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River Cottage

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S16 E3 · Three Go Mad at Christmas

About River Cottage

River Cottage is a documentary TV series that premiered on Channel 4 on March 18, 1999. It has 16 seasons and 95 episodes so far and is still airing new episodes. The latest episode, Season 16 Episode 3 "Three Go Mad at Christmas", aired on September 19, 2012.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, and campaigner on food and environmental issues, leaves London to pursue an ambition of self-sufficiency, growing his own vegetables and raising his own animals in Dorset.

  • Documentary

Last updated

Episodes

95 episodes · 16 seasons

Escape to River Cottage

1999 · 7 episodes · Last episode: 27 years ago

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall goes in search of an alternative lifestyle. He's constantly on the lookout for free food, and also grows his own vegetables, fruit and herbs and rears his own stock.

River Cottage Escape to River Cottage release dates →
  1. E7

    7. Christmas at River Cottage

    Finale

    Christmas Special at River Cottage

  2. E6

    6. Episode 6

    The day has arrived for Hugh's pigs to go to slaughter. He intends to use "everything but the oink", so enlists the help of Ray and Victor. Then it's party-time to say thank you to everyone who has helped him over the summer with one of his pigs helping to provide food for the guests.

  3. E5

    5. Episode 5

    Hugh decides that the river that give the cottage its name should contribute to his larder. So he has an eel trap made and puts it to use in the river. He also spends the day as a pheasant beater being paid with pheasant not money for his day's work. Then it's a lesson in cider making with the Chiddick Cider Circle. He tests the theory that the cider's purity will never result in a hangover.

  4. E4

    4. Episode 4

    Hugh has discovered that he is not alone at River Cottage, there are mice at the cottage and he wants rid of them - by humane means. There's an early start to try and bag a roebuck and a nostalgic reunion with a childhood hero as he goes in search of prawns.

  5. E3

    3. Episode 3

    The vegetables are doing so well, Hugh decided to enter them at the Beaminster Show. He also enters the Home Craft section with his own jam and a sponge cake. Then it's off on a fishing trip for spider crabs.

  6. E2

    2. Episode 2

    Hugh's been at the cottage a month, his vegetables have been planted and they are growing nicely. Pike is on the menu today, but he'll have to catch one first. There's also a trip to the local fruit farm for a day's fruit picking with the transient eastern European workforce.

  7. E1

    1. Episode 1

    Hugh arrives at River Cottage, a former Gamekeeper's cottage in west Dorset. He sets about removing the plants from the garden and starts planting his vegetables.

Return to River Cottage

2000 · 7 episodes · Last episode: 26 years ago

Return to River Cottage is the second series of the Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall during his second year of living in the country at River Cottage, Dorset after leaving the city behind. The preceding series was Escape to River Cottage.

River Cottage Return to River Cottage release dates →
  1. E7

    7. Return to River Cottage - Q&A with Hugh

    Finale

    Q&A with Hugh

  2. E6

    6. Episode 6

    Hugh tries brewing his own beer, using a hop plant he's found growing atop a tree. Later, he employs Nigel, an expert in hedge laying, to tame the trees behind the cottage. In exchange for a few bales of hay, Hugh acts as the quarry in a bloodhound hunt. Finding that too exhausting, Hugh decides to hold a "bring-a-bale" party to shore up his supply of hay for the winter. He cooks a Moroccan tajine with lamb, and Ray the butcher prepares steaks from Hugh's steer, which they eat with fresh horseradish sauce. The series closes with Hugh's party, as he's joined everyone who has helped him over the past year.

  3. E5

    5. Episode 5

    The tomato crop has survived the blight, and Hugh prepares to take on organic grower Michael in a friendly competition at the farmer's market. Hugh turns his tomatoes into a variety of upmarket products including ketchup, tomato and apple jelly, and samosas stuffed with green tomato and pumpkin. Hugh enlists Trish, a graphic artist, to design labels for his new brand, The River Cottage Glutton. Meanwhile, Hugh fears his "Spice" pigs may have been targeted by a horny wild boar, so he sets up a whimsical tripwire alarm system around the pig pen. Victor the ham expert returns to sample the dry-cured ham from last year. To thank Trish, Hugh invites her for a dinner of Lobster Thermidor. At the farmer's market, Hugh's strategy of selling prepared foods proves successful.

  4. E4

    4. Episode 4

    Unseasonal rains flatten Hugh's potential hay crop, and the tomatoes in his polytunnel are stricken by blight. Sheep shower Joanna helps Hugh groom one of his sheep—coincidentally also called Joanna—for competition in a show. Hugh joins Nick and Paddy to forage for a full dinner of wild garlic, pigeon, and Chicken of the Woods stuffed in a 6-pound giant puffball. Hugh traps signal crayfish in his river, and prepares a leg of lamb in hay. At the livestock show, Hugh's sheep wins second prize.

  5. E3

    3. Episode 3

    Hugh's landlords the Hitches are hosting a medieval fair, and Hugh offers up one of his pigs for spit roasting. Hugh attempts to breed Marge the cow with a bull named Regulus. Hugh participates in traditional mackerel-netting at Chesel Beach, then preserves his share of the catch as a gravlax. A Kiwi sheep-shearer teaches Hugh to shear his ewes for summer. Then, Hugh has his local bakery prepare lardy cakes using the fat from his pig. Barbara Gunning helps Hugh roast the pig, whose succulent meat is served on rolls at the fair. Finally, the River Cottage team loses at tug of war, sending Hugh flying into the moat, to the delight of all.

  6. E2

    2. Episode 2

    Two of Hugh's chickens aren't acclimating to their 8-foot (2.4 m)-high coop, so he sells them at the annual poultry auction and buys three new birds. Hugh prepares a fruit fool with fresh gooseberry, elderflower and Marge's cream. Hugh calls in vet Jeff Johnson to castrate his bull calf, then they enjoy the testicles on toast with sage leaves. Michael Michaud helps Hugh plant tomatoes in his newly constructed polytunnel. Finally, Hugh joins gamekeepers to hunt rabbit, then he sells bunny burgers and spicy rabbit satay at a farmer's market.

  7. E1

    1. Episode 1

    It's April, one year since Hugh moved to River Cottage. Hugh negotiates with his neighbour to secure the use of a four and a half acre (18,200 m²) field, just enough to support a cow called Marge and her calf, a steer of beef and a small flock of Dorset Down sheep. The cattle are joined by Hugh's chickens, which he introduces to high-rise living, and three "Spice" pigs which he names Ginger, Baby and Fat. Hugh takes part in a pub's annual raw nettle-eating competition and makes nettle gnocchi. He also goes scallop-diving and prepares a soup of wild watercress and wild garlic foraged from his newly acquired field.

River Cottage Forever

2002 · 9 episodes · Last episode: 24 years ago

River Cottage Forever is the third in the hugely popular "River Cottage" Channel 4 series franchise, following on from Escape to River Cottage and Return to River Cottage in which chef and journalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall de-camped from the rat-race of city living to move to the rolling hills of the Dorset countryside, which provided the perfect backdrop for his experiment to live off the fat of the land in as self-sufficient a style as possible; tucked away at the bottom of one of the Dorset valleys is the ideal home: River Cottage.

River Cottage River Cottage Forever release dates →
  1. E9

    9. River Cottage Forever - Q&A with Hugh

    Finale

    River Cottage Forever - Q&A with Hugh

  2. E8

    8. Episode 8

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Dorset down-shifting experiment finally comes to an end. As winter draws in, he has one major money-earner up his sleeve.

  3. E7

    7. Episode 7

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall finds that one of his old ewes has died. It's a sad day at River Cottage as later on he sends two of his pigs to the abattoir.

  4. E6

    6. Episode 6

    It's high summer and with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's vegetable garden in fine shape he's decided to enter the Vegetable Challenge Cup at his local horticultural show.

  5. E5

    5. Episode 5

    Hugh's beginning to get the hang of his Dorset down-shifting experiment - or so he thinks. Under the hot summer sun, the animals at River Cottage are giving him considerable grief.

  6. E4

    4. Episode 4

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall invites two local felt-making experts to turn his sheep's fleeces into a fashionable garment. He is asked to make the tea for a cricket match, and ends up having to play.

  7. E3

    3. Episode 3

    It's late May, the vet calls and it's bad news: Marge the cow is not as pregnant as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall once thought, there'll be no more lambs and the first batch of eggs are all addled.

  8. E2

    2. Episode 2

    After several days and sleepless nights, Hugh's first ewe finally gives birth to twins - the perfect Easter present.

  9. E1

    1. Episode 1

    Hugh cooks up a limpet pie and his neighbour Jo Forsey comes to check his sheep stock and declares that at least two are in lamb and that the birth is imminent.

Tales from River Cottage

2006 · 10 episodes · Last episode: 20 years ago

This is the story that details Hugh's three years as a smallholder in Dorset.

River Cottage Tales from River Cottage release dates →
  1. E10

    10. Land and Livestock

    Finale

    Hugh decides to continue as a small farmer - but how far should he go?

  2. E9

    9. The Wild Larder

    Hugh explains why wild food should be a part of the smallholder's diet.

  3. E8

    8. The River and the Sea

    Hugh explains how the river and sea offer the free food - from crabs and cuttlefish to eels and pike.

  4. E7

    7. Local Crafts and Customs

    Hugh tells us about some of the local customs he learned.

  5. E6

    6. Chicken and Eggs

    The difference between a vegetable garden and a smallholding is livestock, and every smallholder needs chickens. Hugh recalls his poultry learning curve.

  6. E5

    5. Business and Barter

    Hugh believes that to achieve a thoroughly good living, you need to be ready to barter and heckle. He charts the rise of his own little enterprise, from the local farmers market to the tough streets of London.

  7. E4

    4. Friends and Neighbours

    Good friends and helpful neighbours are an essential part of the rural idyll. Hugh recalls his initiation into the rural Dorset community.

  8. E3

    3. Joy of Pigs

    Hugh reminisces about his adventures with his pigs - from buying his first pig to training his breeding sow to hunt for truffles.

  9. E2

    2. A Garden of Delights

    From putting in his first organic veg beds, running the gauntlet of pests, to harvesting bumper crops from his polytunnel. He also offer tips on how to triumph at the local Horticultural show.

  10. E1

    1. Getting Started

    Hugh looks back on his early days at river cottage offering advice to other as to how to start their own adventures into small holding.

Beyond River Cottage

2004 · 10 episodes · Last episode: 21 years ago

Beyond River Cottage is the fourth series of the Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as he pursues the ideal of rural self-sufficiency as a farm-owner in Dorset.

River Cottage Beyond River Cottage release dates →
  1. E10

    10. Episode 10: A River Cottage Christmas Feast

    Finale

    Hugh ends the year with a medieval feast including 10 birds within a bird. He also takes his staff to a Christmas party hunting and then cooking squid freshly caught that day.

  2. E9

    9. Episode 9

    Hugh takes up pottery skills to learn how to make clay pots designed for cooking chickens. He also goes in search of mushrooms from the air and finally he arranges for his ewes to be serviced.

  3. E8

    8. Episode 8

    Moving into Autumn Hugh decides to enter competitions promoted by the local bee keeping society. He also decides to try and reignite interest in offal by preparing tripe for the local farmers market.

  4. E7

    7. Episode 7

    Summer is now if full swing. Hugh inspired by an excellent crop of tomatoes decides to conduct a tomato festival at River Cottage HQ in an attempt to make money from the over-supply of produce.

  5. E6

    6. Episode 6

    River Cottage HQ restaurant has been open for a month and things are going well. Hugh agrees to host a wedding feast for over a 100 guests, using nothing but produce grown on his farm.

  6. E5

    5. Episode 5

    The year is moving to late spring and the lambing has gone very well. Hugh attempts to win the Blossom Picnic Festival. Finally he decides to learn a bit about traditional English bread making.

  7. E4

    4. Episode 4

    The year has moved to April. With the seasonal spring vegetables coming into their own, Hugh decides to set up a special seasonal dinner for 40 paying customers.

  8. E3

    3. Episode 3

    In this episode Hugh has to deal with impending birth of piglets. He solve the problem of no toilets for the new restaurant and finally tests some new soup receipts at the Bristol Farmers market.

  9. E2

    2. Episode 2

    Hugh has finally located a suitable property and begins transforming the site into a going concern. His first challenge is to prepare one of the buildings to open for a special Valentine's Day dinner for 30 couples in just two weeks.

  10. E1

    1. Episode 1

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has outgrown the old River Cottage and now owns a 44 Acre farm in Dorset. To improve the economy of the new farm Hugh realizes he needs to branch out into further business ideas. But first he needs a viable location.

The View from River Cottage

2005 · 6 episodes · Last episode: 20 years ago

Looking back at his life at River Cottage Hugh discovers that he has learnt a set of rules - or principles - to grow by, to cook by and even to live by. This series distils the River Cottage experience into six main principles for living Hugh's simple life: being thrifty (nose-to-tail eating), making the most of the wild larder, getting the best of what is local and seasonal, celebrating food with friends and neighbours, growing your own fruit and veg, and killing for the pot.

River Cottage The View from River Cottage release dates →
  1. E6

    6. Feasting and Fun

    Finale

    Hugh revisits some of his finest food gatherings, including a blossom party picnic and an annual cider knees-up.

  2. E5

    5. One for the Pot

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall looks back on his experiences of bagging 'one for the pot' from the rabbits that are eating his lettuces.

  3. E4

    4. The Wild Harvest

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall looks back on the part that wild food has played over his six years of Dorset downshifting.

  4. E3

    3. Going Local

    Continuing his retrospective assessment of the vital elements of rural life, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall looks back on his ever-increasing commitment to sourcing his food locally.

  5. E2

    2. Thrift and Graft

    From learning to make felt from his sheep's fleeces to trying to revive traditions of tripe eating at the local farmers market, Hugh's determined that no part of his precious livestock should ever go to waste.

  6. E1

    1. Growing Your Own

    Hugh's journey towards self-sufficiency started out with a modest vegetable patch and a handful of animals, but he soon realised the importance of growing your own fruit, vegetables and meat.

River Cottage Road Trip

2005 · 2 episodes · Last episode: 20 years ago

Join Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal in two one-hour specials, as he embarks on the River Cottage Road Trip. In a quest to find fresh culinary inspiration, Hugh decides to explore new territory, leaving his business behind and heading North to find some regional recipes to bring back home. His journey starts in Dumfriesshire, where he learns how to hunt for and make haggis. In Cumbria he shoots his first teal and barbeques it for lunch with a kebab of its heart and kidney. Then, in exchange for a lakeside tepee pitch in the Lake District, he agrees to cook a lakeside ingredient-based feast for the revellers of the Coniston Water Festival.

River Cottage River Cottage Road Trip release dates →
  1. E2

    2. Episode 2

    Finale

    Hugh concludes his trip by heading to the Lake District and Yorkshire in search of the finest northern tea experience. On his return to Dorset, he stops off in Birmingham, where he looks for the definitive recipe for curried goat. Back at base, he rustles up a Caribbean-flavoured feast for local lifeboat men, including salted pollock, rum cake and a beach bar of tropical drinks.

  2. E1

    1. Episode 1

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall heads off to Dumfriesshire and Cumbria in search of culinary inspiration and some regional recipes that he can take back home. Hugh throws himself into haggis-hunting in the Borders and char-fishing on Lake Coniston, tirelessly pursues the finest Cumbrian damsons, as well as cooking up all sorts of delicious dishes with the talented regional cooks he meets on his travels.

The River Cottage Treatment

2006 · 3 episodes · Last episode: 19 years ago

Hugh is bringing his message to the masses. Each week Hugh invites a different group of urban dwelling, fast food loving non-cooks to spend a week at his River Cottage HQ. It's a clash of food cultures, as they come to the farm, meet the livestock, grow and forage, and even kill for a meal they can truly call their own.

River Cottage The River Cottage Treatment release dates →
  1. E3

    3. Too Lazy to Cook

    Finale

    Hugh deals with the takeaway townies: too lazy to cook, shop or even bung something in the microwave! Can he change their ways and turn them into competent cooks?

  2. E2

    2. Ready Mealers Cook Real Meals

    Hugh is faced with a group of self-confessed ready meal addicts. Hugh struggles to cope with their laziness, food foibles and squeamish approach to fresh produce.

  3. E1

    1. Fast Food Chicken Addicts

    Hugh entertains a group of fast food addicted city folk. With busy lifestyles and no desire to cook, the only solution seems to be buying something from the chinese, kebab or curry houses, which is definitely not the River Cottage philosophy. First up, it’s a group of finger-lickin’ chicken-lovers who are living off takeaways and cheap chicken portions from the supermarket. Hugh’s not afraid to use shock tactics in his mission to change their ways.

River Cottage: Gone Fishing

2007 · 3 episodes · Last episode: 18 years ago

River Cottage: Gone Fishing is a Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as he explores more sustainable fishing methods in the Channel Islands, Scotland and back in the West Country.

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  1. E3

    3. Episode 3

    Finale

    Hugh returns home to the West Country where he teams up with the region's most progressive fishermen to investigate commercial developments in sustainable fishing.

  2. E2

    2. Episode 2

    Hugh visits the Hebrides in Scotland where he learns about how the sea and the food it provides have shaped life on the islands. He also sources shellfish and sustainable salmon, and takes over Skye's chippy with only eco-friendly fish he has caught himself.

  3. E1

    1. Episode 1

    Hugh heads to the Channel Islands to cast his fishing rod into the ocean. What he catches, he cooks, either on board his boat or on the beach.

River Cottage: Spring

2008 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 18 years ago

River Cottage Spring is a Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at his Dorset home and teaching school River Cottage throughout the spring of 2008, harvesting crops, cooking organic food, teaching families to be smallholders and challenging Tesco against the source its chicken products.

River Cottage River Cottage: Spring release dates →
  1. E4

    4. Gooseberries and Garlic

    Finale

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall celebrates the arrival of summer with a fair. He prepares elderflower champagne and the Bristol families spit-roast pigs, lamb and goat. The final crops he still has to harvest are peas, gooseberries and wet garlic, at which time he will have experienced all that his land has to offer during his favourite season of the year.

  2. E3

    3. Goats and Potatoes

    The potatoes and radishes are ready for picking and the broad beans are de-podded for a luxurious dish of beans on toast. Vegan Jess chooses a batch of hens from a battery egg farm as the Bristol experiment to turn an acre of derelict city land into a smallholding continues. Back at River Cottage, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall organises a foraging competition and finds his ducklings hatch days early.

  3. E2

    2. Lettuce and Bees

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall prepares dishes using seasonal lettuce and spinach from his kitchen garden and dandelion and burdock grown in the hedgerows. The experimental Bristol smallholding receives four saddleback pigs, and vegetarian Susan accepts the task of butchering a whole lamb's carcass. Plus, the chef's country honey is pitted against the city variety at a taste-off in Broadway market.

  4. E1

    1. Lamb and Asparagus

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall cooks using produce from Britain's abundant spring harvest, including asparagus, artichokes and lamb. The chef's mother's shepherd's pie recipe is taste-tested against Delia Smith's cheat version with surprising results, and five Bristol families are challenged to turn an acre of city land into an urban smallholding. Plus, an update on the Chicken Out campaign

River Cottage: Autumn

2008 · 5 episodes · Last episode: 17 years ago

River Cottage Autumn is a Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at his Dorset home and teaching school River Cottage throughout the autumn of 2008, harvesting crops, cooking organic food, and foraging food.

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  1. E5

    5. Christmas at River Cottage

    Finale

    Hugh uses the fat from a cow's 'kidney knob' to make a spectacular flaming jam roly poly, his road test for a Christmas pudding with a twist

  2. E4

    4. Hugh's Bonfire Bash

    It's firework time at River Cottage and Hugh's preparing for a Bonfire Night shindig. But before any marshmallows can be toasted there's some hard graft needed, as the team bottle down for winter with some pickles, chutneys and preserves.

  3. E3

    3. Wild Food Feast

    We're deep into autumn and the harvest has been hearty for Hugh and his faithful River Cottage crew. As a reward for their hard work, Hugh's planning a slap up meal and, to show that you don't need piles of cash to dine like a king, he'll be foraging for all his food.

  4. E2

    2. Spelt and Cauliflower

    The autumn abundance is enough to tempt committed carnivore, Hugh, to lay on a slap up vegetarian feast at the River Cottage Canteen. But there's one vegetable that's not invited. Cauliflower.

  5. E1

    1. Beetroot and Ducks

    It's autumn at River Cottage and Hugh's going to get us all eating beetroot. There's duck on the menu too, hatched by Hugh himself as well as some wild birds bagged by hunter-gatherer chef, Tim. We return to Bramble Farm, to see how Hugh's Bristol smallholders are handling their harvest and Hugh travels up North to meet some green fingered guerrillas.

River Cottage: Summer's Here

2009 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 17 years ago

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall returns to River Cottage for the summer, experiencing and celebrating the best produce it has to offer.

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  1. E4

    4. Strawberry Fair

    Finale

    River Cottage is celebrating the strawberry this summer with a massive 500-person strawberry fete. In preparation, Hugh and the River Cottage gardeners plant strawberries in every available space.

  2. E3

    3. Cabbages and Slugs

    Hugh learns slugs have been scoffing the soft cabbages so he plans some drastic action. Snails have long been established on the River Cottage menu, so Hugh wonders if he can turn slugs into a culinary hit too. Hugh's goat has had a phantom pregnancy but because her milk is flowing, he takes a little in order to make a cheesecake.

  3. E2

    2. Leftovers

    Hugh wants to run a 'Leftovers Night' at the River Cottage Canteen. Together with chef Tim Maddams they make canapes from leftover fish, gnocchi from roast potatoes and puddings from breadcrumbs.

  4. E1

    1. Veal

    Hugh is trying to change the opinion of veal, which has recently been avoided in Britain on the grounds of poor welfare. He visits a local farm that is producing welfare friendly veal animals to explore the problem further. Armed with culinary veal delights he then heads to Taunton farmers market to put the welfare friendly meat to the public vote.

River Cottage: Winter's on the Way

2009 · 5 episodes · Last episode: 16 years ago

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall returns to River Cottage to harvest the best seasonal food that the cooler months have to offer. River Cottage: Winter’s On The Way follows Hugh as he cooks and tastes his way through the abundant crops on offer and provides the definitive guide to locally produced, seasonal food. Hugh raids River Cottage’s kitchen garden to show viewers they can enjoy a slice of any season, River Cottage style, wherever they live, with tantalising recipes. Leaving no seasonal favourite behind River Cottage - Winter’s On The Way celebrates the season’s best and freshest, whether from the wild, the garden or the shop shelf.

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  1. E5

    5. Episode 5 - Heroes

    Finale

    To celebrate a bumper year at River Cottage, Hugh has some of his food heroes round for a fabulous four course dinner including rare mushrooms, ten bird spit roast and the ultimate sponge and crumble

  2. E4

    4. Getting Ready for Christmas

    Hugh begins his preparations for Christmas, making chocolate brownies to give as gifts and using his slaughtered steer to create canapes of biltong and pastrami for a party. He heads to an Exeter nightclub to continue his mission to get wild rabbits back onto the British menu, hunts for the blewitt mushroom, and tries to catch herring for the first time.

  3. E3

    3. Chillis and Pumpkins

    Hugh prepares a chilli and pumpkin party for 200 people. He joins Gill Mellow and Tim Maddams to resurrect a childhood favourite of crispy pancakes using smoked pollack, bacon, cheese and sweetcorn. He travels to Cornwall to meet fishermen who have found a sustainable and lucrative market in catching squid, and visits members of a community who are determined to grow and rear their own Christmas dinners.

  4. E2

    2. Rabbits and Wine

    Hugh deals with a rabbit invasion in his garden by bringing in two warreners, and takes his children to Devon to look for wild mussels with French teacher Nathalie Arnold and her family. He receives help from his local Women's Institute to get rabbits back on the British menu.

  5. E1

    1. Mushrooms and Pears

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall returns to celebrate the selection of fare available over the autumn and winter seasons. After travelling to Gloucestershire for expert advice on making pear cider, he undergoes a crash course in free diving and takes to the open sea to find scallops. He also joins foraging guru John Wright to hunt for mushrooms in the woods, visits a mass tree planting day in the Peak District and uses the offal from his two-year-old steer to make a hearty stew.

River Cottage: Every Day

2010 · 9 episodes · Last episode: 15 years ago

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is back with 'River Cottage Everyday'. Hugh takes River Cottage back to the nation demonstrating that his philosophy has relevance and a use for everyone on a daily basis.

River Cottage River Cottage: Every Day release dates →
  1. E9

    9. River Cottage Christmas Fayre

    Finale

    River Cottage welcomes the festive season with a Christmas Fayre as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his team offer up their secrets on how to enjoy the perfect Christmas holiday.

  2. E8

    8. Treats

    This time at River Cottage the theme is treats, with everything from sponge cake, lemon curd muffins, cheesy tarts and a vanilla and elderflower panna cotta.

  3. E7

    7. Bread

    Hugh makes bread. Everything from simple white loaves to tangy sourdoughs, cheese and Guinness stuffed soda breads, an Italian bread salad, and his favourite summer sandwich.

  4. E6

    6. Lunch

    Hugh tries to rescue lunchtime with the ultimate cheese sandwich, a DIY lunch box, healthy instant noodle snacks in a pot, and a family Sunday roast with a twist.

  5. E5

    5. Breakfast

    Hugh shows that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, with Swiss-style muesli soaked in fruit juice, pancakes, sausage-stuffed grilled mushroom and a 'full English' salad.

  6. E4

    4. Fruit

    With fruit sales falling in the UK, Hugh heads off to a typical suburban street to see if he can get people excited again by nature's original sweet treats, from Eton Mess to lollies.

  7. E3

    3. Vegetables

    Hugh tries to win over the shoppers of Bridport to the delights of crudités, and persuade some of Poole's fire fighters to go vegetarian.

  8. E2

    2. Fish

    Hugh's challenge this time is to convert a house full of student girls to the delights of fresh fish with dishes ranging from marvellous mussels to tempting Thai fish curries.

  9. E1

    1. Meat

    Hugh believes the way to make organic free range meat fit your budget, is to eat and enjoy cheap cuts rather than cheap meat.

River Cottage: Veg Every Day

2011 · 8 episodes · Last episode: 14 years ago

Hugh spends the summer as a vegetarian, to see what simple pleasures are being overlooked. Travelling the UK in search of committed veggies, Hugh learns all about a new world or flavours from all corners of the globe that have one thing in common - no meat allowed.

River Cottage River Cottage: Veg Every Day release dates →
  1. E8

    8. Veg Heroes

    Finale

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall looks back at his summer of vegetarian living through the eyes of the people who helped turn him from a committed carnivore into a veg muncher and cruncher.

  2. E7

    7. Finale

    Hugh has spent the summer dedicating his time and attention to vegetables. In this final episode his experiment of not eating meat ends, and it's fish he first turns back to. Still keen to share the vegetable love, Hugh invites a group of local children who hate veg to join him in the garden, and attempts to win them over with pizzas and garlic butter. And James at the River Cottage restaurant cooks a mouth-watering pumpkin and blue cheese pastie.

  3. E6

    6. Cost

    Hugh is well into his summer without meat. But even though he's turned veggie, life goes on - and it's time to take two of the River Cottage sheep to slaughter. But Hugh now reckons when it comes to cheap delicious seasonal food, vegetables can't be beaten. To prove his point he accepts a challenge thrown down by the landlady at a local pub to try and wow customers with his veggie treats, including golden squashes and pea and mint ice cream.

  4. E5

    5. Power

    Hugh immerses himself in the pleasures of wild swimming with vegetarian triathlete Colin. Meanwhile, Tim and James go head to head in the kitchen with a summer veg showdown. Colin Hill has swum the English Channel, the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, and he puts pay to any suspicion that a meat-free diet lacks power. But his pasta-heavy diet lacks imagination - pasta and ketchup, anyone? So Hugh whips up some delicious carb-loading dishes that provide plenty of flavour as well as energy.

  5. E4

    4. Summer Pleasures

    Hugh's commitment to a summer without flesh takes a hit when he joins a fishing trip and has to pass up the fresh mackerel sushi. So he visits Sachiko in Birmingham, where a Japanese chef introduces him to the vegetarian ways of Buddhist monks, and cooking techniques entirely dedicated to wowing the palate out of any yearning for meat or fish. Back on track, Hugh plunges back into traditional English summertime and prepares a full cricket tea without a pork pie in sight.

  6. E3

    3. Feast

    Hugh prepares to cook a meat-free feast. But he faces a battle with the slugs who are tucking into his vegetable patch with vigour! Catering for a wedding party, Hugh has convinced the couple, Louise and Phil, to have a vegetable banquet. Hugh visits Jagdish Ghelani, owner of Indigo restaurant in Leicester, who regularly prepares south Indian speciality feasts for over 450 people. Back at River Cottage Hugh begins perfecting his curries with a fresh homemade aubergine and bean curry. He also knocks up some stuffed courgette flowers.

  7. E2

    2. Grow Your Own

    This second programme is all about the garden. Hugh and the garden team revel in the first sweet roots of summer - delicious whether snaffled down raw in the veg patch or cooked up into dishes like a glorious beetroot tarte tatin.

  8. E1

    1. Bring It On!

    In this first episode, Hugh makes peace with the pigs, and says goodbye to bacon sandwiches, and instead heads into the River Cottage vegetable garden to see what green summer vegetables he can get his hands on to set him on his way. A classic summer garden soup is a sure fire winner.

River Cottage: Three Go Mad

2012 · 3 episodes · Last episode: 14 years ago

Hugh throws open his doors to three celebrities for a two-day cookery master class at River Cottage farm, including fishing, foraging and tasty food. What could possibly go wrong?

River Cottage River Cottage: Three Go Mad release dates →
  1. E3

    3. Three Go Mad at Christmas

    Finale

    Hugh welcomes comedy actors Kathy Burke, Stephen Mangan and Mark Heap to River Cottage. What could possibly go wrong?

  2. E2

    2. The Comedians

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is joined at River Cottage by comedians Robert Webb, Lee Mack and Ruby Wax. Can two days of classes whip them into shape as serious chefs?

  3. E1

    1. The Actors

    Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes and Felicity Kendal join Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for a two-day cookery master class at River Cottage farm, including fishing, foraging and tasty food.

Cast & crew

Created by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

River Cottage FAQ

When is the next episode of River Cottage?

A date for the next episode of River Cottage hasn't been announced yet. Follow River Cottage in the Streambay app and you'll be notified as soon as a new episode airs.

When did the latest episode of River Cottage come out?

The most recent episode of River Cottage, Season 16 Episode 3 "Three Go Mad at Christmas", aired on September 19, 2012.

How many seasons of River Cottage are there?

River Cottage has 16 seasons with 95 episodes in total.

When did River Cottage first air?

River Cottage first aired on Channel 4 on March 18, 1999.

How do I get notified when new episodes of River Cottage are released?

Download the Streambay app, follow River Cottage, and you'll get a push notification the moment each new episode is released.

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