Celia Plender caught up with actress Keeley Hawes to talk about clobbering cuttlefish, baking cakes and why she thinks she'd make a good farmer
Why did you decide to take part in the show?
It's just one of those things that you think, 'oh God, I have to do that' - I think I'd have regretted it if I hadn't done it. It's a real one-off thing to be offered and I absolutely loved it. We had a ball. It's such a different thing to do when you're an actor. You have to be quite brave to just go for it, but I think the fact that Phil was there helped a lot. It's difficult to relax in front of the cameras when you're not used to behaving in that way in front of them.
What did you think of Hugh?
Hugh was exactly as you'd imagine. I don't think it's a persona that he switches on for the camera - I think what you see is what you get. He obviously loves what he does and he's passionate. He was talking about his conservation work for Fish Fight, and it's brilliant, because with somebody like him their voice is going to be heard. I really liked him everyone at River Cottage was great, really down to earth.
How often do you usually cook?
I'm not a big cook, one of the reasons being that my husband is a very good cook. So, when we're both at home, he tends to do the cooking. I'll be sous chef and the wine pourer, and the washer-upper! I love food, and I really enjoy it, and I like watching him do it. It's not out of laziness or that I don't want to - he's just much better at it than me!
Have you done much cooking since you got home from River Cottage?
I've done a little bit since. We're having the kitchen done at the moment, so I haven't really got the facilities, but I definitely will do more. [...] I don't think you can cook without really loving it. But for me it was just about getting a bit of confidence, and that has made all the difference. I wouldn't be afraid to make a mistake now, or try something a bit more difficult, and if it didn't work out, it doesn't matter. Who cares? Quite often things don't look perfect and they still taste fantastic. I'm a terrible perfectionist, and that's probably why I think, 'well, I won't bother because it won't be perfect'. But I'm going to ease up on myself when I get my new kitchen.
How did you feel about clobbering and preparing a cuttlefish?
I'm not especially squeamish - with needles I am, but not things like that. When you go to River Cottage I suppose there is that thing of, 'oh God, I think I'm going to have to kill something. A chicken is going to have to die at my hands...' or something. So, I was prepared for it in a way. I think, when it's fish it's not like killing a chicken or a bunny rabbit. I had a couple of really terrible near misses though. Phil was saying 'all the fish in the sea are saying not her, please not her!' because I kept missing. I mean, it was fine at the time, but it did come back to me afterwards quite often the fact that we had clobbered them to death. They were nice though! It was a good stew and the mackerel were really good.
Would you prepare one at home?
It's difficult in this sanitised world that we live in, everything's done for you. You could go to the butcher and ask for a whole chicken and quarter it or whatever. I'm not sure that I would do that, but the fish part of it I really enjoyed... maybe I would do that. I wouldn't make the cuttlefish mess again, not in my house - I had cuttlefish ink in my fingernails a week later, it doesn't come off! So, I'd leave that to the professionals.
You were a really good sport on the programme. Is there anything you wouldn't have done?
I don't think there's anything I wouldn't have done. I'm going to get hate mail, I know I am! But, it's one of those things, it's a way of life, and it happens everyday. My family and I eat chicken, or we eat fish, so it's just facing up to the fact that we live a sanitised life and what we eat is so different to what it started as. They plucked chickens and things, and even that part is just something that never occurs to people, I suppose. But yeah, I'm up for it. I'd be quite a good farmer. I wouldn't like the hours, but I think you have to just remain detached. I don't look at my dogs and think, oh I could cook you I'm a big animal lover, but I think when it comes to that sort of thing you have to be realistic.
Has your time at River Cottage changed your attitude towards food?
I think it probably has, yeah. It's like going to a farm or something; it sort of brings things home. I think it's good for people to see what happens to animals.
What was your best moment of the whole experience?
I made a banana cake with Gill who's the head chef there, and I quite liked it when we opened the oven and there was a cake in there that hadn't sunk, that I'd made! That really was quite exciting because I think when you do a little bit of baking, or you do stuff for kids, you get used to being a little bit disappointed by whatever it is. And it looked really great. That was pretty good...
There are so many moments. The fishing was my favourite part, I really enjoyed that, and I enjoyed stripping the cuttlefish down. I found it fascinating. I definitely had some confidence when I left, it's a brilliant thing to do. I would just encourage anyone to go and do a day or two at River Cottage. You can do courses there, and the whole place is amazing, the atmosphere - it was just really fab.
