Fries box

There aren’t many foods more American than the French fry, which is, admittedly, completely ironic. Sure, we could debate about hamburgers, hot dogs, ketchup and apple pie, but none are original to the US. French fries were most likely invented in Belgium, possibly in the seventeenth century, but fables of fried potatoes go back even further, implicating Saint Teresa of Avila (Spain, 1577). They were certainly making tasty pommes frites in France before they debuted in the US, thanks to a White House dinner hosted by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It’s too bad he didn’t stick around until 1949, when the McDonald’s brothers replaced the potato chips on the menu with “shoestring fries”, cooked in 93% beef tallow and 7% cottonseed oil.

Everyone loves French fries. For those who love puzzle boxes too, there is now a confluence, thanks to the masterful and elegant wood craft of Italian machinist Marco Marson. His unique and distinctive designs have been emerging in extremely limited edition boxes he has made over the past few years. His most recent creation is the Fries Box, an immediately recognizable, iconic image that is perfectly rendered in wood. It is also, delightfully, a delicious puzzle box. The unique structural format of this box lends itself to all sorts of hidden surprises and unexpected features. Marco added many tricky mechanisms, so there’s a lot to explore. One of the most interesting secrets is produced by a hidden set of gears that can be seen once the box is finally solved, another very nice touch. It’s an impressive piece of work. These fries are no mere snack! Marco recently told me about his background and new box.

“I’m from Italy and i’ve been working for about 15 years as a CNC programmer and machinist. My job involves CAD/CAM programming and operating CNC machinery, mainly making prototypes or moulds for interior design, marine sector and others. Apart from my main job, which hasn’t been very stimulating for me lately, i’m a very curious person who enjoys building things. I started working with wood when i was a child, thanks to my grandfather’s workshop, and my passion for it has never faded. I also have some more intellectual interests. I enjoy reading scientific essays, mainly about physics, and i’m very fond of the philosophy of authors such as Schopenhauer, Cioran, and Leopardi.

I first approached the world of wooden puzzles through burr puzzles. I built several of them based on designs by other puzzle designers, such as Stewart Coffin’s famous Three Piece Block. I simply liked the idea of creating wooden pieces that could fit together in interesting ways. Unfortunately, my personality means that i get bored quite easily and am always looking for something more complex to create. Burr puzzles are actually relatively easy to build once you understand how to set up the table saw to make clean and precise cuts. I then discovered the Karakuri creation group, and things became much more interesting. These were no longer just simple rectangular pieces that had to be fitted together, but puzzles involving a variety of unusual shapes and mechanisms. I think the real inspiration for my own work came from Kagen Sound's designs: boxes with a minimalist appearance that conceal very unusual mechanisms, combined with an extremely high level of precision in their construction.

Fries box puzzle by Marcon Marson — courtesy of Marco Marson

Regarding my boxes, I decided to start with one of the most basic shapes in geometry, the cube, and use the colors of the wood, either stained or natural, together with a few details, to evoke objects, food, or characters that are recognizable to almost everyone. I think the concept is particularly clear with the Fries box. The colors, the stylized M, and the series of rectangular pieces sticking out of the box are meant to immediately bring to mind the packaging of fries from the famous fast-food chain.

The ideas usually come to me unexpectedly during everyday life, perhaps while i’m at the supermarket or watching a movie, and then my imagination takes care of the rest. I tend to start with the aesthetics of the box and then build the drawers and mechanisms around that concept. With the Fries box, it was quite easy to come up with a mechanism involving the manipulation of the rectangular pieces sticking out of the top.

For the main material of the visible parts, i like to use solid wood from interesting and distinctive species, as well as veneers. I particularly enjoy creating geometric inlays (parquetry), and practically every one of my boxes has at least one hidden inside. For the internal structure, i often use birch plywood. It is made from thin layers of wood glued together with alternating grain directions, which makes it very stable and strong. Unlike solid wood, it is much less prone to warping, which makes it ideal for the internal components of a puzzle box.

[For the Fries box], the yellow wood is movingui (fries and “M” inlay), the grid that contains the pieces is padouk, the sides of the bottom compartment is bubinga, [and there is also] birch plywood (internal structure), red dyed veneer, and brass. Since I also really enjoy working with hand tools, i try to make some parts almost entirely by hand. The inlays, for example, are made by hand by cutting the veneer with a utility knife and assembling the individual pieces using tape.

The biggest challenge with this box was making the brass gears. I’ve always been fascinated by the mechanisms and gears found in mechanical watches. In the future, I’d like to make much more complex ones, perhaps even spring-driven, and use them to create some kind of mechanical automation. At the moment, I’m working on a series of puzzle boxes inspired by hamburgers. The idea naturally came together with the Fries box.”

French Fry Negroni cocktail — French Fry Negroni

A few years ago a brilliant cocktail and food pairing began emerging across various media sources, perhaps a well kept secret or “pro tip’ gone public, which recommended enjoying hot, crispy French fries with an ice cold martini. It is indeed an excellent suggestion. Not too surprisingly, a modest cocktail trend began circulated on social media soon after - the “French Fry” martini. There were many variations but most included an infusion of French fries, oil or beef tallow into vodka, which was mixed with vermouth per usual, but there was also the addition of tomato, to bring that ketchup vibe to the party. Tomato water, tomato tincture, and tomato liqueurs were all fair game and lent different tones to the drinks. I thought about making a French fry martini to toast the Fries box, but then I had a better idea.

For the Negroni version, I leaned into the white mezcal Negroni template of which I am so fond, using Luxardo’s Bitter Bianco in place of Campari (a clear version of a classic red bitter amaro) and Dolin’s dry vermouth to balance the sweetness of the tomato, in the form of a syrup. The syrup is made by creating a simple tomato oleosacharum, mixing roughly chopped ripe tomatoes with an equal by weight amount of sugar and allowing the liquid from the tomatoes to dissolve the sugar over the course of 24 hours. The ultimate liquid, poured off from the mix, is intensely, deliciously tomato-ey, fresh and sweet but completely unlike tomato juice. The little fries are made fresh in oil, which is then cooled and dripped onto the drink’s surface to add another layer of fried potato flavor which hits with each sip. Like most Negronis, this is a stirred cocktail, but feel free to agitate it in a tin, if you prefer a shake with your fries. Try this incredible Negroni with a burger and you will have lived a happy life. Cheers!

French Fry Negroni

1 ½ oz mezcal

1 ½ oz Bitter Bianco

1 ½ oz dry vermouth

½ oz salted tomato syrup

French fry oil

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Dot the surface with the oil. Mini French fry garnish.

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