Paris, France/parisE325
Previous | Home | NextThe other statue in the courtyard of Faculté de Pharmacie is of Antoine-August Parmentier (1737-1813), who promoted the consumption of potatoes in France (before it was considered hog feed and food for the Irish). In 1772 the French Medical School declared potatoes edible. To popularize potatoes Parmentier incorporated it as the prominent dish at banquets which included dignitaries such as Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier. He gave a bouquet of potato flowers to Louis XVI and slipped a potato blossom into the wig of Marie Antoinette. French fries in France are "pomme frites"; "potage parmentier" today describes "potato soup." Like the Vauquelin statue, this statue was previously at the Rue l'Arbalète site.
