After a glorious, successful year for the nation, what better time to carry on the festivities than now, in Chip Week 2013?
Whether served with a dash of vinegar in the chip shop or steaming hot from the oven, at the dinner table at home or in the pub with friends, Britain’s ongoing love affair with chips means we enjoy them in nearly three billion meals every year – a testament to their versatility, tastiness and value for money.
It’s also a testament to the humble spud, a staple British crop that is grown in huge quantities in the fields around Spalding.
More than 1.6 million tonnes of potatoes are made into chips every year throughout the UK, grown on 33,664 hectares of land.
The 22nd annual Chip Week (from February 18 to 24, 2013) is setting out to celebrate this great British favourite with events and activities in fish and chip shops and restaurants across the country.
The website chips.lovepotatoes.co.uk will celebrate home cooked chips during the week, with dozens of easy recipes and the latest chip-related news and events, including a chip map. Chip fans can also get involved at facebook.com/LoveChipsUK to keep up with the week’s fun.
Home cooking aside, a survey of 1,000 adults shows that it’s the chips you buy from the chippie that are everyone’s favourite, with 45 per cent of respondents putting chip shop chips top of their list, followed by French fries (16 percent), oven chips (14 percent), potato wedges (eight percent), crinkle cuts and curly fries at seven per cent apiece.