Star Trek TNG Actors Want Funeral Potatoes Across The Country
If you were to overhear someone talking about Star Trek and funeral potatoes in the same sentence, you’d be forgiven for wondering if Dr. Crusher had moved on from hooking up with ghosts to hooking up with carbs. But proving that there really is “infinite diversity in infinite combinations,” three stars of The Next Generation recently attended the FanX convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, and began discussing the nitty gritty about making and eating potatoes. This eventually caused Star Trek icon LeVar Burton to ask the crowd about exporting funeral potatoes: “Yo, Salt Lake, why are you not exporting this to the rest of the world?!”
LeVar Burton Loves His Spuds
Just how did a geek convention turn into an impromptu discussion about carb consumption? It all began with the Star Trek stars speaking to a little girl dressed as Oscar the Grouch, and they started talking about various kinds (though no initial mention of the funeral ones) of potatoes that they loved to eat.
This led to Burton ironically saying that his favorite part about potatoes is having them in his stomach, and costar Wil Wheaton dryly noted that this was probably the longest length of time he had ever talked about potatoes.
Jonathan Frakes Prefers Funeral Potatoes
With the same commanding presence as his Star Trek character, Riker actor Jonathan Frakes steered the conversation to funeral potatoes. While in his hotel room, Frakes mentioned flipping through the Come To Salt Lake City magazine. On the very last page, he discovered a recipe for these potatoes as well as a story about them (that’s right…even in print, you have to put up with a weird story before you can get the tasty recipe).
What Are Funeral Potatoes?
The Utah crowd went absolutely crazy at the mention of this signature dish, but the rest of the Star Trek actors needed the help of the panel moderator to learn exactly what funeral potatoes are. Basically, it’s a potato casserole dish that gets its morbid name from the Mormon-led Utah tradition of holding potluck-style luncheons after a funeral, and this dish is beloved because it’s an easy, tasty recipe that can quickly feed a large number of people. Considering that FanX took place in Salt Lake City, it’s no surprise that the crowd went wild at the mention of this iconic dish.
Burton Wants The World To Know About The Dish
Once they were up to speed, the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members realized why Utah loves funeral potatoes so much. And that led to LeVar Burton (ever a problem solver, much like his Geordi La Forge character) deciding that the state should spread the love to the rest of the country, asking why Utah hasn’t exported this dish “to the rest of the world.” This led to Frakes, tongue in cheek, answering “I think they just did.”
Better Than Riker’s Eggs
Amusingly, the Star Trek actor’s ironic answer is mostly right: chances are very high that you have eaten funeral potatoes before…outside of Utah, this dish is usually referred to as cheesy potato casserole. As for FanX, the entire exchange between actors and attendees was very cute, and it’s a reminder that Gene Roddenberry’s famous franchise brings together fans from all walks of life.
Some fans want to know about the production secrets of the most obscure episodes, and others…well, others just want to know if Riker ever whipped up some funeral potatoes in his spare time.
Let’s be honest: they can’t be any worse than his eggs, right?
Source: ABC 4
