We are extremely lucky to have some very loyal corporate clients – none more so than ING Bank, who we have had the pleasure of working with for approximately 100 years.
Soon after Kathryn took over the ownership of The Toffee Shop in 2022, she was delighted to talk to Trevor Salthouse, the Head Butler at ING, about his memories and stories of our relationship that had been shared with him.
Here are a few of those memories:
‘Barings Bank had been purchasing the famous toffee and fudge from The Toffee Shop for over 70 years, and when ING (Interationale Nederlanden Groep) bought Barings Bank in 1995, they continued the tradition.
I recall conversations in the early 1980s between senior Partners of Barings & Ms Reader, (Barings Catering Manager/Cook) & Mr Foden (then Head Butler). Many years prior, a group of Senior Barings and Associates were on a shooting party in the North of England and Scotland when they stumbled across a small dwelling in Cumbria making and selling this delicious fudge. The proprietor was an oldish lady; and this amazing fudge was her secret recipe.
The Barings party were so taken with the taste that they purchased a small batch – one box for home consumption and the other for ‘office use’ …however, only the Partners dining room were allowed to indulge in the fudge! I recall it was served at every lunch and client dinners, but only one square per partner….one would never take two squares!
My job was to cut the fudge carefully into exact squares. The fudge was so well received that Barings decided to purchase a regular order.
In the early 1950s, due to heavy snow the consignment of fudge never arrived at 8 Bishopsgate. But, when it did eventually arrive at King’s Cross railway station, a chauffeur was dispatched to collect the fudge for an important banker’s dinner that evening…. One partner commented that a dinner wasn’t complete without the fudge! It was rumoured that when a director was going to be promoted to a partner, if he was offered a square of fudge the promotion was sealed. It was then known as the ‘Barings fudge’.
We purchase the fudge to this day. It remains offered to our guests at dinners, and we also give boxes away as gifts at retirement parties and at wine tasting events. It is still so well received….and rightly so.’
Kathryn says: ‘Thank you so much to Trevor Salthouse for sharing these wonderful memories and keeping our special relationship so strong over the years. We very much look forward to continuing working closely with ING Bank for a long time to come.’
