Baking brothers hope to see rising TV ratings: www.thisisbristol.co.uk
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Bristol Evening Post
A pair of South Gloucestershire brothers are on a mission to get more men enjoying cooking in the kitchen as they star in their own television series.
The Fabulous Baker Brothers sees Tom and Henry Herbert roll up their sleeves and share their world of flour, fire, and hearty recipes.
Tom and Henry Herbert will be showing off their baking and pie-making skills in a new Channel 4 show.
Baker Tom works at Hobbs House Bakery, in High Street, Chipping Sodbury, while his brother Henry runs the butcher's next door.
Mr Herbert said: "We love to bake, we love to eat, we can't wait to share all the baking we do. It's going to be messy but boy will it be worth it."
The pair have five generations of baking tradition behind them and their award winning businesses, which started with Thomas Herbert's Gloucestershire bakery back in 1920.
The bakery expanded into Bristol in 1953, initially in Two Mile Hill, and eventually moving to York Street in Montpelier, where residents are regularly seen queuing out of the door to get their hands on a fresh loaf.
Based around the oven, the series of 30-minute programmes, which starts on Channel Four on January 4, will see the boys share their recipes, including interesting twists on baking classics.
In each episode they will roll up their sleeves and get out the flour to share dishes with hearty fillings, tempting toppings and tasty accompaniments.
They will also go head to head in The Pie Off – with each of them coming up with their own version of a themed pie and serving them up to a group of hungry judges.
In the first episode the brothers make the perfect loaf for a chip butty, steak sandwiches and battle to win over the judges with their choices of a meaty rabbit pie and a hearty ploughman's-inspired pasty.
Channel Four deputy features commissioning editor Kate Horswell said: "The thing that really excites me about this series is the new talent: the boys. Plus all the gorgeous food that men will want to cook and eat. With no pink spatula in sight, it's exactly what we need."
Liz Warner, from production company Betty, said: "Cupcakes are so over. It's time for the fundamentals like bread. Tom and Henry are unique talent. Both of them have a refreshing integrity and we want to bring their artisanal skills and likeable personalities to the screen."
The family are no strangers to the limelight. In 2000 Tom, then aged 23, won the Young Baker of the Year award, and the family business has since picked up several awards for its organic products.
Back in 1980 bakery director David Herbert made the headlines when he went to great lengths to bake the fastest loaf from field to table.
His exploits involved harvesting and using a helicopter to get the crops to the city which he did in 90 minutes, setting a world record for speed.