During the five minute passing time used to fall between second and third period, students raided the cafeteria for the ever-so-popular breakfast potatoes. Now, these bites of potato-y goodness are dearly missed.

Long before the current pandemic, hash browns used to be the only potato option available. Then, tater tots came around as the newest hit. The change from tater tots to breakfast potatoes was not due to lack of enthusiasm for tots, but because of the breakfast burrito. “When I first started to make the breakfast burritos which were the first change in the breakfast program, they always had either tater tots or hash browns in them. I got tired of it because the potato to egg ratio was too high. So I got the potatoes, the cubed seasoned ones, as a filler for the burrito,” Taher chef Raul said.

After Raul got his hands on these potatoes, he immediately thought of serving them. “The moment I [started serving the breakfast potatoes] literally opened a floodgate of fans. I’ve already said if I don’t do those, they’ll be a riot in the morning,” Raul said.

Nobody has lamented the loss of the hash browns or tots. “I’ve had maybe two people say that they miss the hashbrowns and that’s maybe more out of nostalgia than anything. And I’ll bring them back every now and then, like I’ll do tater tots this week just because I’m bored,” Raul said.

Right before extended online schooling came into play, the potato consumption at BSM was at an all-time high, with 54 pounds of potatoes consumed on an average day. “On a not average day, which is now becoming a norm, you’ll do 72 pounds of potatoes before 10 am. I have a feeling, if I didn’t stop making them at ten, you’d be in the upward range of 80 to 86 pounds a day,” Raul said.

The potatoes come from a company that Taher has always trusted. “It’s a brand that I really love, like they make the best potatoes in the business, and I’ve known about them for thirty years,” Raul said.

A big part of the reason these potatoes are so loved is because of the seasoning. “They are appropriately salty, but not overly salty. And it has our secret seasoning on it: ‘love’” Raul said.

With breakfast potatoes topping both tater tots and hash browns, what could possibly come next? “The only thing is breakfast waffle fries. I’ve seen those, and they’re pretty awesome,” Raul said.

With the current situation at hand, it is hard for students to enjoy the potatoes at school. “I really miss the potatoes. It sounds weird, but I really do,” senior Frida Fortier said.