Brits are only just realising what coating on Feast ice cream actually is

After the recent heatwave, millions of Brits will have been searching through the depths of their freezers in the desperate hope of coming across an ice cream or ice lolly.

There are few things better on a hot day than an ice cold sweet treat, and we will all have had our favourites growing up. Side note, they need to bring back those Callipo shots.

One of the best chocolate ice creams you can find is a Feast, with the delicious crunchy treat a staple of ice cream vans and school tuck shops since the 1980s, but it seems as if many of us actually had no idea what we were eating all along.

It's certainly more common these days to check the labels of everything we buy, as we check for the various preservatives or processed foods which are doing so much damage to our health.

Now, a chocolate ice cream is unlikely to ever be healthy but Wall's, who produce the Feast, are now urging customers to check the label for a different reason, as a recipe change now sees the ice cream include hazelnuts.

If you're on the same track as me, you're probably thinking 'didn't they always have hazelnuts on the outside?'. Well, it turns out that they didn't, and it was actually pieces of biscuit.

The Feast looks a lot different these days (Getty Stock)

The bad news is that if you're craving an old Feast, then you'll have to make do with an updated 2026 version, which now now contains egg, almonds and hazelnuts, with the company stating anyone with allergies should double-check the packaging and share the new information with ‘anyone who might need to know’.

It's not the recipe change that's got people talking but rather the Mandela effect of the outside containing nuts rather than biscuit.

“Hang on! I’ve been eating these for donkeys years, I always presumed the crunchy bits on the outside were hazelnut,” typed one Facebook user.

A second said: “Mmmm I’m sure it was always nuts? I don’t remember biscuit.”

“I don't think Ive had one since about 1987 but I could have sworn it was nuts,” replied a third.

A Feast actually does have nuts now (Getty Stock)

It's not just the outside that has changed however, as the chocolate ice cream has been switched to vanilla, while the solid chocolate centre that we all loved is now more of a Nutella-like cream.

Although the change is a relatively new one, it seems as if this nostalgia-fuelled society is already craving the old version, with plenty less than impressed with the new recipe.

One Facebook user wrote: “Huge fan, can’t get them in Oz where I live now.

“Just been home, had a proper one then me mum bought a four pack of the above monstrosity! Ice cream change is bearable but the new middle is rank! Outside coating tastes exactly the same tbf.”

Another added: “This is heartbreaking, it's also my favourite, and the chocolate ice cream was the best bit."

So, if you're getting ready for summer and want to stock up one ice creams, then be warned that the new Feast might be very different to what you're used to.