The story concerns one Cornelius Vanderbilt, who, in the mid 1800's, was one of the richest men in the world, having made his fortune in railroads and shipping, and a mixed race Native/African American named George Crum who was a chef in Saratoga Springs, New York.
While dining at the restaurant where Crum worked, Vanderbilt ordered a side dish of fried potatoes, but when the dish was served, he arrogantly sent it back to the kitchen, insisting that the order be redone because the chef obviously didn't know how to properly slice a potato.
No doubt taking offense to this, Crum sliced another potato as thinly as he possibly could, then not only re-fried the slices, but over-fried them to the point that instead of being soft and filling, as was the custom at the time, they were hard and crunchy, and over-salted to boot.
Rather than take the new dish as an affront however, Vanderbilt found the slices to be tasty and delightful, and began to tell his friends about his new culinary find. Crum's Saratoga Chips, as they were eventually called, became so popular that within a few short years Crum was able to open his own restaurant, and had a basket of his now famous potato chips waiting on every table for the next 30 years until he retired.
#crum #potatochips #vanderbilt
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