Chocolate nostalgia
One of the great unsolved mysteries of my life has been whatever happened to the Secret chocolate bar.
I remember buying it in the newsagent near my school – inside the gold and purple wrapper and the white cardboard inner, lurked yummy strands of milk chocolate surrounding a whipped, truffley chocolate centre. You could snap it in half and then eat down either end to leave a nest-like shape with the last squidge of truffley cream in the middle. Perfection.
Over the years since it mysteriously disappeared, I’ve brought up the subject with lots of people, and almost no one remembers it. Several people have asked if I dreamed it… but it was a real thing! The internet has repeatedly failed me in the past in trying to find it, too. I thought maybe I had dreamed it… or got it muddled up with my very vivid childhood make-believe games .
Then out of nowhere I decided to Google it this morning… and look!
Looks like just as I gave up hunting, other people started looking. And starting petitions to bring them back. And discussing them at length. There is a fascinating (to me, anyway) thread on how they were made, from an ex-Nestle employee, here.
You can even watch the original (slightly random) 90s advert:
It got me thinking about other chocolates and sweets that have vanished (and the Wispa, my all time favourite chocolate, which was retired in 2003, but came back in 2007 after public pressure).
Spira
I mainly remember trying to drink tea through a Spira after biting the end off. Amazing chocolate.
Wispa Mint
Marble
Astros
and bizarrely, the Mint Crunchie (which I loved but had forgotten all about till I started researching this post!)
If you’re feeling nostalgic and have never tried making your own, take inspiration from Pimp That Snack – I went through a phase of debating supersized chocolate tributes a few years ago.
Have a look at such joys as the Juggernaut Yorkie, the D’Opal Fruits, the biggest Party Ring you’ve seen or my personal favourite, the Creme de la Creme Egg.
I’m off to raid the SU shop…
Images courtesy of boards.ie and goodtoknow.co.uk.