Gaiety
Yeah, I’d never heard of it either.
Have you ever ruined a category for yourself?
For instance, growing up, I was well-accustomed to the Woolies (technically, back then, Safeway) $1 loaf of store-brand bread. Later in life, a housemate would insist on Abbott’s name-bread, up to $3.80, which is objectively better. It is difficult, when you’ve had a taste of the greener grass, to willingly downgrade again. I’m often reminded of the video Living frugally:
I regret trying that £2 pizza because I now know it’s superior to those 80p ones that used to make me happy.
But, dear reader, you may be wondering: what the hell does this have to do with a series of self-indulgent biscuit reviews?
Savour the contrast of Gaiety’s crispy wafer and indulgent hazelnut flavoured cream, coated in Arnott’s real chococlate for a delicious treat.
The Gaiety reminds me deeply of the bread or frozen pizza analogy, because it is a superior product that I did not know existed. Wafer biscuits are an incredibly cheap snack - they’re currently listed for less than 60c online - because they are an incredibly simple formula boiled down to their essential components - three thin pieces of edible sawdust held together with the minimum viable amount of what technically passes as cream.
I had never given a second thought to the idea that this might be improved upon. But the little-known Gaiety does precisely that - switch the usual, uh, paste for an Arnott’s-quality cream, make it a bit thicker, and cover it in beautiful chocolate. In every way but one, this bickie is a clear winner - and that’s the sting of sextupling the price.
Overall, the Gaiety is a good, but unremarkable biscuit. As much as I have enjoyed it, I do wish I had never discovered it, because as they say - cheaper bread used to make me happy.