Class 4 had a fantastic time last week, when we visited Cadbury World. We began the day with a tour of the Mayan exhibitions, to find out how cacao was first used. We then watched some very clever holograms, with characters who explained how cacao, which was used to make a spicy hot drink, flavoured with chilli, was first brought to Europe. The Spanish were the first importers but it was taken to France and kept a secret for over 100 years. Only Royalty were allowed to drink hot chocolate. The French thankfully came up with the idea of substituting the chilli with sugar.
Talk of this exciting new drink eventually made it to Britain. People would meet in Chocolate Houses to drink this delicious new beverage. We saw replicas of such places, before being introduced to John Cadbury, the hero of the day! It was his brilliant idea to turn the liquid into something we could eat.
We found out about what an incredible man he was, creating a welcoming place for his workers to live. It was his idea to develop pensions and paid holiday leave – we have so much to thank him for!
We will be researching his life and writing biographies of this inspiration figure.
After finding out about the history of the company, we then learned more about the actual process of making chocolate, before going into the factory to watch it being made into some of our favourite products. The chocolate tasting was an obvious highlight!
After lunch, we took part in an inter-active workshop, learning more about the Mayan way of life.
A quick trip to the world’s largest Cadbury chocolate shop saw lots of mental maths going on, as we worked out the best ways of spending our money!!
We got so much out of this trip – as well as plenty of chocolate.
Thanks to Mrs Wilson and Mrs Salisbury for helping for the day.
King of the Mayans