There’s been a sticky, orange-flavoured situation keeping Jaffa Cakes fans on tenterhooks this month, but McVitie’s and London’s Biscuit Museum are thrilled to reveal that an agreement has officially been reached.
For those who missed it, the Bermondsey-based museum, known for celebrating the UK’s most dunkable delights, unveiled an exhibition on Monday 30th June dedicated entirely to the beloved McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes.
But the sweet celebration took an unexpected turn, when McVitie’s sent the museum a Cease and Desist-esque letter. It pointed out that Jaffa Cakes, despite their biscuit aisle residency, are not biscuits. A snippet read:
“Dear Sirs, Madams, and Biscuit Enthusiasts,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. Just cakes. Some would say the clue is in the name on the box.”
Following some productive discussions at McVitie’s HQ last week and a true exercise in British snack diplomacy, the Biscuit Museum today unveiled its new Cake Wing – sponsored by McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes.
In a move that’s sure to delight fans and quell the crumbling tensions, the Cake Wing will house the museum’s Jaffa Cakes exhibit in its own dedicated space, and acknowledges that while Jaffa Cakes may be neighbours of biscuits in supermarket aisles across the nation, Jaffa Cakes are, always have been, and always will be, cakes.
A spokesperson for McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes commented: “Well, you can imagine our delight! After much deliberation, we’ve come to a happy compromise with the Biscuit Museum. The new ‘Cake Wing’ ensures our iconic Jaffa Cakes can remain a cherished feature in this British institution, but rightly recognises and pays homage to our cake-ness.”
The Biscuit Museum’s curator, Gary Magold, added: “We never could have imagined how the public would have responded to the news of the letter we received after unveiling the Jaffa Cakes exhibit – it’s been amazing to see so many people support the work we do in preserving biscuit history. We want to say a huge thank you to McVitie’s for their support in opening the Cake Wing, too – it means we can still proudly feature Jaffa Cakes here at the museum, in its new, very own, dedicated space.”
