BBC Two reveals sugarcraft secrets in new series

Following the success of ‘Victorian Bakers’ earlier this year, BBC Two is sending four modern-day confectioners back over 450 years to learn discover more about the surprising story of sugar.

‘Back to Work: Confectioners’ offers an exploration into the intricacies of sugarcraft, as it follows the confectioners recreating sweet treats from three different eras using original recipes and methods.

The sugar workers will learn the ornate sugarcraft 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 will also find out about the 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.

BBC Commissioning Editor Rachel Morgan said: “This series offers a unique and fascinating exploration into the intricacies of sugarcraft. ‘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.”

‘Back to Work: Confectioners’ comprises three episodes of 60 minutes each, produced by Wall To Wall (a Warner Bros. Television Production UK Ltd Company).

Emily Shields, Executive Producer for Wall to Wall; commented: “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’.

In ‘Victorian Bakers’, four modern-day bakers left their businesses behind to bake their way through the Victorian era.

She continued: “This new 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.”