Robert and Laura have been potato farmers in Essex for the last nine years. They began to diversify into making crisps when they realised that all the crisps sold in local farm-shops and independent retailers were produced in other parts of the country, and not in East Anglia. After a small trial in Suffolk four years ago, Robert and Laura found there was great enthusiasm for both their crisps, and the clean, local ethos behind them. With help from very willing tasters from the general public, flavour favourites were carefully created and selected, and the end results are truly impressive.

Out of the twelve varieties of potato grown on Fairfields Farm, four types were selected to make the crisps. This selection is based upon flavour, yield, sugar-content and seasonal availability, and is rotated throughout the year. This makes the most of each crop when they are at their best, ensuring that each crisp is made from fresh and tasty spuds.

The results are spectacular, and have won the Great Taste Gold Award two years running; you can almost taste the sap and the soil. Many leading brands of crisps seem to regard the potatoes they use as a simple platform for their flavourings. They present the consumer with weak greasy slivers, or odd, lactose-fused mashes of potato, loaded with salt, artificial flavours and MSG, drowning out the hearty and significant flavour of the potato itself.

Fairfields Farm crisps however, are delicately laced with flavours that permeate each slice rather than sitting sluggishly on the surface, so that the delicious taste of the potato itself stays prominent in your mouth as you munch away.

Each crisp is just the right density, made from generous slices of massive potatoes. You can see the rings and veins of flesh, without the crisp being too thick to actually bite on- something other “rustic” crisp brands have a tendency towards, assuming great wedges mean great value. These crisps are just thick enough to give that satisfying crunch and explosion of flavour with every mouthful. They’re cooked to tender perfection in sunflower oil with their skins intact, and happily lack the greasy residue or slightly burnt aftertaste that other brands tend to have.

The potato crisps currently come in a variety of six tantalising flavours, using fresh, local produce from independent companies. They’re all non-GM, free from artificial flavours, colours and preservatives, and (apart from the obvious Bacon flavour) suitable for vegetarians.

They’re even wheat free and suitable for Coeliacs, - something I don’t take lightly, as some of my friends and family have the condition, and suffer unnecessarily and frequently due to the food industry’s tendency to add wheat and gluten derivatives to absolutely everything- most recently fruit juice! The end result is Fairfields Farm now have some delighted, life-long customers, who know they wont get ill eating their crisps. Big brands like Walkers often declare their produce suitable for Coeliacs even when they blatantly contain gluten derivatives, because the content falls below a minimum quota, which for some bizarre reason makes it acceptable.
Here’s a brief summary of each flavour.

Suffolk Farmhouse Cheese & Chive - The flavour is fresh without being overly acidic or oniony. You can really taste the dairy of the cheese and the tart sweetness of the chives, without any unpleasant powdery residue on the crisp.

Sweet Thai Chilli From The Chilli Company - Unlike many chilli crisps that tend to just taste sweet and hot, these crisps have the flavour of coconut and lemongrass infusing the precise heat and taste of chillies.

Sea Salt & Aspall Cyder Vinegar - I tried these whilst drinking some Aspall Cyder. They really capture its clean and fresh fruitiness, without being too acidic or sweet, and the saltiness compounds the flavour into something really impressive.

Ever So Lightly Sea-Salted - perfectly seasoned so the flavour of the potato is prominent and delicious.

Wicks Manor Smoky Bacon & Sunday Roast Potato - Possibly my favourite, these crisps are sweet yet meaty, with a delicious wood-smoke aftertaste. I don’t know how they do it but they really do have a Sunday roast potato flavour! - Impressive.

For those that fancy something slightly more alternative, there’s the Parsnip Crisp with Essex Honey and Black Pepper. The sweet nuttiness of the ‘nips is complimented by the tartness of the honey and fiery warmth of the pepper.

When I spoke to Laura about the future of Fairfields Farm, she was adamant that her crisps would not become another mass-produced item on large supermarket shelves. These are strictly independent, and above all, ethical crisps, to be found in Farm Shops and stalls, Deli’s and their local Co-Op, and you cant help but feel proud when you eat them.