By Natascha Rivera
Copyright euroweeklynews
IN a delicious upset, for the first time, a non-French person has won the top prize for the world’s most authentic French fries, at the third edition of the annual International Chip Competition, held in Arras, France on Saturday, September 27. Dutch chef Siem van Bruggen took home the gold for the most flavourful fries, beating out 32 other contestants from multiple countries and competing across five harshly-judged categories: authenticity, creativity, family, chip sauce, and global fries.
Van Bruggen is a renowned chef with shops in Utrecht and Leiden. He consistently impressed the scrutinous judges with his technique, which involved first boiling organic potatoes in water with rosemary before double-frying them in vegetable oil.
In addition to Van Bruggen, four French chefs and one Belgian chef took home the gold in the other categories. Though the French were the main protagonists of their at-home competition, Van Bruggen was the true dark horse candidate of the affair, and he couldn’t have been more pleased.
“I’m very happy with this prize,” said Van Bruggen, speaking with French newspaper Franceinfo. “Chips are important where I come from.”
Indeed, fries are considered a Dutch staple and are one of the foods that the country is best known for. With a combination of the aforementioned double frying method to create an extra-crunchy exterior and a soft interior, using high-quality potatoes, and a very strong “snack” culture in the country, especially among working classes, fries have quickly become one of the Netherlands’ most iconic foods. The culinary tradition is also heavily influenced by Belgium, which also has a deep-rooted French fry culture.
The birthplace of the French fry
Arras, France is considered the “Unrivalled Capital of Chips.” The town, and in particular a botanist who lived there, Charles de l’Écluse, was one of the first to popularise potatoes in the year 1526. Until then, the potato, originating in the South American country of Peru, had not been so beloved.
