"In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection." - Curnonsky
Any food manufacturer will tell you that each day they
strive for perfection. Many have tried and failed but for others the
painstaking days of food trials and tribulations finally bore fruit.
It was sad to read this week that one such man, Brian
Sollitt passed away at the age of 74.
For many of you Sollitt may not be a name that lives in the
memory, but he was involved in creating some of the most popular household
chocolates of his generation.
During his illustrious career at Rowntree’s in York,
spanning 53 years Sollit was involved in creating the Yorkie, Matchmakers,
Drifter and the Lion Bar.
But it was another chocolate that would mark his greatest
crafting achievement – the After Eight Mint.
Sollitt was the first person to work out how to get the mint
filling inside the chocolate without it spilling out the sides.
Since that day, the technique has remained a closely guarded
secret and more than a billion boxes of the sweet delights have been snapped
up.
Loved by so many, Mr Sollitt was known as a larger than life
character who would leave chocolate Santas out for his factory staff to take
home, and his love of After Eights saw him amass one of the largest paraphernalia
collections in the world.
Alex Hutchison a historian for Nestle who now owns Rowntree’s
said: “He spent months – sometime years agonising over the technical details of
his creations. He was an incredible man.”
Sollitt leaves behind a legacy that he created through hard
graft and determination. An example to any young foodie entrepreneurs that hard
work pays off in the end.
So next time you tuck into your after dinner After Eight,
remember the name Brian Sollitt.
Which of Sollitt’s creations do you think was the greatest?
After Eight/Yorkie/Lion Bar/ Drifter/ Matchmaker
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