Why are you visiting a cemetery on your holiday and what does that have to do with marketing?
It might seem a little peculiar, but the Père-Lachaise cemetery is one of the most popular tourist spot in Paris! Many tourists visit Père-Lachaise to pay their last respects to the famous figures that were buried here.
As the largest–and probably the most visited–cemetery in Paris, it houses the graveyards of Jim Morrison from The Doors, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, and Frédéric Chopin, to name a few.
Now, why are there even POTATOES in a CEMETERY, you ask?
I came across this group of schoolkids and their teachers on my way out of the cemetery. Assuming they were on a school trip, I was just going to pass them and leave. At this instant, the grave they gathered around at caught my eye! Why are there potatoes on there??
Potato Pioneer
In order to find out, I hung around and listened to their teacher’s show-and-tell. Apparently, the grave belongs to Antoine Parmentier. He was a French pharmacist who served in the 7-Year War (1756-1763) between the major forces of Europe. In this war, he was injured and was held as a prisoner in Hannover, Germany. During his time as a prisoner, Parmentier was fed a kind of porridge made out of potatoes and water. This inspired his further research into these South American tubers.
Mind you, at this time, potatoes do not have the same popularity it has now. It was used as a livestock and prisoner feed, and was actually banned because the French believed that it transmitted leprosy. Not a single french fry nor potato gratin was on any Frenchman’s radar! They wouldn’t be caught dead eating pig’s feed, if it’s not a life-or-death situation.
Enter Parmentier, who became became the Chief Apothecary at the Hôtel des Invalides post-war. It served as a housing for military veterans. After the famine of 1769, he began his genius work in promoting potatoes as a nutritious addition to people’s diet!
How did he make potatoes as iconic as it is now?
- Make it prestigious
Parmentier won the first prize of Académie de Besançon in 1772 with his scientific research on potatoes as an alternative food during famine. His chemical analysis on potato starch and recipe for potato bread was a breakthrough in the food science world at the time. - Make it socially acceptable
He regularly invited famous individuals to his dinner parties and served them, you guessed it, potatoes! The King Louis XVI became interested and gave him some space for his potato field in the Sablons. - Fake scarcity
What should one do to make potatoes cool? To have his potato field guarded by soldiers, of course 😉. This created an illusion of luxury, higher worth (is it for the king?!), and scarcity. People did come into his field to steal some of his potatoes as they got curious! Parmentier, of course, issued a secret order to let people steal them.
He really is a marketing genius, don’t you think? His campaign revolutionized the way French people view potatoes. Now, his name is seen in numerous French restaurant menus as a reference to potatoes! Hachis parmentier, anyone?
Don’t forget to pay a visit to his grave when you are in Père-Lachaise! You can also leave a potato for a fun touch 🥔
P.S. = While you’re in Paris, check out my day trip guide to Mont St Michel, and don’t forget to see these amazing artworks in the Louvre!
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