TV host and broadcaster Colin Murray said his favourite part of being involved with a new BBC Northern Ireland series was getting to hear the stories behind the countries thriving food scene.
The Dundonald man is the host of Food Fest Northern Ireland which has been airing on BBC One NI since the beginning of the month.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Colin, who was announced as the new permanent host of Countdown earlier this year, said he was delighted to be back in his old stomping ground as part of the new show.
Read more: Colin Murray on going from Countdown fan to one of 'best seats' in TV history
Food Fest Northern Ireland is new series celebrating the food, farming and the countryside that makes our country a stand-out.
Joined by co-host Edith Bowman, it explores what we eat, where it comes from, how it is produced, who produces it and why it matters.
Discussing what makes the show special, Colin said: "There were loads of good things about it. What I loved was getting to work with Edith again which was fantastic because we were together on Radio 1.
"The second thing was it was all about people, it wasn't just about food to me. When someone pitches me an idea, if they had of said to sit in a studio and talk to chefs about how to make the perfect risotto, I would have said no.
"But they said that this was about how people produce food and it is the story behind local produce and I was thinking that what they were really asking was would I like to speak to a guy who makes filled sodas in St George's Market and a guy who makes mince in Derry - that's people and what works with me."
One of his major concerns going into the project was the rising cost of living and how this would be acknowledged in the programme as food prices continue to rise.
"Most of that was filmed over the summer so my main concern when we started recording was that it would be going out next year and we had to remember that cost of food is really rising.
"Looking at the first episode, I think they really get that - addressing the cost of it was really important to me," he explained.
Colin continued: "We were getting to go to a particular place every day and getting to know the people which is always a privilege.
"It was great to be back home in places I could show the team around because the team had English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish people in it so it was brilliant - it was good craic.
"We got a day in Newcastle, a day in Derry, a day in Belfast and at the Lammas Fair so it was great but for me, it was all about the people behind it rather than the food itself which was lovely."
He said one of his favourite moments from filming was the day at St George's Market in Belfast, demolishing filled sodas and jamming with the ukelele flashmob.
"I've worked before with the Belfast Ukele Jam who are a brilliant group of people, none of them professional musicians, and meet every week," Colin added.
"They were doing a flash mob at St George's Market and it is hilarious because they rang me up and asked if was I in town because they had a few things coming up - I told them that funnily enough, I was filming at St George's Market on Saturday and they let me know they'd also be there."
"It was a complete fluke but we had this lovely moment that we filmed where they started playing 'Teenage Kicks' and Edith and I both had a ukelele. She's very musical so it only took her about three minutes to learn which was embarrassing for me," he laughed.
"That was my favourite moment - see, more about people than food."
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