chipiddy do dah

My much anticipated Jan/Feb 08 issue of Saveur arrived – the one where they showcase their top 100 favourite things of the past year. Listed among plenty new-to-me tasty treats, I found some of my longtime loves: Big Turk, the fantastic Canadian chocolate covered turkish delight bar; Gastronomica, a magazine that probes a little further into the hows and whys of what we eat; and Marks and Spencer’s Crisps.

These crisps might taste like ordinary potato chips (they don’t), but the packaging has them looking like they’re in a whole different strata-sphere.

Munching on these makes me feel less like I am noshing on some pedestrian high-fat, low quality, faux-food snack and more like I am treating myself to something just a little bit upper crust. Now, I am not sure if all the credit goes to the clear, sharp, refined packaging or if it is the word ‘Crisps’, that also causes me to sit up a bit straighter and actually use a napkin (though they do deserve to have every last morsel liked off of the fingers).

At any rate, the clean white bag lends a healthy vibe, the bold lettering in bright colours with a simple stack of the chips alongside easily denotes the flavour – no mistaking them, even from across the store. The gourmet taste is matched well to the premium look of the package…and to my tastebuds.