99 Flake
Encyclopedia
A 99 Flake can refer to an ice cream cone
with a Cadbury Flake inserted in it; a specially produced Flake bar for this purpose; or a wrapped ice cream cone product marketed by Cadbury. It was originally designed to be a cuboid
, and fit into a wafer. It was later adapted for a cone.
ice cream rather than scooped ice cream, into which a Flake bar has been inserted, typically at an acute angle to the cone. The ice cream is usually vanilla flavoured. They are traditionally sold by ice cream van
s and parlours
. Variations include a 99 with two flakes - often referred to as a double 99 or "bunny's ears" - and a 99 with strawberry
or raspberry
topping sauce, sometimes known as Monkey's Blood.
There are many references to 99s in British pop culture. The pop-electronica duo The KLF
notably used ice cream van iconography and included the phrase "Make mine a 99" in their 1991 single version of "Justified and Ancient
".
An alternative savoury version of the snack substituting mashed potato for ice cream and a sausage for the Flake was developed in 2008 by Aunt Bessie
's.
, Scotland
, in 1922, by the Arcari family, Rudi Arcari's father Stephen came up with the idea not long after opening the shop in 1922. He would break a large 'Flake" in half and stick it in an ice cream. A cadbury's rep asked Stephen if he could take this idea to his bosses at Cadbury's to which Stephen had no problem because in those days copyright was not something anyone ever considered. The rep asked Stephen what he called it and he gave it the name simply because the shop was sited at 99 Portobello High Street. The idea spread locally, then further afield.
Another possibility is that it was named by Italian ice-cream sellers (many of whom hailed from mountainous areas in the Veneto, Trentino, Bellunese and Friuli) in honour of the final wave of conscripts from the First World War, born in 1899 and referred to as "i Ragazzi del 99" - the Boys of '99. They were held in such high esteem that some streets in Italy were named in honour of them. The chocolate flake may have reminded them of the Alpine Regiment's hat, with a long dark feather cocked at an angle.
The Cadbury's website says that the reason behind the Flake being called a 99 has been "lost in the mists of time". Although it also repeats an article from an old Cadbury works paper, which states the name came from the guard of the Italian king which consisted of 99 men and "subsequently anything really special or first class was known as 99."
Ice cream cone
An ice cream cone, poke or cornet is a dry, cone-shaped pastry, usually made of a wafer similar in texture to a waffle, allowing ice cream to be eaten without a bowl or spoon...
with a Cadbury Flake inserted in it; a specially produced Flake bar for this purpose; or a wrapped ice cream cone product marketed by Cadbury. It was originally designed to be a cuboid
Cuboid
In geometry, a cuboid is a solid figure bounded by six faces, forming a convex polyhedron. There are two competing definitions of a cuboid in mathematical literature...
, and fit into a wafer. It was later adapted for a cone.
99 ice cream
A 99 Flake ice cream, or more commonly a 99, is an ice cream cone, usually made with soft serveSoft serve
Soft serve is a term used to describe a type of ice cream that is softer than regular ice cream and that has been sold commecially since the late 1930s.- History :...
ice cream rather than scooped ice cream, into which a Flake bar has been inserted, typically at an acute angle to the cone. The ice cream is usually vanilla flavoured. They are traditionally sold by ice cream van
Ice cream van
An ice cream van or ice cream truck is a commercial vehicle which serves as a travelling retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near parks, beaches, or other areas where people congregate...
s and parlours
Ice cream parlor
Ice cream parlors are places that sell ice cream and frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is normally sold in two varieties in these stores: soft-serve ice cream , and hard-packed, which has an assortment of flavors, as well as frozen yogurt, which is a low-fat alternative and tastes slightly...
. Variations include a 99 with two flakes - often referred to as a double 99 or "bunny's ears" - and a 99 with strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
or raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
topping sauce, sometimes known as Monkey's Blood.
There are many references to 99s in British pop culture. The pop-electronica duo The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
notably used ice cream van iconography and included the phrase "Make mine a 99" in their 1991 single version of "Justified and Ancient
Justified and Ancient
"Justified & Ancient" is a song by British band The KLF which featured on their 1991 album The White Room but with origins dating back to the duo's debut album, 1987 ....
".
An alternative savoury version of the snack substituting mashed potato for ice cream and a sausage for the Flake was developed in 2008 by Aunt Bessie
Aunt Bessie
Aunt Bessie’s Limited is a UK producer of processed frozen food products. Its brand portfolio includes Yorkshire puddings, a wide range of potato products, meal accompaniments, ready meals, vegetables and desserts....
's.
Cadbury 99 Flake bar
The Flake chocolate bar itself was first developed in 1920. An employee of Cadburys noted that when the excess from the moulds used to create other chocolate bars was drained off, it fell off in a stream and created folded chocolate with flaking properties. In 1930, Cadbury started producing a smaller version of the standard Flake bar especially for ice cream cones. These were marketed under the name 99 Flake and sold loose in boxes rather than individually wrapped like the traditional Flake.Name
The origins of the name are uncertain. One claim is that the '99' was coined in PortobelloPortobello, Edinburgh
Portobello is a beach resort located three miles to the east of the city centre of Edinburgh, along the coast of the Firth of Forth, in Scotland. It is now a suburb of Edinburgh, with a promenade fronting on to the wide sand beach....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in 1922, by the Arcari family, Rudi Arcari's father Stephen came up with the idea not long after opening the shop in 1922. He would break a large 'Flake" in half and stick it in an ice cream. A cadbury's rep asked Stephen if he could take this idea to his bosses at Cadbury's to which Stephen had no problem because in those days copyright was not something anyone ever considered. The rep asked Stephen what he called it and he gave it the name simply because the shop was sited at 99 Portobello High Street. The idea spread locally, then further afield.
Another possibility is that it was named by Italian ice-cream sellers (many of whom hailed from mountainous areas in the Veneto, Trentino, Bellunese and Friuli) in honour of the final wave of conscripts from the First World War, born in 1899 and referred to as "i Ragazzi del 99" - the Boys of '99. They were held in such high esteem that some streets in Italy were named in honour of them. The chocolate flake may have reminded them of the Alpine Regiment's hat, with a long dark feather cocked at an angle.
The Cadbury's website says that the reason behind the Flake being called a 99 has been "lost in the mists of time". Although it also repeats an article from an old Cadbury works paper, which states the name came from the guard of the Italian king which consisted of 99 men and "subsequently anything really special or first class was known as 99."