Have you been watching Victorian Bakers on BBC2? – Dunn’s of Crouch End has a starring role tonight! May not sound like fascinating viewing but the first two episodes of the trilogy have kept me entertained and informed. The series is a back-to-the-good-old-days (which turn out not to have been so great) reality show, which reconstructs the life of a baker at three crucial periods of the Victorian era.
The first episode examined the rural trade and its brutal demise during heavy industrialisation of the nation. The second looked at the pretty grim life of urban bakers who had to cope with all of the negatives of the dark satanic mill life-style with none of the benefits: they still had to hand make everything from scratch, but things did gradually improve. Tonight in the third and final program we will see the high Victorian taste for amazingly gaudy cakes and confections made wit the help of some basic machinery to take some of the back-breaking work out of mixing dough and batter. Most of it is filmed in our very own Dunn’s of Crouch End.
Tonight in the third and final program we will see the high Victorian taste for amazingly gaudy cakes and confections – and most of it is filmed in our very own Dunn’s of Crouch End which still uses some pretty old fashioned equipment in its warren-like premises.
One of the cakes on show in tonight’s episode made with sponge cake lime green icing, booze soaked fruits and this amazing topping of biscuit horns filled with pink or white cream and sprinkled with silver balls. Bon appetit!
Christopher Freeman, owner of Dunn’s along with his wife Christina, is a fifth generation baker whose father moved to the present shop in 1946. He was delighted to participate in this series despite the enormous amount of work it entailed. Life at Dunn’s begins veru early in the morning and doesn’t stop for many hours. At the close of every day the premises had to be cleared and dressed for filming and then dismantled ready for the four am start the next day.
Scene from the series filmed in Dunn’s.
It’s still a tough life but Christopher and Christine have been joined by their son Lewis who has a degree in finance but prefers the satisfaction of making a wonderful product and seeing it sell to an appreciative clientèle. We love having such a great traditional family baker at the heart of our community too.
Follow the link for more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vn7sj
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