Stitch and Bear

A long-running Irish blog with reviews of the best restaurants in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Some wine and cocktails thrown in for good measure!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Crisp Fest 2012 (with loads of crisps)

My May bank holiday weekend plans had involved getting on a plane to the US on the Sunday. Exciting as this was, I was even more delighted to receive a phone call informing me that my work schedule would change. As a result, I got to spend the whole weekend at home, a truly unexpected pleasure.  

The main problem lay in the fact that I had turned down a whole raft of invitations and events, as I had planned to be stateside. But then a late saviour from an unlikely source appeared. The first Crisp Fest was scheduled to take place at The Bernard Shaw. As someone who loves crips, this was an absolute no-brainer.

This excellent festival is the brainchild of the folks behind the Irish A Blog About Crisps. The concept is simple - come to the pub, eat some crisp sandwiches and drink some drinks. But these clever guys took it a step further by securing loads of free crisps from the likes of King Crisps, Tayto, Boxerchips and Keogh's (forgive me if there were others I haven't listed). 

The first task of the evening was to secure drinks - himself took care of that by getting two whiskey sours for €10. The second task fell to me, namely to secure a crisp sandwich for himself. This task involved some tough decision making - would he prefer the classics of Tayto or King or perhaps strike out with an alternative crisp? Tradition won out and I secured a Tayto sandwich made from the softest, whitest sliced pan. For myself, I snagged my favourite flavour (Salt and Vinegar) in the form of Boxerchips Salty Malty.
Stitch and Bear - Crisp Fest 2012 - Salty Malty Boxerchips and crisp sandwich
Salty Malty Boxerchips and a classic Tayto sandwich
With drinks and the all important first sandwich onboard, we continued to work our way through the free samples. First up was a bag of new kids on the block Keogh's Shamrock and Sour Cream. This was followed by more Boxerchips, but this time taking the form of a mixed vegetable variety (parsnip, sweet potato and beetroot). At this stage, bags of Tayto Prawn Cocktail were being handed out to the crowd, so we also snagged some of those.
Stitch and Bear - Crisp Fest 2012 - Keogh's Shamrock & Sour Cream
Keogh's Shamrock and Sour Cream
Stitch and Bear - Crisp Fest 2012 - Various Veggies Boxerchips
The Various Veggies from Boxerchips
The only downside to Crisp Fest 2012 was the freezing cold. Even with all the lovely crispy goodness on offer, we decided to head back indoors, but not before himself got one more crisp sandwich. At this point, we were offered some handmade badges to wear with pride (which I did).
Stitch and Bear - Crisp Fest 2012 - A badge of pride at Crisp Fest 2012
My badge of pride - Crisp Fest 2012
I think the Blog About Crisps (@blogaboutcrisps) team are onto a great idea. If there is one thing that Irish people love as much as the pub, it is crisps. It's even better if the pub and crisps are combined. And it's even better again if crisp sandwiches are added to the mix. This event could be a fantastic showcase for newer crisp brands, as well as providing an opportunity to enjoy some old favourites. 

Well done to team behind Crisp Fest 2012. Here's to Crisp Fest 2013.
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1 comment

Amee said...

Hurrah for blog about crisps - I am so going next year!

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