The spud was viewed with suspicion in many European countries. In France, it was fed to pigs but considered suspect for human consumption. Superstition held that it was poisonous or caused leprosy. The fact that potatoes grow underground, and not from seeds but from chunks of the tuber, also darkened its reputation. Potatoes weren’t sold or grown in any great volume.
But after returning from three years of the potato diet with his health intact, Parmentier set to work to prove that his own experience was no anomaly. This was during the Enlightenment, and experimentation and research were becoming the new norm. By combining this scientific outlook with a flair for showmanship Parmentier put potatoes on European plates.
Parmentier started by going to scientific institutions and the Faculty of Medicine in Paris. He wanted an official statement that potatoes were not as dangerous as the French believed them to be.
But according to atlasobscura.com, he also resorted to stunts to build awareness of the potato. He hosted potato-centric dinners, wherein the potato featured in different guises over as many as 20 courses. Parmentier is still well known in France, where a number of dishes include his name. When he died in 1813, he was buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Even today, his plot is surrounded by potato plants, and the occasional tuber is left on the grave of the great potato promoter.
