The British prime minister said he is a “devotee” of Tayto crisps and joked that his figure is “a testimonial” to the benefits of the Irish popular snack.
Boris Johnson was hosting a festive food and drink market at Downing Street where 12 businesses had stalls to show off their products.
Among the businesses showing their wares were Tayto, Welsh cheese company Snowdonia Cheese, Scottish seafood company Loch Fyne Oysters and English chocolate company Montezuma’s.
Speaking on the street about the businesses on display, Mr Johnson said: “From Northern Ireland we’ve got Tayto crisps. I’m a devotee. My figure is a testimonial to the benefits of Tayto crisps.
“They once gave me…which I declared of course…a big packet of Tayto crisps.”
As the third-largest manufacturer of crisps in the UK, Tayto’s crisp production is made from 100 per cent Irish and UK and potatoes.
Tayto have been making crisps and snacks since 1956, and they export their products across the world.
Mr Johnson visited the Tayto crisp factory in Tandragee, County Armagh, in November 2019, during a day of election campaigning.
He is not the only public figure in recent days to express fondness for Tayto, as Nigella Lawson also revealed she is a fan.
On November 23rd, she tweeted a picture of lots of packets of crisps, and wrote: “Behold the recently replenished Crisp Cauldron! I can’t say the new fish and chips flavour tastes exactly like fish and chips: it’s more like batter, with a whisper of vinegar. More news as I have it.”
When someone commented that they could not see any cheese and onion crisps, Lawson replied: “The only cheese and onion crisps I like are Tayto ones and I can’t get them where I live #standards”
