HIS father may reside in a château, but for James Strawbridge, it was the magnificent country houses and estates found in the north of Ireland which took his breath away during filming his new BBC series.
Strawbridge Over the Drawbridge sees professional chef James visit three such properties, learning about the colourful past of the buildings and their previous inhabitants and discovering what makes each estate tick today.
He then has to take everything he’s learned about each house’s history and character and create a meal which reflects that.
Cornwall-based James has published a number of books on artisan crafts and food, most recently The Artisan Kitchen and The Complete Vegetable Cookbook. He has also appeared on numerous television shows, including The Hungry Sailors with his father Dick, as well as popping up on the popular Channel 4 series Escape to the Château.
Having spent his childhood in Northern Ireland, James still considers it “home” and particularly enjoys visiting his aunt and his grandmother, who live outside Ballyclare.
He jumped at the opportunity to combine his passions of cookery, gardening, history and Northern Ireland in this new television series.
“I moved around a lot when I was growing up, but have fond memories of going to primary school here. In the holidays we used to go on day trips to the likes of Strangford Lough, the Giant's Causeway and the beaches," he reminisces.
“I always loved coming back to my grandparents' small holding, picking peas with grandpa and watching granny cooking. It still feels like home every time I go back,” adds James, who has remained a loyal supporter of the Irish rugby team.
“I’ve stuck with them and now they are the best in the world. I will be back this autumn to visit my aunt and uncles. Granny cooks us a big Ulster Fry and then we drive down to Dublin.”
In the first episode of Strawbridge Over the Drawbridge, James visits Ballywalter Park, home of Lord and Lady Dunleath. He hears tales from the house’s rich past including a cricket team captained by a butler, an unusual collection of birds and a poignant scrapbook created by a mother to depict the tragic tale of her son.
Outdoors, James meets the gamekeeper and head gardener of the productive Georgian walled garden, using produce from their garden to create his two-course meal.
During the series he also visits Greyabbey House in Co Down, home of Bill and Daphne Montgomery, and hears how one of Bill’s unfortunate relatives met a dastardly death at the hands of a pirate.
And at Crom Castle in Fermanagh, he spots a natural wonder more than 10,000 years old and takes a trip on a unique boat that ferried both schoolchildren and smuggled pigs across the border.
James thoroughly enjoyed delving into the past. “The old-fashioned family rights around collecting things like seaweed were fascinating. So too was the social scene with boating parties and the impact of war," he says.
“I constantly had a smile on my face walking around learning and discovering things. Even the family resemblance when you see the old portraits is cool. The history side definitely inspired my choice of food and cooking - I tried to put the past and present on a plate.”
So has it inspired him to follow in the footsteps of his father and own a large château or stately home of his own?
“I've seen the furrowed brow that my dad developed in the château. I live in an end terrace Cornish cottage. It's hard enough work controlling three children and a couple of dogs, without looking after an estate," he tells me.
“If I was born into it or someone said, 'Right James, this is your big country house,' I think I would rise to the challenge. At the moment I'm quite content doing lots of cooking and having a less stressful life.
“I have absolute admiration and respect for how forward thinking the people I’ve visited in these enormous properties are in terms of sustainability and tying in with the local community.”
James, who collaborates with a wide range of food and drink brands in England, was equally as impressed with the local Northern Ireland produce he encountered.
“When I come home to see Granny I look forward to the stereotypical sliced Veda, Ulster Fry and a pint of Guinness. But this series gave me the chance to discover for myself what everyone in my family has been telling me about the great food here.
“I was struck by Portavogie prawns, the shellfish, the seaweed, the potatoes, the incredible cheeses and charcuterie and the vast amount of seasonal vegetables being grown here.
“The gardens were amazing, especially Ballywalter who use organic growing principles to produce amazing rhubarb and rainbow chard. As a chef it was like being a kid in a sweet shop.”
The sustainable living expert is passionate about reducing our carbon footprint and advocates eating fresh, local produce.
“When we are faced with all sorts of issues globally we need to look closer to home for tasty seasonal and responsibly farmed foods. Do we really have to have our food pumped with antibiotics, shipped in from America and eat strawberries in December?”
In the programme we discover it was the first time James cooked for a Lord and Lady. Did he feel the pressure?
“The only other thing that had me at the same level of stress was cooking for three-star Michelin chefs at my dad's château.
“It wasn’t so much their title, but I knew all these people I was visiting had great taste and had eaten in the best restaurants. I was putting pressure on myself because I didn't want to let them or my granny down,” adds the 38-year-old, who also is an artist.
As well as seascapes and coastal oils, he enjoys painting food and has illustrated some of his books – the next of which explores the role of salt in food.
“If I have time before I cook, I love putting all my ingredients on the table and painting or drawing them. In the future I would love to do that for a living," he says.
“One day you will find me a Strangford Lough painting seaweed and then picking it on the beach,” laughs James, who will be travelling to France to film at his father’s château in October.
“Dad’s doing really well. For the first time in seven years he managed to escape from the château and get a holiday, but he's back to doing weddings. It will be nice to get in the kitchen with them again and teach him some new tricks.”
:: Strawbridge Over The Drawbridge begins today at 8pm on BBC One Northern Ireland. Also available on BBC iPlayer. All of James’s recipes from the series will be available on the BBC Food website at bbc.co.uk/food.
