The UK’s number one biscuit museum has found itself in a bit of a sticky situation – orange flavoured, no less – after an honest, but seemingly critical, error in its latest exhibition.
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. The sweet celebration took an unexpected turn when the museum was sent a Cease and Desist-esque letter pointing out a rather sticky detail: Jaffa Cakes, despite their biscuit aisle residency, are not biscuits.
The question of whether a Jaffa Cake is a cake or a biscuit has long been one of the UK’s most hotly-contested debates, sparking social media spats and dividing households for decades. Despite their placement in the biscuit aisle of the nation’s supermarkets, McVitie’s has always maintained that Jaffa Cakes are, by definition, cakes. This latest warning adds fresh fuel to the debate, reminding fans (and museums) of the true status of the iconic treat.
A snippet from the letter reads:
“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.”
The letter went on to cite solid food facts: “Cakes harden when stale. Biscuits go soft.” McVitie’s and the biscuit museum are yet to agree to a resolution.
In response to the exhibition launch, a spokesperson for McVitie’s commented, “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 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.”
While staff at the museum were left surprised by the action taken by McVitie’s, the Biscuit Museum’s curator Gary Magold is hopeful a resolution can be reached: “It’s a shame – we’ve had to remove the exhibition for the moment. But, as a nation of Jaffa Cakes lovers, we’re hoping we can reach an agreement”, said Gary.
For now though, the great biscuit vs. cake debate has been officially… shut down.
