speaker 1: and we've been doing it for twenty five years now.

34
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,679
Speaker 2: Somehow, have you heard anycdotally from people who say that

35
00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,880
Speaker 2: you've encouraged them to do the same, that they want

36
00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,120
Speaker 2: to step out of their homes, catch an eel for

37
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,160
Speaker 2: dinner and cook it dinner there.

38
00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,280
Speaker 1: Amanda, that is such a lovely question, because it is

39
00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,160
Speaker 1: literally the most rewarding thing of everything that I've done

40
00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,840
Speaker 1: is to hear those stories. And indeed, you know including

41
00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,280
Speaker 1: we now have our cookery school in Devon, so we're

42
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,680
Speaker 1: running courses and events most days of the week and

43
00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,200
Speaker 1: we have our long table dinners at the weekend. We

44
00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,560
Speaker 1: get quite a lot of visitors from Australia, which is

45
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,400
Speaker 1: always a joy to see because obviously the shows have

46
00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,920
Speaker 1: been on down there for years too. And when people

47
00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,560
Speaker 1: come and say whether they've come from two miles down

48
00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:20,600
Speaker 1: the road or halfway across the world, all right, what's

49
00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,320
Speaker 1: river college? I decided to give a go myself and

50
00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,359
Speaker 1: grossing veggies or keep a few chickens. Once you get

51
00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,600
Speaker 1: into that way of life, there's no looking back. You know.

52
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,280
Speaker 1: You just love it so much that you know it's

53
00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,280
Speaker 1: going to be with you. Is it a special thing?

54
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:35,600
Speaker 4: Is il good for you?

55
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:39,280
Speaker 1: Eel is good for you? But I do have to

56
00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:41,720
Speaker 1: put a little bit of a warning, particularly for the

57
00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,960
Speaker 1: European eel. Since we first made those shows twenty years ago,

58
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,160
Speaker 1: eel numbers have been in decline. The heel, as you

59
00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,880
Speaker 1: may know, has a very extraordinary lifestyle and dependent on

60
00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:57,400
Speaker 1: running breeding in the Sargasso see not far in the

61
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,400
Speaker 1: middle of the Pacific Ocean near Bermuda. Tiny baby little

62
00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,760
Speaker 1: larvae then float and wiggle their way all the way

63
00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,880
Speaker 1: back to Europe and swim up the rivers where they

64
00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,360
Speaker 1: have to run the gauntlet of Unfortunately, you know, some

65
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,680
Speaker 1: of our rinners are not as clean as they should be,

66
00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,360
Speaker 1: and things are not say takes more challenges than they

67
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,720
Speaker 1: used to. So Eel's not on my menu anymore. But

68
00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,960
Speaker 1: there are other delicious, other delicious fish. We still have

69
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,320
Speaker 1: abundant mackerel and sardines and lovely oily fish like that.

70
00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,760
Speaker 1: Which I get stuck into is whenever I can get

71
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,000
Speaker 1: out on the boat and catch them driving the rivers.

72
00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,600
Speaker 1: Still delicious. Yeah, I mean, anything you catch yourself tastes better,

73
00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:39,800
Speaker 1: doesn't it. That That's the story at the end of it.

74
00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,880
Speaker 1: So much pride is associated about if you grow it

75
00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,720
Speaker 1: yourself or catch it yourself. You have a story to

76
00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,560
Speaker 1: share about the meal you're eating, and that's what we're about.

77
00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:50,560
Speaker 1: Good stories about grape pop And is.

78
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,400
Speaker 2: That kind of the message? I think the Viva Health

79
00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,040
Speaker 2: and Wellness Festival is fascinating, such a variety of people

80
00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,240
Speaker 2: who will be talking that is that sort of the

81
00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:58,240
Speaker 2: message you're bringing?

82
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,480
Speaker 1: Absolutely, you know, it's interesting. I'm a little older. Funnily enough,

83
00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,640
Speaker 1: I'm a little older than I was twenty five years ago.

84
00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:11,200
Speaker 1: This is what happens apparently water shop. But I think,

85
00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,480
Speaker 1: you know, I've always loved this idea of growing your

86
00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,839
Speaker 1: own food and tapping into the seasonal ingredients and doing

87
00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,800
Speaker 1: a bit of foraging too. What's increasingly clear is not

88
00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:21,920
Speaker 1: only is this fun and a great way to connect

89
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,120
Speaker 1: with nature and to feel close to your food, this

90
00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,719
Speaker 1: is actually how to be healthy as well. And the

91
00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,320
Speaker 1: other thing that has been really boosting my the way

92
00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,960
Speaker 1: I've been eating for a few years now is making

93
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,279
Speaker 1: a point of the sheer diversity, growing as many different

94
00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,159
Speaker 1: plants as possible, foraging for a few to add to

95
00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,760
Speaker 1: the bounty, and just eating as many as possible. That

96
00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,320
Speaker 1: that doesn't mean eating out of season, doesn't mean you

97
00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,640
Speaker 1: have to go down the aisle where foods have been

98
00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,320
Speaker 1: imported from ote seeds. There's always plenty of choice from

99
00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,720
Speaker 1: what's being grown. And you know, you guys have a

100
00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,560
Speaker 1: fantastic climate too for growing wonderful veggies, albeit at the

101
00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,159
Speaker 1: wrong time of year. But there we go, and so

102
00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,279
Speaker 1: we're having our we're having oar. We're at midwinter feasting

103
00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,240
Speaker 1: right now here in the UK. It's all roots and brassicas,

104
00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,280
Speaker 1: and then of course we add lots of dinashers, spices

105
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,400
Speaker 1: and all of those things count. You know, even adding

106
00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,920
Speaker 1: spice to your food adds some tiny little micro nutrients

107
00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:20,320
Speaker 1: that you wouldn't get without the spices, Some really interesting

108
00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,840
Speaker 1: work by people like Professor Tim Specter showing that optimally,

109
00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,760
Speaker 1: if we can eat thirty different plants a week, that

110
00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:29,640
Speaker 1: may sound like a lot, but you know, once you've

111
00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,560
Speaker 1: realized that, you know, coffee to plant, even chocolates a plant.

112
00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,440
Speaker 1: The spices count nuts, and seeds, count beans and pulses.

113
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,000
Speaker 1: They all kinded. So we don't just mean thirty fresh

114
00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,960
Speaker 1: fruits and vegetables, but thirty different varieties of plant per week.

115
00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,919
Speaker 1: Then that gives great diversity for your gut biome to

116
00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,359
Speaker 1: get stuck into and all those healthy bacteria to do

117
00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,400
Speaker 1: what they need to do. It's quite a mysterious process,

118
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,400
Speaker 1: but we know that diversity is good and helps. Diverse

119
00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:03,240
Speaker 1: food equals diverse gus by equals really good ways. You

120
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,400
Speaker 1: know your your body is done robust for dealing, for

121
00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,400
Speaker 1: having a healthy immune system and dealing with whatever life throws.

122
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,960
Speaker 4: So more roots, less Eel. That's what I'm taking from this.

123
00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,599
Speaker 4: I'm taking Eel off. That's gone, I said. And I

124
00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,080
Speaker 4: used to be a bandit for Eel, but now, no.

125
00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,560
Speaker 1: Not an expert. I'm not an ex No, you are. Population.

126
00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,720
Speaker 1: I don't imagine it's completely free of the same issues

127
00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:29,000
Speaker 1: as it's Northern No.

128
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:30,440
Speaker 4: You're on your on your say so.

129
00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:32,359
Speaker 3: I'm never eating eel again. I have done it. Do

130
00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,640
Speaker 3: you know? Baby eels are called elvers, So Elvis, I'm

131
00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:38,640
Speaker 3: going to work on my roots. You've missed my Pan.

132
00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,320
Speaker 4: Hugh didn't come here.

133
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:48,799
Speaker 3: Thank you, Hugh. I appreciate you getting encourage Hugh to encourage.

134
00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,839
Speaker 4: Viva Health and Wellness Festival is the fifteenth and seventeenth

135
00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,200
Speaker 4: of March. Tickets are on sale now, your family, thank

136
00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:55,040
Speaker 4: you for joining us.

137
00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:57,119
Speaker 1: It's been an absolute pleasure. Guys.

138
00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:57,680
Speaker 3: Thank you you