George Speck Crum and Kate Speck Wicks happen to be the brains behind the invention of the ‘potato chip’ which have become a world-acclaimed household snack.
They were born to Abraham Speck, a former jockey player, and Catherine Speck.
Although much credit has not been accorded to the duo for their innovations and creativity, it is believed that potato chips came into existence because a customer complained of his potato flats not being crispy enough — he had the order returned to Moon’s Lake House Restaurant on Saratoga Lake.
Being an ardent hater of criticism from clients, George scraped the potato flats even thinner and fried them again, thereby birthing the potato chips.
A similar narration involves George’s sister Kate Wicks, who, mistakenly, dropped a chip of fresh potato into hot oil; Crum scooped it out and tasted it,hence labelling it a potato chip fit for consumption.
In 1860, George acquired a mansion on Malta Avenue, close to the Saratoga Lake, and within a few years, was able to serve a couple of affluent customers like William Vanderbilt and his brother Cornelius Vanderbilt, the dissastisfied customer who was believed to have fueled the existence of the potato chip.
Ghbuzznews.com got this information from the archives of Western folklore, titled ‘Social And Economic Contexts Of Folklore Variants : The Case Of Potato Chip Legends’.
