Studying late at night often leaves college students drinking generous amounts of caffeine. Chad Scott, doctoral student in the Department of Sociology said he’s had many of those nights, and recently decided to think outside of the box.
His latest idea — cappuccino flavored potato chips — landed him a chance as a finalist out of the 14.4 million submissions in the Lay’s “Do Us A Flavor” potato chip contest.
“I love coffee,” Scott said. “I pretty much live in a coffee shop. I work in a coffee shop. I’m drinking coffee all day, so cappuccinos are something I look forward to.”
To submit a flavor idea, three ingredients were required to accompany the chip, Scott said, as well as the decision of a regular, wavy or kettle-cooked chip.
“It definitely does have to be a thought out idea, if you have to come up with this whole conceptive flavor,” Scott said.
As part of the competition, the finalists promote their chip flavors. Scott said his first stop was in New York City, where he was interviewed on Good Morning America.
Scott said once the cappuccino flavored chip idea exploded on social media, it appeared on several notable late night talk shows.
“Jimmy Fallon made a joke that led into four other jokes that used cappuccino,” Scott said. “They were bagging on it a bit, which I think is funny. I’d rather have people bagging on it a bit and talking about my stuff than not acknowledging it at all.”
Scott said that the competition has been a learning experience, as he’s been directly involved in the creativity process at Lay’s corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas.
“They have an innovative flavor kitchen, so we went to the flavor kitchen and it was almost like being on a Top Chef episode,” Scott said. “We had cameras in there and a beautiful kitchen and a whole team of chefs.”
The chefs took each experimental flavor and turned it into a recipe, Scott said.
“They make it into real food so they are able to sit there and experiment and find what the best recipe is and then make that,” Scott said.
The other flavors, Scott said, were “Bacon Mac & Cheese,” “Mango Salsa” and “Ginger Wasabi.”
“I think they all taste good, of course, though I’m super excited about my flavor,” Scott said. “I think all the flavors — they are all good chips. I think that if people are open minded and go ahead and try them all that they’re going to like what they taste.”
Scott said he is an artist who is designing his own artwork for the promotion of his flavor — one piece being a recreation of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam.” He said it was rewarding seeing his idea realized.
“Just as an artist, that’s always been my dream ­— to make something, put it out there in the world and have people take notice and be important enough for others to talk about it,” Scott said. “Honestly that is so rewarding for me.”
Friday, Scott will present and hand out his flavored chips to the Bryan-College Station community as a part of Downtown Bryan’s First Friday at The Village Café, the location he considers a “second home.”
Kristi Petty, owner of The Village Café said she is looking forward to seeing a regular customer. She said she is confident that he’ll win.
“We have spent birthdays, milestones and holidays together and I consider myself lucky to have him as a friend,” Petty said. “I really do think he has a great chance at winning. Chad has one thing that no other contestant has ­— the Aggie family. We are a group that supports each other like no other.”
Scott will be at The Village Café starting at 6 p.m. Voting for the flavor contest will continue through Oct. 18. Scott’s cappuccino chips are currently available for purchase.