1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,160 Forget the partridge in a pear tree, this Christmas, 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:09,600 we will eat 10 million turkeys and 1.4 billion sprouts. 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,440 Our kids will find 165 million presents 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,560 under seven million Christmas trees. 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:21,360 It's a festive bonanza produced in factories all over the country. 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,200 Tonight, we'll be following the production of Christmas cake. 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,720 Last year in the UK, we ate more than 40 million of them. 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:31,520 I'm Gregg Wallace... 9 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,040 Whoa. That's a Christmas cake. 10 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,080 ..and I'll be discovering some of the fascinating secrets 11 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,400 of this skilled production line. 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,160 I would never have imagined each one of these had to be 13 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:43,720 done by hand. 14 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,120 1,500 people work 24 hours a day here, 15 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,880 in this enormous factory. 16 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:52,520 And I'm Cherry Healey. 17 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:57,040 I'll be helping to turn 20 million apples into some of the brandy 18 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,840 that will light up your puddings this Christmas. 19 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:01,600 Happy Christmas! 20 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,400 And I'll be attempting to make a traditional festive bauble 21 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,160 from red-hot molten glass. 22 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,080 What's happening? Oh, no! 23 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:11,680 Oh, I think I killed it. 24 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,720 And historian Ruth Goodman will be shedding some light 25 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,440 on the history of one of Christmas's best-loved decorations. 26 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,560 Fairy lights! 27 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:25,280 This year, two million Christmas cakes will fly out of this factory. 28 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,840 And this is the wonderful story of how they put the cheer 29 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:30,320 into every one. 30 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:33,520 Welcome to Inside The Christmas Factory. 31 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:55,280 This is the Park Cakes factory in Oldham near Manchester. 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,640 This ten-acre site produces more than 400 different cakes 33 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:01,000 and desserts. 34 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,760 From chocolate tiffin, to dome-shaped treats 35 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,000 and rainbow cakes. 36 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,320 But, tonight, we're focusing on Marks & Spencer's... 37 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,200 ..six-month-matured snowflake bauble Christmas cake. 38 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:20,160 In the next 24 hours, 39 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,960 10,800 of these cakes will roll out of the oven. 40 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,720 And for that, 40 trucks are arriving at the ingredient arrival area, 41 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,120 bringing boxes, bags and pallets. 42 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,080 They are all unloaded under the supervision of Lisa Senior. 43 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,160 Are you Lisa? I am. Come and meet me. Lisa... Welcome. 44 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,920 ..I've come to find out how to make a Christmas cake. 45 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,560 OK, first things first, I need you to put this on. 46 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,640 Seriously? Without sort of taking the mickey out of myself, 47 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:50,720 I have no hair. I didn't want to mention it, 48 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,760 but everybody's got to put them on. Bald or not? Bald or not. 49 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,960 How do I look? You look gorgeous. Thanks. 50 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:03,000 How many ingredients, Lisa, does it take to make this Christmas cake? 51 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,680 To make this one, 16. 52 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:06,480 We've had a delivery this morning. 53 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,920 So this one's brandy and this is from France. 54 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:12,680 40% brandy. Do you ever have a...? 55 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:14,080 Yeah, of course. You've got to. 56 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,080 It's all part of the process, so, yes, yeah, 57 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,080 we do have a little taste, to make sure it's OK. 58 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,040 Hang on. When you're making Christmas cake, 59 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:21,760 you get a chance to sample the brandy? 60 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:23,320 A little bit, yes, not a lot. 61 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,160 As well as brandy, 62 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,280 this traditional Christmas cake will need exotic ingredients 63 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,240 like currants, sultanas and spices. 64 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,600 And just in, a delivery of cherries. 65 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,120 Where are they from? We get some from Poland, some from Spain, 66 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,840 some from France. How many cherries do you go through? 67 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,240 We go through about 440 tonnes a year. 68 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:47,760 It's quite a lot. 69 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,760 We'll also need the staple ingredients like flour, 70 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,640 eggs and sugar. 71 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:54,120 Have I got everything now? 72 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,320 You've got everything that we need to make cakes with today... 73 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:58,840 ..all in the factory ready to go. 74 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,880 Our Christmas cake production line begins now. 75 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,680 Fine. Thank you very much indeed. Am I on your Christmas card list? 76 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,360 You certainly are. At the top? Right at the top. All right. 77 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:18,560 See you. 78 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:23,840 To get started, I'm meeting Dave Glaze, 79 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:27,600 who has already measured out most of the fruit ingredients. 80 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,960 But he's left me the job of weighing the currants. 81 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:32,880 If you'd like to carry those over for us. 82 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:34,640 Yeah, I'll get it. I'll get it. 83 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:36,840 Just drop the box down here for me. 84 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,040 We'll need enough for 350 cakes. 85 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,000 And you want five point what, mate? 5.58 kilos. 86 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,360 There we go. 87 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,960 Cor! Look how close, you've got to be absolutely precise. 88 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,680 Standards are standards. 89 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,080 There we go. There you go. There you are, Chef. 5.58. 90 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:57,800 Spot on. 91 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,920 Now Dave adds brandy laced with raisin concentrate to the currants, 92 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,520 raisins and sultanas. 93 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,880 Missed a bit there, look. Dave, don't skimp, it's Christmas. 94 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:13,800 Looks like a gravy and smells like a big Saturday night out. 95 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,600 DAVE CHUCKLES 96 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,760 This'll be left to soak for 24 hours, 97 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,880 while the brandy plumps up the fruit. 98 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:23,680 I know how they come in. 99 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,080 I've seen them weighed out. 100 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:26,880 I've seen them soaked. 101 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,520 I believe you're going to go and take them and mix them for us now. 102 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,040 Thank you, sir. Thank you. Pleasure. 103 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,160 The fruit I prepared won't be ready until tomorrow 104 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,080 so Dave has sent me off with a batch he made earlier. 105 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,880 While I'm preparing the Christmas cake, 106 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,280 Cherry is getting hot under the collar 107 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:47,560 making another Christmas essential. 108 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,720 Christmas for me really starts when we put up the decorations. 109 00:05:55,720 --> 00:06:01,240 But how do you make a thin, fragile, hollow glass bauble? 110 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,840 Whilst the majority of our Christmas decorations 111 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:07,880 are made in factories overseas, 112 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,840 the most special ones are made in the UK by artisans 113 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:14,000 using traditional skills. 114 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,080 I've come to Langport, Somerset, to meet Will Shakspeare. 115 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:19,760 Lovely to meet you. And you. 116 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:24,680 Every year, he makes around 5,000 decorative glass baubles. 117 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,040 They're sold in Liberty's, John Lewis 118 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,960 and in 30 galleries across Britain. 119 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,120 So where do you start? 120 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,360 Well, what we start with is we have a day furnace, which is here. 121 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,560 If you want to look in there. Phwoar! I'm going... 122 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,120 I have to take a step back. That is unbelievable. 123 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,720 Will starts making a bauble by gathering a glob 124 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,280 of molten recycled glass out of the furnace... 125 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:49,400 Whoa. 126 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,960 ..and then adds the colour. 127 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:53,760 Powdered blue glass. 128 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,800 So this has to go in first of all, the blue powder. 129 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:00,680 And is that melting onto it, as you roll? 130 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,320 Yes, it's sticking onto it as I roll it because obviously 131 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:05,840 the glass is hot. So now I've got all the blue on 132 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:08,400 and this goes into the furnace. 133 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,040 These are just chips of coloured glass and I'm just dotting them 134 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,080 on quite randomly. Yes. Cos I don't want each bauble to be the same. 135 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:15,160 Yes. 136 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,840 As Will heats it back up to 1,000 Celsius, 137 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,560 the glass chips melt on the surface. 138 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,120 But he's still got to get the air in the middle. 139 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,280 Now I've got a pad of wet paper. 140 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:29,880 Oh, wow! 141 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,760 So now I've made the whole piece nice and round. 142 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:34,160 I'm going to blow down the iron. 143 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,720 Look at that. Blowing it more... You really start to see. 144 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,960 To make this a Christmas bauble, it needs a glass loop, 145 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:45,520 so it can hang on a tree. 146 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,640 You stick this down, pull it up... 147 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,960 ..cut it off, twist that bit back and on top of itself, 148 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:55,840 so you've got no sharp bit on it at all. 149 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:57,040 There you go. Wow! 150 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,360 That's what you're going to be trying to make. 151 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,920 Uh-oh, now it's my turn. 152 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,880 The only bit I'm going to do for you is get the glass out the furnace. 153 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,600 Everything else you're doing. Ah! 154 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,080 WILL LAUGHS 155 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:18,960 I'm just very aware that I'm playing with molten, hot, fiery glass. 156 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:20,600 Now keep it turning. 157 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,040 The outside of the glass is cooling quickly, 158 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:27,240 so I need to create the right shape before it gets too hard to blow. 159 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,640 Just roll it and try and make it round. 160 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,960 Now take a big breath, crouch down and blow down the iron. 161 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:36,360 Go on, that's about the size of a grape. 162 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:37,840 You've got to blow a bit harder. 163 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,280 Is anything happening, Will? Not a lot. 164 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,360 SHE LAUGHS 165 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,000 It's the build-up of pressure, not the air itself, 166 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,440 that will expand my glass. 167 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:53,280 Keep lifting your diaphragm up just a little bit at a time. 168 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,760 Whoa, whoa... Whoa! Ah! 169 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,280 Ah! What happened, Will? You blew too hard. 170 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,520 Right, OK, let's now carry on as if that didn't happen. 171 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,200 Now for the colour. 172 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,640 So pick up the iron and roll it through the blue. 173 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,000 This is so insane. Ah! 174 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,360 Well done. And now take a deep breath, crouch down and blow. 175 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,840 Don't try and blow too hard. Just keep that pressure up. 176 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,240 That's brilliant. That is now blowing. 177 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:21,040 Good. 178 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,640 So you can see you've got a bubble. I've got a weird shape, Will. 179 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,520 So now you've got to cut it in, right? So, now, that was easy. 180 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,120 Oh, no. Right, go... Ah! Quick, quick, quick. 181 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,000 Keep the glass pointing down. Will, what's happening? 182 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:37,400 Well... Will! 183 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:38,760 Oh, no! 184 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,320 Oh, I think I killed it. 185 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:43,040 Save it! 186 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:45,600 Try and get the jacks round it. 187 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,480 I want to disassociate myself from it completely. 188 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:52,560 This is the worst! 189 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:54,320 Awful. Ah! 190 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,440 Take it off, you walk away, Cherry. 191 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,960 THEY LAUGH 192 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,520 Ah, it's a masterpiece. Look at that. 193 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:10,360 I think that's the most beautiful Christmas bauble I've ever seen. 194 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,760 Have you seen a lot? Not loads. 195 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,960 Let's put it away, shall we? 196 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,080 That is handmade. WILL LAUGHS 197 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:24,920 I'm really proud of my Christmas bauble 198 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,520 and it's going to go pride of place on the tree this year. 199 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:30,520 I think it might even become a new family heirloom. 200 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:45,040 At the factory, I'm heading for the mixing room with my batch of fruit 201 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,040 that has been plumped up with brandy. 202 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:52,480 It's been ten minutes since my fruit ingredients arrived. 203 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,840 Now I'm going to mix my cake batter in one of the factory's 204 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,280 200kg mixing bowls. 205 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,360 Guiding me through the process is Phil Brierley. 206 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:05,800 Phil! 207 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:08,840 Mate. Hi, Gregg. Phil. I've got a mix. 208 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,320 You have to put that on. We're in a nut allergen area 209 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,400 and we need to wear a yellow hats. 210 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:15,840 You look as beautiful as ever, don't worry about it. 211 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,560 Are we now going to put a mix together and make a Christmas cake? 212 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:22,120 We are. Yes! 213 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,320 To start with, we need 24 litres of egg, 214 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,640 enough to make 240 omelettes. 215 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,040 We need to mix the egg and the sugar syrup. 216 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,160 Got a posser. A what? A posser. 217 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,720 Mate, you don't have to use that language, I asked you politely. 218 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:40,040 They used to use it for laundry, 219 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:42,360 but we use it for mixing sugar and ingredients together. 220 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:44,280 And it's called a posser? It's called a posser. 221 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,560 You can posser it while I put the brown sugar in and mix it through. 222 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,600 Why this brown sugar instead of say, caster sugar? 223 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,440 Cos caster sugar would turn the crumb white. 224 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,480 This turns it brown and gives you the brown colour 225 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:56,040 you want in a Christmas cake. 226 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,360 Have you ever been tempted to add an eye of newt 227 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,360 or a wing of bat? No, no. We gave that up years ago. 228 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:05,520 Now we can put half of the egg, 229 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:09,160 syrup and sugar mix into the mixing bowl. 230 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:10,960 We add the butter. 231 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:12,960 That's the fresh mixed peel. 232 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,480 Oh! Yep. I want to put that in my bathroom. 233 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:17,040 Then we have the candied peel. 234 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,960 You feel the difference. That's quite hard and sticky. 235 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,360 What about the rest of the stuff? No, no, that goes in later. 236 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:23,760 We do things in stages. 237 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:25,400 If you put everything in now, 238 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,520 you would get everything coagulating and the cake wouldn't bake, 239 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,360 the fruit would sink and we'd get problems with it. 240 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,240 So we pull the lid down. 241 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,680 We press the slow button and it will automatically start and finish. 242 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:41,240 Whilst it's blending together, 243 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:43,800 we put it on the fast speed to beat all the lumps out. 244 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,840 Open the lid. We now scrape all the lid down. 245 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,000 And we just take these little bits off the lid? Yeah. 246 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,240 This is a nice job. 247 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,960 It reminds me when my grandmother used to bake a cake 248 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:58,480 and I'd see if I could lick the bowl, lick the spoon. 249 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,400 I don't think you'd be allowed to lick the mixer. 250 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:07,840 In goes the salt, baking powder, flour and the exotic spice mix. 251 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,120 Oh, let me smell. 252 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,400 Whoa. That's a Christmas cake. 253 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,600 That's a lovely blend. Shall I? 254 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:16,920 Yeah. I want to get every little ounce... That's it. 255 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:19,280 ..of flavour out of that. 256 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,040 Phil, you're not actually following a recipe, are you? 257 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:28,440 I've worked here for 40 years. 258 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,240 I've done umpteen million Christmas cakes, 259 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,760 so I know off by heart the recipe that we're following. 260 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:35,680 40 years? 40 years this year. 261 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,800 The recipe now needs the other half of the egg and sugar 262 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:42,920 that I mixed at the start. 263 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,080 Then the fruit soaked with brandy, 264 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,040 some almonds, 265 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:49,880 and, finally, the cherries. 266 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,080 Shut the lid and we'll mix it. 267 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,200 If you're out and you see someone eating a cake, 268 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,480 do you have a sideward glance, see what they're having? 269 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,600 I'm proud, yeah, if they're eating one of our cakes. 270 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,240 I often go into a store and look at the cakes we've made, 271 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,640 making sure they're still as good as when they left the factory. 272 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:13,720 And if they're not on the shelf properly, 273 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,760 I will sort of straighten up. Yeah. 274 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,280 GREGG LAUGHS Is that bad? 275 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:22,800 Ready? Gregg, I'll open the lid. 276 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,560 If you bring the bath round, we'll then tip the mix in. 277 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,680 You call it a bath? A bath, cos it looks like a bath. 278 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:35,920 Finally, my mix, enough for 350 cakes, is ready. 279 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,520 So this cake mix has only got an hour's life now, Gregg, 280 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,520 so we need to cover it and send you on your way 281 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,080 to the tinning department. 282 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:44,680 The clock is ticking because 283 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,800 the baking powder has begun to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, 284 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,000 which will make the cake rise. 285 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,120 If we leave it too long, the bubbles will disappear. 286 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:57,880 So I've got to move quickly? Yep. Phil... Sorry. 287 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,040 Thanks a lot. Mate. See you later. Fine fella. 288 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:02,960 And that is a sticky job. 289 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,240 I'm taking my cake mix to the oven. 290 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,800 Meanwhile, Ruth Goodman's been finding out 291 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:14,840 about another Christmas essential - decorations. 292 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,200 She's been investigating why it is we put fairy lights 293 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:20,800 on our Christmas trees. 294 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:25,840 A Christmas tree wouldn't look Christmassy 295 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,880 without some fairy lights. 296 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,200 But who first invented the fairy light, 297 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,160 and why the reference to fairies? 298 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,680 It is commonly believed that the American Thomas Edison 299 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:42,680 invented the light bulb in 1879 and it's true that in 1882, 300 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,600 one of Edison's employees promoted the new lights 301 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,000 by displaying them on a Christmas tree. 302 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,520 But there is a British inventor from Sunderland 303 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:57,320 who has a very strong claim to be the inventor of the light bulb 304 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,160 and the fairy light. 305 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,880 To find out more, I've come to the Savoy Theatre in London 306 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,200 to meet Dr Sarah Walker from Newcastle University. 307 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,160 Hello. Hi, Ruth. What a wonderful place! 308 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:18,320 This is the first public building lit by entirely electric lighting. 309 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,760 Joseph Swan lit this Savoy Theatre. 310 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,200 He was a developer of a light bulb back in the 1870s. 311 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,480 Why do we all think it's Edison, then? 312 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:33,240 Well, Edison and Swan both submitted patents at the same time, 313 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,640 but Joseph Swan actually demonstrated his light bulb earlier. 314 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,920 What we've got here is a light bulb that's very similar to the ones that 315 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:41,680 would've been in this building. 316 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,640 It's over 100 years old and it still works. 317 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:48,600 My goodness! 318 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,560 So how do we get from this to a fairy light? 319 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,240 It was in this theatre in 1882 that they staged a Christmas production 320 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,840 of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera Iolanthe 321 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,360 and Swan created miniature lights for the fairies. 322 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,440 Here is a reproduction of the lights 323 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,200 that would have been worn by the fairies onstage, 324 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:14,880 complete with battery pack. 325 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,280 The batteries would've been a lot larger back then, 326 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,320 but they were miniature and they were mobile for the dancers to wear. 327 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:23,720 Oh, I see! 328 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,040 Fairy lights! Yes. 329 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,960 Imagine that for the first time for the theatre-goers to see. 330 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,320 I would never have guessed... 331 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,520 ..that that's why we call them fairy lights. 332 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,160 RECORDED APPLAUSE 333 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:50,760 So these are the reviews, the first reviews of that 1882 production. 334 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,960 "It may be mentioned that for the first time on any stage, 335 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:58,040 "four of the fairies wore Swan's incandescent electric lamps 336 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,840 "in their hair." SHE LAUGHS 337 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:02,720 Quite exciting, obviously! 338 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,720 Yes, and they do actually mention Swan, which is great. 339 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,280 There's the evidence that they're his little fairy lights 340 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,160 that were actually used onstage. 341 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,560 The word fairy light quickly became a more generic word 342 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:18,280 for a small light bulb. 343 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:23,040 So here in this catalogue of 1890, we see, amongst all the others, 344 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:24,880 a fairy. 345 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,080 But, for many years, they remained a luxury novelty for the rich. 346 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:34,320 It wasn't until the 1950s that fairy lights went mass market in Britain, 347 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:38,160 thanks to that bright spark from the north-east, Joseph Swan. 348 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:52,200 Back at the factory, I'm on my way to the tinning department. 349 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,040 Just 31 minutes after my ingredients arrived, 350 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:00,040 I've got myself 200kg of cake mix ready for the next stage 351 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,680 in the process. 352 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,040 Claire Lawrence is going to show me how to get the tins ready 353 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,000 for my cakes. 354 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,400 Claire! Just leave that there. 355 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,360 Right, so what do I have to do? 356 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:16,000 To begin with, we'd grease the tin with a brush. 357 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:17,280 Bottom and sides? 358 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,240 Have I got to do it as fast as this conveyor belt's going? 359 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:22,560 Yep, you have. 360 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:26,360 We then put a paper in the bottom? Yep. 361 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,280 Put one round the sides? Yep. 362 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:34,680 That's just one of the 350 tins I need for my cake mix. 363 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,600 Now I need to fill them. 364 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,520 Right, if we get you up there. 365 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,120 And now you're just going to put the mix in there. 366 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,240 Will it fall through the holes naturally? 367 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,440 No, you need to push it down with the paddle. 368 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,080 Come on, keep coming. Good job! Mate, Christmas is coming. 369 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:56,400 Come on! 370 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,880 Showing me how to fill the tins is Hasmita Bhagat. 371 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:06,960 Hello. Hello, Gregg. 372 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,760 How does this work, how are you controlling that? 373 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:11,920 It's actually a foot pedal, 374 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,680 so you press it once and it's going to deposit once. 375 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:17,320 So all I've got to do is press the pedal 376 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:18,840 and the right amount will come out? 377 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:20,920 Make sure the tin is underneath, obviously, yes. 378 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,880 That's it. Do I look stupid to you?! Get out of the way! 379 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,640 Oh, I see. It moves, it moves. 380 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,440 It's not as easy as it looks, actually, 381 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,000 cos it's moving, isn't it? Where's my pedal? 382 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,120 More tins, more tins, come on! Christmas is coming. 383 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,120 Oh, oh, oh! Uh-oh. 384 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,120 It's all right. What advice did you give me? 385 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,320 You're doing perfect. Do you know what happened? 386 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,720 I was looking down at the pedal... I know. 387 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,040 You're not used to it, that's the only reason. 388 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:53,680 50 tins of cake mix are passing along the line every minute. 389 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:58,800 Using a temper, the team make sure that every surface is flat. 390 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:00,960 Why is it so important that it's flat? 391 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,040 These are going to have marzipan and icing on top, 392 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,320 so you don't want a bumpy Christmas cake. 393 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,800 Marzipan. Yum, my favourite bit of the cake. 394 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:14,560 They use more than three tonnes of the stuff here. 395 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,000 Cherry has been to get hands-on at the factory 396 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,480 where the marzipan is made. 397 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:30,000 Renshaw in Liverpool has been making marzipan for around 120 years. 398 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,720 The run-up to Christmas is their busiest time, 399 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,320 because, traditionally, 400 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,440 Christmas cakes have a layer of the sugary nut paste 401 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,760 to seal in the moisture. 402 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,840 My guide to marzipan making 403 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:45,120 is factory technical manager Mike Wayne. 404 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:47,360 Hi, Mike. Hi, Cherry, how are you? 405 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:51,800 First, its main ingredient - sweet almonds. 406 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,040 How many almonds are in this box? 407 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,480 Within this box, there is a tonne of almonds straight from California. 408 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,640 These are the everyday almonds you would eat at home 409 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,920 and they go through our process in which we remove the skin. 410 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,000 How on earth do you do that? 411 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,840 These are actually taken to the nut tipper. 412 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,720 Is it actually called the nut tipper? 413 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,240 It's called a nut tipper. 414 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,520 Ooh. 415 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,000 Wow! That's a whole load of nuts. 416 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:22,640 To remove the skin, they're washed, 417 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,320 blanched at 90 degrees, 418 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,040 pinched by a series of rollers... 419 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,320 They're having a little Christmas jig. 420 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,360 ..and vibrated clean of debris. 421 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,680 There they are, beautiful and naked. Absolutely. 422 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,000 Next, my nuts need roasting - 423 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:43,160 in a giant, three-tiered oven at 80 Celsius. 424 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,760 But these aren't the only nuts in the almond paste. 425 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,520 Mike shows me another surprising ingredient. 426 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,120 The Moroccan bitter almond. 427 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,560 Oh. So they look exactly the same. 428 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,360 Exactly the same, but they have a very, very bitter taste, 429 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:03,200 which gives marzipan its unique flavour. 430 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,680 These are grown in Morocco. 431 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,560 They're from trees which can't be cultivated. 432 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,560 So they're kind of wild almonds? 433 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,840 Almost wild, but the farmers know which trees 434 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:15,960 produce the bitter almonds. 435 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,000 So exotic, who would've thought? 436 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,000 All right, how do we get these out of here? 437 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:27,640 We use this contraption, which is essentially a giant vacuum cleaner. 438 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:29,360 Factories are so fun. 439 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,560 Both the sweet and bitter almonds are ground up 440 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,560 and churned together with granulated sugar... 441 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:39,880 This looks a bit like sweetcorn, almost. 442 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,360 ..before emerging from the mixer below as a paste. 443 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,280 That is a beautiful thing. 444 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,360 It looks like a whippy ice cream. 445 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:55,320 This then goes onto the next stage, which is cooking. 446 00:23:55,320 --> 00:24:00,200 My raw paste is put into a 550 kilo pressure cooker... 447 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:01,240 Oh, wow! 448 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:03,880 ..by Judy Bromby. 449 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:05,920 What we do now is you've got a button there 450 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:07,760 and it'll fall in for you. 451 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:12,320 Whoa! 452 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,280 Cooking it for 40 minutes at 90 degrees 453 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:23,440 transforms the bitter paste into a smoother, sweeter marzipan. 454 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,960 Judy, that is the stuff of dreams. 455 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,800 Is this Christmas for you? It is, it is. Every day. 456 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,120 You think about it, because I make it every day. 457 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:37,800 But don't you get to Christmas and think, 458 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,160 "I really can't be doing with this"? No. I love Christmas. 459 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,560 Wow, you must love Christmas. I love Christmas. 460 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:47,880 This marzipan is roughly 50% nut and 50% sugar. 461 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:49,960 Wahey, there it goes. 462 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:53,920 Look at that. 463 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,080 But to balance the sweet and bitter flavours, 464 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,960 we're blending it with 250 kilos of icing sugar, 465 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,560 before it's packed in ten kilo boxes 466 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,320 ready for the Christmas cake factory. 467 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,240 Thanks, Alan! 468 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:11,880 There you go, Gregg, a lovely batch of freshly made marzipan. 469 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:14,440 At this peak time of year, 470 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,280 a lorry load is sent off to the cake factory every week. 471 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,120 Back at the Christmas cake factory, 472 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:30,680 my tins of cake mix are heading into the oven. 473 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:35,200 It stretches 20 metres from one end of the room to the other. 474 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,000 2,000 cakes travel on a wire mesh conveyor, 475 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:43,200 baking for 100 minutes at 155 Celsius. 476 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,440 I'm guessing we're not allowed to touch that, right? 477 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:46,720 No, this is very, very hot. 478 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,000 Merlyn's our trained oven controller 479 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,480 and she's allowed to open up the oven 480 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,760 to have a look at the cake. 481 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,680 Every 25 minutes, trained oven controllers like Merlyn 482 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,760 check on the cakes to make sure they're rising. 483 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,360 One hour and 57 minutes since my ingredients arrived, 484 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:08,480 the first of my baked batch are starting to emerge. 485 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,160 They're turned out of their tins... 486 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:16,720 Sorry! 487 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:17,960 ..left to cool... 488 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,840 ..and then sent to the bagging department, 489 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,040 where they're sealed in bags, 490 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,480 tagged with a date label 491 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,640 and left to languish in a storeroom. 492 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,560 The aim is for the cake to be 493 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,160 at least six months matured by Christmas... 494 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,600 ..ready to take pride of place on your table. 495 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,400 But not every Christmas tradition is so universally loved. 496 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,240 There is a subject that has divided a nation. 497 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:53,600 A very contentious issue that has pitted young against old. 498 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,840 I'm talking, of course, about Brussels... 499 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:57,880 ..sprouts! 500 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,200 Cherry is on a crusade for change. 501 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:05,320 Ah, that is dreamy. 502 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,920 I have to confess that I love sprouts. 503 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,920 But I want to find out why do some people hate them so much. 504 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,680 Maybe I can persuade them that they're missing out. 505 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,520 I'm starting at one of Britain's largest sprout farms - 506 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,440 TH Clements in Lincolnshire... 507 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:27,760 Woo-hoo! 508 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,040 ..where I'm joining farmer Justin Crowfoot 509 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,640 for the harvest in the run-up to Christmas. 510 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,440 I've got one! All right. It's so big. 511 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,120 Look at the size of that! 512 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:40,680 So, what? And now I put it in there? 513 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,720 I'd probably hold your hand a little bit closer. All right. 514 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,040 Ah! Yeah. 515 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,000 Why doesn't it want to eat it? 516 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,040 It's like my children. Eat the sprout! 517 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,720 SHE LAUGHS Hey! I got it! You got one. 518 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,680 Well done, brilliant. High-five. 519 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,480 Yeah! 520 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,920 All the Brussels sprouts are being chopped off and they fall down here? 521 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,160 Onto the belt, which then goes to the hopper and then into the tank. 522 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:10,720 Look, there they go. 523 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:14,400 How many sprouts will this one machine collect in one day? 524 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:17,280 We can do two million sprouts a day. Two million sprouts? Yeah. 525 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,000 In just the two weeks before Christmas, 526 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,920 they pick a total of 190 million sprouts. 527 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:29,640 Look at all those Brussels sprouts. 528 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,600 I can see from the scale of things here 529 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,520 that somebody's eating sprouts at Christmas, 530 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:43,360 but why do so many people claim not to like them? 531 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,360 To find out, I've come to Elsoms trial farm 532 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:48,880 to meet sprout breeder Dr Richard Tudor... 533 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:50,080 Hi, Richard. 534 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,880 ..who's developing the perfect sprout. 535 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:54,560 The reason some people hate sprouts 536 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,040 is probably to do with the bitter chemicals in them. 537 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,160 25% of the population have a gene that means they can 538 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,040 taste these bitter tasting compounds. 539 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,680 So are you saying that I don't have good taste buds? 540 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,920 That could be the case, yeah. I think so! 541 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,800 Over the last, 20 or 25 years, we, as breeders, 542 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,160 have tried to breed out these bitter tasting chemicals, 543 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,640 so they should be nicer for everybody to eat. 544 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:16,120 So if you'd like to try one. OK. 545 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,200 This is one of the traditional bitter-tasting sprouts. 546 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,440 These are what I would've eaten as a child? Yes. 547 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,880 I wouldn't normally eat a raw Brussels sprout, to be honest. 548 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,640 They're very good for you raw. 549 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,440 I love sprouts, but that, that is bitter. 550 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,240 Let's compare it to one of the new varieties. 551 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,280 It's so fun just to pick it off the stalk. 552 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,640 Can you taste the difference? Mm. That is noticeably more sweet. 553 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,160 Sprouts have a bad name, but, you know, they're really delicious. 554 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:44,600 I think in their childhood, 555 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,160 people are used to eating the bitter types of Brussels sprouts 556 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,000 and maybe they haven't gone back to trying the new sweeter varieties. 557 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,120 So they've tried them a long time ago, 558 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,280 hated them, that slightly scarred them for life? 559 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,720 I believe so, yeah. You're a man on a mission. 560 00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,280 I am indeed. Sprouty mission. I am. 561 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,600 Back at the farm, the sprouts being processed today are the milder, 562 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:08,880 sweeter variety... 563 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,280 ..as are most of the sprouts you will find in the shops 564 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:12,600 this Christmas. 565 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,080 But simply labelled "sprouts", 566 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,080 so you may not realise they've changed over the years. 567 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:25,360 So I want to put these new, sweeter sprouts to the test. 568 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:30,160 We've roasted some and the high heat has converted the starch to sugar, 569 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,840 so they're even sweeter. 570 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:36,520 Now I've come to the nearby market town of Spalding... 571 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:38,560 Excuse me. Hi there. 572 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:43,760 ..to find some sprout haters and see if I can change their minds. 573 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,040 Mm. 574 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,480 Not so bad. Yes! You like them? 575 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,600 Do you normally like them? No. Did they taste different to you? 576 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,280 Yeah. They taste a bit sweeter. 577 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:55,000 Do you think you might try a sprout on Christmas Day? 578 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,400 Yeah. It was sweet and nice. 579 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,240 No. Oh, no! 580 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,880 Is that different to how you remember sprouts being? 581 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,480 Yes. I remember ugly childhood taste. 582 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,120 And now it's lovely. 583 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,400 Are you saying that I might have converted you to be a sprout lover? 584 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:16,720 Yeah, you did. A little bit, yeah. Yes! She did it. 585 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,000 Success. I have some sprout converts. 586 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,240 Now you know what to give each other for Christmas. Yeah! 587 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,560 So even if you think you hate sprouts, 588 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,560 I think you should give them a go this Christmas. 589 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:29,560 Happy Christmas. Happy Christmas! 590 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,760 It's been three months and I'm back at the factory. 591 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,640 The cakes are still in storage, 592 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,720 so that when they get eaten at Christmas, 593 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,640 they'll be six months matured. 594 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,600 Meanwhile, I'm heading to the icing department 595 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,520 to make a start on the decorations. 596 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,040 And I'm back with the fittingly named Dave Glaze. 597 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,280 Well, if we're going to make some icing sugar paste, 598 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,040 we need to start by sieving some icing sugar. 599 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:08,920 These bags are 25 kilos. 600 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,360 25 kilos is a sack of spuds. 601 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:15,800 So all we do is lift to raise, lower to suck. 602 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,000 Keep going. Oh! 603 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:21,960 It feels like you could take off with it. 604 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:24,960 GREGG LAUGHS 605 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:28,760 Go from the side. 606 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:33,840 So how many bags would you go through a day? 607 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,760 It's about 375 bags a day. 608 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:38,520 Wow, OK. 609 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,160 Now I've got it over here, 610 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:43,840 I need to get the icing sugar out of the bag. 611 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:45,960 Nice, confident cut all the way across. 612 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,040 That's great! 613 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:54,200 It passes through a sieve to create the fine powder for perfect icing. 614 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,640 And then via a funnel into a large metal container 615 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,320 on the other side of the wall. 616 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,040 My sieved sugar is now in here? 617 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:03,320 It is. Right. 618 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,200 Nice and gently, lid down. 619 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:09,800 And away we go. 620 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:11,680 How much sugar have I got here? 621 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,480 You've got 175 kilos in that container. 622 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:15,840 It feels like it. OK. 623 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,480 Coming through, got my sieved sugar. 624 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:22,760 So this is our sugar paste manufacturing room. 625 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,120 This is the machine we're going to be using. 626 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:27,840 I love this industrial stuff, 627 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:32,120 because it is quite simply a mixing bowl you'd have at home, 628 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,600 just times 100! The process is no different. 629 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,160 It's just a matter of scale. 630 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:44,360 In this 250kg bowl, Dave mixes up a base of oil, 631 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:48,080 stabiliser and gum, which makes the icing stretchy. 632 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:54,080 That is a lovely big, white, thick, sticky mess. 633 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:57,240 Can I now put some sugar in there? OK, let's bring it over. 634 00:33:58,240 --> 00:33:59,680 Whoa. 635 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:01,000 Crying out loud. 636 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,080 Is it too late to say nice and gently? 637 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:08,400 It's heavy. 638 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:17,080 12 kilos of finely sieved powdery icing sugar fill the mixing bowl, 639 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:18,880 like a fine dusting of snow. 640 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,280 After another ten minutes of whisking, 641 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,560 we've made enough icing to cover 1,500 cakes. 642 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:35,840 Da-da! 643 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,840 Now it's loaded into trays, so I can wheel it onto the next stage. 644 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,520 Right, that's us done. Is that done? 645 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:49,080 Mate, this better be a good-tasting cake, cos I'm exhausted. 646 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:58,640 I'm taking my icing sugar paste to the factory's decoration department. 647 00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:02,160 In this Willy Wonka wonderland, 648 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:04,400 they hand make all of the decorations 649 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,720 that sit on top of the cakes. 650 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:11,040 Helping me to turn my trolley of icing into Christmas decorations 651 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:12,440 is Paul Webb. 652 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,400 Are you Paul? I am, Gregg. 653 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,680 He's going to show me how to make some icing balls 654 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,360 and two different types of snowflakes. 655 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,120 Right, come on, then, which one first? Large balls. 656 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,120 Need to use the silicon moulds. 657 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,680 If you could get that to wear glasses, I'd be out of a job. 658 00:35:28,720 --> 00:35:31,560 So we get a small piece of sugar paste, push it into the mould. 659 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:35,560 Use our knockout tool. 660 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:39,320 Go on, it's coming. 661 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:41,760 And then roll that into a ball? Yep. 662 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:44,640 Do you ever step back and smile at this, I mean...? 663 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:47,560 I'm very proud of it. Go on. I've done this for 23 years 664 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:49,280 and what we make is fantastic, 665 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,040 cos you're making someone's occasion. 666 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:52,680 You are, aren't you, I suppose? Yeah. 667 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,680 Well, I like this bit, this bit's nice. 668 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:58,520 This bit's more creative, less messy. 669 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,560 There's only 75,000 of those to make. How many? 670 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,440 75,000. In what timespan? 671 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:06,760 It'll be about six weeks. 672 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:12,160 And we've got to make 75,000 snowflakes, 75,000 lace snowflakes. 673 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,400 By hand? By hand. 674 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,880 I think we can say I've conquered the balls, don't you? Definitely. 675 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:19,920 Very impressive. 676 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,360 Right, OK, now what? Large snowflakes. 677 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,960 So we've got a snowflake plunger. Push in. So push it, 678 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,440 push down there? All the way through the sugar paste. 679 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,840 You've actually got to press down pretty hard. Yeah. 680 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:32,320 Pull that out, then. 681 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:36,760 And you take the sugar snowflake off it. 682 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:38,600 There's a beautiful thing. 683 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,680 Yeah! 684 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:45,000 How many of these would you expect me to do in an hour? 685 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:48,440 Ten a minute, so 600 an hour. Ten a minute? Yeah. 686 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:49,760 You can't do ten a minute. 687 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:54,200 # Five white snowflakes! 688 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:55,720 # Five big round balls 689 00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:58,760 # La-da-da, da-da-da-da-da! # 690 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:02,680 For my next trick, the more delicate lace snowflake. 691 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,440 Right, what do you do with that? So we use this... 692 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,880 That's a little bit like modelling clay. 693 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,600 And we just fill the indentations on the mould. 694 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,120 Because this stuff is so thick, 695 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:16,280 it doesn't instantly fall into the holes... 696 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,160 It pulls away from it as well. Yeah. Yes, it does. 697 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:20,600 As you pull it, it comes out. 698 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:24,160 It's got to be worked and worked and worked again. 699 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:27,160 You know, anybody looking at those snowflakes, I would imagine, 700 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:30,360 would think that they come off a machine about a million a minute. 701 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,080 Definitely. 702 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,360 So slightly bend it. 703 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:36,000 And just a case of working around. 704 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,600 Mate, everything about this is delicate and laborious. 705 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,440 It'd be quicker to wait until it actually snows and collect them. 706 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:47,800 For the final flourish, 707 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:51,160 the snowflakes are coated with gold glitter. 708 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,680 It's like treasure. Edible gold lustre. 709 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:58,680 It's so fine, we need protection to prevent us breathing it in. 710 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:01,160 GREGG MIMICS DARTH VADER'S BREATHING 711 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,360 The lustre is strong within you. 712 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:08,600 Right, come on, then. So we get the snowflakes you've just made. 713 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:09,840 Lay them in the lustre. 714 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:11,600 Tap the excess off. 715 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:13,320 Is that it? That's it. 716 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:16,720 Is this stuff really expensive? Very. 717 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:19,840 Make sure we get both sides and full coverage. 718 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:21,160 To cap it all off, 719 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:25,520 my gold lace snowflakes need to be stuck onto the icing balls. 720 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:28,800 So, over the back of it. Yep. 721 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:30,920 And lay it over the top of the large ball, then. 722 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:36,000 You've got to make sure you don't touch the white ball, 723 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,000 because you've got gold on your gloves, 724 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,760 you'll smear it, spoil the look. I can't believe this, Paul. 725 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:46,240 I would never have imagined each one of these had to be done by hand. 726 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:50,040 Much respect, my friend, much respect. Thank you. 727 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,800 Listen, I need to put these decorations on a cake. OK. 728 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:54,760 Thank you. 729 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:57,920 My decorations are heading for the production line, 730 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:02,000 where more than 40 people are waiting to finish each cake. 731 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:07,800 Meanwhile, Ruth's been finding out what inspired Charles Dickens 732 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,520 to write his famous yuletide novel. 733 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:20,720 A Christmas Carol helped establish the Victorian Christmas. 734 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:24,440 It popularised traditions such as singing carols, eating turkey, 735 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:26,120 Christmas pudding. 736 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,120 But could the inspiration for this Christmas classic 737 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:31,680 have come from inside a factory? 738 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,280 I'm heading to the River Thames embankment 739 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:40,240 to search for the original location of Warren's Blacking Factory, 740 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:45,160 where Charles Dickens was sent to work when he was just 12 years old. 741 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:48,400 It was right next to a place called the Hungerford Stairs. 742 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,160 So I think it was about here, 743 00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:55,080 where Charing Cross bridge now runs into the embankment. 744 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:00,320 Dickens described the shoe polish factory that stood here as 745 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:04,000 "a crazy tumbledown house with rotten floors". 746 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:10,040 His father had been sent to prison for debt, so for ten hours a day, 747 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:14,200 six days a week, young Dickens pasted labels onto bottles 748 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:16,440 to earn money for his family. 749 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:18,440 It was a harsh experience, 750 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:22,200 but it gave Dickens an affinity for the industrial working classes 751 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:25,560 that was to resonate throughout his later writings. 752 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,320 When his family inherited some money, 753 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,040 Dickens managed to escape his factory drudgery. 754 00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:36,440 Years later, in 1843, 755 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:40,280 his friend was the commissioner of a ground-breaking parliamentary report 756 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:42,680 on child workers across Britain, 757 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,520 and the details profoundly affected Dickens. 758 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:50,000 I've been given special access to the Palace of Westminster 759 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,000 to read that report for myself. 760 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:57,760 Here we go, George Francis, aged ten years. 761 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:01,880 Can read and write a little and he works in a paper mill. 762 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:04,840 Mr Spicer's Glory Mill. 763 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:07,000 He comes to work at six in the morning 764 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,760 and leaves off at five at night. 765 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:10,960 Oh, and here we see about time off. 766 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,840 "Have one day's holiday at Christmas. 767 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:16,760 "Never at any other time that I recollect. 768 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,400 "And on Christmas Day, we ain't paid for it." 769 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,360 MUSIC: Silent Night 770 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:24,520 Gosh. Poor little lad. 771 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:29,560 There's so many stories like that here. 772 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,000 One after another. 773 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:35,560 The report ran into seven volumes. 774 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:39,440 Hundreds of thousands of youngsters were working in harsh conditions. 775 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,920 In Charles Dickens's old London writing room, 776 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:46,440 I'm meeting Professor Emma Griffin... Hi, Ruth. 777 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:50,160 ..who's been investigating how he campaigned for change. 778 00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:54,720 What impact did all this information from the Parliamentary commission 779 00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:56,800 have upon Charles Dickens? 780 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,960 He realises very quickly that if he's going to make an impact 781 00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:02,240 with any of this, he needs to write a story about it 782 00:42:02,240 --> 00:42:04,200 and so that's precisely what he does. 783 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,000 The story that comes out of all of this is the Christmas Carol. 784 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,080 This image in particular I think captures the idea of what Dickens 785 00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:13,600 is doing. We've got the smoky city background... 786 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:16,440 Yeah, the factory, all the chimneys. The factories, the chimneys, 787 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:19,320 the smoke. Small, ragged child. Absolutely, the brick 788 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:21,240 and the kind of dark and gloom. 789 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:24,440 And this sort of ominous ghost sitting there. 790 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:29,800 A Christmas Carol was a smash hit on publication in December 1843. 791 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,160 It not only revived the spirit of Christmas, 792 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:37,320 it also popularised being kind to the working poor. 793 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:39,400 Don't be a Scrooge. I think that's right. 794 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,240 Scrooge is definitely one of our best known characters, isn't it? 795 00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:43,960 I mean, who doesn't know about Scrooge? 796 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:46,280 And I imagine, at the time, if you'd been an employer, 797 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:49,280 the last thing you would've wanted was to be called a Scrooge. 798 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:50,720 Absolutely. 799 00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:55,280 Reports from that time document how factory owners 800 00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:58,320 did grant days off as a direct result 801 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,320 of reading A Christmas Carol. 802 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:04,920 Dickens helped re-establish Christmas 803 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:07,360 as the season of goodwill to all, 804 00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,240 especially to those who worked inside a factory. 805 00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:13,600 In the words of the changed boss Ebenezer Scrooge, 806 00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:15,840 a Merry Christmas to everybody. 807 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:30,120 In Oldham, they're taking some of the 15,000 Christmas cakes 808 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,720 out of storage. Up until now, 809 00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:37,400 it's taken one hour and 57 minutes to make them and then a long rest 810 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:39,640 to mature. 811 00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:43,000 Now I'm going to help with the icing and decorations, 812 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,320 which are amazingly all done by hand. 813 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:52,200 44 pairs of hands, in fact, on a 30 metre long production line 814 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:57,200 and Claire Hodgson, the designer of the cake, is going to be my guide. 815 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:00,600 Why have they been in store for so long? 816 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:01,760 So when you bake a cake, 817 00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:04,240 the heat from the oven penetrates into the cakes, 818 00:44:04,240 --> 00:44:08,960 so, naturally, the middle of the cake will be softer and moister 819 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:10,280 than the outside of the cake. 820 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:12,560 By bagging it and maturing it for six months, 821 00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:15,840 that moisture equalises out throughout the whole of the cake. 822 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:18,440 What's happening to them now, why are they going through there? 823 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:22,440 So this big machine here has got a tank of brandy in it 824 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:25,480 and it injects brandy into the cake. 825 00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:27,120 OK. 826 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:29,840 I suppose it is Christmas, right? Yeah! 827 00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:37,360 The needles inject each cake with just over six teaspoons of brandy. 828 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:38,840 Extraordinary smell! 829 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:43,720 And that gives it both flavour and succulence. 830 00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:48,280 Brandy is a key ingredient in Christmas cake 831 00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:51,480 and the stuff they use here is distilled in France 832 00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:55,040 and made from grapes, but Cherry is in Somerset, 833 00:44:55,040 --> 00:44:57,760 where they make it from a very different fruit. 834 00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:03,880 Apples! 835 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:06,600 Here at Burrow Hill Farm in Somerset, 836 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:10,520 they've been turning apples into brandy for the last 28 years. 837 00:45:11,520 --> 00:45:13,720 And right now, they're harvesting the apples 838 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:16,880 that will go on to make brandy for Christmas. 839 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:22,160 These 180 acres of traditional orchards produce enough apples 840 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:25,040 to make 80,000 bottles of brandy. 841 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:26,760 Hi, Matilda. Hi, Cherry. 842 00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:30,160 Matilda Temperley has been looking after this year's crop. 843 00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:33,720 This one is a Kingston Black. It's a legend in the West Country. 844 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:36,120 It's not that bad for eating. That's pretty good. 845 00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:39,840 It's better than most of the cider apples for eating. Oh, really? 846 00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:41,640 So how does this work? 847 00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:45,920 You'll see the brushes are brushing the apples out of the long grass 848 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:49,720 and they're brushing it up the elevator, into the trailer. 849 00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:54,840 20 million apples are harvested in the run-up to Christmas. 850 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:02,040 This is a hose. Ah! 851 00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:05,280 The water jet not only gives the apples a wash, 852 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:09,640 it also bobs them down along a water slide onto a wooden conveyor. 853 00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:14,000 Then they're ground up and pressed to make 854 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:15,960 almost a million litres of juice... 855 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:22,760 ..which is stored in giant barrels for at least 12 weeks to ferment, 856 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:25,320 finally producing cider. 857 00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:29,920 But how is that transformed into spirit-strength brandy? 858 00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:35,960 I'm told the trick of turning cider into brandy is done by two very 859 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:37,320 special ladies. 860 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:41,320 This is Fifi. Fifi. 861 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:42,600 And this is Josephine. 862 00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:44,480 Why are they called Josephine and Fifi? 863 00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,280 Well, they came from France with these names and they have to stay 864 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:48,760 with their names for ever. 865 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:52,400 Rob Moore is responsible for the distilling process. 866 00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:54,520 What is distilling? 867 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,880 Distilling, in our sense, is taking cider with alcohol in, 868 00:46:57,880 --> 00:46:59,960 heating it up to about 78 degrees, 869 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:02,480 and allowing the alcohol to evaporate. 870 00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:05,640 So you're heating up the cider and steam is coming off, 871 00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:09,520 vapour is coming off, in the same way that if you were heating up the kettle. Exactly the same. 872 00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:11,440 How do you heat up the cold cider? 873 00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:13,960 Well, originally these stills would have been wood-fired, 874 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:15,240 but now we use gas. 875 00:47:15,240 --> 00:47:18,600 Oh, wow. It's quite an intense fire in there. 876 00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:21,320 And every section in here, there's a little plate, 877 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:24,080 it's like a little valve and it allows vapour 878 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:25,800 to come up and every level, 879 00:47:25,800 --> 00:47:29,040 it gets higher and higher, the alcohol gets stronger and stronger. 880 00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:33,880 As it reaches the top, the vapour passes across to the condenser, 881 00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:37,040 where cold cider is piped through the tank 882 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:40,840 and that cools the vapour and turns it back into liquid. 883 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,560 It travels into this here. 884 00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:46,040 This is called eau de vie. Eau de vie. 885 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:47,640 Water of life. Water of life. 886 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:50,120 When this jar's got about 25 litres in, 887 00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:51,840 which I think it's just about ready. 888 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:54,480 Is it ready? Just about ready. So if you press that green button. 889 00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:56,600 Continuously? No, just press it once. 890 00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:59,440 And there is a pump under here which drags out 891 00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:02,280 all the spirit to the next stage. 892 00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:06,680 The clear liquid is pumped into oak casks in the warehouse, 893 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:08,920 where I'm meeting Julian Temperley. 894 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:11,920 So this is what I've just seen being made in the distillery? 895 00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:13,760 Yes, this is apple eau de vie. 896 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,240 This is around about 70% alcohol. 897 00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:21,760 I just took the tiniest drop and I can't feel my face. 898 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:27,960 This comes into a barrel and there is an interaction between the wood 899 00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:31,680 and the oak and there's also an evaporation through the wood. 900 00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:33,600 Even when it's in the barrel, 901 00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:36,240 alcohol is evaporating and coming out? 902 00:48:36,240 --> 00:48:38,520 Yes. And that is called the angel's share. 903 00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:41,760 Angel's share, as in you're sharing it with the angels? 904 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:44,480 Well, the angels live in the sky, they get some. 905 00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:47,000 After ten years, the spirit in the barrel will lose 906 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:49,240 around a third of its total alcohol 907 00:48:49,240 --> 00:48:51,680 but it's transformed into brandy. 908 00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:53,200 This is ten years old. 909 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:55,840 This colour has all come from the wood and the barrel. 910 00:48:55,840 --> 00:48:57,120 All come from the barrel. 911 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:03,000 That is much more drinkable and smooth and sweet. 912 00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:07,600 These oak barrels, they provide the transformation from this to that. 913 00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:09,160 Christmas is in the barrels. 914 00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:16,960 And at Christmas, brandy has a particularly important role to play, 915 00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:18,880 flaming the Christmas pudding, 916 00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:21,560 and Julian's going to show me how it should be done. 917 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:24,000 First you need to warm it up. 918 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:25,240 You heat the brandy first. 919 00:49:25,240 --> 00:49:29,000 So it gives off a nice vapour, because it is the vapour that burns. 920 00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:32,440 As soon as you can see it is giving of smoke, then you light it. 921 00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:37,080 There we are. 922 00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:38,560 Whoa! 923 00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:40,920 That is beautiful. 924 00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:42,920 Happy Christmas, folks. Happy Christmas. 925 00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:49,040 That, to me, is the best bit of Christmas. 926 00:49:49,040 --> 00:49:51,800 Happy Christmas to you. Thank you. Merry Christmas. 927 00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:02,400 My Christmas cake has been mixed, baked, 928 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:05,120 matured and injected with brandy. 929 00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:08,960 So far, to make it, it's taken one hour, 930 00:50:08,960 --> 00:50:14,080 57 minutes and 40 seconds of hands-on preparation. 931 00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:18,640 I'm back on the production line and it's time to get messy. 932 00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:22,520 Now what? So now we're going to stick the cake to the board by using 933 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:24,120 a small amount of apricot jam. 934 00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:26,000 Why apricot jam? 935 00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:29,280 It's fruity, but it's not too distinctive and it doesn't have pips 936 00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:32,520 in it, so it's a really good, sticky substance to stick it to the board. 937 00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:35,520 Can I put the jam in the bottom? Why don't we have a go, Gregg? 938 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:38,720 The jam will also help the icing stick to the cake, 939 00:50:38,720 --> 00:50:41,040 so it needs to be spread across the top. 940 00:50:41,040 --> 00:50:43,640 Oh, is that it? Yes, that's it. 941 00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:45,320 One more, one more. OK. 942 00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:52,040 All over? Yes. It's like rubbing suntan lotion into my head. 943 00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:57,840 Have you any idea how much I love marzipan? 944 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,400 I think I'm about to find out, Gregg. 945 00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:03,960 The marzipan from the factory in Liverpool has arrived. 946 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:07,800 And it's about to play a starring role on my cake. 947 00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:10,400 Assisting me is Linda Kedwood. 948 00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:12,440 What do we do with all this marzipan? 949 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:15,160 It's kneaded, as Claire's doing there. 950 00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:17,160 Then it's put into the chute. 951 00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:19,480 As you can see it comes down and covers the cake. 952 00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:24,840 Shot putter! 953 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:30,880 Cut off the edge, sling it over there. 954 00:51:30,880 --> 00:51:32,480 Cut it out here. 955 00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:33,880 Knead it around. 956 00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:36,160 Nice and tight. You've got a lot of people here. 957 00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:38,600 How many people are on this line? 44 people. 958 00:51:38,600 --> 00:51:40,760 Why is it not machines doing this? 959 00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:43,520 Why people? They're handmade cakes, Gregg! 960 00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:44,920 They certainly are. 961 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:50,280 This is an extraordinary mix of mass production and craftsmanship. 962 00:51:50,280 --> 00:51:52,040 Now for the icing. 963 00:51:52,040 --> 00:51:55,240 We need to be really careful, because it needs to look perfect, 964 00:51:55,240 --> 00:51:56,720 and it's really soft and sticky. 965 00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:02,440 Amanda Burke has been perfecting her technique here for the last five 966 00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:05,720 years. Just make sure you're nice and smooth, you're tight, 967 00:52:05,720 --> 00:52:08,240 and just bring it round, and it's pushing all your air out. 968 00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:16,400 It's a lot thinner, the marzipan. 969 00:52:16,400 --> 00:52:18,800 Smoother. As well, isn't it? 970 00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:21,080 But it... 971 00:52:21,080 --> 00:52:23,760 Whatever you do makes an instant impression. 972 00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:26,400 The marzipan, you can really firmly handle it. 973 00:52:26,400 --> 00:52:28,080 This, you've got to be very gentle. 974 00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:31,920 I like this! 975 00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:34,680 This has got a certain amount of skill to it. 976 00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:36,240 Yeah, it is very skilled. 977 00:52:36,240 --> 00:52:38,400 But it's also quite satisfying to see a perfect cake 978 00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:39,800 at the end of it. 979 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:45,560 Perfect little snow scene, look! 980 00:52:47,040 --> 00:52:50,280 Now, we cut all the extra icing away from the cake, 981 00:52:50,280 --> 00:52:51,520 so you see the board again. 982 00:52:52,640 --> 00:52:55,880 Then it's just a matter of tucking in the icing blanket 983 00:52:55,880 --> 00:53:00,120 around the base of the cake, to give me a blank canvas, 984 00:53:00,120 --> 00:53:03,520 ready for the section of the line where they add the decorations. 985 00:53:05,160 --> 00:53:07,280 Am I seeing double?! We are twins! 986 00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:10,040 How long have you been twins? 987 00:53:10,040 --> 00:53:12,800 Since we were born! Ladies, can you get off the bus? 988 00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:15,240 We'd like to have a go. There you go, Gregg. 989 00:53:17,400 --> 00:53:20,000 I don't know whether to decorate a cake or order a bottle of wine! 990 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:21,440 It feels like I'm out on a date! 991 00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:22,800 Hi, I'm Gregg, Libra! 992 00:53:23,800 --> 00:53:27,400 Claire, Cancerian. So, Gregg, this is how we stencil a cake. 993 00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:29,640 This is plastic and stencil. 994 00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:32,080 You need to carefully place it in the centre of the cake. 995 00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:33,880 We're then going to get some royal icing, 996 00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:38,200 and start by scraping it and making sure the icing 997 00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,440 goes into the holes on the stencil. 998 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:44,960 And then scrape any excess off. 999 00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:47,120 The finishing touch, the sparkle. 1000 00:53:47,120 --> 00:53:48,640 This is the best bit. 1001 00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:50,120 And then just lift... 1002 00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:51,400 Yours is off-centre! 1003 00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:53,120 You know why? I'm practising! 1004 00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:55,720 So, cake, on the stand. Yeah. 1005 00:53:55,720 --> 00:53:58,160 Stencil. On the cake. 1006 00:53:58,160 --> 00:54:00,040 In the middle. Royal icing. 1007 00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:02,960 Scrape off your excess. 1008 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:04,120 Get your paintbrush. 1009 00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:06,880 Paint it with glitter! 1010 00:54:10,920 --> 00:54:13,000 That's it. Lift it off. 1011 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:15,400 Ta-da! 1012 00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:19,760 I'm now beginning to realise why you've got 1013 00:54:19,760 --> 00:54:21,400 so many people on this line. 1014 00:54:21,400 --> 00:54:23,880 How many of these cakes are coming through here? 1015 00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:26,600 We normally work on eight cakes a minute. 1016 00:54:26,600 --> 00:54:27,920 No way! 1017 00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:33,600 Right then, Gregg. So now is the exciting bit. 1018 00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:36,920 This is what we have got to create together. 1019 00:54:36,920 --> 00:54:39,080 Oh, right, and each step of the way, 1020 00:54:39,080 --> 00:54:41,560 somebody else is putting another ornament on the cake? 1021 00:54:41,560 --> 00:54:44,360 That's exactly right. We need to indent the top of the cake to give 1022 00:54:44,360 --> 00:54:47,400 you a placement to place all your baubles. 1023 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,600 Yes! Give me the icing bag! 1024 00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:51,320 Pipe a little dot of royal icing 1025 00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:53,560 just to make sure that those balls stay 1026 00:54:53,560 --> 00:54:57,000 on top of the cake. Right, so we need five baubles now, Gregg. 1027 00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:58,040 Oh, OK. 1028 00:54:59,040 --> 00:55:00,720 Oh! Every other one, I think. 1029 00:55:00,720 --> 00:55:01,760 Oh! 1030 00:55:03,600 --> 00:55:07,760 My handmade snowflakes are finally getting their starring role. 1031 00:55:08,760 --> 00:55:12,400 Right, now I need bronze snowflakes. 1032 00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:13,440 There. 1033 00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:17,680 Come on! Let's move down! 1034 00:55:17,680 --> 00:55:19,440 We need the sparkly one. 1035 00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:22,520 Sparkly one! You're holding up production! 1036 00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:23,720 Now we put the ribbon on. 1037 00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:27,760 The glove's stuck in there! 1038 00:55:30,040 --> 00:55:32,440 # Five snowflakes 1039 00:55:34,160 --> 00:55:37,320 # One big bald bloke and two icing twins... # 1040 00:55:37,320 --> 00:55:40,040 Hiya, I've got a cake, look at that! 1041 00:55:40,040 --> 00:55:41,400 Look at that cake! 1042 00:55:42,840 --> 00:55:44,080 High-five me! 1043 00:55:44,080 --> 00:55:45,560 Come on, fist pump, fist pump! 1044 00:55:45,560 --> 00:55:46,960 I've got the cake, come on! 1045 00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:49,640 Come on now, Gregg, because it's fantastic looking, 1046 00:55:49,640 --> 00:55:52,600 but we now need to put it in a box because it's never going to get to 1047 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:53,920 store just like that. 1048 00:55:53,920 --> 00:55:55,040 Does it have to go in a box?! 1049 00:55:55,040 --> 00:55:56,240 I'm really proud of my cake! 1050 00:55:56,240 --> 00:55:58,520 It will look even better in a carton, trust me. 1051 00:55:59,840 --> 00:56:01,360 Eight cakes per minute. 1052 00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:04,200 That's 480 cakes an hour. 1053 00:56:04,200 --> 00:56:06,880 Boxed and conveyed towards the end of the line. 1054 00:56:06,880 --> 00:56:09,880 This machine puts film on the outside of the box 1055 00:56:09,880 --> 00:56:13,720 just to finish it all off and make the box airtight. 1056 00:56:13,720 --> 00:56:15,960 It's like a funfair ride for cakes! 1057 00:56:20,040 --> 00:56:22,320 So, Gregg, now we need to put them in the tray, 1058 00:56:22,320 --> 00:56:25,600 and they start on the journey out of the factory to the depot. 1059 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:29,240 I've got it! 1060 00:56:33,080 --> 00:56:35,120 And that gets stacked over there? 1061 00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:36,360 If you just pop it on the top. 1062 00:56:40,160 --> 00:56:41,520 That's a big stack of cakes! 1063 00:56:41,520 --> 00:56:44,880 It's a lot of cake. I need you to wrap them all up for me now. 1064 00:56:44,880 --> 00:56:46,000 Haven't you got a machine? 1065 00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:48,680 No, no, I thought you'd like to do it because you'd gone to such a lot 1066 00:56:48,680 --> 00:56:52,400 of trouble with the cakes! You haven't got a machine, have you?! No, we haven't got a machine! 1067 00:57:01,920 --> 00:57:03,560 OK, Gregg, I think that's enough wrap! 1068 00:57:05,040 --> 00:57:06,400 And that's it! 1069 00:57:06,400 --> 00:57:09,480 Cakes ready for Christmas all over the nation, right? 1070 00:57:09,480 --> 00:57:11,880 OK? Thank you for helping me. 1071 00:57:11,880 --> 00:57:13,720 You're very welcome. It's been a pleasure. 1072 00:57:13,720 --> 00:57:15,560 Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. 1073 00:57:18,480 --> 00:57:20,960 Each finished cake has taken two hours, 1074 00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:24,720 53 minutes and 50 seconds of production 1075 00:57:24,720 --> 00:57:28,280 and passed through the hands of more than 80 skilled workers. 1076 00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:32,960 Now they've moved on to the distribution area, where every day, 1077 00:57:32,960 --> 00:57:37,880 20 lorries leave the factory with more than 3,000 cakes on board. 1078 00:57:39,760 --> 00:57:42,840 First they'll be transported to a central depot, 1079 00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:45,720 before heading to shelves all over the country. 1080 00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:49,880 The biggest Christmas cake fans live in the north-east of England... 1081 00:57:50,880 --> 00:57:53,840 ..where, in Yorkshire, they like to eat it with cheese. 1082 00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:57,280 I really enjoyed making that Christmas cake. 1083 00:57:57,280 --> 00:58:00,320 It made me feel... Well, it made me feel Christmassy. 1084 00:58:00,320 --> 00:58:04,920 I was amazed by how many people are involved in making it in a world of 1085 00:58:04,920 --> 00:58:06,520 machinery and automation. 1086 00:58:06,520 --> 00:58:08,000 But best of all, 1087 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,800 what I loved was how many people were making the decorations by hand. 1088 00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:14,840 Like a big team of Santa's helpers. 1089 00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:22,040 We'll be back next year to show you the inner workings 1090 00:58:22,040 --> 00:58:23,720 of even more factories. 1091 00:58:23,720 --> 00:58:27,000 BOTH: Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year to you all. 1092 00:58:31,360 --> 00:58:34,160 # When the snowman brings the snow 1093 00:58:34,160 --> 00:58:36,920 # Well, he just might like to know 1094 00:58:36,920 --> 00:58:43,480 # He's put a great big smile on somebody's face 1095 00:58:43,480 --> 00:58:47,400 # If you jump into your bed 1096 00:58:47,400 --> 00:58:51,400 # Quickly cover up your head 1097 00:58:51,400 --> 00:58:53,200 # Don't you lock the doors 1098 00:58:53,200 --> 00:58:57,120 # You know that sweet Santa Claus is on the way. #