The origin of potato crisps
It is generally accepted that crisps were originally invented by mistake in 1853 by a native American chef called George Crum. George was working as a chef at a posh resort named Moon Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York. One evening, a diner there complained that the fried potatoes he ordered with his meal were too thick so he sent them back to the kitchen. A typical chef, and not being one to take criticism of his food graciously, George decided to teach the diner a lesson and sliced the potatoes too thin and crispy to skewer with a fork. The plan backfired, the diner loved them and other diners in the room began requesting the new delicacy. “Crisped chips” were born, but remained an expensive luxury until the invention of the mechanical potato peeler in the 1920s paved the way for crisped chips to become a top selling snackfood.
Since then, crisped chips have become big business and the industry has become dominated by huge multinational companies and the original simplicity of making crisps has all but been lost…………until now!!!
