Huntley & Palmers Chocolate Olivers

It was a stressful day at work on Wednesday. So when I finished, I went to Waitrose to find some comfort food. First, I found that they finally stock cured salmon, so that was a STRONG/ DEFINITE BUY. Then, I went to the biscuit department to find some sugar fix.

The biscuit selection is great. There were a few chocolate biscuits which caught my eyes. It was going to be a tough decision. Then, suddenly, a marketing line caught my eyes. It reads something like "John Lennon of the Beatles used to love these biscuits". Well, if it is good enough for John Lennon, it should be pretty good. So, in less than 10 minutes, I have made my decision! That was quick by my standard!

The biscuit was indeed very good. There are actually more chocolate than biscuit. The sugar level is at a staggering 34.2%! It is very rich too so I can only take a couple at a time. They do tastes very good though.

After a bite. The biscuit bit is very thin, but it is very firm

Good food always motivates me to research. The biscuit that I bought was from Huntley & Palmers and they are called chocolate olivers.. So I looked it up on Wiki, it reads: "Huntley & Palmers WAS [hmm... this doesn't look right] a British firm of biscuit makers based in Reading, Berkshire. The company created one of the World's first global brands and ran what was once the world’s largest biscuit factory..... [In 2006,] a business of the same name has recently been re-established in Sudbury in Suffolk....."

Well, John Lennon wasn't around in 2006. So, I have bought a fake!! Well, not exactly, as I do more research, I found that the same patented recipe is still being used. What's the secret? Apparently, it's a hint of hops and malt with good quality dark chocolate.

What about the original Huntley & Palmers? It was a very famous company! It was founded in 1822. Initially the business was a small biscuit baker and confectioner shop at number 72 London Street. At that time London Street was the main stage coach route from London to Bristol, Bath and the West Country. His shop was directly opposite one of the calling point so he was making good money selling biscuits and confectionery. Because the biscuits were vulnerable to breakage on the coach journey, he started putting them in a metal tin. He was one of the first people to use tin for food packaging and the old tins are popular collector's item these days.

The tins also proved to be a powerful marketing tool. The company won many gold awards at trade fairs in the decades before and after 1900. During that time, Huntley & Palmer's biscuits and logo came to symbolise the commercial power and reach of the British Empire in the same way that Coca Cola did for the United States!!! The tins went everywhere, including the heart of Africa and mountains of Tibet. The company even provided biscuits to Captain Scott during his ill-fated journey to the South Pole.

It is nice to find out about the history of this company. I went to the Museum of Reading website and found some of the pictures of the old tin. They are indeed very beautiful and very English. I am all against collecting things but I can understand why people would like to collect these tins.

For more information:

Official web site of the re-established Huntley & Palmer's business
http://www.huntleyandpalmers.com/

Web site of the Huntley & Palmer's Collection at the Museum of Reading
http://www.huntleyandpalmers.org.uk/