What are Ireland’s favourite biscuits and chocolates at Christmas time, you ask? What do Irish people absolutely HAVE to have with a cup of tea after Christmas dinner?
All is being revealed today, as Aldi releases figures from a survey carried out to highlight that the supermarket is stocking a wide range of all of the favourite food, drink and confectionery brands you love this festive season.
Tins and tubs of chocolates are a firm favourite in Irish households each Christmas, and it comes as no surprise that Cadbury Roses raced home to victory as the favourite amongst Irish householders, with 43 percent of the overall vote.
We are a nation of biscuit lovers, and the people have responded – Jacob’s Chocolate Kimberley was the winner with 38 percent of the vote.
There are the flavours that you hate, the ones that you avoid and then there are the ones that you love more than the rest, but can never seem to get your hands on! Fudge, caramel and orange flavours were the most argued over sweets amongst families when it comes to the ones that everyone wants, with coffee, dark chocolate, Turkish delight and strawberry cremes being named as the chocolates that are always left behind.
The brands most associated with Christmas in homes across Ireland are – Cadbury Roses, Jacob’s Chocolate Kimberley, Quality Street, Coca Cola and Guinness.
The most popular biscuit brands are:
Jacob’s Chocolate Kimberley – 38 percent
Fox’s Biscuits – 15 percent
Cadbury Chocolate Assortment – 10 percent
McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives – 9 percent
Jacob’s USA Biscuits – 8 percent and Shortbread – 8 percent
Afternoon Tea – 5 percent
Chocolate Hobnobs – 2 percent
Snowballs (1 percent), Custard Cremes (1 percent), Pink Wafer (1 percent), Viscounts (1 percent) and Victoria Biscuits (1 percent)
Aldi will be stocking a wide range of branded items this festive season, meaning you can find everything you need this Christmas, and all at amazing Aldi prices.
Chocolate is one of the most celebrated and addictive foods on the face of the earth.
It has the mysterious ability to cure menstrual woes, break-up blues and even Mondays. In summary: It's powerful stuff.
Recently a fight to the death took place to finally decide which chocolate bar Ireland would lay down it's life for, and the results didn't take us by surprise.
Over 7,000 votes were cast to discover the nation's favourite chocolate bar in a survey undertaken by CraicPack (famed for their Hangover Boxes and hampers).
32 of the country's most popular choices were pitted against one another, and it almost got ugly. Unsurprisingly, Cadbury's Dairy Milk came out victorious, with Galaxy Smooth Milk as the runner-up.
The CraicPack Chocolate Cup asked the public to vote, and Cadbury slayed the competition. Kinder Bueno came in third, and Cadbury Flake rounded out the top four.
Crunchie, Dairy Milk (Golden Crisp),Wispa and Boost were all in the top eight contenders, meaning that six of the top eight were Cadbury's creations.
“We’ve always known that Ireland loves Dairy Milk and we include one in every Classic Irish Box that we send abroad”, said the team at CraicPack, “we now have the proof to back it up.”
It's known all over the world that Ireland has a special relationship with Cadbury's Dairy Milk, with many associating it's delicious Irish smooth milk chocolate with the shores of the Emerald Isle.
Sort of like how Tayto is the national crisp of Irish emigrants? It's all about connection.
Gavin James is known for his love of Whelan's, his stunning voice which produces banger after banger, and his ability to make friends with pretty much anyone.
The singer-songwriter, who has achieved massive chart success at home and abroad with tunes such as Always, Glow and Nervous, from his breakthrough album Bitter Pill back in 2015.
We sat down for a chat with the man himself, who is the new ambassador for the Cadbury Secret Santa campaign, to chat to him about his "f*cking hilarious" father, his home away from home and his favourite celebrities, among other (random) things.
James has been known for his love and support for charities, especially Down's Syndrome Ireland, so it's not surprising that he's choosing a generous movement like CadburySecret Santa to represent this Christmas.
A Dairy Milk gift can be sent anywhere in Ireland for free, either anonymously or personalised, to someone you love. Frankly, that's adorable. After posting the very first Secret Santa gift of the campaign, Gavin speaks about what drew him to Cadbury.
"I have always loved the Secret Santa ritual; the excitement of sending a gift in secret and the anticipation of receiving a gift anonymously – it’s so much fun! My dad is also essentially Santa." After pointing his dad out to me, I had to agree. He was merry with a white beard.
The artist brings his family and friends with him to gigs any chance he gets: “Its good to be able to bring them away with me. Every time I have a gig in Ireland my entire family goes, I brought my dad to a photoshoot today, which is f*cking hilarious.”
Asking him about his early days of gigging in tiny pubs, and dedicated to his then-rock band, he describes why he transitioned into acoustic songwriting, despite still having an intense love for his electric guitar.
"I started off with my mates in Temple Bar, my hair was huge. I was also trying to sing high but I couldn’t sing falsetto when I was younger, I had a raspy voice back then and couldn’t pronounce the letter 's'.I never try to transition, genres just kind of come on their own, I think."
We're glad he found his niche, his musical talent started for him at a very young age, surrounded by musical talent within his own family. His latest album, Only Ticket Home, hit number one in Ireland and has already surpassed a million streams.
He describes his latest offering as a dedication to the art of "simplicity", with most of the songs only having four chords.
"They're not trying to be smart. There was one song that didn’t make the album because I tried to record it and it just didn’t turn out right. It was the best song I’ve written in a long time, but it sounded too far away from the right sound of the album. I have it in my back pocket for next year though. I found loads of songs in the cloud, I was chuffed."
"There was like 40 but 33 of them were shit. I usually have 100 ideas but one works. The first idea is always the best song. It’s like a buffet, the first thing you look at is always what you want.”
James has toured with some absolutely huge names in music, among them are Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan, Sam Smith and Kodaline, to name a few. With all this talent around him, we have to ask which artists have impressed him the most.
"Bands like Vulfpeckare absolutely insane, they’re so good at playing stuff that I absolutely cannot understand. It’s insane, like Stevie Wonder-esque.”
“Foy Vance sang songs next to me, and his voice starts low and aggressively builds up and I don’t even know how he exists. He’s insane.”“When it comes to Secret Santa gifts, Gavin's already done his bit for fellow musicians… and their skin, apparently. "Sam Smith. I gave him aloe vera before, he loved that. He’s a really nice guy.”
We're sure Sam would say the same about Gavin, but is there anyone in the industry who he has been disillusioned by, who maybe brushed him off? It's a notoriously tough industry, which requires a thick skin for survival. IT seems James has a level-headed approach to the whole 'fame' thing.
"There are people I don’t want to meet purely because it would ruin how I feel about them, people I totally idolise, sometimes they’re just not in the mood and you don't want to annoy them. Everybody I’ve ever met has been really friendly to me though, but if someone isn’t being nice to me, I’ll tell them. I don’t mind saying that to people. It’s easier to be nice."
"I couldn't meet Ryan Adams because I love him so much, and Bruce Springsteen. He’s meant to be the nicest man in the world. I’d love to meet him but I’d be bricking it. I’d probably just say “thank you, Bruce, for all of these songs.”
"When it comes to growing Irish talent, I love David Keenan. He’s class. His lyrics are amazing. He has a song called Laurence of Arcadia with lyrics like;
“You're looking at the last know bar stool prophet to retire early from the trade, I'm going fishing for pearls of wisdom. I'll be dancing through the pissing rain. You're welcome to join me you annoyance, for I find you quite amusing all the same." It's amazing."
Irish artists have repeatedly found success abroad, yet the UK and US markets are infamously hard to break into. Why have some Irish artists such as U2, The Script, Hozier and now Dermot Kennedy made it big over there, and some slip through the cracks?
“The UK is a tough market. It’s a weird one, like the Netherlands kicked off for me because they love a sad song, and I'm good at those. I brought out a Live at Whelans track, and was told it would reach top of the Dutch charts by Christmas. I didn't believe it, because it was a live recording. Then it went number one in the Netherlands, but no one would think of a live recording doing that.”
His second album, Only Ticket Home, is still distinctly within the style of his debut, and James makes sure that his roots can come across in his lyrics. When he's in Dublin, he loves chilling with his friends in the pub, living out a normal life despite his new-found fame.
Where are his favourite parts of Dublin, and if he had to move, where would he find himself?
“Whelan’s, but I spend most of my time in Temple Bar, even though it’s seven euros a pint.” *shivers*
"Where Doran’s used to be, my mate Robbie owns a little snug next to it, an Irish pub. I always go there because it seems like a little secret spot where I’d just have a pint with my mates.”
“I’ve never been to Coppers. I tried to get in years ago, I think they were closing up. They must have a quota of guys named Gavin or gingers, so I couldn’t get in.” (Can you BELIEVE this Dubliner hasn't stepped foot in the notorious nightclub? We are shook)
“I went on one night out to Nashville to see Ron Pope, and ended up staying there a week.”
“I’d definitely move to Nashville. Very random, it’s musical but it reminds me of Dublin in a lot of ways. I have a lot of friends there, I made a lot of friends there very quickly. It’s cheap too, it’s not f*cking mad, it’s not like Los Angeles. I’m not into L.A. How the hell do people get around there?”
Sounds like this lad has his head screwed on right, that's for sure.
We got two hugs out of him and a Cadbury Secret Santa letter, so we are officially his number one fans.
Only Ticket Home is out now, grab your tickets to see him live in 2019 here.
Don't forget to become a Cadbury Secret Santa and give a little something extra this Christmas- visit www.cadbury.ie/secretsanta and follow all the action on the Cadbury Ireland Facebook and Twitter pages.
Chocolate lovers, we’ve got some great news for you. Cadbury has launched a limited edition caramel Twirl bar, and we are drooling.
The divine sweet treat is made of caramel flavoured chocolate, which means you don’t have to deal with gooey caramel dripping all over your clothes when you’re eating one of these bars.
However, it looks like the bars are only available in Australia at the moment. Anyone fancy booking a quick trip across to Oz so we can get our hands on one of these delicious bars?
Not only are we being deprived of the caramel Twirl bars, but we can’t even enjoy the white chocolate Galaxy bars, as they’re only available in the United Arab Emirates at the moment, meaning you'll need to travel over 7,000 km to get your hands on it.
Luckily, there is one very special chocolate treat that we can enjoy this Easter. Fans of Orange Smarties will be delighted to hear that Nestlé is bringing back their favourite sweets this spring following the overwhelming consumer response to the launch of the Orange Smarties Giant Tube last autumn.
Chocolate lovers can now enjoy their favourite orange treat as an Easter egg which features a delicious orange flavour milk chocolate egg filled with Orange Smarties Mini Eggs inside.
Also, brand new this spring are Orange Smarties Mini Eggs which are quite literally, little Orange Smarties chocolate eggs. Very eggs-citing!
Cadbury has been forced to shut down chocolate production at it's Birmingham site due to on-going water issues.
The confectionery company confirmed that last week's extreme weather caused a pipe to burst at the factor, and have temporarily closed as a result.
But don't panic just yet, water services are reportedly working around the clock to fix the problem and hope to get the site back up and running as soon as possible.
A representative also assured the public that the supply of chocolate will not immediately be impacted – thank God.
"While we have no water supply to our manufacturing site in Bournville, our supply of chocolate is not immediately impacted as we currently have sufficient stock available to manage through this hopefully short disruption," they said.
In the meantime, it's probably wise to stock up on as many Dairy Milks as you can get your hands on – you know, just to be on the safe side.
The good folk over at Cadbury's have answered all our New Year's wishes with the launch of a white chocolate Creme Egg.
But before you get too excited, just know there's a twist.
With only 371 believed to be in circulation, chocolate lovers across the UK and Ireland will have to hunt for the special white eggs which will be disguised in the same packaging as it's milk chocolate counterparts.
Oh, and did we mention there's a whole host of prizes up for grabs for those lucky enough to get their hands on the rare eggs.
To enter the competition, simply find a white egg, take a picture of it, and post in the the thread located on Cadbury Ireland's official Twitter account.
Let’s be real here; if you’re not eating chocolate for breakfast on the morning of December 25, you’re doing it wrong.
Christmas and chocolate always have, and always will, go hand in hand, so we are pumped by the launch of this year’s Cadbury’s CADVENT campaign.
The good folk at the wonder emporium that is Cadbury wants everyone to do their bit to spread the festive spirit this year, and that is where you guys come in.
So, how does it work exactly?
Every person that tweets using #Cadvent during the month of December will help to push the dial on the giant Cadbury Joy-o-Meter, revealing a new prize to be given away each day in the countdown to Christmas.
And that’s not all!
The Cadbury Christmas Parades will be the highlight of this year’s Cadvent celebrations, travelling around the country and making three very special appearances in local towns throughout the month of December.
The parades will tell the story of a young child’s dream that takes him on a magical journey to meet the Master of Joy. The story will be brought to life with a wonderful array of wacky floats, novel characters and creative entertainment that brings to life the magic of Christmas through a child’s eyes.
Always wanted to visit Lapland at Christmas? This year, Cadbury can get you there (almost)!
The Cadbury Cadventure Experience will be popping up at locations across the country to give people the chance to take a ride on Santa’s sleigh through snowy Lapland to help him deliver presents on Christmas Eve.
Ladies, it’s time to take your turn on the sleigh and receive a video of the special experience to take home and keep as a once in a lifetime Christmas memory.
Cadbury Cadvent ambassador and former Westlife sensation Kian Egan is almost excited as us, saying: “I am delighted to be on board with Cadvent this year.”
“Cadbury have loads of great family activities planned for the month of December which will help to get everyone into the Christmas spirit. I can’t wait for the first parade in Dublin; it sounds like it’s going to be amazing.”
Here are all the deets you need.
PARADES:
5pm, Sunday 3rd December: Sandymount, Co Dublin
5pm, Sunday 10th December: Kinsale, Co Cork
5pm, Sunday 17th December: Donegal Town, Co Donegal
GREEN SCREEN ACTIVATIONS:
Saturday 2nd December: Arthur’s Quay Shopping Centre, Co Limerick
Saturday 9th December: Mahon Point Shopping Centre, Co Cork
Saturday 16th December: Jervis Street Shopping Centre, Co Dublin
Saturday 23rd December: Dundrum Town Centre, Co Dublin
Ladies, it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
There is honestly nothing better than getting that Friday feeling, especially when it's coming up to 5pm and the sun is out.
And to celebrate one of the best feelings in the world, Cadbury's has created a new Crunchie Snapchat filter (the best feeling, the best chocolate bar, the best social media app – what more could you want).
Have the absolute LOLZ with the new feature – It's time for Crunchie! – and you'll see the day go by effortlessly.
But, here's the catch. The filter is only available for one day so make sure you GRAB it.
And don't forget to share your gas pics on social media using the hashtag #FridayFeeling and tag @CadburyIreland – we'd love to see how creative you can get. It's a challenge ladies!
It's not just a dream, people… it's actually happening.
Since hearing earlier this month that Dublin would soon be home to its own Cadbury Creme Egg Café, we've been positively quaking with excitement. Now, with just 24 hours to go until opening day, the first photo has emerged – and it looks A1.
Twitter user Alan Kinsella spotted the café – not that you could easily miss it – this morning, and posted this snap:
It definitely looks a little smaller than London's three-floor offering, which comes complete with a ball-pit in the basement, but we all know the chocolatey goodness being served up is the most important part.
Tickets for the Dublin café, which is open until Saturday February 20, have already sold-out, but there are a "limited" number of walk-ins available so you could of course try your luck.
As tickets were free, it's likely people may drop out at the last minute, so chance your arm and you could be sitting down to this…
Or this…
Or even *drools* THIS:
The café has set opening times for its short run, which are as follows:
Lunch from 12pm – 1pm and 1pm – 2pm
Evenings from 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Saturday brunch from 12.00pm – 1.30pm and 2.00pm – 3.30pm
News just in, chocolate lovers – Dublin will soon be home to Ireland's first Creme Egg Café.
After spending roughly 95% of our working week drooling over snaps of the newly opened outlet in London, we were delighted to get word from Cadbury today that the chocolatey goodness would be spreading to Dublin too.
"Cadbury is eggstremely eggcited to announce that the Crème de la Creme Egg Cafe is coming to Dublin," the chocolate giant said in a statement today.
"Opening on Tuesday 16th February, the Café nestled within Lock 6 on Canal Road, Dublin 6, will be a gooey haven for all Creme Egg lovers."
GAH. That means we can soon look forward to delights like this on home shores…
Oh, and this…
And even this…
But of course the real question is, will Dublin's version of the café have a ball pit in the basement too?
There are just two days left until Cadbury opens its pop-up Creme Egg Café in London, and the first photos are in.
The verdict? Well, we can already tell we're going to spend the next month in a puddle of our own drool, staring at other peoples' photos on Instagram.
Look at that tray bake, for God's sake, posted to the official CadburyFacebook page yesterday:
Other options on offer will include Creme Egg and toast soldiers, a combination we'll have to try out at home ourselves:
And finally, the famous Cadbury Creme Egg toastie, oozing with fondant and chocolate *swoon*:
Builders in Soho have been busy putting the final touches to the café's exterior, which is decked out inCadbury-tastic shades of purple and red.
And thanks to some wily passers-by, we've managed to get a good look at the place ahead of the Jan 22 opening.
No snaps of the inside have emerged yet, but a closer look at that blackboard confirms it will indeed have two floors and a BALL PIT in the basement as rumoured last week.
The café is open until March 6, but you might want to reconsider before hopping on a flight to London as tickets for entry sold out instantly.
A photo posted by Yasmin-Marie Kurt (@yasminmarie03) on
However Cadbury have said there will be a limited amount of walks-in each day, with opening hours of 5pm – 9pm on Fridays and 2pm – 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Many were shocked and saddened when Cadbury's changed the chocolate in its creme egg.
Yep, the sweet company ditched the original chocolate for cheaper stuff, and fans were not happy. Cadbury's even suffered a €6 million sales slump because of it.
So, if you don't want to lose the deliciousness of what once was, here's a fab recipe you can make with Dairy Milk chocolate, and guess what? It tastes exactly like the chocolate your mammy used to buy you.
1. Prepare the eggshells by pouring the melted chocolate into the moulds. Tilt the mould to reach the whole surface and remember to keep space for the filing. Chill for 5 to 10 minutes, or until set.
2. In a mixer, cream together the corn syrup, butter, powered sugar and vanilla. Add milk and continue to mix. Take a third of the mixture and add the yellow food colouring for the yolk filling.
3. Transfer the white filling and yellow filling into two separate plastic bags, and cut a small hole in one corner of each bag.
4. Pipe the white filling first, then a small amount of the yellow filling into the chocolate egg. Chill for ten minutes to harden.
5. Use a thin layer of melted chocolate to stick the moulds together, and chill for another 5 minutes.
