Chefs, foodservice reps, retail specialists join Idaho potato harvest tour

Chefs, foodservice reps, retail specialists join Idaho potato harvest tour

Published 8:30 am Tuesday, October 6, 2026

About 30 chefs and foodservice operators from around the U.S. participated in the Idaho Potato Commission’s four-day harvest tour, which stretched from the Boise area in the state’s southwest to Idaho Falls in the east.

Idaho leads the U.S. in potato production and is a significant player across market segments — from fresh table stock to volumes grown for processing into fried products.

The late September tour showcased growing, harvesting, and processing facilities, and included a stop at the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot.

Attendees included key culinary and foodservice decision makers from Magna Hospitality, Mooyah Burgers, Logan’s Roadhouse, City BBQ and other organizations, according to a commission statement. Retail representatives also participated, giving IPC an opportunity to connect both foodservice and retail partners directly with growers and other participants in the Idaho industry.

“There’s no better way to understand what makes Idaho potatoes special than to experience harvest firsthand,” commission marketing director Jamie Bowen said in the statement. “The tour gives foodservice leaders a behind-the-scenes look at the people and practices behind Idaho potatoes while giving us an opportunity to build meaningful industry relationships.”

Chefs and foodservice operators “work with potatoes every day, but most have never actually stood in a field during harvest, talked directly with growers or seen the entire process from field to finished product,” she told Capital Press. The harvest tour “gives them that firsthand experience and a much better understanding of the quality and care that goes into Idaho potatoes.”

Ongoing work

Relationships built on the tour are just as important, Bowen said.

“Our goal is for this to be the beginning of the conversation, not the end,” she said. IPC plans to continue to work with tour attendees on menu development, limited-time offer opportunities, culinary support “and other ways we can help them incorporate Idaho potatoes into their businesses.”

The commission wants harvest tour attendees to “have a stronger connection to the Idaho potato brand, become advocates for Idaho potatoes within their own organizations and, ultimately, use more Idaho potatoes,” Bowen said. “When someone has experienced harvest firsthand and met the people behind the product, it gives them a story they can take back to their teams and customers.”