7-18 FB Big Potato

 The birth of the appetite  for Idaho’s large potatoes. There’s quite a story behind it.  I was recently talking with Don Odiorne, V.P. of Food Service at the Idaho Potato Commission, and he told me how it was that large Idaho Russetts made their way onto the dinner plates of major restaurants. Don is an excellent storyteller and this is an excellent story:   “You know how steakhouses and casinos now serve giant potatoes. Part of the reason that they do that is putting a large potato on a plate is a lot less expensive than putting a large portion of meat. When they are doing their food costs they are trying to offset the cost of the meat with the cost of a side dish and still have people be full. But the giant potato actually originated from a restaurant chain in Chicago and New York in the 30s and 40s called Toffinettis. Dario Toffinetti bought potatoes from Idaho. He came out to Idaho one time and he saw a rail car full of these great big potatoes. He asked the shipper what he was doing with the potatoes and they said they were too big to send out, nobody wants these, we use them for hog feed or cattle feed. He said whoa, wait a minute, I will take every large potato you can send me.