Brand-new BBC food and history series features Crom Castle
CROM Castle, and its residents, Lord and Lady Erne, are to feature in the second episode of a brand-new series for BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iplayer, which begins on Monday, September 5 at 8pm.
James Strawbridge – son of chateau dwelling Dick – unearths terrific tales and hopes to cook up a storm as he travels the country on a tour of some our most magnificent country houses and estates.
Each of the three half-hour episodes of ‘Strawbridge Over The Drawbridge’ sees professional chef James visit a different country house in Northern Ireland.
Sumptuous interiors
After meeting the people lucky enough to call these spectacular buildings home, James is taken on a tour of their sumptuous interiors while learning about the colourful past of not only the buildings but their previous inhabitants.
James also discovers what makes each estate tick today, but it’s not all play and no work, as he has to take everything he’s learned about each house’s history and character and create a meal which reflects that.
Will he decide to try and incorporate the story about death by pirate? Or somehow try and include the unusual bird collection he gets to see close up? And, most importantly, will the dishes James then cooks up impress the people that know these houses better than anyone – the people who call them home?
Each of the homes’ couples have a silver bell present at dinner, but James will only hear them ring if if they’ve decided his meal is up to scratch.
A natural wonder
In episode two, James arrives at Crom Castle in Co. Fermanagh, home of Lord and Lady Erne. James learns the current Crom Castle is actually the third to exist, spots a natural wonder more than 10,000 years old, and discovers how Lord Erne’s family’s royal connections run much deeper than having a home designed by an architect who helped design Buckingham Palace.
On Upper Lough Erne, James takes a trip on a unique type of boat – one that’s both ferried schoolchildren and smuggled pigs across the Border. Then, back on dry land, he takes a stroll under a pair of unique trees that were once home to lavish picnics and parties. Can they inspire both the menu and the location for his meal?
See for yourself next Monday, September 5, on BBC One Northern Ireland at 8pm.