Perhaps I should stop eating Cadbury's chocolate

[Cudzoziemiec]

Production of chocolate bars at the Cadbury factory in Keynsham is set to end within the next few days.

Cadbury was taken over by American food company Kraft in February, which had pledged to keep the plant open.

But days after the takeover was completed the firm controversially announced that it would close the plant and move production to Poland.

From BBC News - Cadbury's Keynsham plant to close in days

So as someone who lived for several years in Bristol and in Bath (Keynesham is between the two) but for even more years in Poland, where does this leave my local sympathies?

Perhaps the deciding factor is that Cadbury's chocolate is not terribly good. Definitely nowhere near as good, to my taste, as Wedel - the Polish firm Cadbury's bought ten or eleven years ago and now acquired by Kraft - but OTOH better than Milka and a whole lot cheaper than the posh stuff you get in the UK like Green and Black.

BTW if any choc-loving footie fans are planning on going to Poland for Euro 2012, the Wedel factory (which I presume will now produce Cadbury's too - I hope they don't mix them up  ) is very close to the new National Stadium. So perhaps I should have put this thread in Arts and Entertainment!

[hellymedic]

Our cleaning lady gave us a box of Wedel on return from her last journey. Dearly Beloved pointed out its Cadbury's provenance. Nice chocolate.
Even Terry's Chocolate Oranges are Kraft now.

 

[Cudzoziemiec]

... Cadbury's chocolate is ... better than Milka ...

Each to their own; I prefer Milka to Cadbury's. I have not tasted Wedel.

If you're ever north of the Tatry, you should try some. Or maybe one day I shall come south and bring you some! I can't remember what Slovak chocolate is like.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Our cleaning lady gave us a box of Wedel on return from her last journey. Dearly Beloved pointed out its Cadbury's provenance. Nice chocolate.
Even Terry's Chocolate Oranges are Kraft now.

 

Next time, you should ask her to bring you some Ptasie Mleczko.  Just don't ask her to translate it!

I got the impression that there are only three manufacturers of chocolate in the UK now; Kraft (I think they make Milka too), Nestle, and Posh Stuff.

In November when I was in Bristol and Mrs C was here, she posted me a big bar of a posh variety of Wedel. The postage cost twice as much as the chocolate! 

[hellymedic]

Our cleaning lady gave us a box of Wedel on return from her last journey. Dearly Beloved pointed out its Cadbury's provenance. Nice chocolate.
Even Terry's Chocolate Oranges are Kraft now.

 

Next time, you should ask her to bring you some Ptasie Mleczko.  Just don't ask her to translate it!

Ummm.... that is what she gave us!

Dark chocolate covered vanilla mallow cuboids; yum!

[hellymedic]

I think Lindt is better than our British offerings.

[rogerzilla]

Cadbury's is at least better than Yorkie or Galaxy, and nothing is quite as bad as Hershey chocolate.

[Kim]

I quite like Galaxy.  It's easier to stop eating than Dairy Milk, too.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think Lindt is better than our British offerings.

It's quite a bit more expensive as well.

Do you want to know what Ptasie Mleczko means? Or did she already tell you?  

Cadbury's is at least better than Yorkie or Galaxy, and nothing is quite as bad as Hershey chocolate.

I reckon Yorkie is about the same as Dairy Milk. Galaxy and Hershey are both completely disgusting, but in different ways. Worst I've had recently though was the chocolate Santas which turned out to be some kind of imitation choc.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I quite like Galaxy.  It's easier to stop eating than Dairy Milk, too.

Back-tongued compliment, so to speak.

[hellymedic]

I think Lindt is better than our British offerings.

It's quite a bit more expensive as well.

Do you want to know what Ptasie Mleczko means? Or did she already tell you?  

The lady's English is very limited; we never asked!

[Arch]

Even Terry's Chocolate Oranges are Kraft now.

 

I was prompted by a remark the other day to check whether they still make Terry's York Fruits.  Turns out they do, but 'they' is a company in LANCASTER, that otherwise make travel sweets.

I never liked York Fruits, not keen on jellies, but that made me sad.

Another thing that made me sad, just after they annouced that Terry's was closing and production moving to Poland, I was in a car with a friend on the Bishopthorpe Road, and we found ourself behind a food grade tanker, Polish registered. I joked that it must be going to the factory to pick up the mix for Chocolate oranges. On a whim, we followed it, and sure enough, it turned into the factory gates...

Obviously, I have nothing against the Poles or Poland, but Terry's is one of those names I grew up with, long before I came to York, and when I was working out in Bishopthorpe and commuting past the factory, the smell of chocolate kept me going for about a mile. I think the air had calories.

How long before Rowntrees, sorry Nestle, up and off too?

Oh, and while I like the posh stuff, sometimes only CDM will do. I stopped eating Yorkies after they had that 'Not for Girls' advertising campaign.  Alright, I thought, I won't buy them then!

[hellymedic]

Do you want to know what Ptasie Mleczko means?

Mleczko looks not unlike the Slovak word for milk, mlieko. I had to look up ptasie and learned about the fairy tale accompanying the origin of its name. My guess is that it tastes somewhere between marshmallow and nougat.

It is quite possible to enjoy chocolate without understaning the heiroglyphics on the box!
The white foam is bland, presumably contains gelatine and is much softer than marshmallow or nougat.

[Hot Flatus]

When I were a lad growing up in the harsh era of the early seventies, our morning treat would be to stick out heads out of the car and breathe in the goodness from the Terry's factory in York.

Hershey's tastes of sick.

[hellymedic]

The scent of chocolate was the only consolation of cycling through Slough...

[iakobski]

Perhaps the deciding factor is that Cadbury's chocolate is not terribly good. Definitely nowhere near as good, to my taste, as Wedel - the Polish firm Cadbury's bought ten or eleven years ago and now acquired by Kraft - but OTOH better than Milka and a whole lot cheaper than the posh stuff you get in the UK like Green and Black.

I feel I have to point out that Green & Blacks IS Cadbury's and has been for years.

[rogerzilla]

Hershey's tastes of sick.

It most certainly does.  Or sick tastes of Hershey's, it's hard to tell.

[Cudzoziemiec]

It is quite possible to enjoy chocolate without understaning the heiroglyphics on the box!
The white foam is bland, presumably contains gelatine and is much softer than marshmallow or nougat.

In that case I won't spoil it for you! But they don't contain gelatine, as it happens.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Cadbury's is at least better than ... Galaxy ...

I feel I am on a loser in this topic, preferring both Milka and Galaxy to Cadbury's. I bet someone will be along soon to say that plain chocolate is tastier than milk or white chocolate - there's no need, I will confess to being a Milky Bar kid and liking white Toblerone.

That doesn't make you a loser, r-r, it just means you have different taste in chocolate. One day I really should head south and bring you a bar of Wedel!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Perhaps the deciding factor is that Cadbury's chocolate is not terribly good. Definitely nowhere near as good, to my taste, as Wedel - the Polish firm Cadbury's bought ten or eleven years ago and now acquired by Kraft - but OTOH better than Milka and a whole lot cheaper than the posh stuff you get in the UK like Green and Black.

I feel I have to point out that Green & Blacks IS Cadbury's and has been for years.

So it's now Kraft too, presumably. Is its production also being transferred to Poland or somewhere? It's not on sale here, but then neither is Cadbury's.

[Mrs Pingu]

I forgot about that, does that mean that G&B's will soon start to taste like shit too?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Another thing that made me sad, just after they annouced that Terry's was closing and production moving to Poland, I was in a car with a friend on the Bishopthorpe Road, and we found ourself behind a food grade tanker, Polish registered. I joked that it must be going to the factory to pick up the mix for Chocolate oranges. On a whim, we followed it, and sure enough, it turned into the factory gates...

While I'm glad to see jobs in Poland - there is high unemployment here, though it's not that high in Warsaw where the Wedel/Cadbury/Kraft factory is - I do agree with you. And you have to wonder about the sense - environmental obviously, also in the longer term economic - of ferrying chocolate around Europe. And there is at least one Cadbury/Kraft factory in India, where labour, power, etc is so cheap...

Oh, and while I like the posh stuff, sometimes only CDM will do. I stopped eating Yorkies after they had that 'Not for Girls' advertising campaign.  Alright, I thought, I won't buy them then!

I haven't seen the advert but I did notice the slogan on the wrappers. It did strike me as a little 'unreconstructed'. But then way back in the 70s they used to advertise it with scenes of big manly truck drivers. Remember those ads? So it's just taking an old trend and putting it, 21st century style 'in ya face'.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I forgot about that, does that mean that G&B's will soon start to taste like shit too?

Cadbury has owned Wedel for over ten years and they still have completely distinct tastes, so I don't think you need to worry about that. In fact, I would imagine the market for G&B is so much UK-based that it might not even be worth their while to shift production of that.

[Hot Flatus]

In the early 90's my French girlfriend used to send me parcels of kitkats from France, as the chocolate was much better

[hellymedic]

Curiosity got the better of me, so I Googled for Ptasie Mleczko.
The Wikipedia article was most informative.