Return to River Cottage Season 16

After a summer of eating veg, Hugh is ready to celebrate Christmas with a renewed sense of the value of meat - but also the wonders of seasonal vegetables. This year all the meat comes from the most extensively-living, free-ranging animals of them all - wild game - and more specifically those that are viewed by many people as pests.The River Cottage chefs sharpen their knives in pursuit of wild boar, muntjack deer and greylag geese. Head gardener Mark Diacono and Hugh seek to make the most of their veg patch, even in the depths of winter, unearthing some Christmas favourites, as well as some heritage varieties from off the beaten path. Forager John Wright teams up with Pam 'the Jam' Corbin to make some luxury stocking fillers. And the Canteen hosts a `12 Tasters of Christmas' night, packed with ideas to create an array of canapes and little bites, perfect for that festive drinks party.

Hugh has spent the summer dedicating his time and attention to vegetables. In this final episode his experiment of not eating meat ends, and it's fish he first turns back to. Still keen to share the vegetable love, Hugh invites a group of local children who hate veg to join him in the garden, and attempts to win them over with pizzas and garlic butter. And James at the River Cottage restaurant cooks a mouth-watering pumpkin and blue cheese pastie.

Hugh is well into his summer without meat. But even though he's turned veggie, life goes on - and it's time to take two of the River Cottage sheep to slaughter. But Hugh now reckons when it comes to cheap delicious seasonal food, vegetables can't be beaten. To prove his point he accepts a challenge thrown down by the landlady at a local pub to try and wow customers with his veggie treats, including golden squashes and pea and mint ice cream.

Hugh immerses himself in the pleasures of wild swimming with vegetarian triathlete Colin. Meanwhile, Tim and James go head to head in the kitchen with a summer veg showdown. Colin Hill has swum the English Channel, the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, and he puts pay to any suspicion that a meat-free diet lacks power. But his pasta-heavy diet lacks imagination - pasta and ketchup, anyone? So Hugh whips up some delicious carb-loading dishes that provide plenty of flavour as well as energy. Hugh also makes a campfire lunch for a team working with heavy horses to clear a forest. Tim and James make a saffron speltotto and the classic melanzane parmigiana.

Hugh's commitment to a summer without flesh takes a hit when he joins a fishing trip and has to pass up the fresh mackerel sushi. So he visits Sachiko in Birmingham, where a Japanese chef introduces him to the vegetarian ways of Buddhist monks, and cooking techniques entirely dedicated to wowing the palate out of any yearning for meat or fish. Back on track, Hugh plunges back into traditional English summertime and prepares a full cricket tea without a pork pie in sight.

Hugh prepares to cook a meat-free feast. But he faces a battle with the slugs who are tucking into his vegetable patch with vigour! Catering for a wedding party, Hugh has convinced the couple, Louise and Phil, to have a vegetable banquet. Hugh visits Jagdish Ghelani, owner of Indigo restaurant in Leicester, who regularly prepares south Indian speciality feasts for over 450 people. Back at River Cottage Hugh begins perfecting his curries with a fresh homemade aubergine and bean curry. He also knocks up some stuffed courgette flowers.

This second programme is all about the garden. Hugh and the garden team revel in the first sweet roots of summer - delicious whether snaffled down raw in the veg patch or cooked up into dishes like a glorious beetroot tarte tatin.

In this first episode, Hugh makes peace with the pigs, and says goodbye to bacon sandwiches, and instead heads into the River Cottage vegetable garden to see what green summer vegetables he can get his hands on to set him on his way. A classic summer garden soup is a sure fire winner.