The business of tantalizing tubers in the Tanana Valley.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska this Month

For most, the thought of an evening's intimate dining, fine wines and palatable entrees prepared by accomplished chefs calls to mind dishes with tongue-twisting names or maybe visiting exotic international restaurants. Not everyone thinks of the potato, especially potatoes grown in Alaska. Then again, not everyone has partaken of the six-course specialties prepared once a year for the Tanana Valley Potato Extravaganza.

Potatoes from Alaska? Indeed. A six-course meal of them? You bet. Ask Michelle Calvillo about it and you'll find out there is more to Alaska's agriculture than gigantic squash and other oversized vegetables.

"Interior Alaska is unique," said Calvillo, executive director of Festival Fairbanks, the organization behind the event, which is in its third year and made possible by the Midnight Sun Chefs Association. "We have designer potato farmers. They grow specific types each year depending on what they like. Not every potato is a russet."

This year the event falls on Sept. 28 at the Pump House Restaurant, with cocktails starting at 6 p.m. and dinner beginning an hour later. Diners can look forward to a remarkable variety of appetizers, entrees and even potato for dessert.

"It's actually fabulous," Calvillo said.

Alaska boasts an incredible variety of potatoes and has been developing Eastern foreign markets for them. The state's most valuable farm commodities are greenhouse vegetables, dairy products and potatoes. Studies have shown the potato crop, which can average about 6,000 tons, adds nearly $3 million to Alaska's economy annually. Although it may sound strange, the climate and location provide some special advantages for farmers, according to researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They say most potato contamination comes from insects or pathogens in soil or plant debris or is...