The Sportsman Inn in Huddersfield, UK has started an international crisp festival offering almost 70 different kinds of crisps paired with events. John Fletcher, landlord of The Sportsman Inn, said that the festival had created “huge” interest from clients. The flavours on offer range from caviar to salted egg yolk. The festive started on 11 October and will run until Sunday. The festive’s popularity has meant the pub has had to expand from the original 56 lines to almost 70.
The pub stopped serving food after the Covid lockdowns because it was “difficult to make any margin on”. Mr. Fletcher said the event proved that there was still a place for beer-led venues and that “there’s still a good market for fun events and having a nice time in the pub with a couple of pints and a bag of crisps”. The popularity of the festive, so far, has exceeded expectations; “In the first weekend, we sold what we’d normally do in a month in crisps”, said Mr Fletcher.
The festive has attracted clients from the local area and has had some difficulty with meeting demand. The first one to sell out was the salted egg yolk flavour from China. The spicy varieties have also been popular, as have fried egg and caviar. Neighbouring businesses have even been getting in on the festivities. A middle eastern supermarket over the road was really helpful with the Iranian crisps, and the local Polish supermarket were able to source some really interesting crisps.
Fletcher suggested other pairings such as a classic Seabrooks cheese and onion with Timothy Taylor’s Boltmaker. Other combinations Fletcher suggested include a delicious tomato flavoured crisp from China and Gueuze, which is a kind of a Belgian beer that’s got a little bit of tartness and effervescence or something spicy with a nice crisp lager that will cut through the spice. For Mr. Fletcher, the secret to a really good crisp is that the base crisp has got to be good, it’s got to be a nice crispy crisp, not too greasy, and then the flavours have to be pronounced.
The festive has seen high demand, which may lead to the expansion beyond potato-based snacks. Mr. Fletcher insisted that having a few pints and a bag of crisps is an occasional treat, not an everyday meal, and that people should embrace that. There should be a place to let your hair down and have a little treat
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