Chip-Paper: Top 10 Posts (so far...)
Third in a behind-the-scenes series delving into the inner workings of Chip Paper, here are our 10 best-performing features thus far
We’re soon to mark our three year milestone on Substack and that warrants reflection. We’re the sort who constantly keep an eye on what’s working best while identifying what needs refinement or rethinking — we think you have to be like that in any business. Even at nearly three years in we are still trialing things, experimenting, taking calculated risks and figuring what works best for the audience we have garnered here. In the spirit of that, we wanted to share the ten most popular/well-received/most-read features so far…
1. Condiment Curiosity: Aromat
Who knew Aromat had such a hold on people? It is definitely polarising and this is our best-performing deep-dive into a condiment thus far.
2. Where to Dine in Ireland
Our most valuable piece of content for the sheer fact it is the only place where we have visually compiled all our 100+ Sunday Times Ireland restaurant reviews. We tend to mention three other businesses in every piece so now it’s over 300 inclusions, pinpointed on an interactive map with links and excerpts.
3. I’m Having Trouble Saying ‘Flat White’
’s most personal post so far, detailing the daily struggle of stammering and how it affects even the most banal and everyday interactions, like ordering a coffee in a café.
4. 2024 Trends
Early last year we delved into some trends and predictions in terms of dining, and many of them still stand –– some have come to fruition and others are still emerging… take a look and see if you agree or have seen similar.
5. Condiment Curiosity: Marmite/Vegemite
Another polarising condiment, the love it or hate it yeast spread HAD to be covered in Condiment Curiosity early on, and we loved delving into its intricacies.
6. Behind The Name: Why ‘Chip Paper’ and Why Not ‘GastroGays’?
Something we wanted to draw attention to and offer explanation of is the reason why we chose to create a whole new name/brand/slant for our Substack writing, aside from the GastroGays brand we’ve spent a decade growing…
7. (=) Restaurant Experiences that altered our brain chemistry
We write about restaurants ALL the time but this series is more of an overview of the formative dining experiences that left long-lasting impressions on us… Both of these performed almost within a percentage of one another.
![Restaurant Experiences That Altered our Brain Chemistry [Part 1]: Brasserie Zédel, London](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F650944ed-3775-475a-805f-a612ab18e81c_1537x1666.jpeg)
![Restaurant Experiences That Altered our Brain Chemistry [Part 2]: Ekstedt, Stockholm](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60ecfe20-21cc-4a19-b4c5-06c334afee50_1589x1666.jpeg)
8. Five Solid Travel Tips
Travel is something we have always covered. To a lesser extent in recent years as going back to full-time work has restricted our own movements a little, but it will never not be a central theme to our writing. If this is of interest we definitely recommend delving into our ‘Everywhere We Ate In’ travel guides. Here are our five top tips of how to plan food-led trips, from years of doing the same…
9. Condiment Curiosity: Branston Pickle
Okay, it’s now clear: the condiments that perform the best are the ones that people either love or hate. Branston is the dark, crunchy pickle that cheese adores, but it has such a fascinating back story. Plus, in condiment curiosity we always share unique ways to use the condiment, celebrating its flavour rather than have it slowly expiring sadly in a cupboard.
10. Masterchef Australia All-Stars Predictions
We adore reality TV, particularly cookery shows, and MC Australia is the GOAT. We have seen every episode ever (we came to it late and binged it in record time during lockdown/s) and we think we have a pretty good steer on who might or might not be in the next ‘All Stars’ season… if you’re an obsessive like us you will love delving into our picks and justifications.
Some conclusions | We always knew Condiment Curiosity was a fantastic idea for a series and so overjoyed it has landed so well with three landing within the top ten, performance-wise. A whisker behind these are three others (Sriracha, Salad Cream and TABASCO) while the most recently-published couple were sent so recently it’s too early to judge. We have so many more in the pipeline and have a feeling this series may be the making of Chip Paper before long!
Surmising the dining scene has become our currency more than anything else over the last three years since taking the mantle of the Sunday Times Ireland restaurant review column, so it’s no surprise that some of our most-read pieces have been about restaurants and the dining experience.
Some things that haven’t been landing so well have been more personal essays (Patrick’s flat white one seems to be the exception). Pieces like:
It’s curious, as personal essays, first person experience and long-reads were the reason we joined Substack in the first place in order to have an outlet for such and we see a lot of that on Substack which seems to do really well elsewhere. For Chip Paper, it feels like the broader, less personal pieces have had a better impact.
Finally, actually sitting higher than this top ten, our monthly newsletter Spice Bag is collectively better-performing. Free for all subscribers, sent in the first day or two of each month and packed full of recommendations, round-ups and exclusives. This newsletter acts like a highlights reel pointing out what we’re loving reading, listening to or streaming, the places we’ve eaten, the food we’ve cooked, where we have been exploring and lots of other juicy links and tidbits.
What have been your favourite things to read so far on Chip Paper?