Go inside Yorkshire Tea and Aunt Bessie's on Inside Britain’s Food Factories

An episode of Inside Britain’s Food Factories will focus on the "production powerhouse" of Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Tea.Yorkshire Tea.
Yorkshire Tea.

The show, which airs on ITV at 8.30pm on Thursday, will show how Hull-based Aunt Bessie’s produces hundreds of millions of Yorkshire puddings each year and explores the workings of Yorkshire Tea, which is run by Taylors of Harrogate.

It notes how the region's food and drink "production powerhouse" is worth more than £3bn

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Later on in the series the show will focus on Heck sausages - which has announced a £4 million investment in its Bedale factory as it pushes into the vegan market.

Heck co-founder Jamie Keeble.Heck co-founder Jamie Keeble.
Heck co-founder Jamie Keeble.

In 1974, Butlins asked Aunt Bessie's to supply holiday camps with frozen Yorkshire puddings and it has been using the same recipe since.

It turns out 640 million Yorkshire puddings each year, according to the show.

David Barr, professor of puddings, tells viewers: "

From 1974 to 2018, it was part of the William Jackson Food Group.

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In 1851, William Jackson set up a grocer shop on Scale Lane, Hull.

It started as a small family business but grew into the national food group and two years ago joined Nomad Foods, which works across 17 countries with other brands such as Birds Eye, Findus and Goodfellas.

The first pot of Yorkshire Tea was brewed in the 1970s but Taylors of Harrogate goes back to 1886.

Charles Taylor and his two sons set up a tea and coffee company, winning a gold medal at the London Grocery Exhibition 10 years later.

Heck will feature in episode six on August 20.

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Co-founder Jamie Keeble, 31, said: "We have big ambitions but still remain an independent, family-focused business, focused on delivering the best taste and being in control of our whole production line.

The last few months have been an unprecedented time for food manufacturing. As a team, our focus initially was on our team and community and helping where we can. Then we looked at how we could respond to the new way of shopping and eating. We believe this move will really future-proof the business for our customers and team alike.”

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