Culler’s french fries

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Lemonade shakeups. Corndogs. Saltwater taffy. Honey
ice cream. Few traditions at the Illinois State Fair are more hallowed than
its special foods. A day at the fair just isn’t complete without
them. And at the Illinois State Fair, as well as dozens of other state and
county fairs and festivals ranging from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio down to
the Carolinas, one of the food traditions that’s been around the
longest is Culler’s french fries. It’s also one of the best. Walking up to the concession window last year for my
annual treat, I remarked to the guy behind the counter that I’d been
coming to that exact same spot at the fair for Culler’s fries for as
long as I could remember. “Yup,” the man replied as he expertly
loaded cup after cup with piping hot fries for the waiting line of
customers. “Culler’s been in this location for over 60
years.” When I said I hadn’t seen Mr. Culler himself for the
last couple years, he laughed. “Oh, he’s been here. You just
must have missed him. He’s over at the campground right now.
He’s 80 years old, but he still comes on the fair circuit.”

I immediately wanted to write about Mr. Culler and
his fries, but I’d already filed my columns that would come out
during last year’s fair; so later that evening, when the crowds had
thinned, I returned and asked for a phone number where I could reach him
the next summer. Dialing that number recently, I wondered if Culler would
answer. And even if he did, would he still be in the traveling french fry
business? I needn’t have worried. “He’s over
at the horse races right now,” said the voice at the other end of the
line. “Can you call back in half an hour?” Culler, who was
celebrating his 81st birthday that very day, answered my second call
himself, his voice strong, full of life, and filled with cheer. Forest Culler has been selling French fries at fairs
for 62 years. Born in Ohio, he was raised on a farm. “I’m a
country boy,” he says. One of six children, he’s been working
hard all his life. “My daddy left my mama and us kids when I was
young,” he told me. “So I always had to work as well as go to
school.” In spite of hardships, Culler has good memories of his
childhood. “Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I wish every kid could
be raised on a farm,” he says. “Seems like farm kids always
have a smile on their faces.” After serving in World War II and Korea
as a Navy medic, he got the idea of selling fries at fairs after seeing the
popularity of a french fry stand in Pennsylvania.  Culler and his wife, Dora, have had their
permanent residence in northern Florida near Tallahassee for many years.
This season Dora, recuperating from an operation, is staying home for the
first time in decades instead of traveling the fair circuit with her
husband. She’s making good progress, though, and Culler fully expects
that by the time he returns home in mid-November, she’ll be ready to
resume the couple’s favorite activity, dancing, and her special love,
karaoke singing. Ordinarily I’m not much of a french fry fan. I
take a pass on the mostly ho-hum, mostly previously frozen fries that too
often are sold in restaurants. For me to be enthusiastic about french
fries, they have to be exceptional. Culler’s are.  Made from
Idaho russets, the potatoes are freshly cut before frying in a special oil
that Culler says is “probably the most expensive shortening there
is.” It’s healthier than many other frying mediums used in
commercial frying, too. These days, even some fairs and festivals are
beginning to ban trans-fats, but Culler won’t have to make a change:
the oil he’s used for as long as he can remember contains only trace
amounts of the harmful substances, not enough to disqualify it under new
guidelines.
 I’m not alone in my love of
Culler’s french fries. In June Culler pre-orders the potatoes
he’ll need to ensure a steady supply that meets his standards. This
year in Illinois alone, he’ll take delivery of over 23 tons of spuds.
Last year two exhibitors who come to many of the same fairs as Culler
decided to keep track of how many of his fries they consumed during the
season. One ate 116 orders of fries, while his buddy lost count after
eating 90 orders. Culler says that one of his North Carolina venues
annually surveys its fairgoers about why they’ve come. More often
than not, eating Culler’s fries is the number one choice. At fairs
and festivals everywhere, Culler says, “There are always people who
ask the ticket takers at the gates to let them in free, ’cause they
just want come in to eat my fries. ’Course, they always end up having
to pay.”
Culler’s french fries are still served the same
way they were when he started: fresh out of the hot oil, piled to
overflowing in a simple paper cone, with salt shakers and bottles of
vinegar on the counter for customers to add to their taste. When I was
little, the vinegar was an intriguingly exotic alternative to catsup and
was one of the things that made Culler’s fries special. But why
doesn’t Culler offer catsup? “Well, I did at the very beginning,” he
chuckles. “But too many kids had too much fun squirting catsup at
each other and everybody else, so I decided it wasn’t worth the mess.
Whenever people ask for catsup, I tell them, “I’m selling
potatoes, not tomatoes!”
Culler’s business has expanded over the years.
He now operates two stands, sometimes at different fairs/festivals, though
for bigger venues, such as the Illinois State Fair, the two concessions are
at the same event. He has eight to nine employees on the road with him and
takes good care of them, housing them in top-of-the-line house trailers
complete with satellite TVs. Culler’s standards are as high for his
workers as for his fries: “I make sure my boys are clean and
well-behaved,” he says. Though his two children have followed other
career paths, Culler’s will remain in the family. His nephew, Jim,
who’s been working with him a mere 25 years, will carry on when
Culler retires. Culler looks back at his career with pride.
“Knowing what I’ve accomplished makes me feel good,” he
says. “I’ve made so many friends in so many places.”
After 62 years, does Culler still eat his own fries?
“Sure,” he says. “I sample and eat ’em all the
time. I’m always checking to see that they’re just
right.”
“It keeps me young.”
Culler’s French Fry stands at the Illinois
State Fair are located on the east side of Grandstand Avenue across from
the Illinois State Police tent, and on the west side of Main Street in
front of the Exposition Hall and across from the First Lady’s tent.
Send questions and comments to Julianne Glatz at
realcuisine@insightbb.com.

This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2007.

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