French Fries World Championships ®

An emblematic jewel in the North of France’s culinary crown, homemade French fries are part and parcel of the gastronomic traditions of the Hauts-de-France region. Arras might well become the epicentre of this tradition when it hosts the French Fries World Championships®.

The Championships

An event in the form of a culinary challenge will take place in the Grand’ Place in Arras, an ancient gathering place, where pre-selected candidates from the Hauts-de-France and beyond, will take part in various categories thus presenting French fries in a number of ways in front of spectators.

Regulations, registration and practical information…find it all here!

If you’re interested in finding out more about the conditions for taking part, you’ve come to the right place, but … you’ll have to wait a little longer, as the information will be coming soon.
Detailed description of the categories and events, selection calendar, details of the equipment provided and what you need to bring, and much more …

Registration for the Championships

Are you a professional or an amateur and a World French Fry Champion at heart? Register and compete in one of the following categories:

Authentic French fries

Reserved for catering professionals, this category presents French Fries as they are traditionally prepared and eaten in the North of France. Candidates from other regions and countries may also use this category to showcase their own recipe, provided it respects artisanal, traditional and local know-how.

Creative French fries

This category is open to all, provided you come up with an original French fry recipe, in terms of shape or cooking method: give free rein to your imagination.

Family French fries

The premier class category which is open to all. Candidates can put forward their very own version of ‘home-style’ French fries, made in everyday conditions.

French fry sauce of the year

This time, the focus isn’t French fries themselves, but rather their best and inseparable ally – sauce! Catering professionals can propose what they feel to be the perfect sauce for French fries. Hot or cold, the sauce must be made on-site with non-processed ingredients.

And what about those who aren’t making French fries?

The Championships’ 4 categories will be played out on two stages set up in the Grand’Place. Spectators will have a front row seat for admiring the techniques and trade secrets of the amateur and professional participants.

Watching French fries being made is one thing, but eating them is better! You will be able to sample the creations of a number of partner French fry stands and even wash them down with some excellent craft and local beers* in a fun and festive atmosphere, at the heart of French Fry Village. And to work it all off, why not take part in a sack race…a potato sack that is!

Charles de L’Écluse, an Arras potato trailblazer

Did you know?

French fries as we know them today would probably never have existed without the persistence of one of the Renaissance’s most outstanding botanists, Charles de l’Écluse (aka Clusius), who was born in Arras in 1526, and who devoted his energies to growing – in his own experimental garden – a little-known tuber from Peru; making it popular among powerful European Lords, well before the famous agronomist, Antoine- Augustin Parmentier. Not to blow our own trumpet, but the Artois area seems to be ‘at the root’ of the rise of French fries as we know them today!