A French ‘Chipfluencer’ is challenging New Zealand’s status quo on how ‘la frites’, the French Fries, are eaten – shocking a nation of self-titled hot chip connoisseurs with the revelation that they have been doing it wrong this whole time.
New Zealand’s favourite mayonnaise, Best Foods, has partnered with a French influencer from Paris, Sacha Smiles, to educate the nation on how to correctly dip their chips – and news flash, it’s not with tomato sauce.
The French fry, otherwise known to Kiwi’s as the hot chip, has become an iconic Kiwi finger food with over seven million weekly servings nationwide and can be found at almost every food premise, from your local takeaway joint to upmarket dining. The hot chip brings nostalgic memories of summer evenings at the beach, a Friday night dinner paired with a burger or for the true foodie, a delicious poutine on a Sunday afternoon.
Although its origin cannot truly be determined, the succulent dish has many claims from Britain to Spain and even the United States, but the real battle lies between France and Belgium. It has been alleged that the delicacy was born in the 1700s in Namur, francophone Belgium, and was first dubbed the ‘Francophone Fry’ until World War I where American soldiers stationed in the French speaking region of Belgium discovered the potato and named the dish ‘French Fries’.
While another claim believes its true birth was in France as the ‘pomee Pont-Neuf’, a deep-fried potato sold in Paris by vendors in the late 1800s.
Belgium may or may not lay claim to the delicacy but there is no doubt that French fries undeniably have a strong influence from France – a country renowned for its exquisite taste, style, and culture.
In a shocking twist, despite having settled into Aotearoa as a staple dish estimated around 100 years ago, New Zealanders have not been dipping the chip the true French way, and thus, have been
missing out on the true experience of its unforgettable taste for decades. Best Foods is here to change that.
Sacha Smiles, French influencer and French fry aficionado, said ‘’I heard that in New Zealand the people love the French fry – but was surprised to discover that they typically dip it in ketchup. Over
in France, we always use mayonnaise with our French fries. It’s the perfect pairing, every time.’’
Nabomita Bagchi, of Best Foods, added, “When we discovered that in France, mayonnaise is the condiment mostly paired with French fries, we knew we had to tell the nation. But we wanted to
more than just tell them – we wanted a true French influence that would both inspire and educate to make the switch to mayonnaise.to truly elevate your hot chips, use mayonnaise.’’
‘’Not only is mayonnaise a delicious condiment and the perfect hot chip pairing, it’s also so versatile and can be transformed into an array of other dips like chimichurri mayo or chilli mayo to take your hot chip experience to the next loaded level,” Bagchi continued.
To inspire Kiwis to indulge in hot chips the right way and showcase the many ways that hot chips can be enjoyed with mayo, Best Foods has teamed up with several of Aotearoa’s finest recipe creators to develop 11 exquisite French fry dishes like fries grazing boards, loaded kimchi fries and Dutch war fries.
