It’s happening again! My mind is going in all sorts of crazy directions with ideas for the next chip flavour. I’m pretty confident that I will win. Heh heh! But it’s not just me. My kids are into it as well. “Poutine! Beef Pho! Sriracha! Duck Confit! Fish Tacos! Pico de Gallo! “ They’ve been yelling out their ideas to me since I had mentioned the start of Lay’s Do Us a Flavour contest – great ideas, right? They were also excited to hear about my lunch experience with James Cunningham, host of Food Network’s wildly popular show Eat Street. He’s teamed up with Lay’s and is sharing his passion about discovering flavours across the country.
I had just arrived home with take-out bags from Gourmet Gringos – one of Cunningham’s favourite Food Trucks/restaurants here in Toronto. You know, when you join a famous foodie you’re definitely going to be treated well (note to self: don’t eat breakfast next time). The kids had just arrived back from school and ooooh’d at the dishes before them. One of the dishes, Duck Carnitas – is a new dish that Gourmet Gringos hasn’t even offered to the public yet but was just introduced to Cunningham and had received “When Harry Met Sally” groans from both of us. (Note to hubby: Sorry honey. I. Just. Couldn’t. Contain. Myself.) And the fish tacos! Ohhhh, the fish tacos made with Mahi Mahi are what dreams are made of!
“Right? This is what I’m talking about!” said Cunningham. “We’re so lucky in Canada to have such talented chefs and their Food Trucks are so inspiring! Could you imagine this as a chip flavour?”
Cunningham waves over for someone to bring over a laptop so we can enter this genius idea immediately! Actually I think we may have entered several while enjoying lunch…er…working! Yes, I swear, I was working.
But I’m all over the Food Truck trend that’s slowly taking over our streets. It’s been so big in cities like New York, Chicago and L.A. it was only a matter of time before it caught on. It’s a great way for chefs to be more creative, flexible and mobile not to mention the costs involved to open up an actual restaurant.
“What Canada lacks in quantity we make up for in quality when it comes to Food Trucks,” says Cunningham. “Trucks like Gourmet Gringos, Caplansky’s, Frankie Fettuccini and Hog Town Smoke make some of the most creative dishes around. In a city like Toronto that’s more cosmopolitan, this whole concept is totally embraced. It’s a diverse city and the people are open to more culturally influenced food. But it’s taking off across Canada too. Vancouver has some awesome Food Trucks! Japadog is incredible!”
We’re on the verge of probably a food truck explosion in Toronto with new laws expected to pass in coming months. Food Trucks like Gourmet Gringos have their key spots across the city including stopping in front of the Sony Centre during the days when the theatre is not busy as well as travelling around to other locations. Often the Food Truck company will use social media to get the word out. They have cult-like followings too. People just seem to crave something different from food court offerings sometimes.
But what if you could open up your own Food Truck? I asked Cunningham what he’d like to see since he’s been exposed to so many great ones across North America filming his show. “I’d love to start a Bannock Food Truck. I’d do Bannock everything! It’s one of those foods that you can do sweet or salty. So many possibilities.”
So, back to this crazy contest. Last year, Lays asked Canadians to submit their chip flavour ideas in a national Do Us a Flavour contest. The contest received over 600,000 entries. The final top four were created into limited-edition flavours that were sold to the public. Remember the finalists? Perogy Platter, Maple Moose, Grilled Cheese & Ketchup and Creamy Garlic Caesar? The winner from last year’s contest was Maple Moose!
The contest was so popular that Lays Canada is running it once again!
How to enter…
Until April 23, 2014, consumers can submit their flavour ideas at www.Lays.ca/Flavour – enter as many different flavour ideas as you like! But what’s new? This year’s Lay’s Do Us a Flavour Contest has a twist! Canadians can also select a chip style: Lay’s Original, Lay’s Kettle Cooked, and or Lay’s Wavy! Make sure you share your submissions on your social media networks too so people can click on the “I’d Eat That!” button to show their support!
The winner will receive $50,000 CDN plus 1 per cent of their flavour’s future sales (after voting period). And bragging rights, of course! Get all the details at the website.
Are you ready? Go find your inspiration whether it’s from a Food Truck or what you had for lunch! But don’t give away your secrets here! Go enter now!!
Fun Facts:
- At least 1 in 5 (21 per cent) Canadians has had an idea for a potato chip flavour of their own, and of those, 52 per cent say their inspiration was their favourite food.
- 46 per cent of Canadians reported that they can think of a favourite food or dish that they, or their family eat, that would make a tasty chip.
- Of a list of favourite international dishes, respondents reported that Italian pizza (21 per cent), Chinese sweet and sour chicken (17 per cent), Mexican guacamole (15 per cent) and Indian chicken curry (11 per cent) were most likely to taste great as a potato chip.
- Of the listed take-out foods from other countries, half (50 per cent) of all Canadians surveyed said they order Chinese food most often and one-quarter (26 per cent) say they most often order Italian.
- The Lay’s Do Us a Flavour contest has been held in numerous countries with over 12 million flavour ideas submitted worldwide.
*Facts from a national online survey commissioned by Lay’s conducted by Angus Reid from January 29 to January 30, 2014 among 1,503 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists.
This post is NOT sponsored, nor was I compensated. Thank you to Lays Canada, James Cunningham and Gourmet Gringos for a fun and inspiring afternoon!
Leave a Reply