Snacks: Beyond cheese & onion
Walker's has just released six weird and wonderful new flavours as part of its 'Do Us A Flavour' competition.
Fish & Chips, Onion Bhaji, Chilli & Chocolate, Crispy Duck & Hoi Sin, Builder's Breakfast and Cajun Squirrel were whittled down by a panel of judges led by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, after more than one million entries were received from members of the public. The winning flavour, the one that sells the most, will be announced in May and will become a permanent flavour.
We caught up with Walkers head of flavour development James Stillman (pictured, bottom right) to talk squirrels, pubs and crisp fan clubs.
Why choose those particular flavours?
We wanted a mix. Something a bit culinary, something a bit classic and something a bit out there. It could have been a different six but what we wanted was a range that went very well together. We had to give all six an equal chance of winning and that would have something there for everyone.
How suited do you think the new flavours are to the pub?
They are extremely well suited to the pub. I can imagine Onion Bhaji going very well with a Tiger beer or Crispy Duck & Hoi Sin going well with a Tsingtao. There may well be something in that. It would be interesting to see how they went with a beer.
But crisps are great for sharing and I think it will provoke a conversation in the pub.
If I were a pub stocking all six I would be amazed if people were not buying all of them and getting into a discussion about it. I can see people creating their own little fan club for each flavour.
What does Builder's Breakfast taste like?
Heston was very clear what a good English breakfast needed to taste of: smoky bacon first, followed by sausage, followed by tomato, followed by egg and the whole thing rounded off with the taste of buttered toast.
Did you make a point of picking flavours that would be talking points?
Yes, in part. We love people talking about Walkers. But for Heston the key thing was to get people thinking about culinary creativity. Cajun Squirrel is a joke name, of course, and that's going to be a talking point. But there's a flavour in there that you will have never come across before. There's even a little twist with Fish & Chips. The first scent you get is the same as you get in a fish and chip shop, vinegar.
Were the flavours hard to recreate in a crisp?
It was a huge challenge generally. We normally spend about half a year developing a flavour but we had to do these in six weeks. Chilli & Chocolate was a real challenge, that's for sure.
Why did you go for Cajun Squirrel?
If it wasn't Cajun Squirrel it would have been something equally wacky. I think people will be intrigued about the flavour and pleasantly surprised at how good it is. Heston was a big supporter of that during the judging.
Did you get some bizarre entries?
We got a few unprintables and we got some weird ones. My favourite was envelope glue.
Can you ever beat the popularity of classic flavours such as cheese & onion?
Cheese & onion would be a hard act to follow. I'd be amazed and delighted.
