Keith Floyd Why Did He Use 90g of PAPRIKA

As you’ve probably guessed, today’s chef is Keith Floyd — the man who brought a new era to television cooking and, by his own admission, inspired a generation to get in the kitchen. He certainly inspired me in my early twenties.

THE FLOYD STORY
Floyd burst onto the national stage on November 14th, 1985, with the premiere of his first full BBC series, Floyd on Fish. The very first episode featured a then-unknown chef — who turned out to be none other than the now King of Padstow, Rick Stein.

Over his career Floyd produced more than 20 television series and somewhere between 140 and 150 individual episodes. But before all of that, in 1969, he opened his first bistro at 112 Princess Victoria Street in Clifton, Bristol — a classic French-style bistro that became one of the most talked-about tables in the city.

THE MENU CONNECTION
Today’s recipe comes directly from that original 1969 bistro menu. The copy I’m using is owned by chef James Martin, who has it hanging on a wall in his home — James worked in one of Keith’s later establishments as a teenager, and I’d like to thank him for making the image available. The prices on that menu are in pounds, shillings and pence — pre-decimal. See if you can remember that far back.

The same recipe appears in Floyd’s first book, Floyd’s Food, published in 1981 and containing 150 recipes. The foreword was written by Leonard Rossiter — legendary star of Rising Damp and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin — who was a regular patron of the Clifton Bistro. At exactly the same time, Rossiter was filming those iconic Cinzano adverts with Joan Collins — all ten of them. If you’ve never seen them, I’ve included a clip. Comedy genius.

THE RECIPE
Please follow the video for techniques and cooking instructions.
Today we’re cooking Floyd’s Goulash. And yes — that really is 85g of paprika. That’s roughly 10 to 12 tablespoons. We’re doing it properly.
INGREDIENTS — FLOYD’S GOULASCH
1 kg–1.15 kg diced stewing beef
4 cloves chopped garlic
225g onion slices
300ml soured cream
Chopped parsley to garnish
85g paprika
1 bay leaf, pinch of thyme, salt and pepper, oil for frying
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 tin tomatoes and their juice
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
½ pint soured cream

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0:00 Introduction — Keith? Joan? Leonard?
5:37 Ingredients
6:55 Cooking
21:09 Tasting
25:40 Outro