Reviews

Fudge Making Experience at Fudge Kitchen - Bath Review

Posted on: 2017-03-30

A fun and unique experience that very few cities in the UK offer

The original Fudge Kitchen opened in 1983, after founder Jim Garrahy found that making fudge in the American way, with whipping cream instead of butter, produced a much creamier and softer fudge than ever before in the UK. Over 30 years later and their fudge is still freshly made every day and sold in Bath, York, Cambridge, Canterbury, Windsor, Edinburgh and Oxford. We went to try the fudge making experience in Bath to see if it's worth doing as part of a visit to the city.

Ian, the manager of the Bath shop, greeted us with the warmest of welcomes and a 'bottomless' tray of fudge! This is included in any fudge making experience and you get some time at the start to try lots of different fudge flavours. There was more than enough fudge for the five of us, but if you and your fudge making pals are feeling particularly hungry then your tray will happily be topped up with even more. It's a foodie's dream come true. 

Once you're at the brink of feeling a little bit sick (that's if you're greedy like us), you are given an apron and a funky straw hat to get you dressed up for the occasion. It's all a bit of fun and Ian was fantastic at making it a really enjoyable experience with his happy and outgoing personality. While the fudge mixture was bubbling away in the shop window at a crazily high temperature, Ian started to fill us in on how fudge is made. It's actually more interesting than I first thought it would be, because a lot of care and precision goes into making just one slab of fudge. The fudge has to be heated to the exact degree necessary, not even half a degree less, otherwise it won't turn out right. 

When it has reached the perfect temperature the fudge is poured onto the table (in clear view of passers by and people coming into the shop, so you're a little exposed to strangers looking at you but it's all part of the fun as people watch in awe), and left to set. While it's setting you'll be shown the different types of sugar used to make their signature fudge, including a huge vat of glucose syrup. Back to the table and this is where the fun really kicks in as you start creating the fudge. Using special tools, you have to scrape the fudge in particular directions, to make sure the sugar crystals form in the right way which will create the smooth consistency. This part of the process has to be done for a little while, until finally you end up with a log of freshly made fudge, which hopefully if you have managed to get the hang of it, will come out pretty perfect. You'll of course get to try some of your creation, and we have to say we were really pleased with the way our sea salted caramel fudge turned out. 

You get to take fudge home too! Fudge making experiences are usually made for a group of three and between three of you you'll get to take away a box of six slices which is usually worth about £25. You'll also get one free fudge making kit so you can re-create the delicious fudge in your own home (this is also worth £25). The fudge making experience costs £100 for three people (that works out at approximately £33 each) but seeing as you get £50 worth of stuff to take home, it's fantastic value and makes for a unique experience that very few cities in the UK offer. To enquire about the fudge making experience, even for a bigger group, call 01225 462277. 

You can buy fudge online by going to Fudge Kitchen's website here or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Article by:

Safia Yallaoui - Editor

Born in Bath, Safia has lived on the outskirts of the city her whole life. After studying journalism in Bristol she now spends a lot of her time searching for new things to see in Bath and soaking up the beautiful culture. You're most likely to find her sipping a soya latte in a lovely little independent cafe! Call Safia on 07468 516375 or email editor@365Bath.com.