Gregg Wallace is in France at an enormous croissant factory where they produce 336,000 of the flaky pastries every day. He follows the production of croissants from the arrival of 21 tonnes of butter right through to dispatch. Along the way he learns how they use an 83-year-old strain of yeast to pack a flavourful punch and discovers the secret of pastry lamination. They layer very thin slices of butter between sheets of dough to create the famous flaky pastry. \n \nMeanwhile, Cherry Healey is testing the best way to eat a croissant. With the help of a professor who specialises in the science of our senses, she discovers that there is an optimum way to consume them. Ideally, they will be served warm so that the butter inside oozes fat into the pastry, smothered in jam to give a sugar and fat hit, and eaten from a paper bag so that the crinkly sound accentuates the flaky texture of the pastry. She also heads to north Wales, visiting a farm and dairy where they produce a special type of ‘concentrated’ butter. The butter is a whopping 99.8% fat, perfect for producing croissants with a long shelf life. \n \nHistorian Ruth Goodman is in Paris investigating the croissant’s surprising Austrian origins. It is thought that it originated with a pastry called a kipferl, which Austrian bakers invented in the 17th century to commemorate a heroic victory over the armies of the Ottoman Empire. Its shape was a mocking reference to the crescent on their enemy’s flag. But it took a while to transform into the modern pastry - the earliest written recipe she manages to find for a modern French croissant comes as late as 1906. Ruth also discovers that bread played a vital role in the French Revolution.
Source: BBC 2
Series 8: 6. Bath Bombs
Gregg Wallace visits the colourful and fragrant Lush factory in Dorset to learn how an astonishing 14 million bath bombs are produced every year.\n\nCherry Healey visits Loughbo ...
09-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 5. Stout
Gregg Wallace explores the secrets of the Guinness brewery in Dublin to reveal how it makes two million litres of Irish stout every single day.\n\nCherry Healey visits a water t ...
02-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 4. Stuffed Pasta
Gregg Wallace explores the Dell Ugo factory in Hertfordshire to reveal how it makes 500 million stuffed pasta parcels every year. \n\nHe’s following production of one of ...
25-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 3. Jeans
Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to explore the fascinating secrets behind how Welsh jeans brand Hiut make their trousers, learning how denim cloth is made ...
12-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 2. Jelly Beans
Gregg Wallace explores the Jelly Bean Factory in Dublin to reveal the incredible processes it employs to make ten million colourful little sweets every day.\n\nCherry Healey vis ...
05-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Trains
When he was a child, Gregg loved playing with toy trainsets. Now he’s got special access to learn how the ultimate model is made: a huge 187-tonne, five-carriage electric ...
29-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 7. Pots And Pans
Gregg Wallace is in France at an enormous foundry that produces a cast iron pot every five seconds. He follows production of casserole dishes from the arrival of 20 tonnes of cr ...
25-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Mints
Gregg Wallace visits a factory with a menthol scent - the Polos factory in York, which produces 32 million mints every day and contributes to the 19,000 tonnes of mints per year ...
15-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Rice Pudding
Gregg Wallace explores the Ambrosia factory in Lifton, Devon, to reveal how it makes up to 360,000 rice puddings every single day.\n\nCherry Healey is in the Po Valley in Italy ...
06-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Vegan Sausages
Gregg Wallace visits a Yorkshire team that churn out up to 90,000 vegan sausages a day! Heck have been making these bangers since 2018, and the process is surprisingly futuristi ...
30-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Jaffa Cakes
Gregg Wallace visits a Manchester factory that churns out 6 million Jaffa Cakes every single day - 1.4 billion per year. Cherry Healey is in Jaffa, the city responsible for grow ...
26-06-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 4. Stuffed Pasta
Gregg Wallace explores the Dell Ugo factory in Hertfordshire to reveal how it makes 500 million stuffed pasta parcels every year. \n\nHe’s following production of one of ...
25-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 3. Jeans
Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to explore the fascinating secrets behind how Welsh jeans brand Hiut make their trousers, learning how denim cloth is made ...
12-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: 2. Toilet Roll
Gregg Wallace explores the Manchester factory that produces 700,000 toilet rolls a day. He begins 940 miles away in Sweden, where the raw material - wood - is harvested from a s ...
16-08-2020
BBC 2
Series 8: 2. Jelly Beans
Gregg Wallace explores the Jelly Bean Factory in Dublin to reveal the incredible processes it employs to make ten million colourful little sweets every day.\n\nCherry Healey vis ...
05-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 6: 5. Chairs
Gregg Wallace visits the Ercol factory in Buckinghamshire, an area associated with furniture making since the 19th century.\n\nWe Brits spend a staggering £300 million pou ...
15-02-2023
BBC 2
Series 8: 6. Bath Bombs
Gregg Wallace visits the colourful and fragrant Lush factory in Dorset to learn how an astonishing 14 million bath bombs are produced every year.\n\nCherry Healey visits Loughbo ...
09-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 6. Soft Drinks
Gregg Wallace explores Ribena's Gloucestershire factory. It turns 90 per cent of Britain's blackcurrants into soft drinks, producing three million bottles a week. Gregg takes de ...
24-07-2022
BBC 2
Series 3: 5. Sauces
Gregg Wallace is in the Netherlands at one of the world's biggest sauce factories. Its annual output is a quarter of a million tonnes of condiments, and more than 50 per cent of ...
26-06-2019
BBC 2
Series 5: 1. Cherry Bakewells
Gregg Wallace is in Stoke-on-Trent at an enormous cherry bakewell factory where they produce 250,000 little tarts every day. He follows the production of cherry bakewells, from ...
03-08-2023
BBC 2