Those Who Passed in 2011: Archibald Clark West

"Arch" West Inventor of Doritos Brand Tortilla Chips Playing gold in Palm Springs, 1970

Related recipe below

I confess in high school I could best be described as a Doritos junkie. Consider by many, but not by Frito-Lay, the inventor of the Dorito brand, Arch West died in September of 2011 at the age of 97. The child of poor Scottish immigrants, West was born in 1914 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Poverty led his parents to put West and his brother into the Masonic children's home. After graduating high school he attended Franklin College near Indianapolis. He earned  earn his degree and worked for a short stint as a traveling salesman eventually landing in New York City where he joined a Madison Avenue advertising firm. His most notable early work included working on the J-E-L-L-O gelatins and pudding marketing campaigns. He served in the Navy during World War II and after the war he joined the Dallas-based Frito-Lay company in 1960. While on vacation in San Diego in 1961, Frito-Lay marketing executive Arch West purchased some fried Mexican Tortilla chips at a roadside stand. The experience inspired him to develop a market. What became the brand name Dorito based on the word doradito the Spanish word for little golden. Frito-Lay Company took the traditional Mexican snack food and added coloring and flavor enhancers. In 1964, they released the product in Southern California, where it became a hit and nationally in 1966 to rave reviews by customers around the country.  Over time, the company developed a number of flavors.  Most recently in response to health concerns the company reduced amount of salt in the product and transfats from its ingredients. Today Doritos represents Frito-Lay's second-best seller after Lays potato chips with annual sales approximately $5 billion annually.

Related story and recipe: http://www.foodasalens.com/2011/02/black-history-month-for-foodies-series_18.html

Remembering Some Remarkable Lives Lost In 2011: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/26/144190937/remembering-some-remarkable-lives-lost-in-2011


Kick Start the Forthcoming documentary Soul Food Junkie: http://umystic.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/soul-food-junkies/