-As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a baker.

♪♪ -Paul seems to know what he's doing.

-What you might not know about me is that I'm also a huge film buff... Go ahead, punk.

Make my day.

[ Gunshot ] ...and I love my bikes.

I'll be combining all these passions on an epic road trip from New York to L.A.

I'll be sampling foods that play a starring role, lapping up the scenery, as well as the cooking... Wow.

...and reliving some of my favorite movie moments.

I'll be rustling up some epic recipes inspired by my travels.

Oh-ho-ho!

And I'll be meeting a few famous friends along the way.

-This was a real discovery, I have to say.

-So join me on a journey from grits to gumbo... That's spicy.

...and from "Godfathers" to "Forrest Gump."

I'm a happy boy at the moment.

Come on, buckos.

Let's go for a ride.

[ Laughs ] That looks awesome.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ After covering 3,000 miles with my trusty steed... -Yee-haw!

-...through those verdant southern states and those dusty western landscapes, I'm now winding my way through six lanes of busy traffic on the last 800 miles into the City of Angels.

♪♪ As a keen film buff, the entire place feels oddly familiar.

And like most visitors, I'm keeping an eye out for famous faces.

Is that Brad Pitt?

I'm eager to get right into the heart of town and to achieve what I've set out to do from the start of this road trip -- to put Hollywood in Hollywood.

But as I make my way into the heart of Tinseltown... [ Thunder rumbles ] ...the heavens open.

♪♪ Welcome to Hollywood.

And I've brought the good old British weather with me, as well.

I mean, when you look down this street now, all this in the late 1800s was farmland right up to the early 1900s.

And the first building that was here was basically a hut, which turned into, where the Dolby Theatre is now, the Hollywood Hotel.

That now is a major place for awards.

And this has all happened in just over 100 years, from arable land to Hollywood.

♪♪ But how did the movies end up in a place with my name on it?

At the turn of the 20th century, the inventor of the film camera, Thomas Edison, had effectively patented moviemaking and was employing policemen and hired thugs to shut down productions on the East Coast.

So independent filmmakers were running from the law.

Fleeing across the country to California, they knew that not only were the local courts far less likely to back Edison, but if all else failed, they could scarper across the border to Mexico.

♪♪ Since I'm in movie star central, I'm heading straight to an eatery with a superstar sponsor.

Now, settled in the heart of Beverly Hills, which is where I am now, is a restaurant with a little bit of a Hollywood touch.

Now, Ryan Gosling actually part owns the restaurant I'm about to go to.

It's a very intimate Moroccan feel to it, and I can't wait to try the food.

Bringing the flavors of his native Morocco to the Angelenos is the resident Tagine genius Chef Benameur, or Ben for short.

Hello, Chef.

Nice to meet you.

-Welcome.

Good to have you.

An honor to have you here.

-Tell me about this restaurant, 'cause I love the feel of the restaurant.

It's got a real intimate feel to it.

-Well, when I met Ryan Gosling in 2000 -- -I love the way you dropped that in.

I mean, "When I met Ryan Gosling."

-He's the one who's making this happen.

-So how did you initially meet them?

-I used to have a catering company, and one of the catering I did for him, and he told me, "Ben, where is your place?"

I told him I don't have one.

And that's how the story started.

-So Ryan is a real -- he's passionate about his food.

-Absolutely.

That is one thing about him.

He loves to cook.

-So what are we gonna be making today?

-Well, we're gonna do the kefta.

It's a national dish, ground beef.

Let's keep those hands busy.

-The kefta prep starts with Ben chopping onions, coriander, and parsley, which I'm throwing in with the ground beef.

I like a lot.

-Here we go.

I can give you more.

-No, I like that.

I think that's enough.

-Why not?

This is from me to you.

There you go.

Well, now you're going to start with the peppers.

-Okay.

-Just grab a little bit and start seasoning.

Give me more than that.

-A little bit more?

-A little bit more than that.

Cumin.

I want you to be generous in the cumin.

That's your perfume for that ground beef.

Give me more.

-Okay.

That's a lot.

-Now the Hungarian paprika.

-Now, this has got a bit of kick to it.

-The Hungarian paprika, I like it.

It has that sweet, sweet kick in your -- in your -- in your tongue.

A little bit more.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Alright.

-Okay.

-A little bit of ginger.

Sometimes the equation's got to come from your heart, not from anywhere else.

-Yeah, I agree.

-Alright, and now we're going to marinate it.

You're good.

I like that.

-As a baker... -There you go.

-...I like to get my hands in there, 'cause you can feel -- you can feel what's going on.

Ben tears off chunks of the spiced meat and molds them into patties.

So what happens to this, then?

Does this get fried, get covered?

-No, we're going to just grill it.

-Oh, okay.

While I drop our meaty morsels onto the grill, Ben takes some pan-baked cauliflower out of the oven.

-It's very hot.

I want you to try.

Just came out from the oven.

There is nothing.

Just sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.

-I love cauliflower.

Beautiful.

I mean, you've been here for a long time now.

-Yeah.

-I mean, do you still enjoy it yourself?

It's still in your soul, isn't it?

-You know, sometimes it's hard for any human being to find what he wants in life.

-Yeah.

-If you find what you want to do, we're very lucky, actually.

-Do you think people at home, if they want to cook Moroccan food, what do you say is the key ingredient?

What are the little secrets?

-Try to be always adventurous... -Yeah.

-...and doing something just to taste it for yourself.

You may come up with something, because it's there for a reason.

A lot of people, like Meryl Streep, when she eat my lamb chop -- -She's been in here?

-Of course.

Everybody been here.

-Listen.

Oh, come on.

Really?

-Yeah.

-Meryl Streep?

-Meryl Streep.

Salma Hayek, she's my best friend.

Cameron Diaz.

-Salma Hayek?

-Everybody, actually.

It's bad location, but it's good destination.

When you come to this place, don't make another plan.

-You're here all day.

Couldn't agree more.

Yeah, absolutely.

So what's in the pan, then, Chef?

-Just mixed peppers with olives and preserved lemon, salt -- kosher salt or sea salt if you have it, it's better, and then peppers.

You don't need to add anything else.

If you do too much, it's too much.

-Ben throws thyme into hot fried butter and adds chopped asparagus.

And what are those Brussels sprouts doing here?

That's the thing you have at Christmastime with your turkey.

-There you go.

-Is that -- Is that a -- Is that a dish from Morocco?

-Well, they don't have Brussels sprouts in Morocco.

-I was gonna say.

-But it gives me the luxury to find Brussels sprouts here.

-Yeah.

-Whatever you find in the market, it's going to be, you're lucky that you find it.

-I'm happy with that, actually.

Do you think -- Is that okay?

-This is perfect.

That's perfect.

So we're going to plate that.

We're going to build up that dish.

There you go.

-Chef, we just need to sit down now and try this.

-Absolutely.

-Thank you, Chef.

-It's a pleasure to have you here.

-Thank you.

-What a pleasure.

-Now you're talking.

Been looking forward to this one, Ben.

-Well, it's all yours.

And you did it yourself, my friend.

-I love the colors in here.

-That's our rainbow, actually.

-I think it looks amazing.

There you go, man.

Thank you.

I've be looking forward to this kefta.

This should taste amazing.

Mmm.

-Well, speechless.

That's heaven.

-Do you know what I love?

It's the flavors.

It's the cumin.

It's the cilantro.

It's the parsley.

It's the onion.

It's a good beef, actually, as well.

And the flavors with that charcoal flavor, as well, which I love on keftas, that is fantastic, and married up with the cauliflower together.

Oh, yeah.

Oh!

-Enjoy.

-I mean, I'd have this every day.

-You made my day.

Thank you so much.

You made my day.

-My pleasure.

I've got to try this.

I've just had that Brussels sprout.

-You just had -- -Wow.

That's how you eat a Brussels sprout.

You're in in L.A.

I understand why Ryan loved you so much.

I get it now.

He's going to have to fight with me now.

-Well... -He's going to have to fight with the real Hollywood.

-He's gonna call you, my friend.

-Chef, you're a genius.

-Thank you, sir.

Well, without your presence.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you so much for being here.

-Well, that was a great way to get a first taste for the L.A. celebrity food scene.

♪♪ ♪♪ -After 3,000 miles crossing the country, being here in L.A., the home of moviemaking, is very special.

I feel like Arnold Schwarzenegger riding over the storm drains where the famous motorcycle chase was filmed for "Terminator 2."

-Hasta la vista, baker.

[ Gunshot ] -Like everywhere I've been on this trip, I'm soaking up the flavors, as well as the cinematic sights.

And one thing you can't ignore here is the influence of South American culture.

We're only 140 miles from the Mexican border, and nearly half of all the Angelenos are Hispanic or Latino.

So I've ridden 12 miles southeast from Beverly Hills to the Arts District, where I'm told I'll find some really tasty Mexican food.

-Come with me if you want to eat.

-Now, food has actually evolved a lot in L.A. over the last decade.

They're more conscious of the provenance of the food, where it comes from, what they're eating.

This place is all about fantastic well-sourced tacos.

Chef Wes Avila began Guerrilla Tacos as an unlicensed wagon back in 2012.

Six years later, he went legit and opened a rave-reviewed restaurant.

Wes.

-Hey.

-Lovely to meet you, buddy.

-How you doing?

-I'm Paul.

-Good to meet you.

I'm Wes.

Nice to meet you.

-What I want to find out from you, really, is, what is a taco, and where did it all start for you?

-Well, a taco is basically about a three-bite kind of mini pickup pocket you get on the streets in Mexico, typically from street carts.

-Yeah.

-And the reason mine are different is 'cause I'm from Los Angeles.

It's like a melting pot.

So I take experience and influences from all over.

Today we're going to do the sweet potato taco and the fried fish Baja-style taco.

-Oh, go on, then.

-So we're going to get you working a little bit, okay?

-Go on.

There's no time to "burrito" around the bush.

So we're getting started by frying up those tortillas.

-You're going to get a stack of these.

-Yeah.

-And we're going to dip it in this clarified butter right over here.

So a little dip and a little swish.

And then you're going to start throwing them down.

There you go.

-Like a pack of cards.

-Mm-hmm.

-They're quite solid, aren't they?

-Yeah, they get very, very soft after a while.

-Amazing color.

-Yeah, the color actually changes a little bit as you're warming them.

-And they start to bubble.

It's a bit like a naan bread or a chapati, you know, the Indian flatbreads... -Yeah.

-...which begin to bubble.

-So we'll put these aside for now.

And we're going to start warming up our sweet potatoes.

These have been cooked in a little bit of salted water.

These cook for about -- maybe about 20 to 30 minutes, give or take on the size.

-Yeah.

-These are big boys.

-Yeah, they are, aren't they?

And where are these from?

-These are from here, from Southern California.

So we're going to add a little bit of fresh thyme.

You can go ahead -- -So you try and utilize as much local ingredients as you possibly can.

-Absolutely.

-Provenance is important.

-It's very important.

You're going to want to season these.

-Yeah.

How much do you want?

Is that enough?

-There we go.

That's perfect.

-Over the shoulder.

-[ Chuckles ] So we're just getting a little bit of golden brown, heating them all the way through.

-Yeah.

Did you grow up with tacos?

Tacos with the proper street food for you?

-Absolutely.

Mexico and Baja California is literally 2.5 hours from here.

So we would go down there with my family and we would go all along and eat, like, street tacos, fish tacos, fresh shellfish, lobster.

I mean, whatever you can imagine that you can get from the Pacific Ocean is what we would have to eat.

So this one's pretty much ready to go.

-Yeah.

-So what we're going to do is you can see the steam coming off of these bad boys.

-Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

-About that much.

-Alright.

Okay.

-Alright, so for this one, we're going to go with the almond chili.

It's almost like a romesco sauce from Spain.

This is the Valbreso feta.

And we're putting a little fried corn.

-Okay.

-Also known as corn nuts.

-Yeah.

-And a little bit of scallion.

-Yeah.

-And we're ready to roll.

-Thing is that these are quite tricky to eat.

[ Both laugh ] -You just kind of go for it.

-Oh.

Mmm.

The kick from the chili... -Yeah.

-...is fantastic.

It's the sauce.

It's the scallions.

And the tortilla's soft.

It almost melts in the mouth.

The feta cheese is ingenious with that potato.

-Thank you.

-[ Laughs ] Breakfast.

This is breakfast, this one.

-It's a L.A. breakfast.

-Mmm.

Absolutely stunning.

There's something very familiar about this next taco.

-The Baja fish taco.

It's almost like how you guys had fish and chips.

It's, you know -- -Chips in a taco.

-Yeah.

It's fried cod.

It's fish and chips in a taco.

So we'll go ahead and make that one next.

This is Atlantic cod.

Wild caught.

We're going to fry these in a tempura-style batter.

-That batter contains rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, celery salt, paprika, and Mexican pilsner beer.

Do you know what?

I'm salivating already.

I've been trying that one.

I'm thinking.

"Oh, yeah, here we go."

I used to love watching this in the fish and chip shops in the U.K. -Just a bunch of... -When you're a kid and you're just looking over and you're trying to look into the fryer to see the fish frying, You know?

I love all that.

I still think that if we've only brought one thing to world cuisine is fish and chip.

-Fish and chips.

-That's it.

You could do one actually, with fries in it and mushy peas on the top.

-A very, very British one.

-Cod's a big favorite of mine, chippy and fried and knowing that this is going to be sitting inside one of those tacos.

Get in!

♪♪ -So on this one we're adding a little bit of this.

It's like a Japanese yuzu chili.

-Okay.

-Give it a little bit of a kick.

-Yeah.

-Now we're going to move over to assemble these.

-Okay.

-Now it's your turn.

Here you go.

-Right.

So we got -- -A little bit of chipotle crema.

It's a little sour cream and chipotle chili.

-Yeah.

The fish?

-Yes, sir.

A little squeeze of this one.

-Now, what is this?

-It's a tomatillo chili.

-Okay.

-Got your burnt tomato.

Here we go with the cabbage.

A little bit of the cherry tomato.

We're going to put you to work on the -- on the street selling tacos for us.

[ Both laugh ] Some cilantro or coriander.

-Coriander.

That's how I know it.

Coriander.

-And then a little bit of the chili japones.

Good to go.

It looks awesome.

-It looks great.

I mean, I'm still wondering how the hell I'm going to eat this.

♪♪ Whoa!

-[ Laughs ] Is that the one?

-It's the balance of the chilies with the fish, which is so clean.

It's such a great flavor, that cod.

The flavors are just magnificent.

I mean, the difficulty is getting a little bit of everything in one bite.

You just can't do it.

Oh, that's marvelous, that.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, that.

I like that one.

What you've done to tacos, you've taken that fantastic humble street food and turned it into something and made it very L.A. as well.

-Thank you.

-That's why you're so busy.

That's why everyone rates you as the best.

Mate, it's been a real privilege and an honor for me to be taught by the master himself.

-It's been a pleasure.

-Thank you, Wes.

-Thank you so much.

-They are absolutely delicious.

Before I get on my bike, I need to thank the friend who recommended this amazing place to me.

♪♪ -Oh!

-Teri.

-Thank God.

You saved me from drinking by myself.

-As well as being an award-winning actress on "Desperate Housewives," "Lois & Clark," and in the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies," Teri Hatcher is an accomplished cook.

What a great place.

-Isn't this the coolest place?

Oh, I love this place.

Cheers.

Welcome to Los Angeles.

-Yes, thank you very much.

-What do you think?

Spicy?

-Ugh!

-Yeah.

Not your thing?

-It is very salty.

-Salty?

-Those of you that don't know, I met Teri in the "Bake Off" tent, and in fact, Teri became a star baker.

-I did.

-I mean, that was really weird because obviously I'm a big Bond fan.

-Okay.

-I followed Bond all my life, and you were obviously a Bond girl.

-Box checked.

-Bond girl.

"Tomorrow Never Dies."

But then Lois Lane.

It was Lois Lane when things for me -- That became the big series that everyone had to watch.

It was a cult following, wasn't it?

Still is.

-Yeah.

It still is.

I have to say, even more than "Desperate Housewives," the -- that "Lois & Clark" group of fans, they're so loyal.

They want a reboot more than anything.

It's crazy.

I don't think it's happening, but that -- they do.

-That'd be great.

-Yeah.

They never give up.

♪♪ -Speaking of superheroes, here's Wes with those delights we cooked up in the kitchen.

-Look what we're getting!

Oh, my gosh.

-They look like tacos -- like no tacos I've ever seen before.

Traditionally, I think beef.

-Oh, yeah.

Which they do.

They have this pork taco that they serve in a crispy shell.

-Yeah.

-That it -- Every time I eat it, I don't know if this is going to translate, but to me it's like this... this white-trash classic.

Like, when I was a little kid, that crispy taco but done in the most gourmet kind of comfort-food way.

You just -- That crunch.

I don't know, it's one of my favorite things.

-And the food is your main passion.

You've also started doing a lot of food on YouTube as well.

-On YouTube.

I started this thing called "Don't Eat 'It' Out of a Box," and the idea there was just trying to keep putting out the message to people that there are different choices to process food and try to offer them easy things to cook.

So even though -- I don't know -- there's cheese here or, you know, there's batter on this fish, it's made with -- it's made with ingredients that are well-sourced.

And I mean, the quality is so high.

-Absolutely.

I mean... -It's hard to talk and eat because honestly, I would have devoured this entire thing already if we weren't trying to have a conversation.

I'd be like, "Yeah, whatever, Paul.

Okay, sure, I'm still eating."

-You understand food, which is why coming here... -I'm so glad you took my recommendation and met me here.

-I'm going to leave you to it.

-Perfect.

-You know what?

It's been a real pleasure for me catching up again.

Thank you, Teri.

-It's so nice to see you.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Be safe on your motorcycle.

It makes me a little nervous, even though it is gorgeous and it looks like you're having fun.

-And enjoy your drinks as well.

-Yeah, I'm going to eat this right now.

-[ Laughs ] [ Crunching ] Wow.

Oh, Paul, you forgot your helmet.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Los Angeles.

The City of Angels.

I met a dame.

She was beautiful.

But she left a funny taste in my mouth.

Maybe she slipped me a Mickey.

♪♪ I was in a bind.

And I needed some bread.

And I knew one man with a lot of dough.

I couldn't finish my trip through the States without meeting a kindred spirit.

Mark Stambler is so talented that his homemade sourdough sells through local businesses faster than he can make them.

Apparently, he is the master baker, but with a tiny bit of expertise of my own, I definitely feel I have something to prove?

Hello, Mark.

-Paul.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Likewise.

Come on in.

-Thanks very much for allowing me in.

-Welcome to my kitchen.

-I can smell sour straightaway as soon as I came in.

-[ Laughs ] That's because I have several doughs fermenting.

-I've got a friend in L.A. who's an actress.

Now, I was -- She's very keen on baking.

-You're kidding.

An actress here in L.A. -Isn't it weird?

Do you mind if she comes in and joins us?

-That'd be great.

-As we sort of get making bread.

-Oh, that'd be wonderful.

-Fantastic.

I'll be back in one minute.

My guest is best-known for her television role as Phoebe from "Friends."

But what most people don't know about Lisa Kudrow is that she's a keen cook and a big "Bake Off" fan, and she's just as cheeky as her on-screen alter ego.

Hello, Lisa.

How are you?

-Good.

-So although this isn't quite the "Bake Off" tent, I've invited her along.

I hope she behaves herself.

Mark, may I introduce Lisa?

Lisa, Mark.

Mark.

Lisa.

-Hi, Lisa.

Pleasure to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-This guy's going to do a bit of bread making with us.

-Oh, good.

Okay.

Yeah, I don't know how.

-So what we're going to be making today is called a Sonora loaf.

Sonora wheat was the first wheat that was ever successfully cultivated in California.

It was brought here by the Spanish missionaries in the 18th century.

-To get started, Mark measures out Sonora wheat and bread baking flour.

-All you have to do is just dump this in here and we'll see how much.

-I've washed, luckily.

-That's fine.

-You didn't ask.

♪♪ -Perfect.

Other very important ingredient is salt.

So what I want you to do is measure out 49 grams of salt in there, please.

-It's just over 3 tablespoons, roughly.

-Well, I don't know how many tablespoons are my fingers.

[ Laughter ] I have never done it like this.

-Perfect.

-Have you made bread before?

-Never.

-Never.

-No.

-Do you want to make bread?

-Well, I mean, why not?

-We'll see.

-Next, he adds completely unflavored distilled water.

-So we're going to just pour the water in like that.

-Yeah.

I'm fine, by the way.

Don't worry.

Nothing splashed.

[ Laughter ] -There's Phoebe right there.

-Okay, so what I do is basically just if you want to learn how to bake bread, you got to get your hands dirty.

-Alright.

-So, Lisa, you need to tell me a little bit about your baking history.

What baking have you done?

-I like making brownies from scratch and chocolate chip cookies and coming up with different cookie recipes and stuff like that.

-You give them to your friends and family?

-Yeah.

-But the thing is, if you're making something for friends and family, they're never going to tell you the truth.

-Oh, yeah.

No.

-Let's be honest.

-My husband is from -- He's from Paris.

-Oh, right.

Okay.

Fair enough.

He's a bit like me then.

He'll be straight and go, "Mm, that's not so good."

-Oh, yeah.

Well, you're nice next to him.

-Does he bake?

-No, but he'll let you know what's wrong with your baking.

-That's very French.

-[ Laughs ] -Next, the crucial ingredient is the starter.

♪♪ So, you know when you make bread, sometimes, you know, if you ever make breads, you often see yeast.

You know, you'll see yeast.

But instead of yeast, this is wild yeast.

And wild yeast comes from the air.

-Yeah.

-What do you mean it comes from the air?

There is no such thing in the world.

-No, no, no, no.

-Comes from the air.

-It's called the microbiome.

You are covered in wild yeast.

-Oh.

-So it's basically -- It's everywhere.

♪♪ -After the dough is fermented for an hour, it'll need to be stretched and folded.

I'll take care of that.

-Very good.

Hey, you learn fast.

You been doing this for a while.

[ Laughter ] So we'll just cover it.

-The mixture ferments for another two hours.

And now comes the messy bit.

-Roll up your sleeves.

Yeah.

What we're going to do is cut it into pieces, and then we're going to shape it.

-Okay.

You guys don't believe in aprons.

Is that what I'm guessing to be correct?

Why would you need an apron?

-Exactly.

-Would you like an apron?

I would be delighted.

I have several.

Here we are.

Try that one on for size.

-Okay, thanks.

-Okay, so now we have dough here that has been sitting for three hours, and... -That's okay.

I got my apron, so I don't care.

-Okay.

We're going to be doing 1,200-gram tapered boules.

And basically what I'm going to do is just shape it.

What I'm doing is giving it a rough shape.

You want to finish doing that?

-Looks like it's my time to shine.

-So watch what he's doing.

-Okay.

-And then that's enough.

Not too much working.

And then you're done.

You're done, you're done, you're done.

Don't -- Okay.

Because that's the beginning.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

-Doesn't he know who I am?

-So do what he did but not as much.

-You mean be better?

-Me but better.

-But be better.

That's what I heard.

[ Laughter ] -There you go.

-Alright.

♪♪ -That's fine.

-Now, I don't want to overwork it or anything like that.

-Yeah.

Don't do it as much as he does.

-Who taught you how to cook, then, Lisa?

-Just me.

I add more butter to everything, and I just like tasting things and feeling like something's missing.

And I bet I could do it better.

I mean, I have, like, an arrogance.

-Wow.

-Now, here's the tricky part.

Watch what I'm doing.

I'm pushing it, and it's rolling away from me and creating this tension on the outside.

And then what's very important is you find where your seam is.

There it is.

-Oh, oh.

-And that goes up.

So it's done.

Paul seems to know what he's doing.

-It's all in the wrist action.

If it took me that long in a bakery, I'd be out a job.

-That's very nice.

-The dough is then wrapped in plastic and left in the fridge to ferment overnight.

These would be worth a fortune.

-Oh, yeah.

-With Lisa.

-Lisa Kudrow made this one.

[ Laughter ] -24 hours later, ah, the magic of television.

Those risen doughs are sliced across the top and go into the oven on quarry tiles for an even bake.

And there's another unusual addition too.

-Put a pan of cold water on the floor of the oven.

A very hot brick.

-Oh.

[ Paul imitates hissing ] -Really?

-That goes into the pan of cold water.

And that's the essential ingredient to the good bread is steam.

Okay.

That's it.

-Only 20 to 30 minutes later, after regaling them with tales of my youth...

I used to have long hair, so I went to art school.

...the loaves are baked and ready to eat and not a soggy bottom in sight.

-To me, this smells -- It smells like butter.

-It does.

-Does it taste like butter or do I need butter?

-Try it first without butter just to give me an idea.

-I have to go for the soft part.

Should I do that right now?

-I like the crust.

-I know, but I'm doing dental work.

I can't... -[ Laughs ] -True.

Mm.

Mmm!

It's nice and soft and gooey.

-The thing is about sourdough for me, you've got to have an initial sour that hits the tongue.

Then as you chew it, the flavor comes out, but once you swallow it, you still want that lingering sour in your mouth.

And it is.

That's exactly what you get from this.

That's delicious.

-This is a real discovery, I have to say.

-Thank you very much, Mark.

I've had a fantastic time.

-You're quite welcome.

-It's really good.

-Oh, you want to take a loaf home?

-Yes.

Okay.

Thank you.

-Let me get some bags.

-I win.

[ Laughter ] -Now, that's what I call a showstopper.

♪♪ -I'm in La-La Land, also known as Los Angeles.

It's the final stop on my coast-to-coast road trip, a magical city that's inspired filmmakers for over a century.

And there's practically nowhere in the city that hasn't featured on screen at some point.

♪♪ Hollywood moviemakers often use restaurants as a base for some of their scenes, and I'm headed to one particular restaurant where "La La Land" was actually filmed.

And I'll be meeting a proper Hollywood legend.

♪♪ In the great tradition of this city, Suzanne Tracht came to L.A. with a dream, and through perseverance and hard work, has become a huge star.

She's not an actress or a director, although she does count some notable celebrities as friends and customers.

She is one of L.A.'s foremost chefs, and although her restaurant is named Jar, or Just Another Restaurant, it's anything but.

What excites me about Suzanne, she's also known as the queen of meat.

Hello, Chef.

-Hello.

How are you?

-I'm very good.

Thank you.

-Wow.

-Thank you for me letting me into your kitchen, by the way.

-Thank you for coming.

-What I want to know is the film "La La Land" was filmed here.

And Emma Stone's character, Mia, did the big breakup with her boyfriend here.

What was that like, having the film crew in the restaurant?

-They got here really early in the morning.

They stayed almost till midnight because they did so many shots here.

-So they did take after take?

-Yeah, where she ran out the door and then she was running down the street and it was really great.

-I think it's incredible.

I think you have to have a patience of a saint when a film crew come into your restaurant as well now as in your kitchen.

Now, what are you going to cook for us today?

-Well, we're going to do our pot roast.

-Now, this is very classic Americana really, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

We use a really great cut of beef.

You know how when you have braised short ribs, how succulent they are and tender.

Well, we take the big ol' honkin' piece.

-Is this the thing you're talking about?

-This is it.

-That's a big old piece of meat, that.

-It is.

It's not too fatty, but it has some really, really nice marbling in there.

That's the best part.

-Could you use other meat in this dish?

-Well, you can use a brisket, but this, it just melts in your mouth.

It really does.

That's why I think people, their grandmothers usually use brisket.

So when they come in here and they say "your pot roast is better than my grandmother's or my mother's," I think that's the reason.

-[ Laughs ] Okay, fire away.

-Here, I will salt.

You will pepper.

And don't be cheap, you know, let's go.

Yeah.

There you go.

-[ Laughs ] When did you start cooking?

-I started cooking when I was 18, 19 years old.

But I started in a dishwashing station.

-Well, everybody does that.

Everybody was a K.P.

-Yeah.

And then since we're braising it, we're going to get our mirepoix.

-So this all goes straight into the pot?

-Yes.

So if you want to cut up a little bit of the leeks.

-You want chunks.

-Yes, I want "choonks."

-You want chunks.

-Yes, please.

-It's my accent, you see.

I'm from -- Originally I'm from the north.

I'm from Liverpool originally.

-Oh, really?

Oh, wow.

-Home of The Beatles.

-Yeah, I knew that.

-Is this your signature dish, would you say?

-This is.

When I opened Jar 17 years ago, I didn't think it was going to be the signature dish.

It was an afterthought.

Never thought this would be, you know, the claim to fame.

-And it took off.

That was it.

-Yes.

Of course, we have steaks and fish and everything, but we love to really emphasize on the braises, especially in the winter months, which -- -These are rich, hearty "winter" L.A. dishes.

This is what you're creating.

-Yes.

-Okay.

Alright.

-Exactly.

-So we're at the business end of things now?

-Yes.

-Right.

-You take one pan and I'll take the other and get it in the pan.

Lift it up a little bit.

[ Sizzling ] There you go.

So we're just going to let them sear and do their thing for a second.

-I mean, that's a big piece of meat, that, on the pan.

-That is a big piece of meat.

Maybe I should have had a bigger pan.

-[ Laughs ] -One of the biggest reasons we sear the meat is to get some color on it.

-You want that caramelization, don't you?

-Yes, you do.

-Where the flavor is as well.

-It's the best part.

And oh, we got some beautiful color.

Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

Look at that.

-There we go.

After it's been braised and it comes out of the oven, that's the part I pick off.

-Yeah, I agree.

-Don't tell anybody.

-I agree.

-So now we have beautiful color.

Let's go ahead get our process going.

-Now the meat goes into the cooking pot on top of all the veg we chopped.

-And we're going to deglaze with a little bit of sherry.

A lot of people when they're braising or they're doing beef, they'll use red wine.

But I wanted to lighten up this dish a little bit.

-Yeah.

-So that's why we use a sherry.

Wow.

What did you do?

My side is fine.

I don't know what you did.

-It's feeding from me.

[ Laughs ] -Now we're just going to put it on the meat.

-In goes chicken stock, not beef stock, so as not to overpower the beef.

It's all covered and thrown into the oven for three hours.

I think the key thing to a great restaurant and great food is actually in its simplicity.

Get a great cut of meat no matter what it is.

Cook it properly with good ingredients, well-sourced, and everybody will love it.

And this proves the point.

The flavor from the broken-down vegetables and the juices from the meat are drained off from the braise and kept to make a gravy.

For the final stage of preparation, the braised beef and carrots that have been pre-roasted with salt, pepper and vegetable oil are all heated together.

The pot roast is served with cream corn and twice-fried thin-cut chips.

On a rainy day like today, this American version of the Sunday roast is very welcome.

-Now where to start?

-Got to try the meat first, obviously.

Mm.

That's lovely.

It just melts in the mouth.

And that caramelization on the outside, which has stayed, is just beautiful.

And it just falls apart.

It's such a delicate dish.

-Right.

It's nice to have that little crust on the top, though.

-Mmm.

-That little chewiness.

Right?

-Mm.

I totally understand why there'd probably a whole revolution if you decided to take this off the menu.

-Oh, yes.

We can't.

-Mm.

You do have that sensation of a British roast.

And for me, there's nothing better than a British roast.

But, of course, this is the American version.

Such a comfort food.

-Right.

-This is the perfect dish.

Thank you very much indeed.

It's been such a pleasure.

-Thank you.

-A little taste of Americana.

[ Both laugh ] That pot roast has given me a great idea for a meal of my own back home.

Now to start with, I've got my brisket here.

Get a little bit of olive oil in your hand.

Rub it into the meat.

And then we're going to grab the meat and put it straight into a very hot pan.

After searing it till brown, it's dropped into a casserole dish with two tins of beef consommé, two sliced onions, two cloves of garlic, dried thyme and oregano.

I add one cube of beef stock, a splash of soy sauce and 250 mil of full sugar cola.

That all goes into the oven on 140 degrees for four hours.

So I've got the brisket in the oven.

I'm thinking I need a carrier now to make a great sandwich from it.

So I'm thinking sub.

Flour goes straight in.

Add your yeast, which is fast action.

Get some salt, sugar, lard.

My nan swore by lard in the wool.

So I'm just going to break that into the flour a little bit so it goes a bit like breadcrumbs.

Put a little bit of water in.

Mix that around with your fingertips again.

Let's pop all that onto a bench.

So I'm just folding it over basically.

Okay.

Smooth, soft dough.

Cover it up, leave it to rest for a couple of hours and we'll take it from there.

Okay.

There's the dough.

It's been resting.

Look how much it's grown.

Cut it in half.

Cut it in half again.

Just roll it up and throw them into a little bit of flour.

You start with it like that.

Start in the middle with a bit of weight, and then you split your hands so you have equal weight all the way along.

There's one, which will go on the tray.

So now they need to rest for about another hour.

Bake it about 220, 15 minutes, and it'll be beautiful.

So here we have our brisket.

And over here we have our subs.

That's what you're looking for, that telltale white.

So I'm going to cut this.

Brisket.

That's a big old lump of meat, that.

Just falls apart.

It's been cooking for so long.

♪♪ Now, in America there are so many different types of cheese.

I'm using Jarlsberg here, but you can use any good cheddar that you like.

And this whole tray will go into the oven to melt all that cheese.

I can't waste that delicious juice.

So I've scooped the ladle, ladle and a half into a bowl for dipping.

They call this the French dip sandwich in L.A.

There's a couple of restaurants that claim that they invented it, but who cares who invented it?

The brisket melts in the mouth, almost like pulled pork quality, because the brisket has been cooked for so long.

And with the cheese on top that's beautiful and soft and with that dipping sauce, it's delicious.

♪♪ If you're a film producer or director, this is the place to have your premiere.

This is the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and in front of me lays out the stars for the last nearly a hundred years of Hollywood movies and TV.

You've got everything from Burt Reynolds, Al Jolson.

I saw Harry Potter and the whole gang down there.

Marilyn Monroe.

It's a who's who of Hollywood.

This is the place to watch a movie.

♪♪ -Welcome to the Chinese, sir.

-Hello.

-I hope you enjoy your movie.

-Thank you very much.

The Chinese Theatre opened in May of 1927 and has hosted for Hollywood legends, from Cecil B. DeMille to George Lucas, who premiered "Star Wars" here in 1977.

Just like outside, the foyer is a shrine to the stars of the silver screen.

♪♪ Thank you very much indeed.

Well, it's my last night in Hollywood.

And you can't go to the cinema without a bag of popcorn.

♪♪ And I gather there's a movie playing starring a new, young, debonair, good-looking, tall, handsome, talented heartthrob of a baker.

I felt on this journey I got to know the real America from New York all the way to L.A. On the way, I've met some amazing people.

-Welcome to Savannah.

Welcome to Leopold's.

-No problem, man, we got that covered.

-You're unique among most people I know.

-I don't speak English.

[ Laughter ] -It felt like I was in a movie on every single leg of the journey.

Traveling down to Georgia, New Orleans, the vibe, the music.

♪♪ Up to New Mexico, which is beautiful.

I've always wanted to do this.

And obviously the food as well.

The quality of your food is exceptional.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you very much, Chef.

That is stunning.

-You can eat pie anytime.

-Are you married?

-[ Laughs ] -It's the Hatch of Hollywood.

New brand of tacos.

-That has a ring to it, does it not, people?

-Did you know he was this good?

-It's impressive to watch.

-I've had the journey of my life, and for me, it's a true, epic Hollywood adventure that I'll never forget.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪