Part 6/8:
Gaining Royal Favor
Seeking royal endorsement, Parmentier presented King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette with beautiful bouquets of purple potatoes—an act that turned heads at the royal court. King Louis’ public endorsement of potatoes as a fashionable food furthered Parmentier’s mission, and he was granted land to cultivate potatoes outside of Paris.
However, the real turning point came through a clever ruse. Parmentier staged increased demand for potatoes by having gendarmes guard his fields by day, allowing them to be "stolen" at night. The intrigue attracted public interest and helped change their image from mundane to desirable.