Red Rock Deli - Roast Chicken Lemon & Thyme (Aus)

This particular packet was purchased by a friend, specifically for this review, which is always a little bit exciting as the review becomes more of a challenge and I have been mulling this one over the last week or two. So let’s get in to it. This is my first review of Red Rock Deli crisps, which is surprising, as Red Rock Deli have really cemented themselves a place in the elite crisp bands in Australia. I even remember when Red Rock Deli first introduced themselves on to the market. At that time, the only brand I can remember making cauldron cooked crisps was Kettle and I don’t think I would have been the only person who thought Kettle were the best crisps on the Australian market. I even named this entire blog after my favourite Kettle flavour! So I believe it was a bold move for Red Rock to go head-to-head with Kettle in the cauldron cooked race. Over this time, one distinct difference between the two cauldron crisp heavyweights has become apparent and it is all in the flavouring. Since my childhood, to my aberration, Kettle have sparingly seasoned their crisps. Each crisps with less flavour than the last. I remember a time when a packet of Chilli Kettle chips could reduce me to a crying, sniffling mess. These days, after the economisation of brand, Chilli Kettle could barely trouble me to deep, cooling, wide mouthed breath. Red Rock Deli, on the other hand, has obviously made a point to create a crisp on the extreme opposite and Roast Chicken Lemon & Thyme are no exception. The flavour is overwhelming and unrelenting. The Lemon is full, the Thyme is lost and the chicken is controlling, like a Mexican wrestler on a Meer cat. With that said, there were a lot of bubble crisps in this packet which is always joyous. As I reluctantly devoured the contents of this packet, I found myself in a delicate predicament. Do I give a good review in exchange for the sentiment of free crisps??? or do continue with my profound, non-partisan, honest reporting? As you have probably already gathered, I feel it to be my duty to do the right thing by my readers and offer my sincere, conscientious opinion. Perhaps the trick with Red Rock Deli is not to eat the whole packet, but this is the conditioning I have prescribed to myself. This packet wasn't great but it was still not a complete waste of thyme. ⋆⋆½

John & John – Sea Salt & Black Pepper (UK)

Ever since my first Sea salt & Black pepper crisps experience, I have been quite partial to the lesser known and lesser exposed flavour. Luckily for me, on my housemate’s recent trip to Van Diemen's Land, he was kind enough to purchased me a packet of John & John – Sea salt & Black pepper. As I stated in my previous blog post, it is just this kind of independent crisp manufacturers that I am focusing on, so you can imagine my excitement when he handed me this elegant packet. Not to mention that John & John like to make cauldron cooked, skin on crisps – my favourite. Each crisp seems to be of different thickness which further enhances the ‘handmade’ feel. The packet is also full of folded crisps with more folds than an origami convention. And we all know folded crisps are the most satisfying to bite down on. John & John have also been careful not to make the crisps too peppery, which would be an easy trap to fall into. However, peppery enough to know it’s there; just like Demi Moore knew Patrick Swayze was there while she turned that alarmingly phallic clay pot. I don’t know who John or John is, or how they got so wise but they know how to make a good crisp. ⋆⋆⋆⋆