Beyond River Cottage

Season 5 · 2004 · 10 episodes

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.

1Episode 1Hugh 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.
2Episode 2Hugh 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.
3Episode 3In 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.
4Episode 4The 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.
5Episode 5The 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.
6Episode 6River 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.
7Episode 7Summer 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.
8Episode 8Moving 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.
9Episode 9Hugh 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.
10Episode 10: A River Cottage Christmas FeastHugh 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.

Episodes