The Great Northern Cookbook (2013 - 2013)

This week, Sean starts in Broughton-in-Furness in Cumbria, where he enlists the help of the local residents in an attempt to break the world record for the largest Cumberland sausage. Making a potentially record-breaking sausage is easy compared with the task of manoeuvring it down town in time for the official measuring. In Morecambe, Lancashire, Sean tries his hand at salmon fishing the traditional way,with a device that resembles a full-sized football net. A novice to this type of fishing, Sean is soon tripped up by a salmon – embarrassing to say the least, but he does catch a corker! Teeside's favourite fast food is parmo (deep-fried chicken or pork in breadcrumbs topped with a béchamel sauce and cheese). In Middlesborough, Sean decides to give it a 'gourmet twist', but is this a good idea when the discerning locals know exactly what they like after pub closing time? Sean submits his entry for judging at the annual Parmo Awards.

This week, Sean boards The Scarborough Flyer, a classic locomotive from the 1920s. His challenge is to cook lunch for a carriage full of local dignitaries. This is easier said than done, since the train's kitchen is only just big enough for Sean to turn around in. To make matters worse, Sean has a disaster with his gelatin. All in all, the train is not the only thing that works up a head of steam on the trip from Crewe to Scarborough! Sean's next culinary challenge is to persuade 30 guests at a Blackpool B&B to rekindle their love affair for a local delicacy by serving up the best black pudding in the North for breakfast. Will the plates come back to the kitchen clean or will Sean be left with a mountain of blood sausage? From Blackpool he heads to Manchester, to work an eight-hour night shift at Smithfield Market, packing and selling veg. He then cooks up a vegetarian Indian feast in the car park for 120 of his co-workers.