Candy Critic

Is Vanoise (white and milk chocolate) Better Than Nutella?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:30:00 +0000

This is a special edition of Better Than Nutella because we're looking at two spreads instead of one. Normally I would split these two spreads up, but I feel like it's important to actually compare these two spreads instead of looking at them independently. Both are made by the same company and even have the same name Vanoise. The difference however is in the chocolate.

If I was to look at the Ma Creme A Tartiner (milk chocolate) Vanoise spread, I would describe it as average to below average. The chocolate flavour is there, but it's kind of weak. The hazelnut flavour is just weird, it almost tastes like a chemical version of hazelnuts instead of the real thing. I'm not saying that they faked the hazelnuts, I'm just saying that something in this mixture made it taste really fake and strange.

Honestly I wasn't a big fan of this stuff, and I probably wouldn't get it again. This spread alone would be a very short edition of Better Than Nutella because it's just not great and nothing really that special. If it wasn't for the companion version of this spread that's so different this article would be over.

I've tasted a few spreads out there in the world including cookies and cream, regular cream and most of all milk chocolate. I can't say however that I've ever tried a hazelnut spread with milk chocolate like this Vanoise Ma Creme Noisette White (strange how they use one English word in the name). I've been doing this series comparing various spreads to Nutella for a few years now so maybe I've forgotten, but I'm frankly surprised that this white chocolate variation doesn't come up more often.

More importantly, it works, and in this case works really well. I can't figure out why, but the hazelnut flavour of this version of the Vanoise spread doesn't have that chemical like flavour that the milk chocolate version does. It tastes of real hazelnuts and it works so very well with the white chocolate. It's a nice blend of smooth milk chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. A good hazelnut will often have a nice toasted flavour, and while milk chocolate certainly doesn't smooth that out, white chocolate seems to smooth it out in a different and also pleasant way. I'm not sure if this white chocolate spread is better than Nutella, but it's truly something different and well worth giving a try.

In fact, I feel like the folks at Nutella should maybe think about making some variant versions of their spread too. I've tried a few spreads with additions that are obvious and work really well. This white chocolate version is a great example of a version of a hazelnut spread that I'm surprised I haven't seen more often, particularly from the folks at Nutella.

Quick List - The Most Disturbing Candy Package Characters

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

A quick list of the most disturbing #characters depicted on candy packages out of the all the treats I've reviewed on candycritic.org.

Blue Orchid!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Did you know that I'm writing and drawing a comic right now. It's called Blue Orchid and it's an awesome tale of a teenage South East Asian girl that fights lots of cool monsters.

You can pick each and every issue of Blue Orchid right now at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon (just search "blue orchid comics")

Underrated?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

I mentioned this several times in my latest candy review, but I just wanted to say it again, black current is probably one of the most underrated candy flavours in the world. I don't think I've ever had a bad black current candy, and yet it's not a common flavour in the candy world. There are a few countries and candy makers that use it, but I feel like it should be a standard. I also want to see it used with other sweet treats, like cola, slushies and maybe even cakes.

Check out my latest black current candy review, and spread the word.

Junk Fud and You - Candy and Junk Food Social Media & Why I Don't Like It

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Today I'm talking about social media and in particular the reason I don't follow as many junk food, candy and snacking social media companies as you might think.

Get Some Snack Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

If you've ever wanted to learn more about the snacks you love, but in a fun way, pick up my book Snack Facts. Follow Barbara and Sir Francis Sweetums as they learn everything about your favourite snacks and treats.

You can pick up your own copy of Snack Facts right now at candycritic.org/snackfacts/ or on Amazon (just search "snack facts chris stewart")

When Mascots Are Better Than the Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

I've never done the research, but I'm wondering if the quality of the candy mascot is related to the quality of the candy. I would say that for the most part, the better the mascot, the worse the candy. It's probably not always the case, but I think it's probably the case most of the time. I also don't think it works the other way around. I've seen some pretty bad candies out there with some pretty awful mascots as well.

Check out my latest review of a fairly blah taffy, but it has a great mascot.

Supercakes?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0000

On a recent trip to my local grocery store I came across something called a Supercake. The premise is seems simple, they're small cupcakes (this can be argued) themed to superheroes from the DC Universe. I'm not sure if there are any more, but I found 3 different types of cake, one for Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman. Being a comic book nerd and a fan of sweet treats, I couldn't resist. The question that rang into my mind immediately however was what flavour do these characters actually represent. My assumption is that the folks at Bolerio (the people who make these cakes) would have done some research as well as some creative thinking to match the small cupcakes to the characters.

So I've decided that I'm going to look at each one of these cupcakes and not just judge them by the quality and flavour of the cakes, but also how the cake flavour choice might (or might not) work with the character.

I decided to start with Wonder Woman.

Her cake is a double chocolate cupcake, and honestly I was kind of stumped right off the bat (pun intended, you'll see later). First of all, let's just get the cake quality/expectations out of the way. The cupcake on its own is kind of disappointing. The package shows a dollop of icing/cream on the top that just doesn't exist on the cake. The amount of cream/icing is also really disappointing. The flavour of the chocolate filling is okay, but honestly the cake was much better. It's not to say that the cake is great, it's just better than the filling.

How this cake works with Wonder Woman is also confusing to me. I would think that two dark ingredients would work better with Batman, since he's the Dark Knight. If I was to choose something for Wonder Woman I might go with a nice vanilla cake with bits of cherry or strawberry, but maybe leave the chocolate filling. Basically that she's feminine, with a slightly dark interior. The yellow cake with bits of red would also reflect her outfit a little too.

Next I went for the Batman cake.

Batman's cake is a deep chocolate cake with a vanilla cream/icing. Again, like the Wonder Woman cake, the execution of this cake is not great. The picture on the package would suggest that there would be a dollop of icing on the top, but there is not. The amount of icing is also pretty slim. However, both the cake and the icing in this case tasted pretty good. The chocolate cake was the highlight, but the icing wasn't bad either.

As for the theme of the flavours compared to Batman, I'd say it's not bad. It's very possible that Bolerio didn't put any thought towards the flavours and I'm just projecting my own story here, but I feel like it's an easier story to write. What I see here is a dark exterior with a light hearted filling. Batman is a dark brooding characters, but deep down he does have morals and even a bit of heart. I might be grasping at straws for this, but at least it feels like an easier story to write.

Finally the Superman cake.

As a cake goes, this is kind of the opposite of the Batman cake. It's a vanilla cake with a dollop of chocolate icing/cream in the middle. Like the two cakes before, it also disappointed with both the presentation and lack of cream in the cake. Flavour wise the vanilla was kind of boring, but the chocolate was a lot more bold than I expected.

As far as how it compared to Superman as a character, I'm once again going to give the folks at Bolerio the benefit of the doubt and claim that they actually might have thought about how the flavours might go with the characters. In this case Superman, who I consider one of the more boring characters is well suited to a vanilla cake. The interesting thing is that occasionally there's actually a really good Superman story, and I would say that's well represented by the surprisingly bold chocolate filling.

I have to admit, I feel like the folks at Bolerio probably just stuck random cakes to random characters. I would be happy to be proven wrong about this, but I feel like it's unlikely. The idea of creating cake treats that work with famous superheroes would be a really fun exercise, maybe one I could do with my Geek Shop partner. For now I'm just happy to see cool characters on a package and to eat some adequate cupcakes.

In Hindsight - Big Turk

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

The name of this candy bar might be a little offensive to some, the candy in the middle is a little offensive to me.

Treats and Beasts

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

If you love beasts and you love treats, then check out my awesome alphabet book called Treats And Beasts, the perfect book for anyone, even if you already know your alphabet.

You can pick up your very own copy of Treats and Beast right now at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon (just search "treats and beasts chris stewart").

Okay, So I Might Have a Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Today's review has two problems. The first is that it's a classic bar from a huge company (Cadbury), that I for some reason haven't reviewed till this point. I'm not sure why I've never reviewed it, but it's taken way too long. The second problem is it seems like as of late I've been reviewing way too many fruit and nut bars. I'll admit that even the reviews themselves are getting repetitive, but that's only because every single fruit and nut bar has one fatal flaw.

Check out my latest fruit and nut review, I'm sure you'll figure out the flaw I'm talking about.

10 Second Kitchen - Kenny Rogers Roaster Manila, Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Watching the chicken slowly rotate in the over at Kenny Rogers Roaster.

Blue Orchid

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Did you know that I'm writing and drawing a comic right now. It's called Blue Orchid and it's an awesome tale of a teenage South East Asian girl that fights lots of cool monsters.

You can pick each and every issue of Blue Orchid right now at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon (just search "blue orchid comics").

Another Fruit and Nut

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

I'm not sure why I keep reviewing different versions of the the fruit and nut bar. While each bar is different in quality, the real reason I get excited when I see them is the hopes that the fruit will be something other than raisins. It's not that I don't like raisins, it's just the name that keeps tempting me. I've always said that variety is one of my favourite things about tasting new candies, but the fruit and nut bars keep disappointing me. It's ironic because I can't think of a fruit that would actually be better than raisins in chocolate, yet I keep craving something different that will likely be worse.

Check out my latest "fruit" and nut bar review.

Is Said Pate A Tartiner Better Than Nutella?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've written a Better Than Nutella blog post and the main reason is geography. I've been living in South East Asia for the last few years in a place where chocolate spreads were actually fairly uncommon. They had a few, but I went through them fairly quickly. I have however moved, and it appears I've moved to a place that loves chocolate spreads. In fact my local grocery store has an entire section of an aisle dedicated to them. They have Nutella as well, but the range of other brands is staggering.

I decided to start with the brand that seemed to be the most common. I won't say popular because I'm pretty sure Nutella is the most popular brand, but Said is all over my local grocery store. It's a fine spread, it's not better than Nutella by any stretch of the imagination, but it's fine. Many spreads seems to go a little too creamy and miss out on the chocolate and hazelnut, this is the problem here. It's not a huge problem, but it's not a perfect balance either. The good news is that unlike many other chocolate/hazelnut spreads I've had in the past, the chocolate and hazelnut are still present. Most of the time the creamy flavour or chocolate overpower the hazelnuts.

I also want to mention that "pate a tartiner" might be the classiest way ever to describe this kind of treat. I call them chocolate hazelnut "spreads" and the more I think about it the less I like that description. I'm not sure if I'll switch to pate a tartiner in my daily use, but I will say that it's much better a name.

Quick List - The Most Artistic Candy Packages

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

A quick list of the most #artistic candy and snack packages out of the all the treats I've reviewed on candycritic.org.

Snack Facts!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

You can pick up your own copy of Snack Facts right now at candycritic.org/snackfacts/ or on Amazon (just search "snack facts chris stewart")

Classic Candy For You

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 14:30:00 +0000

The thing I find very interesting about the candy world is what people define as a "classic candy". The reason I find it interesting is because there are many classic candies out there that are only classic in very particular parts of the world. I'll never forget the conversation I had with a friend from Europe who couldn't understand how people in North America could actually enjoy peanut butter and chocolate together. The fact that not everyone's classic candy is classic all over the world is the main reason I'm still writing this after more than 2000 reviews.

Check out another classic candy that I've reviewed, but only if you're from some parts of Europe.

Junk Fud On The Road - Tokyo Disney Sea Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Junk Fud on the Road Chris and Allison talk about their latest visit (their 3rd visit) to Tokyo Disney Sea. It was a quick trip, but full of adventure and plenty of snacks.

Treats And Beast!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

If you love beasts and you love treats, then check out my awesome alphabet book called Treats and Beasts, the perfect book for anyone, even if you already know your alphabet.

You can pick up your very own copy of Treats and Beast right now at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon (just search "treats and beasts chris stewart").

Tiramisu?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

I think tiramisu might be my favourite coffee flavoured dessert. The first thing you should know about me is that I don't drink coffee, and for the most part I don't like the flavour of coffee. I don't mind, and might even enjoy the smell of coffee, but the flavour just doesn't do it for me. For some reason however, the coffee flavour from tiramisu is okay. I imagine it's the large amount of sugar and cream added to the coffee that makes it work.

Check out my latest review which also happens to be tiramisu flavoured.

A Dessert Hack I'll Never Tell You About

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000

I have a pretty amazing dessert hack, but because of the actions of one company I will never tell you about it. On this blog and on candycritic.org I'm pretty open about any recipes or food hacks that I discover (both ones that work and ones that don't). I'm also okay when large food corporations take my ideas and turn them in to regular things or even create foods. I've had ideas for hundreds of treats and desserts, and I welcome any food company to take them and make them for free. The thing I love most of all is to make cool new treat ideas a reality that everyone can enjoy.

This hack however will remain my own, because one company decided that people should be charged a great deal to do it. I wrote about this hack in my social media in a particular country a few years back. Then, a few months later Allison and I noticed that this company started encouraging this very hack. We thought it was great, and frankly and obvious choice. The problem is that once they made the change, they also upped their price a great deal. We had managed to make this hack work for practically nothing, but the company decided that it was worth jacking up the price.

This company is a global company, but they only made the change in one country. We then traveled somewhere else and noticed that they hadn't incorporated our food hack or the huge price increase. Allison and I managed to pull out our hack with no problems and with wonderful results. I suggested posting about it, but Allison reminded me what happened last time. The good news is there only seems to be one country in the world that has monetized my food hack, the bad news is you'll have to go through my social media feed to try and figure out exactly what I'm talking about.

Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! - Cheese Filled Chocolate Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 03:00:00 +0000

If you love cheese and you love chocolate cookies with cream in them, then you might be a little disappointed.

10 Second Kitchen - Street Tandoori Oven Yangon, Myanmar

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Watching hand made naan being made on the streets of Yangon in Myanmar.

Doritos?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Stewart) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:30:00 +0000

I've recently been going through my list of all the candies I have (and will) review on candycritic.org. I've realised something that's made me think. I used to have a rule that once a brand had more than 10 reviews, it would be a featured brand on the site. I also had the same rule for treats that had more than 10 varieties or flavours. It's been a few years since I've updated my lists, and I've realized that I haven't been keeping up with this policy. I now have several other brands, varieties and flavours that are not featured on the site. I'm wondering if 10 should continue to be the number, or if I should start adding many more treats to my featured lists.

Check out the latest review of a new Doritos flavour, which would qualify it for the list technically.