Food History

Elisa has been immersed in the world of Doctor Who for over twenty years. Perhaps this is why she writes for watchingdrwho.com and shadowproclamation.net and has been known to randomly offer Jelly Babies to strangers.

Jelly Babies and Me

I started watching Doctor Who during my freshman year of High School, after having the whole story of the show explained to me by a friend during a school trip to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. It only took one viewing. I was hooked, and I dragged my whole family with me into this new fandom. My first Doctor was the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. Is it any wonder that I quickly became intrigued by the Doctor’s love of Jelly Babies? He used them as a prop, an icebreaker, a distraction, and of course, a reward. “Care for a Jelly Baby?” he would ask. Living out in California as I did, I despaired. Yes, I did want a Jelly Baby. But where was I to find one so far away from the UK?

In the end, I found a shop in the telephone book that I thought might be what I needed. “Touch of Britain” was just across town. Fortified with directions, we formed a family expeditionary force and set off on out Jelly Baby hunt. What we found was way more than we expected. This wasn’t merely a small shop selling British Sweets and paraphernalia, oh no. It was also a Tea Shop (bliss!). And yes, they had Jelly Babies. And the best part? They were just as good as I expected them to be.

I must mention here that there seem to be more than one kind of Jelly Babies out there at this point. I just tend to refer to the non-Bassetts varieties as “the faux Jelly Babies.” They are not anywhere as good.

To this day my family still occasionally goes on Jelly Baby hunts, and I always end up with the Blackcurrant ones. Sometimes it pays to be the only one that likes something. And we still try to get back to Touch of Britain as often as possible. Not just for the Jelly Babies, mind you. In their Tea Shop you can get proper egg and chips with mushy peas, tea and crumpets, or steak and kidney pie. Just think of all the tastiness I would have missed out on if it weren’t for the Doctor and his Jelly Babies.