This is Chris.
Chris doesn't like to talk about himself.
What he'd rather do is talk about the pros and cons of chocolate chunks versus chocolate chips (chunks are clearly superior). Or why a perfect cookie needs to adhere to the golden ratio of gooey to crispy. In general, Chris finds that, when conversations turn to cookies, people tend not to approach the topic with the required earnestness.
He knows that making a quality treat is
no laughing matter
For over forty years, Chris has been running Ben's Cookies.
Confusing, right?
Why isn't Chris called Ben?
Couldn't he have changed his name to fit the brand? Seems like a lack of commitment to this narrator.
The company was born in the UK (as was Chris, incidentally).
Here, in the land of Bill Nighy and Milky Tea, anything is possible, really, as long as you're wearing a Barbour Jacket while doing it. Since he owns one, Chris decided long ago that he would strive to make the best chocolate chip cookie the country had ever seen. And because Chris is British, not American, he took that vow extremely seriously.
First, he exclusively hired grannies to work in his factory.
They would, of course, add the dusting of love and comfort that every good cookie requires.
Next, he established a strict hierarchy of cookie flavors: trendy things like Dubai Chocolate Brownie or Cereal Milk, clearly pedestrian in nature, would be avoided at all costs. No granny's love would be wasted on them.
Finally (and this one might sound strange, but that's Chris for you: so detail-oriented, one has to occasionally stifle a yawn) he bought his own oven factory. He thought that if he could make the ovens that would make the cookies he could ensure that every single one would be perfectly baked, no matter where or when.
Over time, the business grew.
Until pretty soon Ben's Cookies Shops dotted the globe, from Paris to Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur. The scale of it is a little unnerving, if one dwells on it for too long. But it also makes sense: when that smell of freshly baked cookies drifts through the air and into our offices, we're all but ready to embrace the whole world.
It's the Ben's way.
No fuss tradition since 1983.
We‘re all glued to our phones these days, aren‘t we?