Since lockdown here in the UK, some of our most frequented restaurant chains have shut down. It's quite shocking really, how quickly Walkers rolled these out.. it's almost as if they knew.. or were holding them on standby for such an occasion! Either way we've been able to enjoy some interesting collaborations. Starting here with a favourite, Nando's. 

Whilst it gives the flavour as Peri'Peri chicken, it doesn't mention with hotness level - there sure are some massive differences! I'm going to have to take a guess.

On first taste - there's a definite citrus tang that would pair it with lemon & herb, but as the flavour permeates through my taste buds I'm inclined to say that it's something hotter in there - the bell pepper hit is coming through and i'd put somewhere between a medium heat and lemon & herb. The chicken undertone is a classic chicken flavouring from Walkers. There's also a heavy amount of Paprika it seems, which does surprise me. You can see if in the colour of the crisp.
​I'm less of a fan of the lemon so afraid it's a 6/10

Here we have the missing piece of the jigsaw from my reviews of Walkers' STRONG range - the rest of them went down pretty well, but the clear winner so far has been Chilli & Lime - they got a massive 9/10 which is rare.

Fiery Peri has been given a rating of EXTRA HOT and after my first taste - I have to agree, they really have a hearty bite that would keep you warm on a winters day.. only its sunny and my mouth is burning. That's not to say it's not welcome, I love a good intense spice - these are SUPER peppery and have a good paprika undertone to the chilli pepper spice. They also have a sour-vinegary-tang to them, even though that's not in the ingredients, maybe t comes from the citric acid? Either way it's not entirely welcome to my palette.

They're not for the faint of heart, but they've definitely woken me up.

7/10

NEW FROM MINI CHEDDARS! It's the Mexican party range. We all know the Mexican's know how to party and damn do they make some good food, so this is a great spring/summer flavour to bring out. Each one has a different of spice - i'm starting at the bottom with "Fresco" level.

I have to be honest - i'm not usually a fan of lime flavoured crisps, the sour tang just doesn't hit my tastes buds well -  I steer in the opposite direction of Doritos "Hint of lime" crisps...

But I am really pleasantly surprised - the lime is not overpowering and whilst definitely lime, reminds me more of the tang you'd get from Worcester sauce or pickled onion flavour. It's perfectly paired with a hint of chilli but grounded by the classic cheddar staple. A welcome treat, can't wait to try the rest!

8/10

New from McCoy's - a new breed of tortilla chips!

They're described as a folded, crispy, tortilla snack. To me they're a strange amalgamation of a pop chip and a nacho although definitely not a corn tortilla - but they have a reasonable crunch to them, it's not a bad format for crisps.

The flavouring is in keeping with McCoy's history - FULL ON and intense. I could probably do without the chicken seasoning if i'm honest as I always find it creates a bit of a sickly tinge - but the rest of the flavouring I love. What you really get out of these is smokeyness and a chilli pepper, black pepper spice to round it off. There's a slight sweetness to it which I find always completes a chilli flavour.

7/10

New from Doritos - a different take on their Roulette range! I loved the Roulette crisps they brought out last year, tangy cheese and the odd insanely hot - a great novelty.

Here we have a branded version, using Tabasco's hot pepper sauce as the surprised ingredient. I love Tabasco on most things, but especially with eggs. 

The pack says that some of these chips are ULTRA SPICY. Well I have to say that I haven't experienced that - but what I have got is a really great deep cheese flavour - the mixture of the classic tangy cheese with the peppery hot sauce is just great and while they're not supposed to of mixed up - it really does create a great combo. Definitely not a big spicy hit.

Nom nom nom.

​9/10

Last up in the new MAX STRONG range from Walkers and these are supposedly the hottest of the lot, so I have liquids to hand just incase.

Jalapeno and cheese are so regularly tasted together in Mexican food which I love so I feel like already this is a good pairing. The tang of the Jalapeno matches the creamy slightly smokey cheese really well.

These are definitely extreme in flavour - although actually pretty palatable in terms of actual spice. They're super cheesy, which makes for interesting breathe and I think they wouldn't make their way into a share sized bag.. but the flavour is good and i'm satisfied with this addition to the range.

7/10

New from Walkers MAX range - STRONG.

It looks just a little like they're aiming towards lad culture being named strong and having a pint of beer in the text!

The MAX range has been pretty good in my opinion - a deep ridged crisp with intense flavourings, shout out to thai sweet chicken mmmmm!

This new version of the range is spicy and to be matched with a pint of geezer lager. They come in three levels of hotness. Hot Chicken Wings is the mid level hotness..

I like my American buffalo hot wings which is what I was expecting here but actually it's very much a british version oh hot wings. The flavouring definitely has the classic roast chicken walkers flavouring which could make you think on first bite that these aren't going to be too spicy.. but there's a kick!  It's essentially MAX Flamin hot mixed with roast chicken so a pretty straight forward recipe for Walkers then!

That's not to say that these aren't good - they're moreish despite the chilli kick.

Nice for a nice cold beer to cool it all off..


7/10