Open Letter to Thorntons Chocs

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Brissles

Brissles

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I'm Confused.Choc !

Your website clearly states that you have been making chocs in this country for a hundred years - opening shops and buying more warehouses etc etc. and no doubt in your upcoming show this mantra will be mentioned several times.

So at what point did Barry Callebaut, a Swiss firm, take over the manufacture of your products ??????

I now realise why all chocolates from various top brands taste the same ! they are all made by this company and plonked into different boxes.

I object to this CON Thorntons !!!!!
 
I agree it's ****** diabolical IMO. It should be clearly stated as I also did not know this.
 
Bettyboo said:
I agree it's ****** diabolical IMO. It should be clearly stated as I also did not know this.[/QUOTE Go and try some Quality Street, or Black Magic, or Terry's All Gold, or Dairy Box. Thorntons are very much in line with those brands. I don't think of them as luxurious at all. I read somewhere that Milk Tray are now made in POLAND! POLAND! Eugh! Don't think the lady would love that!
Click to expand...
 
I think there may be a distinction between 'chocolate' and 'chocolates'... as in the first is an ingredient and the second is the end product:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate

As Thorntons is a confectioner and chocolatier, I think they would see the Callebaut chocolate as an ingredient as they would reprocess it into their chocolates by adding other ingredients.
 
As far as I am aware, and I live not too far from the factory, Thorntins make their products on the premises in Derbyshire. The chocolate, or at least the cocoa, however does come from elsewhere. Not surprising, given that cocoa is not going to grow in this country. Actually from two companies both of whom are recognised for their high quality and their ethical business. I believe much of the cocoa comes from the Côte d'Ivoire. Thorntons chocs etc as we see them are a very much a British brand. Some British companies may have their own cocoa growing estates (Hotel Chocolate have the Rabat Estate) but most do not and so it's quite normal to purchase the cocoa or chocolate from other countries.
 
With Cadubrys(sp), they sold the company and took the money and ran. Think I read that the new parent company sort of said they would continue in the UK and then a few years later buggered off over to Poland.

I am actually surprised Avon still make the Liz Earle in the UK, the rest of their stuff is made in Poland and East Germany.
 
Tesco's are selling the big boxes of mixed chocs for £6.50 if anyone's interested?
 
Thanks for the info Nora, but my interest in chocolates waned when manufacturers (whether in this country or not) decided to offload the traditional and recognizable centres, i.e. coffee, nutty, marzipan, caramel, strawberry, mallow etc etc for the gloopy sludge of 'truffle, gnache (?), and mousse that chocolate centres now seem to consist of. And as for the 'menu' given within the box, I have yet to detect the "citrus orange from Spain" , the "champagne from France" or the "nuts from Zanzibar" (we are ****** nuts for falling for this nonsense)
 
Now, I love truffle centres especially mocha or orange flavours.

I like brazils but not fond of almonds.

Looks like they won't please all of the people all of the time.
 
Brissles - have you emailed them to check out your theory?

I sent them an email last night and they have replied saying:

--------------------------------------------------


Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email.

I can confirm our chocolates are manufactured in the UK.

We buy all of our cocoa from two of the world's most respected suppliers Barry Callebaut and Cargill. We make sure that they ensure the ethical sourcing of our cocoa and, in particular, we do not accept the use of illegal, abusive or enforced child labour.

Please see the link below, this explains where our cocoa comes from:

http://www.thorntons.co.uk/content.jsp?pageName=corporate_social_responsibility

Kind Regards,


xxxxx
Contact Centre - Thorntons Direct, Thorntons PLC
Loves our Viennese Truffles
T: 0845 1211911
EXT: 7115
F: 08707 108453
Address: Cocoa Pod, Thornton Park, Somercotes, Derbyshire, DE55 4XJ
Web: www.thorntons.co.uk
 
Thanks for your detailed endeavours Tiddlywinks - perhaps you would like the 4 boxes of Thorntons I received last week for my 65th birthday !!! because I still hanker after the Black Magic of old when I could get my teeth into their very different centres, rather than the 'gaggy' non-descript paste they now use.
 
brissles said:
Thanks for the info Nora, but my interest in chocolates waned when manufacturers (whether in this country or not) decided to offload the traditional and recognizable centres, i.e. coffee, nutty, marzipan, caramel, strawberry, mallow etc etc for the gloopy sludge of 'truffle, gnache (?), and mousse that chocolate centres now seem to consist of. And as for the 'menu' given within the box, I have yet to detect the "citrus orange from Spain" , the "champagne from France" or the "nuts from Zanzibar" (we are ****** nuts for falling for this nonsense)
Click to expand...

I agree 100%! i dont like chocolately chocolates! I say bring back Weekend - does anybody remember Weekend box? You got a mix of chocolates, fruit jellies, fondants and a hazelnut whirl thown in! Now its all 'sludge' as brissles rightly says.
 
DD they have a box (empty I'd imagine) in the York Castle museum. I stood staring at it longingly for a good five minutes, sigh!
 
brissles said:
Thanks for the info Nora, but my interest in chocolates waned when manufacturers (whether in this country or not) decided to offload the traditional and recognizable centres, i.e. coffee, nutty, marzipan, caramel, strawberry, mallow etc etc for the gloopy sludge of 'truffle, gnache (?), and mousse that chocolate centres now seem to consist of. And as for the 'menu' given within the box, I have yet to detect the "citrus orange from Spain" , the "champagne from France" or the "nuts from Zanzibar" (we are ****** nuts for falling for this nonsense)
Click to expand...

More like "orange gloop from Gdansk" and "lemon chemical from a run-down suburb of Warsaw!" Milk Tray are now made in Poland :( All this mention of chocolate reminded me of the Fry's Turkish Delight chocolate bar which I loved as a child. Having been to Turkey I realise now it tastes very little like REAL TD but I loved its glowing pink colour and chocolate coating. I found this really fab old advert for it which was quite intriguing! That music! THat woman! That snake! The sword! The desert?! That voice-over! Everything about it was quite intriguing, albeit utterly unrealistic as far as Turkey goes. Still love that advert though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAY_o36paQ0
 

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