We’ve all had isolation goals. Build a model aeroplane. Finish a 1000-piece puzzle. Wear jeans, even just once. But Michelle Easson, a 31-year-old based in Footscray, Melbourne, has maintained a singular deep-fried focus these past few months: finding the best frozen chips Australian supermarkets have to offer.
Easson has been reviewing restaurant chips on her Instagram, Mip’s Chips, since September 2013 and has amassed some 10,500 followers in the process.
When restaurants closed in March due to Covid-19, the communications manager adapted her social strategy (and starch intake) accordingly.
“I’ve dedicated seven years to finding the best chip on offer, and I wasn’t going to let the pandemic stop me from pursuing my mission,” says Easson. “When lockdown hit, I thought, ‘How can I help people eat the best chips in iso?’ … That’s when I realised it was time to dust off the deep-fryer and put freezer chips to the test.
“Eating and critiquing chips is my forte. But when it comes to cooking them, I just wing it. I cook them straight from the freezer in 180-degree oil until they look right, which is usually four to six minutes. I’ve definitely eaten enough chips to know what a perfectly cooked chip should look like.”
After bulk-buying chips prepper-style from her local supermarket, Easson started reviewing them “breakfast, lunch and dinner because my freezer was so jam-packed”.
“I basically swapped out all bread and rice for chips,” she says. “That was living.”
Easson is now about 20 reviews in, but has cut back to around four frozen-chip meals per week, donating the half-eaten packs to her mum.
Having ruled out non-standard frozen-potato variants (such as wedges and potato gems) in the interests of crowning a winner by Christmas, she reckons she’s midway through the freezer aisle.
So, what makes a perfect frozen chippie? Apparently, it’s all about texture and flavour.
“The crunch to fluff ratio [is] the most important factor,” Easson says. “The gimmicky chips that have all sorts of fake flavours and additives never live up to the hype.”
The right cut (her favourite is diamond) and consistent sizing ensure the chips cook evenly, and natural seasoning such as herbs and spices won’t overpower the fried potato.
Atop the leaderboard at present are Seasons Pride’s rosemary and sea salt chips, which are sold at Aldi and scored a 9.5/10 with “compliments to the deep-fryer”. In second place are Birds Eye’s golden-ale beer batter chips (the official review of these Woolworths chips is pending), and McCain’s pub-style fries (available at Coles and Woolies) are in third with an 8.5/10. “If you’ve seen too much orange man on TV and need your faith in humanity restored, look no further than the bunch of good eggs who slid into my DMs with these chips,” the review begins.
Once she’s found Australia’s best supermarket frozen chips, Easson plans to get back to reviewing Melbourne restaurant chips. She’s also considering embarking on a “Great Aussie Chip Trip” to find the best restaurant chips in all of Oz.
“It will be one hell of an adventure. And hopefully I can also bring some attention to struggling restaurants along the way,” she says.
