Be-Ro Home Recipes
Associated
Be-Ro/Thomas Bell & Son Ltd
Date1942-1954
Object NameBooklet
Mediumpaper
ClassificationsDomestic
DimensionsOverall: Height: 19.6 cm, Width: 9.5 cm
AcquisitionPresented in 1988.
LocationView by Appointment
Object numberABDMS016310
About MeThomas Bell founded a wholesale grocery firm near the Tyne quays and railway station in Newcastle in the 1880s. Among his top-selling brands were 'Bells Royal' baking powder and a self raising flour. Following the death of Edward VII, it became illegal to use the Royal name. As a result, Bell decided to take the first couple of letters from the each of the two words of the brand name and turn them into the more catchy sounding 'Be-Ro'.In the early 1920s, plain flour was the flour most commonly used. Self raising flour was considered a novelty - consumers bought plain flour direct from the miller and self raising flour was only sold into independent grocers. In a bid to make self raising flour more popular among the general public, the company staged a series of exhibitions in the early 1920s where freshly baked scones, pastries and cakes were sold for a shilling to visitors.
These were so popular that people demanded that they had copies of the recipes so that they could bake the dishes at home.
Ray Finch
mid 20th-late 20th Century
