John Lennon Had A Love-Hate Relationship With This Popular Snack Cake

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Celebrities are just like the rest of us, and just as you or I might go overboard on our favorite snacks or candies from time to time, so did the late John Lennon. And who could blame him? After hitting it big with the original boy band, The Beatles, he allowed himself to indulge in a popular British snack you may not have heard of: jaffa cakes.

Initially created by McVitie and Price in 1927, jaffa cakes are small, round treats known as biscuits in the UK but considered more of a cookie in the U.S. With a base of a sponge-style snack, topped with orange marmalade and chocolate, jaffa cakes found a place in Lennon's heart — at least for a short time. Speaking to author Paul Du Noyer for his 2017 book, "Conversations with McCartney: Paul McCartney on Fame, Family, and the Beatles," Lennon's bandmate Paul McCartney revealed that during their early moments as a group, Lennon overdid it with jaffa cakes, resulting in a lifelong ban.

"He went mad on jaffa cakes, went insane about them: 'Gimme gimme!'" McCartney recalled. "About a week later he couldn't look at one, and he never looked at one the rest of his life. 'Oh, don't talk to me about jaffa cakes.'" While jaffa cakes may not be as popular in the U.S. as they are across the pond, Original English McVities Jaffa Cakes are available on Amazon and other retailers. Other major brands make them as well, including the TONDI Jaffa Cakes and Benton's Jaffa Cakes sold at Walmart.

In addition to his brief enjoyment of jaffa cakes and his favorite cocktail, the Brandy Alexander, Lennon's love for Cadbury chocolate bars was also well-documented. Although not included on our list of the all-time favorite foods of The Beatles, some say that it was this very chocolate bar that led to the formation of the group in the first place. Indeed, in Bono's 2022 book, "Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story," the U2 frontrunner spoke to McCartney about his "real first conversation" with Lennon, sharing that the two of them initially bonded over a Cadbury chocolate bar.

"John bought a bar of chocolate, Cadbury's chocolate, and when he came out of the newsagent's he broke it in half," he shared. Then, noting that "chocolate was really something back then," McCartney made it clear he was taken aback by Lennon's generosity. "Most boys would break off a little square, but John gave me half his bar," he explained. As they say, all you need is love — and apparently Beatles-approved chocolate.