Brets©
Chips Saveur Chèvre & piment d'Espelette
One of
the many overseas brands that is being carried by World Market,
Brets© is part of Altho, a company located in France that specializes in gourmet
potato chips. Started in 1991 by Alain Glon who had formed
partnerships with farmers, by 1995 the company founded family-owned
Altho located in central Brittany. Starting with only 16 employees
and an annual production of 800 tons of chips, the company has since
grown to 240 employees throughout the year (noting up to 400 during
their high season) with an annual output of 20,000 tons of chips.
Among the flavors they offer their customer are Goat Cheese &
Espelette Pepper, Braised Chicken, Marine (oyster), Butter Caramel,
Salt & Vinegar, Garlic & Rosemary, Original, Natural,
Bolognaise, and Pizza to just to name a few.
- The
Artist -
While
wandering one of the local World Market stores with Jerry and a
friend of ours, I had spotted the bag of Brets© chips and was
curious as to what the flavor would be like. I am familiar with the
creamy yet robust earthy flavor of goat cheese so it did seem fitting
that the French company had paired it with Espelette pepper. Bringing
home a bag and opening it up, my nose was greeted with the gentle
melody of cheese with a hint of spice. However, flavor was a little
bit on the disappointing side. It is perhaps due to the possibility
of the original recipe being altered to 'appeal to American tastes'
but the flavors weren't as spectacular as I would have imagined. Mind
you that alone, the cheese flavoring was light and quite easy on the
pallet with just a faint hint of spice from the peppers. Also the
chips themselves were crisp and had a delightful crunch to them when
taking a bite. However, when used to goat cheese being bold along
with the tangy sweetness of peppers, the flavoring on the chips is a
bit lack luster. I'm sure that in France, the chips are perhaps much
more attention grabbing so as I suggested before it could just be an
Americanization of the recipe. Other then that bit of conflict with personal taste, the chips are actually quite enjoyable.
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