Back in Brittany where he first learnt about French food as a student, James Martin invites celebrity chefs Simon King and Dave Myers (better known as The Hairy Bikers) to overnight in his trailer before visiting Concarneau in France. Concarneau is an important fishing port and its market (Les Halles) is well stocked with fresh seafood, meat and vegetables. With bags full of langoustines, fresh local apples and pork, they head back to their campsite to prepare the ultimate prawn cocktail and a mouth-watering pork and apple dish, cooked with local cider from the Manoir du Kinkiz at Quimper. Why does food taste better outdoors? Recipes Langoustine prawn cocktail Loin of pork with caramelised apples and cider
James and his chums The Hairy Bikers return to the pretty coastal town of Concarneau to enjoy the wide variety of ultra-fresh seafood displayed in the market. The John Dory fish and the spider crabs look particularly delicious, but Madame Chaze's patisserie in the Place St Guinole looks wonderfully tempting too. Back at their trailer, James and the boys prepare the John Dory with a buerre noisette sauce and spice up the spider crabs with an old recipe from Singapore. Who says the British can't teach the French a thing or two about cooking? Recipes John Dory with beurre noisette and white asparagus Chili crab with Asian scented rice
It is the Hairy Bikers' last day with James in Brittany, and the lads park up their trailer near the market at Pont-Avens, 14km East of Concarneau. Just inland from the tip of the Aven estuary, this small port was where Gauguin came to paint in the 1880s before he left for Tahiti, and today it is packed with art galleries. At the market, the lads find dew-fresh vegetables and plump local chicken. James demonstrates to how to peel an artichoke, before the explorers return to base camp to prepare a delicious vegetarian risotto and a dish of poached chicken with goat's cheese salad. James also visits the La Motte cheese factory to see how the locals make their cheese. Recipes Artichoke, pea and lemon risotto Poached chicken with goat’s cheese, walnut and beetroot salad with nut vinaigrette
James is joined by his friend and fellow chef Martin Blunos for a dawn raid on the fish and vegetable market in the attractive old town of Vannes. Back at the outdoor beach kitchen, they cook up a tasty dish using monkfish tail and James also has a recipe to lift the humble (and cheaper) mackerel to new heights. And after all that healthy fish, it is time for a waistline-threatening trip to the local patisserie kitchen to sample some sweet desserts.
With the trailer still parked up near Vannes, James and Martin Blunos find the über-fresh seafood in the old Les Halles de Poissons catches their imagination. Loaded up with a fabulous trawl of fish, bread, vegetables and herbs, they head back to the campsite to cook up a variation of a classic French dish. Pot-au-feu is usually made with meat and vegetables but James and Martin make a creamy seafood version. Having also sourced some ale from the local brewery, they also prepare a delicious dish of cod cheeks in beer batter and a sharp home-made tartare sauce provides the perfect accompaniment. Who said the Brits have chips with everything?
James is back in Pornic, the seaside town where he trained and worked when he was 14. Then, as now, the summer brings a bonanza of delicious local strawberries from the surrounding farms. Also in the town's market, guest chef Martin Blunos finds some beautifully fresh scallops and shrimps for his "fishy heaven" dish of scallops with a shrimp butter, and James prepares his special Pornic strawberry tart - with the few strawberries they haven't eaten!
James is back on the beach in Brittany, reliving his work experience student days! After shopping in a market in Saint-Servan-Sur-Mer, near St Malo, James and guest chef Lawrence Keogh prepare veal with rosemary and garlic and their own version of cauliflower cooked with tasty local cheese. The chefs also visit a local bread mill and bakery to help knead dough and bake bread the traditional hard-work way. It doesn't take long before the cider comes out and everyone is singing and dancing. Later, James cooks his market-fresh scallops on the beach barbecue, using freshly made hazelnut butter.
After all this time eating fish, James Martin and guest chef Lawrence Keogh would like to tuck into some tasty meat, and the market at Saint-Servan provides lots of inspiration. No day at the seaside would be complete without chips and the boys oblige with genuine all-French pommes frites to go with their local chargrilled steaks, cooked on a vine-fuelled barbecue right on the beach. Nostalgia for his student days here in France inspires James to also make his banana souffle pancakes.
James and guest chef Lawrence Keogh have parked the Airstream in the grounds of an equestrian school, but they are not planning to cook horse. After some serious shopping in the French market at Lamballe, their bags are full of lamb, sweet local black pudding, pears and pear liqueur, creamy fromage frais, leeks and gateaux Bordeaux - all the ingredients they need to prepare a delicious meal. James also takes time out to visit an impromptu local fish market just along the coast at Trevignon and arrives in time to get the pick of the catch that he has just seen come ashore. He is certainly the only Rosbif in that queue!
It's the last day of James Martin's Brittany road trip, and he is joined by local Michelin-starred chef, Daniel Galmiche, in the popular seaside town of Dinan. In the well-stocked market they buy bags of special salt for their sea bass bake, before Daniel checks out the beautiful local oyster beds where 6,000 tonnes of this popular delicacy are harvested every year. Will he eat them all or bring some home? Back at the camp site, he helps James rustle up a knockout duck breast with lime and orange accompanied by a lardon and chicory salad.