Pav’s Patch; My crusade to bring back Toffos

Reporter: Mike Pavasovic
Date published: 28 August 2008


DID you know they don’t make Toffo anymore?

I got the urge the other day — for some toffee that is — and was unable to find any of the Mackintosh’s variety.

Now finding the sweets of choice isn’t as easy as you might think, given that toffee shops don’t really exist any longer.

But visits to various shops proved fruitless. None of those once-famous red tubes was to be found anywhere.

Next stop was the internet and there I discovered the awful truth — Toffo, a staple of the British toffee industry since Violet Mackintosh whipped up a quick batch in her Halifax kitchen — is no longer made.

Nestlé, the Swiss mob who took over Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988, tell me Toffo was expensive to make and wasn’t selling well enough. But it’s an icon of the British sweets industry.

Perhaps the Brits have lost their liking for sticky goo, but you can still buy that German-made Werthers Original. You know, the one that used to be advertised by that somewhat unnerving old man.

I see the hand of the European Union behind all this. We all know that Toffo was toffee, but they insist on giving everything an odd name — like calling malt vinegar non-brewed condiment. Hence toffee has become candy.

I don’t know about you, but for me candy simply doesn’t have the same comforting glow about it that toffee does. Also, I’ve never been happy with Nestlé since they changed their name from Nessuls.

Now, by this point you may wondering why somebody like myself, with a toned, tapered, athletic body, has suddenly developed a fixation with Mackintosh’s Toffo.

The answer to that is that I’ve been researching the history of British chocolate bars. I’d forgotten Toffo even existed, but since my memory was jogged I’ve had this mad desire for something creamy and chewy.

So, I have a plan. If public opinion can force Cadbury’s to bring back the Wispa — which is only a souped-up chocolate bar for goodness sake — then why can’t we get Nessuls, sorry Nestlé, to bring back Toffo.

Just think back to the experience. Tearing the red paper, pulling back the gold foil, removing the greaseproof paper, popping the sweet into your mouth and then that lovely, rich, luxurious chewy taste.

Be honest, you want one don’t you?

So get writing then. Get in touch with Nestlé in Halifax and tell them that Pav wants Toffo back. When we win, it will underline the Evening Chronicle’s pre-eminent place as a campaigning newspaper.

But in the meantime, what do I chew?