The Story of Fortnum’s Crackers

Popular legend has it that late one night, as Christmas approached, confectioner Tom Smith was sitting comfortably in his chair by the fire, mulling over ways to make himself stand out from the usual sugar-coated crowd.
At that moment, a burning log gave a great crack and with a Yuletide eureka, he had it. The cracker was born.

A fine tale, for sure, but the real story is rather more prosaic. Sometime in the 1850s, Smith had bought the prototype for a cracker from Tom Brown, an experimental chemist at Brock’s Fireworks in south London. But it was woefully under-marketed, and Smith immediately saw the seasonal potential. In 1860 the very first Christmas cracker, the ‘Bang of Expectation’, hit the market. Business boomed.

Festive Joy at Fortnum's Awaits!

Yuletide Inspiration