Potato Expo 2023 brought together people from the seemingly disparate worlds of Bayer Crop Science, John Deere, Fox Packaging, McCain Foods, Syngenta and the Food Network with enthusiastic ease. The unifying factor: a love of potatoes, of course.
Held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colo., Jan. 4-5, the National Potato Council event was the largest of its kind outside of Las Vegas, where the council holds the annual event in certain years.
“For a non-Vegas show, this is the biggest ever with just over 1,800 registered attendees and 176 exhibitors,” National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles told The Packer. Quarles added that the show floor was sold out.
While Quarles attributes the robust attendance in part to pent-up desire from COVID-19, he also credits the Washington, D.C.-based National Potato Council team for continuing to shine a light on the annual event as well as exhibitors and attendees who “come back time and again.”
“You can't not be at this show,” said Victoria Lopez of Fox Packaging and Fox Solutions in McAllen, Texas. “We continue to build relationships at these shows,” added Lopez, who said that automation and sustainability are the company's focus moving forward.
“There's great energy and high attendance at this show,” agreed Dan Maxfield, an agronomist in the Pacific Northwest with the Switzerland-based Syngenta.
But with weather- and pest-related potato shortages impacting the industry and driving up potato prices in the last year, conversations on the show floor and in educational sessions naturally turned to the topic.
“It's not that rosy,” said Maxfield about the 2023 potato outlook and the industry's ability to move on quickly from shortages. “Some growers are looking away from potatoes and trying to figure out how to maximize acreage. There's not a lot of room for error."
“Potato prices are exceptional, and product is selling so fast,” said Tim Madden, a post-harvest manager with Syngenta. His group saw a sales decline due to shortages, which accelerated growers bypassing storage and putting fresh product directly into the market.
“As growers plant more acreage, we'll see more storage in the next one to three years,” he said.
Chad Robertson of Prince Edward Island Potatoes in Canada was among the exhibitors who felt the show seemed bigger and better attended than in past years.
“We thought it was important to be here to get our name back out there,” said Robertson, referring to Prince Edward Island's 2021-22 potato wart crisis.
“This show is well attended, and there's a fair bit of traffic,” said Kelly Luff of Bayer. The company showcased its new Luna Pro Fungicide, a premix fungicide that provides both foliar and soilborne disease control in potatoes.
The education sessions at Potato Expo 2023 covered a range of topics from sustainable packaging to regenerative agriculture to soil health to weather trends to the new farm bill and new export opportunities with Mexico.
Celebrity cook-off
The expo floor's main stage was an action-packed, star-studded space for celebrating the versatility of “America's favorite vegetable.”
On Jan. 5, Potato Expo featured its first-ever celebrity cooking competition. Entitled, “This Spud's For You — Celebrity Chef Edition,” the event was hosted by Ted Allen, Emmy Award-winning host of "Chopped" and "Chopped Junior."
Sponsored by Potatoes USA, the cook-off also featured Duff Goldman, pastry chef, personality and cookbook author of Food Network's "Ace of Cakes" fame, and Jason Morse, owner and executive chef of 5280 Culinary and the national spokesperson and grilling expert for Ace Hardware.
Goldman and Morse teamed to compete against Simon Majumdar, author, food and travel writer and Food Network personality, and RJ Harvey, the culinary director of Potatoes USA.
The Food Network's Ted Allen talks potatoes with RJ Harvey and Simon Majumdar. Photo by Jennifer Strailey
“Is everybody excited about potatoes?” Duff asked the crowd. The question was met with cheers and applause.
As the chef teams stood before their workstations on stage, Allen informed them that they'd be working with yellow potatoes from Highland Potatoes in San Luis Valley, Colo. In another twist, the chefs learned that in addition to preparing a dish with yellow potatoes, they would need to make “their best version of mashed potatoes” using russet potatoes from Colorado, Allen said.
The Goldman and Morse team tackled potato chip “nachos” with toppings typically found on a loaded baked potato, while the Majumdar and Harvey team prepared laksa, a spicy Southeast Asia dish typically made with noodles. Their version was made with potato sheets that were cut and boiled like noodles and then cooked in a spicy coconut broth and topped with prawns.
As the chefs got to work on their creations, Allen noted the “incredible success this industry has had in exposing America to so many kinds of potatoes.” From fingerlings to Yukon gold to Peruvian blue potatoes — now these potatoes are available at every supermarket. “It's great to have that variety,” he said.
From left are RJ Harvey, Simon Majumdar, Duff Goldman and Jason Morse. Photo courtesy of NPC
In the end, the judges, comprising chefs from McCain Foods and the Gaylord resort as well as children, voted for their favorites.
There was a split decision with Goldman and Morse winning the surprise mashed potato competition, and Majumdar and Harvey winning for best potato-based meal.
The Potato Expo moves to Austin, Texas next year.