Antiques Roadshow guest’s wide-eyed reaction to true value of ‘chocolate frog’

The value of chocolate frogs are continuing to rise in 2023 – and we're not just talking about the shocking price of a Freddo these days.

A guest on the US version of Antiques Roadshow was left stunned at the auction value of a pair of "chocolate" sculptures — one of which was of a frog — which her sister had given to her. In the episode, which aired on PBS, the woman explained that her sister's friend would regularly bring art to her house when ever he visited.

She explained: "My sister is an artist but at the time she was living up in Northern California and she became friends with another artist named David Gilhooly and his wife Camille. He used to come over for dinner and instead of bringing a bottle of wine or a cheese tray or something, he would bring one of his little pieces of art that he had made.

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"I was visiting one time, and I thought they were kind of fun, so she gave me a couple of them." But she was unaware that the bloke who made the pieces "which look like chocolate" was actually a sort-after artist.

Expert Suzanne Perrault explained: "David Gilhooly is such an interesting character. He passed away about four years ago, and he was part of the original California funk movement. He would adapt food and make it kind of crazy and give it these really bright glazes.

"And then he went on to frogs, which always reminds me of Monty Python. He's got all these little crunchy frogs, even though these really look like chocolate. They are indeed glazed ceramic.

"This funk movement is this reaction against what has been established. It's also political. It's also a little bit angry. So with these frogs or other animals, Gilhooly made a lot of statements."

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The antiques expert estimated that the ornaments would be worth between $1,000 to $1,500, which stunned the guest. She was left wide-eyed at the value as she quipped: "For a chocolate frog. Okay. You think my sister's going to win him back?"

Viewers were equally floored as they took to the comments on a clip, which was shared on TikTok, to give their thoughts. One users said: "You should see what they charge for a chocolate frog here. Cadbury freddo."

Another added: "She was gobsmacked by that estimate." A third commented: "That long pause of disbelief." Meanwhile, a fourth added: "Someone would’ve bit into them in my house…"

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