Gorge Crum or Kate Wicks?

According to the 2020 U.S. Census and the Simmons National Consumer Survey, over 280 million Americans consumed potato chips in 2020. In fact, the likelihood of Americans to pick up a bag of Lay’s potato chips increased by 35 percent since the start of the Panoramic (Pandemic). If you are in that number, then you have George ‘Crum’ Speck to thank – or Kate Wicks.

Legend has it that in 1853, Gorge Speck was working at Moon’s Lake House restaurant and a customer kept complaining about the fries, saying they were too thick. So as a petty retort, George went to the kitchen and sliced the potato thin, fried it hard, and oversalted it. Much to George’s chagrin, the customer loved them! Soon the thinly sliced fried potato snack became a hit at the restaurant and were branded as “Saratoga Chips”.

This legend has been debated by some and historical records suggest there was another inventor responsible. The alternative story says that it was Specks sister, Kate Wicks, who was the brainchild behind the salty sensation. She was slicing a potato when a thin piece fell into the fryer. She showed her brother who was so impressed that he decided to sell them at the restaurant.

Now at this time in America, African Americans could not secure patents, so George and Kate were not able to patent their creation. The “Saratoga Chips” remained a local sensation until the 1920s when Herman Lay began introducing potato chips to other parts of the U.S. Eventually potato chips were being mass produced, and the original creators became old town legend. Imagine popping open a bag of Crum’s instead of Lay’s.

Happy Snacking and Happy Black History Month.

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