The time I spend on airplanes is really the only time I am seated in front of a TV for long periods of time and am actually willing to watch something. I rarely sit on the couch to watch TV, and when I do, it’s a specific series that I watch with Chris at most a few nights a week, never more than an hour. So when I went through the TV and movie options on the British Airways flight tonight, connecting in London and ending in Prague, I took a look at some Christmas specific shows and movies given we’re entering the festive season. I bookmarked The Polar Express and The Nightmare Before Christmas, both Christmas movies I’ve always wanted to watch but never saw. And then a quick 45-minute TV special called Cadbury at Christmas caught my eye. I decided to watch that first.
It looks like this show is a very new release and details the behinds the scenes look at one of the world’s most celebrated chocolate factories located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Chris grew up eating Cadbury chocolates and is very loyal to them (while also, in the same breath, harshly critiquing the “average” American chocolate like Hershey’s, which has very little actual chocolate in it and is mostly sugar and artificial flavoring). He loves how milky the chocolate is, and the quality of the milk used in Cadbury chocolates is quite high. When I was growing up, I never associated any specific chocolate type with Christmas. When I did see or hear of Cadbury, it was mostly the Cadbury cream eggs, which I always found a bit underwhelming and too sweet. The vast variety of Cadbury chocolates that Chris was used to eating were foreign to me. I never saw them until I went back to Australia for Christmas with him.
I learned a number of interesting things from this show: one, that Cadbury World actually exists as a place to visit with over a dozen different areas to explore, though there’s no actual viewing of the chocolate being made anymore. I also didn’t realize that a Quaker family originally founded Cadbury, but eventually sold it to a large confectionary company. As Quakers, they themselves did not actually celebrate Christmas, but they did believe in making money. So they decided to increase their production and also create special festive season/Christmas chocolates at this time of year. Their Milk Tray was one of the ways they made chocolate more affordable and appealing to the masses instead of the super wealthy. And their festive season chocolates became one of the most gifted items in the UK as a result of all their Christmas chocolate promotions.
As someone who has spent most Christmases since 2012 in Australia, I do appreciate Cadbury a lot more now. I love that they are affordable, high quality chocolates with little fuss. And after watching this TV special, I am even more intrigued by them and want to visit Cadbury World. Yes, I’m an adult, so maybe I can make the excuse that I want to take Pookster there. But you know what? There’s no shame in being an adult and loving chocolate.