Hitching in Hitchin

Travelling in Burgundy earlier this year, I came across a sign outside the town of Nuits St Georges. “Jumelée avec Hitchin”, it proclaimed. It all seemed rather incongruous and I Tweeted to that effect, asking tweeps for some other unlikely urban twins. Milton Keynes and Bernkastel? Scunthorpe and St Emilion?

Needless to say, I’d never been to Hitchin. I always assumed it was a bit like Stevenage, one of the less aesthetically appealing English towns. But I was wrong. The Saturday Kitchen team went there to film yesterday and the place is lovely, with a beautiful central square, a great deli, an open air market, a lovely church and a warm welcome. Sorry, Hitchin, you deserve an apology.

We always have a laugh when we’re filming the wine VTs for the show, but yesterday was special. We had Tim Atkin in Hitchin choosing a wine to go with a dish created by Tom Kitchin for Saturday Kitchen. You couldn’t make it up.

You’ll have to wait for Saturday Morning for the recipes, but the food is really delicious this week: an original take on saddle of lamb from Tom and a squid bolognese from the legendary Pierre Koffmann.

The wines are from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. I won’t ruin the surprise, but I’ve chosen a special offer Spanish red at £5 (amazing at the price) and a stunning £9.99 wine on the show. I want people to trade up and enjoy something delicious when the dish merits it. Tune in to BBC1 at 10am on Saturday.

Our producer: TV’s Andy Clarke