SPONSORED POST: French fries? Why yes. Thank you.

Recently I was contacted by Alexia Foods to participate in the “Reinvent a Classic” challenge with a number of other bloggers to develop a new flavor for their frozen fries line. I was a bit hesitant at first to accept the offer, as I didn’t feel like it was an exact fit for this blog (though, I do occasionally do savory items and technically their products are baked in the oven) but in the end I decided there was something inherently interesting in the challenge of coming up with a new flavor for French fries, which really is an American classic (I’m ignoring the fact that it’s called French fries and not American fries here). And though I don’t talk about it much on this blog, those who know me in real life know I’m total obsessed with French fries. Like, basically incapable of going to ANY restaurant and not ordering them off the menu, if they are listed, obsessed. French fries are my kryptonite when it comes to salty/savory food and I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to help a company come up with a new fancy flavors for my true love (sorry AJ).

Look it's AJ with fries! My two loves in one picture. *Swoon*

My obsession with French fries can probably be traced back to junior year of high school, where I lived in the Netherlands (about 45 minutes outside of Amsterdam) for a year. I still have fond memories of that trip there, and am still in touch with a few friends from that time period (ah, the power of the internet). The Dutch know their fries though. Never a fan of ketchup, I always order them patat zonder (that’s Dutch for  “fries without”) I prefer dry salted fries, though the European style mayonnaise with fries aren’t bad. I think it’s just that I seek out that perfect balance of crisp outside and creamy steamy inside. Dipping sauces always make the fries soggy and ruin that delicate balance.

Eating Fries with my sister and father in Holland.

That said, I’m excited to be working with Alexia Foods to develop a new flavor with different potatoes and different fry cuts. In fact, after accepting the offer, I started to jot down ideas and concepts for flavors and my list is getting kinda long… After my final seasoning submission Alexia will take a look at the different flavors submitted by the various other bloggers, and narrow it down to four. Those four finalists get an all expense paid trip to San Francisco to present their fry flavors to other food bloggers at the Foodbuzz Festival for voting. Afterwards the fry flavors go up for a national voting survey by Alexia and the final winner goes into production.

Side Note to Alexia: Hey! I live in San Francisco. Darn it. Hey Alexia, if you pick me, will you give me an all expense paid trip to a city I don’t live in or the equivalent cash value? 😉

Sampling fries flavors at the Foodbuzz Fest.

So keep an eye out for some upcoming posts about me experimenting with flavors and concepts for fries. I’ll be asking for your feedback on what you think of them. I was at the last Foodbuzz Fest (well part of it) and got to sample fries and vote on the one I thought should go into production. Parmesan Lemon waffle cut won in the end, and I’d love to be that person who helped create the new flavor fry for Alexia.

So many spices, so little time...

So are fries a guilty pleasure of yours too? What if the fries were made from natural and organic ingredients (like Alexia Food’s fries are)? Would that lessen the guilt? And how do you like your fries? With ketchup or with dry spice rubs or maybe just plain all by themselves? Lemme know in a comment below. I could use all the help I can get!

Alexia Fries in all sort of flavors and cuts.

And if you are a friend of fries, feel free to follow along with myself and the other bloggers on the Twitter hashtag #AlexiaFoods.

[This is a sponsored post. I did receive compensation from Alexia Foods to write about developing a new fry flavor, but all opinions are my own. For a full disclosure statement about my sponsored post policy, please visit my FAQ page]