George Crum | |
|---|---|
 George Speck with his sister "Aunt Kate" Wicks | |
| Born | George Speck July 15, 1824 |
| Died | July 22, 1914 (aged 90) Malta, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Chef |
| Parent(s) | Abraham Speck, Diana Tull[citation needed] |
George Speck (also known as George Crum;[1] July 15, 1824 – July 22, 1914) was an American chef. He was known for his role in popularizing potato chips in Upstate New York and was later mythologized as their creator.
Speck was born in Saratoga County, New York. He was a member of the Mohawk people. He worked as a hunter, guide and cook in the Adirondack Mountains, becoming noted for his culinary skills after being hired at Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs. His specialties included wild meat, especially venison and duck. Speck later left Moon's and opened his own restaurant, Crum's, in nearby Malta. His establishment was popular among wealthy tourists and his reputation spread outside the Adirondacks.
Speck was known for serving thinly sliced fried potatoes at his restaurants, which subsequently became known as "Saratoga chips". The first published recipes for potato chips date from the early 19th century, decades before his career as a chef. However, after Speck's death various newspaper articles and local histories of Saratoga County began to claim him as the "inventor" of potato chips. This myth featured in national advertising campaigns in the 1970s. More detailed versions include claims that he invented potato chips by accident or to appease a difficult customer, often cited as Cornelius Vanderbilt; some accounts also claim that the true inventor was Speck's sister Catherine Wicks.
- ^ Hugh Bradley, Such Was Saratoga, New York: 1940