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Shadowing practice: Can a Chef Cook THIS Random International Dish? A-Z Challenge E: ENGLAND

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  1. Alright, ready?0:00
  2. Yep, spin the wheel.0:01
  3. Here goes.0:02
  4. Where we going, where we going?0:04
  5. All these, England!0:05
  6. England!0:08
  7. It's coming home, it's coming home.0:09
  8. Did it, did it, did it.0:12
  9. I didn't.0:12
  10. Okay, so it's been a couple of weeks.0:13
  11. We've collated all of your comments.0:15
  12. Thank you so much for this.0:17
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  1. And boys, the dish that the community have selected for you to make from England is.0:19
  2. I'll say it, the Wigan Flappy.0:26
  3. Know what?0:28
  4. The Wigan Flappy.0:29
  5. I mean, I like the name.0:31
  6. Here's a photo for you guys at home.0:33
  7. We provided all the ingredients you need, so if you'd like to unveil those and have a guess at what you think, you're making.0:35
  8. Do you have any idea what this is?0:46
  9. Well, now I've seen some ingredients.0:48
  10. I've got a steer, but the only thing I can think with a Wigan Flappy, which is why these two are so excited and know that I have no idea0:49
  11. is it something to do with football.0:58
  12. Mm.1:00
  13. Well, we're going to provide you with some clues at the right time to steer you in the right direction, but let's get cracking.1:01
  14. Step one, make your bombs.1:07
  15. Ah.1:10
  16. Can I ask one question?1:11
  17. Sure.1:13
  18. Has anyone ever made a Wigan Flappy from scratch before?1:14
  19. I'm sure some people have, but yes, this could be a world first.1:18
  20. Okay, good.1:23
  21. Do you know what it is?1:23
  22. Yeah, I think I know what this might be.1:24
  23. Has the community done a good job in particular?1:26
  24. The community have done an incredible job.1:28
  25. What are bombs?1:30
  26. I would imagine a bomb is a bit like a bat.1:31
  27. 100 % correct.1:34
  28. In the Midlands, it would be a bat, or we'd probably call it a roll.1:35
  29. A roll, a bomb, a butty, yep.1:37
  30. A cob.1:40
  31. These are all oldy -worldy names and very regional names for bread rolls.1:40
  32. Get cracking!1:46
  33. So what have you got there?1:47
  34. Right, flour, yeast.1:48
  35. Sugar.1:50
  36. We will need some salt and some flour.1:51
  37. First of all...1:53
  38. Hydrating our yeast.1:54
  39. Yep.1:55
  40. Do you want to, or should I?1:56
  41. So this is just tepid water.1:58
  42. Typically, you'd give that a couple of minutes to start and kind of bubble and activate just to make sure that you know it is alive, because it's a dried2:02
  43. yeast and it'll just come back to life.2:11
  44. Alternatively, you could just throw it all in and hope that it's fresh and it'll do its job.2:13
  45. Don't you put the yeast in one side, the sugar in one side, the salt in one side, and then pour the water over the top, and then you can2:17
  46. Isn't that a quicker way of doing it?2:22
  47. This is a traditional way of doing it, and I'm presuming this is quite a regional traditional dish.2:23
  48. It absolutely is, Ebbers.2:27
  49. Some say the dish was created as a cheap dinner by school children.2:28
  50. Others say it was created to provide, on the go, hard -working wigglers an easy way to eat whilst on the move with minimal mess.2:32
  51. That is a clue.2:39
  52. We're starting off with our bread, strong flour, salt, sugar and yeast and water.2:40
  53. Brilliant.2:45
  54. And when it comes to a balm, a bat or a roll, what's the perfect bat?2:46
  55. Crusty on the outside, floured on the top, and then fluffy in the middle.2:51
  56. Ah, a crusty, a crusty slappy or a soft slappy?2:56
  57. Well, I think a slight crust.3:01
  58. I like a crusty roll, but I don't know if this is like a bat or like a cob.3:02
  59. Okay, yeah.3:08
  60. Just a question.3:09
  61. Yeah.3:09
  62. Isn't this series about celebrating the very best of a country's cuisine?3:10
  63. Absolutely.3:16
  64. Jamie, I'm going to be honest with you, I had one at the weekend.3:16
  65. Did you?3:19
  66. It was a highlight of the weekend.3:20
  67. When we were doing the resection, it was spectacular.3:22
  68. He went out and he made one himself.3:24
  69. But the traditional way.3:26
  70. He made one the traditional way.3:27
  71. Okay, good.3:28
  72. Right.3:29
  73. So we'll need that for five minutes or so to get the elasticity of the gluten going, and then we'll shape them, tray them and let them prove in a3:30
  74. proven draw.3:38
  75. Let's move on to the remainder of your ingredients.3:38
  76. Step two, use those.3:41
  77. Oh, I love these guesting games.3:43
  78. So this looks logical, because at first I thought this and this, and I thought hash brown, rosti kind of thing.3:44
  79. No.3:53
  80. Then I saw this, which is confusing.3:53
  81. So what's that?3:56
  82. Suit.3:57
  83. Suit, beef suit.3:57
  84. And what do you use suit for?3:58
  85. Typically use it in steamed puddings or dumplings.4:00
  86. Something that's called a pudding, but is actually savoury.4:05
  87. Yes.4:08
  88. Can I give you a fun clue?4:09
  89. Yeah.4:12
  90. We're going to an athletic football club.4:13
  91. Their mascot is this.4:15
  92. And how athletic would you say that mascot is?4:18
  93. So hang on a minute.4:25
  94. So we've got potential dumplings.4:25
  95. We've been given stock cubes, whatever we're doing is wet.4:27
  96. Lots of water, this, and a cut of beef that looks like it needs a fairly long slow cook.4:31
  97. And then plain flour, a bake up.4:36
  98. So that is screaming out dumplings.4:38
  99. And that's screaming out stew.4:42
  100. But I don't understand how that fits in a bomb.4:45
  101. What if, Ben, and I don't want to blow your mind.4:49
  102. I think you're out of it.4:52
  103. What if we didn't make dumplings with the suit, but we made an encasing for the beef and the potatoes?4:54
  104. I've got you.5:04
  105. Yeah?5:05
  106. This is where you put a pie in a bath.5:05
  107. Yeah!5:07
  108. Wow!5:09
  109. A Wigan slappy is a beef pie.5:09
  110. Beef and potato pie.5:12
  111. Inside a bread roll.5:14
  112. It is the traditional Wigan kebab, isn't it?5:16
  113. That's 100 % correct.5:19
  114. Yes!5:20
  115. Look at you!5:21
  116. How cute, dolly.5:22
  117. Do you want to check it?5:23
  118. Yeah.5:24
  119. I don't know how to do that.5:25
  120. No, not do I.5:27
  121. But that's easy.5:28
  122. You're a chef, Ben.5:30
  123. No, no, okay.5:30
  124. Peeled and finely diced potato.5:32
  125. Peeled and finely diced onion.5:35
  126. Finely chopped, almost minced beef.5:38
  127. Heavy on black pepper.5:41
  128. And then a beef stock cube, which will give you the salty umami -ness.5:43
  129. Yep.5:45
  130. I feel like a fair amount of liquid will come out of the onion, potato and meat as you cook it, like a pasty, but we might need to add5:46
  131. a little bit in there just to loosen it.5:52
  132. So something we all know about the north, aside from the fact that people are friendly and talk to each other, is that the pie is sacred.5:54
  133. Yep.6:02
  134. Like it is the cornerstone of the north diet.6:02
  135. And you can see why.6:06
  136. It's such a convenient food.6:07
  137. And it's awesome.6:09
  138. Yeah.6:10
  139. It's even better than a banana, in the sense that it has its own casing, except you can eat the casing as well.6:11
  140. Yes.6:17
  141. Like a banana is good, it has its own casing, but you can't eat the peel.6:17
  142. Just to help, 110 grams of dough will provide the right -ish size.6:26
  143. Very nice, Jay.6:34
  144. Some of those are even.6:35
  145. People like to come down on British food, and I think this video is going to prove them wrong.6:36
  146. For me, this dish is as much about how it makes you feel, and what it tastes like.6:42
  147. Yeah.6:48
  148. Like, it's really silly.6:48
  149. Yeah.6:50
  150. But everything about it, the texture, the flavours, simple but effective.6:51
  151. But look how happy we all are to make one and eat one.6:55
  152. That's like, that is the epitome of comfort food.6:59
  153. Yeah.7:01
  154. For those who haven't used it before, that is suet, beef fat, kind of beef dripping almost.7:06
  155. But it's great stuff, and it's going to be a two -to -one ratio flour to fat.7:13
  156. Oh, whoa.7:18
  157. No, like a short -crust pastry.7:19
  158. That would be the same.7:20
  159. Does the suet flavour the pastry as well?7:21
  160. I don't think it has as much flavour, ironically, as something like a butter, but it's a very, very cheap fat, because it is a byproduct of the beef industry.7:24
  161. What I love about this, this is like a proper food of the people.7:33
  162. This has become famous around the world because of what seems like a crazy idea of putting a pie inside a bread roll.7:38
  163. But it works, and it's delicious.7:46
  164. I like so much of UK food is borne out of necessity.7:49
  165. And this particular dish, very, very cheap ingredients, a cheap cut of beef, root vegetables, suet, which was almost a byproduct of the beef and flour, hugely calorific.7:54
  166. So in terms of calories per pound spent, very, very good, I feel like it's just missing a side of edge.8:05
  167. It's got onions in it.8:12
  168. What we're basically putting is carb inside carb inside carb.8:13
  169. It's just missing a few portions of edge.8:17
  170. Tens of thousands of people, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, eat this every single week at football matches, rugby matches.8:30
  171. Do we get that many fans?8:39
  172. No, it's not Justin Wigan.8:40
  173. And they have a rugby team.8:43
  174. Yeah, this is universal.8:44
  175. This is the north.8:47
  176. So what we're going to do, Jay, bottom, side, and then crimper top.8:49
  177. Dice this as well.8:53
  178. Yeah, same size.8:54
  179. Oh, what UK brisket.8:56
  180. To me, it's corned beef.8:58
  181. If you look at it, I think with those ingredients, you could also make corned beef.9:00
  182. This will be news to you.9:04
  183. Wigan has taken pies very seriously.9:05
  184. It's said that once the Towns Pie Factory burned down and halting production was out of the question.9:07
  185. Instead, they brought in emergency pie makers to make up for the lack of production.9:12
  186. Evert, how are you feeling about creating a Wigan slappy?9:18
  187. With like this entire series, they've all been dishes that we've never done before.9:20
  188. I had heard of the name before, but I didn't really know what it was.9:24
  189. So again, it's another newbie, even though it's from our own shores.9:29
  190. How wet are you brave enough to go with it?9:45
  191. Because remember, you want this to be handheld, and the bread is there to mop up any of the juices that may come out of the pie.9:48
  192. It's got to be thick.9:53
  193. Like, it's a thick sauce.9:55
  194. So wet, yes.9:57
  195. But runny, no.9:59
  196. It's got to be a good viscosity to it.10:00
  197. Remember, it's the Wigan slappy, not the Wigan sloppy.10:02
  198. Oh, what a good, yeah.10:06
  199. That's a different thing altogether.10:08
  200. Are you making tops or bottoms, Ebbers?10:10
  201. That's the top.10:12
  202. OK.10:13
  203. Gonna sit on that.10:14
  204. Because it's smaller.10:14
  205. No, because it's above the size and bottom.10:16
  206. Right, fine.10:18
  207. Shall I give this a mix?10:20
  208. Yes, please.10:22
  209. Heavy on black pepper.10:24
  210. We've put our stock cube in for umami, onion, potato, beef.10:25
  211. It's gonna taste of all those ingredients.10:28
  212. Ebbers, step back for a second.10:31
  213. I know.10:32
  214. I was rolling onto my top.10:33
  215. Well, you let your top just wrestle the table.10:35
  216. Yes, my belly just wrestles the table.10:37
  217. I'm assuming we can slap it.10:40
  218. A little bit of water.10:42
  219. I feel like, actually, what we should have had was gravy granules.10:44
  220. Because then that would have thickened with potato starch, any of the liquid that comes out.10:47
  221. But you have got potato in there, which is gonna kind of do the same thing, I would hope.10:52
  222. We put a stock cube in, which is salty, but there's a lot of...10:55
  223. Did you season it?10:58
  224. Of course I seasoned it, man.11:00
  225. That's great shout.11:03
  226. But we had the conversation, let's do lots of black pepper and a stock cube.11:04
  227. I didn't realise you've sorted it as well.11:07
  228. Well, then whose fault is that for putting more salt in without asking if it had already been seasoned?11:09
  229. Jamie, it's on top.11:15
  230. Take off.11:16
  231. Did you put lots of salt in?11:17
  232. Yeah, I put the posh salt in because we're making a wig and slappy.11:19
  233. So, traditionally, to thicken it, a bit more flour.11:24
  234. Yep.11:27
  235. Oh, inside the...11:27
  236. Is that salt?11:29
  237. No.11:31
  238. Right, fine.11:31
  239. Now the challenge here is you want potato to cook enough to absorb some of the liquid, which the flour will also do, but not so much that it becomes11:32
  240. mashed potato in the pie.11:39
  241. Yeah, you still want to bite through it, don't you?11:41
  242. To pierce or not to pierce?11:50
  243. Something like a pasty, the beauty of the crimp as you keep all the raw ingredients inside so it is intensely and fiercely hot and cooks that tough cut of11:53
  244. meat quite quickly.12:01
  245. Mm -hmm.12:03
  246. The second option is you let the steam out so that it...12:03
  247. like that would be like a cooked filling maybe.12:06
  248. Do you want to do one of each?12:08
  249. And then we can feel which one we do the better.12:10
  250. Yeah, so good logic.12:12
  251. Good logic, isn't it?12:14
  252. You just...12:16
  253. You are a logic spock.12:16
  254. Ha ha ha ha.12:17
  255. So hypothetically, if I were to eat a Wigan slappy, but not finish it, and then hand you my other half and then you finish it, would you be getting...12:20
  256. Your slappy seconds.12:30
  257. How long are they going to go in the oven for?12:32
  258. I've got an oven at 200 degrees and I'm going to say 30 to 40 minutes.12:34
  259. Good.12:39
  260. So slightly bulbous on our palms, but still joined in the middle.12:42
  261. Oh, smell that.12:46
  262. Smell my baps.12:48
  263. Smell my balm.12:49
  264. That is perfect.12:51
  265. While they're still just warm, Jay, do you want to butter them?12:53
  266. Yes.12:55
  267. Look at that.12:55
  268. Just be very gentle with them because they're so soft and warm.12:56
  269. On that, yeah.12:59
  270. So yes, this has got to be hand -held and self -contained, but I'm presuming the kind of venues that serve these provide wet wipes or similar as well, because13:00
  271. you're going to get a little bit mucky, aren't you?13:08
  272. I think you get some newspaper.13:10
  273. Right, this is what I'm most intrigued by though.13:12
  274. How have our pies turned out?13:14
  275. Three, two, one.13:18
  276. Oh, there you go.13:20
  277. Pie.13:21
  278. Oh!13:22
  279. You happy with that?13:24
  280. I mean, it's a weighty pie.13:26
  281. Golden all around.13:29
  282. Now, at this point, how would you usually serve this pie?13:31
  283. I think that would be absolutely fabulous with a dollop of mashed potato heavy on the butter, maybe cold cannon.13:34
  284. I'm sorry, he's complaining about carbon -carb on carb on carb.13:42
  285. This potato in the pie, why would you put mashed potato in it?13:45
  286. Yes, Evers is thinking like a wiggler.13:48
  287. Heavy on the cabbage or a champ with some spring onion, extra veg on the side, and then a dousing of wonderful gravy.13:50
  288. Instead, let's put it in a bomb.13:58
  289. I'm kind of very happy with those little individual pies.14:02
  290. I think the bombs are good.14:05
  291. They proved a little bit lopsided, but you know what?14:08
  292. It's a flowery bomb.14:11
  293. I think that's good.14:13
  294. That is an English delicacy.14:14
  295. God save our gracious king, Lord King.14:17
  296. Great effort, boys.14:30
  297. Would you like to see a traditional Wigan slapy and what that looks like?14:32
  298. I didn't crimp the top, but otherwise...14:38
  299. Pretty good, right?14:41
  300. A Wigan kebab or a Wigan slapy.14:42
  301. Do you know what?14:44
  302. Never had one.14:46
  303. Loved making it.14:47
  304. I just hope it tastes as good as I want it to.14:48
  305. Come on then.14:50
  306. I feel like it's just a squish and eat, but kind of we've got to share it.14:51
  307. Yeah, cut it, squish it.14:54
  308. Got a good squidge, isn't it?14:56
  309. What is this going to taste like?14:59
  310. Where's the other one gone?15:01
  311. Wow.15:03
  312. Well, thank you, Wigan.15:06
  313. Cheers, Wigan.15:08
  314. Cheers.15:09
  315. Cheers, Wigan slapy.15:09
  316. That is so good.15:17
  317. Every bone in my body wants to just splash a bit of Henderson's relish over this, like keeping it in the north, but it doesn't need it.15:20
  318. It's more refined than you think.15:27
  319. It has everything that you needed it.15:29
  320. It's not hiding behind anything.15:32
  321. It just tastes of steak and onion pie.15:33
  322. The potato is the filler.15:35
  323. In a pretty damn good bath.15:37
  324. That is good honest food, that is.15:39
  325. The buttery pastry and the buttered bap.15:41
  326. On top of the fact that it's a stunning pie, boys.15:44
  327. That is a great pie.15:46
  328. A great pie.15:47
  329. It's a good balance of dry and wet, isn't it, actually?15:48
  330. We're genuinely gastronomically analysing this.15:52
  331. It's superb.15:55
  332. I never thought this would happen.15:57
  333. Look over there.15:58
  334. I'm so happy.15:59
  335. The chef had a lovely time eating a...16:00
  336. Eating a Wigan kebab.16:02
  337. It's also given us the chance to put into practice breadmaking, pastry making, lot of knife skills, and actually the potato and the onion are very, very funny dice, and16:04
  338. that's what makes it a pleasure to eat.16:13
  339. Who knew England could surprise us?16:15
  340. Let's see if country's beginning with F.16:17
  341. Can also surprise us.16:19
  342. Ebbers, where in the F do you want to go next?16:21
  343. Either France, Finland or Fiji.16:24
  344. What are you hoping for?16:28
  345. I think there's a lot to discover in France still, but Fiji would be more fun.16:31
  346. Yeah!16:37
  347. Fiji!16:38
  348. And I say fun and frivolous because I have no idea about that cuisine.16:38
  349. Comment below, let us know which Fijian dish should we cook next.16:43
  350. I don't think I know much about Fiji at all.16:47
  351. Excellent!16:49

English Speaking Practice with a Fast British Kitchen Conversation

This clip is a Sorted Food cooking challenge: three hosts spin a wheel, land on England, and have to cook a dish called the Wigan Flappy from ingredients alone, with no idea what it actually is. It is rated B2, and it moves at 220 words per minute, faster than most of the catalogue, because it is genuine group conversation rather than a scripted voiceover. Three people talk over each other, react, and ask questions in real time, which is exactly the rhythm of daily English conversation practice you cannot get from a monologue.

The accent is British throughout, and part of the fun is regional word play: the hosts debate whether a bread roll is a bap, a bomb, a butty, or a cob, depending where in England you grew up. Following those swaps is real british english pronunciation practice, since the same object gets a different word and a different stress in almost every line. The tone stays light: one host jokes "It's coming home, it's coming home." and another admits "I didn't." before the guessing game gets going.

Shadow This Line: The Reductions and Banter in the Wigan Flappy Reveal

A few lines from the opening are good material for english shadowing practice, because they carry the rhythm of real spoken English rather than written English read aloud.

  • "So this is just tepid water." shows how a simple word, tepid, carries the whole instruction, and how "just" turns a technical step into something casual.
  • "Alternatively, you could just throw it all in and hope that it's fresh and it'll do its job." strings two contractions, it's and it'll, right next to each other, which is where the sentence speeds up and learners usually lose the beat.
  • "Has anyone ever made a Wigan Flappy from scratch before?" rises across the whole question, and from scratch is a set phrase worth repeating on its own before you move on.

How to Practise English Speaking Through This Sorted Food Clip

Work through the opening in order, matching the actual back and forth of the scene rather than jumping straight to a single line.

  • Start with the reveal itself, lines 13 to 17, where the dish name lands and the hosts react. Repeat "I'll say it, the Wigan Flappy." until the stress falls on the right word.
  • Move to the long guess in line 22, "I've got a steer, but the only thing I can think with a Wigan Flappy, which is why these two are so excited and know that I have no idea" and split it into two breaths at the comma, the way the speaker actually does.
  • Drill the regional bread words in lines 40 to 43, bat, roll, bomb, butty, and cob, back to back, since switching fast between them is the real challenge, not any single word on its own.
  • Finish on "So this is just tepid water." followed by "Alternatively, you could just throw it all in and hope that it's fresh and it'll do its job." said together, since the second line only makes sense as a reply to the first.
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