Flemish Minister of Agriculture and Food Hilde Crevits (CD&V) unveiled the statue ‘De Frieteters’ in Bruges this weekend. The statue pays tribute to the Belgian fries culture and heralds the Week of the Fries. This week will take place from November 29 to December 5 and is an initiative of VLAM, Navefri and Belgapom.
“Golden crispy chips from the chip shop: our chip culture is part of our cultural heritage. Almost everyone has their favorite chip, their favorite sauce, their regular order, their regular chip ritual.” With these words, Minister Hilde Crevits unveiled the statue ‘De Frieteters’ in the pouring rain in Bruges on Sunday.
De Frieteters is located on the Bruges market square next to two iconic chip shops and the two local folk heroes Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck. The statue, which will be in Bruges for a year, depicts a man enjoying his pack of chips on a bench. It is a recognizable scene for many Belgians and the artwork should invite passers-by to eat their chips with him, take a selfie or steal chips from his cone.
22nd Week of the French Fries
The unveiling of the statue marks the start of the Week of Fries, which traditionally takes place during the last week of November and this year has its 22nd edition. It is an initiative of the Flemish Center for Agro- and Fisheries Center (VLAM), the National Association of Friturists (Navefri) and Belgapom, the potato sector organisation. With this they want to put the Belgian chip and chip shop culture in the spotlight.
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Liliane Driesen of VLAM says about this: “Our fries, our national pride, deserve to be put in the spotlight at least once a year. With the Week of the Fries we want everyone to reflect once again on the taste and experience that are so unique about the fries of the chip shop. In addition to the inauguration of the statue, online attention will also be given to our national pride. Several influencers are sharing their frying adventure with their followers this week.”
Minister Crevits also says that the French fries culture does not stand alone and is partly possible thanks to the flourishing Flemish potato sector. Every year in our country about 5 million tons of potatoes are processed into fries, mashed potatoes, chips and flakes. The Belgian chip shop culture was included in the Flanders Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014, recognition by the French Community followed in 2016 and the German-speaking Community and the Brussels-Capital Region in 2017.
- Drought effects on maincrop varieties
Looking ahead, estimations of the total harvest are also depending on external factors such as rainfall and temperatures. ‘A high tuber count is usually a promise of a potential good harvest, but of course one needs enough water in August and September to fill and fatten all the tubers. Should we get a heat wave and/or drought, maincrop varieties could be affected much more quickly than was the case the last years, because plants did not develop many roots.’ NEPG also assigns an influential role to the effects of the global pandemic. - New challenges for growers
In the meantime, potato growers are facing several challenges. ‘Production costs for the 2021-2022 season are already building up: higher costs for blight (and other) sprays, higher energy prices (diesel and electricity), higher prices for fertilizers (liquid nitrogen saw its price double in a few months). Not to mention everything which has to do with the construction of new buildings: insulation material, concrete, steel and wood have also dramatically increased’, they state.
