Potato supplier Branston is offering a unique chance for kids visiting the Celebration of Food and Farmers at the Eden Project between June 20 and June 22 to enter a competition to name a new potato variety.
It's currently known only as Variety Number: 00.H.14 A3 - and this marks the first time members of the public have been asked to name a new potato.
There are thousands of spud varieties grown aroudn the world, many of them named after places such as the Pentland Javelin, or people, like the well known King Edward.
In Peru, where the potato originated some 8,000 years ago, the varieties have descriptive names such as "Red Mermaid", "Male guinea pig with scattered spots" and "Clod of earth the shape of a fingernail".
Branston's new variety is related to the traditional Peruvian species Solanum pureja, which has a stronger flavour and a firmer texture than the cultivated potato species Solanum tuberosum. It has a creamy-yellow flesh and its skin has distinctive pink colouration. It is a multi-purpose type of potato, ideal for salads and roasting.
"It's a novel way for them to use their imaginations and possibly see their idea in the shops in years to come," says Branston's David Nelson.
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