One boy, one favourite food and a very serious search for the ultimate S-Tier macaroni cheese.
Last Updated: 12th August 2026
Mac & Cheeses Judged: 7
Current Champion: The Boathouse at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park
Every food blog needs its own in-house expert, right?
Ours just happens to be my youngest son—affectionately known here as My Spud—and he takes macaroni cheese very seriously.
At nine years old when these rankings began, he had already eaten enough versions to know exactly what he liked, what he didn’t and whether a bowl deserved to be remembered. If macaroni cheese appeared on a restaurant menu, in a supermarket or on the school dinner menu, he wanted to try it.
So, naturally, we made it official.
Welcome to My Spud’s Mac & Cheese Rankings: our ongoing mission to find the ultimate S-Tier macaroni cheese.
Every placement is chosen by My Spud himself. I might buy it, cook it, take the photographs and keep the leaderboard organised—but the final verdict belongs entirely to him.
And believe me, the judge cannot be bribed.
👑 The Mac & Cheese Champion
🥇 The Boathouse at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park
⭐ S Tier | Current Number One
We officially have a new champion!
During our stay at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park in Hunstanton, My Spud ordered the macaroni cheese at The Boathouse—and it went straight to the very top of his leaderboard.
His verdict?
“Even better than Smokin’ Hot.”
Considering Smokin’ Hot was the original S-Tier champion, that’s some seriously high praise!
The macaroni cheese was served with a juicy corn on the cob and garlic bread. The garlic bread was a little too crunchy for his liking, but that wasn’t enough to stop the macaroni cheese from claiming the crown.
Champion Since: 1st August 2026
Where We Found It: The Boathouse at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park
Would My Spud Eat It Again? Absolutely
🏆 The Current Leaderboard
S Tier — The Elite
- 👑 The Boathouse at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park
- 🧀 Marshall’s Cheesey Mac ’N’ Cheese
- 🛒 ASDA Macaroni Cheese Pasta & Sauce
- 🔥 Smokin’ Hot Mac & Cheese
A Tier — Really, Really Good
- 🏠 Mum’s Homemade Mac & Cheese
- 🛒 Tesco Hearty Food Co. Macaroni Cheese
B Tier — Pretty Tasty
- 🏫 School Dinner Mac & Cheese
C Tier — Just Okay
No entries…yet.
D Tier — Disappointing
No entries…yet.
F Tier — Never Again
No entries—and hopefully it stays that way!
📋 The Official Rules
There is one extremely serious rule in our house:
No do-overs.
Once My Spud has tasted a macaroni cheese and handed down his verdict, its original tier placement is final.
Homemade, restaurant, takeaway, ready meal or school dinner—it doesn’t matter. There are no second chances, no quiet adjustments after the event and definitely no appeals from the cook.
Could I tweak my recipe and make it better?
Almost certainly.
Will the judge allow the original result to be rewritten?
Not a chance.
New contenders can be placed above or below an existing entry, so the overall leaderboard will continue to change. However, that first verdict stays part of the official record.
I’ve accepted the risks.
If a frozen ready meal beats my homemade version, I’ll survive. If a restaurant sweeps in and takes the crown, I’ll cope with that too.
But if the school dinner macaroni cheese ever reaches the top?
I’m not sure my pride will recover.
🔍 What Is My Spud Judging?
There isn’t an enormous professional score sheet involved. My Spud judges macaroni cheese the way most of us judge our favourite comfort foods—by how much he actually enjoys eating it.
The important things are:
- The cheesiness of the sauce
- The texture of the pasta
- The overall flavour
- Whether the bowl feels comforting
- Whether he’d happily eat it again
- Most importantly, where he believes it belongs on the tier list
The placement is based on the entire experience, not one carefully calculated score.
Sometimes the official review is thoughtful and detailed.
Sometimes it’s simply:
“That’s good.”
I work with what the critic gives me.
⭐ What Each Tier Means
S Tier — The Dream
The macaroni cheese of dreams. Delicious, comforting and something My Spud would happily order or eat again. Several contenders can reach S Tier, but only the best can hold the crown.
A Tier — Really, Really Good
A memorable macaroni cheese that My Spud thoroughly enjoyed, but one that’s missing the final little bit of magic needed to reach S Tier.
B Tier — Pretty Tasty
Enjoyable and perfectly respectable. He’d eat it again, but it didn’t completely wow him.
C Tier — Just Okay
Nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing particularly memorable either. Fine when it’s there, although he’d probably choose something else.
D Tier — Disappointing
The sauce, pasta or overall flavour didn’t quite come together. He may finish some of it, but he won’t be asking for it again.
F Tier — Never Again
A complete mac and cheese disaster. One experience was more than enough.
🧀 The Review Archive
Newest tastings are added first.
Each entry records where the macaroni cheese came from, what My Spud thought and where it landed on the official leaderboard.
📅 Reviewed: 12th August 2026
📍 Where From: ASDA
🍴 Type: Boxed Macaroni Cheese / Cupboard Staple
Served alongside chicken nuggets, Marshall’s Cheesey Mac ’N’ Cheese has become the latest surprise contender to shake up the leaderboard.
My Spud’s Verdict
Very cheesy and nice.
That’s it.
That’s the review. 😂
Apparently, no further explanation was required. It was very cheesy, it was nice and it deserved a place in S Tier—directly below the current champion from The Boathouse at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park.
The Final Placement
S Tier — and second place overall.
Mum’s Notes
I am shook-eth!
I’ve never tried one of these boxed macaroni cheeses before, so naturally, I had to steal a little taste for myself.
Despite the packaging saying it was made with real cheese, I found it a bit bland. My Spud clearly disagreed because he thought it was cheesy enough to leapfrog both the ASDA Pasta & Sauce and Smokin’ Hot!
This is his leaderboard, though, and the judge has spoken.
Apparently, “very cheesy and nice” is all it takes to become the second-best macaroni cheese he’s reviewed so far. 😂
📅 Reviewed: 11th August 2026
📍 Where From: Tesco
🍴 Type: Frozen Ready Meal
Tesco’s Hearty Food Co. Macaroni Cheese received a slightly mixed review from My Spud.
There was something good, something bad and one very important positive:
It was cheeeesy.
My Spud’s Verdict
Good and bad. Good because it was cheeeesy. Bad because I got tired of eating it.
Yes, cheeeesy was his exact word—so it clearly delivered on the most important part of any macaroni cheese!
I’m not entirely sure what he meant by getting tired of eating it. Perhaps he’d simply had enough before reaching the end, or maybe it became a little repetitive as he worked his way through the portion.
Either way, he still enjoyed it enough to award it a respectable place in A Tier.
The Final Placement
A Tier — directly below Mum’s Homemade Mac & Cheese.
Mum’s Notes
I still don’t entirely understand what he meant by being “tired of eating it,” but I’m choosing not to question the judge too closely.
The important thing is that it didn’t go above my homemade macaroni cheese.
Honestly, that’s all I needed to hear. 😂
Tesco’s version was apparently cheesy enough to be considered really good, but not quite enjoyable enough from beginning to end to challenge the S-Tier contenders—or Mum’s place on the leaderboard.
📅 Reviewed: 1st August 2026
📍 Where From: The Boathouse, Parkdean Resorts Manor Park
🍴 Type: Restaurant / Holiday Park Dining
A holiday contender has entered the rankings—and gone straight to number one!
During our stay at Parkdean Resorts Manor Park in Hunstanton, My Spud ordered the macaroni cheese from The Boathouse. It was served with garlic bread and a corn on the cob, making it a proper little comfort-food meal.
My Spud’s Verdict
Even better than Smokin’ Hot. The corn on the cob was juicy, but the garlic bread was a little too crunchy.
Considering Smokin’ Hot was the original S-Tier champion, saying this macaroni cheese was even better is some seriously high praise!
Although the garlic bread wasn’t quite right for him, it didn’t stop the macaroni cheese itself from beating every previous contender and claiming the crown.
The Final Placement
S Tier — and currently number one overall.
Mum’s Notes
Smokin’ Hot set the original standard for S Tier, while the surprisingly mighty ASDA packet later claimed the top spot. Now, The Boathouse has swept in during our holiday and beaten them both!
The juicy corn on the cob received My Spud’s approval, although the garlic bread was slightly too crunchy for his liking. Thankfully, the macaroni cheese delivered where it really mattered.
Apparently, holidays don’t only give us lovely memories. Sometimes they give us a brand-new mac and cheese champion. 🧀
📅 Reviewed: 24th June 2026
📍 Where From: ASDA
🍴 Type: Cupboard Staple / Packet Mix
A supermarket packet arrived and caused complete chaos at the top of the leaderboard.
My Spud thought it was “perfect” and placed it directly above the previous champion, Smokin’ Hot Mac & Cheese. No hesitation, no lengthy debate and absolutely no concern for how surprising this result might be to the person maintaining the rankings.
My Spud’s Verdict
That was incredible. It was perfect. It was cheesy. Nothing else to say.
The Final Placement
S Tier
Mum’s Notes
I don’t think I expected a packet of Pasta & Sauce to take a high spot, but the judge has spoken. It’s affordable, easy to keep in the cupboard and clearly delivers exactly what My Spud wants from a bowl of macaroni cheese.
📅 Reviewed: 21st June 2026
📍 Where From: Smokin’ Hot, Coventry (https://smokinhot.co.uk/)
🍴 Type: Restaurant
Smokin’ Hot in Coventry became the very first macaroni cheese to earn S-Tier status and set the standard that every future challenger would have to beat.
It held the crown proudly—until a certain ASDA packet came along.
My Spud’s Verdict
It tasted great. It was cheesy and had a good amount of aftertaste. I’d say it was great.
The Final Placement
S Tier
Mum’s Notes
This was the bowl that proved the rankings needed to become an official blog feature. It gave us our first champion and established just how high the standard could be. Being overtaken doesn’t make it any less worthy of S Tier. It simply means the competition has become very serious.
📅 Reviewed: 19th June 2026
📍 Where From: School Kitchen/Grow Catering
🍴 Type: School Dinner
The school dinner macaroni cheese entered the competition with a bit of a disadvantage:
Peas.
My Spud wasn’t particularly impressed by their appearance, and the missing bread didn’t help matters either. Still, the macaroni cheese itself was enjoyable enough to earn a respectable place in B Tier.
My Spud’s Verdict
It was okay. It came with peas and they kept getting stuck in the pasta. I don’t like peas. Most of the time it comes with bread and I was disappointed there wasn’t any.
The Final Placement
B Tier.
Mum’s Notes
As I obviously wasn’t sitting beside him in the school hall with my camera, the photograph used for this entry came from the school catering site. The actual tasting and tier decision, however, belong entirely to My Spud. And honestly? B Tier isn’t bad for a school dinner containing unwanted peas.
📅 Reviewed: 15th June 2026
📍 Where From: Home
🍴 Type: Homemade
Yes, my own homemade macaroni cheese was judged.
Yes, I willingly submitted myself to this.
And no, being his mum didn’t earn me automatic entry into S Tier.
My version received a very respectable A-Tier placement: really, really good, but apparently not quite the macaroni cheese of dreams.
My Spud’s Verdict
because it was…I think the bacon was overcooked….minus one rating so it goes into A
The Final Placement
A Tier
Mum’s Notes
I’m choosing to focus on the fact that A Tier is still excellent and not dwell on being beaten by a packet from ASDA.
I’m fine. Completely fine.
The rules say no do-overs, so this version’s placement stays. If I eventually make a noticeably different recipe, it can enter as a brand-new challenger—but there’ll be no quietly rewriting history.
👀 On My Spud’s Radar
There’s no shortage of potential challengers waiting to face the judge.
Future tastings might include:
- Nanny’s homemade macaroni cheese
- Restaurant versions
- Pub macaroni cheese
- Takeaway mac and cheese
- Frozen ready meals
- Chilled supermarket meals
- Other packet varieties
- Special-edition or flavoured versions
- Any unexpected macaroni cheese My Spud spots while we’re out
If it contains pasta and cheese sauce, it’s probably eligible.
🔎 Mission Status: Ongoing
Will we ever discover a macaroni cheese so perfect that nothing else can knock it from the top?
Possibly.
Will My Spud continue ordering and tasting contenders in the meantime?
Definitely.
This page will keep growing as new bowls enter the competition, so check back to see whether ASDA remains on the throne—or whether another unsuspecting macaroni cheese manages to steal the crown.
Only time—and probably a ridiculous amount of cheese sauce—will tell.
💬 Come Chat Mac & Cheese With Us
Now we need your recommendations!
What’s the best macaroni cheese you’ve ever eaten? Was it homemade, from a restaurant, hidden on a pub menu or discovered in the supermarket?
And most importantly:
Where do you think it would land on My Spud’s tier list?
Leave your recommendations in the comments. Your favourite could become the next challenger—or perhaps even the macaroni cheese that steals the crown. 🧀
Until next time, may all your mac and cheese dreams come true.
Chapters and Cravings 
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