Halle café changes name of its chocolate milk with marshmallow drink after activist rails against it on Instagram

The name of the drink has now been changed from “negerinne tet choco” (negress’ tit choco) to “lange tienen choco” (long toes choco). “Negerinnentet” was until recently the name given to a chocolate-covered marshmallow. However, in recent years pressure from activists that say that the term is racist has meant that the chocolate delicacies are now often referred to as “chocozoenen” (chocolate kisses). Meanwhile, “lange tenen” is an expression used to describe someone that is easily offended.

The names given to the drink refers to what people call chocolate covered marshmallows in Halle’s local dialect. The proprietor of the café Mieke told VRT News that “Absolutely everyone in Hall knows what this is and that there is nothing derogatory about it at all. On the contrary it refers to something that is nice, soft and tasty”.

However, the Dutch writer and activist Aya Sabi visited the café she was shocked to see the menu. She took a picture and left without ordering.

A little later she posted the photograph on the social media platform Instagram. " You would think that I am in the colonial section of a musty museum somewhere and this menu from 1866 that gathering dust in the shadow of a Leopold II statue, but actually I just wanted to have a coffee at ‘Tes Tien En Tander’ in Halle this afternoon. You understand that I didn't have the coffee, because what's wrong with Mellow Cake or chocolate kisses?".

While Mieke understands the reaction, she says that some people are very quick to react to something without knowing the context. "That's really just the name for a Mellow Cake here. However, I changed the name because I don't want a fuss. Some people these days are quick to get indignant and take offence."