As a chocolate fanatic (it seems that most of us are), I'm more than happy to eat my way through whatever is put in front of me for the sake of a thorough review. Today I'm taking a look at the 'Kit Kat Chunky', a chocolate bar designed to satisfy the needs of those who want a bit more from their snack. Let's get one thing out of the way from the outset, the KitKat is actually a 'Kit Kat' - even though there doesn't appear to be a space between the 'Kit' and the 'Kat' on the logo, Nestle have confirmed that technically, there is. Space or no space, let's see whether the chunky chocolate covered wafer is a worthy accompaniment to a cup of tea.


A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHOCOLATE FINGER - the stuff you didn't learn at school!

Originally known as 'Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp', the Kit Kat's 1930's forerunner was actually very similar in appearance to today's modern offering. The official 'Kit Kat' name was first used in early 1950's advertising, thanks to the "Kitty the Kat" campaign which promoted the chocolate's use of full cream milk. In the early years, you would have thought that the Kit Kat would have been of the regular milk chocolate variety - but interestingly enough, milk shortages after World War 2 meant that the dark Kit Kat made an early appearance, providing a glimpse of things to come with the Kit Kat Dark's official release in 1997. In terms of the more recent history, Nestle bought Rowntree in 1988, and with it changed the appearance of the chocolate by printing their own brand name on each one. Growing up in the 80's, I distinctly remember the words 'Rowntree' embossed on each stick, and being slightly confused when one day I was suddenly reading 'Nestle' on my chocolate bar. These days Kit Kat is not only a very successful product, but Nestle (who are frequently surrounded by controversy) are striving to improve conditions for farmers in poorer regions of the world by investing over £65 million and promising to use Fairtrade certified chocolate in their products.


PRICE & AVAILABILITY - where can I buy my Kit Kat Chunky from?

Although it would seem like the Kit Kat Chunky would be readily available from all sorts of retailers, actually, it's much more difficult to get hold of than the regular 'slim' Kit Kat. My first port of call (McColl's newsagent) didn't sell the chocolate, sending me on a visit to the nearest supermarket - luckily, Tesco is just up the road, and they had a plentiful supply. From Tesco, the single fifty gram Kit Kat Chunky costs 47p, wheras if you want to save a couple of pennies, ASDA is cheaper at 45p. If it's the 5 x 50g multipack that you're after, Tesco works out as being by far the cheapest - with a current price of only £1. Both ASDA and Sainsbury's sell the multipack for £1.75, although the latter is currently involved in a 'buy two for £2.50 offer'. In terms of value for money when compared to the competition, I personally think that with Tesco's prices, the chocolate's cost is very respectable.


PACKAGING - let's take a look at the wrapper

Wheras the original Kit Kat traditionally came wrapped in a paper outer sleeve with a foil inside, the Kit Kat Chunky arrives in an all-in-one foil lined wrapper. This not only keeps the product nice and fresh, but also minimises the materials used in the production process. The end result is an environment-friendly wrapper that keeps waste to a minimum. The packaging opens very easily via a simple tear to one of the ridged end sections - use of the teeth or a pair of scissors certainly isn't required. The design itself is pleasing to look at, featuring the Kit Kat's traditional red and white livery, with the addition of a blue section with the word 'Chunky' written inside it. The top side also features a metallic silver bar, making the whole ensemble appear easy on the eye and slightly futuristic. The back of the wrapper is reserved for the nutritional information, ingredients, barcode, and return address.

The 'best before' date of the chocolate is printed on each wrapper (on the underside lift up section), and also on the back of the multipack. The chocolate can potentially last a decent amount of time in storage (presumably because of the foil-lined packaging), and it's usually in the region of seven months after the sale date. Obviously, this probably wouldn't be the case if you for some reason leave your beloved Kit Kat Chunky's on a hot window sill.


INGREDIENTS - what does the Kit Kat Chunky contain?

The Kit Kat Chunky contains;
Milk Chocolate (66%) (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Dried Skimmed Milk, Cocoa Mass, Whey Powder, Butterfat, Vegetable Fat, Lactose, Emulsifier (soya Lecithin, E476), Flavouring), Wheat Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Fat, Cocoa Mass, Yeast, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Calcium Sulphate, and Flavouring.

Taking a look at the above list, it's instantly apparent that the ingredients are identical to those of a regular Kit Kat - it's just that the Kit Kat Chunky uses more of each in every bar! The actual chocolate content is shown as 66%, which is fairly respectable when compared to some of the Kit Kat Chunky's competitors. The ingredients don't appear to contain anything out of the ordinary for a snack of this nature, although the actual 'flavourings' aren't disclosed.


APPEARANCE & TASTE - my favourite part of the review... the eating bit

In terms of the Kit Kat Chunky's look, it's basically an oversized single-finger regular Kit Kat which appears very appetising indeed. "Kit Kat" is embossed on the top side, whilst the underneath and sides are completely smooth. The finger's length is just under eleven centimeters, while the width is a respectable three and a half - chunky indeed! Biting into the bar reveals that the outer coating of chocolate is around three millimeters thick, and surrounds a crispy wafer centre. The flavour of the chocolate is very pleasant - not especially creamy, but very moreish. In combination with the wafer, the overall taste is delicious - but what would you expect - it's a Kit Kat, and if you read my history section, you'll realise that the chocolate bar has had plenty of time to perfect its taste over the decades. On the downside, the Kit Kat Chunky is very sweet - in fact, every time I have eaten one (and that's happened on many, many occasions), I've always found that my teeth have started hurting, which is probably not the best sign!


NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION - per fifty gram bar

Calories: 261 (13% of an adult's guideline daily amount)
Sugars: 25.1g (28% of an adult's guideline daily amount
Fat: 13.4g (19% of an adult's guideline daily amount)
Saturates: 7.6g (38% of an adult's guideline daily amount)
Salt: 0.2g (3% of an adult's guideline daily amount)

The stats shown above are fairly typical for a snack of this nature, as let's be honest, a chocolate bar is always going to be fairly high in calories and fat. It will be no surprise then, that the Kit Kat Chunky isn't especially good for you, and contains more calories than a Mars Bar (515 calories per 100g compared to the Mars' 446), and more fat too (26.8g compared to 17.4g). The saturates are similarly elevated, accounting for 38% of an adult's total daily content, and the sugar levels are also rather high.


FINAL WORD - the all-important verdict

As an occasional accompaniment to a cup of tea, Nestle's Kit Kat Chunky does the job perfectly. The chocolate is very tasty, whilst the wafer interior makes for a crunchy and interesting eating experience. Personally, I like dipping the Kit Kat Chunky into my tea - even though it does result in a gooey mess in the bottom of the cup. For the uber-daring amongst you, you can actually try biting the end off either side, and using the Kit Kat Chunky as an oversized chocolate straw - you will need a strong suck, but you have to admit that it's a novel way to consume your beverage (it can also be a fairly messy process, which I don't recommend trying whilst wearing white clothing).

On the downside, eat a couple of these bad boys and you'll soon realise that they are fairly sickly... eat three and you'll never want to eat another again! Packaging-wise, the product is pretty much spot-on, and I feel the price is reasonable which compared to the competition. The big question is, 'do I prefer the Kit Kat Chunky to the good-old regular Kit Kat?', and my answer would have to be "probably not". Both are tasty morsels in their own right, but to be honest, the original is still my favourite from a nostalgic point of view - recommended nevertheless, and four dooyoo stars from me.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - Kit Kat's online presence

The Kit Kat website ( www.kitkat.co.uk ) is a goldmine of information relating to the product - that said, make sure that your computer has the latest version of Adone's Flash Player installed, or you may have some trouble viewing it. On the site you can find information relating to the entire Kit Kat range, plus there's details of the current promotions and competitions. I personally found the section about the company history the most interesting, as it features a gallery showing the different advertising campaigns over the years - OK, I'm obviously a bit of a nerd.