Lay's ''Do us a Flavour Canada'' 2014

Hurray!

The moment I have been waiting for is finally here. Lay’s ''Do us a Flavour'' contest is back and the new chips are now in stores.

This year’s finalists are:

• Bacon Poutine
• Cinnamon Bun
• Jalapeno Mac and Cheese (wavy)
• Tzatziki (kettle cooked)

Naturally, I had to go buy all four flavours and opened them as soon as we got home. Here is our family's review of the four fabulous flavours!

First of all BACON POUTINE. When I first tasted this, I closed my eyes and asked myself, ''Does this taste like bacon poutine?'' And because I was born and raised in Quebec, I can easily answer no! It tastes a lot like Barbecue. You can definitely taste something similar to gravy and you get a smokiness from the bacon but what makes a poutine is the melted cheese, which you don't get here at all. Although it is a good flavour, there is nothing new here.

Next up, CINNAMON BUN. Yum! At first when this touched my mouth, I tasted the butter and cinnamon. Then I got the salt and potato chip. This is interesting and different. By far, this is my son's favorite. Although the husband saw it more as a novelty item. He thought it was good but wouldn't eat it all evening. It's not really good with beer. As for me, well I really liked it. I probably wouldn't adopt this as our new staple (Lay's Salt and Pepper has had this title for a while) but it was definitely the most interesting flavour of all four.

JALAPENO MAC AND CHEESE: Good flavour! Not too spicy but has a good kick to it. It is cheesy and vinegary like pickled jalapenos rather than fresh. These chips are rippled. Husband thought that they were good but nothing new or out of the ordinary. Definitely something you could serve at a party. The kids did not find them overwhelmingly spicy.

And finally TZATZIKI. I would have like to use the phrase: ''Last but not least'' but in this case, this WAS our least favorite. First of all, they were way too salty. They were also too thick and tasted too strongly of dill. When we make tzatziki at home, (hubby is of Lebanese heritage) we use mint, garlic and cucumbers in a yogurt base. I am guessing that Greek people make tzatziki with dill instead of mint so this was not reminiscent of the tzatziki we know and love. Besides, there's already a dill pickle chip out there, and it's much better than this.

So our favorite??? Mine and the kid's was Cinnamon Bun. Hubby's was Jalapeno. Tzatziki was the least favorite.  Poutine the most ordinary. 

Compared to last year's finalists (Cesar Salad, Grilled Cheese & Ketchup, Maple Moose, Perogy Platter), this year's are very similar. The garlicky, sweet, cheesy, smoky flavours are all back. This contest sure is a hit- but will this year's winner be able to stay on the shelves longer than last year's before being discontinued because of low sales? Last year I voted for Grilled Cheese & Ketchup (Those were DELICIOUS). This year, I'll wait to see which ones I'm still eating when October comes around, then I'll cast my vote and hope they stick around. 

Cheers!