Wagon Wheels (Biscuit)
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-->Wagon Wheels are a popular British biscuit which have a mallow centre and are covered in a chocolate flavoured coating. They are produced and distributed by Burtons Foods LTD who are also responsible for Jammie Dodgers. The biscuit itself is round to represent the wheel of a wagon (hence the name).
Wagon Wheels were invented by Garry Weston (1927-2002) (son of W. Garfield Weston). Garry Weston worked for his fathers buisness in Australia before taking over his UK family business. The biscuits were first launched during the 1940's at the time of the 1948 Olympia Food Fair. The name was derived from the fact that the Wild West was very popular at time, and in particular the film Wagon Train. The original name for Wagon Wheels were Weston Wagon Wheels
Interest in Wagon Wheels was at an all time peak when the female UK comedians French and Saunders made a sketch with Dawn French dressed as a schoolgirl shoving a Wagon Wheel into her mouth. Wagon Wheels were re-launched in 2002.
They are also available in packs of 6 and 12 or can be bought individually at selected retailers.
Two previous slogans for the product have been:
- "A taste for adventure."
- "If there's a bigger bite, it can't be found."
Size
There have been many debates amongst fans of the biscuit about the size. Wagon Wheels have supposedly shrunk in size as time has progressed, Burtons Foods LTD have denied this. The supposed shrinkage is most likely due to an adult's fond childhood memory of eating a Wagon Wheel held in a much smaller hand.Although this most likely to be true, the original factory which produced the biscuit in Slough during the early 1980's were transferred to an updated and modern factory in Llantarnam in South Wales. The original factory in Slough produced the biscuit with crinkled edges rather than the updated smoother edges. This caused the overall diameter of the biscuit to shrink slighty, but not as much as fans of the biscuit believe.
Also, although the UK Wagon Wheel has barely shrunk, it is still noticeably smaller than the Australian equivalent. The diameter of the Australian version is measured at 88 mm which is a shocking 14 mm larger than the UK version. Even though the Australian version is wider in diameter, the UK Wagon Wheel is notably thicker by 4 mm.
Flavours
See also
- List of brands of biscuit
- George Weston - founder of George Weston Bakeries Ltd.
- Willard Garfield Weston b. 1898, d. 1978 - son of George Weston
- Garfield Howard (Garry) Weston b. 1927, d. 2002 - son of Garfield Weston
- George G. Weston b.1964 - son of Garry Weston
- Guy Weston b. 1961 - son of Garry Weston
- Galen Weston b. 1939 - son of W. Garfield Weston
- Hilary Frayne Weston - wife of Galen Sr.
- Galen Weston Jr. - son of Galen Sr.
- Alannah Weston - daughter of Galen Sr.
External links
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