Close but No Cigar

I read something earlier today that mentioned french fries not being French which I thought I had heard before,the difference is this time I had the opportunity to look it up before I forgot. It is believed that french fries date back to the 1600s to an area that eventually became part of Belgium,in fact potatoes were forbidden in France until 1742. As to why they were named french fries is a little jumbled but the old Irish word "french" meant to cut to pieces. Another theory has fries coming to the US after World War I but they were here well before that time as Jefferson had a chef who made potatoes in the french style and served them in the white house. So french fries were nearly Belgian fries which would have put Belgium on the map for food innovations!