How Martin’s Potato Rolls took the culinary world by storm Claudia McNeilly

By the time the shrimp salad sandwich arrives at the table at Donna’s – a contemporary diner in Toronto’s Junction Triangle – I know we’re in for a treat. Exploding with juicy shrimp dressed in a lemon Worcestershire sauce, the sandwich is finished with a handful of chopped dill that leaves a sweet aroma. But it’s the bun – a curiously squishy yellow roll perfectly cradling the shrimp – that provides the main attraction.

“So this is obviously our shrimp salad sandwich,” the restaurant’s chef and co-owner Jed Smith explains as he places the masterpiece down in front of us. “It’s super simple, but we get to serve it on a Martin’s Potato Roll, which we’re really excited about.”

There is an expectant glint in his eyes as he awaits a response. But having never heard of Martin’s before, I don’t exactly know what to tell him.

“Martin’s are the go-to roll,” he eventually explains. “A lot of chefs love them. But they can be pretty hard to find in Canada, so we’re really excited to serve them here.”

Smith later explained that he was unable to find a reliable supply of Martin’s in Toronto. He eventually took to ordering the rolls to a friend’s restaurant through their Sysco account and picking each order up himself. Smith’s restaurant is known for its daily housebaked specials and locally sourced ingredients, making it strange that buns imported from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (at their headquarters on Potato Roll Lane) would be worth the hassle. But he’s hardly the first discerning chef to jump through hoops in order to serve the fabled yellow potato rolls.

New York City- based burger chain Shake Shack has gone to extreme lengths to ensure all of its 100-plus locations serve the same uniform Martin’s Potato Roll, including outposts in Dubai, Riyadh, London and Tokyo. Looking to satisfy Europe’s non- GMO regulations, the company asked Martin’s to create a special GMO-free bun that would comply with European regulations so that it could serve its famous burgers on Martin’s rolls at its locations across London (Martin’s later switched over to GMOfree ingredients for all its products worldwide in 2015). David Chang’s fast casual fried chicken empire Fuku is yet another Martin’s devotee. Looking to take the signature squishy texture of Martin’s up a notch, Fuku’s rolls are steamed rather than toasted before being christened with shatteringly crisp pieces of fried chicken.

Meanwhile in Montreal, critically acclaimed burger chain Uniburger, exclusively serves Martin’s Potato Rolls at all three of its locations. “While preparing to open Uniburger I did extensive research and tests to find the perfect bun,” says Uniburger owner Younes Bengeloune. “I tried to make a bun from scratch; tried having it made locally and tried at least a half dozen other brands. Martin’s Potato Rolls are truly the best and there is no substitute.”

Even hamburger legend Josh Capon, who won six first-prize trophies at the Burger Bash at the New York City Food & Wine Festival, defeating Bobby Flay, considers Martin’s the benchmark for a great bun. In an interview with Food Republic, Capon explained, “Great bread is important, but then again, there’s nothing better than a Martin’s Potato Roll.”

In cities where the rolls aren’t widely available, securing a bag of Martin’s Potato Rolls remains a sign of culinary acumen. There are entire threads on Chowhound and reddit dedicated to finding and recreating the pillowy rolls. Nearly every major food publication has attempted to chronicle and explain the meteoric rise of the humble potato bread. An Eater article from 2017 attributed the company’s success to a perfect storm of nostalgia, internet word-of-mouth and what has been called “The Shake Shack Effect,” which helped the Pennsylvania brand gain global visibility.

“I don’t think my grandparents ever really imagined that it could get as big and as popular as it has,” explains Julie Martin, granddaughter of the founders and Martin’s social media manager. “Our main strategy has always been to just make the best product possible and have our customers tell their friends about it. With the advent of social media, we began to be able to engage with our incredibly loyal fan base in an even greater way, and it allowed the traditional wordof- mouth strategy to gain international wings, so to speak.”

But even this doesn’t fully explain the bread’s cult status in the culinary community, which usually reserves such high praise for expensive or controversial items like truffles or foie gras. Martin’s rolls are the opposite of controversial or expensive. Their primary ingredients include milk powder, potato starch and a pinch of turmeric for colour, and each package of eight rolls retails for around $4.

It’s the bread’s infallibility that should be studied and awarded a gold medal. Made with an alchemical marriage of high-protein wheat flour and potato starch, which absorbs more water than wheat starch, Martin’s taste fresh even when they aren’t. After four days of sitting out on my counter in the name of serious journalistic research, the rolls retained their signature cloud-like, springy chew. In yet another testament to the product’s resilience is the fact that restaurants beyond the scope of Martin’s American distribution area, including those in Canada and England, receive the product frozen. Once the rolls are thawed for service, their flavour and texture remain unchanged. The accessible price point should also not be overlooked. At a time when nearly every chef and food personality swears by the quality of ingredients to make or break a recipe – encouraging home cooks to shell out for the freshest organic and artisanal meats and produce – Martin’s Potato Rolls offer a refreshing departure from the preachy wisdom of the present day.

Every burger, shrimp salad and fried chicken sandwich served on a Martin’s Potato Roll provides a welcome reminder that great food needn’t be expensive or complicated. Sometimes the simplest ingredients are capable of producing the greatest results.