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M&S

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.
M&S: Reduced Fat Full On Flavour Ready Salted Crisps
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M&S: Reduced Fat Full On Flavour Ready Salted Crisps

Visually, they look like their full-fat cousins—slightly paler, with that familiar M&S clean-cut finish. You can tell they’re part of the “Reduced Fat” brigade, though: the sheen is more modest, the oil less assertive. It’s a crisp trying to look confident in a linen shirt rather than leather jacket. Flavour & Aroma For something called “Full On Flavour,” they play it remarkably safe. The potato notes are clean, the salt present but not showy. There’s a whisper of oil, a touch of sweetness from the spud itself, but the promised “full-on” is more polite handshake than bear hug. Still, it’s…
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M&S: Hand Cooked Sweet Chill Crisps
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M&S: Hand Cooked Sweet Chill Crisps

M&S has a mixed track record with their hand-cooked range, so I approached these sweet chilli crisps with some trepedation. They’re positioned as a premium offering, and at M&S prices, they better deliver. Texture The hand-cooked process gives these crisps a satisfying thickness and that characteristic irregular shape that suggests proper craftsmanship. The crunch is exemplary—robust without being teeth-breakingly hard. Sweet danger Sweet chilli is a tricky flavor to nail, and I can’t recall too many i’ve ever enjoyed. It just feels an unnatural bedfellow for the potato, and should be reserved for rice-based snack. It reminds me of a…
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M&S: Hand Cooked Lightly Sea Salted Crisps
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M&S: Hand Cooked Lightly Sea Salted Crisps

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.…
M&S: Hand Cooked Mature Cheddar & Spring Onion Crisps
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M&S: Hand Cooked Mature Cheddar & Spring Onion Crisps

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.…
M&S: Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Crisps
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M&S: Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Crisps

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…
M&S: Extreme Ridge Salt and Double Vinegar Potato Crisps
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M&S: Extreme Ridge Salt and Double Vinegar Potato Crisps

Extreme. The least extreme hard rock band of the 90s. My sister was a huge fan, although I think that was more down to having a crush on the guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Extreme Ridge. The least extreme crisp, from a supermarket that would think having not having your shirt tucked…