An American man was left completely bewildered when his British wife described a popular £1.50 British dessert as “posh” – and social media users were quick to agree
You can get it for just a couple of quid – yet lots of people still consider it the absolute height of sophistication (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
A well-loved dessert that has been a staple of British homes for more than 40 years and can be picked up for just a few quid left one American man utterly bewildered when his wife described it as “posh”. The man, who posts on social media as yankeedoodleintheuk, regularly shares his entertaining observations about life in the UK as an foreigner.
He recently recounted the surprising tale on Instagram, inviting followers to share their thoughts in a video with the overlay caption: “I didn’t realise this was such a big deal here… I’ve been doing it wrong.
“I didn’t realise this one thing was posh,” he said. “Last night we had our spaghetti bolognese, and we’re ready for our pudding, so I went into the kitchen, dug into the freezer, and pulled something out. And my wife said: ‘What’s the special occasion?’ I was like: ‘Special occassion? What do you mean?’
“Prior to this I went to Tesco and I found this pudding. It was about £1.50 I believe. I’ve had it before, it’s delicious.
“I never knew it was considered posh. Now I need your opinion if you consider this posh.”
He then unveiled the dessert in question – the iconic mint-flavoured Viennetta ice cream. Launched by British ice cream brand Wall’s in 1982, the Viennetta is a rectangular ice cream cake boasting a distinctive wavy, concertina-like design, lending it an elegant, upmarket appearance despite its modest price tag, reports the Express.
The man went on: “She said: ‘When we grew up we only had this on very special occasions. It was considered a posh pudding, and maybe if we had guests over or something we’d pull out the Viennetta’.
“And I can sort of see where she’s coming from. It does look slightly posh. It’s cool. But at the same time it’s almost like a deconstructed choc ice.”
Wrapping up, he said: “Just having a Viennetta at your house, right? That’s a good enough special occasion for me.”
Commenters were in complete agreement that a Viennetta represents the pinnacle of sophistication. One wrote: “You can’t just whip out a Viennetta on a random Wednesday! Party times only!”
Another chimed in: “As a child, absolutely posh and amazing treat. As an adult, basic as anything and yet also strangely still feels posh. I’ve not had one in years mind, but I think I’ll get an Easter treat!”
A third remarked: “We used to have it on Christmas Day (and Christmas Day only!)” while another wrote: “We only had it when the Queen visited us.”
One further user noted: “All you had to mention was ‘freezer’ and ‘posh’ and I guarantee every single 35+ something in the UK knew it was a Viennetta.”
And finally, somebody quipped: “What’s next? Colin the Caterpillar when it isn’t someone’s birthday?”
