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Nancy DeGennaro at Helen Comer with The Daily News Journal taste test all nine Party Fowl chicken wing flavors. Here's the verdict. Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

If you're a fan of Nashville-style hot chicken, you're going to love one of Lay's newest potato chip flavors.

Lay's introduced Nashville Hot Chicken, inspired by Middle Tennessee's own Party Fowl, as part of the snack chip company's newest Flavor Icons. In late July, Lay's introduced five new flavors that re-create the taste of iconic restaurant dishes from across the country.

In addition to Lay's Nashville Hot Chicken chips, inspired by Party Fowl, the snack company has launched four other flavors.

  • Kettle Cooked New York Style Pizza, inspired by Grimaldi’s in New York City
  • Philly Cheesesteak, inspired by Geno’s Steaks in Philadelphia
  • Wavy Carnitas Street Taco, inspired by El Torito in Los Angeles
  • Chile Relleno, inspired by Cocina Azul in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Party Fowl's PepsiCo partnership

Party Fowl’s partnership with Frito-Lay came about through a connection with PepsiCo, parent company of the nationally known snack food brand.

The company’s drink representative was asked to give the names of three popular Nashville hot chicken restaurants.

“He told them Party Fowl, Party Fowl and Party Fowl,” said Party Fowl owner Austin Smith.

Before they knew it, Smith said he and Party Fowl’s executive chef, Bart Pickens, were on their way to Dallas to Frito-Lay’s test kitchen.

“We served the flavor-mapping team (at Lay’s) our hot chicken and they did their magic behind the scenes,” Smith explained.

'Perfect' chip flavor

The first batch of the Nashville Hot Chicken chips needed a little tweaking, Smith said.

“It was adding a smoky profile to it. We use rendered bacon fat to finish our hot chicken and realized (the sample chips) needed those smoky (flavor) notes,” Smith said.

A couple of changes were made to the chip recipe, and Smith said the “second round was perfect.”

Smith said the Lay’s Nashville Hot Chicken chips offer the best combination of heat and flavor, much like a blend of Party Fowl’s mild and medium sauces.

“You eat a chip and at first, you get that fried chicken thing, and at the end, you start feeling the cayenne,” Smith said.

But it’s not so hot that it will “blow your head off,” he said.

“It’s a very comfortable, snackable chip. They want people to open that bag and eat the whole thing,” Smith said.

The Lay’s Party Fowl-inspired Nashville Hot Chicken chips are now in every grocery store in America, Smith said, but you might have to search a bit to find a bag because of the popularity.

“I’m a little biased, but they are the best spicy chip I’ve had,” Smith said. “They are so good.”

If you can’t find the Party Fowl chips at a local grocery store or gas station, stop by one of Party Fowl's Middle Tennessee restaurants to buy a bag. Chip shipments arrive weekly.

  • 719 Eighth Ave. S., Nashville
  • 2620 Lebanon Pike, Donelson
  • 1914 Galleria Blvd., Franklin
  • 127 S.E. Broad St., Murfreesboro

COVID-19 relief

These limited-edition chips will be on shelves until Sept. 10.

To “return the flavor” and acknowledge the economic impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry, Lay’s has enacted a $25,000 Gratitude Fund for each of the Flavor Icons restaurants to put toward the various relief efforts that will help them recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Reach Nancy DeGennaro at degennaro@dnj.com and follow her on Twitter @NanDeGennaro. Keep up with restaurant news by joining Good Eats in the 'Boro (and beyond) on Facebook.

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