Sudeley Castle mulberry tree to gain fame from Channel 4 TV show River Cottage to the Core

The tree will be shown on Channel 4's new television series River Cottage to the Core later this week.

River Cottage Group head chef Gillon Meller visited Sudeley to discover its secrets from senior gardener Jon Hodder, before picking the delectable mulberry fruit and cooking it in the Castle kitchen.

River Cottage to the Core, with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his team, features a campaign to change how people use fruit; engaging children in growing fruit trees and persuading people to try fruit alternatives in familiar dishes.

The Victorian chatelaine of Sudeley Emma Dent planted the mulberry tree in the 1850s when there was a fashion for the tree in the gardens of stately homes. The fruit look a little like large blackberries or raspberries and were used for jams.

Gillon Meller said, “Not only did I get to see the beautiful Sudeley Castle on a fine summer’s day, but my eyes were opened to the quite amazing mulberry fruit. I’d only eaten mulberries as a child so I was excited to see sitting slap bang in the middle of the Castle grounds the most wonderful mulberry tree ever.

"The fruit was ripe, sweet and plentiful and all that I didn't eat raw went in to my pretty special Mulberry Fumble. Cooking this fruity pudding in the Castle kitchen was a real treat. I was able to keep the film crew at bay long enough for the visitors at Sudeley to sample my wares, which went down quite well, I hope.”

Jon Hodder said, “It was a pleasure to show the River Cottage team around our famous gardens and to highlight an overlooked species, the mulberry. Much of the planting at Sudeley was for consumption, as can be seen in our Tudor Physic Garden and the Herbal Healing Walk, so it is good to see River Cottage encouraging viewers to grow fruit and of course, eat it!”

Riverside Cottage to the Core can be seen on Channel 4 at 8pm on Wednesday, October 30.