Following the success of Victorian Bakers earlier this year, BBC Two is now sending four modern-day confectioners back over 450 years of social and economic history to discover more about the surprising story of sugar.
The three part Back to Work: Confectioners (pwill immerse the modern day sugar workers in three very different eras to recreate incredible dishes from the past using original methods and recipes. They’ll learn the ornate sugar craft of the aristocratic Elizabethan kitchens, whip up bon bons for the Georgians and get to grips with mass production in a Victorian sweet factory.

Guided by experts and food and social historians, they’ll also discover more about the dark history and huge social change that drove the rise of the sugar industry, from the growth of the British Empire to the role of the slave trade.

Rachel Morgan, Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual says: “This series offers a unique and fascinating exploration into the intricacies of sugar craft as it follows four modern-day confectioners as they recreate incredible sweet treats using original recipes and methods. Whilst doing so, they also embark on a personal historical journey to reveal the dark past of sugar industry. Back to Work: Confectioners is a BBC Two living history commission at its purposeful best – enjoyable, steeped in authenticity and brimming with truth and revelation.”

Emily Shields, Executive Producer for Wall to Wall; says: “We are delighted to be following the success of Victorian Bakers by bringing the culinary masterpieces of the past to life in Back to Work: Confectioners. This series will blend the trials and tribulations of our modern day sugar workers as they get to grips with the ingredients, methods and confections of the past with the extraordinary story of sugar – from a treat only tasted by the very elite of the Tudor court to the mass produced ingredient that’s become so controversial today.”

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