The man behind McVitie’s most sought-after biscuit for a decade has been revealed to be… the King’s Coronation cake creator.
Robert Craggs’ humble white chocolate digestive has been one of the surprise hits of 2023, going viral on social media as fans posted videos of themselves on TikTok trying to track down the biscuits.
McVitie’s was forced to ramp up production as it sold 1.7 million packs of the biscuits, three times the number forecast.
Now a Channel 4 documentary on Tuesday will show they are the invention of Coronation cake maker Mr Craggs, McVitie’s product development chef.
In the programme, Inside McVitie’s At Christmas, he is seen sampling white chocolate containing miso and crunchy biscuits before the cookie went into production.
The man behind McVitie’s most sought-after biscuit for a decade has been revealed to be… the King’s Coronation cake creator
Robert Craggs’ humble white chocolate digestive has been one of the surprise hits of 2023, going viral on social media as fans posted videos of themselves on TikTok trying to track down the biscuits
McVitie’s was forced to ramp up production as it sold 1.7 million packs of the biscuits, three times the number forecast
‘I’m super proud of what we’ve delivered this year,’ says Mr Craggs, who was trained by the late Royal chef Graham Newbould.
‘I’ve probably got one of the most amazing jobs across the business. I travel extensively, I taste food extensively, I look at food trends day in, day out.’
The Coronation cake, inspired by archived recipes for previous Royal cakes, took five months to make from design to decoration. It took 120 hours to bake and 160 to decorate.
Its base tier had matt stone icing to symbolise the Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish Kings were crowned, while the second layer was engraved with a pattern from the Anointing Spoon, used by the Archbishop of Canterbury during the ceremony.
The third level was inspired by King Edward’s chair, which has been a centrepiece in coronations for 700 years, and the final tier was topped with a ceramic interpretation of the Sovereign’s Orb, one of the Crown Jewels.
‘The entire process was an incredible honour and a wonderful journey, including collaborating with the different professions,’ said Mr Craggs.