Macon Native Creates Lay’s potato chip flavor

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – With flour, corn mill, salt, pepper, and a little love Greg Pope’s Dad’s recipe made the cut.

Pope submitted the Fried Green Tomato Flavor for the Lay’s flavor competition.

“I submitted my flavor and after that,  I thought nothing of it. I just sort of went on with life didn’t really think much of it and eventually lay’s contacted me,”Pope said.

He realized this wasn’t a scam. Lay’s actually liked his flavor.

“They said look we saw your flavor, we liked your story and you know you’re a potential semi-finalists, so I was really excited,” Pope said.

He got the idea of the recipe from his grandfather.

“It all started in my grandparents backyard. My granddad grew a garden and we would go and visit my grandparents and he would take us into his backyard and show us his tomatoes he was growing,” Pope said. “He would pick off the tomatoes and give them to my dad.”

Then Pope’s dad would fry those tomatoes and give them out at family events.
Pope is one of three finalists. His competition includes the flavors, Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese and Crispy Taco.

If pope wins, he gets $1,000,000. He already has plans on what he’ll do with the money.

“I have a great wife who’s also a great mother to our 3 year old, so I wanna give something to her,” Pope said. As I said we have a small business, so I want to put something towards our small business and for our daughter I want to provide a college fund.

But if Pope doesn’t win he is still proud that he made it this far.

“Just to be in this number here is an accomplishment. Millions of people submitted, so to be the final three in this contest is really great.”

People can vote for the flavor they like the most on DoUSAFlavor.com .

You can find the flavors at your local grocery store.

The competition will run until October.