Once upon a time there was a plain, rather thick biscuit called a Bath Oliver. Now known as Fortt's Original Bath Olivers, they were invented by physician William Oliver of Bath (
says Wikipedia) in 1750 as a diet biscuit. He can't have had any family because it seems he left the recipe to his coachman who set up a bakery business. Bath Olivers were eaten with cheese, with a glass of sherry or port and frequently put in a tin in the spare bedroom in case guests felt peckish in the middle of the night. And you can still buy them today.
In the 1930s someone had the brilliant idea of covering (technical term: enrobing) the Bath Oliver with chocolate. Seriously brilliant. These are top quality biscuits and you can read all about them at
chocolateoliver.com. It's written by some people who are obviously huge fans of Chocolate Olivers; and also fans of snow globes! Take a look.
So Huntley & Palmers used to make these biscuits, but they went out of business and then came back again, selling smaller biscuits covered in thicker chocolate. And the biscuits come in this tin. A luxury product and one much sort after by chocolate biscuit fans. Delicious. And a very handsome tin.
Oh yes, and the big fact about these biscuits is that once upon a time John Lennon is said to have asked to be paid in Chocolate Olivers rather than pounds.
A word of warning. If you are anxious about biting into an apple, take lots of care when biting into either a Bath Oliver or a Chocolate Oliver.
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