The potato wasn’t always welcome at the dinner table.

First cultivated nearly 8,000 years ago in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the potato was a staple for Indigenous communities who developed hundreds of tough, nutrient-rich varieties suited to high altitudes. But when it finally reached Europe in the late 1500s, it was treated with suspicion—and a bit of fear.

Europeans didn’t trust the potato. It wasn’t mentioned in the Bible, it came from a foreign land, and it grew underground—too close to decay for comfort. Some even believed it could cause illness, thanks to superstition, poor storage, and a general fear of foods that looked nothing like the familiar. For decades, they were fed to livestock, not people.

Then came Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French agronomist and former prisoner of war who had survived on potatoes while in captivity—and thrived. He became their biggest champion.

In the 1770s, Parmentier launched a full-on PR campaign for the potato.

He threw fancy all-potato banquets, got Marie Antoinette to wear potato blossoms in her hair, and famously planted guarded potato fields—just to make people curious enough to “steal” and plant their own.

And it worked. By the early 1800s, the potato had gone from feared to fundamental. It fed armies, fueled empires, and kept families alive through famine and revolution. Even Napoleon’s troops marched on potatoes.

Not bad for a root vegetable once thought to be cursed.