0:00:02 > 0:00:06As a nation, we spend £42 billion on Christmas.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10And it wouldn't be possible without the 2.5 million people working in
0:00:10 > 0:00:13hundreds of factories up and down the country.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17'We've been given access to Britain's busiest festive factories
0:00:17 > 0:00:19'in the run-up to Christmas.'
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Big, hot, steaming vats of Christmas.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25'I'm Gregg Wallace.'
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And I'm in the biggest mince pie factory in the world.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35And over the next 24 hours, I'm going to help make 12,000 of them.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37'And I'm Cherry Healey...'
0:00:37 > 0:00:40I'll be finding out how one Welsh factory
0:00:40 > 0:00:44makes enough tinsel to stretch from here to Hawaii.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48'And I'll be making one of 30,000 Christmas jumpers,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52'15,000 metres of wrapping paper,
0:00:52 > 0:00:57'and learning top tips for picking an award-winning Christmas tree.'
0:00:57 > 0:01:01I had no idea there was so much to a Christmas tree.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Ruth Goodman will be solving the historic puzzle
0:01:04 > 0:01:07of who put the bang in our Christmas cracker, and why.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10THEY LAUGH
0:01:10 > 0:01:12We've got it all wrapped up.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15From stocking fillers to festive feasts.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Welcome to Inside The Christmas Factory.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38In this one factory alone,
0:01:38 > 0:01:43they can produce 6 million cakes and pies a day.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46And I've come to see how they make their festive favourite -
0:01:46 > 0:01:48the great, British mince pie.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51And, right now, they're making over 2,000 a minute.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03The Premier Foods factory in South Yorkshire makes Mr Kipling's cakes,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07and it covers 51 acres, the size of Wembley Arena.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10I love Christmas baking,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14but, here, I'll be doing it on an unimaginable scale.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17I'll be making a batch of 12,000 mince pies,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21just a fraction of the 3 million they'll produce today.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23I'll be using nearly half a tonne of pastry
0:02:23 > 0:02:27and enough mincemeat to fill up nine bathtubs.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33First, I need a mountain of ingredients.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35And head of delivery and mixing, Wayne Tallon,
0:02:35 > 0:02:36should be able to help.
0:02:38 > 0:02:39- You're Wayne.- Pleased to meet you.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Well, actually, I could tell cos it's written on your jacket.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44- So, what's on here?- This has just been delivered this morning.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- Can we have a look?- Yeah, sure, pull the curtain back.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- Me?- Yeah.- Let me do it, then, otherwise I'll look weak and puny.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Can you give me a hand? - WAYNE CHUCKLES
0:02:53 > 0:02:54There you go.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Wow. All right, well, that says what that is.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00How many ingredients goes into a mince pie?
0:03:00 > 0:03:02- 33.- 33?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Each mince pie has ingredients from all over the world,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11travelling a total of more than 62,000 miles to get here,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15including spices from Asia, Africa and Russia,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17orange oil from Brazil,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20dried fruit from America, Turkey and Greece,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22fruit from Italy,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26and flour, sugar, treacle, apple and butter from here in the UK.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31- How many on one of these? - There's 24 tonne on this trailer.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32So, I reckon each one of these is over a tonne.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36- They are one tonne.- A tonne of tunnel sultanas?- 1,000 kilos.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Mate, you should make 'em the way I do -
0:03:38 > 0:03:41what goes inside them just comes out of one jar.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43And what have we got coming in at the moment?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45We've got flour and sugar.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48The factory gets through around two full lorry-loads
0:03:48 > 0:03:51of UK flour and sugar every day.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Constantly lorries turning up with stuff from all over the world
0:03:55 > 0:03:56- to make mince pies.- Yeah.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00So, let's say you didn't get any deliveries in from now...
0:04:01 > 0:04:03..how long could you keep making mince pies for?
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Probably 24, 36 hours.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- Is that it?- And then we'd be stood.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11So, one hold-up, no mince pies at Christmas.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13That's right, yeah.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15'I've got 12,000 to make today,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20'so now the 24-hour countdown from ingredients to mince pies begins.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29'I'm starting in the pastry department.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33'I'll need almost 700 times more dough
0:04:33 > 0:04:35'than I make for my usual 12 mince pies.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'Here, the mixing bowls are so big they're on wheels.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43'Pastry supervisor is Andy Minett.'
0:04:43 > 0:04:45- Hello, mate.- All right, mate? - This is Andy,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- he'll show you how to do it. - Nice to meet you, Gregg.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49- Just put this in here.- Would we make it here the same way as I'd make
0:04:49 > 0:04:53it at home? The same sort of... Actually, I suppose you don't make pastry at home, do you?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56- Not at all.- Do you?- Not at all. - There's a certain irony here, isn't there?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Right, OK, look, show me how to make it industrial.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03'For my pastry, I need fat, sugar, water and flour.'
0:05:04 > 0:05:06- Press the middle button. - "Acknowledge"?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Yeah, and that will just start the process.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- Have I done it?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14'I've triggered the release of my flour from outside its storage silo
0:05:14 > 0:05:20'175 metres away, and it's being blown along a pipe into my bowl.'
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Yeah, yeah, I can see it dropping in.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Ah, it's weighing it out. Right, OK.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27The scale is just phenomenal.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31'They're making an astonishing 500 batches of dough a day -
0:05:31 > 0:05:35'that's the weight of 19 elephants in pastry.'
0:05:35 > 0:05:38- This is a bit bigger than at home, isn't it?- Slightly!
0:05:38 > 0:05:40I mean, my little brother Biffo can get through a few mince pies,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42but nothing on this level.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43Right, come on, then, is it ready?
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- Yeah.- How do I get it out?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47- Grab under here.- Oh, I see.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Yep. You have to keep it moving.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- Like a Wurlitzer.- Yeah.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'That dough mixing hook is ten times bigger than mine at home.'
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- Look at that!- Perfect.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- Right.- First of all, you need to put in one of the blocks of butter.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06It's a bit heavy.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Whoa! What is that, about 20k?
0:06:08 > 0:06:09- 25.- 25k.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Just rest it on here.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Crying out loud. Oh, my word.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16I wouldn't want to see the slice of toast you'd have to spread that on.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19GREGG CHUCKLES
0:06:20 > 0:06:22That is brilliant!
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Now, basically, put one finger on here.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27- What does this do? - Lift it all the way to the top.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Ah!
0:06:29 > 0:06:33It'll take just 44 seconds to turn into dough.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39There we are. When you press start, that acts like a whisk.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44That's the quickest pastry mix in the world.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53That actually looks miraculously like a home mix.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Mate, that's a really good bit of pastry, that.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- Yeah.- Really light, really pliable, not too wet.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05'My pie lids are made the same way, but with a slightly softer dough.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10'Now the pastry for my 12,000 bases is ready for the next stage.'
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Hang on a minute. What's down there?
0:07:14 > 0:07:15That's the production line down there.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17There are people down there, are there?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19There's people down there waiting for this.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Come on, then, let's have it down.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- RHYTHMIC PUMPING - Good noise.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29'The dough drops straight into a holder, ready to be shaped.'
0:07:29 > 0:07:31There's six of mine gone down there now.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35There's me auntie's, there's me brother's, there's me mum's.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41In just 15 minutes, we've made a quarter tonne of rich pastry,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43and, in less than 90 minutes,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46mince pies are going to be heading to your supermarket.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Meanwhile, in South Wales,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Cherry is learning how to make another Christmas favourite -
0:07:52 > 0:07:53tinsel.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Inside this factory, they make 2,500 metres of tinsel an hour.
0:08:01 > 0:08:08That's 300,000 metres of the sparkly stuff every week.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10This is their busiest time of the year
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and I want to see just how they do it.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Here at Festive in Cwmbran,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20they make more tinsel than anyone else in Britain,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and there are over 400 different styles.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27This one has hearts poking out.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30This one's kind of iridescent, it's a real disco tinsel.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And this one has little stockings.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38'The factory was founded in 1983
0:08:38 > 0:08:41'by the grandfather of designer Cassie Hedlund,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43'and she's going to help me make some tinsel.'
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Cassie, what are we making today?
0:08:46 > 0:08:48We'll be making a three-colour mix.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51OK, and how many colours do I have to choose from?
0:08:51 > 0:08:53About 123.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56I think I have to have red.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58- Perfect.- And green for Christmas.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Green.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And then maybe...
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- A blue?- A blue, nice, I like that.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- Cool. Perfect. - Yeah, that's stunning.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08So, what do you call this?
0:09:08 > 0:09:10It's metallised PVC.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Gosh, it's a lot heavier than it looks.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Yeah, about 4kg.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19'The PVC has a thin coating of aluminium to give it its shine.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23'Jason Polsom oversees the tinsel-making machines.'
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- There we go.- Thank you very much.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28I'm surprised that something that heavy is going to become
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- beautiful, fluffy tinsel. - The magic of Christmas.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Is this the magic machine?
0:09:33 > 0:09:36It's one of 35 magic machines.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38So, we've got our red, green and blue.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40- Yes.- They're all ready to go.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42- Yes.- Three, two, one...
0:09:43 > 0:09:45..there he goes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Round and round.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51'My rolls of PVC are travelling through cutters,
0:09:51 > 0:09:56'which slice the sides into strips, keeping the centre intact.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00'At the same time, a wire thread is being fed into the machine.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04'As the PVC and the wire reaches the drum -
0:10:04 > 0:10:08'which is spinning at 1,000 revolutions a minute -
0:10:08 > 0:10:12'the centrifugal force twists the PVC around the wire.'
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Wow, it's so fast.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18It's like a Catherine wheel on fireworks night.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20How many metres will you make on this first run?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23On this particular run, there'll be 24 metres.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24And we're done.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26Oh!
0:10:26 > 0:10:32That is a beautiful thing and sparkly and soft.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34It's surprising, a bit of metallised PVC
0:10:34 > 0:10:36can turn into something so beautiful.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37It is extraordinary, isn't it?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- It turns into... - Dreams.- ..Christmas.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- Christmas dreams. - It's Christmas!- Yeah.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Over the next 90 minutes, I'll make 400 metres of tinsel.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54But, once it's made, it has to be carefully packaged
0:10:54 > 0:10:56to make sure it's not squashed in transit.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Hello, I'm stuck!
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Can you help me?
0:11:02 > 0:11:06'Colette Welch is one of 55 Christmas elves at the factory.'
0:11:06 > 0:11:09How do we get this ready to go out into the big, wide world?
0:11:09 > 0:11:15Take this in half, just push it through, and into the display unit.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17'So, if you want top tinsel at Christmas,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19'you could store it hanging up,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21'rather than squashing it into a box.'
0:11:21 > 0:11:24What do you think Christmas would be without tinsel?
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Boring.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Do you consider yourself to be one of Santa's little helpers?
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Of course!
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Does that make me an honorary elf?
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- Yes!- Yes!- Of course.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38That is one of life's ambitions achieved right there.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46Just today, this factory has made 60,000 metres of tinsel.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50'And, this year, they've made over 12 million metres,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53'80% of it for the UK.'
0:11:53 > 0:11:57It looks so beautiful and ready to hit the shops.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Ready to decorate Britain this Christmas.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Back at the Yorkshire cake factory my pastry's done,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16so I'm ready to make my mincemeat filling.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I thought we'd be starting with the dried fruit, but Mark Bailey,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23who handles the ingredients, has other ideas.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24Mark, what's the next stage?
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Press the restart there, Gregg.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29- Seems easy.- Yeah.- So, what happens when I press the button?
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Yeah, it'll start adding the ingredients,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33so if you just press that there.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34That's it.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36The sugar's going in.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43It's a nice, sugary smell, but it makes you cough, doesn't it?
0:12:43 > 0:12:46So this is all of the ingredients for my mince being added.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48If you look, you can see it actually going in.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51You've got your jam, apricot jam, and you've got your apple pulp.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56We're making a big, spicy, fruity jam here, really.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Yeah, mincemeat filling.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01'We're also adding malt, treacle and a vinegar flavour
0:13:01 > 0:13:03'for a touch of sharpness.'
0:13:03 > 0:13:06That's proper hubble, bubble, toil and trouble, that is, isn't it?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Look at that.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Fantastic. How many of these do you make in a day?
0:13:11 > 0:13:13With a full day, it'll be about 96 mixes.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16The size of it is quite staggering, actually.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21'Mark's making nearly 15,900 gallons of mixture a day.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25'That's like filling nearly 200 bathtubs with the stuff.'
0:13:25 > 0:13:27This has done its job
0:13:27 > 0:13:29and we add everything else that we need to do by hand.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33We've still got all the fruit to add to the mix
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and, in the flavour dispensary,
0:13:36 > 0:13:41technician Gemma Cox has my concentrated orange oil ready.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42We need to put this on.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44How dangerous is orange flavour?!
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Not that dangerous, but you don't want to get it in your eyes.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- Is it that strong?- Yeah. - It would burn your eyes?
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- It could do.- I suppose anyone who's ever put lemon juice in their eye
0:13:52 > 0:13:53- would know.- Yeah.- All right.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- We'd never have anything like this at home.- No, no, no.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Right, I'll just... Right, OK, weigh out some orange flavour.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- How much of this?- We'll put in 60g.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05A very small amount.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07It's a very strong flavour.
0:14:07 > 0:14:08Beautiful smell.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Do you know what? Cos I had the visor on I was slightly scared,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15but it smells like a basket of oranges.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- Are we done?- Yes, we're done.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22That seems like such a small amount, doesn't it,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- for such a big...- For the amount of mix.- Yeah, ridiculous amount.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28My spices.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31'As well as orange flavour,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34'my mincemeat mix has nearly a kilo of exotic spices.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38'Exactly what they are is a closely guarded secret.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40It's a sizeable chunk, isn't it?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43That looks nothing like mine at home.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- Anything else? - Yeah, two boxes of mixed peel.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51'That's the sugar-coated rind of 11 kilos of oranges and lemons.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:53That's lovely, look - candied peel.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Here we go.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00- Are we done?- We're done.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03'Our mince pie filling will disappear through a door
0:15:03 > 0:15:06'in the bottom of our cauldron,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09'but there's something essential we still need to add -
0:15:09 > 0:15:13'Turkish sultanas, American raisins and Greek currants.'
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- That's the fun part for dried fruit, right?- Yeah.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Wow, all right, this might be the most fun I've had so far.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24We have five bags.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Sultanas, five raisins and six currants.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30- That a lot.- Yeah.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- 12.5 kilo bags, over 60 kilos in there.- Yeah.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36We just put it on, squash it up, and down it goes.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41'27 minutes in and the fruit is sent down
0:15:41 > 0:15:45'to join the rest of my filling in the cooking pot below,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47'while Mark starts his next batch.'
0:15:47 > 0:15:49- Cheers, mate.- Welcome, no problem.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56800 people work here all year round and then they hire in another 350
0:15:56 > 0:15:58just to get them over the Christmas rush.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04'As well as stepping up mince pie-making to 24 hours a day,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07'the factory switches more than half its production
0:16:07 > 0:16:11'over to Yuletide treats like white French fancies and yule logs.'
0:16:13 > 0:16:16The scale of production here is incredible,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19but, as Ruth Goodman is discovering
0:16:19 > 0:16:22it's the same for another festive classic - the Christmas card.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Every year in Britain, we buy around 900 million of them,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29more than 14 for every one of us.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32So, how did this tradition take off?
0:16:33 > 0:16:36I've come to the St Bride Printing Library in London
0:16:36 > 0:16:38just off Fleet Street
0:16:38 > 0:16:42to see how the very first commercial Christmas card was produced.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45There's a big handle there, which you turn anticlockwise.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Slowly, gently. Impression handle, pull it towards you.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- Oh, it's easy, isn't it? - Then you let it go back.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54SHE CHUCKLES
0:16:54 > 0:16:56We've made a reproduction here
0:16:56 > 0:16:59of the world's first printed Christmas card,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03designed way back in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and he hired the best-quality painting talent
0:17:07 > 0:17:09to hand-colour them,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12all of which meant that these first Christmas cards
0:17:12 > 0:17:14were very expensive.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'Sir Henry commissioned these luxury cards to promote
0:17:17 > 0:17:21'the all-new penny postal service, which he helped establish,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24'but he only sold 2,000 of them.'
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Oh, my, these look amazing.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32'But by the 1870s, steam-powered, colour printing presses
0:17:32 > 0:17:35'meant the craze for Christmas cards could really take off.'
0:17:35 > 0:17:38This is early Christmas cards, then. What have we got?
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Yeah, so Victorian Christmas cards.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45'These are just some of collector Malcolm Warrington's 10,000 cards.'
0:17:45 > 0:17:49By the late 1870s, publishers and printers were buying
0:17:49 > 0:17:52steam-powered presses, which could turn out more of this
0:17:52 > 0:17:54colour print at a good price.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58You know, it would make it more available to the masses.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00'And they were cheaper to send, too.'
0:18:00 > 0:18:03There was the introduction of the halfpenny postage.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05- So, that's half of what it had been before?- Yes, that's right.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07- OK, that makes a difference.- Yep.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11'By 1880, the public were exchanging
0:18:11 > 0:18:14'an astonishing 11 million cards a year.'
0:18:14 > 0:18:18It sort of creates a perfect storm, really, when it just goes kaboom.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22'Christmas was also a time when Victorians liked to indulge
0:18:22 > 0:18:25'in a rather macabre sense of humour.'
0:18:25 > 0:18:28This is what you would call a tasteless Christmas card.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33It's got a dead cat being served up for Christmas dinner by mice.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34RUTH CHUCKLES
0:18:34 > 0:18:37- We've got a dead blue tit.- Yes.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- How Christmassy is that?(!)- Yes!
0:18:39 > 0:18:43It's a sort of sense of mortality to bring back at Christmas time.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47They can't enjoy it thoroughly without thinking about death.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51So, was the novelty and the colour a large part of why they were popular?
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Definitely. People were crying out for more colour
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and it was able to satisfy their desire.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59'And it wasn't just card sales that were booming.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04'In this same period, the industrial production
0:19:04 > 0:19:08'of affordable crackers, decorations and Christmas stockings
0:19:08 > 0:19:10'really took off.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12'In fact, if it wasn't for factories,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15'we wouldn't have many of the Christmas traditions
0:19:15 > 0:19:16'we take for granted today.'
0:19:19 > 0:19:241843, the year that a modern, factory-made Christmas began.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Back in the Barnsley bakery, my pastry's done and my mince filling
0:19:36 > 0:19:39is cooking, so I'm checking out another seasonal favourite -
0:19:39 > 0:19:41yule logs.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42They produce a million a year.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50- Linda?- That's correct, yes. - I'm Gregg.- Hi, Gregg, how are you?
0:19:50 > 0:19:52I understand you're making chocolate yule logs.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54That's correct. We've got a couple of jobs for you to do.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Righto. What's the first one?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I want you to shovel this cream into here, please, and fill it up.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- That's hard work, Linda. - It is very hard work, yes, I agree,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05so that's why I would like you to try and have a go.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Linda, what's your full name?
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Linda McCrumb.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Your name's Linda McCrumb?
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- That's correct.- You make cakes and your name's McCrumb?
0:20:13 > 0:20:15McCrumb, that's correct.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18Hi, I'm Gregg Icing Sugar.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19SHE LAUGHS
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Right... Crying out loud, Linda!
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Yes, that's it, keep going.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Can't we tip this up with a forklift?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31No, I'm sorry, you've got to use the shovel.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Oh!
0:20:34 > 0:20:36That is heavy work! Oh!
0:20:38 > 0:20:41I may never look at chocolate icing the same way again.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46This cake filling is mainly butter, sugar and cocoa powder.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51How much of this did you nibble when you first came here?
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Quite a bit. But not now.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55I'm tempted to just stick my head in there.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I don't think you would.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58I bet I would.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04The Yule logs are made from a never-ending conveyor of sponge,
0:21:04 > 0:21:05baked for five minutes.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11A machine covers it with heated-up chocolate cream...
0:21:13 > 0:21:15..then it's sliced up, ready for rolling
0:21:15 > 0:21:18which, incredibly, is done entirely by hand.
0:21:20 > 0:21:21Why don't you get a machine to do it?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23We've tried a machine, we've tried it a few times,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25but it doesn't give the roll a perfect roll,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27so it doesn't come out the same now.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29So that's why we carry on hand rolling.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- Can I have a go?- Yes, certainly.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Right, step back. Let me show you how it's done!
0:21:36 > 0:21:37So, get it...
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- Right, push it back.- Push it back. - And then pull it tight, yeah.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42That's better.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Oh, no, you've lost it now.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48What you're doing, you're squashing on your roll.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49- Don't squash your roll?- No.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Yes!
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Yule log maestro! Get in!
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Hang on a minute, the fella over there's doing two at once.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02Right, we do one a bit, he does one a bit, and then two together.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07One a bit,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09one a bit, and then two together.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14SHE LAUGHS
0:22:14 > 0:22:16How many hours do you spend here, rolling the log?
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Well, normally, we do change every 15 minutes.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21So you don't carry on doing the same job over and over again?
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- No, no, because you can't stand here...- In case you go crazy.
0:22:25 > 0:22:26Could do.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29How many of these are you doing?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32We're doing about 4,000 per hour.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34- What, between the four of you? - Between us, yes.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Have you learnt it? Do you enjoy doing it?
0:22:36 > 0:22:40I like making a Christmas log. I don't know about 1,000 an hour!
0:22:40 > 0:22:41Can I just go and do the icing?
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Yes, certainly, that's just round this side.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46SHE LAUGHS
0:22:51 > 0:22:57They use 4,500 pints of chocolate cream a day, just on Yule logs...
0:22:59 > 0:23:02..along with a kilo of icing sugar.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06# Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... #
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Once these chocolaty rolls are packed up,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13they could be on supermarket shelves in just seven hours.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17But Cherry is in South Wales, choosing a Christmas essential
0:23:17 > 0:23:19that takes ten years to reach the shops.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26I've come to Swansea to choose a Christmas tree,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29but not just any Christmas tree.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33This is the British Christmas Tree of the Year competition.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38I've been told that it's the Crufts of the Christmas tree world.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41The winner will have the honour
0:23:41 > 0:23:44of supplying the tree for Number Ten Downing Street.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47There is definitely an air of excitement here.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- Yes.- There is a real buzz.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51The competition's friendly but, of course,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53obviously everyone's got their eye on the prize.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Stuart Kirkup is one of more than 100 growers.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59He's brought his tree up from his farm on Dartmoor
0:23:59 > 0:24:02along with his wife and four kids.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Wow, it smells incredible!
0:24:04 > 0:24:05- Oh!- It's a lovely smell.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Is it straight?
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Are you guys happy with that?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10So, why did you choose this one?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14This one's a Fraser fir, so this will go in the Fir Other category.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15It's got the nice shape there.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17It's full all the way up to the top.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19How old is this tree?
0:24:19 > 0:24:21It's probably 11 or 12 years old.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25So, you've nurtured it, pruned it, cared for it?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Everybody here is putting a lot of work into their trees.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32The competition is taking place on Rob Morgan's land.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35He's one Britain's full-time Christmas tree growers,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39with a plantation of over 300,000 trees.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Now he has to choose just one of them to enter the contest
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and he's chosen a Korean fir.
0:24:45 > 0:24:46Yeah, here we are.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Oh, Rob, it is a thing of beauty!
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Now, why this one over, say, that one or that one?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56It's probably good tips for buying a tree, really.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58As you can see,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00it's full from the bottom, more or less, all the way to the top.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02It's got a lovely, fresh, green colour.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Don't manhandle it! This has got to compete later.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07But if you smell, there's a lovely smell to this.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15- Timber!- Woohoo! Grab the end. - That's great.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17- This is your hope for the winning prize.- This is it.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I know, exactly, we'll see today now.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Back at the contest, Rob has another tip
0:25:23 > 0:25:26for checking your Christmas tree is a good 'un.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28If you lift this tree, it's very heavy.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30If you lift a tree up at Christmas when you're choosing trees and it's
0:25:30 > 0:25:33light, you know, it's dried out already, it's been kept too long,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- basically.- But this has got a lot of water in it.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37That'll stay like that until Christmas Day.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I had no idea there was so much to a Christmas tree.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41It's like choosing a wine.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Exactly, I think you've slowly turned into a tree nerd today
0:25:43 > 0:25:46like all of us who you can see around.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I've been studying the difference between the three main types
0:25:49 > 0:25:53of trees - spruce, fir and pine.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So we've got spruces - spiky.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Firs - chunkier needles, low needle drop.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03And then a pine which has long needles.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05- Long.- I think I understand.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Everyone here can vote, including me.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14The main qualities to look out for are a full shape,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18fresh, colourful needles, and a sweet smell.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22This is a Nordmann fir,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24and this is the most popular Christmas tree
0:26:24 > 0:26:28in the UK at the moment, and I can see why. It gets my vote.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34The votes are carefully counted.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40Stuart, Rob and all the other Christmas tree growers nervously
0:26:40 > 0:26:43await the award for the champion tree,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47which I get the honour of announcing.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49The Best in Show is...
0:26:51 > 0:26:52..Stuart Kirkup.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01What does it mean to you to win this prize?
0:27:01 > 0:27:03I'm so pleased. So, so pleased.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Is it all worth it, all of the work?
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Yeah, absolutely.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09He's got runner-up, I think, three times,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and he's always just never quite got the winner,
0:27:13 > 0:27:14so I'm so chuffed for him.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Do you want to get the whole family up?
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Come on.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21So, it's the Kirkup's tree that'll be taking pride of place
0:27:21 > 0:27:24outside Downing Street this Christmas.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Woohoo!
0:27:35 > 0:27:38At the factory, the cooking area is below
0:27:38 > 0:27:40where my ingredients were mixed.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43My mince filling was dropped straight into a big pot
0:27:43 > 0:27:46and it's been stewing for nearly 20 minutes.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Keeping an eye on it for me is technician Gemma Cox.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52So, is this it, is this my cooking pot?
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Yeah, that's it. - Can I just have a look inside?
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Oh!
0:27:56 > 0:27:57There it is!
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Big, hot, steaming vat of mince pie.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03That is huge!
0:28:03 > 0:28:04You can smell the sweetness.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07You can also smell the spice.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08That's lovely.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09It smells fantastic.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12It's just cooking it up to 80 degrees.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15If we boil it, we'll end up burning round the edge of it.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17So, what are you doing? Are you just melting the ingredients
0:28:17 > 0:28:19- and amalgamating them?- Yeah, bringing everything together,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21dissolving some of the sugar.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23I'm guessing that's constantly stirring, is it?
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Yeah, there's a big stirrer inside.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26- We've had 20 minutes.- Yeah.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30- Now what happens to it?- Yeah, so we're going across here now.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33My steaming mixture needs to be cooled down
0:28:33 > 0:28:35so it can go straight on to the next stage.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38On the way, it's pumped through a ladder of chilled pipes.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43Starting at the bottom, it zig-zags all the way up to the top.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Doesn't it start to go really thick?
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Yeah, it can thicken up, yeah, as it sits.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51So, you've got to hold it at exactly the right temperature?
0:28:51 > 0:28:53- Yeah.- So it travels every tube. - Yeah.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57- And then?- And then out through the top, along here,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59and then out through the tubes here
0:28:59 > 0:29:01into the plastic mincemeat containers.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02- Into these?- Yeah.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Is that my batch?
0:29:04 > 0:29:07- Yeah.- Can I have a look? - Yeah.- Will I see in there?- Yeah.
0:29:08 > 0:29:09Just, I think.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13That is a nice, big, thick, sweet mincemeat.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Funnily enough, it smells like Christmas.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Mincemeat wasn't always so sweet.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23For 300 years, mince pies were filled with meat
0:29:23 > 0:29:26until the Victorians swapped to fruit
0:29:26 > 0:29:27but kept the original name.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Can we put it inside some mince pies now?
0:29:32 > 0:29:34- Not quite.- Not quite?
0:29:34 > 0:29:37- Oh, come on, what now? Seriously. - We've got to mature it now.
0:29:39 > 0:29:4152 minutes after I started,
0:29:41 > 0:29:46and the mincemeat from my 12,000 pies is joining a whole legion
0:29:46 > 0:29:49of identical pots to develop its flavour.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Oh, wow!
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Oh, my word!
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Vat upon vat upon vat of mince pie mix!
0:29:56 > 0:29:58It's like you've got a colony of them.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59How many have you got here?
0:29:59 > 0:30:02About 260 in total.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05260? How long would that last you?
0:30:05 > 0:30:08- About two or three days. - Is that it?- Yeah.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11All of this, two or three days' worth of mince pies?
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Mate, it's a crazy world!
0:30:13 > 0:30:17There's going to be a lot of mince pies eaten this Christmas.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22I'm leaving my mixture to infuse for 48 hours
0:30:22 > 0:30:25and I want to know what difference that will make.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27So Gemma's got a couple of samples to show me.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32OK. All right. Well, I'm guessing that this is the young one,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35- just because this is syrupy and that's much thicker.- Yeah.
0:30:35 > 0:30:36- This is the matured one.- Yeah.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38- Did you want me to taste the young one?- Yeah.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43It's very, very sweet.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46And the spice is almost raw on the back of my throat,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50as if you made a hot curry without cooking the spices out.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Wow! That's quite extraordinary.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55- Right. And this has been matured for two days?- Yes.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03All right. Fair enough.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05Nowhere near as sweet.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08The spices are more mellow. The whole flavour's more rounded.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11The spice creeps up bit by bit
0:31:11 > 0:31:13rather than attacks you by the back of the throat.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15What is happening in those two days?
0:31:15 > 0:31:19The raisins and sultanas are soaking up the liquor and the flavours.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Gotcha, gotcha.
0:31:21 > 0:31:22The raisins are like sponges?
0:31:22 > 0:31:25- Yes.- They're soaking up all the liquid?
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Fine. Gotcha.
0:31:28 > 0:31:29Clever old raisins!
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Who knew?
0:31:31 > 0:31:33- You did.- I did, yes.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38My mincemeat mixture is busy getting richer.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41And down the road in Leicester, Cherry is busy knitting,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45finding out exactly how these things are made.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52Jack Masters is one of the last jumper factories in the UK.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57The Patel family have run it since 1987.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03Five years ago, the recession in manufacturing hit them hard.
0:32:03 > 0:32:09But they spotted a lifeline - a trend for bad Christmas jumpers.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14When directors and brothers Bhavik and Snahal
0:32:14 > 0:32:17saw the fashion growing in America,
0:32:17 > 0:32:19they jumped in with their own designs.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23What's the secret to a good bad Christmas jumper?
0:32:23 > 0:32:25I think it's about being loud.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27When it comes to Christmas, more is more?
0:32:27 > 0:32:29- This is one of our ugliest ones. - Look at that!
0:32:29 > 0:32:31An Australian one?
0:32:31 > 0:32:32That's so fun.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38In 2012, Save The Children launched Christmas Jumper Day,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40and the craze took off.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44Bad Christmas jumpers now make up a third of the factory's output.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50The family firm now has around 30,000 orders a year.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Even companies like Disney choose them for their fast turnaround
0:32:55 > 0:32:57and British design.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59You'll be trendy one day.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02And today, I've got a very special job.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07I can't believe I get to make an Inside The Factory Christmas jumper!
0:33:10 > 0:33:13I would love mince pies, crackers.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18'Designer Cheryl Madley's going to help me conjure up a wacky jumper.'
0:33:18 > 0:33:20- You want crackers? - Yes.- So you put crackers there,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22and then presents.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I like the black and white present.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Ooh, I love that one. Do we need Santa?
0:33:26 > 0:33:28We have to have a Santa.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30- Have you got mince pies? - I've got mince pies.- Yay!
0:33:30 > 0:33:32Oh, look, they're beautiful!
0:33:32 > 0:33:34So, would you like to sign your sweater?
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Yes! You have a great job.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40- It's a fun job. - It's fun, isn't it?
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Now I need to collect the cotton and acrylic yarn
0:33:45 > 0:33:47in my Christmassy colours.
0:33:47 > 0:33:48Queen's red.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51My knitting machine can take up to five reels.
0:33:51 > 0:33:52White.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56And last but not least, emerald green,
0:33:56 > 0:33:57for the tree.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03There are 32 hi-tech machines and Snahal's going to help me
0:34:03 > 0:34:06thread the one that's going to make my jumper.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08- Hi, Snahal.- Hi, how you doing?
0:34:08 > 0:34:11So, I've something very special for you.
0:34:11 > 0:34:12Here is the box of yarn.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Oh, nice. So if you put the green onto that bobbin
0:34:16 > 0:34:21- and just tie this to that top. - Oh!- Oh, you broke it.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24- It's so delicate. - It's a soft single ply.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27It comes up here, through the hooks,
0:34:27 > 0:34:29along here and then into the machine.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32These are called feeders and each feeder is a colour.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Knitting needles are these things here.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38- How many are there?- In one machine, you have over 1,000 needles.
0:34:41 > 0:34:42Is it knitting now?
0:34:42 > 0:34:45It's knitting, yeah. You can see it knitting there.
0:34:46 > 0:34:47Ooh!
0:34:50 > 0:34:52The carriage runs back and forth,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55picking up the coloured threads for my pattern
0:34:55 > 0:34:59and lifting the needles to make the stitches.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Here it comes! Yay! It's fresh from the oven.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09It takes 30 minutes for the machine to knit the front of my jumper.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10Just got one more Santa.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12He's only got half a face at the moment.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18But it would take up to 20 times longer to knit it by hand.
0:35:18 > 0:35:19We've got our mince pies.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21And you've got your Yule logs.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23My Yule logs.
0:35:23 > 0:35:24Here we go. Woohoo!
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Oh! Look at that.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30That's amazing!
0:35:30 > 0:35:31One front done.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35These are incredible.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Oh, they are. They're very smart machines.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42Other machines have knitted my back and my sleeves.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47Then a team of experienced sewers stitch my jumper together.
0:35:47 > 0:35:48The collar is attached,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50it's given a steam,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53and it's ready to wear.
0:35:53 > 0:35:54Yay!
0:35:55 > 0:36:00The official Inside The Factory Christmas jumper!
0:36:04 > 0:36:06It's beautiful.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08It's just pure Christmas.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10Made in England.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12I feel properly Christmassy now.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24At our mega bakery,
0:36:24 > 0:36:29the mince pie assembly line is a 180-metre conveyor belt,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32which will take my pies all the way through the ovens,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35through cooling and to packaging.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38The mincemeat I made is developing its flavour
0:36:38 > 0:36:42so, for my pies, I'm using a batch they made earlier.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47At the start of pie assembly line is front-line leader Scott Bates.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50It all happens straight down this one line here.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Really? So I start up here, and are you saying,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55by the time I've finished down the end of this machine,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57I will have a mince pie?
0:36:57 > 0:36:59You will have a mince pie in your hand, fully ready.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01At last! Where do I start?
0:37:01 > 0:37:04The first job is actually the only manual job we do on here,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and that is putting the foils into the foiler.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11If you want to get up the steps, you can have a quick go at doing this.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15So the bags are open at one end.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18- That's it.- There we are. There we are.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22- Right, OK.- You've got to keep them all flat cos, if they go in wrong,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24they won't deposit the foil underneath.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28- How about that?- That's bang on.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30All right! All right! This is easy.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32Mate, oh...
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Thought you said it was easy?
0:37:34 > 0:37:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Easy!
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Get that!
0:37:41 > 0:37:42Perfect foil.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47The foil comes from the land of cherries, tinsel and Christmas trees
0:37:47 > 0:37:48- South Wales.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53- Right.- Not too bad a job, if I say so myself.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Foil's in. You're missing something.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I want a pie in me foil!
0:37:58 > 0:38:00The pie is on its way.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02- Come on!- OK.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04So this is the dough that you made earlier on,
0:38:04 > 0:38:09and now it is being deposited...
0:38:09 > 0:38:10into the foil.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13So my pastry's coming down
0:38:13 > 0:38:16and something in there is cutting them into biscuit shapes?
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Correct. And it's two blades that are cutting.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23So you've got rollers taking your dough down and the guillotine then
0:38:23 > 0:38:26is cutting the pellet to what size you require.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28That looks odd to me.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32That's not a mince pie. That's a shortbread biscuit.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37We have the dies and that makes what is the base of a mince pie.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41This, I'm guessing, comes down like this and squashes it?
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Correct. That comes down and squashes it.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- Pushes it into a nice shape like that?- Yeah.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50So, as you can see here, the dies are going up and down.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Got it. At about 15 a second.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I've now got a mince pie base.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58- What happens now? - We deliver the mince.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59Oh, great!
0:39:02 > 0:39:07My 12,000 pies will be filled in just 17 minutes,
0:39:07 > 0:39:08and they're just a teeny portion
0:39:08 > 0:39:12of the 180 million mince pies they'll make this year.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17There you go.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19We have our mincemeat in our pie.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21Can we put a lid on now?
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Certainly can. That's the next stage.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26And we come down here with a flat piece of dough.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29All right. That looks more like a mince pie pastry.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33As you can see, these lids are then transferred onto the pies.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38As the base for the mincemeat comes along,
0:39:38 > 0:39:39the lids will go down a slope
0:39:39 > 0:39:43and it drops every one on a row of 15 perfectly.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46So that is what you've got.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51With just over an hour gone, my pies are filled and the lids are on,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55but there's a pastry mystery I want to solve with Scott.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59The lid, it's a different pastry to the base?
0:39:59 > 0:40:00- Correct.- Which is stupid.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02- No, no.- Why?
0:40:02 > 0:40:05It's how it performs for the motif.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11The lid dough has a little more fat so it's soft enough to be moulded.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- Show me, show me.- The dies we use...
0:40:15 > 0:40:18This is a lid die.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Ah, that's making the holly leaf motif on the top?
0:40:22 > 0:40:23- Yes.- It's all a bit nuts.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Do you think this is what Santa had in mind?
0:40:26 > 0:40:28- I hope so. - Well, he's got to eat them.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30I leave one out for him every year.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32It comes out as such.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34That's looking better, isn't it, mate?
0:40:35 > 0:40:41Now all my pies need is a sprinkle of water and a dust of sugar.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45Basically, this row of machines has done everything?
0:40:45 > 0:40:47- Correct.- Do you actually need any people here?
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Oh, yes. Cos when it goes wrong, it can go very wrong,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52so you've got to keep monitoring it.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54And when you transfer them into the oven,
0:40:54 > 0:40:56you can get pile-ups and you need people here.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59So, right now, over 700 mince pies a minute
0:40:59 > 0:41:01- are heading to the oven?- Correct.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08This 45 metre oven is the length of three double-decker buses.
0:41:12 > 0:41:13This is the oven.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15The oven's got seven zones.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Is it all the same temperature just doing the same thing?
0:41:18 > 0:41:20No, we have different temperatures in different zones
0:41:20 > 0:41:22to bake our mince pies.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25The first three zones cook the base of the pie
0:41:25 > 0:41:29at a super hot 285 degrees,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33whilst the last ones brown the top, like a grill.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39The oven is always on and so the conveyor belt must never stop
0:41:39 > 0:41:41to avoid any risk of burning.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43And how long does it take?
0:41:43 > 0:41:46- Nine minutes to bake the mince pies.- Not bad, mate.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Not bad. We're almost there.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54My pies were in a hot oven, almost as hot as Ruth,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58who's getting toasty by a roaring fire discovering what first made
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Christmas go with a bang.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02# Snow is falling
0:42:02 > 0:42:04# All around me
0:42:04 > 0:42:07# Children playing... #
0:42:07 > 0:42:09- Woo!- Crackers.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13300 million of them will be pulled this Christmas in Britain.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15That's five each.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17But who came up with the idea of mini explosions
0:42:17 > 0:42:20around the Christmas dinner table?
0:42:20 > 0:42:23In the 1840s, a young cake maker from East London
0:42:23 > 0:42:25took a trip to Paris and
0:42:25 > 0:42:28there he fell in love with bonbons -
0:42:28 > 0:42:32small, sugary sweets wrapped in tissue paper.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Tom Smith brought this idea back to his bakery,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41where his sugared almonds in twisted tissue paper became a surprise
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Christmas smash.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45To drum up even more trade the following Christmas,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48he added a little love note.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52The final inspiration is said to have come to Tom
0:42:52 > 0:42:55in a flash when he threw a log on the fire.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00It spat and went crack.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05And he decided to add just such a sound to his crackers.
0:43:05 > 0:43:10But how did Tom manage to make his crackers go crack?
0:43:11 > 0:43:15To find out, I've come to a lab at the University of Westminster
0:43:15 > 0:43:20to meet scientist and cracker snap investigator Wendy Sadler.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22- Wendy!- Hiya.
0:43:22 > 0:43:27Could you tell me how exactly Tom Smith invented the cracker?
0:43:27 > 0:43:29So, we're pretty sure he invented the cracker,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31but we're not entirely sure that he invented the bang.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Let me show you this book.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35This comes from 1816.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38So, quite a long time before the crackers came out.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41And, inside this book, this is The Art of Making Fireworks,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44we've got the description of how to create something
0:43:44 > 0:43:45called a Waterloo Cracker.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50The Waterloo Cracker was a type of indoor firework
0:43:50 > 0:43:53popular when Tom Smith was just a boy.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55And we are going to try and make one.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57Ingredients -
0:43:57 > 0:43:59"take a slip of cartridge paper
0:43:59 > 0:44:01"about three quarters of an inch wide."
0:44:01 > 0:44:04- So, cut into two equal lengths. - OK, will that do?
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Now "G" in here stands for glass.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09So, they used to use powdered glass as the friction.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12So we're going to substitute that for some sandpaper.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14"Then put about a grain of the silver."
0:44:14 > 0:44:16Is that actually the metal silver?
0:44:16 > 0:44:19It is kind of, but it's a special mix of silver.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21It's a thing called silver fulminate.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23Silver, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26in a very special mix that's quite unstable
0:44:26 > 0:44:28and makes it very explosive.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32So, the thing that we normally play with every day is SO explosive?
0:44:32 > 0:44:35- I like the sound of that! - It is good, isn't it?
0:44:36 > 0:44:40'Even a small amount of silver fulminate can make a large impact.
0:44:40 > 0:44:41'So don't try this at home!'
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Right, so, we have a little bit of silver fulminate here.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48We're going to ignite it using heat, rather than friction.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50Just so you can get an idea of the noise.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55SHARP SNAP, RUTH LAUGHS
0:44:56 > 0:44:59And the sound, of course, comes from the detonation
0:44:59 > 0:45:01which happens so fast. It's faster than the speed of sound.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05So, you're actually getting a supersonic detonation.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07- Whoa!- Yeah.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09And that in a cracker that you might have in your home?
0:45:09 > 0:45:12- I know.- That we hand to small children!
0:45:12 > 0:45:13What a great Christmas!
0:45:14 > 0:45:16'Now we can put the volatile chemical
0:45:16 > 0:45:17'inside my Waterloo Cracker Snap.'
0:45:19 > 0:45:20Tiny little bit.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24OK, so we've got our silver fulminate on.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27OK, so I'm going to put the second part basically over the top of here.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30"Take hold of the two ends and pull them sharply from each other,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32"and it will produce a loud report."
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Well, if that isn't a cracker!
0:45:35 > 0:45:37- Could we try it?- Yeah, let's.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41- Here we go.- OK. Do I have to make a wish or something?
0:45:41 > 0:45:43SHARP SNAP Yay!
0:45:45 > 0:45:47So there's no doubt, then, is there,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50that Tom Smith did not invent the bang.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52No, I think that's been proven here.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55But he did still add something extra, really.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57He put it all together into a product that people wanted.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Tom Smith launched his cracker in 1860.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05He wrapped up the snap inside a brightly coloured tube
0:46:05 > 0:46:08and they became a sensation.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09Shall we try it?
0:46:09 > 0:46:10Yeah, why not? OK.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14- Here we go.- Here we go. - Our very own Tom Smith cracker.
0:46:14 > 0:46:15SHARP SNAP
0:46:17 > 0:46:19I think I won! I think I won.
0:46:19 > 0:46:20I got a hat.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24He might not have invented any of the constituent parts,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26but Tom Smith was a bit of a genius, wasn't he?
0:46:26 > 0:46:29I mean, how can you possibly turn your nose up
0:46:29 > 0:46:32at a small explosion at the dinner table?
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Back on the assembly line
0:46:45 > 0:46:48and my 12,000 mince pies have reached packaging.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52They've been cooling at room temperature.
0:46:52 > 0:46:53Then through a chiller.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56And they're now in their plastic holders.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00The unrelenting march of mince pies
0:47:00 > 0:47:04means any hold-up can cause major pile-up problems.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Sheila Highman is in charge of coping with any crisis.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09How long have you been here?
0:47:09 > 0:47:12- 28 years.- 28 years?
0:47:12 > 0:47:13- Yes.- Before I was born.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17And how many mince pies do you reckon you look at a week?
0:47:17 > 0:47:18Millions.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21What are these people behind us doing?
0:47:21 > 0:47:24If the machine stops, it won't pack anything.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26We can't stop the oven or the cooler,
0:47:26 > 0:47:29so these people have to take the pies off.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31- So, the oven never stops? - Never stops.
0:47:31 > 0:47:32So, if there's a problem up the line,
0:47:32 > 0:47:34you can't stop these pies coming through.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36No, so, somebody has to take them off.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38That's my sort of job, that is.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40- Would you like to have a go? - Oh, yeah.
0:47:40 > 0:47:41Think pies, think Gregg Wallace.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44'We're going to practise
0:47:44 > 0:47:46'how Sheila's team prevents a pie pile-up.'
0:47:47 > 0:47:49Machine's stopped!
0:47:49 > 0:47:51- What do I do? - So we take these pies off.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53Argh!
0:47:53 > 0:47:55Put them that way.
0:47:55 > 0:47:56That way!
0:47:56 > 0:47:57Argh!
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Argh!
0:48:01 > 0:48:03No! The easiest way...
0:48:03 > 0:48:05- Hang on, hang on.- ..is like that.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10- Oh, oh!- Behind you, behind you.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14- No, no.- Don't hold them back.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19- I can't.- Oh, Gregg!
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Like that.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23Easy! One, two, three, four.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25- How did I do?- You can't do it.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30- I can eat them.- You can.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33You can probably bake them, but you can't pack them.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42The pies I haven't messed up go straight into packing
0:48:42 > 0:48:46and are sealed neatly into cardboard cartons of six.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49Quality controller Mandy Gibson has got a job
0:48:49 > 0:48:51I think might suit me better than the last one.
0:48:53 > 0:48:54- Hello, Mandy.- Hello.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59- What's your job?- My job is to check the pies every half an hour.
0:48:59 > 0:49:00Can you show me the procedure?
0:49:00 > 0:49:03Yes. These was taken off at 2:57.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05So, I write the time down.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07- Nice handwriting.- Thank you.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10OK, so, make sure there's no raw spots.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12Raw spots, like white bits?
0:49:12 > 0:49:13- No, raw.- Uncooked flour?- Yes.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16- Uncooked pastry.- No boil outs.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18What's a boil out? They start seeping out?
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Yeah. Your mince filling coming out.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23- Yeah.- Would you like to try that one?
0:49:23 > 0:49:25Try it? Do you have to try it?
0:49:25 > 0:49:28- Yes, I have to try it.- Every half an hour you eat a mince pie?
0:49:28 > 0:49:29Not a whole mince pie.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32- A bit of a mince pie?- Yes.
0:49:32 > 0:49:33- And you still have your lunch?- Yes.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42- Very good?- Yeah.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Unmistakable flavour of Christmas.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46Have my mince pies passed the test?
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Did they taste good?
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Yeah. They can go out now, can't they, to the shops?
0:49:50 > 0:49:52- Yes.- Yes!
0:49:52 > 0:49:54- Thank you very much.- You're welcome.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57After an hour and a half,
0:49:57 > 0:49:59my cartons of mince pies are being boxed up
0:49:59 > 0:50:01and made ready for dispatch.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07But, before my pies hit the road, Cherry has one final mission.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15She's yet again in South Wales finding out how one factory
0:50:15 > 0:50:19makes enough wrapping paper to wrap around the Earth at least ten times.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26The largest producer of gift wrap in Europe is this mega-factory
0:50:26 > 0:50:27right here in Wales.
0:50:27 > 0:50:32They make over 400 million metres of gift wrap every year,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35and, right now, it's Christmas wrapping paper
0:50:35 > 0:50:37that's flying off the production line
0:50:37 > 0:50:38to make it into the shops.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43So, how do they produce wrapping paper
0:50:43 > 0:50:47here in Ystrad Mynach on such a gigantic scale?
0:50:47 > 0:50:52Well, first they have to design over 6,000 new patterns every year
0:50:52 > 0:50:56and that's done right here at the factory.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57This is the Christmas wrapping paper
0:50:57 > 0:51:00that we're going to see printed later on.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04But when there's so many different Christmas themes,
0:51:04 > 0:51:05how did this one come about?
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Julia Williams is one of the 41 creatives who work here.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14- Hi, Julia.- Hi, Cherry.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18How did you decide that this is what you're going to make this Christmas?
0:51:18 > 0:51:22We've got a bit of help with last year's wrapping paper.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24That was a success, so we want to strive
0:51:24 > 0:51:27to get that successful line again, but modernise it.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30So, we take things like this year's trend.
0:51:30 > 0:51:31'Trends on the mood board
0:51:31 > 0:51:34'have been sourced from magazines and the latest fashions.'
0:51:34 > 0:51:38This year was a lot about artistic brushes and textures.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39It's very crafty.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Vibrant and fun.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42And very hand drawn and handmade.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45So we would start by hand sketching.
0:51:48 > 0:51:49So, we started with a hat.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Then we thought, actually, he had a hat last year.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54- Shall we do a top hat? Top hat's quite fun.- Oh, you jazzed him.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58Jazzed him up, yeah. So we kind of evolve him a little bit.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01When did you decide on this particular design?
0:52:01 > 0:52:04August 2015.
0:52:04 > 0:52:05So, a year and a bit ago.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08So, when the sun was out and everyone with eating ice cream...
0:52:08 > 0:52:11- Yeah.- ..you were deciding on Christmas paper for this year?
0:52:11 > 0:52:13We were all designing Christmas, yes.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16So, is it Christmas for you 365 days a year?
0:52:16 > 0:52:17- Every day.- Really?- Every day.
0:52:17 > 0:52:23# Well, I wish it could be Christmas every day... #
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Once the design is complete, it's ready for printing.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29But on an epic scale.
0:52:29 > 0:52:34The minimum print run here is 30,000 metres.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37A lot of responsibility for print manager, Adam Welcher.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40The first thing we do is select our colour.
0:52:40 > 0:52:41So, we're choosing purple rain.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43We select our weight, 15kg.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46- And load our bucket. - This is mixing the colour?
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Yeah, it mixes a combination of the reds and blues required
0:52:49 > 0:52:51to make the colour.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54It's a bit like when you're in a DIY store and you get your paint
0:52:54 > 0:52:56mixed up, but on a gigantic scale.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00'Our snowman needs five different coloured inks.'
0:53:00 > 0:53:02So, what is this area?
0:53:02 > 0:53:07This is the pumps that supply our machine with their colours.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11These £10 million printers use some clever engineering
0:53:11 > 0:53:13to reproduce the image.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16The snowman is engraved onto a printing plate.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18It's a hardened rubber.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20- Oh, there he is.- Yes.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22It's like a huge rubber stamp.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26- Exactly.- How many of these are there in this machine?
0:53:26 > 0:53:28There's five.
0:53:28 > 0:53:29'Each of the five rollers
0:53:29 > 0:53:33'adds a different layer of colour to gradually build up the image.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36'They print on rolls of high-quality paper,
0:53:36 > 0:53:40'coated with an ultra-thin layer of aluminium to add sparkle.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45'The ink is primed and the rollers are set.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48'So, now we can get this giant printer started.'
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Wow, Starship Enterprise.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54- Yes.- Oh, look.
0:53:54 > 0:53:55This is our design.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00'Incredibly, we're not yet running at top speed.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03'And I get to crank production up to 600 metres a minute.'
0:54:08 > 0:54:11- Is it not going to explode? - No, it'll be fine.
0:54:11 > 0:54:12'At this speed,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16'we're printing 100,000 snowmen every single minute.'
0:54:17 > 0:54:19Wow, look at the snowman!
0:54:19 > 0:54:21The snowman's at a rave.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26'A strobe light helps Adam check the print quality,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29'making the fast-moving paper appear still.'
0:54:29 > 0:54:33The snowman's gone completely bonkers.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35'This printer runs 24 hours a day.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38'And, in the last 25 minutes alone,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41'we've made 15,000 metres of wrapping paper.'
0:54:41 > 0:54:42Can I go in and touch it?
0:54:42 > 0:54:45- Yes, you can.- Wow!
0:54:45 > 0:54:46Fresh out of the oven.
0:54:46 > 0:54:47It is. Literally.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Absolutely amazing.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59Because most people would struggle to get this home from the shops,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02this has now got to go and be converted into smaller rolls.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07'19 machines chop wrapping paper up into rolls
0:55:07 > 0:55:10'of anything from 1.5 to 49 metres...
0:55:12 > 0:55:14'..supplying most of the national retailers.'
0:55:16 > 0:55:17So, there he is.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Still hot off the press.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25'This will be just one of 60 million rolls made here at the factory.'
0:55:36 > 0:55:39My 12,000 mince pies have reached distribution.
0:55:41 > 0:55:42And they are ready to be wrapped.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48I'm with dispatch leader Armando.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Where are you taking these now?
0:55:50 > 0:55:53- To be wrapped.- How long do they stay in the warehouse?
0:55:53 > 0:55:56These will all be gone by end of production today.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Some of them are wrapped and sent straight away.
0:55:59 > 0:56:00All right, mate, let's get it wrapped up.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03OK, no problem. Right, Gregg. If you grab this and tuck it under, yeah.
0:56:05 > 0:56:06That's it. And just let go.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11Yeah! I don't know why I find that so joyous.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17And then we put it in line for the loader to load it.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23How long will my mince pies stay here?
0:56:23 > 0:56:25The mince pies that you have just taken through, Gregg,
0:56:25 > 0:56:27are being loaded now directly to the customer,
0:56:27 > 0:56:29and a trailer will be leaving in an hour and a half.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33We have to keep moving because the floor, here in dispatch,
0:56:33 > 0:56:35only holds four hours worth of stock.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Pies and cakes are coming out of there at such a rate that after four
0:56:41 > 0:56:43hours this floor will fill up? I love the idea of that.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44Where do you send off to?
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Where in the world might my mince pies end up?
0:56:47 > 0:56:50It might end up for export for Australia and New Zealand.
0:56:50 > 0:56:51I've seen them in Dubai.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54No matter where people are in the world, if you're British,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56- Christmas time, you want a mince pie, right?- Yeah.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01As well as Dubai, they send their mince pies all the way to Africa,
0:57:01 > 0:57:07Barbados, Bermuda, Canada and the USA, as well as Europe.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12But it's the British who eat more pies than anyone.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14And Londoners scoff most of all,
0:57:14 > 0:57:18with an average of 7.5 each in the run-up to Christmas.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21How would the mince pies get to Australia?
0:57:21 > 0:57:24They're put on a container ship and shipped all the way to Australia.
0:57:24 > 0:57:25- They're not flown?- No.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28It would be very, very expensive to fly mince pies to Australia.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31Mate, if Santa can do it at Christmas, you can.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33You'd need a big sledge.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36We send approximately 1,000 pallets over to Australia and New Zealand.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38Yeah, the reindeers would probably eat them, wouldn't they?
0:57:38 > 0:57:41- They would.- Yeah, I haven't thought this out, really.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46- That's it, ready to go.- That's the door closing on my mince pies.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49I suppose, actually, the journey's just beginning,
0:57:49 > 0:57:51- isn't it?- Sure is, sure is.
0:57:53 > 0:57:55Within eight hours of starting my pastry,
0:57:55 > 0:58:01my 12,000 mince pies could be on a supermarket shelf near you.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05Last year, we bought over 340 million of them.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09I knew that everybody liked to nibble mince pies at Christmas.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I just didn't realise how many.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14We'll be back next year with more behind the scenes secrets from our
0:58:14 > 0:58:16favourite factories.
0:58:16 > 0:58:17Until then...
0:58:17 > 0:58:19- BOTH:- Merry Christmas, everyone!
0:58:19 > 0:58:23# So here it is, Merry Christmas
0:58:23 > 0:58:27# Everybody's having fun
0:58:27 > 0:58:28It's Christmas!
0:58:28 > 0:58:31# Look to the future now
0:58:31 > 0:58:38# It's only just begun
0:58:38 > 0:58:42# So here it is, Merry Christmas
0:58:42 > 0:58:46# Everybody's having fun! #