[News] Tayto Cheese & Onion Chocolate Bar

Many years ago I would attend Irish step-dancing classes in the local community centre. I never really had much of a sense of rhythm, but I loved the classes. But the best part of the class would come once we had finished and we were free to visit O'Murchú's shop. I think every child learns economics at a young age, when they are figuring out how to extract maximum value from their precious pennies. 

I would often go for a chocolate bar, a packet of Tayto crisps and I would use whatever change was left over to buy an assortment of penny sweets. This was the middle to end of the 80s after all, and every penny mattered in those years.  My friends and I would then walk home, eating our haul as we went. The walk was over a mile long, up and down some very steep hills, thus helping to burn off our calorific intake (not that we cared about such things at that stage in our lives). One of my very favourite treats was to take a square of chocolate and eat it together with some Cheese & Onion crisps. I was convinced that this was the best flavour combination ever.

Last year, Tayto starting selling a plain bar of milk chocolate, with Mr. Tayto emblazoned on the wrapper at their Tayto Park in Ashbourne, Co. Meath. However, word quickly got around on Twitter that it was "just" plain chocolate, and didn't actually feature any crisp content. A strong viral campaign eventually resulted in Tayto teaming up with Butlers Chocolates to make the holy grail of chocolate bars, featuring milk chocolate containing pieces of Cheese & Onion crisps.

I may have enjoyed many new flavour combinations since my childhood adventures, but I still think that chocolate and crisps is a winner. I'll be keeping an eye out for this bar, and the subsequent trip down memory lane.

 

This limited edition Tayto product is available in Tayto Park in Ashbourne Co. Meath and will be stocked in Londis, Gala, Costcutter, Topaz, Spar, Mace, Eurospar, Daybreak plus other select retailers by the end of April. But be warned, there will only 100,000 bars in circulation. More information on Tayto can be found at on Mr Tayto’s page on Facebook, or follow Mr. Tayto on Twitter - @MrTaytoIreland.

Ireland at the Olympics

We love a good tryer here in Ireland. The bar for Olympic performance isn't the highest here and we have a tendency to consider it a good day if someone doesn't disgrace themselves or fall flat on their faces. Bearing that in mind, the performances so far from the Irish team at the Olympics have been OK. No medals yet, and let's be honest, it might well stay that way. But on the whole, we have had respectable performances.

We did have the embarassing incident where Irish swimmer Melanie Nocher had to stop dead in the water in her 200m freestyle heat in order to adjust her goggles. Later, the incident was blamed on the fact that the swimmer could not wear the hat supplied to her and to had to wear a different cap. The question needs to be asked why she didn't perform some trial runs with her new gear and make sure that all would be OK. It shows a lack of professionalism. Debacle aside, she did actually swim well, so here's hoping that a valuable lesson has been learned.

The finals of the men's K1 kayak have just finished with heart-breaking news for Ireland. Eoin Rheinisch had struggled to qualify for the semi-finals and then the final, but put in a fantastic paddle in the final. He was in gold position for quite a while, falling to silver and then bronze. However, he lost the bronze on the last paddle of the day. Although we may say that a 4th place finish in an Olympic final is undoubtedly a good showing, it's probably going to feel quite bitter to Eoin right now.


Well done Eoin, you did us proud. You held on in there, despite being 15th in the qualifiers and 10th in the semis. You kept your head, displayed your professionalism and came home 4th in the final. Congratulations!

Irish Olympian Style

The official uniform of the 2008 Irish Olympic Squad was recently unveiled by the Irish Olympic Comittee. It's designed by John Rocha in conjunction with Irish team sponsor Penneys, and "marries elements of his Chinese heritage with his desire to present a positive , uplifting image for his adopted home, Ireland."

The uniform combines silk from the Far East, which has been handpainted by an Irish craftswoman with celtic motifs and superfine cool wools and cotton. It all sounds good. There should be an image in your head right now of something elegant and classy, sleek and smooth. Well, here's a picture of the uniforms as modelled by the athletes Fionnula Britton (24) from Wicklow who will represent Ireland in the 3000m Steeplechase and Letterkenny cyclist Philip Deignan (25) who will compete in the Olympic road race. Both are first time Olympians.


In fairness, the men's suit looks very well.But what is up with the women's outfit? It has the amazing effect of making the female athlete look like a 50 year old woman dressed to go to mass. It's stunningly unfeminine and old-fashioned. JOhn Rocha would have done well to remember that most of the women wearing this uniform will be in the peak physical condition of their lives. Why not dress them in something sleeker, fitted and sharper.

It's a pity that a great Irish designer couldn't use this opportunity to promote a more modern image of Irish female fashion.