The Potato Man
If you’ve ever eaten a French fry or a baked potato, this is the man you have to thank
Whenever I am in Paris I try to visit the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery. It provides a peaceful escape from the commotion of unfamiliar city life and is blessed with far more than its fair share of interesting characters. One of them is Antione-Augustin Parmentier whose tomb is planted with potato plants and often decorated with a potato or two left by a passing admirer.
Parmentier was a French pharmacist with a passion for food science and searching for ways to improve the health of the peasant class. He was not only at the forefront of research into extracting sugar from what is now known as the sugar beet, but he also established the first school of bread making and mandatory smallpox vaccinations.
While serving as a pharmacist in the French army during the Seven Year war (1756–1753) he was captured by the Prussians. During his time as a prisoner of war, he was forced to eat potatoes for the first time. This humble root vegetable had been introduced to Europe in 1640 after arriving in Spain from South America. Outside of Spain and Ireland, the potato was regarded with deep suspicion and was never used for anything other than the feeding of swine.
