John & John Sea Salt & Black Pepper

I think it was last weekend that the Chef & I tried these tasty sea salt & black pepper crisps I found in a motorway service station near Beaune. The reluctant taste testers and I had tried the other two packets so it seemed only fair to give the Chef a chance to try this flavour which I know he usually enjoys.

A fairly hard crunch but a lovely salt and pepper flavour - very nice indeed. I can't even remember if we tried these with a dip but if we did I am sure it worked very well: guacamole maybe?

It remains a mystery why these crisps are made in the UK for a German company and marketed in France. Weird.

Another beautifully subtle packet design.

John & John Suffolk Cheddar & Chives

What a strongly flavoured crisp. This faux British crisp seems to have been created for the German market so I am sort of surprised the cheese and onion is so... so strongly flavoured. But maybe that's what the great German public expects.

Maybe they say to themselves "so British" in a strong German accent the way the French and French speaking Swiss do (in a strong French accent obviously). Only a true German speaker can advise me on this.

Anyway, quite a nice thickish cut crisp, quite a hard crunch, very strong flavour: not bad really. The reluctant taste testers hoovered up this small bag pretty quickly but I found the flavour a bit strong for my taste.

I bet someone laboured long and hard on this deceptively simple packet design. It really is very nice indeed. Well done that someone.

John & John Hand Cooked Aspall Cyder Vinegar Potato Crisps

Here's an interesting crisp. Looks English, made in the UK, owned by a German company and bought in France. Who'd have thought?

I promised the Chef I wouldn't buy any more crisps after the tonne I picked up in Rheims but really, how could I resist? Although it did seem strange discovering this crisp in the middle of Burgundy.

What a lovely crisp. A little thicker cut than mass produced brands as artisan crisps often are, this Cyder Vinegar flavour is beautifully delicate; nothing like as strong as many salt & vinegar flavours. And I gather from Tech taste tester that Aspall Cyder is rather good. He tells me he rather likes it, and  Aspall also make Cyder Vinegar.

Well the reluctant taste testers approved of these crisps. Even Senior taste tester who doesn't usually like salt & vinegar as a flavour.

Lovely packaging design. Although what an elephant has to do with cider vinegar I have no idea!

I thought the brand was called John John but it seems that the anchor on the packet is standing in for an & sign. So John & John it is. I think. You can read a bit about these crisps on Chips & Crisps  or here on John Crisps. If I need to try more flavours perhaps I should be heading for Germany?