- 5 hours ago
Inside the Factory - Season 10 Episode 1 -
Gingerbread
Gingerbread
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Oh, Christmas. Favourite time of the year.
00:03I've got to ask, what are you putting in the kids' stockings this year?
00:06Because it's chocolate coins, oranges, lump of coal.
00:09What a treat. Yes.
00:10How about a little bit of gingerbread?
00:13Wow, what a coincidence, because we are in Market Drayton, the home of gingerbread.
00:18It's like it was planned.
00:20Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
00:21Come on. You paid for them.
00:24No.
00:24What a treat.
00:25It's said they've been making gingerbread in the Shropshire town of Market Drayton for hundreds of years.
00:39Everywhere you go, you're reminded of their most famous exports.
00:44And here we are at a gingerbread factory that churns out tons of the sweet stuff.
00:49In fact, they make four million biscuits every year.
00:52Let's find out how they do it.
00:55Is that all right for sound?
00:58This is a factory full of festive cheer.
01:02Can I have a good one?
01:03Absolutely.
01:04That's the best part for me.
01:07And tonight, we're joining these busy elves
01:10in a grotto of gingerbread gems.
01:16Nicely sweating.
01:19A magical place of sugar and spice
01:22and all things nice.
01:25That looks like raspberry sauce on ice cream.
01:27Yeah, it's called Christmas red.
01:30And for guaranteed white Christmas...
01:33Oh, wow.
01:35...I'm learning how to make snow indoors.
01:39That is one powerful machine.
01:40And Ruth settles in for a special message from history for peace on earth.
01:48This is what Christmas in space looks like.
01:52This factory makes over 100,000 gingerbread biscuits every week on the run-up to Christmas.
01:59And today, we're going to help them.
02:00Welcome to Inside the Christmas Factory.
02:03It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
02:24Everywhere you go.
02:31Take a look at the five and ten.
02:34It's glistening once again.
02:36Candy canes and silver lanes that glow.
02:41Oh, look at that.
02:43Oh, that smells like Christmas joy.
02:44Can you smell that?
02:45Lovely bit of ginger.
02:47Mmm.
02:49Oh, our name's on the board.
02:51Oh, look.
02:59Oh, no.
03:00Look at this.
03:00Those are cute, aren't they?
03:01These are a little work of art, these.
03:03Oh, wow, look at that.
03:04These are snowflakes.
03:05It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
03:10Right, well, we could spend all day doing this, just looking at ginger biscuits, but we've got things to do.
03:16I'm going to go that way.
03:17Which way are you going?
03:18I'm going to go that way.
03:18So it's the wall.
03:19To that wall.
03:20Yeah.
03:20Right.
03:20Just go on there.
03:21Yeah, just film Cherry just walking.
03:24Oh, look at it.
03:31Oh, hey, you know, don't worry about that.
03:33We're just trying to make a Christmas TV show here.
03:35You nearly took me out.
03:38This is the original Biscuit Bakers factory, and it is busy in here.
03:44It's like Santa's workshop.
03:45Go on, carry on.
03:49They're on the final push to meet the Christmas rush.
03:52Producing 20,000 iced gingerbread biscuits every day.
03:58Ready to fill stockings across the country.
04:06And I'm going to be following these today.
04:09The best seller, the Santas.
04:12And don't forget the reindeer.
04:13Oh, I'm not forgetting the reindeer.
04:16Merry Christmas.
04:17Merry Christmas, everyone.
04:20Merry Christmas.
04:21You were too late.
04:22You can't get the stuff these days.
04:26Merry Christmas.
04:36I'm kicking things off by heading outside to ingredients intake with managing director,
04:42Gemma Williams.
04:45Hello.
04:46Nice to meet you.
04:47Merry Christmas.
04:48Merry Christmas to you too.
04:49Look at this.
04:52Santa has come early.
04:54And he's bringing one of our most crucial ingredients, the ground ginger.
04:58Come on, get us unloaded.
05:00Oh, I like that.
05:01Assertive.
05:03Why do you use ground ginger?
05:05Ground ginger packs a real punch.
05:07It leaves a lovely warming taste in the mouth.
05:10So is that the same ground ginger that I'd have in the cupboard at home?
05:13Yes.
05:13And let me show you.
05:14I've got some right here for you.
05:16Oh, yeah.
05:16There you go.
05:17And that's what we use.
05:20Oh, yeah.
05:21That smells like Christmas.
05:25And as the ginger is loaded into the factory, by the miracle of Christmas telly...
05:29Here we go.
05:35We've got our urnets on.
05:38This is where the start of the magic happens.
05:40Yeah.
05:40The very first stage is making the gingerbread dough.
05:43So in the bowl at the moment, you've got a demerara sugar and you've got a granulated sugar.
05:47Why two different ones?
05:48So the granulated sugar is more of a neutral, sweet flavour.
05:52Right.
05:52The demerara sugar, it brings it a slightly more caramelised taste.
05:56Yeah.
05:56It's got that extra depth and colour there as well.
05:59Once we've got the sugars in, we need to add a fat to it.
06:01So we use a shortening, which we've got a copy of it here.
06:05Shortening?
06:05Yes.
06:05Right, okay.
06:06So this is a mix of vegetable oils.
06:08So your home, you were making them with the kids or whatever, it would be butter or marge?
06:12We tend to tend away from butter.
06:14We find a lot of people have dairy allergies now.
06:17And so if you'd like to do the honours and tip it in, that would be fantastic.
06:20I'd love to.
06:21I'd love to.
06:22Look at that.
06:23What this basically does is when the biscuit's been baked and cooled, it does make it a bit
06:28more of a softer texture for it.
06:30So what we need to do at this stage is then blend these together.
06:33Okay.
06:39Lovely.
06:41That's what we're paying our licence fee for.
06:43This is what we want.
06:45Mixing on the telly.
06:49Don't worry.
06:50Everything's better with a bit of Christmas music.
06:54In go the rest of the ingredients.
06:57By a curb of soda.
06:58That helps the biscuit rise and it also gives it that nice sort of texture.
07:03A secret spice.
07:05Can we smell it?
07:06Oh, I don't know what it is, but that definitely gets the nostrils going.
07:12Definitely does.
07:12Love that.
07:13That can go in.
07:15And finally, there'd be no gingerbread Santas without the ground ginger.
07:19I can't get enough of that.
07:24It comes from India and contains a compound called gingerol that activates heat receptors
07:30on our tongs, literally tickling our taste buds.
07:35Already, I want to get a finger in there.
07:37And just give it...
07:39Oh, love that.
07:40Wait till it's baked.
07:41Right, okay.
07:42It'll be a lot nicer.
07:42All right, then.
07:49Well, I'll do that one.
07:51Oh, blimey, you made that look like it would lie.
07:55Right, on there, like that.
07:56Oh, yes.
08:00Gingerbread has been a treat since medieval times.
08:03It's even mentioned in Shakespeare and was often bought at furs and eaten for good luck.
08:10Let's hope it brings me some today.
08:12I'm baking, I'm cooking, I'm making.
08:17Next in, a mix of water and mouth-watering golden syrup.
08:24Gorgeous.
08:25Absolutely gorgeous.
08:27What does the golden syrup add?
08:29It's that luxury sort of taste you get from it.
08:31It's like those childhood memories.
08:33You know, at school, you used to make, like, flapjacks and gingerbread men.
08:36You'd have the golden syrup there.
08:38Love that.
08:41Gemma's got special childhood memories of gingerbread.
08:45Her mum and dad started the company when she was just a kid.
08:49So, my parents had a bakery to begin with.
08:51So, back in those days, as well as gingerbread, we made cakes, we made breads,
08:56we made pasties and all those things.
08:58I'll just give you some pictures over here.
09:00Who's this little rapscallion?
09:01Look at that.
09:02Oh, my days.
09:04Is that you, Diva?
09:04Back in the days.
09:05Oh.
09:06Are they ginger?
09:07They are large gingerbread sheep.
09:09That was used as a lovely marketing prop there.
09:12Oh, I love that.
09:13And what started as a small family business, no employs over 70 people.
09:30Right, that's all mixed up now, Gemma.
09:33What we need to do now is actually store it in the chiller for 24 hours.
09:36Because if you try and use it straight away, it's too soft and crumbly.
09:40Right.
09:40It also helps bring out the flavour of the spices.
09:43It infuses more deeply in it.
09:45Send them off.
09:46Speaking of chiller, you met Cherry earlier, didn't you?
09:50I met Cherry.
09:50She's gone to the biggest ever chill room you've ever seen.
09:55Let's go and get a cup of tea.
09:56For some lucky people, Christmas means a getaway to snowy alpine slopes.
10:23But this is inside the factory.
10:25So, no, I'm not in St. Moritz.
10:27I'm in a giant snow factory in Milton Keynes.
10:34This is the snow zone, one of Europe's largest indoor ski centres.
10:42It's a winter paradise all year round.
10:46But how did they create the Alps slap bang in the middle of Milton Keynes?
10:52How do you think they make the snow for that slope?
10:58I think they're a little bit too plastic.
11:00How would you describe it?
11:02It's not like the snow that you'd get when it actually snows.
11:04What do you think it's made of?
11:06Ice, I guess.
11:08I don't know.
11:08It feels icy, but then to look at and to ski down...
11:12It feels like snow when you see it.
11:13It feels like snow?
11:14Yeah.
11:16To unlock the mystery of making snow indoors, it's the centre's head of snow.
11:22Matt!
11:23Refrigeration engineer, Matt McKenzie.
11:26Nice to meet you.
11:27How do you make an alpine mountain in the middle of Milton Keynes?
11:32So we've got massive metal plates that run 170 metres from top to bottom.
11:37Then on top of that, we have an 8 centimetre block of ice.
11:41Wow.
11:42Underneath the slab of ice, to keep it nice and cold, we've got pipes with glycol, which is an antifreeze.
11:49Oh, I see.
11:50So it keeps it really cold all the way through the block of ice.
11:52Then on top of that, we have 6 centimetres of snow.
11:55So you've got the opposite of underfloor heating, you've got underfloor cooling.
11:59Correct.
12:01When the centre was constructed in 2000, pipes were laid, through which the antifreeze glycol runs,
12:09chilled at minus 10 degrees Celsius to prevent the ice and snow above from melting.
12:16And thick insulated walls keep this giant room at a chilly minus 4 degrees.
12:22And then two to three times a week, we make snow.
12:27So we're continuously getting rid of old, new, old, new, and then we've got a lovely new snow for the slope.
12:37But how do they make the snow?
12:39All is revealed when the centre closes, and Matt and his team get ready for a night of snowfall.
12:48First job, smoothing the slope with a snowplough called a pieced basher,
12:53which pushes dirty snow into heated pits, where it melts away into the drainage system.
12:59Then it's time for Matt and me to take a look at his pride and joy.
13:08Oh, it's quite a hike, isn't it? It's got to be worth it.
13:11The snow cannon.
13:12How does this machine produce snow?
13:17So we push water through the hose at a high pressure.
13:21We chill this water to zero degrees.
13:24It comes out of these little nozzles, just like an aerosol, and they're little tiny balls.
13:30And as they travel through the air, just before they hit the ground,
13:33they turn into little crystals, and that's what makes our snow.
13:36So I assumed that this snow would have lots of chemicals in it.
13:40No.
13:40But it's just water?
13:40Completely natural.
13:42Can I turn her on?
13:43Let's do it.
13:44Press this one.
13:46She's gone green, but we'd better step away.
13:48OK, come on. Run away.
13:55For the cannon to create a snowy landscape,
13:58the air temperature is lowered to a chilly minus 10 degrees Celsius.
14:05I mean, look at it.
14:07That is one powerful machine.
14:10As the water meets the freezing air, it creates a man-made blizzard.
14:16She's only been on for a few minutes, and already it's like a winter wonderland.
14:20It's so beautiful.
14:21Oh, it's fantastic, isn't it?
14:23How is it different to the snow on the mountains outside?
14:26Because outside droplets come from the clouds.
14:29They turn into a beautiful snowflake, which looks similar to this.
14:33Beautiful.
14:34Look at it up close.
14:35Isn't that gorgeous?
14:36And then inside here, the snow we make, it comes out like this.
14:42So it's little droplets.
14:44So instead of being a snowflake, it's like a little snowboard.
14:46When it snows outside, ice crystals fall through the freezing air, gathering more water droplets,
14:56which frees to form the snowflake's beautiful hexagonal structure.
15:03But here, the cannon creates snow almost instantly, producing frozen droplets that are more solid than a natural flake,
15:13giving the piste a denser surface for skiing.
15:16You're actually starting to look a bit like a snowman.
15:20I am.
15:21Should we give that a chance to do its thing?
15:23Yeah.
15:24All right, let's go more.
15:24Let's go.
15:25The weather outside is frightful.
15:30The snow cannon works away throughout the night,
15:33taking six hours to produce three tons of snow.
15:40Let it snow, snow, snow.
15:43Let it snow, let it snow.
15:46Then the pieced basher comes out again to smooth it all over.
15:52And hey, presto.
15:56Our ski slope has been transformed.
16:00Oh, wow.
16:03It's like Christmas morning.
16:05It's great, doesn't it?
16:06It's perfect.
16:08Isn't that stunning?
16:09Is that it now?
16:11Is it finished?
16:11Is it ready?
16:12Yeah, really happy with that.
16:13Can I be the first person to ski on this slope?
16:15Yeah.
16:16No way.
16:16Will you come with me?
16:18Well, I can't actually ski.
16:20What?
16:21You don't ski?
16:22I don't ski, no.
16:23But my job is to make the snow for you skiers and snowboarders.
16:26We're lucky to have you.
16:27You're a Christmas gift.
16:29I may not make it to the Swiss slopes this Christmas, but skiing on brand new snow is a fabulous first for me.
16:46Whee!
16:48There she goes.
16:49Always on the piste.
16:51One sleep to go, I'm getting that buzz.
16:59This candy-coated Christmas feels like it should.
17:04And bye, bye, bye, bye, Vince sings the love.
17:06Morning.
17:07Morning.
17:08Morning.
17:10Back in Market Drayton, I'm having a lovely chilled out time too.
17:15I'll have to do it on here.
17:16Who's it to, love?
17:17Honey.
17:18With me new factory friends.
17:21We can do this on Christmas episodes, you see.
17:24It's a bit more relaxed.
17:26Merry Christmas as well, because...
17:28Can I have a bug on us?
17:29Absolutely.
17:30That's the best part for me.
17:32There you are.
17:33Doing the bats, but I'll say...
17:34I'm not a machine.
17:40Tell you what, you don't get this without on deck.
17:43They won't do this.
17:44While I'm distracting the ladies in the decorating room,
17:51Gemma's grafting,
17:53feeding the gingerbread paste into a machine called a sheeter.
17:57The door passes between two rollers,
18:00forming sheets one centimetres thick
18:02that are cut ready to make the gingerbread shapes.
18:07I'd better catch her up.
18:08You all right, Gemma?
18:11You all right?
18:12Yeah, all good.
18:13You come to see the next stage?
18:14Yes, I am, yeah.
18:15So, gingerbread dough's been cut into sheets,
18:17which gives a nice flat surface.
18:19Yeah.
18:19And now we're going to create them into Santas.
18:21OK.
18:21So, are you ready to work?
18:23I'm going to pass you some trays in a minute.
18:25Yes, I am.
18:26OK, wonderful.
18:27Let's get started.
18:27Here they come.
18:41Oh, yes.
18:42Merry Christmas, everybody.
18:45There you go.
18:46Get on there, you.
18:49This is where I feel pressure here, Gemma,
18:51because as soon as they start, that's it.
18:52They're not stopping, eh?
18:53They're not stopping.
18:54This is the first time I've seen the actual Santas coming out.
18:58Weirdly, I know it's because they're not baked yet,
19:00they look quite rough, Gemma.
19:02Yeah, when they come through,
19:03they will start looking a bit like that,
19:05but as it bakes, they create a smooth shape.
19:08Fun festive fact for you.
19:10In Elizabethan times,
19:12gingerbread was believed to cure flatulence.
19:17Could come in handy after the sprouts on Christmas Day.
19:19So, they're going in, sheets on top,
19:25they're coming out, magic little Santas.
19:27How is that actually happening?
19:29Just lift this up.
19:30Oh.
19:31So, as you can see, we've got a roller there
19:34that's going to the machine.
19:35So, the paste is coming through,
19:36travelling on the rollers underneath it,
19:38so it's turning round.
19:39You've got the imprint of the Santa,
19:41which then cuts out the Santa shape.
19:43And that can just be taken in and out,
19:45depending on the time of year.
19:46Yeah, absolutely.
19:47If you're doing anything else round Halloween, Christmas, whatever.
19:50We've got some different rollers here.
19:52So, these are the reindeers.
19:53Oh, yeah.
19:54These are little antlers.
19:56Ears.
19:57Face.
20:01All right.
20:02Off to the oven.
20:08240 Santas are loaded onto baking trays
20:11and wheeled to one of two special ovens.
20:17He's checking his wife.
20:19Inside, the racks rotate
20:20to give the gingerbread an even bathe.
20:25So, there's Santa.
20:27Where's his reindeers?
20:28Those are in that oven over there.
20:30Ah, reindeers are in that oven.
20:32Santa's in there.
20:33For anyone just joining us,
20:35especially the kids,
20:37we're not slow-roasting Santa and his reindeers.
20:40Just putting that out there.
20:41Don't want anyone having nightmares.
20:45After 25 minutes at 163 degrees Celsius...
20:50..the baked Santas are ready to come out into the cold.
20:58Here they are.
21:01Now, I've been here a while.
21:03Yeah?
21:04I've been thinking it.
21:05I've not said it out loud.
21:06Can I have a taste?
21:07Absolutely.
21:08Go for it.
21:12Merry Christmas.
21:15Oh, I love that.
21:16Oh, they're nice and soft
21:17because they've just come out of the oven.
21:18Get on that.
21:21Oh.
21:26Soft with a little bit of a crunch round the edge.
21:29Oh, that's good.
21:30You get, like, a smooth sort of velvetness.
21:32Oh, yeah.
21:33That is from the golden syrup.
21:34And you're just the right amount of eating that.
21:36Are you still here?
21:41Go and film something.
21:42Who wants one?
21:44Go on.
21:45That's your wages for today.
21:47Yeah.
21:47Every day, 20,000 gingerbread figures
21:56are wheeled through here to cool.
21:59And Gemma and I...
22:01There we go.
22:02Perfect.
22:03..have the latest batch.
22:05So the next thing we need to do
22:06is take the biscuits off the baking trays
22:09and put them onto a decorating tray.
22:12Gemma, I've got to be honest.
22:14You were talking then.
22:15I were totally distracted by that poster with them hands on.
22:19I've never been in a factory
22:20where we have to do hand stretches.
22:21Why is that?
22:22Well, it's when you're piping and icing all day.
22:24Yeah.
22:25It can be quite tough on your hands.
22:26So it's good to stretch your fingers out a little bit
22:28so that it's not too much pressure on your hands.
22:31What a job that is, being a hand-stretching model.
22:34Well, actually, it's one of our employees here
22:36that did it for us.
22:38It's Bev's.
22:38Look at yours.
22:40Bev?
22:41Bev?
22:42I'm here.
22:43Get your hands down here.
22:45Get your hands down here.
22:47Not just a pretty face.
22:48Right.
22:50Talk us through these, then.
22:51Right.
22:52This one's really good.
22:53Do you want to pray with me?
22:54Yes, I do.
22:57Spread your fingers.
22:58Yeah.
22:58And then go like that,
22:59and that's a really good stretch.
23:01Ooh.
23:01When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas Eve
23:10You promised me Broadway was waiting for me
23:13You were handsome
23:14You were pretty queen out of New York City
23:17When the band finished playing
23:18They held up for more
23:20And they do this with the wrist.
23:23That with the wrist.
23:24That way.
23:25So you don't realise it.
23:26When you pick your gingerbreads up off the shelves,
23:28what goes into it?
23:29Look at all this.
23:30And it does help.
23:31It really does help.
23:36Right.
23:37Let's go.
23:39While I'm limbering up,
23:41let's check in on Ruth,
23:42who's enjoying a 1960s Christmas.
23:45Lovely, this.
23:47Go on, Jen.
23:47Off we go.
23:48And for some reason, she appears to be in a space museum.
24:05For as long as humans have gazed up at the sky,
24:09we have been fascinated by space exploration.
24:12And in December 1968, there was one very special mission that gave three astronauts a Christmas never to forget.
24:22Who better to reveal this incredible festive story than Helen Sharman?
24:29Hello, Ruth.
24:30Hello.
24:31Nice to see you.
24:32Nice to see you too.
24:34In 1991, she became Britain's first astronaut.
24:37I'm the first woman ever to visit the Mir space station.
24:44We're meeting at the Science Museum in London.
24:46You actually have been in space.
24:49Yeah.
24:50So I was in low Earth orbit, where the International Space Station is now actually about 250 miles above the Earth's surface.
24:57But when you think about going further away from Earth's orbit, I mean, that is just something else.
25:02In the mid-1950s, the race began to do just that.
25:12The USA and the Soviet Union were engaged in a bitter Cold War.
25:18And both superpowers had set their sights on space superiority.
25:25Still by 1968, no humans had gone higher than low Earth orbit.
25:32And there was this big race.
25:34America wanted to go to the moon before the Soviets.
25:36And Apollo 8 was a spacecraft that was ready to do that.
25:44Three astronauts were chosen.
25:47Jim Lovell, Bill Anders and Frank Borman.
25:52Their mission, to be the first space crew to reach the moon's orbit.
25:58Ten, nine.
25:59And we have ignition sequence start.
26:02And on the 21st of December, 1968...
26:06Two, one, zero.
26:13We have liftoff.
26:16Apollo 8 launched.
26:19Apollo 8, you're looking good.
26:21Roger.
26:22Well, this is a command module.
26:27Now, this actual one is Apollo 10's.
26:29But for their entire mission, the Apollo 8 crew spent their time in this type of a spacecraft.
26:35Or just this one small little piece?
26:37Yeah.
26:37Can you imagine?
26:38Just a few days before Christmas, they were living, they were sleeping, going to the toilet, eating.
26:43I mean, everything had to happen inside this spacecraft.
26:45Back on Earth, people were preparing for a very special Christmas.
26:55As Apollo 8 approached the moon's orbit.
27:00Armed with TV cameras, the crew were tasked with documenting this historic moment.
27:06Oh, my goodness.
27:08So, what, this is inside the module?
27:12Quite fun, isn't it?
27:13So, you get an idea of how cramped they were.
27:16Wow.
27:18This is what Christmas in space looks like.
27:20It's taken almost three days to get there, but they've travelled 240,000 miles to the moon.
27:32And they were getting into the moon's orbit on Christmas Eve itself.
27:43Then, at 2.34 on Christmas morning, the astronauts broadcast live to the world.
27:50We are now approaching lunar sunrise.
27:55And for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.
28:06In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
28:11And darkness was upon the face of the deep.
28:14And God said, let there be light.
28:17A lot of thought went into what they were going to say.
28:21They knew people all around the world would be tuning in.
28:24We think now, it's estimated, that about a billion, one billion people watched this broadcast.
28:30So, about a quarter of all people alive.
28:34No.
28:36Good gracious.
28:38So, everybody's getting ready for Christmas.
28:40They're hanging up their stockings.
28:41They're doing their thing.
28:42And they're watching the moon from close up.
28:45What a Christmas.
28:47And NASA had even provided the astronauts with their very own Christmas dinner.
28:55Having gathered vital information for future Apollo voyages, the mission proved a huge success, while delivering one final Christmas miracle.
29:25As they came around the moon, there was this most amazing Earth rising above the surface of the moon.
29:35Right, the moon rise.
29:36You've got the Earth rise.
29:37Earth rise.
29:38You've got a colour film, Jim.
29:40Oh, that's a beautiful shot.
29:41And it became this iconic photograph.
29:47Belander's described it later on as being like a fragile Christmas tree bauble.
29:52The only part of colour in the whole of this black space.
29:59Wow.
30:00It is such an iconic image, that, isn't it?
30:04And I suppose also, it's not just Earth rise, it's Earth at Christmas.
30:11And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you.
30:21All of you on the good Earth.
30:23That's the Christmas spirit right there.
30:35Bless us one and all.
30:37You better watch out.
30:39You better not cry.
30:40You better not pout.
30:41I'm telling you why.
30:42Why?
30:43Santa Claus is coming to town.
30:47Gather round.
30:48Do you know what I love about Christmas?
30:50Those unexpected, yet thoughtful Christmas presents.
30:55One year, my aunt got me a pink bath mat, and I was ten.
30:59Pink, that's my worst present I've ever had.
31:01When I was younger, midi hi-fis had just come out.
31:05Oh.
31:05And I was like, I'd love it.
31:06I thought, no chance.
31:08Anyhow, Christmas Day, I was up, first thing, straight in the front room, so excited.
31:13Ripped the box open, and it was a clear rough foot spa.
31:17Ah, so...
31:19You better not pout.
31:21I'm telling you why.
31:22Hoping for better luck this year.
31:24Clothes is coming to town.
31:26At this family-run factory, I've mixed, baked, and cooled Santas and reindeer.
31:31But the gingerbread is only half the story.
31:37Ah.
31:38Naked, these ones.
31:40Nothing on them yet.
31:42Yep.
31:43All ready for decorating.
31:45The kids and girls in Boylan will have a jubilee.
31:51They're gonna build a toy land town all around the Christmas tree.
31:57This is where the magic of the factory happens.
32:00You better not pout.
32:01The heart of Santa's grotto, where plain and simple gingerbread shapes, are transformed
32:07into colourful Christmas creations.
32:10And to adorn their biscuits, the factory gets through 30 kilos of icing a day.
32:17Love that.
32:18It's made you smile.
32:19The gingerbread is decorated with two types of icing.
32:24Runny royal icing for intricate details, and sugar paste shapes for larger areas.
32:31He sees you when you're sleeping, and in all the way...
32:34Cherry's off to make the next batch for our Santa.
32:38It's like Christmas magic in here.
32:40How good do those look?
32:43He needs it for his lovely red waistcoat.
32:47He's coming to town!
32:52Her guide to sugar paste perfection is baking operative Steph.
32:58Hey, Steph.
32:59Lovely to meet you.
33:00So what's in here?
33:01What are the ingredients?
33:02So we've got icing sugar, xanthan gum, and sugar gum in there.
33:06I know what icing sugar is.
33:07What is xanthan gum?
33:09So xanthan gum, it helps with the consistency in the shelf life.
33:14Xanthan gum is a plant-based thickener, and sugar gum is made from glucose syrup, sugar, oil,
33:21and another syrup called glycerin.
33:23They bind the icing together, giving it a firm, flexible texture, perfect to mould into shapes.
33:30We've got a red colouring to add in now, and that's just that one over there.
33:34Can I do the honours?
33:35Absolutely.
33:36Ready?
33:37Yep.
33:37Ready?
33:38Get it?
33:38Ready?
33:39That is so beautiful.
33:45That looks like raspberry sauce on ice cream.
33:47Yeah, it's called Christmas red, the colour we actually put in.
33:53Is that done?
33:54That's it done now.
33:55Hey presto.
33:57Can I touch it?
33:58Absolutely.
33:59It's so thick.
34:00It is just like modelling.
34:01Yeah.
34:02Right.
34:03So without this, Santa would be naked.
34:06So this is a really important element to the biscuit.
34:09It really is.
34:10Fabulous job.
34:15Nice one, Cherry.
34:16My turn to load your icing into this sheet-a-machine, where it's rolled out to just three millimetres thick.
34:27Then a stamper cuts out the waistcoat shapes.
34:30Santa's waistcoat is ready for some detail, and for that, the clever factory elves use the runny royal icing.
34:54It's a mix of icing sugar, egg white, glucose syrup, xanthan gum, and cornflour, with glycerin so it doesn't set rock hard.
35:06And if you think royal icing sounds posh, get this, in the Middle Ages, gingerbread would sometimes be decorated with gold leaf.
35:18Not on our budget.
35:21I've got to be honest, it's the first time I've filled a piping bag, Gemma.
35:23Oh, there he is, get that in there, look at that.
35:28There we are.
35:29You don't want to dribble too much.
35:30Well, story of my life, Gemma.
35:36Gemma herself comes up with the designs, and the ladies here are wizards at reproducing them.
35:44They are icing artists.
35:48How long have you been doing that?
35:50I've been here ten years now.
35:51They're quick.
35:52Who's the fastest icer?
35:54Bev, yeah.
35:55How many gingerbreads do you think you've iced?
35:58Millions?
35:59Or billions.
36:00Billions.
36:01Flipping heck.
36:03They're accurate.
36:05I feel like you get it spot on every time.
36:08With the concentration of ninjas.
36:12And today, there's a nervous new apprentice in the house.
36:17Now we're on to the main stage.
36:20We're going to decorate these to look exactly like Father Christmas.
36:23Are you ready to give it a go?
36:24Let's give it a go.
36:25Absolutely.
36:26And I've got two experts with me today.
36:28I've got Rachel and Charlie.
36:29And they are going to show you everything you need to be able to decorate a Santa.
36:33Right, let's do it.
36:34Okay, so your first part is his face.
36:39Two round, then a little squeal in the middle.
36:41Yeah.
36:46God, that is so much difficult than you make it look.
36:50Right, okay.
36:51I'll tell you what, I'm feeling it already, my hands.
36:53You're feeling it?
36:54Yeah.
36:54Yeah, yeah.
36:55Stretch it.
36:58So it's his hands next.
37:00I reckon this is going to be the trickiest part.
37:02It is a bit tricky.
37:04Okay, so squeeze and drag.
37:07Right.
37:10Squeeze.
37:10And drag.
37:11Squeeze and drag.
37:12I think I've put ears where his hands should be.
37:22We've got the hard bit to go, yeah?
37:26I'm going to do the hat now.
37:29That's it, and then...
37:30Oh, my.
37:33And it doesn't help that I can feel all the eyes are on me.
37:39I'm actually sweating.
37:40I've been having no stress like it.
37:45Mine's got all lumps, so yours is dead smooth.
37:49Hello.
37:50Have a look.
37:51Which one did you...?
37:52Well, take a guess.
37:54Yeah, I know.
37:55Oh, it's so good.
37:56You're a natural.
37:58I don't think she means that.
37:59Well done.
38:01God, you're working hard on that.
38:03There's reindeers being frosted or whatever.
38:06Good luck.
38:07Have a good'em.
38:09Lovely to see you.
38:11Merry Christmas.
38:13Gemma's family have been in business for nearly 40 years.
38:17Surely one man can't bring it down in a day.
38:21Right, will I get to grips with this masterpiece?
38:24Cherry's down in Cornwall looking at scented candles.
38:27I'm actually still here.
38:28It's not telling it.
38:29All right, don't worry about it.
38:30This is the St. Evel factory near Newquay, where they've been making festive candles for over 30 years, using traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology.
38:52Like the gingerbread factory, they're in full swing for Christmas.
38:59I'm meeting chief exec, Ian Greaves.
39:05Hi, Ian.
39:06Hi, Jane.
39:07Who's overseeing a Yuletide treat.
39:09I just thank you so much for having the best smelling factory of all time.
39:14And you always go home smelling so nice as well.
39:16Do you?
39:17Yes.
39:17What are we making today?
39:19Today we're making an advent calendar.
39:21An advent calendar.
39:22Not with chocolate, with candles.
39:25The advent calendar contains 24 scented tea lights.
39:31So each window has a different scent.
39:33Oh, wow.
39:34These small candles were originally used to keep teapots warm in Japanese tea ceremonies.
39:42Today I'm making the scented tea light behind door 20.
39:47Orange and cinnamon.
39:48Orange and cinnamon.
39:49Warm and tangy with a hint of spice.
39:52It's lovely.
39:53Oh, yeah.
39:54That is Christmas Day in a candle, isn't it?
39:56It is.
39:56Exactly that.
40:01But before we make our festive tea lights, I want to understand the science of scent.
40:08What different things are you looking for when it comes to scent in a candle?
40:12Well, there's two types of throw in a candle.
40:14What is the throw?
40:16It's how far you can get that fragrance to throw.
40:18So can you smell it close up?
40:20Can you smell it far away?
40:20That's the throw.
40:21We talk about a hot throw and a cold throw.
40:23When you walk into the room and the candle's not lit, you can often smell a candle, and
40:28that's called the cold throw because it's not light.
40:31Even before it's lit, fragrance molecules are released from the surface of the candle.
40:37When these molecules hit scent receptors in our noses, we smell the aroma, and that effect is enhanced when the candle is lit.
40:47Why does lighting it encourages the fragrance to leave the fragrance to leave the candle?
40:51When the wax becomes a liquid, the fragrance can then evaporate much quicker.
40:56We can then smell it from a distance because it's releasing much more fragrance.
41:00So once you've got that throw nailed, that scent is all over the place.
41:05And it's really gorgeous.
41:06What do you do next?
41:08Down to production, mix some wax and fragrance.
41:10Let's make some candles.
41:16Production manager Joe Shalders is in charge of the wax.
41:20What is this wax made of?
41:22So this is a vegetable mineral blend.
41:24And what is mineral wax?
41:26So that element of it is paraffin.
41:28So it gives us a really good scent throw, and it's a really clean burn.
41:35The slabs of wax are melted overnight at 80 degrees Celsius, then cooled to 61 degrees, ready to add the all-important scent.
41:47Each of our candles has got its own recipe.
41:49This is what we need to make the orange and cinnamon candle.
41:52Right.
41:52Can I?
41:53You can.
41:54The scent is a mix of essential oils extracted from plants and spices, plus synthetic fragrance.
42:02Oh, the smell that's coming off that, Joe, is absolutely Christmassy heaven.
42:08The small tea lights contain a high proportion of scent to achieve that all-important hot throw.
42:14And after a good mix, the fragranced wax is sent to the high-tech part of the factory.
42:24This is the pouring line, where all the elements of the tea light come together.
42:29The aluminium cases are loaded onto a computer-controlled conveyor belt.
42:37The cotton tea light wick is fed in from a wick reel, along with the metal holders, which keep the wicks upright.
42:45The cases come down through here, and then this fancy piece of kit cuts the wick to the right length, and then glues it into the case.
42:58Hidden inside this machine, called a wicking head, a little dot of glue fixes the wicks in place.
43:07And when they're all lined up and standing to attention, we're ready to pour our scented liquid wax.
43:14Please tell me there's a button.
43:15There is a button. Just this one here.
43:17Oh, easy. Off she goes.
43:24Gosh, look at this. It's so beautiful.
43:28The fragrance wax gets released down into the cup, filling them.
43:33Look at that.
43:3422 in a row, all in one go.
43:36That smells absolutely delicious.
43:40The pouring machine dispenses 18 grams of scented wax into each case.
43:46Over six hours, a full tank of 250 litres of wax can fill 14,000 tea lights.
43:56So can you now tick December 20th off your list?
43:59Yes, I can.
43:59Woo! Only 23 more to go.
44:06All 24 candles of various scents are hand-packed into the advent calendar.
44:13Wintertime. Ready for dispatch around the country.
44:16It's quite satisfying to know that someone's going to open all these little doors on the run-up to Christmas and enjoy their Christmas candles.
44:24Happy Christmas, guys. Thank you.
44:26I hope you've got one of those for me, Cherry.
44:30It may surprise you, but I love a hot soak in the tub with a scented candle.
44:35Back in Market Drayton, there's no time to relax when there are Santas to decorate.
44:47And Cherry's back from Cornwall already.
44:53That was quick.
44:55Gingerbread coming through. Make way. Thank you so much.
45:00It's her job to decorate our second Christmas biscuit.
45:04Come on, my little reindeer friends. Let's make you fancy.
45:07And luckily, she's got some expert help from operative Danny.
45:13Hi, Danny. Hi.
45:14Lovely to meet you. Lovely to meet you.
45:16It's very quiet here. Have you scared everyone off?
45:19Yes, well, unlike the Santas, we don't decorate these by hand.
45:22We decorate it with a robot.
45:25Oh, my God, you've gone high-tech.
45:26The robot floods the face of the reindeer with royal icing.
45:36Their little ears and antlers would be too fiddly to cut from sugar paste sheets.
45:42How quickly can it ice a biscuit?
45:45There's 21 pieces on a tray, and it takes nine minutes a tray.
45:48The whole tray? The whole tray.
45:49So it's really speedy.
45:50Oh, yeah, much quicker than us.
45:52And it doesn't complain about arm ache?
45:53No, definitely not.
45:54How does it know where the biscuit is to get the icing exact?
45:58So when it takes the tray in, it takes a picture with the camera,
46:02and it maps where the biscuits are on the tray.
46:05And it's pre-programmed, the design,
46:07so then it will just see where the biscuit is and trace it on top.
46:11But just when I thought I'd got the easy icing job,
46:15turns out these little fellas also get their finishing touches by hand.
46:21Serves me right for laughing at Paddy.
46:22Like, twisty round?
46:26Oh, that's weird.
46:27Oh, it looks like a croissant.
46:30OK, OK, this one's going to be great.
46:31This one's good.
46:34Oh, no!
46:36That's because I was talking to you.
46:38It's basically got a nosebleed.
46:41Yes.
46:42Not so easy, is it?
46:44Mine looks like it's been in some kind of accident.
46:47Oh, she's struggling.
46:48It looks like he's sticking his tongue out now.
46:53These experts can ice a gingerbread in 105 seconds.
46:58I've taken a bit longer than that.
47:02Right, Paddy, just the last thing to do now,
47:04create his face for us.
47:05Lovely.
47:06Here we go.
47:07I think you're coming into your own now, Paddy.
47:17I'm happy with that one.
47:19He's got his own charm about him there, you see.
47:23You see, I'm not a perfect santa, but, you know, I'll still taste nice.
47:26Right, so I'm going to take mine, too, to cherry
47:31and see how it compares with her reindeers.
47:34Thanks very much for that.
47:35No worries.
47:36See you in a bit.
47:36Bye.
47:36See you in a bit.
47:37Come on, you two.
47:43So, it's the ultimate Christmas competition.
47:46Santa versus his reindeer.
47:49But which of us has won the icing crown?
47:54Ooh.
47:54Let's see yours.
47:55Can I just say...
47:56Don't you think?
47:57Lovely glazing.
47:59Yes.
47:59That was actually...
48:00That bit was done by a robot.
48:02We're never going to agree on this, are we?
48:03So, let's get the expert eye in.
48:05Gem!
48:07Where are you?
48:08Here we are.
48:09Right, Gemma.
48:09How are we getting on?
48:10Well, let's have a look.
48:11Whose do you think is the best?
48:13Wow.
48:14I think there's some good efforts there.
48:16That is a very good reindeer.
48:18It's very close.
48:18Thank you so much.
48:19Oh, it's a reindeer.
48:21Right, OK.
48:23Unfortunately, I don't think either of them,
48:25they're going to pass our quality standards.
48:27But you are more than welcome to have them and take them away.
48:30Oh!
48:31Can I have one of your garden gnomes?
48:34Yes, you can, yes, yes.
48:35Can I have one of your bull mastiffs?
48:37Yeah, there we go.
48:38How about that?
48:39One eight.
48:39Wonderful.
48:40Happy Christmas.
48:41See you in a bit.
48:42Garden gnomes?
48:44The cheek of it.
48:45Once the icing's dried, the gingerbread is ready to be pined.
48:55We're placing the Santas individually down the flow wrapper.
48:59So each one goes in its own little section.
49:01Love this.
49:01And it's pushed along and it's taken it down to the flow wrapping section there.
49:05The Santas are sealed in their see-through packages at the rate of 50 a minute.
49:16As we go round, you'll see them coming out of the other side, all individually packed.
49:25Yes.
49:28All them little Santas off to make someone's Christmas.
49:31Very special.
49:33Off to stockings around the country.
49:35Beautiful.
49:35Then it's into the boxes.
49:39Eight in each.
49:42Good night, everyone.
49:44Where Santa is united with his reindeers.
49:52Well, Cherry's all right at packing boxes, but how does she go on with wrapping presents?
49:57Let's find out.
50:05Now, I adore giving gifts, but wrapping them is a whole world of pain.
50:14Please tell me that I am not the only one that leaves my wrapping to the last minute.
50:18You can never find the scissors, you can't find the end of the tape, there's never enough paper.
50:23And then it looks like this.
50:25There's got to be a better way to do this.
50:29Here to grant my Christmas wish is expert mathematician Bobby Siegel.
50:35Bobby!
50:37Happy Christmas!
50:37Happy Christmas!
50:39Come in.
50:40Who uses maths to achieve present wrapping perfection.
50:46Bobby, welcome to the annual Christmas wrapping disaster.
50:52This is ineffective.
50:53There's far too much wrapping paper.
50:54It's wasted.
50:55On this one here, the corners aren't covered because the paper's too weak.
50:58You're not covering the surface area.
51:00This is a mathematical Christmas disaster.
51:02Can maths save Christmas?
51:04Maths will have to save Christmas, definitely this Christmas.
51:09Luckily, I have a whole raft of rolls to choose from.
51:13Think about the paper you're using.
51:15It shouldn't have glitter or that shiny foil because these are non-paper additives that can't be recycled.
51:21Don't be on the naughty list because of your wrapping paper.
51:24No, Santa is not going to be pleased with you.
51:26No, okay.
51:28In the UK, it's estimated we throw away around 200,000 miles of wrapping paper a year.
51:36So, if you can, it's important to choose fully recyclable paper.
51:40To avoid waste, I'm hoping Bobby's maths can help me achieve perfectly wrapped presents.
51:50Let's start with this, a box of chocolates.
51:52Well, maths can definitely help.
51:55So, if you look at this, it's a square prism.
51:57It's got a square on one side and it's the same dimensions all the way through.
52:02Before we begin wrapping, we calculate how much paper we need to cover our square prism.
52:12So, X presents the sides of this square.
52:16Yes.
52:16And L represents the length.
52:18Good.
52:19I'm not at one with maths, but I'm following you.
52:22Now it's time to measure.
52:24Okay.
52:25The width of the square is six centimetres.
52:30Okay?
52:31Good.
52:31The length is 19 centimetres.
52:35Plus, we have a third measurement to allow for a half centimetre paper overlap when wrapping.
52:42Okay, so Y equals 0.5.
52:46Time to calculate the total area of paper needed.
52:51First, the width.
52:53All the way round, there's how many lots of X?
52:56Four.
52:57So, the width of the wrapping we needed is four X plus Y.
53:01So, four times six is 24.
53:05Plus the half centimetre paper overlap.
53:0824.5?
53:10Yes, 24.5.
53:14To work out the length of paper, it's the length of the box plus one side of the square end.
53:2019 plus six, which is 25.
53:26Spot on.
53:27One, two, three.
53:3012,5.
53:32Calculations complete.
53:33Next, measure and cut.
53:35that is not enough I can pay for trust the mouse we're using paper-based sticky tape that can be
53:49recycled along with the wrapping paper thanks to that half centimeter overlap our paper joins up
53:57perfectly I told you nothing is wasted everything is used and the same principle even applies to
54:12wrapping a bottle of festive fizz instead of the square at the base it's now a circle to work out
54:19the width of paper measure the diameter of the bottle and times it by a figure known as pie and
54:25pie is roughly 3.14 plus half a centimeter overlap the length of the wrapping is the diameter of the
54:35bottle plus the height the classic bottle wrapped and it's beautiful Bobby's halfway to saving Christmas
54:45but can he pass my final fiendish challenge can you deal with the big boss of wrapping which
54:55is a ball it's difficult to wrap spheres perfectly but there is a way around this we can actually
55:03create a petal like structure to wrap around the football so you can have four five or six petals
55:13it might take a bit of time to cut out the petals but once that's done it takes seconds to wrap it look
55:22at that sounds of smiling all the way to the North Pole I can hear the elves singing their favorite
55:29Christmas song and they're not the only ones humming a happy tune with Bobby's help my Christmas wish has been
55:38fulfilled look how beautiful they look I think it's fair to say that you are the saviour of Christmas
55:44I've got to say that box look great the ball not so much
56:02our boxed-up gingerbread has been loaded onto pallets and it's taken outside where I'm headed jacket and
56:32put it on her net off to see it on its way oh Lord and I'm up you're a Gemma oh nice to meet you Sarah so
56:43you set this business up all those years ago did you imagine it were going to grow into something as
56:48big as this because it's very impressive thank you no not at all absolutely not know we had a little
56:53bread shop and you know it's a dream come true you start a business and you never expect it to go to
56:58where it is today and very proud and not hard work and a great team behind us I'd work pays off how many
57:04gingerbreads are on there well there's 26 pallets on there which is just shy of a hundred thousand
57:09pieces hundred thousand gingerbreads waiting to go out to keep everyone happy around the nation right
57:15that's loaded up we'll close the doors send them on the way I'm gonna get my colleague out of the
57:21cherry because no doubt she'll be snuffling up all the gingerbreads Merry Christmas Merry Christmas
57:26from market Drayton the British home of gingerbread our Santas and reindeers travel across the country
57:44ready to drop down the chimneys of well-behaved biscuit lovers everywhere
57:49oh look at us in the boss's office living the life nice cup of tea thank you
58:01look at these beauties do you want one I'd love one cheers
58:06Merry Christmas everyone have a lovely time
58:11oh
58:12well I wish it could be Christmas every day
58:19when the kids start singing and the band begins to play
58:25oh I wish it could be Christmas every day
58:34oh I wish it could be Christmas every day
58:36so let the bells ring out for Christmas
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