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Extra.ie
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
McVities issue stern letter after Jaffa Cakes hooured in biscuit museum
Is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake? The age old question has finally been answered after confectionary brand McVities weighed in on the matter. After the beloved sponge, orange and chocolate delicacy found itself honoured in a new biscuit museum, McVities quickly issued a cease-and-desist letter. Peek Freans Biscuit Museum in Bermondsey, London, opened the new exhibition on June 30 branding the Jaffa Cake 'one of the nation's favourite biscuits.' Is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake? The age old question has finally been answered after confectionary brand McVities weighed in on the matter. Pic: Getty Images Sharing a look at the exhibition online, Jaffa Cakes were quick to comment their disdain, writing: 'I beg your finest most available pardon?' The exhibition prompted a letter to be issued to the museum, with Jaffa Cakes sharing the letter via social media. In the letter they say: 'We write to you today, not with crumbs of animosity, but with a full slice of firm objection. 'To be clear, Jaffa Cakes are, in fact, cakes. Not biscuits. Not hybrid cakes. Some would say the clue is in the name on the box. The science is also on our side. Cakes harden when stale. Biscuits go soft.' They added that they understood their placement in the biscuit aisle of supermarkets caused confusion, but wondered: 'If one stands in the biscuit aisle, does one magically become a biscuit? 'By that logic, standing in the fruit aisle makes you a banana.' The letter continued with the confectionary giant demanding the removal of the jaffa cakes from the biscuit exhibit, noting it was a 'misrepresentation of sponge-based reality.' 'We respect your fine institution, and applaud your efforts to preserve the crunchier corners of British snack heritage,' they wrote, 'But, a line must be drawn. And that line is made of jelly, sponge and delicate dark chocolate.' Social media users took to the comments to have their say on the matter, with one offering, 'Sure okay, it's a cake. However, there was a famous legal dispute with this and therefore it's worth displaying the Jaffa Cake in the Biscuit Museum to educate people on the highly entertaining dispute.' Another added, 'I don't understand people who call them biscuits… it's sponge. Therefore it's cake? A third commented: 'There is NO biscuit in a jaffa cake. It's called a jaffa cake for a reason. It's sponge. I don't understand why there is such a debate.' A follow up response from Peek Freen Museum was shared online, with museum bosses hanging the letter up by the exhibition. 'Well, this is unexpected… @jaffacakesofficial have sent us a letter asking me and Frank to remove our latest addition to the biscuit museum due to… misclassification? 'Apparently it's not a biscuit? Who knew?'
Metro
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Scandal hits biscuit museum as McVitie's say they must 'draw the line'
The humble Jaffa Cake has caused chaos at a lesser-known London museum after a well-intentioned tribute to the treat took a sticky turn. Peek Freans Biscuit Museum in Bermondsey, London, opened a new exhibition on June 30, celebrating McVitie's Jaffa Cake, only to be met with a cease-and-desist-style letter. The problem? Jaffa Cakes, despite residing in the biscuit aisle, are famously not biscuits. It's no laughing matter, as McVitie's has fought long and hard to cement the cake status of its chocolate orange treat, which is nearly 100 years old, and was quick to correct the museum's frankly preposterous categorisation of it as anything else. The confectionery giant warned that the inclusion of Jaffa Cakes in a biscuit exhibition was factually incorrect and sent the museum a letter to set the record straight. 'Dear Sirs, Madams, and Biscuit Enthusiasts,' the letter begins. 'It has come to our attention, with no small degree of dismay, that the Biscuit Museum has included the humble Jaffa Cake within its exhibition of Biscuitry. 'We write to you today, not with crumbs of animosity, but with a full slice of firm objection. 'Allow us to be clear: Jaffa Cakes are, in fact, cakes. Not biscuits. Not hybrid snacks. Some would say the clue is in the name on the box.' In a follow-up statement, a spokesperson for McVitie's said: 'Look, we love a good biscuit as much as the next snack enthusiast, but we've got to draw the line somewhere, and that line is sponge-based. 'We respect the Biscuit's Museum's enthusiasm, but a cake's a cake, even when it's small, round and lives suspiciously close to Hobnobs. It's nothing personal, it's just the way the cake crumbles.' If the Biscuit Museum had done its research, it would have discovered that this isn't the first time Jaffa Cakes have been at the centre of a full-blown identity crisis. In 1991, McVitie's won a UK VAT tribunal, which decided the treat was in fact a cake – a distinction that made it exempt from VAT, unlike its biscuit relatives. McVitie's brought forward strong arguments, including the product's name (they are called Jaffa CAKES after all), their composition and texture ('the same as a traditional sponge cake') and the fact they go hard 'like a cake' when they go stale, rather than 'soft like a biscuit'. HMRC settled the matter and decided the treat had enough characteristics of cakes to be accepted as such. Queen of cakes Mary Berry – perhaps the best deciding authority – affirmed Jaffa Cakes' status as a cake in a 2016 episode of the Great British Bake Off, where she 'silenced' biscuit apologist. Despite the court ruling, the 'is it a cake or a biscuit?' debate continues to divide households, office staffrooms, and social media feeds. More Trending Some convincing arguments from the opposition are that they are marketed and packaged like biscuits and, most importantly, found in the biscuit aisle. 'If Jaffa Cakes are cakes, where do you put the candles?', plenty of others have pondered. Staff at the museum were left with no choice but to remove the exhibition. However, its curator, Gary Magold, hopes a compromise can be made. View More » 'It's a shame we've had to remove the exhibition for the moment,' he said. 'But, as a nation of Jaffa Cake lovers, we're hoping to reach an agreement.' Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Pensioner left 'appalled' after landlord fails to repair front door bashed in by mistake MORE: Manhunt launched after woman followed off bus and sexually assaulted MORE: Iconic London nightclub set for one last party before closing its doors for good Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
