Marks & Spencer. The heart of middle England.
Crisps with ideas above their station. Sometimes brilliant—sharp, fragrant, unusually complex—sometimes baffling, like someone’s flavoured them from a cheese board dream.
Visually, these were textbook hand-cooked crisp — pale gold with a slight sheen and the occasional bubbled crisp giving them that artisanal flair. Nothing fancy, but a solid, no-nonsense look that promised something classic.…
First impressions were strong — from the moment the bag opened, there was a rich, cheesy aroma that actually smelled like real mature cheddar, not the usual artificial smell. The crisps themselves looked the part too: golden, with a dusting of seasoning that promised flavour in every bite.…
No shy splash of vinegar here, but a full-on balsamic wallop with all the tangy drama of the sour and sweet balsamic (in the best way). When you open them, you can smell the difference. Not the acidic, nostril-flaring tang you get from cheaper vinegars, but something more rounded, almost…
Despite the name, M&S Extreme Ridge Salt and Double Vinegar plays things surprisingly safe. While the vinegar brings a sharp edge, the crumbly texture and processed feel hold it back from true “extreme” status.…
How to describe it? My first thought was it was just burnt. A bitter, acrid flavour, But it wasn't one rogue crisp that was bit overcooked. The whole batch tasted somewhere between burnt onions and licking an armpit.…
Some kind of extreme in anything would have been nice. Healthily thick, but the crunch just doesn't match up to anything you would expect from a ridged crisp.…
Sometimes you stumble across a crisp that doesn’t shout for your attention, but rather clears its throat politely and gestures toward something a little more refined.…