Gotta Get At This: Lay's Netherlands Maak De Smaak Contest Finalists

Oops! I almost forgot to share this! It's almost the end of August, but anyone who was interested in the Maak De Smaak Contest in the Netherlands may have already seen this. If not, here are the 3 finalists... Aioli e Aglio (Garlic Aioli), Whiskey Cocktail, and Spicy Reggae Chicken! All 3 of these sound PHENOMENAL! Whiskey Cocktail?? Is that even real? Jeez! I would devour all of these hahaha.

All 3 flavors are available now in stores in the Netherlands. Voters will choose the best and it will become the winner of some shelf space until next year's contest!

PS Did I mention, I want these!

PSS here is a hilarious commercial, enjoy!

Walkers UK Sensations Caramelised Onion & Balsamic Vinegar

Damn this was a good bag of chips.

Here's a bag from Walkers' Sensations line I picked up during my time in London. The flavor: Caramelised Onion and Balsamic Vinegar. What a treat. These chips have so much going on that I don't even know where to start. I guess we'll take on the potato; the chip itself was BURSTING with potato flavor! The kind of flavor that sits in your mouth for minutes after you've taken your first bite. Salty, rich, starchy, perfection. Then, a bit of sweet sweeps across your taste buds from the caramelized onion. Not overwhelmingly onion... just sweet with a hint of onion. And then the chip finishes up with a splash of tang from the Balsamic. Wow. Just wow. The bag is like a symphony being played to your mouth. The combination of what I would considered a perfect potato chip (full potato taste from a evenly cooked chip) and two exquisite flavors create an amazing bag of chips. I really can't say enough good stuff about these.

I highly recommend. They shouldn't be too hard to find... ask a local British grocer to order some if you can't track them down.

Lay's Denmark Salted

Here's a bag of plain salted Lay's I picked up in Denmark. Denmark actually had quite a nice line up of flavors available, but I only got to try 3 of them... scratch that, 2 of them. My sister ate the third bag and didn't save me a single chip... so I forced her to do a guest blog on the flavor lol. Expect that soon haha.
Anyways, just for reference, the other flavors Denmark had that I didn't get a chance to taste were Heinz Tomato Ketchup, and Cheese & Onion. So, Ill have to try those on my next trip :)
But for now, we have the humble salted potato chip. These are made for the Scandinavian market, very much so, the Danes LOVE salty food and these chips don't let them down. They are RIDICULOUSLY salty. Almost too much so, but it's a little bag so I powered through it. My Danish friends LOVED them though, so what do I know? The potato was wonderful, perfectly crisp, nicely yellow, no burns, excellent crunch, and a nice potato flavor. But you really have to be comfortable with a high salt taste to enjoy these, I couldn't do a medium size bag if I had to. These probably pair well with the cold fish dishes that are really common in Denmark. So, just know that before you try. They suit the locale well, and for that reason I don't think it was a bad bag of chips. I also found these for sale in Sweden, so you may be able to buy them across Scandinavia if you are looking.


Note, if you do go looking to taste these, they can be bought individually in medium size bags or in a 6 pack of small bags. The 6 pack carries 3 flavors. The 6 pack was spotted in both Denmark and Sweden.

Er, What?? Did you just say "Do Us A Flavor" Lay's?

I was listening to the radio today, and, um, do my ears deceive me? or did I just hear Lay's USA is doing a flavor contest??
Really?!
OH HAPPY DAY!!
This is awesome! This is the ish I like to see! Some initiative Lay's!!
Lets do this!!

 So here's this dillio...
Apparently while I was away, Lay's launched the "Do Us A Flavor" campaign (I love that name!) and what you do is... you submit a potential chip flavor... and if they pick it... they will make it into a chip... AND you win some money! If it sounds familiar, its because it is the tried and true contest that Lay's has been doing all over the world. The thing I love about these contests is it gives the consumers a chance to try a flavor that wouldn't have necessarily been brought to market otherwise. In Holland, the winner of their contest was a popular French Fry sauce. In Arabia, a Pizza flavored chip. And in Belgium, it was a popular local Hamburger. This is a chance for American chip lovers to go HAM and choose a unique flavor we've never seen before! (PS. Not literally Ham, or maybe, it's up to you)

Lay's did a great job picking the faces of the contest; Iron Chef Michael Symon and Restauranteur Eva Longoria. The contest interface also seems to be a good choice, it's pretty easy to just hop on Facebook and submit a flavor idea... or you can text it from your phone. NEATO!
The winning flavor will earn its creator a cool 1 million USD.
I'm ready to start hourly submissions!
Can't wait to see how this plays out, because as long as we are getting a new flavor, we've all basically won... right?

Walkers UK MAX Chargrilled Steak

Sorry for the mini hiatus everyone. Just got back from my first trip to Europe and couldn't blog over there... but I'm back with much to share. First bag is one I grabbed freshoftheboat at Heathrow. A bag of Walkers MAX (aka Ruffles, kids) flavored a la Chargrilled Steak. So here's what's up. For a ruffled chip, it wasnt really as potato-y as you would expect it to taste, but maybe that is because the seasoning here packed a HELL of a punch. You just stare at this bag and you can taste the steak charring on the grill. The flavor gets in every nook and cranny of these bad boys. For me, it was a bit too much. They were almost too "manly" for me... if that makes any sense. I barely ate half the bag to be honest. They just had this intense aroma and intense flavor that really isnt for me. I find myself more and more leaning toward the acidic chips and further from the BBQ flavors. But if I were a guy (or a BBQ chip lover, to be fair) I would think this chip rocked. The flavor was spot on. Imagine that Ribeye in the restaurant; this is the level of steak we are talking about. The chip was sturdy and thick cut. Well suited to hold all the weight of a full filet. At the end of the day, this chip wasnt for me, but that doesnt mean it was a bad chip... (insert pun about chip being a bad-ass)
wockawocka
Goodnight!