Catch up on the latest episode of Made in Kent with Bartholomew Hall.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to Made in Kent, live on KMTV. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here on tonight's
00:19 show a church near Sittingbourne transforms into a winter wonderland with unique Christmas
00:24 trees, a Kent brewery is calling for government action on business and energy rates, in Sandwich
00:30 the Tinseltown Xmas Festival is offering beer taps, local wine, cider, food and live music
00:37 and Canterbury Bears in Littlebourne is encouraging local businesses to go green as they have
00:43 been sustainably producing toy bears for more than 40 years.
00:47 But first tonight, for most of us Christmas is only now closing in but at Fraser's Hotel
00:52 in Edgerton the preparations have been going ahead for months. Their award winning Christmas
00:57 pudding takes a full 48 hours from preparation to presentation and the venue does it all
01:02 with local ingredients and as much solar power as they can. The recipe has been passed down
01:08 throughout generations of the Fraser family with only slight changes made and is a closely
01:13 guarded secret. We sent Finn McDermid down to have a taste.
01:19 Well as November draws its curtains to a close and with Christmas being only 24 sleeps away
01:24 preparations across the county have already started for the holiday season.
01:29 One hotel in Edgerton has already begun its preparations. Fraser's Hotel and Restaurant
01:34 is a sustainable hotel built out of fully renovated farm buildings and is renowned for
01:40 its Christmas puddings. Last year they won a Great Taste One Star Award from the Guild
01:46 of Fine Food, a marker of the impressive recipe.
02:02 Well as November draws its curtains to a close and with Christmas being only 24 sleeps away
02:07 preparations across the county have already started for the holiday season.
02:12 One hotel in Edgerton has already begun its preparations. Fraser's Hotel and Restaurant
02:17 is a sustainable hotel built out of fully renovated farm buildings and is renowned for
02:23 its Christmas puddings. Last year they won a Great Taste One Star Award from the Guild
02:29 of Fine Food, a marker of the impressive recipe.
02:35 I spoke to the current owner of Fraser's about her successes and how other businesses can
02:39 follow suit. Yes, it's my grandmother's recipe so it's
02:43 a over 100 year old recipe that we have slightly amended to utilise all local alcohol so we
02:54 use Green Sandwich Rum, Bindon Cider and Shepherd Neem Stout. We then cook the puddings with
03:01 the excess solar power off of one of our buildings and all the packaging is recyclable. My whole
03:07 ethos at Fraser's is short supply chains using local produce prepared on site.
03:14 Now what actually goes into making a Christmas pudding? Well first you have to soak all the
03:19 fruit in your preferred alcoholic beverage, most likely brandy or cognac and let it soak
03:25 for a while. Then once ready mix with flour and eggs and transfer to bowls for your preferred
03:30 size. Then the puddings have to be put in the oven for a whole 10 hours before they
03:35 can come out, be cooled and packaged for sale. What's the demand like for Christmas Puddings
03:40 around this time of year? I'm guessing it's very high.
03:42 Massive, absolutely massive, loads. I couldn't even quantify a number to how many I've done
03:47 or sheer weight of volume I've done. I think I'm pushing 1,000 kilos this year so close
03:54 to 1,000 kilos this year. Did 800 plus last year so quite high demand, yeah.
04:02 Now I just had to try some for myself. Well here I am at Fraser's in Edgerton and I'm
04:08 trying their award winning Christmas pudding. It's got a recipe that's been passed around
04:14 throughout generations of the Fraser family. And it does not disappoint, it's got a beautiful
04:24 taste that's making me look forward to Christmas even more.
04:28 Well don't be intimidated by the process at Fraser's. You too can make your own puddings
04:32 right at home. And while the chefs didn't want to share their generational recipe with
04:36 me, just know that making a pudding isn't quite as hard as it looks. Finn McDermid for
04:41 KMTV.
04:42 Next, a church near Sittingbourne is being transformed into a winter wonderland with
04:48 a unique collection of Christmas trees. Around 100 trees, each telling individual stories
04:54 will be on display in the historic setting. Although entry is free, donations from the
05:00 event will be donated to the Tunstall Church and My Shining Star.
05:10 Well joining me on the line now is Leslie Evans, Alan Pinnegar, the vicar of St John
05:15 the Baptist Church in Tunstall. Thank you both for joining me. Apologies, I had a slight
05:19 technical issue there but we've got you both on the screen now which is fantastic to see.
05:24 Thank you very much for joining us both today. Now Leslie, we'll start with you. Can you
05:28 tell us about the festival and what people can expect to see?
05:34 We've been going for 10 years. As you say, there are well over 80 trees this year. All
05:41 sorts of things, they're made out of anything that people would like to put together into
05:45 a beautiful tree. The lights look gorgeous and it's a beautiful church and it's a wonderful
05:54 uplifting experience. It's the true Christmas spirit.
05:58 It's absolutely fantastic and we can see one of those trees behind you now. Now let's come
06:03 to Alan. Just how many Christmas trees can people expect to see?
06:12 This year I think there's just over 80. A little bit up on last year.
06:19 No 80 trees, I mean that does sound like it's going to be such a beautiful sight to see.
06:24 Now tell me what impact does this have on the church itself? Obviously we mentioned
06:30 there that the donations are going to be quite useful but opening it as a free event as well,
06:35 that's got to be such an uplift for the community.
06:39 It is. It's very much conceived 10 years ago as a community event, not necessarily a church
06:46 event. It's obviously hosted here but we have people on the organising committee from all
06:53 sections of the community and we're a village with very little actually. There's no pub,
06:57 there's no cafe, we've got a school, a village hall and a church. So it's really good to
07:02 be a central part of the community.
07:05 I know you've done this in years previous. What kind of response do you get from people
07:09 when they come down to see the trees?
07:13 Well we get very positive feedback and each year there seem to be new people who want
07:20 to exhibit something which is really nice. We got a tree from the local football club.
07:27 All kinds of different organisations, they come in and see what's going on. It's free
07:32 publicity for them as well which is good.
07:35 We got a very good response over the Covid period because we actually did it online and
07:43 we also had the church yard decorated and we had many people saying how happy it made
07:50 them when they came through in such a difficult time.
07:52 Oh that is absolutely fantastic and of course also fundraising for My Shining Star which
07:59 is of course a very important charity. Can you just very quickly summarise why it was
08:02 you chose My Shining Star?
08:05 Each year we look for a local charity. We tend to support small local charities where
08:11 an injection of say somewhere between £1,000 and £1,500 in a year means a lot to them.
08:19 My Shining Star this year support young children with cancer and their families. So that's
08:25 the kind of thing we're looking for each time.
08:27 Thank you both Alan and Leslie. Thank you very much for joining us on Made in Kent this
08:32 evening.
08:33 Thank you.
08:34 Moving on, a Kent brewery has called on the government to tackle business and energy rates
08:38 after the autumn budget last week. While the Moot Micro Brewery welcomes duty freezes,
08:43 they say this isn't enough with the price of chemicals and grains rising. But the government
08:49 says that it's helping business by extending the hospitality and leisure relief. Oliver
08:53 Leader de Sacks has more.
08:56 While Kent punters and pubs may be raising a glass to duty freezes announced in the autumn
09:00 budget last week, this brewery on Court Farm in Hauling believes the government is pulling
09:05 punches in the amount of support it could give for those pulling pints. Founded in 2021,
09:10 Moot Brewery and Tap House have faced the threat of the cost of living crisis since
09:15 they started. While pauses on duty up to 8.5% are welcome, they say these aren't the costs
09:21 that hit the bottom line of producers hardest.
09:24 Really the problem is way bigger than that and they're really systemic in terms of the
09:28 bigger problems for us as brewers and I think for pubs too in that it goes beyond duty.
09:35 It's almost like putting a plaster on a broken leg. For us the bigger problem is things like
09:42 power and business rates which are at times crippling for a business like ours where we
09:49 need a lot of space and a lot of energy to produce our product.
09:52 But these overheads aren't the only challenges facing a small business like Moot. Energy
09:57 price hikes have impacted businesses across the entire supply chain. Those costs have
10:02 had knock on effects.
10:04 So the main costs increases that we've seen in the last 12 months since we opened the
10:10 brewery are the cost of grains, the cost of hops, the cost of chemicals. Everything has
10:17 gone up slightly but those ones are the ones that have increased more than anything. Grain
10:20 we saw an increase of about 15 to 18%. The other thing that went up was the cost of chemicals
10:27 so that went up between 50 and 100% on some chemicals because a lot of the chemical factories
10:34 shut down during the course of the year. Normally they shut down for about 3 months but last
10:39 year they shut down for 6 months to minimise their energy costs.
10:42 A government spokesperson says it is thanks to our action that we've achieved our target
10:46 of halving inflation this year but we are continuing to stay the course to get inflation
10:51 all the way back down to 2%. The OBR have confirmed that our policies will reduce inflation
10:56 next year while boosting growth and rewarding people for their hard work.
11:01 We are helping businesses by cutting tax on investment, extending 75% retail, hospitality
11:06 and leisure relief and protecting bills for over 1 million business properties from inflation.
11:11 I am stood in the heart of Moot Brewery. Behind me they are making ale but that ale could
11:18 dry up if microbreweries like Moot aren't given the right level of support.
11:24 The government hopes that their freezes on duty and relief for hospitality will help
11:29 see these breweries through.
11:31 Olive Leeds, The Sacks, reporting for KMTV.
11:35 Time now for a quick break but stay with us on Made in Kent as after the break we'll be
11:39 speaking to the organisers of Sandwiches' Tinseltown Xmas Festival which is offering
11:45 beer taps, local wine, cider, food and live music.
11:49 We'll be back after this short break.
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15:00 Hello and welcome back to Made in Kent live on KMTV.
15:05 Now, Sandwich may be well known for a certain type of food but this weekend it's all about
15:10 beer and Christmas.
15:13 The Tinseltown Xmas Festival will be taking place featuring more than 30 beer taps, local
15:18 wine and cider alongside plenty of food.
15:21 The two day event starting this Friday will also see live music.
15:25 Well, to talk to us more about this, Kerry Campling from Tide at Time and Tide joins
15:31 us on the line now.
15:32 Kerry, thank you so much for joining us.
15:34 Lovely to see you and welcome onto the programme.
15:36 Now, first of all, can you tell us, I mean, 36 beer taps to choose from, what are some
15:42 of these local offerings that people will be able to see?
15:45 Well, pretty much everything.
15:48 So we've started from a low alcohol, 0.5% all the way up to a 13% imperial stout with
15:56 maple syrup and cocoa and all sorts.
15:59 So we specialise in IPAs, we're a deal based brewery, but we've brought in a few guest
16:03 beers as well.
16:04 So there's really something for everybody and we're covering off extra drinks like cocktails,
16:10 we'll have handmade cocktails as well, some low intervention wines from Saddle Goose.
16:16 We've got Nightingale cider and then obviously we'll have soft drinks, hot drinks, hot food
16:22 and then live music in the form of DJs.
16:26 So we're really lucky actually with some of the music that we've got planned.
16:30 I'm really excited.
16:31 We love Christmas and this is just the perfect event for it.
16:34 I love Christmas too.
16:35 My absolute favourite time of the year and it looks like there's going to be so much
16:38 on offer there.
16:39 Let's just quickly going back to the alcohol on offer.
16:42 You mentioned the low intervention wine.
16:44 From my very small understanding of different wines, this is a more natural beverage.
16:49 Can you just explain exactly what a low intervention wine is?
16:54 To be honest, so we've got Saddle Goose that are coming in and they're a local producer.
17:00 So they're joining us with their wines.
17:03 So they'll be offering tastings and they'll be able to tell everybody that wants to give
17:06 them a try a little bit more about it.
17:09 But we're really excited.
17:10 I've tried those locally at some markets.
17:12 They were here just in Deal last weekend.
17:14 Really delicious wine.
17:16 So we're lucky to have them attending.
17:18 I suppose that's the important thing, isn't it?
17:20 When you have a nice festival like this, you're inviting people to come and do some wine tasting,
17:25 tasting of different drinks.
17:27 Sometimes there's an element of snobbery about the kind of different wines and different
17:31 types of alcohol.
17:32 But having the experts there on hand, surely that's going to be quite accessible to people
17:36 that don't know the differences.
17:39 Yeah, absolutely.
17:41 I think we're just encouraging people to come along at the right time of year when everybody
17:45 is looking forward to Christmas, getting excited, meet friends, have a chat and then just try
17:50 something new.
17:51 So we'll have trained brewery staff there to answer any questions about any of the beers,
17:56 all 36.
17:57 So we'll be happy to talk people through trying something new.
18:02 Same for the wine.
18:03 So we've got the wine producer will be there.
18:05 And also the cocktails that will be sold will be poured and mixed in front of people by
18:10 Karl from Cocktail in a Bottle.
18:13 Again Nightingale Cider, we've got some coming along.
18:15 So people will be able to have a chat about the products if they want to, or they can
18:18 just have a try of anything and everything with plenty of space just to sit, get some
18:23 food and discuss all of them.
18:28 Fantastic stuff.
18:29 Now I also know there's handmade gifts that will be on sale there.
18:32 And for me, Christmas, receiving a handmade gift, receiving that sort of personal touch,
18:38 it really kind of makes the difference, doesn't it?
18:41 At Christmas time, when you go to unwrap the presents, what's your kind of pick of the
18:50 handmade presents that might be on offer?
18:54 So on the Saturday, we've got a Christmas market.
18:56 So it's Beer Festival Friday evening, Beer Festival Saturday evening, Christmas daytime
19:00 between 10 and 4 is free entry, still with a full bar, hot drinks, et cetera.
19:06 But people can come in, there'll be 18 stalls.
19:08 And we've got a real range this year.
19:10 So I'm really excited.
19:12 I'm actually really looking forward to the hand knitted socks.
19:16 It doesn't sound exciting.
19:17 No, it does.
19:18 But I've seen the photos and the quality is just fantastic.
19:21 So we've got handmade wreaths as well, handmade jewelry.
19:25 We've got some charities coming along as well to raise awareness and just to talk a little
19:28 bit more about their charities.
19:31 Decorations.
19:32 We've got what else?
19:33 We've got handmade cakes and they're absolutely delicious.
19:36 I did get to test those.
19:38 So that's wonderful.
19:39 There's really lots in there.
19:41 So I think people can just come in, hopefully have a browse and then maybe stop and have
19:45 a drink and some food.
19:46 Well, thank you very much for joining us today.
19:48 Knitted socks.
19:49 That's definitely my highlight from that.
19:51 And that's happening this Friday and Saturday.
19:53 So we'll make sure to look out.
19:54 Thank you very much for joining us.
19:55 Finally from us this evening, a Toy Bear workshop in Littlebourne is encouraging more local
20:01 businesses in the county to go green.
20:04 Canterbury Bears has been sustainably producing handmade cuddly companions for more than 40
20:09 years.
20:10 But they say running a more eco-friendly production line doesn't come without sacrifices.
20:15 Our reporter Oliver Leeder-Dessax has more.
20:18 You may have heard of the Teddy Bears picnic, but what about the Teddy Bears workshop?
20:21 In a nondescript building on the outskirts of Littlebourne, Canterbury Bears has been
20:26 making bespoke and bizarre stuffed bears of all varieties since 1979.
20:32 And with Christmas and Black Friday on the horizon, turkeys aren't the only thing that
20:36 needs stuffing.
20:38 As you can see, it's a busy day here at the bear workshop.
20:41 People behind me are cutting floats and fabric for the bears here.
20:47 One in fact for the King Charles bear, a very popular bear here at the bear workshop.
20:53 What is clear is that they're making sure the bears are made of the right stuff to tackle
20:58 climate change.
21:00 Everything from sort of the fabric that we buy, which is all natural, to the filling
21:07 that we use, which is recycled, the joints that we use, which are recycled.
21:13 A lot of the bears that have glass eyes, that's also recycled.
21:16 So in terms of the actual materials that go into the bear, there's really not very much
21:21 more we can do.
21:22 The packaging, we've gone as far as we can because everything is recycled.
21:27 But I mean really, I think, you know, seriously, there's not an awful lot more we can do other
21:31 than continue to maintain the high standards that we have.
21:36 Kirsten's father set up the workshop with the ethos of bears being for life.
21:40 True to that ethos, many of the decades old machines and traditional handcrafted bear
21:45 making techniques have helped keep their workshops environmental costs down and profit margins
21:50 high.
21:51 Kirsten now wants to see this sort of thinking applied to other businesses across Kent.
21:56 Well I think that you have to really, really look very, very closely at all of your processes
22:02 and you know, if you have to just take little steps to start with, you know, it doesn't
22:07 have to be reinventing the wheel.
22:10 I think if everybody begins to take the small steps, for example, you know, reusable packaging
22:17 and that type of thing.
22:19 But these bears aren't just helping the environment, they're bringing people together.
22:24 Somebody might order one for a special birthday and when it arrives they're really pleased
22:30 with how he looks and stuff and they become sort of lifetime friends really, the bears.
22:37 It's all about family really, because we work together so well and we've all been here quite
22:44 a while so yeah, it's lovely.
22:46 Far from a fluff piece today, Canterbury Bears demonstrates the unbelievable lengths local
22:52 businesses will go to put sustainability at the heart of their business.
22:56 This has been Olive Leeds of the Sacks and Mr Cuddles reporting for KMTV.
23:01 Well Kirsten Blackburn, the owner and managing director joins me in the studio now.
23:07 Thank you so much for joining.
23:08 You're very welcome.
23:09 It's a shame we don't have Mr Cuddles, Ollie was filming there in the studio with us now.
23:14 He dared try it out himself.
23:17 Where did the process of bringing in more sustainable materials start for you?
23:21 Because your business has been going for four decades now.
23:23 I know, 40 years is a long time and back then obviously climate change wasn't really a thing.
23:30 Although having said that, we've tried to be quite sustainable right from the very,
23:35 very beginning.
23:36 But I think as the years have gone by, people have been much, much more aware of the environment
23:41 and that type of thing.
23:43 So we have changed, I would say over the last 25 years probably.
23:49 We try and buy all of our materials locally, certainly in the UK.
23:59 And I think more recently we've tried very much to make sure our packaging is all recyclable.
24:06 And it's just little things to begin with, but I think that if everybody tries to make
24:10 small changes, it makes a big impact.
24:14 I think about 30 years ago when we first started, all of our bears moved, so they've all got
24:21 moving arms and legs.
24:22 People were only using plastic joints, which were definitely not single-use plastic.
24:28 We started to go back to the traditional method, which is wooden joints.
24:33 So we buy sustainable wood.
24:35 We have a very, very old Victorian press, so we stamp out all of our joints.
24:41 And that has made a big, big difference.
24:43 We're making thousands of bears.
24:45 It was amazing to see a manufacturing company, but it wasn't a production line.
24:50 You were hands-on.
24:51 Each bear is handmade, which I imagine takes a very long time.
24:54 How do the wooden joints then, do they last a lot longer than plastic ones as well?
24:58 They do.
24:59 All of our bears are made to last a lifetime.
25:01 I mean, quite literally, they're made to last a lifetime.
25:03 Hopefully, families will pass them on through generations.
25:07 And we get a lot of people who have bought bears for their children, who come back and
25:12 buy bears for their grandchildren, and so on and so forth.
25:16 So in terms of the wooden joints, they will last decades, decades and decades.
25:23 And with a business like this, how much of a sort of eco-friendly perspective do you
25:28 take?
25:29 How much of a priority, I suppose, is it within your business?
25:32 It's become more and more of a priority for us.
25:35 It's really, really important.
25:37 It's part of the fabric of the business.
25:39 It's part of who we are.
25:42 It's really, really important.
25:43 And I think the fact that we're making a very traditional handmade product, for want of
25:50 a better word, it just lends itself so well to that.
25:55 So yeah, it's important to us, very important.
25:57 And the business itself, at this time of year in particular, how busy are you?
26:02 In the lead up to Christmas?
26:03 We are super, super busy.
26:06 And we've just done Black Friday weekend for the first time ever.
26:10 And it was just mad.
26:11 For the first time in 40 years?
26:12 First time in 40 years.
26:13 As a business, wow.
26:14 As a business, we did Black Friday.
26:16 And it was fantastic.
26:17 And it's really nice to be able to offer people a discount, because we are at the top end
26:22 of what we make.
26:24 So they're not inexpensive.
26:26 But as I said, they're beautifully, beautifully made.
26:29 Everything's handmade.
26:30 Well, you've been watching Made in Kent.
26:33 That's it from today's episode.
26:34 I'll be back with the Late Bulletin at 8pm.
26:36 But for now, goodbye.
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