Kids Cuisine

In addition to jelly beans, another classic Easter treat has got to be the Cadbury Cream Egg. I grew up in England, and these were definitely all the rage during the ’80s. They have become almost as ubiquitous in America these days, and more excitingly, there are now chocolate and caramel eggs from Cadbury. I loved cream eggs when I was a child, the sweet messy stickiness, the sugar so intensely sweet that it burned my mouth a bit. With a giant glass of milk, my one cream egg per year was a true Easter delight.

Last year, I was visiting family in England and had the opportunity to visit cream egg mecca, Cadbury World in Birmingham. This place is like no other chocolate factory I have seen in America — it blows Hershey out of the water (the factory at least; there is no amusement park attached to Cadbury World).

The tour of the complex begins in an Amazon jungle, where you can watch (simulated) cocoa pods growing on trees and learn more about the ancient history of chocolate. From there, you pass ahead in time a bit to learn about the European importation of chocolate and it’s history up to the founding of Cadbury. Then it’s on to the theatre to watch a film about the chocolate making process hosted by some pretty cute chocolate beans.

By this time, you are working up a bit of an appetite for chocolates. That’s no problem — just reach into the gift bag you received for one of several full-size chocolate bars. Pace yourself, though, there’s more to come…

Now it is time to actually see chocolate being made. Unlike Hershey, which has a simulated chocolate factory, Cadbury lets you see the whole process from catwalks about the factory floor. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed in that area, but take my word for it, it’s pretty cool. After watching candy whizzing around below you, you might find yourself hungry again, so there are staff members available as you leave the factory portion to hand out samples of whatever they are making during your visit (again, full size bars). At this point, my entire family was starting to feel the sugar overload — I bet Cadbury makes tons of money from the water vending machines that line the factory exit.

You probably thought that was the end, but you’d be wrong. From there, the next step is the chocolate ride, a kind of “It’s a Small World” featuring anthropomorphic pieces of chocolate. It’s quick, fun, and very hard to get a good picture. If you look carefully, you should be able to see a chocolate guy nestled among the bubbles in the window; he’s one of several hundred animatronic characters. Little kids love this. The group I was with (11-17) was less impressed, but they still had a good time.

Finally, we get to the best part, the area where kids get to play with chocolate first hand. My youngest brother had a great time tempering hot milk chocolate on a marble wedge, while my sister tried her hand at writing her name with melted chocolate. We all dipped various flavored centers in chocolate to make little bon-bons. It got a little messy, but nobody seemed to mind. In another area, we could make sundaes of sorts by selecting toppings (crunch, toffee, orange or mint crystals, etc.) and then pouring melted chocolate over the mixture. Think fondue, but with pouring instead of dipping. Yum.

Our last stop was the World’s Largest Cadbury Store. However, we were all so stuffed from the freebies along the way that we really didn’t want to buy much from the store. I ended up bringing home a poster, but no more chocolate. We were still eating the freebies a week later!

This is an amazing attraction for chocolate lovers of all ages, but particularly the young ones. The main struggle for parents is to monitor and limit the chocolate intake — which is easy enough as long as Mom or Dad is holding the sample bags. Cadbury World is a sweet addition to any itinerary.