As The Crow Flies - Ed. 4 - A Short Guide to Pub Crisp Sharing Etiquette

This guide is intended to be a bit of fun, the list is neither exhaustive nor strict. However it’s our sincerest hope that after reading our tips, fellow pub goers will take note of your exemplary crisp sharing skills and soon you will be awash with tasty potato based snacks. 

1. Always Employ the Fold

As this post is intended to be a companion to our Pop, Tear, Fold  post we’re starting our guide off with a reference to that very special ritual. The folding of the foil underneath the packet, after employing the pop and tear, is good manners. Firstly because it removes any issues of accessibility for people positioned behind the newly torn foil leaf. Secondly because some crisps can be unpleasantly greasy (Torres) or very dusty (Doritos or Wotsits) and this ensures that your fellow crisp enjoyer’s hands stay mostly clean rather than having to scrape against greasy foil. 

2. Always Check for Allergens and Dietary Requirements

This one is self explanatory. Always check with your pals before buying peanuts, and with veggie/vegan pals before buying meaty crisps or crisps with milk in. Pub snacks are only fun if that fun can be shared by everyone.

3. The Final Crisp Belongs to The Buyer

The classic 'last After Eight in the box conundrum'. In the case of the pub crisp this is easily resolved, the person who bought the bag gets the crisp as gratitude for their generosity. However there is a clause we’re adding to this rule which relates to Rule 2. If there are a packet of meaty crisps and a packet of veggie friendly crisps, then the final veggie crisp should go to your veggie pal.

4. Crisp Buying is not Subject to the Same Rules as Round Buying

One of the most beautiful things about buying crisps for the table is the impromptu nature. This cannot and should not be enforced. It’s a free wheeling, improvised kindness which doesn’t require any reciprocity. 

5. Surf AND Turf not Surf OR Turf

One does not simply buy scampi fries or bacon fries, without buying the other. The packets are small and often very cheap so there’s no excuse really.

6. Establish Clear Double Dipping Rules

The double dip is a controversial subject. We are aware that there are many people for whom the double dip is always dreadful etiquette. But we would argue against that. What is a small sharing of spittle between friends? After all, most of us are quite comfortable trying beer from a friend’s glass, and how is double dipping all that different? We know that not everybody thinks like us however, so next time you get one of those bags of poppadoms that comes with the mango chutney, make sure you establish clear double dipping rules before diving in. 

7. Beware the Super Spicy!

We are primarily a beer focused pub and so we’re going to assume there are at least one or two frosty pints on your table. If you, or one of your pals, is on the IPAs then we strongly suggest avoiding super spicy snacks. There is a compound in hops that reacts with capsaicin, and accentuates its effect, making chilli based snacks all the hotter and far less bearable. Your hazeboi mate who’s just spent £6 on a half of DIPA might not be all too pleased at your attempts to nuke his taste buds.

8. Feed the Pub Dog Only with its Owner’s Permission

A dog in a boozer is a pure joy and they are always eager for pets and for your crisps! Whilst it might be all too easy to cave into the lovely pup’s pleading eyes and waggy tail, only feed the dog at the owner’s discretion. It might be fun for you to slip the little rascal a rogue mini cheddar, but it will be less fun for the person cleaning up the product of an upset dog tummy, later that evening. Just because he is a good boy, doesn’t mean he knows what is best for him!

9. Learn How to Make the Nice Little Triangles with the Empty Packet

This is a pet peeve of bartenders everywhere. We really don’t want to be putting our hands in your dirty, used, pint pots to fish out your empty crisp packets. We know you are just trying to be helpful but honestly, it’s just a bit grim. If you are sitting outside and you are worried about the packet blowing away, the best thing to do is to place the empty pint pot on top of the packet. If you are inside then folding the packets into little triangles is always a fun thing to do with your hands, and is way better than stuffing the packet into a damp empty glass.

10.  Don’t Take This Guide Too Seriously

They are just crisps. It’s not that deep.

If there are any tips for crisp sharing that you feel that we've missed then we would love to hear them! We share our blog posts on both Facebook and Instagram so please take to the comments there to tell us all about your personal crisp sharing rituals.