SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Potato chips really are a classic American snack, but Saratoga claims the home of where the potato chip was invented. Legend has it, their creation was all by accident.
"The place where the potato chip was invented by accident, so to speak, was Moon's Lake House," said Mary Ann Fitzgerald, Saratoga Springs Historian.
Owned by Cary B. Moon on Saratoga Lake , it was the place to go for wealthy people in the mid-1800s. There, George Speck was working as a chef in 1853.
Here, it gets a little complicated, because Speck actually went by the name of George Crum.
"Another story says that one of the frequent customers at Moon's Lake House said that a Crum was bigger than a Speck."
One night in 1853, Crum served Moon's fried potatoes to a customer who complained the potatoes were too soggy. He started with another potato.
"And sliced it very, very, very thin as thin as he could, cooked it to a crisp."
The customer loved it. The crispy potato went on Moon's menu as Saratoga chips, but they didn't market them farther than their restaurant.
"Things happened and people just took it in stride, put it on their menu and moved on."
George Speck now lies in the Malta Ridge Cemetery, under an unassuming stone, but his contribution to snack food history lives on.