Overview: Take a handful of antiques, a dollop of deals and drizzle in a couple of celebrity chefs. And what do you have? A recipe for a great antiques show!
Top chefs Gary Rhodes OBE, and Brian Turner CBE, were both aiming to cook up a win when they met up at an auction in London. The two cooks were there to sell the items they had bought at an antiques centre in Hungerford, with a view to making the most profit.
Gary was accompanied by his wife Jenny, and felt confident that she had a good eye for style and a bargain. Among the items they found was a Lalique Christmas decoration and an Italian glass vase. The team was guided in their buys by antiques expert Mark Stacey.
Presenter Tim Wonnacott thought he was seeing double as Gary had taken along his famous Spitting Image puppet. Tim showed Gary a Victorian cucumber-straightening device and an up-market silver cucumber slicer.
Brian Turner was partnered by his daughter-in-law Michelle, and advised by expert Jonathan Pratt. Among the items they found was a large 1960s Betty Boo figurine and a silver mustard pot.
Brian, well known in particular for his meat dishes, was shown a set of four 19th-century silver platters by top silversmith Paul Storr - today they are worth more than 30,000 pounds.
The two chefs, both old friends and kitchen comrades, enjoyed some friendly rivalry. But when it got to the sale, their antique-finding prowess - just like their kitchen skills - was a serious business.
