River Cottage Autumn Blogger: Steven Lamb

Steven Lamb, River Cottage host and resident smallholder, talks about his experiences on the new River Cottage Autumn show…

One of the many interesting things about living in the place that you work is that you get to experience some surreal moments. If your home and place of work happens to also be a backdrop for a popular television programme then those surreal moments occur all the time.

You get used to the camera appearing from around every corner and the constant flurry of lights and sound boom pointing in your general direction but you never get used to the feeling of being in a ‘behind the scenes’ or ‘the making of’ story of your everyday existence.

It feels strange when you are sat at home and you see footage of the inside and outside of your home being broadcast to millions of people across the UK! The normal viewer/programme relationship is shattered and you half expect to hear a Hugh voice-over when doing something mundane like washing the dishes.

The time and effort that goes into making River Cottage is immense, particularly as it is shot, edited and broadcast with a short turnaround. Events that were filmed last week appeared in last night’s episode. I was watching Dan sweat over the spelt loaves and seeing the clock run down in real time. He may have looked cool last night when he finally arrived at the Canteen but at the time there was a spot of panic.

I think that it helps to maintain the integrity of the place when the programme shows it as it really is and yes, Hugh really is that competitive, especially when it comes to catching fish. He also was genuinely surprised at Tim’s fantastic cheese and cauliflower dish.

Next week there is another element of strong competition when John and I go head to head with Gill and Hugh on a wild food forage. I can’t reveal the result, you’ll just have to watch it and when you do, imagine what it is like to watch yourself at home whilst watching yourself at home…

Catch up on all the goings-on at River Cottage.

Try all the River Cottage Autumn recipes from the show.

Read all the River Cottage Autumn blogs.

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