Abstract: An automated apparatus and method for sequentially slicing potatoes into slices, for cooking the slices into chips in a circular oil bath, and for separating the cooked chips from the bath. The apparatus includes a potato slicer, a circular frying trough with oil circulating means and controlled heating means, a rotating and angle changing plurality of circularly arranged paddles for positioning chips in and along the trough during their cooking, a carousel for lifting and separating cooked chips from the trough, and a conveyor belt for delivering the chips from the carousel to a collection point. The method utilizes the apparatus.