0:00:02 > 0:00:03Sweets...
0:00:03 > 0:00:05they're our guilty pleasure.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Today, British confectionery is a £6 billion industry.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14But where did it all begin?
0:00:16 > 0:00:20We've asked four modern confectioners to go back in time...
0:00:20 > 0:00:25to work their way through three eras that revolutionised their trade.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29From the birth of their profession four centuries ago,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33where they'll craft luxuries for Tudor aristocrats...
0:00:33 > 0:00:34SHE GASPS
0:00:34 > 0:00:37It's cracking, Cynth. It's getting worse, look.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40..to Georgian entrepreneurs storming the high street
0:00:40 > 0:00:42and tempting the fashionable middle classes.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45- Moulds.- Chocolate?
0:00:45 > 0:00:47- Jelly?- Both?
0:00:47 > 0:00:49And finally, they'll work on the production line
0:00:49 > 0:00:54of the 20th century factory, making affordable goodies for the masses.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55You're a cog in a wheel.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57I'm a chocolate dipper.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Our 21st-century confectioners will be learning to make
0:01:00 > 0:01:02the sweet treats of the past.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07They'll be using the ingredients, recipes and equipment of the time.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09It looks like a tape worm.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11This is bum clenching stuff.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13They'll experience first-hand the triumphs...
0:01:13 > 0:01:15CHEERING
0:01:15 > 0:01:18..and the trials of their profession.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19- It's hot.- Hot, hot, hot!
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And they'll be creating sugary masterpieces,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28which haven't been tasted for hundreds of years.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Oh, my God, that is amazing!
0:01:33 > 0:01:35But as well as making the treats of the past,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39our confectioners will be exploring the bittersweet story of sugar -
0:01:39 > 0:01:44an ingredient that transformed Britain, shaping our Empire,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48bankrolling our cities, igniting our slave trade...
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The cruelty's just terrible.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54..and changing the way we eat forever.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56CHEERING
0:01:56 > 0:02:01They've already been high-status servants to the Tudor aristocracy,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05and run their own luxurious shop, catering to the Georgians.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Now, in the Victorian era,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10confectionery finally becomes available to all,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12with the dawn of mass production.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26It's 1875 and our confectioners Cynthia Stroud, Paul A Young,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Andy Baxendale and Diana Short are in Blists Hill in Shropshire.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35By the middle of Queen Victoria's reign,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38the Industrial Revolution had transformed manufacturing,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and, with it, the confectionery trade.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44I'm Emma Dabiri, a social historian,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and together with food historian Dr Annie Gray,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I'll be introducing our team to the world of the Victorian confectioner.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- Well, look who's here.- Hi!
0:02:55 > 0:02:57- Good to see you.- You too.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58Welcome to 1875.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Lots of changes afoot.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Over half the population now live in towns,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07so many, many people have swapped the rural existence for urban life.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Wages are going up, and the price of food is going down,
0:03:11 > 0:03:12you'll be glad to hear.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Now normal people, everyday people have the opportunity
0:03:15 > 0:03:17to spend some of their wages
0:03:17 > 0:03:19on things just beyond the bare essentials.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Which is what you're taking advantage of, of course.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26So now you can see sugar and nice things spreading out
0:03:26 > 0:03:29to more than just the upper and indeed upper middle classes.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32You are now sweet shop owners.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33This is your confectioners.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Wow. Fantastic.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37You need to stock your shop.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Some confectioners had workshops behind their shops,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42but others took advantage of the fact
0:03:42 > 0:03:44that there were perhaps more insalubrious areas
0:03:44 > 0:03:47where rents were cheaper, and had bigger workshops elsewhere.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50So you are going to be of this new breed of confectioners.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Let's go and have a look.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Now that everyone, rich and poor, has access to sweets,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59the confectioners' success
0:03:59 > 0:04:01depends on making as many products as possible
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and selling them at the lowest price.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07And these are no longer just treats for adults,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09they have a brand-new market - children.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Look at all the equipment! Oh, it's very industrial, isn't it?
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- It is.- Are we making motorbikes?
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I was not expecting this at all.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27This does not feel like a kitchen.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30New mechanised equipment and technology
0:04:30 > 0:04:33has transformed the confectioners' workplace and their craft.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36We've got a thermometer!
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- We don't need to put our fingers in any more.- No!
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Victorian confectioners no longer had to be highly skilled artisans.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50As little as £5, £500 in today's money,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54would buy sweet makers enough sugar boiling equipment and ingredients
0:04:54 > 0:04:55to set up shop.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- Ooh, colours.- Ooh, and flavours!
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Look, it's just like what you'd get now.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04They're lovely, aren't they?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06I think this is the first time we've seen
0:05:06 > 0:05:08artificial colours and flavours.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Oh, my God, that smells amazing.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12I can't believe that's Victorian.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15That is such a... That is such a modern essence.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17- Absolutely.- Isn't it?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- Aniseed.- What flavours have we got? - Orange, strawberry.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Go on, let's have a sniff.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Ooh, that reminds me of my grandma.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32I mean, I think this is definitely Andy's bag, all this stuff.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Absolutely.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37As the only confectioner who works in boiled sweet factories,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Andy will find a lot of equipment that's familiar
0:05:40 > 0:05:42in their Victorian workshop.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45It looks like I'm in charge again.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48First impressions?
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- Amazing.- Fantastic. Oooh.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52LAUGHTER
0:05:52 > 0:05:54This is almost a factory.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56It's not all singing, all dancing,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59you haven't got steam pipes pumping out smoke and all the rest of it,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02but you will be producing a lot of sweets.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06And, as ever, you will be using a lot of this.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- Sugar.- Granular sugar. - Nice and white.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13But it has a new origin, I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14- Oh.- Oh, my goodness!
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Coming from this guy.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18- Wow.- Oh, my gosh. - The sugar beet.- That's huge.
0:06:18 > 0:06:19- That's huge.- Massive!
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Sugar from beets tasted identical to cane sugar.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27By the end of the 19th century,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29it would make up two thirds of the British supply.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34The Caribbean is still producing cane sugar,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37but with the end of Britain's involvement in the slave trade,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41it's not as accessible and it's not as cheaply available
0:06:41 > 0:06:42to British suppliers.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46So British suppliers now have a source that is far closer to home,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and these are the fields of France, Germany and Austria-Hungary,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51where the sugar beet is grown.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52Gorgeous.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55The influx of this new crop,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58combined with the end of import taxes,
0:06:58 > 0:07:04saw its price drop by 50% between 1872-1884.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06But there was still money to be made.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09So vast was Henry Tate's fortune from his lucrative refineries
0:07:09 > 0:07:13that he was able to fund what's now the Tate Britain Art Gallery -
0:07:13 > 0:07:17a lasting testament to the sugar money that built Britain.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21The first thing you're going to be producing,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23which you may possibly have guessed,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27is going to be that staple of the marketplace, boiled sweets.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28- Ooh.- Yes!
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Obviously some of your market will be youngsters,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33and, like flies to treacle,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36you want to bring them in with your brightly coloured,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38beautiful confections.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40A little bit of magic in their lives.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- Great.- But you have not yet met your guide for this week.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- OK.- So, meet Mr Skuse.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47- A book.- A book.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51This is one of the most important books published for confectionery,
0:07:51 > 0:07:52really, ever.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55It comes out in the late Victorian period
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and is in print until 1957.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59The book's particularly brilliant
0:07:59 > 0:08:03because in amongst all of the advice on how to manage your colourings
0:08:03 > 0:08:04and how to set up your business,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07he also has lots and lots of recipes,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10and illustrations of the latest machinery, so top-notch.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14He does have some extra advice for you, in terms of quantity.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17He suggests that you can make two hundredweights of sweets a day.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- Wow.- So, by the end of today,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22we would have expected you to have filled
0:08:22 > 0:08:24all 20 of those jars behind me.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- That's a lot. - A lot of sugar.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Three kilos a jar, you were saying, Andy?
0:08:28 > 0:08:30So you've got to be very good to differentiate yourselves.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It's a competitive, cut-throat market out there.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39The confectioners have never had to make this many sweets before.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43But if they're going to have enough stock for their shop,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46they need to hit Skuse's target for the day.
0:08:46 > 0:08:47The biggest one of those two?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Yeah, yeah let's see how it looks in there.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50OK.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Andy and Cynthia are starting
0:08:52 > 0:08:56with an original Victorian boiled sweet recipe for Mint Drops.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57So this is all a revelation to me
0:08:57 > 0:09:01and I feel like I'm learning something completely new here.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06And Diana and Paul are making Skuse's recipe for Rose Rock.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Sugar and water had always been the basis for boiled sweets...
0:09:09 > 0:09:11- 7 lb?- 8 lb, wasn't it?
0:09:11 > 0:09:138 lb.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14But by the late 19th century,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17confectioners were adding a new substance...
0:09:18 > 0:09:19Glucose...
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Ooh, look at that. It does look beautiful, doesn't it?
0:09:23 > 0:09:27..a flavourless starch syrup derived from plants.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Vital ingredient to our boiled sweets.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Look at it go. That's like Play-Doh.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It is like Play-Doh, but clearly spreads.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Stick your finger in it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39It's a cheap way for our confectioners
0:09:39 > 0:09:42to bulk out their ingredients.
0:09:42 > 0:09:43That's a lot of sweets.
0:09:46 > 0:09:47When you look at the size of what we're using,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51you know immediately that the game and the plan has changed,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and your target is completely different.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Definitely. A much bigger end point.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Oh, look, it's gone completely soft.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Making boiled sweets depends on getting the temperature
0:10:02 > 0:10:05of the sugar syrup to 312 degrees Fahrenheit.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06We've got thermometers now.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Thermometer, quite right.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12In previous eras, the confectioners were judging the heat by touch,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14using their bare hands.
0:10:15 > 0:10:16200...
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Invented in the 1860s,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23sugar thermometers could withstand the high temperatures
0:10:23 > 0:10:25without shattering and leaking poisonous mercury.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28225.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Paul and Diana are using a cold water table
0:10:33 > 0:10:36to quickly cool their syrup and speed up production.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40I'll take this over, OK?
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Like their Victorian counterparts,
0:10:42 > 0:10:43the confectioners are embracing
0:10:43 > 0:10:47newly available synthetic colours and flavours...
0:10:47 > 0:10:50A little bit of red colour, just into our mix,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52is it going to be enough? A little bit more?
0:10:52 > 0:10:53- A little bit more, yeah.- Yeah.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58Enough to make the whole thing a nice, rosy colour.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02I've done what I said don't do earlier. Don't breathe it in.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05..Little realising most were derived from coal tar waste,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and often highly toxic.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08That smells gorgeous.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Colour to make them appealing to the younger generations.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14- OK.- Beautiful.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- Tartaric acid. - Tartaric acid, going in.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18This is going to get lots of zingy flavour.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Beautiful. Smells incredible, doesn't it?
0:11:27 > 0:11:31It's not just the confectioners' ingredients that have changed,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33there are new techniques to master.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36It's a lovely, rosy colour.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39We're pulling it on the hook,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42to incorporate air into it to make it a little lighter.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45We get this - a nice, light, creamy colour.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47- So we need to make this into a flat sheet.- OK.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50It's the speed, because as soon as the heat goes,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53we'll never get it through the drop roller.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Once the required consistency is reached,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57the mixture must be fed through the drop rollers
0:11:57 > 0:11:59to mould the individual sweets.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04If they're too slow, though, the boiled sugar will set hard.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08If we don't start the nobble... It's important to eek in.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10I don't know what a nobble is.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13But it's going to be fed into here.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- Ooh, ooh, ooh! - SHE LAUGHS
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Oh, I've lost me end!
0:12:19 > 0:12:22That's not looking good, is it?
0:12:22 > 0:12:23Oh, can we not just snip it?
0:12:23 > 0:12:25This is bum-clenching stuff...
0:12:25 > 0:12:27SHE LAUGHS
0:12:27 > 0:12:30It looks like a tape worm. It doesn't very appetising, does it?
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Wahey!
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Diane and Paul, watch this and weep.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40We're not going to be able to fill 20 jars at this rate.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43We're under producing.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45While Paul and Diana wrestle with their tapeworm...
0:12:46 > 0:12:50..Cynthia and Andy's mint drops are going swimmingly.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52They've got a jar of sweets already!
0:12:55 > 0:12:59The confectioners' new customers are the urban factory workers,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02working ten hours a day, six days a week.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07They needed up to 4,500 calories per day to keep going,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and sugar was now the cheapest source of sustenance.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14In poor households, men were allocated any costly meat,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17while women and children survived and a diet of white bread, jam,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21treacle, sugary tea and a treat of boiled sweets.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25We've made sweets!
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- Right, let's crack on. Clean down. - I think so.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34When the sheet is partly set,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38cut the whole length of it with scissors into strips one inch wide.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40For the next batch,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Paul and Diana are attempting Skuse's recipe for barley twists.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47But they're reading it a touch too late.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50"To make these goods, the operators must be very quick
0:13:50 > 0:13:53"with their movements, the slab on which the sugar
0:13:53 > 0:13:55- "is poured must be warm." - Oh,- BLEEP!
0:13:55 > 0:13:56Wow, so we've got...
0:13:56 > 0:13:57LAUGHTER
0:13:57 > 0:14:01..not to swear... and crack on, crack on.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- It's already setting.- It is!
0:14:03 > 0:14:04Should we turn it over?
0:14:06 > 0:14:07- Oh! - HE LAUGHS
0:14:10 > 0:14:13The syrup has cooled and is now too brittle to shape.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- We'll boil it again. - We'll boil it again.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Get it back in, get it back in.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Do it again, because this is warm now.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22- Let's get it back in. - I'm doing it, I'm doing it.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Let's get it back in.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26It's back on the boil for the barley twists,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30and all hands on deck as the confectioners try to salvage them.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Hot, hot, hot!
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Well, I'm really thinking now about how we get these the same size,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45the same width, the same length
0:14:45 > 0:14:49so that customers buying them get the same product every time.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51- It's really hard, isn't it? - It's quite hard.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I'm really disappointed that the first time we did it,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59we couldn't cut it into twists, and we had to re-melt it.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02We've re-melted it, and they've gone from these beautiful,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05clear twists to an opaque twist.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07We haven't really got an even twist at all.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18Victorian sweet makers couldn't afford to produce a shoddy batch.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Profit margins were smaller than they'd ever been before,
0:15:21 > 0:15:26and our confectioners don't have time to redo the twists.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I'm really frustrated that we couldn't get the barley twists
0:15:29 > 0:15:33clear and beautiful. I'm just annoyed.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35I think we should have been able to nail that,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37I don't think there should have been a problem with it.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39But there was. And I burned my thumb.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44We both run our own small businesses,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49and if these kind of mistakes happen in our business today,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52it's wasted money. It's a wasted time, isn't it?
0:15:52 > 0:15:54The frustration is the same.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57We get disappointed in ourselves, because we're perfectionists.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58Exactly.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02In every town and village,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05small-scale confectioners created their own versions
0:16:05 > 0:16:07of the classic boiled sweet.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09- Where's our peppermint? - Where's the peppermint? There.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Lemon and lime mixed together.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Paul and Diana are turning their back on Skuse
0:16:14 > 0:16:19and designing a unique sweet, using a beautiful, Victorian mould.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22The other one I feel very interested in is sarsaparilla.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27It's nondescript, herbally, botanical, slightly aniseed -
0:16:27 > 0:16:30a little bit like Germolene.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Antisepticy.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35I think you and I both have an absolute key favourite thing
0:16:35 > 0:16:37- on the shelf. - I'm drawn to the Devon butter.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40Yeah, me too. I think it has to be.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Are we going for Devon butter fish?
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Devon butter fish!
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- Do you know what? it's delicious. - I think it needs the...
0:16:47 > 0:16:49I think it needs the peppermint with it
0:16:49 > 0:16:51to give it that buttermint flavour.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53So maybe they can be...
0:16:53 > 0:16:54Buttermint Bass?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56- Yeah, butter...- Buttermint Bass.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Buttermint Bass sounds fantastic.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00That's it. Pour it all.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Cut it in half.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06It's a tricky game, this.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11- Right, are you ready?- Yep.- Sorry.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Go on, pull!
0:17:17 > 0:17:18Go on!
0:17:20 > 0:17:22Shoal of fish!
0:17:22 > 0:17:24Shoal of fish.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26My heart is racing.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28My heart is like...
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Iridescent blue and green.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32Oh, my God.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35We don't know what it's going to taste like.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40- It's just like buttermint. - It is buttermint, yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43We got that right.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45That's very nice.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- We have a jar full of fish. - We do have a jar full of fish.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54After nine hours in the workshop,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57the confectioners are still four jars short of Skuse's target
0:17:57 > 0:18:00of 20 jars in a day.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01Next one.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03We can do it.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Time was money for the Victorian confectioner,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07and night is falling.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12This is our final batch.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19Come on!
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Three, two, one...
0:18:32 > 0:18:34CHEERING
0:18:36 > 0:18:3920 jars in one day.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42But these 20 jars of boiled sweets are just a fraction
0:18:42 > 0:18:45of what they'll need to produce to stock an entire shop.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49They have to keep this pace up every day
0:18:49 > 0:18:52if they're going to succeed as Victorian confectioners.
0:18:53 > 0:18:5612 hours a day, you're standing on your feet.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57The sort of machines we're talking about,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01you still need a lot of physical... You know, you need brute force.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02This feels industrial now.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08It's the end of an exhausting first shift in their Victorian workshop.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- Long day at work?- Very.- Mmm.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Life is very tough for confectioners at the end of the Victorian period,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20and it's getting steadily tougher.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23You're no longer confectioners to the upper classes,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27you're peddling mass-market products to people with no money.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Let's look at York, it's got a lot of the small-scale confectioners.
0:19:31 > 0:19:32A lot of people like yourselves.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Most of them lived in an area called Walmgate.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36There are a few other areas as well.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41About 69% of the housing was deemed to be pretty much unfit to live in.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43So those are the areas that you would be living in,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45as Victorian confectioners.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48This is a photograph of Walmgate.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Oh, it's not joyous, is it? Dark.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54You wouldn't want to go home, would you?
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Golly! That's quite a shock, isn't it?
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Grim and foreboding that, isn't it?
0:19:59 > 0:20:04There is no safety net at this point for those people who end up failing.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06If you fail at your business and cannot get another job,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08you will be in the workhouse.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21York was once dominated by the confectionery trade.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Curator Faye Pryor, from the Castle Museum,
0:20:25 > 0:20:26is an expert on the pressures
0:20:26 > 0:20:30facing the smallest sweet makers in the city.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34There were so many small confectioners working in York
0:20:34 > 0:20:37in this period, and these were family businesses.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39There was, firstly,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41quite a struggle for them to make money on a local basis.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45But then they're competing against more established families,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48who've had a lot longer to develop their businesses,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50who are now becoming national brands.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54The big three in the country at this point are Cadbury's,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Fry's and Rowntree's.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59And by the 1870s, these are all national brands.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01They're absolutely massive.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04In the 1870s, Rowntree's have 100 employees,
0:21:04 > 0:21:05Cadbury's have 200 employees.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09By the 1890s, Rowntree's have over 800 employees.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Interestingly, what unites them all
0:21:11 > 0:21:15is that they were all founded by and run by Quaker families.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18The Quakers weren't allowed to go into certain areas -
0:21:18 > 0:21:22military, politics, law - in this period.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24And so they tended to go into trade instead.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Banking, insurance, for example -
0:21:26 > 0:21:28but confectionery was a really big one.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Quaker companies tended to do a lot of business with each other,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34because the knew they could trust each other.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37That sounds like something of a paradox, though,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39because they're supporting each other,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41but they're also competing with each other.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43You know, they're running businesses on a national scale,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45especially Cadbury's, Fry's and Rowntree's,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49where they are trying to sell the same kind of products
0:21:49 > 0:21:51to the same customer base,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53and trying to make sure their product
0:21:53 > 0:21:56is the one going to be bought, instead of their competitors'.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59So it's quite a complicated relationship that they have.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09The rivalry could be fierce, but in 1879,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12the Quaker firm Rowntree's were handed a secret French weapon.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20A new type of sweet that no company in England
0:22:20 > 0:22:23had yet been able to produce.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28What we're going to be doing today is quite a specific thing.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31There is a particular branch of high-end confectionery
0:22:31 > 0:22:35that still sells mainly to the rich and has not yet reached the masses,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39and they are French-imported pastilles.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43This is something very beautiful, but the story is about to change.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47In 1879, a Frenchman called August Claude Gaget
0:22:47 > 0:22:50approaches a manufacturer in York called Rowntree's
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and suggests to him that he has developed a process
0:22:53 > 0:22:55for making fruit pastilles,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58which will make them the kings of confectionery.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59And so Rowntree's employ him
0:22:59 > 0:23:03and put him in charge of the French confectionery department.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08Gaget took three long years to develop the top-secret recipe
0:23:08 > 0:23:11for a British pastilles, or fruit pastille,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15that was high-quality, but also cheap enough for the market.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18Oh, wow!
0:23:19 > 0:23:20That's gum arabic.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22It's rock-hard, isn't it?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24That rock-hard thing is going to make our gums chewy?
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Certainly will.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- Are we nearly there? - No.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33- There we go.- There we go. God, it's a lot.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40The confectioners are working from a pastille recipe
0:23:40 > 0:23:43from 1890 edition of Edward Skuse's Handbook,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47as the original has remained closely guarded.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49We're going to need quite a lot of starch, aren't we?
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Well, we are making a lot of sweets.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53They only need to be about an inch thick, I think.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Oh, I'd overfill it and scrape off the rest.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59One of the innovations Gaget introduced to Rowntree's
0:23:59 > 0:24:02was the use of starch trays,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04which rapidly dry the outer layer of the sweet,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06but leaves the centre chewy.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10How much space do we leave, do you think?
0:24:10 > 0:24:15I'd leave as much as you can, just in case you move...
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Oh, look!
0:24:17 > 0:24:20In previous eras, our confectioners have the satisfaction
0:24:20 > 0:24:23of making each sugary dish from start to finish.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Now, sweet making was broken down into a series of simple tasks,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31and often divided along gender lines.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35I'm sure that women working in the starch rooms had targets to meet.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39They'd have an aim, wouldn't they, for the day? For sure.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Like female workers in the Victorian confectionery trade,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Diana and Cynthia have been allocated a job
0:24:47 > 0:24:50requiring manual dexterity -
0:24:50 > 0:24:53making precise indentations in the starch.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57There is an art to it, because it's not quite as easy as it looks.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Obviously, this misbehaves if you put
0:24:59 > 0:25:01just the wrong amount of pressure.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03You can see where the lightness of touch comes in.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Men were assigned the boiling jobs.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So Paul and Andy are making the fruit syrup
0:25:12 > 0:25:15with gum arabic, sugar, water, colours and flavours.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20We need some lime flavouring and some saffron colour.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Not very strong.- It's not citrusy.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29We'll have to use quite a bit of that.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32- Especially with this, because this'll hold the flavour.- It will.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35OK. Let's light the fire, get this on.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Imported fruit was still an expensive luxury.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43Sweets like these meant that even those on the most meagre budget
0:25:43 > 0:25:48could enjoy the exotic taste of lime and lemons all year round.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49- Are we ready?- Yeah.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51As we'll ever be.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Ooh, it's heavy.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56The confectioners need to get their rapidly cooling
0:25:56 > 0:25:59rose- and lime-flavoured mixture into the starch moulds.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02We're going to have to work fast, aren't we? Shall we spoon?
0:26:02 > 0:26:07But the skill of their Victorian counterparts is becoming clear.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11- Andy?- Mmm-hmm? - I'm frustrated on the first one.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12This is not productive.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15This is not going to make a single bit of profit.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17- This won't come out. - Mine's stuck now, look.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Yeah, so's mine.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21THEY LAUGH
0:26:21 > 0:26:25After half an hour, they've only filled one tray.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Looks like balls of snot.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31It's stuck to my scissors as well.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34It's a bit... I think you're going to need your imagination.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Perhaps they should have heeded Skuse,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40who warned that pastilles are "a little tedious".
0:26:40 > 0:26:42OK, shall we stack for drying?
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Our masterpieces of gum.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50There's some interesting shapes up here, Cynthia.
0:26:50 > 0:26:51Lovely, thank you.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58The division of tasks wasn't the only thing
0:26:58 > 0:27:00that had changed Victorian confectionery.
0:27:00 > 0:27:06New, steam-powered machinery had transformed the industry.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Ooh, she's noisy, isn't she? OK.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Let's pop them in.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14In the Tudor era, confectioners painstakingly applied
0:27:14 > 0:27:17layers of sugar by hand to make treats like comfits.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Now, mechanised rotating pans could coat up to three tonnes of sweets
0:27:23 > 0:27:27every week - more than 20 times what was possible by hand.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28- LOUD WHIRRING - Wow.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Wow!
0:27:34 > 0:27:37What do you think you'd think, coming in for the first time,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39seeing that this had been installed?
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Well, I would think, "My job is at risk.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47"This is going to deliver significant amounts of product."
0:27:47 > 0:27:48But do you not embrace it, thinking,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50"Wow, this is going to make my job so much easier"?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52I would, but I might lose some of my team well.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54This is going to do more than my team can do.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Let's have a try. Ooh!
0:28:01 > 0:28:02Quite chewy.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Sugar makes a difference, actually.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Mmm. The sugar'll bring the flavour out much more.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09That reminds me of a Rowntree's Fruit Pastille.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15The confectioners have only managed to make six jars of fruit pastilles.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Following their launch in 1881,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Rowntree's were churning out four tonnes of pastilles and gums
0:28:22 > 0:28:23every week to keep up with demand.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28As the bigger Quaker companies invested in machinery,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31smaller firms found it increasingly hard to compete.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40By the end of the Victorian period,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43small-scale confectioners like yourselves are struggling.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47The big boys are getting ever bigger, and, I'm afraid to say,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50we really are in a situation of innovate or die.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53One of the products that really does change the market at this point
0:28:53 > 0:28:56is toffee. You've heard of Mackintosh's of Halifax?
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Well, John and Violet Mackintosh, they became Mackintosh's of Halifax,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03they were a couple. He worked in a mill, she had a small-scale shop,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06and they developed a radically different type of toffee.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08It crossed over, really,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10the divide between American, caramel-style toffees
0:29:10 > 0:29:13and British, very brittle, hard toffee.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Now, we don't know what was in the recipe,
0:29:15 > 0:29:16it was always kept a secret.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18But one of the products that we do know
0:29:18 > 0:29:22that was revolutionising the confectionery industry at the time
0:29:22 > 0:29:24- was condensed milk. - Ooh, lovely.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27And it ends up being used in an wide variety of products,
0:29:27 > 0:29:29of which toffees are one.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31So, you're going to go away, Andy and Cynthia,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35and work on a toffee recipe to turn around your business.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42The condensed milk has been added to sugar, butter and water.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46- That'll do.- Ah, smells so good!
0:29:46 > 0:29:48And the flavouring isn't even in yet.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50It actually smells really buttery.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52That'll go darker as we go along.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59I'm afraid to say, however, you have a slightly more challenging role,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02which is try and cheapen your existing product
0:30:02 > 0:30:03so you can make more profit.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06I have fear and trepidation in my soul.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08This just feels like something I don't want to do already.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10This is plaster of Paris.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Paraffin wax, so similar to what you put into oil lamps.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16And this one is limestone.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19These are adulterants that we know people were using in sweets.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23Although that had been various acts passed, anti-adulteration acts,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26and the worst excesses have largely stopped,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28that doesn't mean people aren't still doing it.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33The Adulteration Of Food And Drink Act had been passed in 1860,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37partly prompted by an accidental mass poisoning in Bradford,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41when a confectioner's arsenic-laced lozenges killed 20 people,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43including young children.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47But it wasn't the last time arsenic turned up in sweet shops.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Here is an article from the Saint James's Gazette, 1904.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54"Sweets or poison?
0:30:54 > 0:30:57"One reason why children are deteriorating."
0:30:57 > 0:30:59- Oh, my goodness.- Yes.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01And look, here again, over and over again,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04"Cheap glucose contains arsenic."
0:31:04 > 0:31:05"It is a terrible evil.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08"The children, of course, buy where they can get the most
0:31:08 > 0:31:11"for their money, and get these goods, every line of which -
0:31:11 > 0:31:13"it's not saying too much -
0:31:13 > 0:31:16"is poisonous or dangerous and injurious to health."
0:31:16 > 0:31:18It feels a little bit like the Child Catcher, you know?
0:31:18 > 0:31:21You have these beautiful, glistening, colourful sweets
0:31:21 > 0:31:23in the window. "Come, taste my wares."
0:31:23 > 0:31:25- Deceiving.- Yeah.- Well, this is what you're going to do,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28because you need to turn out a product that will pass muster.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Because, at the end of the day, you won't be able to sell these things
0:31:31 > 0:31:34to customers if they don't taste and feel good.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39While Cynthia and Andy are pouring their quality toffee out to set...
0:31:40 > 0:31:43..Paul and Diana are making a cheaper version,
0:31:43 > 0:31:45adulterated with paraffin wax.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Paul, what do you think, does this look quite a lot?
0:31:50 > 0:31:52Let's have a look.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53No, it doesn't, actually.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56There's a lot of butter there. We could take that bit off.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Let's be brave, we need to make some money.
0:31:58 > 0:31:59That will go into our next batch.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02No-one will know, because we'll put lots of nice flavour in there.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05And they just say 7% will kill a child.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Oh, my God!
0:32:07 > 0:32:08It's brutal, isn't it?
0:32:11 > 0:32:14- It's in, it's in. - That's so much!
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Well, look, you can't see it,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22I don't think you'll be able to taste it. I wonder how far we go?
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- This is just the beginning... - Slippery slope, isn't it?
0:32:24 > 0:32:26- Slippery slope.- Yep.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30It's in there. The liquid looks great, exactly like toffee.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36There's a kind of an almost waxy texture to it.
0:32:38 > 0:32:39There we go.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47The Mackintoshes understood the power of packaging.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Every one of their toffees was individually wrapped
0:32:50 > 0:32:54and sold in beautiful tins, embellished with their name.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58Distinctive packaging helped differentiate their quality products
0:32:58 > 0:33:00from the less wholesome alternatives
0:33:00 > 0:33:03being produced by some small confectioners.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07I mean, just looking at them now,
0:33:07 > 0:33:09I want to put my hand in and unwrap them,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12so hopefully this will be the money-maker as well for us.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13Rainbow of toffee.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19But how does Paul and Diana's paraffin-wax-loaded toffee compare?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Could they sell this and get away with it?
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Try a bit of ours.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Smell, smells good.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29- Mmm. Just a little piece. - There's a little piece, yeah.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31OK.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Good grief.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38- It's got a hardness to it, hasn't it?- Mmm.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41- You wouldn't know.- You wouldn't know there's wax in this.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43It doesn't taste a lot different, does it?
0:33:43 > 0:33:46The texture is different.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48But only if you eat these two side-by-side.
0:33:48 > 0:33:49Yeah.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52The truth is, you probably wouldn't in a shop, would you?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55With the sugar, you can almost get away with anything,
0:33:55 > 0:33:56because you've got that sweetness.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59But we both did it with a sadness.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Kind of horrified, really, that it's possible.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05It's a finished, lovely tasting product.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09- Yeah, yeah.- With more yields, higher yields and higher profit.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12But, right now, would I do this at work?
0:34:12 > 0:34:13- Absolutely not! - Oh, no!
0:34:14 > 0:34:18Even if I was at the breaking point, no.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Smaller confectioners struggled as the big Quaker firms
0:34:23 > 0:34:27became trusted household brands, making reliable, safe products.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30And they had a captive market of sugar addicts.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35By 1900, every person in Britain was eating the equivalent
0:34:35 > 0:34:38of 33 bags of sugar a year.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41More than 60,000 people were working in confectionery.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46And the Quakers were even building pretty model villages
0:34:46 > 0:34:48to keep their staff content.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Cadbury's had already established Bournville outside Birmingham,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55and Rowntree's soon followed suit with New Earswick near York.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02These workers were needed to meet the explosion in demand
0:35:02 > 0:35:04for a new type of confectionery
0:35:04 > 0:35:07that would transform the trade in the 20th century.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10Look what she's got!
0:35:10 > 0:35:12My favourite thing in the world.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Right up your street.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17- I almost don't have to say anything.- No.
0:35:17 > 0:35:18By the early 20th century,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21a revolution has taken place in chocolate.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26Up to this point, really, most chocolate still consumed as a drink.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28But partly because, quite frankly,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30the eating chocolate that was on the market in the 19th century
0:35:30 > 0:35:31wasn't very good.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34It was still quite grainy, it didn't have that beautiful,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37smooth texture that we want from our chocolate.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41In the late 19th century, various technological developments happen
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and, as a result, we start to see the first types
0:35:44 > 0:35:46of beautiful eating chocolate.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48And one of the key types is milk chocolate.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53The first chocolate bar was invented by Fry's in 1847,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55who added cocoa butter.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00But it was Swiss confectioners who made the crucial addition
0:36:00 > 0:36:02of dried milk to develop milk chocolate.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07Rodolphe Lindt then invented a process called conching,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11that repeatedly kneads the chocolate to create a super-fine texture
0:36:11 > 0:36:12and melt-in-the-mouth taste.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Let's have a good look.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Finally then, finally we're working with...
0:36:21 > 0:36:23- Real chocolate. - Proper chocolate.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25Unlike the Tudor one, it is actually sweet.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28It is very, very sweet. So...
0:36:32 > 0:36:36Smaller confectioners bought in slabs of pre-prepared chocolate
0:36:36 > 0:36:37from the big factories.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41I got that in my hair!
0:36:44 > 0:36:45Lovely.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Chocolate was still an expensive luxury
0:36:50 > 0:36:52at the beginning of the 20th century,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56and fancy boxes, the Victorian equivalent of the selection box,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58were a lucrative product.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01They normally included a range of chocolate-covered fondants.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04How do I get some more flavour into this?
0:37:05 > 0:37:07So the confectioners were experimenting
0:37:07 > 0:37:09with some fashionable flavours.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Go gently with it.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16Ooh la la. It's tutti-frutti in it.
0:37:16 > 0:37:17- I quite like that.- Do you?
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Oh, it reminds me of Juicy Fruit chewing gum.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Exactly, it reminds me of my childhood.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23- Oh, no.- It's very, very strong.
0:37:26 > 0:37:27That's enough!
0:37:27 > 0:37:29THEY LAUGH
0:37:29 > 0:37:32To make enough fancy boxes will require our confectioners
0:37:32 > 0:37:36to work as a tight team, and break down each stage
0:37:36 > 0:37:39into tasks to speed up production.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Andy, if you're doing centres...
0:37:41 > 0:37:43Prepare the centres, OK.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45I'll temper the chocolate.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47- OK.- Cynthia, dipping.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Diana, we need our boxes, we need to have them looking beautiful,
0:37:51 > 0:37:53- don't they?- Yeah. - Packed and made to look gorgeous.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56- We've got a lot of boxes to fill, haven't we?- Yeah.- Ready?
0:37:59 > 0:38:01They look absolutely gorgeous.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04They smell strong, don't they, still?
0:38:04 > 0:38:05Tutti-frutti diamonds.
0:38:05 > 0:38:06Nice.
0:38:12 > 0:38:13Cynthia, I won't start tempering
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- until you've got your fillings just about ready.- Okey doke.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22So I've got about 15 minutes.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24- OK.- To get this tempered for you.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27- We'll give you ten. - I'll give you five to get enough.
0:38:27 > 0:38:28THEY LAUGH
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Chocolatier Paul is a master of tempering,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36as it's still an important part of his modern job.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Moving the chocolate around subtly controls the temperature
0:38:39 > 0:38:43as it cools, to produce silky smooth, glossy chocolate
0:38:43 > 0:38:45which snaps when you bite it.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Do you see it crystallising on the surface?
0:38:47 > 0:38:49- Yeah.- When I push it, it wrinkles.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51- See all the crystals? - It's not there yet, then?
0:38:51 > 0:38:54That's when it absolutely has to come off the slab.
0:38:54 > 0:38:55There we go.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Cynthia, you ready?
0:39:00 > 0:39:01- Ready.- On there.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06- Are you ready to go? - Yeah.- Excellent.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11Alongside their tutti-frutti diamonds,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14the confectioners have made a range of chocolates,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16including orange and rose fondants,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20coconut pralines and caramels for their fancy boxes.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27Do you mind if I come and dip with you, Cynthia?
0:39:27 > 0:39:28- Go for it.- Good.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31- Shall I start on these ones?- Yeah.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34I think this is a more efficient way of doing things, don't you?
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Rather than us all doing one task?
0:39:36 > 0:39:37Absolutely.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41It is nice to know that things are going step, step, step, step.
0:39:41 > 0:39:42- Yeah.- Very methodically.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Once you get into your stride, it's very efficient.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Imagine if you had ten times the amount of people doing this.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57- Good grief.- We'd fly through product, wouldn't we?
0:40:02 > 0:40:07There's not enough satisfaction or creativity in doing this.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11You're a cog in a wheel. I'm a chocolate dipper.
0:40:11 > 0:40:12That's my job, you know?
0:40:12 > 0:40:14Certainly my productivity has gone up,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16but my creativity has gone right down.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25I love the fact that these chocolates are being prettied up
0:40:25 > 0:40:27and dressed in a beautiful box.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29You know, this feeling that they are something special,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31they're not just to be sort of scoffed.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35My philosophy has always been that chocolate should be a treat.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38The sort of modern-day demonisation of sugar,
0:40:38 > 0:40:40and chocolate in particular, is misplaced,
0:40:40 > 0:40:42because chocolate was never meant to be something
0:40:42 > 0:40:44you ate every single day.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Fancy boxes were items to be saved up for,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50with gifts such as cigarette cases and watches
0:40:50 > 0:40:53nestled between the handmade chocolates.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54No eating the sweets on the job, either.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56- No.- No time.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01In 1904, the cost of a top range box was 21 shillings,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05equivalent to the weekly average food budget for a working family.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09We have some lovely coconut pralines down here as well, girls.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11OK.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15Cadbury's now made over 450 different fancy boxes,
0:41:15 > 0:41:21with wonderfully romantic names such as Peach Oh Mine and Dorothy.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23This would have been hard work, though, wouldn't it?
0:41:23 > 0:41:25You know, it's quite backbreaking.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27- It's constant, isn't it? - Yeah, nonstop.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29It doesn't end, doesn't stop.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35But the booming confectionery industry was thrown into chaos
0:41:35 > 0:41:38when Europe erupted into war in 1914.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50As the conflict spread,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53the continent's beet fields and refineries were destroyed...
0:41:54 > 0:41:57..and Britain's supply of sugar was drastically reduced.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01Tate's business lost 80% of their imports.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04As the shortages kicked in,
0:42:04 > 0:42:06companies slashed their product ranges,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09and chocolate became more precious than ever.
0:42:12 > 0:42:18So, Christmas of 1914, the Sheriff of York and the mayor
0:42:18 > 0:42:22sent thousands of chocolate boxes to the young men on the front line,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25to just kind of try and boost their morale
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and just send them a little something from home.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32The young men are really touched by this.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34Paul, perhaps you could read this one.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38"Dear sirs, undoubtedly you will be more than surprised
0:42:38 > 0:42:41"at receiving a few lines from me,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45"but I feel that I ought to send my very best thanks
0:42:45 > 0:42:47"for the nice box of chocolates
0:42:47 > 0:42:51"which I received so unexpectedly yesterday morning."
0:42:51 > 0:42:53And what a box of chocolates has done...
0:42:53 > 0:42:57For people to write back in those circumstances is...
0:42:57 > 0:42:59- touching, isn't it? - Absolutely.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04"I should have liked to have spent Christmas at home with my parents."
0:43:04 > 0:43:06- Oh.- I know.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08"But duty before pleasure.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13"I shall prize the box etc as long as God spares me.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17"One never knows what a day brings forth.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19"I'm proud to be able to say that I'm a York lad
0:43:19 > 0:43:23"and I'm looking forward to a speedy termination of this cruel war."
0:43:26 > 0:43:29"Your humble servant, Henry Bailey."
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Do you know that letter,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38it speaks of a young man who doesn't actually think he's coming home.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41- It is.- He sounds really young.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43He sounds like he's seen some horrific...
0:43:43 > 0:43:47We know that he died shortly after this.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51He was killed in active duty, so he never made it back to York.
0:44:06 > 0:44:07By the end of the war,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10over half the men working for Cadbury's at Bournville
0:44:10 > 0:44:11had been called up,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14and many of the companies' factories requisitioned for war work.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20But with peace came a gradual return to normality.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28By the 1920s, beet sugar was now being produced in Britain
0:44:28 > 0:44:31and demand for confectionery was growing again.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37The big brands increasingly turned to a new form of advertising
0:44:37 > 0:44:38to give them the edge.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45ADVERT: You can always fill the gap with tuppeny bars of York Milk.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47THEY LAUGH
0:44:49 > 0:44:51HORN BEEPS
0:44:54 > 0:44:57What an escape!
0:44:57 > 0:44:58THEY LAUGH
0:44:58 > 0:45:01- It's so bizarre, isn't it? - But cute.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05The advert that we've just watched is significant for many reasons,
0:45:05 > 0:45:10not least of all the fact that this is the first animated advert
0:45:10 > 0:45:12with sound ever made.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15That's quite extraordinary, when you think it's for a chocolate bar.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18So this was Rowntree's attempt at competing with Cadbury's,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21who were their biggest rivals at the time.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24Did you notice when they present the bar
0:45:24 > 0:45:27and they use it as a bridge and they're saying it fills the gap?
0:45:27 > 0:45:31Yeah, so they're introducing that idea of using the bar
0:45:31 > 0:45:34for elevenses or even to replace a meal.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36There's an introduction of, you know,
0:45:36 > 0:45:40it is OK to eat again before lunch.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42- Exactly.- And it's OK to eat chocolate.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45- Have a snack and a treat. - Before lunch, you know?
0:45:45 > 0:45:48The more chocolate you eat, the more you want it.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Sugar's such a powerful, addictive substance,
0:45:51 > 0:45:54you've just created a whole industry for yourself, and it's brilliant.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58You're smiling all the way to the bank.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02British spending on confectionery doubled in this period.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Crucial to chocolate's success was the development
0:46:04 > 0:46:07of cheaper treats and memorable brands for the mass market.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12Oooh, ice cream?
0:46:12 > 0:46:14Stop me and buy one.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16We're now in the 1930s -
0:46:16 > 0:46:18boom time for chocolate confectionery -
0:46:18 > 0:46:21and a lot of the household names that we know and love
0:46:21 > 0:46:23in the 21st century are introduced.
0:46:23 > 0:46:24- Wow.- What do you reckon?
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Aero, I love a bit of Aero!
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Rollos, oh.
0:46:29 > 0:46:30Flake.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32Is that right, it was that early, Flake?
0:46:32 > 0:46:34- Blimey.- Wow.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36One of the really lovely things about this period
0:46:36 > 0:46:38is the level of innovation,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41and it's innovation from the big manufacturers.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44They work out that you can sell a new type of bar,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47a bar called a combination bar.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Now, combination bars are exactly what you think they are.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57So there's a combination of nougat or toffee or biscuit,
0:46:57 > 0:46:59whatever it is, with chocolate.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02The secret bit is that the stuff inside is cheaper
0:47:02 > 0:47:04- than what's outside. - Cheaper than chocolate, right.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07So, of course, you can sell them for a lot less money.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09These bars opened up a whole new market
0:47:09 > 0:47:11for the big confectionery firms.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15A Kit Kat introduced in 1937 sold for tuppence,
0:47:15 > 0:47:17half the price of a Dairy Milk.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19By the end of the 1930s,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Britons were eating the equivalent
0:47:21 > 0:47:24of three small bars of chocolate every week.
0:47:24 > 0:47:25Everyone can have chocolate.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29The child on the street, the worker in the factory,
0:47:29 > 0:47:31the domestic servant who's on a day off.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35This is really the democratisation of chocolate.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37So is this going to hit our sweetie sales, then?
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Yeah. Yeah.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42As factories get bigger and bigger and bigger,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44and the technology increases,
0:47:44 > 0:47:47you're really looking at something that you just, in terms of scale,
0:47:47 > 0:47:51sheer scale, thousands, millions of bars being produced,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54and from your point of view, well...
0:47:54 > 0:47:56- No way, no way could keep up with that.- No.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59The ability of the big confectionery firms to innovate,
0:47:59 > 0:48:03to mass-produce cheap chocolate and to advertise it everywhere
0:48:03 > 0:48:06made them impossible to compete with.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Increasingly, small confectioners' shelves
0:48:08 > 0:48:11were filled with products made by others.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17But, at certain times of the year,
0:48:17 > 0:48:22there was still real demand for beautiful handmade treats.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26- Diana...- Oh, big boy! - Look at the size of my egg!
0:48:26 > 0:48:28- I say.- How fantastic is that?
0:48:28 > 0:48:30That's like a bomb.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32Shall we unclip it and see the inside?
0:48:32 > 0:48:34- And see, yeah.- In the window, this kind of just sets us apart from
0:48:34 > 0:48:36everybody else, doesn't it?
0:48:36 > 0:48:38I tell you what? I hold one side, if you kind of unclip.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Oh, it'll lift off. Oooh.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43Gives us a nice big canvas to work on, doesn't it?
0:48:43 > 0:48:45Yeah, we can do all sorts on the outside, can't we?
0:48:45 > 0:48:46Love it!
0:48:47 > 0:48:50Decorated eggs at Easter are a centuries-old tradition,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52linked to the Christian Church.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56They were painted and turned into beautiful gifts for children
0:48:56 > 0:48:58after the privations of Lent.
0:49:02 > 0:49:03I like that...
0:49:08 > 0:49:09Look at that!
0:49:09 > 0:49:12OK, you start swirling right to the edge.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15It's a big responsibility for a little shop,
0:49:15 > 0:49:17in terms of raw materials, time...
0:49:17 > 0:49:21- It is.- Look at the size of it. - This is our draw.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24The first chocolate eggs appeared in 1873,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26designed by Fry's,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30and by the 1930s, all of the big Quaker firms had their own ranges -
0:49:30 > 0:49:34from fancy eggs which were cardboard with treats inside,
0:49:34 > 0:49:37to hollow milk and dark chocolate versions,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40elaborately iced and often coming with a novelty gift.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44And they didn't stop at eggs.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48- This fills my heart with joy. - It does.
0:49:48 > 0:49:49HE GASPS
0:49:49 > 0:49:53That is an epic and very, very grand elephant, isn't it?
0:49:53 > 0:49:56These are very different, aren't they? An elephant, for Easter?
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Yeah, yeah. Although we do see chocolate fish,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01we don't see them at Easter time, do we?
0:50:01 > 0:50:04- I'm not sure about an Eastery bear. - An Easter bear...
0:50:04 > 0:50:07This is really scary - frightening baby.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09It's a little bit Chucky.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12Do you know what's even worse, when you see it in 3D, look at that.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14- She's beautifully made, but... - That's scary.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18It's like a traditional doll, dolly, isn't it?
0:50:18 > 0:50:21The big Quaker companies made chocolate synonymous with Easter,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23so our confectioners are working
0:50:23 > 0:50:26on their own spectacular window display
0:50:26 > 0:50:28to draw customers into their shop.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30I've never worked with metal moulds before,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32I've only worked with polycarbonate moulds,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35so it will be interesting to see what a difference it makes,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38if any, to the way things turn out.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40We're going to take it up to the top.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42- Say when.- When.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45I'm just going to move it around, so that the chocolate...
0:50:47 > 0:50:51It takes some highly skilled jiggling of the mould to completely cover it
0:50:51 > 0:50:56in chocolate, or their perfect centrepiece will be ruined.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57Clip!
0:50:58 > 0:50:59This will keep us fit.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02THEY LAUGH
0:51:02 > 0:51:05- Your turn.- Thank you. - You're very welcome.
0:51:05 > 0:51:06It certainly is a beast.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11I wouldn't like to meet the bird that laid this!
0:51:13 > 0:51:14This has to work, it has to.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17This is the thing I have butterflies in my tummy about.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21I'm not going to sleep tonight.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23I'm really nervous about tomorrow.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35It's their final day as Victorian confectioners,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38and the enormous Easter egg centrepiece for their shop window
0:51:38 > 0:51:40has been drying overnight.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44- It's the big reveal. - I'm actually quite nervous.
0:51:44 > 0:51:45Let's lift her forward.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Do you think we should give her a little tap?
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Give her a little tap.
0:51:49 > 0:51:50- Shall we unclip?- Yeah.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54OK. Ooh, it moved, without...
0:51:55 > 0:51:56Pop a knife in.
0:51:58 > 0:51:59Ooh.
0:52:00 > 0:52:01Shall we do it?
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Ooh, it's a bit scuffy.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09That's just some scratches on the mould itself, isn't it?
0:52:09 > 0:52:13- Yeah. - But, it's not cracked, it's shiny.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17We can hear a pin drop.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21- OK. - Let's do half and half, towards us.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23- Yeah.- Ooh.- Oooh. - METAL CLANGS
0:52:29 > 0:52:31- Ooh.- Ooh.
0:52:31 > 0:52:32- Can you feel the static?- Yeah.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38But will the more unusual chocolate shapes come out of the moulds?
0:52:41 > 0:52:44If this elephant comes out in one piece, I'll be made up.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49- Oh!- Oh!
0:52:49 > 0:52:50Man!
0:52:54 > 0:52:57No. Andy will be distraught.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01Come on, please work, please work, come on.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03- Ooh!- Nice!
0:53:03 > 0:53:06- Yes, yes, yes. - Oh, my God, wow.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08- Look at that. - Brilliant. Look at that.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10That's my favourite piece so far.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12- Oh, my goodness. - Really successful.
0:53:18 > 0:53:23I've never piped with chocolate, and it behaves completely differently.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26You don't have time, that's the thing with piping chocolate,
0:53:26 > 0:53:29you don't have time. Just when you're getting into your flow,
0:53:29 > 0:53:31it sets up and you have to start again.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33Good job, team.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Good. Are you sure?
0:53:37 > 0:53:38Great, brilliant.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47After four days of backbreaking work,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49it's time to finally stock their shop.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54This has been the most productive period.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58It's been the busiest, in terms of volume,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02how much product we have to get out of every single batch.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05We haven't had two minutes to sit down.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07The fish are great, aren't they?
0:54:07 > 0:54:09What about that?
0:54:10 > 0:54:12There's your lovely bear.
0:54:23 > 0:54:24How's it looking, Cynthia?
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Is it going to lie on its back in the straw?
0:54:41 > 0:54:42Doesn't it look amazing?
0:54:42 > 0:54:45You can imagine that once we open those doors,
0:54:45 > 0:54:49people are going to come in and want to peer around.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51BELL RINGS
0:54:51 > 0:54:53- Gosh!- Hello. - Hello.- Wow.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56- You did make a lot.- Look at all these delights, you've been busy.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00- Pastilles?- Fruit pastilles! - Fruit pastilles.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03That's really yummy.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Ooh, I like the texture.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10Very fruity.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12- Very chewy, isn't it? - So intense, as well.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Let's get this big egg in the window.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18If you grab the base for me, Annie, pop that in the window,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20and we'll position it facing out.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26That's spectacular, isn't it? It's such a statement there.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27- That will draw people in.- Yeah.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36Mass production dramatically reduced the cost of confectionery.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40By 1935, 96% of the population could now afford
0:55:40 > 0:55:42to treat themselves to sweets.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47Well, it looks as though your Easter customers have arrived,
0:55:47 > 0:55:49so we shall leave you to it.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51Thank you.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Hello, come on in!
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Hope you've brought lots of money.
0:55:56 > 0:55:57We have some lovely sweets here.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Diana, can we have a little bag of lemony sweets please?
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Who else has money to spend?
0:56:04 > 0:56:06Two shillings. There you go.
0:56:06 > 0:56:07Strawberry sweets.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10Could we have another bag of strawberry sweets please, Diana?
0:56:10 > 0:56:12- Yeah.- Who loves chocolate?
0:56:14 > 0:56:16Oh, we've got a shop full of chocolate lovers.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Does anybody want any Easter eggs?
0:56:19 > 0:56:21We have small eggs, look.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Yellow, green, red...
0:56:24 > 0:56:25TILL RINGS
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Guys, there's an Easter egg hunt!
0:56:28 > 0:56:30CHEERING
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Our confectioners have experienced a revolution in their trade,
0:56:41 > 0:56:44from highly skilled servants in the Tudor kitchen,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47to production line workers of the 20th century.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Dramatically different.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52Went through a high, you were a celebrity chef, really,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56in the Georgian period, and now at the end of this stage,
0:56:56 > 0:56:59we are at the bottom. That's quite humbling.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01It's quite shocking.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07I think it's reenergised me, doing all that chocolate work,
0:57:07 > 0:57:10and making all those hard-boiled candies.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14Actually getting your hands dirty and getting down to it again,
0:57:14 > 0:57:16it was brilliant, I really enjoyed it.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21You followed, you know, the life of a confectioner through every stage,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24and I have a lot of empathy for them, and a lot of admiration.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29I feel really privileged to do the job I do.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35Today, our modern confectioners are part of a renaissance
0:57:35 > 0:57:38in beautiful handmade confectionery,
0:57:38 > 0:57:41an echo of the early history of their trade.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44There is still a place for mass-produced confectionery
0:57:44 > 0:57:46and there is still a place for the artisan,
0:57:46 > 0:57:49so in a lot of ways, we've come together.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Everybody has the choice, though, and that's the difference.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55The mass confectionery of this period,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58it gave everybody the chance to try the things
0:57:58 > 0:58:00that were once the preserve of the rich.