Wednesday 2 August 2017

Savoursmiths Champers and Serrano Chilli

Oh dear, I'm not at all sure this brand of crisps was created with me in mind. Champers flavour crisps? Which is to say Champagne flavour.

I don't think I know anyone who calls Champagne "champers" but unless you make your wine using the methode champenoise actually in the Champagne region of France you use the word "champagne" at your peril. The lawyers who protect the Champagne brand are just as jealous of the name as those who protect Disney or Elvis's estate. So maybe it's best to stick to Champers.

Even though the flavour of these crisps derives partly from Champagne. Which I find quite hard to believe because I thought they tasted of soap. Soap with a hearty kick of chilli which was a nice touch. Not thrilled with the soap flavour though. And Dutch taste tester? She thought these crisps tasted of banana.
The crunch is nice but....

The packet says tastier than the cat's miaow and Cool cats love to live on the edge, so we've turned up the heat with this flavour, adding a scream of Serrano Chilli to the fizz of Bubbly & pinch of Sea Salt. The bee's knees have nothing on these! No, not sure about that.

Actually I don't usually drink Champagne in England because unless the Chef has chosen the bottle himself it can be quite poor quality. We are lucky enough to drive through the region of Champagne several times a year and some of the hotels keep a dazzling array of different wines in their cellars. They don't baulk at opening a magnum of Champagne to pour one glass for me and if I'm lucky there will be leftovers with my breakfast orange juice. Anyway, my luck includes trying a number of fabulous Champagnes and I am not convinced that these crisps do anything to encourage the drinking of a great wine.
Top tip: if you have dinner at a swanky French restaurant and they have a dedicated Cheese Waiter: on no account refuse the cheese course. Paddington Bear's famous hard stare has nothing on that of a Cheese Waiter spurned. It's alright. When we stayed at this hotel in January 2012 we knew better than to refuse the cheese.


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