KENNEWICK — Gustavo Garcia and Eric Toews took their time over the Potato Chip Challenge, thinking it over, going back for seconds just to be sure of their answers. Alas, it didn’t really help all that much.

The Washington Potato Commission’s Brandy Tucker graded the entries.

“Zero,” she told Garcia.

Toews did better, getting just over half. In fact, the six of 10 he got right put him in the lead.

The WPC came up with the potato chip challenge, something just for fun among the classes and seminars at the 2024 Washington-Oregon Potato Conference. 

“We’ve got five different flavors (of potato chips) and different brands,” Tucker said. “So people have to tell me what the flavor is and what the brand is. And these are all local. You can buy them in Washington or Oregon.”

Tucker said it’s the custom to have a couple of fun activities at the potato conference.

“We’ve had potato peeling contests, but those get a little bit dangerous. People start peeling thumbs,” Tucker said. “And then we’ve had some cooking classes. This is something where they can stop by for a minute, and they don’t have to miss out on classes or talking with folks. Just a quick little thing, except for some people that are taking it very seriously.”

Even though all the chips can be found in stores throughout the Pacific Northwest, the potato commission didn’t make it easy. One bowl looked like classic barbecue potato chips.

“That’s not what it tastes like,” Toews said. 

Was that a little sweetness coming in? As a matter of fact, it was — the bowl was filled with honey mustard chips.

“This one in particular, everybody says, ‘Oh, that’s my favorite chip,” Tucker said, pointing to the bowl in the middle. “And they write it down and give it to me and I’m (telling them), ‘No that’s not the right answer.’”

The bowl was filled with pickle-flavored chips, definitely, but nailing down the brand was a challenge.

Two bowls defeated pretty much everybody. 

“Nobody’s gotten this one right, or this one right,” Tucker said, pointing them out.

The bowl at the end was — was — pepper, maybe? Okay, but there was something else, something no one could identify. It turned out to be pepperoni-inspired. The chips with the hint of sweetness didn’t give anything away in the name, which was “Sasquatch Surprise.” 

Toews said the key was going slow, and being a potato chip fan.

“I am a bit of a connoisseur —  I do know my chips,” he said. 

He tried some, left and returned for a second round. 

“You try them all at once, sometimes the flavors will all meld together a little bit. So you want to take your time,” he said. 

As he talked, a woman trying the challenge admitted she was stumped.

“I don’t know what that is,” she said.

“I know. It’s hard, right?” Tucker said.

She was right, Toews said.

“There’s a couple here —  they are pulling some surprises on some (potato chips) that are a little bit newer, that most people may or may not have tried,” he said. “So that’s one of the things that caught me by surprise.”

Tucker said some of the flavors were new to her, too, and pointed to the mystery bowl in the middle.

“That’s my new favorite,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

    It turned out to be very difficult to identify the potato chips in the Potato Chip Challenge.