News Item: In July, 2021, a New York City restaurant, Serendipity 3, introduced a new side dish: Crème de la Crème Pommes Frites, a plate of french fries priced at $200. On July 21, 
GuinnessWorld Records certified it as the most expensive fries on earth. Inquiring minds want to know: WTF? What goes into making fries this expensive? Well, the dish, created by executive chef Joe Calderone, starts with Chipperbec potatoes. Never heard of them? I hadn’t either. They are not a horticultural potato variety; they are a potato brand. Located in Bakersfield, California, Chipperbec proclaims itself to be “the largest fresh chipping potato operation in the U.S.” Who knew? Anyway, the branded potatoes are blanched in vinegar and champagne, then deep-fried in an ingredient all American cooks have in their pantry: goose fat. Next, they are allowed to come to room temperature before the third step: deep-frying in goose fat again. According to reports, this makes the Chipperbecs “crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.” Just before serving, the fries are sprinkled with edible gold leaf flakes. Wikipedia explains, “Gold is a noble metal and for this reason it does not react inside human bodies. This means that it is not absorbed during the digestion process, so it is safe to eat. However, there are no nutritional or health benefits associated with its consumption.” Edible gold sells for $111.33 per gram, or about $3,451 per ounce. At this writing, the spot price for an ounce of gold is $1,821. As if inflated gold was not enough luxury, the fries are then seasoned with truffle salt. As the late Ron Popeil used to say, “But wait, there’s more.” The fries are sprinkled with truffle oil, of course. Finally, the fries are served on a crystal plate with an orchid (don’t eat it!) and thinly sliced truffles. Cue Ron Popeil again! For dipping the fries, in a crystal bowl comes a Mornay sauce infused with–you guessed it–more truffles. It’s truffle overkill, but with gold and truffles, maybe $200 is a fair price. At Serendipity 3, there is an 8 to twelve week wait-list for the Crème de la Crème Pommes Frites. And that’s the truffe, the whole truffe, and nothing but the truffe.
