Don't just eat fish and chips on a Friday! (Walkers Fish & Chip Flavour Crisps)

Member Name: Essexmumof2

Product:	Walkers Fish & Chip Flavour Crisps
Date:	10/03/09 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bag almost full to bursting

Disadvantages: Taste more like cheese and onion than fish and chips

My purchase of this bag of Walkers' Fish & Chips flavour crisps was the third in my product testing of all things crispy, as I attempt to research and discover the best crisps currently on the market. The Fish & Chips flavour crisps also make up my first attempt of sampling the six trial flavours which Walkers have produced based on recommendations by members of the public. The basic idea is that consumers need to vote for which flavour is their favourite by 1 May 2009 so that one of the six becomes a permanent product of their already vast range. The other flavours on trial include: Chilli & Chocolate, Cajun Squirrel, Builders Breakfast, Onion Bhaji and Duck & Hoisin Sauce. More to follow on these flavours!

PACKAGING:
The Fish & Chips bag are emblazoned with an orange border at the top and bottom of the bag, with a large orange "Vote For Me!" rosette. There is also a cartoon-style drawing showing a woman collecting some fish and chips, with a caption beneath stating: "This picture represents Jane from Sheffield's inspiration for her Fish & Chips flavour!" Walkers conveniently also include their nutritional details on the front as well as the back of the bag, really allowing the purchaser to choose whether this bag is for them or not. The reverse of the bag is like a minefield of what to read next. The column on the left covers a brief on the idea of voting for your favourite flavour and what exactly you need to do. The right-hand column reiterates the nutritional information again, along with the best before date, ingredients and a brief statement on your consumer rights. There is also a reminder that this bag contains:
* No MSG
* No artificial colours
* Suitable for vegetarians
* Suitable for coeliacs
A logo at the bottom right on the reverse also reminds you to throw your rubbish in the bin, something I have not seen on the other crisps I have tried to date. However, interestingly, there is no information as to whether these crisps have possibly come into contact with milk, egg, wheat, gluten, soya or mustard. Other crisps I have tried so far do include such information, so I think Walkers have missed a trick here. Either that, or the Fish & Chips flavour do include these items, but they could at least let us know!

INGREDIENTS:
Potatoes, Sunflower Oil (33%), Fish & Chips Seasoning (which contains Salt, Flavouring, Sugar, Barley Malt Vinegar, Citric Acid, Paprika Extract).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
One bag of Fish & Chips contains 130kcal of energy (Skips are just 89kcal) so these should give you a bit of a boost (although not quite up there with a banana or cup of coffee I imagine!). They contain less than 1% of your guideline daily amount (GDA) of sugar, but a whopping 8.2g of fat - some 12% of your GDA. Ok, not quite the same as an actual portion of fish and chips I guess, but still fairly on the high side. Quite good on the salt count, only containing 0.33g (a mere 6%) which is reasonable.

TASTE:
Despite already having read a few reviews of what the Fish & Chips flavour crisps were like, I cleared my mind of preconceptions before tucking in these! I half had an expectation in my mind of a company that used to produce a Fish & Chips bag of crisps when I was a child. These didn't particularly taste of fish and chips whatsoever, but included crisps shaped like fish and chips, so I suppose that allowed them to avoid any fraudulent suggestions (or offence amongst the fish and chip world!), and they were very tasty. However, Walkers' Fish & Chips are more cheese and onion tasting. I found them to be quite greasy and, if anything, tasted more like the batter than actual fish and chips.

COST:
I bought this bag of Fish & Chips as part of a multipack so the cost equates to about 35p per bag. However, if you buy the bag by itself you will likely pay around 50p.

SUMMARY:
I was very disappointed by Walkers' Fish & Chips. They are only on a trial basis so whilst they fulfilled a purpose (I needed something to keep my ticking over on a Saturday afternoon!), I would not choose to eat them again. The fact that they tasted more like a bag of cheese and onion - that just needed a bit more flavouring - made me long for an actual bag of cheese and onion! Sorry Walkers, but I think you missed the marker a little on this flavour. Positive stuff on the volume front though - plenty of crisps in the bag which is a good sign compared to other crisps I have tried to date.

Based on my study of crisps on the market so far, my personal take on the order of products tried and tested so far as is follows:
1. Kettle Chips - Lightly Salted
2. Skips - Prawn Cocktail
3. Walkers - Fish & Chips

OVERALL: 1/5

Summary: A disappointing bag of non-descript flavour