Concarneau

First stop is Concarneau – an amazing place on the south coast of Brittany. It's a fishing port and there’s an old walled town on an island you get to over a bridge which is full of bars, cafes and shops. The market is just next to it.

Like everywhere in France there’s all the fresh produce you could wish for here and, not surprisingly, a brilliant selection of fish.

It's great to have my mates Dave and Si – the Hairy Bikers – with me, but a bit of a squeeze fitting them in the trailer. We've managed to wedge Si in on a cushion on the floor but it makes it tricky getting to the loo! They're great guys to have around – we're having a good laugh - and they get as much of a buzz about shopping in this kind of place as I do.

I can't resist those langoustines – I’m going to make a kind of up-market prawn cocktail with them. It’s dead easy and tastes amazing. It's what I always say – great cooking starts with fresh ingredients – and you don't get fresher than these - they're still kicking!

We’ve parked up in the grounds of a local cidrerie – cider is a speciality of Brittany – and we’re going to use some for the boys’ dish, pork in cider.

Somehow food always tastes better in the fresh air!

Concarneau part 2

It’s just great to get your hands on the fish here, it’s all so fresh. We’ve picked up some fabulous John Dory, and a couple of spider crabs which are still making a bid for freedom. I’ve got plans for the spider crabs, using chilli, it’s a little bit oriental, and the guys have a recipe up their sleeve for the John Dory.

Living in the trailer makes cooking more of a challenge – you never know what the weather is going to do. But you’re living close to nature – and that feels very much in tune with the food we’re buying in the markets here. None of this has been flown halfway across the world – it came out of the sea this morning, or out of the ground, just up the road, yesterday. It just tastes better. And you don’t need fancy presentation or starched linen napkins to enjoy it. We’re cooking it on a gas ring in the open air and eating it out of the pan.

Dave and Si are old hands at this kind of game – they’ve done it all round the world. What could be better than to be tucked up in the van with a glass of local beer or cider, tucking into the food you’ve cooked between the showers. A lot of people when they’re camping or caravanning live on tins or takeaways – it just doesn’t have to be like that!

Pont-Aven

It’s the Hairy Bikers last day. They’ve had a great time and I’ve loved having them...though if I’m honest Si snores – big time! Especially after a few bottles of the local cider, which we’ve been trying out.

We went to the market in Pont-Aven. It’s just the prettiest little town you could hope to find with a stream running through it and an old mill. The French have always shown us the way when it comes to cooking and when you come to a place like this you can see why – every town has its market and everyone comes here for their fresh, local, seasonal ingredients – which are an absolute must if you want good food on your plate.

We’ve found some great artichokes, so we’re doing a risotto which vegetarians will love. The French use artichokes much more than we do – we really should use them more, they’re a great vegetable, full of flavour. The boys have found some goats’ cheese so they’re going to do a very simple salad with that, and we’ll have some poached chicken with it.

Vannes

We’ve moved on down the coast to Vannes – another beautiful old town with a massive market, with huge indoor halls plus any number of stalls outside all along the winding streets.

I’ve now got my old mate Martin Blunos with me who’s got any number of fish recipes up his sleeve. And if we’re going to find fish anywhere it’s here. There’s a whole hall entirely given over to fishmongers, and being just a stone’s throw from the sea you can be sure that everything here is wonderfully fresh.

With all this on hand I’m going to do a pot au feu – which is basically all kinds of different fish and seafood cooked up in a pot. It’s dead simple, very good for you and tastes the business – this is proper food. We don’t eat enough fish in England – all people seem to go for is salmon or tuna or cod – but there are so many others to try – and they’re all in plentiful supply round here.

Martin’s fish dish is his take on the good old British battered cod. But you can bet your life his will be a damn sight tastier – he’s using some of the local beer in his batter, and monkfish tails. It will be a whole different experience.

Bit of an adventure in the trailer last night. We’d both stepped outside to enjoy a beer and closed the door behind us to keep it warm – it’s still early in the season and though the days are sunny, the nights are cold. It was then we realised that the door was locked – and the keys were inside. Not a good thing to discover at 11.30 at night.

There was nothing for it but to get in the car, try and find a hotel or a B&B for the night and sort it out in the morning. Except that the keys to the car were also in the van!

Fortunately there is another way into the van through the storage compartment – a bit tight for grown man but when the alternative is a night under the hedge it’s amazing what you can do!

Vannes part 2

We’re on the Gulf of Morbihan today – a huge inland sea dotted with islands and a very popular place in the summer for tourists and all kinds of boating. And we’re lucky that it’s summer weather today, so we’re cooking on the beach – a perfect setting for the barbecued mackerel I’m planning. Mackerel is such a tasty fish and it’s best cooked really simply – we’re just wrapping it in foil with some herbs and whacking it on the barbecue. And the fact that we’re cooking it in the fresh air right by the sea just makes it taste even better.

Martin’s doing fish too – what else can you do when there’s so much of it around! We found some monkfish tails in the market and Martin’s going to cook them up with some peas, asparagus, spinach, and Noilly Prat.

The trailer is ideal for two people – comfortable and warm – but you’re also right next to the fresh air – just slip outside for morning coffee in the sunshine. You have your own home with a different view every day. I’m sleeping like a log and feeling just great.

Pornic

One of the things I’ve really been looking forward to on this trip has been coming back here to Pornic – I trained here when I was 14 and spent several months working in two restaurants. It was where I learned a lot of my skills – making special sauces, and learning to turn mushrooms and vegetables. They were hammered into me – almost literally sometimes, with a frying pan round the head! There’s also a bar here that brings back memories - it’s an ice cream parlour now – we had some great nights there, some of which I remember!

There’s a great strawberry shop here offering everything you’ve ever thought of doing with a strawberry, and it’s inspired me to do my first dessert on this trip – a strawberry tart.

But the absolute highlight for me of shopping in the market here was a little old lady who was standing there with a tiny table containing just a handful of vegetables - all from her garden, which I don’t imagine being very big. Each one was immaculately presented and priced. I bought a couple of onions and some herbs and she wanted two euros – I gave her five, and still got a bargain, considering the love and care she’d obviously put into growing them.

St. Servan part 1

We’ve headed north now – and are parked up on the coast near St. Malo, and my mate Lawrence Keogh has come over to join me for a couple of days. We’ve spotted some great veal in the market and Lawrence has some interesting plans for it involving rosemary and garlic.

I was looking to move away from seafood today – but couldn’t resist the fresh scallops. I’m going to do them in their shells on the barbecue – by the sea in the fresh air – what could be more perfect?

Just up the road Lawrence and I have had a day which neither of us will ever forget. We joined some locals making bread in the traditional way. We went to a beautiful old water mill, set by a stream in a valley, and started by mixing up the dough in what looked for all the world like a cattle trough. They sing Breton songs to keep you working and by the end there was a serious bit of Anglo-French rivalry going on!

The final bit of making the dough involves picking up a lump weighing about 10 kilos raising it above your head and hurling it into the trough – and by the time it was done we were all well knackered.

While we waited for the bread to rise they brought out some cider and some fabulous roast pork and pommes boulangères which they had cooked in the same oven as the bread would be cooked in. It had been lit a few hours earlier to get it up to temperature. The potato dish is called pommes boulangères precisely because traditionally it has always been cooked in the baker’s oven.

St Servan part 2

The market here in St. Servan has loads to choose from and it demonstrates once again how seriously the French take their food - the locals use these places just like we use our supermarkets.

I’ve been cooking a lot of fish, but now I’ve got Lawrence Keogh with me, and this is the guy to work with on some meat recipes – it’s his speciality at his restaurant in Borough market – Roast.

We found some fabulous Cote de Boeuf in the market and it gave me an idea – cooking it on an open fire of vine prunings. I saw this done once many years ago and it gave the meat such an amazing flavour. We’ve got sunshine and a perfect location by the beach – so we got ourselves a wheelbarrow, loaded it with the wood and took it down to the sea.

It takes a few minutes to burn down enough to leave ashes we can use, then about half an hour for the meat to cook, leaving Lawrence time to make one of his amazing Béarnaise sauces. Then I made crepes with banana soufflé.

Sure it’s chilly once the sun starts to go down, and the wind blows the gas out from time to time, but I’m just loving cooking and eating in the fresh air like this - with natural cutlery – your fingers!

Lamballe

We’ve come to a beautiful old town, Lamballe, for Lawrence's last day. We’re parked up in the grounds of the Haras stables. It’s a very famous Equestrian School – but I promise we’re not going to do horsemeat! They’re big on it round here, but it’s not something I’m in a hurry to cook or eat.

We’ve got lamb on the menu today and I’ve spotted some little cakes – Gateaux Bretons – which have given me an idea for a dessert using pears and Poire William.

Lawrence is doing the lamb with creamed leeks and black pudding – or boudin noir as they call it here. The one he’s bought is made with raisins and sugar – and it’s a speciality of this area. It’s delicious.

Dinan

For my last show we’ve come to the market at Dinan – which is probably the best in the area – it’s certainly one of the prettiest.

And I’ve got just the man to show me round – local boy (he grew up in Brittany) and Michelin star chef, Daniel Galmiche. It’s great to have someone with me who speaks the lingo. He knows just what to ask for and how to get what he wants.

Daniel’s found some locally-grown duck and he’s doing it with his version of orange sauce – just a bit better than the usual!

I’m doing sea bass and I’m baking it in the oven wrapped in a salt crust – a wonderful way to keep it moist and preserve the taste.

It’s my last day and I’m sorry to be leaving – it’s been just great cooking outdoors – eating with our fingers as we watch the sea or the sunset – I’ve had a load of fun with some great mates. I wonder where I should head for next with this trailer…