Hello, I am George Crum. Many of you have probably never heard of me, but my invention is very well known. What was my invention, you ask? I am the inventor of one of the world’s mot famous snack, the potato chip.
To start off, I was born in 1822 in Saratoga Lake, New York. My father was African American while my mother was Native American and a member of the Huron tribe. My original name was George Speck, but I adopted the name “Crum” because it was the name my father used in his career as a jockey. As a young man I worked as a guide in the Adirondack Mountains and as an Indian trader. Eventually I realized I possessed a talent for cooking.
By the summer of 1853, I had already begun my career as a chef at Saratoga Springs' elegant Moon Lake Lodge resort. Here, French-fried potatoes were very popular on the menu. One day, my sister Kate who worked with me as a prep cook, became agitated when a customer sent my French-fried potatoes back to the kitchen complaining that they were cut too thick. First of all, I am considered to be somewhat of an ill tempered and sometimes a sarcastic man. When I heard what had happened, I reacted by slicing the potatoes as thin as possible, fried them in grease, added an abundant amount of salt, and then sent the hard, crunchy brown chips back to the customer.
Surprisingly, my chips were a hit. Although I was hoping to annoy the extremely fussy customer, my chips had the opposite affect. The customer was very happy. In fact, other guests began asking for them as well. Not long after, my "Saratoga Chips" became one of resort's most popular treats. Therefore, a new snack was born!
In 1860, I decided to open my very own restaurant, "Crumbs House" which was near Saratoga Lake. One of the things about my restaurant that appealed to my customers was my potato chips. I placed a basket filled with potato chips on every table.
I never patented or tried to sell my potato chips around the world. Regardless, my potato chips were soon on their way to becoming an international sensation all because of numerous ambitious snack food managers around the country. My delicious snack was eventually manufactured and sold in bags which provided thousands of jobs all across the nation.
The story of how I invented potato chips basically is about not giving up. At times in life, there will be people trying to stop you from doing what you enjoy doing the most. In my case I was being criticized for my fries being too thick. Instead of giving up, I fixed the problem by making the fries very thin. Don’t let someone get in the way of doing what you love. Whether it’s painting, sports, or cooking, just because someone criticizes you for whatever reason, you shouldn’t let them get in the way doing whatever it is you like doing the most.
I risked my job to stop the fussy customer. I could have been fired for purposely trying to annoy the customer by making the fries exaggeratingly thin and crispy. Luckily, he was satisfied. I hope I have inspired your generation to follow my example to never give up. Don’t let others put you down. No matter what the circumstances are, always continue trying to do what you love.
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