If I’m honest, I’m still slightly ashamed of my mis-recollection of pub crisps in our issue where I interviewed Matt Parker. My blood is thick with pub salads, and the fact that I could so miserably fail at recollection was somewhat of a wakeup call. I’ve GOT to take this more seriously. It’s a miracle the other Marigolds let me write the intro for this issue about, you guessed it… crisps. Me myself -I am 100% salt and vinegar. I’m sorry, I’m basic. However to add some level of edge, I’m partial to ones that strip the top of your mouth due to the acidity, it’s a thrill.
Like the pub, crisps need little introduction. We all know them. We all love them. And every friendship group has endless rituals relating to them. This week we’re being truly schooled by Josie about the rich history of Irish faves - Taytos (I’m once again asking to be their brand representatives… please). An enlightening piece, which only deepens my love for the brand. We also hear from number one crisp connoisseur Emily Barnes, running us through her greasy, cheesy memories. We knew that it was crucial that Emily be part of this issue; she would hands down be my phone a friend if the question was in the arena of snacks. Her commitment knows no bounds, and I have distinct memories of her excitedly telling me she’d managed to track down a bulk 20kg bucket of salt and vinegar seasoning meant for crisp manufacturers, via her renowned Reddit investigatory skills. Whether or not she bought it I do not know, but the way she became so animated when she wove me a story about the idea of eating a spoonful of the stuff, and it’s fabled lip puckering acidity, was truly a thing of beauty. Truly, we do not deserve her.
Sealed with a (greasy) kiss,
E. and The Marigolds
I know, I know, we literally never stop banging on about Taytos here at Club Marigold but they truly are the king of crisps, and I say that as someone with a life-long devotion to the Hula Hoop. Until recently I had thought myself a true connoisseur, till I started dating an Irish man and discovered for myself the wide and varied history of the Tayto, or rather should I say the Tayto’s.
For yes – it’s true - there are two Taytos, one for the Republic of Ireland and one for Northern Ireland. Confusingly they share a title but have dramatically different coloured packets and are manufactured in two separate factories either side of the border. Even now, though both companies have been taken over, neither have been bought by the same one. The Taytos shall never meet.
Founded in 1954 in Dublin, by an entrepreneur I have seen described as Joseph “Spud” Murphy (fun fact also the same man who brought Ribena and ballpoint pens to Ireland – what a life). Murphy, clearly a man of impeccable taste, rightly saw that the future was in potato based snacks and struck upon his next endeavour. He was clearly not wrong, the Taytos empire now encompasses not just a factory, but also a theme park and a shop in Dublin where you can not only buy merch but also crisp sandwiches.That same company is also credited with creating cheese and onion, the flavour. As I said, what a life.
A year after, across the border, another budding entrepreneur, Thomas Hutchinson was pondering what to do with a 500 year old castle he’d just acquired. Clearly the answer is, turn it into a Tayto factory. After approaching Spud, they agreed to share the rights to the Tayto name and the recipes outside of the Republic, and thus the double crisp was born.
Let it be clear – this may have been amicable back then but people come down clearly on one side or the other. To use cheese and onion as an example, there are numerous forums on the internet where you can debate thoughts on which camp you come down on, the red white and blue of the Republic or the vibrant yellow of the North. Yep, even the packets are different colours just to make sure it’s clear.
It has even been the subject of a High Court case, when a hotel in Belfast was spotted selling Republican crisps. This is not a laughing matter.
On our most recent trip to Ireland, the Irishman insisted that we taste test the two and determine the difference ourselves. But a packet never lasted the journey across the border. A testament to the crisps themselves, too tasty to travel long.
- Josie McLean
Fish Pie Chicken Crisp Crunch
Recipe- Rebecca Townrow
I have a glam pal who used to date the son of Anica Rice. My takeaway from this relationship is that Anica’s party piece is a fish pie with a crisp crust. I learnt this fact nearly ten years ago, have always thought I needed to try my own version and have never found the right moment. Last week in a heat wave with a celebratory magnum of fizz (hard working week), the time came. I opted for a Delia recipe and tried a stripe of McCoys salt and vinegar, Walkers Roast Chicken and McCoys Ready Salted across the top. Chicken won, it was truly a revelation. To make, follow a classic Delia fish pie recipe, smash three bags of roast chicken crisps up and add to the top 30 mins into cooking.
A life in crisps
Words- Emily Barnes
The amount of crisps I eat has long been the subject of warm anecdotes. Boyfield often spots the oily residue on my (always) right shoulder where I seem to subconsciously brush my dusty fingers after running them over the edges of the bag.
Some of my youngest memories were at The Black Horse with my dad, being handed a lukewarm glass of blackcurrant squash and a packet of Cheeselets; under a Foster’s parasol, relishing the muted cheesiness with an accent of sweet cordial. They’re still some of my favourites (you can still get Cheeselets outside of pubs, and before November, at Poundland- and for a multipack, no less); are Cheeselets even crisps? For the purposes of my retrospective, absolutely.
Later, I tried what I now know as ‘handcooked’ crisps but at the time I had never seen before. We were on a family holiday in Portugal and my Dad found a sizable bag, and I vividly remember the inside almost iridescent with oil, the crisps golden-green, behind a gleeful dolphin on the front of the pack. The salt! The crunch! The colour! Everyone made light work of them and yet they seemed to never end. I was so frantic at the thought of the supply dwindling that I filled my hat with my own stash and took myself off, curbside, to savour them in peace.
Similarly thick, never-too-salty potato crisps, shared in good company, flicker through many more fond memories. But with fewer newsagents around, I fear that the fallback on bringing a sharing bag of Kettle Chips to a day with friends somewhat negates the unbridled joy to be had from the kaleidoscope of shapes, flavours and colours of maize and corn snacks. These are the crisps that itch my scratch. A piquant puff, smokey spiral, zesty stick or cheesy grid; thick with flavour and melt-in-the-mouth. Perhaps not comparable to a potato crisp, I liked to think that the likes of Bobby’s have gloriously bastardised the category born from the ‘lightly salted sliced potato’ from The Cook’s Oracle- seemingly one of the first recorded recipes for a crisp - and overwhelming every picnic blanket. For me, they bring such unbridled comfort in being devoured quickly and keenly- once in the mouth the fizzle and crackle reduces each bite to soft, starchy remnants. I’m absolutely enamoured with the choice (there are usually new releases at least every month) and a trip to the shop to pick up a few different bags, enjoyed with an icey lemonade, has been a weekly tonic.
Usually enjoyed single-serve, I’d like to rekindle the idea of a Bobby’s buffet in bringing pals together; the cornerstones of a great time with friends surely involves a handful of Cheese Curls.
Thanks for tuning in to this weeks snack based Odyssey. We hope that this inspires you to deep dive your local corner shop for some long lost favourites. We also recommend this edition in tandem with our Pub Rolodex. No pint should be without a pub salad and several in the Rolodex really come through.
We leave you as always with some reading for the month. Please send all crunch ratings, reddit links for obscure crisp procurement and general hellos to our instagram.
Museum Of Crisps - A truly monumental online archive. And also the place the Irishman discovered that Taytos do a Dry Aged Beef and Peppercorn flavour. The innovation is blowing his mind.
Dancing With Bees - I regularly dip into the Farmerama archive and this - from their Women of the Land series - really transported me out of the sweaty hum of London in a heatwave.
The world of crisp advertising is nostalgia at it’s finest. We couldn’t not include a Walkers reference after the trials and tribulations of the English team this month. This Gary and Gazza combo is one of my faves.
Siobhan McSweeney - In Grace Dent’s new podcast Siobhan discusses the triple threat of dairy milk, Guinness and salty Taytos. It’s emotional.