Potato Commission pushes Washington potatoes at New York trade show

The Washington State Potato Commission was one of 175 new exhibitors at the 14th annual International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, held March 4-6, 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.  The Commission joined over 600 other exhibitors to showcase Washington potato products to more than 18,000 industry professionals in attendance.

“The buzz is transfat-free in New York, of course, so we served fries cooked in transfat-free oil,” said Matt Harris, director of trade for the Commission.  He was supported in the booth by Commissioners Ted Tschirky and Angela Pixton and Assistant Executive Director Karen Bonaudi.  Keeping the fries coming were Joe and Joyce Rizzo of Ames, Iowa, who help the Commission at shows where fries are served. 

Besides the fries, the hook that drew chefs, produce brokers and culinary educators to the WSPC booth was the display of colorful red, white and blue Washington potatoes as well as russets.  The potato team distributed information on the varieties and availability of Washington potatoes, in addition to recipes and directories of Washington packers, shippers and processors. Fries for the trade show were donated by McCain, NutraClear oil by Dow and fresh potatoes for the display by Washington growers.

“It was a good show,” said Harris. “We were the only potato booth there.” He said the Trade & Market Access Committee decided to attend the New York event this year because of increased transportation opportunities to the East Coast with the advent of the RailEx service from Wallula and the Washington Produce Rail Car program.

The Commission participates in a limited number of trade shows each year, including the national and western region restaurant association shows and the Produce Marketing Association event.  Harris indicated that the Trade & Market Access Committee will be reviewing this new event to see if WSPC involvement should be continued.

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