Lay's Canada Chip Challenge 2014

Last year Lay’s Canada started an annual competition called “Do Us A Flavour”. Jenny Fines and I were pretty pumped up and tried the four chip flavours competing for the first championship title. Our (and our entire office’s) least favourite chip “Maple Moose” ended up winning the contest, before flopping in the real world potato chip market. You can check out the 2013 edition of the competition here.

“Do Us A Flavour” is back again this year as I am sure you have noticed if you frequent gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores or well pretty much any place that sells food in Canada. This year at my Grandmother’s 72nd birthday party I thought it would be fun to throw the chips on the table and see what everyone thought of the four new flavours.

This year there is a new twist to the competition; two of the proposed new flavours are featured in different Lay’s textures (wavy and kettle cooked). Over a million flavours were suggested; here are the four that made it into production:

-Lay’s Wavy Jalapeno Mac’N’Cheese created by Randall Litman from Calgary, AB.

-Lay’s Kettle Cooked Tzatziki created by Denise Vella from Cambridge, ON

-Lay’s Cinnamon Bun created by Gloria Melanson from London, ON.

-Lay’s Bacon Poutine created by Guillaume Lorrain from Trois-Rivières, QC.

Last year everyone agreed that Maple Moose was the WORST. Maple Moose chips actually made it into the office garbage can. Clearly we were all surprised when it ended up winning the contest.

This year there is no clear worst chip. Honestly we all thought the Lay’s Cinnamon Bun bag of chips would be gross, but they actually were not that bad. They were more sweet than cinnamony and the balance between sweet and salty was not that bad. People had warned us against them, but they were not even close to being as gross as “Maple Moose”.

My favourite (because I cannot choose just one) are the “Lay’s Wavy Jalapeno Mac’N’Cheese” and the “Lay’s Kettle Cooked Tzatziki”. This may just be because I like the different textures. Honestly, I don’t think I would choose any of these chips over my go-to favourite simple ketchup chips. I think they could have done better with the flavouring for them all.

If the house votes say mean anything it will be a battle between “Lay’s Bacon Poutine” or “Lay’s Wavy Jalapeno Mac’N’Cheese”.

You can vote for your favourite in the 2014 “Do Us A Flavour” contest by clicking here. The winner will receive $50,000 and 1% of their chips sales.

Lay’s is all over Twitter and Instagram and you are able to use the following hashtags: #VoteBaconPoutine, #VoteCinnamonBun, #VoteJalapenoMacNCheese and #VoteTzatziki.

Or you can text your vote to 101010.

Voting closes October 12, 2014.

In case you are wondering, here are the finalists for the 2014 American version of the contest “Do Us A Flavor”:

Lay’s Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese

Lay’s Cappuccino

Lay’s Wavy Mango Salsa

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger

The Goat's Daily Dose of Weird: July 11- DO IT FOR DENMARK!

I kind of lost it a little bit talking about this live on-air so here is my voice-tracked version of the "Daily Dose of Weird" for July 11, 2014. 

Why did I lose it? Well I glanced over at the monitor screen on my show-prep computer and the elderly couple from the commercial was staring at me frozen in time. I felt as if I had just done something naughty myself because their glare was so intimidating. 

The stats here are crazy; I can't believe that Denmark knows these weird figures about their citizen’s sex lives! For the full effect of this weird news segment you really need to watch the entire "Do It For Denmark" ad in the Youtube video posted below.  

Castlegar Sunfest 2014

Hanging out with Craig!

Happy Sunfest!

I am pretty pumped about Sunfest this year, why? Well because it is my first Sunfest! I have officially been living in the Kootenays for 11 months + 1 week (I am just twenty-one days away from a full year)! This is one of the last events that I can say that I have not been part of. 

One really cool part of Sunfest was the Craig Mortiz show last night at Kinsman Park. He took Mountain FM by storm yesterday when he came in. The lovely Jenny Fines interviewed him because I was on my lunch break at the gym. Apparently Craig is not on Kootenay time! Between the country boy and country fan-girl giggles they had a great chat about his upcoming album and his last appearance here in the Kootenays years ago for Trail Silver City Days. I do not normally post other peoples interviews, but Craig Mortiz is the exception to the rule.

His show was awesome! Lots of dancing from my partners in crime, couples and of course the kids! Enormous productions provided the awesome light show and killer sound that had everyone on their feet. Craig Mortiz and his band were the stars of the show though; I would have to say the highlight moment for me was when they covered John Micheal Montgomery's "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" one of my all-time favourite country songs. I'm not a dancer, but I let a small child lead me around the grass dance floor for that one! 

Castlegar's own Lisa Nicole was even there jamming to Craig's tunes!

Here the song we featured on Mountain FM from Craig Mortiz, played for the first time on rock radio it is called "Ready to Roll".

This one really stuck out to me during the show... it is the "booty call song" (formally known as "Only When Your Lonely").

Craig Mortiz was the highlight of Sunfest Friday for sure!

I am really excited to go check in on our Mountain FM "Kiss My Glass" contest that is running as I type this blog up over at the park. The last person with their lips to the glass will win $600 cash from Adam's Windows and Doors! 

Sunfest continues tonight and tomorrow at Kinsman Park in Castlegar! I'll update with the results of "Kiss My Glass" a little later today :) 

Update: Our four finalists split the "Kiss My Glass" $600 prize after keeping their lips locked on the glass from 9am until 6:50pm! Big thanks to Adam's Windows and Doors!

I treated the Street Team to deep-fried oreos and we enjoyed a TON of amazing food vendors. Kootenay Kettle Corn and Filipino food were my guilty pleasures today; along with handfuls of salt water taffy. It is a good thing Sunfest weekend is not every weekend that is for sure! 

MORNING ROCKS: SHAKE THE TREE WITH GERRY

This morning on Shake the Tree Gerry went for the big win... and our Mountain FM prize tree went for a
fall. Now, no one here is calling Gerry a "Greedy Grinch" (that would involve too many Gs). What will we do with all our extra prizing? Who knows? This girl has a couple of winning ideas though! 

Be listening between 6am and 10am to Morning Rocks on Mountain FM (stream it live from the www.mountainfm.net home page) and have 1-877-560-1010 ready in your phone! Caller #9 at the cue to call could win BIG on the TGIF Holiday Edition of Morning Rocks! 

My Minor Addiction to McDonald's Monopoly Explained

Monopoly is back at McDonald's and I have found myself there pretty much everyday since it launched. 

We have our team boards posted up here at the office, everyone's contributing to the team effort (some more than others). When I worked on the front line in high school we would secretly save all the extra tokens and collect them... just in case. Not that we could win legally as a group of employees. 

What can I say, I am a little obsessed with McDonald's Monopoly. Have you ever won? Does McD's Monopoly give you the same thrill I get when it starts up? Also, I love the double thrill of it being coupon season at McDonald's and Monopoly... I am so lame. 

Let me know if you have any trades you'd like to make ;)

Kate Loves Call Ins

I love when people call me during my show. 

It really does not happen often enough.

That is one of the beautiful things about being on the morning show, people call in and you get to give them amazing prizes to thank them for listening. 

Here are my two favourite winners this week. 

Oh and the number is 1-877-560-1010 just in case you forgot!

UPDATED: Bruce & Fines Lay's Canada Chip Challenge

UPDATE: Maple Moose has won the contest, all of Canada should be angry about this... I am so grossed out!

Mountain FM Drive Host, Jenny Fines and I did a little disservice to our bodies last night, we took part in a tasting of the gas station food variety. We did the Lay's Canada Chip Challenge, "Lay's Do us a Flavour". We taste tested the four chip varieties chosen from submissions from across the country, below is the audio testing. Here is a little background on the contest.


There are four flavours in the running (chosen from over 600,000 submissions) for "Lay's new great flavour" they are:

1. Grilled Cheese & Ketchup (submitted by Angela Batley in Ottawa, Ontario)
2. Perogy Platter (submitted by Lucas Crawford in Edmonton, Alberta)
3. Maple Moose (submitted by Tyler LeFrense in Isle aux Morts,  Newfoundland )
4. Creamy Garlic Caesar (submitted by Jill Munro in Vancouver, British Columbia)

For our flavour rankings and how we used our vote listen to the clip below:
Some background information: 
The winner will receive $50,000 and 1 per cent of future sales, pretty easy money for a pipe dream flavoured chip!

By the way, my flavour idea was 'Maple Bacon Poutine'. 

Who are you gunning to win the challenge. You have got to give the chips are try before you vote, the tastes are a little different than I thought they would be.... 

For a little background our cousins to the South at Lay's ran the same contest, picking the top three flavour choices: Chicken and Waffles, Sriracha and Cheesy Garlic Bread. Representative of America.... I would say about 33% right on that one. Americans chose Cheesy Garlic Bread as their winner, Karen Weber-Mendham will receive either a million dollars or 1% of her chips total sales, whichever is higher. 

Let me know what you think! Comment below or email me, kate@mountainfm.net! 

Cast your votes here: https://apps.facebook.com/dousaflavourcanada/en/

***Mountain FM update:

The first bag to be completed in the office was the Creamy Garlic Caesar, then went the Grilled Cheese & Ketchup, next was the Perogy Platter... Maple Moose was tossed rather than finished!