A food historian mapping the way we eat would have to highlight a couple of massive game-changers over the past 50 years. The rise and rise of the supermarket would be one because these large concerns have vastly multiplied the sheer variety of food and drink available to everyone, everywhere. The other would be the surge in food-related TV shows which have introduced a million exciting new flavours and cuisines directly into our homes.

You could argue that the latter phenomenon was a West Country-led revolution. Many would agree that Devon-based David Pritchard was partly responsible for the massive upturn in popularity of the cookery programme when, nearly 40 years ago, he took Somerset-born Keith Floyd out of the studio and onto a Plymouth quayside to cook seafood with a fleet of working fishing trawlers as a backdrop.

That memorable series, Floyd on Fish, was a huge hit as millions of viewers (and I mean many millions around the globe) became excited by the idea that cookery programmes could be taken out of studios and located in places where ingredients were actually grown or caught or where cuisines were developed and practiced. David (who alas died a couple of years ago) of course went on to mastermind the Rick Stein programmes which achieved even greater global acclaim for the same reasons.

Today’s article is about a man who is continuing to carry the West Country flag in the now celebrity-studded, £multi-million industry that is TV food and drink. South Hams-based Pete Lawrence built a reputation in the food world by making shows with the likes of Nigel Slater, the Hairy Bikers, Nigella Lawson, Michel Roux Junior and James Martin, before setting up his own creative company called Hungry Gap Productions.

And the first thing to say about Pete is that he is a very nice bloke. And I say it because television is a bit of a dog-eat-dog world and those who rise to the top can sometimes be a bit bombastic or pre-Madonna-ish. Not Pete. He is warm and friendly and very much down-to-earth. A phrase which is extremely apt in his case because it brings us to the second thing to say about him - which is that he has written a wonderful tome called The Allotment Cookbook, subtitled Grow, Cook and Eat With the Seasons…

I wonder how many top TV producers have allotments? I wonder how many career TV executives could write things such as…. “Growing veg is the antithesis of stress. The allotment is where I go to escape a busy life and seek inspiration. It is my sanctuary. I often find myself spending long periods just looking at things on the plot.”

TV producer Pete Lawrence in his allotment

In his book Pete goes on: “To make me sound even weirder, the more time I spend there, the closer I become to my crops. Not, I hasten to add, in an emotionally unstable way; I simply understand their virtues and appreciate their finer qualities. I hesitantly suggest that ‘relationship’ is not too big a word. In simple terms, the way I cook and think about food has changed since I have grown my own veg. I feel I appreciate true value and have a connection with the land. Both are easy to lose in our demanding and busy lives.”

See what I mean about ‘down to earth’?

I learned more about Pete this week when we sat down for a chat and the first thing he told me was that, although he’s only recently moved to the South Hams (and therefore lost his allotment for the time being) he was actually brought up in the county.

“I grew up in Barnstaple and went to Park School and North Devon College,” he told me. “After studying film-making in Surrey, I was offered a couple days work as an assistant cameraman in Northern Ireland and - because various jobs there came my way - I ended up working there as a producer and director for 12 years.”

TV producer Pete Lawrence working as a young cameraman

After that Pete moved to Bristol to work for the BBC on programmes like DIY SOS and a plethora of series including documentaries, natural history programmes and series such as Countryfile and Gardeners World. But this love for food (and the growing thereof) inevitably took him towards the culinary world.

Pete’s first major outing in cookery TV was with Observer food writer, Nigel Slater… “It was his first programme for BBC One, called Simple Suppers - and actually he took a lot of persuading to do it. But we hit it off - and it was a great success.

“Then I met the Hairy Bikers and got some ideas commissioned. They are great fun to work with. Really, one thing led to another,” shrugged Pete. “Like any job, if you show a skill in particular area you become an expert. That has led to me producing more and more - I’ve done literally hundreds of hours of food related TV shows.”

After setting up his own production company, Pete has continued to work with the best food TV talent for BBC, Channel Four, Channel 5, Discovery International and others - filming, for example, with Nigel Slater in Lebanon and Turkey and producing “lots of programmes” with the Hairy Bikers as well as with Cornish chef Paul Ainsworth and the ever-charming Rachel Khoo.

“In fact, during lockdown I directed a entire series with Rachel - she was in Sweden - and I was in Bristol. So I directed the whole thing over Skype…”

Pete Lawrence with Hairy Biker Dave Myers

Looking back at his career Pete says: “I grew my own food and had an allotment - and that really helped when I was talking to food presenters. I sort of knew what I was talking about and they could tell. Of course, the more I’ve filmed the more I’ve learned. Believe me, you soon learn how to chop an onion like a professional if you’ve filmed someone doing it hundreds of times.

“Having said that, there is a massive difference between cooks and chefs. A professional chef can turn out 200 meals in an evening with military precision. Then there are the presenters who are home-cooks. People like Nigel and Nigella are home-cooks and they are writers. If you are a good cook you don’t need to show people how to chop an onion in seconds because you’re only feeding your family. What has made TV cooking more interesting is that these people can tell a story.

“Nigella is a really good example… When she talks, you listen, because you know she is actually talking from the heart. She genuinely knows a lot about this recipe, because she has cooked it many times. You can easily create a brand which doesn’t have much substance behind it - but someone like Nigella oozes knowledge and charisma. She is also one of nicest people I’ve worked with. All of that comes through.

“I always try to tell a story when I’m making a programme,” Pete continued. “Don’t tell me how to chop an onion because I can see that on the camera - tell me why you like the onion. It is always much better for me to draw out the passion and the stories than to tell the audience all the technical details.

“Yes, I was influenced by the Floyd and the early Rick Stein programmes. Rather than being a set of instructions, they made you feel hungry. And that’s one of the things I try to do. I always say - you should want to lick the screen by the end of the programme. What I try to do is create a little world that people can imagine they’re in. There is a certain artistry to it. For example, one of the problems is if you make a programme that’s so aspirational - calling for unusual ingredients like black garlic or Himalayan rock salt - viewers might end up feeling they can’t make a dish. You have to make it clear the world won’t come to an end if they use a substitute instead, or if they are just inspired by the idea.

“My book is about the inspiration behind the dish - the passion behind the dish. Does it really a matter if you don’t have exactly the right ingredients? There are two types of people who buy cookery books… One lot says that unless they have the exact ingredients for a recipe they will not cook it. There are others who just want the idea - they want the sense of the dish. Quite often I open the fridge or look in the veg-box and see what’s there and I might be inspired by a recipe I saw long ago. Which is why I wrote the book in the way I did. I was growing and eating in season and to do that you have to be inventive.”

At this point Pete gave an example of an issue most veg growers know about - ie the annual tsunami of courgettes… “You get the first few and they are a treat - but within four weeks you are knee-deep in courgettes. Part of my book was about the recipes - so there’s courgette cakes, courgette soup, you name it… You have to be inventive and creative. We’ve lost touch with seasonality and where food comes from - but people are starting to get into it through necessity, especially during the lockdowns.”

So what’s in the pipeline for this successful TV producer now he’s moved to South Devon? “I’ve just made a series about chocolate - we did most of it last year and I put on a few pounds in weight! It’s with Rachel Khoo and is on Discovery Plus and also on Food Network.

“At the moment I am working on a series about cheese. About Britain’s relationship with cheese. Did you know that it was Henry 8th who decimated British-cheese-making-knowledge when he closed down the monasteries? It was all eventually reduced to just a few industrial cheeses before a very clever man was asked what to do about the EU ‘milk lake’ in the 1970s. Now we’ve got more artisan cheeses than France.

“As for other plans… Well, I’ve got hundreds of seeds in boxes,” says the Devon TV producer who is, obviously, very passionate indeed when it comes to his love for food…

RECIPES from Pete Lawrence’s The Allotment Cookbook

Courgette soup with feta and mint

This simple soup tastes outstanding and when you have courgettes coming out of your ears, it feels like an achievement to eat so many in one go. Anyone can make it and it freezes well too. Everyone in our family enjoys this, which is just as well when we find ourselves eating it on a daily basis at the height of the courgette season. I know that, like me, Natasha and Freddie both really enjoy this (daily) soup, although the question, ‘How many courgettes did you use up?’ does sometimes make me wonder if I should give them the weekends off.

serves 4–6

10ml vegetable oil

1–2kg of large courgettes, cut into big chunks

1 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

sprig thyme

2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice

salt and black pepper

to serve

15g mint, finely chopped

100g feta

extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

chive flowers, to garnish (optional)

Gently heat the oil in your largest saucepan. Add the onions, garlic and courgettes with a generous sprinkling of salt. Cover with a lid just smaller than the pan, so it rests on the mountain of courgettes, pressing them down. Keep the heat low and allow to cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, so that all the courgette chunks get a turn at being on the bottom.

Add the bay leaves and the sprig of thyme and allow to cook gently for a further ten minutes. Pour in the lemon juice, then replace the lid for about 15 minutes. The courgette chunks will start to break down and release their moisture. When all the courgettes have softened, there will be a considerable amount of liquid in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and liquidise the contents until the soup is smooth. The courgette skins will create dark speckles, making a great visual contrast to the almost luminous paler green.

Stir the mint into the soup before serving in individual bowls. Crumble a small handful of feta into the middle of each bowl, drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil and finish with the lemon zest and a scattering of chive flowers.

Poached salmon with buttery rocket sauce

A thick, rich, buttery sauce is the perfect traditional accompaniment to poached salmon. The rocket cuts through the richness just enough to add freshness without overpowering the other flavours. The combination is spectacular.

serves 2

for the sauce

4 large shallots, finely chopped

150ml dry white wine, such as Chardonnay

60ml white wine vinegar

120g cold unsalted butter, cubed

75g rocket leaves

for the salmon

2 salmon fillets, about 200g each

1 bay leaf

100ml water

200ml white wine

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

To make the sauce, put the shallots in a saucepan with the white wine and the wine vinegar. Heat slowly for about ten minutes. The liquid will reduce considerably. Gradually add the cold butter cubes, whisking as you go. Don’t let the pan get too hot. Once you have a velvety rich sauce, remove the pan from the heat. Keep it warm and whisk the sauce from time to time while you cook the fish.

Put the salmon fillets in a large saucepan. Add the peppercorns, white wine and water. Cover with a lid and heat to a simmer for 6–7 minutes. Don’t be tempted to leave it longer, or it will overcook.

Meanwhile, chop about a third of the rocket very finely and stir gently into the butter sauce. Serve the salmon on the remaining rocket, covered with a blanket of the buttery rocket sauce.

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