Tucked away in a secluded corner of the Scottish Highlands, this tiny village`s fame rests not with the place itself, which is little more than a hamlet, but rather with a particular product-shortbread.
Aberlour (pop. 700) is about a 1 1/2-hour drive from Inverness on the main road but, unless you have a car, it`s suprisingly difficult to reach. Unlike most British towns, Aberlour has no train station and the bus service is haphazard and unreliable, at best. The village offers few amenities. On an overcast day, the gray stone buildings that line the colorless main street look dour and drab, almost forlorn. The tourist element has bypassed this sleepy hamlet altogether.
But on the outskirts of town, surrounded by a belt of greenery, lies the plant and corporate offices of Walkers, the Scottish firm that put shortbread on the international map.
There are about half a dozen manufacturers of shortbread in the U.K. today-Crawford`s and Royal Edinburgh are two of the more popular varieties. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, is Paterson`s, founded by John Paterson in 1895 at the Royal Burgh Bakery in the Glasgow suburb of Rutherglen.
But Walkers undoubtedly is the best known shortbread manufacturer, especially on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1898, Joseph Walker, the son of an Aberdeen park superintendent, founded a small bakery. Eventually he was joined by his sons, Joseph and James.
”He was a skilled baker and made some very good products but he wasn`t much of a businessman,” admits grandson and current marketing director, James Walker, a pleasant man with a soft brogue and a full beard who manages the 92- year-old company with brother Joseph and sister Marjorie. ”He didn`t really develop it at all. He kept it to one shop.”
Walker credits his father and his uncle for turning the company around. They ”laid the foundations for good quality and it was fairly easy for us to develop.”
Today Walkers is one of northeast Scotland`s biggest employers with a workforce of about 400 employees-mostly women-in its shortbread and oatcake operations.
The company`s export manager, Iain Armour, is the perfect Walkers spokesman-enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgable. If given the chance, the robust man will gladly talk your ear off.
Armour accompanied guests on a recent tour of one of the firm`s three factories. Shortbread, he emphasized, is still very much a traditional art. Employees may add extra items such as chocolate chips or hazelnuts, but shortbread consists primarily of four simple ingredients-butter, flour, sugar and salt. The human touch is an essential part of the manufacturing process, Armour explained.
”Workers can feel the texture of the dough,” he said guiding guests in and out of the aisles as somber-faced employees intently mixed batches of sugar and butter while listening to the roar of rock music from a portable radio.
”In the winter, for example, the know how to handle that. It`s not butter is a bit firmer. They would a case of pressing a button and
everything`s automatic. It`s still a craft.
”The most important thing is a long, slow, even bake of the shortbread. You can`t hurry butter,” said Armour. ”Shortbread doesn`t taste all the same, either. There`s a different texture, a different sweetness, a different thickness.”
Through vigorous promotion and attractive packaging, Walkers virtually has cornered the international market. It`s not only the largest exporter of shortbread in the world but also the only major independent shortbread manufacturer in the U.K. Export activity comprises almost a third of the company`s sales. The United States and Canada are the largest markets but Walkers is also sold in Australia, the Far East and throughout Europe. The company won the Queen`s Award for Export Achievement twice, in 1984 and 1988- the highest accolate given to British exporters.
Three quarters of Walkers products are sold under the Walker name but the company also produces private brands for major retailers such as Harrod`s in London, and Macy`s, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale`s and Marshall Field`s in the U.S.
Although it`s a modern plant, 20th Century technology hasn`t entirely dwarfed human know-how here. On the contrary, things really haven`t changed much at the family-run firm. The method of baking remains essentially the same, for example.
”Our challenge has been to take the production from our village bakery and to transfer it into modern premises but not to go into high tech,”
explained Walker. ”What we`re doing now is simply what we`ve done for the last 100 years-using natural ingredients, using the best ingredients, the very best butter and baking it in the traditional way. The actual baking process-the mixing of the dough, the molding of the fingers-is done in the same type of machine that we`ve always had.”
Nor has the actual product changed much. The pure butter shortbread is still made according to the original recipe handed down by James` grandfather in 1898.
Hardly a fashionable item, shortbread has never suffered from fickle eating habits. ”There`s very little we can do to improve it,” said Walker.
”We`ve already got it as good as we think we can get it.”
Walkers also makes another traditional Scottish item, oatcakes. Sometimes referred to as girdle or triangle oatcakes and made almost entirely from oats, they were traditionally made by crofters` (farmers) wives over an open hearth. According to Scots food writer, Rosalie Gow, Scottish soldiers would always carry flat plates and oatmeal. Come mealtime, they added a little water to the meal, put it on the plate and baked the mixture over the fire to make a hearty cracker.
Despite the strong emphasis on history, Walkers is no slave to tradition. The company continues to experiment with new product ideas. In May, Walkers introduced kosher shortbread for the American market prepared under the supervision of the Kashruth Division of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
In recent years, the company has fat-the fat used is a blend of soya been aggressively courting the and canola, both high in polyunsahealth food market. All Walkers turated oils-and are free from oatcake items contain no animal both sugar and gluten. Bran oatcakes, which includes added oatbran, contain 7.5 grams of fiber. Similarly, wholemeal shortbread, another relatively recent product, is made from 100 percent wholemeal flour. The company also produces such specialty shortbread items as chocolate chip, especially popular with American customers; almond; hazelnut; stem ginger; and rings-smooth dark chocolate-covered shortbread shaped in the form of a ring.
But, as Walker admits, ”we`re very restricted as to what we can add. We`re committed to not adding flavoring, colorings or additives. It has to be a simple product like hazelnut or almonds. Something natural.”
Although a simple product, shortbread is remarkably versatile. It need not be only eaten at the traditional four o`clock tea time. It`s great as an after-dinner dessert or as a late-night snack.
Oatcakes, too, are particularly adaptable. You can, for example, add a little marmalade-the ”guid auld” Scots way-at breakfast. Or add a sliver of fine Scottish salmon, a chunky piece of cheese and wash it down with a cup of tea or, better yet, in true Scots fashion, a strong glass of whisky.
