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| Paul A Young on Brian Sollitt: 'He probably had molten chocolate running through his veins' | Paul A Young on Brian Sollitt: 'He probably had molten chocolate running through his veins' |
| (1 day later) | |
| I was saddened to hear the news today that Brian Sollitt has died. He was the inventor of some of the very best special occasion chocolates, the Matchmaker and the After Eight Mint, and delicious snacks, the Lion Bar, Drifter and the Yorkie. As such, Brian was a well-known name in the confectionary and chocolate industry, a man of innovation and creativity, a man who probably had molten chocolate running through his veins. | |
| One of my earliest chocolate memories is of the After Eight mint. I'm six or seven years old, I can still see that small dark green box, its fancy embossing, little silky papered envelopes, that sent you giddy with excitement. And when you opened it, the overwhelming smell of dark chocolate and peppermint, to be shared between everyone, until we all fought over the last one. | One of my earliest chocolate memories is of the After Eight mint. I'm six or seven years old, I can still see that small dark green box, its fancy embossing, little silky papered envelopes, that sent you giddy with excitement. And when you opened it, the overwhelming smell of dark chocolate and peppermint, to be shared between everyone, until we all fought over the last one. |
| They were so special, so luxurious, often coming as gifts at birthdays and Christmas. There were those rebellious – some may say cruel - family members who took the mint out, while leaving the envelopes in the box, fooling me into thinking there was still a healthy harvest of mints left. My little fingers rustled through the envelopes to find one. I don't know of any other chocolate that evokes such memories. | |
| I have photographs of me kneeling on the sitting-room carpet very early on a Christmas morning with presents: boxes, jars and packets of sweets and 99% of them were chocolate – the majority still enjoyed today by millions. That number includes me – I still love a Lion bar, and an orange or mint Matchmaker (I could go on). These treats catapult me back 30 years or more to a time when innovation in chocolate bars was at an epic level. | I have photographs of me kneeling on the sitting-room carpet very early on a Christmas morning with presents: boxes, jars and packets of sweets and 99% of them were chocolate – the majority still enjoyed today by millions. That number includes me – I still love a Lion bar, and an orange or mint Matchmaker (I could go on). These treats catapult me back 30 years or more to a time when innovation in chocolate bars was at an epic level. |
| I love chocolates that taste great but are also exciting to eat. Brian was eternally young at heart and it's obvious he had a lot of laughs creating his products. Matchmakers are still so much fun – you can chomp the entire thin, crispy, intensely flavoured stick of orange or mint (or coffee back in my day) in one go, but my preferred method is to nibble very fast, pushing the Matchmaker further into my mouth until it's gone. Last year I bought a box for the first time in an age. I ate them in the same way, and they still didn't last very long. | I love chocolates that taste great but are also exciting to eat. Brian was eternally young at heart and it's obvious he had a lot of laughs creating his products. Matchmakers are still so much fun – you can chomp the entire thin, crispy, intensely flavoured stick of orange or mint (or coffee back in my day) in one go, but my preferred method is to nibble very fast, pushing the Matchmaker further into my mouth until it's gone. Last year I bought a box for the first time in an age. I ate them in the same way, and they still didn't last very long. |
| I'm so sentimental about food, particularly chocolate – everything I have eaten of every quality and style has influenced how I make my own chocolates now. Today after reading that Brian had passed away, I bought my first Lion bar for some years and wondered why I had left it so long. I loved them as a child, the crispy, chewy, satisfying textures I cherish, very sweet and caramely: really, what's not to like? It has nudged me to keep enjoying all the things I ate in my younger days, to remind myself why we loved them so much. Brian developed all of these products for pleasure and it felt fitting to remember him while happily eating my Lion bar this morning. Tomorrow is going to be a Drifter day. | I'm so sentimental about food, particularly chocolate – everything I have eaten of every quality and style has influenced how I make my own chocolates now. Today after reading that Brian had passed away, I bought my first Lion bar for some years and wondered why I had left it so long. I loved them as a child, the crispy, chewy, satisfying textures I cherish, very sweet and caramely: really, what's not to like? It has nudged me to keep enjoying all the things I ate in my younger days, to remind myself why we loved them so much. Brian developed all of these products for pleasure and it felt fitting to remember him while happily eating my Lion bar this morning. Tomorrow is going to be a Drifter day. |