You are currently viewing all entires with the tag: calving

Kill it Cook it Eat it

Friday, January 8, 2010 at 05:14PM
Tags: calving, farm bbc program, julia bradbury, Kill it Cook it Eat it, lambing, meat farming
Filed in: Pipers Farm, BBC TV Series, Recipes

Charlotte first came to Pipers Farm in March 2009. The BBC had commissioned Dragonfly TV Productions to make a fourth series of Kill it Cook it Eat it, and Dragonfly chose Charlotte Winby, series producer of the successful third series on game (deer stalking, rabbits, wildfowl), to produce the fourth series. We were one of 9 companies that she was researching, and were sure, when she drove away that evening, that we would not see her again.

In early April, Charlotte telephoned to say she would like to make all six programmes based at Pipers Farm. Lambing and calving were in full swing by then, so she went up onto Exmoor, in glorious spring weather, to meet and film Pete Delbridge and his lambing ewes, and John Richards and his Red Ruby cows calving. Kill it Cook it Eat it series 4 was rolling.

In August, Paul Durgan, producer of the pig/sausage programme, and his assistant Eva, came to film us at home working Chip and describing the history behind, and what led us to start, Pipers Farm. Talking to camera answering Paul's questions, again in glorious sunshine, was a lot easier than getting Chip to perform! Mostly she feels she is Peter's working partner so, as a result, she and I underwent a period of intensive training together. Our sheep were endlessly patient and good humoured, and all the time Chip and I were developing a closer working relationship. I loved it, in fact I think we both did.

In mid September the farm became a film set. We had about 40 crew on site, from producers, directors, camera guys, sound guys, lighting guys, as well as the six volunteers, Julia Bradbury, Professor John Webster, Helen Osborn, our food consultant from the Duchy College, and Mandy, our lovely nurse, to make sure Luke was fine at the abattoir. Alice transformed our kitchen into the sitting room where the volunteers and Julia watched video footage and discussed what they were seeing, feeling and about to experience. Our sitting room became the dining room, all laid for dinner, and the 'playroom' (latterly, our son Ed's office 'Tech Suite 1') became Julia's room.

It felt really strange living on a film set, and on the first night we cooked supper and then looked around for somewhere to sit and eat. We perched precariously with supper on our knees on the dining room chairs, thinking two weeks might start to feel a very long time!

The next day the mobile canteen and the guys from Red Chutney were up and running, serving breakfast for us all from 7am. They cooked amazing food, using Pipers Farm meat, and life certainly picked up! Charlotte believes a well fed crew is a happy crew and we all looked forward to the next meal. When the Red Chutney van drove away two weeks later, we felt totally bewildered - we would have to shop for food, work out meals, cook. . . . it was a shock!

Filming started with the cattle on the hill behind the house. It was not until we arrived in the field that I realised that the one heifer in the group, with 8 bullocks, was bulling (in season). Filming them was quite a challenge as the bullocks could not leave her alone, and she became quite frustrated by their amorous advances One moment they were all grouped around Phoebe, Luke and James quietly eating, and the next moment the heifer was off at speed down the hill with the bullocks in hot pursuit.

Working Chip for the lamb kebab programme went like a dream - all the training had paid off. She worked brilliantly for James and Luke, and it was a treat to see the pleasure that gave them both. Again it was amazing weather - if the summer was poor, it certainly came good for the filming.

The days developed a rhythm, with everyone arriving and parking in the field behind the house at 7am, and head for a hearty breakfast, followed by a planning meeting for the day ahead. A full day's filming, either here at Pipers Farm, or at the abattoir, or with Mike and Mary, or in the cider orchard with the pigs, or with family Pring, and then everyone left at 7pm and the farm was quiet and ours again.

All the team at Pipers Farm found the experience interesting and rewarding. We all feel passionate about our work and the food we are producing, and it was great to share our passion with all the guys here. The crew were a great team, all pulling together and fun, yet understanding. We loved watching them at work, and watching as the programmes were being shot and directed by Nick, Charlotte and Fred, sitting in front of their screens in the large mobile camera van parked in the yard. Also loved watching Guy and Sarah with the jib camera, getting those amazing high shots of the house, cattle barn and surrounding landscapes.

We much enjoyed meeting all the volunteers, each bringing their own very different experiences to the farm at the start of their Pipers Farm journey. For 5 of them, it was their first time on a farm and their first opportunity to talk to farmers. For us it was most interesting, having time to discuss all sorts of issues involved in farming, food production, budgets, health, and nutrition.

We were also fascinated with the added dimension Helen Osborn brought - we knew a bit about the make-up of economy ranges of burgers, sausages, etc but the table full of pretty shocking ingredients and the inconsistency in what is allowable in labelling was an eye-opener. That was definitely a journey that we took.

On the last night the Dragonfly team organised a wrap party here at the farm. Everyone in Pipers Farm team and their families was here. It made a very memorable end to the filming - a moonlit night, barrels of fabulous beer from Otter Brewery, cider, a folk band from Bradninch with 20 month old Tamar dancing to their music, Lorraine, a key member of the Pipers Farm team, and her husband roasted a Pipers Farm pig and crazy dancing on the yard at Pipers Farm late into the night. At the end of the party, everyone signed our visitors book and I think all of them felt that they had travelled a journey in their two weeks at Pipers Farm.

Alice returned and transformed the film set back to our home. When the last Landrover drove out of the drive, we felt a huge feeling of achievement that we had all pulled together to create something special. We hope you will think so too.