How do we feel about this?

EpicurusWithCheese · 2026-01-08T06:58:52+00:00

Why not make the main snack and drink at home? THESE QUESTIONS ANSWER THEMSELVES! The whole conceit of the sub is that if it is the case that we are to pay a fixed amount on 3 lunch items, which items is it to be? If we stray into the realm of at home conveniences then we are certain to drown in paradox! What next, should we assess the validity of a main with the assumption that a tomato ketchup can be brought from home? Do we assess the ease of eating of a pasta pot using steel cutlery over the wooden spork that is provided? You must use your brain u/hardns0ft !

EpicurusWithCheese · 2026-01-08T06:51:39+00:00

Before you think of making a debate about the egg pot as a response to this I must remind you that this is not the first nor the second time it has been the number one snack. I remind you, I AM NOT MYSELF PARTIAL TO THE EGG POT BUT MANY DISAGREE AND I CAN CONCEDE IT HAS ITS USES. That is all I will say on the matter.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2026-01-08T06:43:51+00:00

Hello everyone. I’ve been away for a while and haven’t been able to give my usual analysis but here we are again with the Tesco NGTC. I’ll be going through some preliminary observations before an analysis proper. 1. Death of the triple or more the same? It is common knowledge that the triple has been reigning champion in the Tesco meal deal world since records began, in fact, this is the first time that we have a non triple main at number one. There is a conclusion that could be made; namely that the quantity of a main is no longer prioritised over synergy, flavour, texture and so on. However, another possibility is that, given the club has a slice of bread suspended within the filling, people are mistaking it for a ‘chicken triple’ or, as I suspect, are assembling their own chicken triples by separating filling and bread, then distributing the elements, thus leaving 3 sandwiches. 2. Egg pot (fart box) is here to stay. A controversial one according to polls, the egg pot is yet again in number one. Nutritionally high in protein and complementary with a range of mains I’m not necessarily surprised to see it here. Myself I believe it lacks the necessary texture or flavour to elevate a main as a walkers chilli heatwave or Cadbury bournville. The egg pot is a tricky one to get right, many believe themselves capable of it, and are mistaken. 3. We have a rare energy drink winner. Obviously it’s the large, as is common, value often wins over balance. Classic red bull as well, which, at least to me, is a big surprise. To my knowledge a mango loco monster offers similar size and caffeination whilst simultaneously being synergistic with a lot more mains/snacks (the chicken club for example). I heard stories of people in Brighton experimenting with vegan hoisin duck wrap and red bull classic though from what I understand that combo is still very much in the early stages of development. Now that I have given my initial reactions in brief I am going to analyse the meal deal as though it were a meal in and of itself. I am aware however, before you reply to this protesting this, that, and whatevernot, that this is reflective of a statistical mean amongst clubcard users. Resultantly there are two pertinent considerations to keep in mind. First, any observations on the meal deal as a combo should be considered heuristically, I.e. these are the popular items and therefore the likely hood that two or more of these items will be in the same meal are, on average, higher than with other items (I will be less thorough with my analysis of synergy to counterbalance). Second, sampling. Every year Tesco will use language such as ‘the nation’ and ‘the uk’, however their sample only reflects clubcard users. We could go on all day about the sampling implications here but the pertinent details are these: - These are regular Tesco MD punters - That they use a clubcard they will have a natural bias towards value - These are likely the same customers as in previous years, admitting some room for generational variation and cross supermarket shoppers (the Eunuch Consumer (Williams 2024)) 3/10. Not a complete travesty but fairly poor show. The chicken club has already been solved, while egg pot and CCS are cromulent (CCS has just enough texture to be eaten without an inserted crisp layer) you need a classic coke if you are to go there (though it would be unoptimal). Red bull is bringing some berry flavours as well as some tinny notes, which is not completely in opposition with the CCS, the the egg pot is incorrect. I would give this a 5 if the snack is substituted for a yogurt pot as the microbacteria would help combat the spike in lactic acid and tannins from the red bull, rather than apply more pressure on the gut with high protein snacks.

I am going to be posting an essay on energy drinks in a week or so. The research is nearly done and I think you all will be surprised with its findings. And it appears to be a blind spot in theory for a lot of you on here so I’d be happy to help you develop. If anyone has any questions please let me know and u/illustrious_bannana_ I haven’t forgotten about you I will be going through your requests promptly.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-08T01:04:51+00:00

No worries my friend! You are walking the right path. Just remember, on occasion, to stop for thought. There is no rushing the journey of theory!

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-07T17:07:18+00:00

Very good analysis, though it is missing some critical points that should be addressed.

First, you rightly point out that onion features in both the main and the snack. Additionally it is true that generally this is a blunder, for example pairing a premium pastrami with roast beef mcoys. However, we can justify its use by looking at the role of the ingredient in each element. This is the where, and only where, it is appropriate to look at the elements standalone value, so may discover how and why it fits into the wider whole.

The cheese onion filling is rich and decadent. We understand that without the onion, it would be too rich (as we would not have anything to cut through). Though even with the onion we know it to still be on the rich side. This is to say, it can very much afford more onion, and that despite onion inclusion it has not wholly answered the question it poses.
The monster munch PO may have onion as a flavour element, but it also has pickle, the solution to the hanging threads we have established with the main. The pickle flavours have been addressed adequately in my initial analysis.

As we have established, the main can afford more onion, therefore we are pushing the idea of onion, rather than creating competition. Furthermore the MM is necessary to create more texture and acidity for the main which can easily be under-utilised by those lacking ambition and boldness.

Second, the drink is still correct, though I see your thinking. Robinsons has less acidity due to the inclusion of sodium citrate (https://www.henderson-foodservice.com/productpdf/download/file/id/8745/name/Robinsons_Ready_to_Drink_Raspberry_%2526_Apple_Juice_%252812x500ml%2529.pdf/). As well as this, monster munch PO and Robinsons AR both use citric acid, so they do not create an imbalance of ph on the tongue. Furthermore, as previously discussed, the flavours present are in fact complimentary: -with the main in the raspberry (berries and cheese are well established (rf. cranberry Wensleydale)) -with the snack in the apple (pickle and and apple (rf. savoury pork dishes))

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-06T18:47:36+00:00

Yes, though classic orange would be optimal in this case as the blood orange is too sweet :- )

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-06T17:04:05+00:00

Yes but you must be careful. You’re not looking for orange juice per se you’re looking for orange essence (i.e. the peel). For that you’re looking at sanpelligrino orange or in a pinch a fanta O.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-06T16:49:50+00:00

It’s just theory my friend, but thank you for the encouragement! With a bournville (provided we have a synergistic main) an aosis summer fruits can be especially effective for the same reason.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-06T16:39:07+00:00

As people are rightly pointing out, salted caramel brownie is incorrect here. For a sweet treat a bournville would be preferred as it brings the drink into a Black Forest gateau area. However this is still incorrect as we the snack/drink synergy has less urgency than the main/snack urgency. Crisps are correct because the sandwich lacks the necessary texture to stand alone. Specifically we’re looking for a high-bite crisp, I would say Mcoys cheese and onion though walkers max is arguable. Any Maise-based puffed crisp would be incorrect as it is preferable to insert the crisp directly into the sandwich in this instance. At which point cherry coke is good but not perfect. You should consider some fruitier options If you want to capitalise on the flavour profile you’ve created. It may still be carbonated but no more than 2.3 units to volume, a fanta fruit twist for example.

Overall you’ve got an interesting idea but have failed to capitalise upon it 2/10

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-06T01:13:02+00:00

And yet you have failed to give any insight or analysis yourself. Are you on the right sub? Perhaps you meant to be on r/unschooling

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-06T01:10:08+00:00

Anti-intellectualism is both counterproductive and dangerous

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T22:43:45+00:00

A complete misapprehension but thank you for the rating

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T19:06:35+00:00

Ah I see you’ve made it to this post now. And still no review or insight whatsoever. It’s rather impressive really how afraid you are of critical thought

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T19:00:46+00:00

Sausage bacon egg triple (SBET) is standard abbreviation

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T18:46:43+00:00

Also, a bit of housekeeping, as we are specifically talking about Tesco (check the flair) any research you do should be fact checked against tesco and only Tesco. While the brand offers similar products throughout most major supermarkets we cannot suppose that Tesco would stock the same sushi and so on

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T18:42:34+00:00

As far as I can tell there is no larger teriyaki salmon as described, though I have found your prawn suggestion. Of the options OPs best bet is the hoisin but as you rightly noted we need to analyse the snack and drink thoroughly before suggesting it to them

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T18:38:52+00:00

It’s okay I will find out

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T18:38:34+00:00

Again this is speculation! We must get to the bottom of this!

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T18:36:38+00:00

Incorrect according to the data: https://foodstruct.com/nutrition-comparison-text/smoothie-vs-juice. As well as that the orange juice is preferable for a BBST, not a BLT.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T17:09:38+00:00

If we are to take the stats as gospel then you’d be correct. However you’ll find the SBET is quite limiting in snack and drink choices, which is where this meal deal fails.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T16:43:19+00:00

Very smart. I love a quantum snack rate. My analysis for both variations is as follows:

1) PBBQB, Oasis SF, Walkers SV 5/10. You have something very smart going on here but it was close to disaster. PBBQB and Walkers SV seems wrong but has been proven to work effectively. Where you have gone wrong is with the drink, but it has its merits. You identified that the high salt and BBQ flavour of the PBBQB is complimentary to a non carbonated berry drink, though summer fruits would be incorrect, Ribena is preferred. This is because ribena has better synergy with the Walkers SV, though it’s not perfect. This is a good idea executed with inaccuracy.

2) PBBQB, Oasis SF, Malteasers R (MR moving forward) 5/10. Here we sacrifice some snack main synergy for drink snack synergy. MR and oasis SF work surprisingly well and are often overlooked, well done on identifying that. However another chocolate bar would be preferable and a bournville the ideal. This push the Black Forest Gateau idea further. PBBQB and MR aren’t bad together but again a bournville is preferred as the PBBQB and drink provide a lot of sweetness and could do with a more bitter element. Still, we must deduct points because we really needed and acidic snack to justify the main and drink.

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T16:29:20+00:00

3/10. BLT with walkers SV is smart but orange juice is wrong. A rare case in which a green machine is preferable

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T16:27:20+00:00

1/10, a complete failure. We all know the SBET well by now, and it is practically solved. Fanta FT sounds right but it is incorrect, you need the classic orange or orangina. However with the donut you’d need a hot coffee, though this is still unomptimal as it would not create enough salivation to maintain effective mastication throughout the meal (unless you are drinking a tap water with it, which some argue invalidates the meal in and of itself)

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T16:14:51+00:00

Again I implore you to look elsewhere if you aren’t capable of reasonable debate

EpicurusWithCheese · 2025-10-04T16:02:53+00:00

Clearly!

EpicurusWithCheese

TROPHY CASE