Kokova Magazine

The Choice Chip Awards 20th - 26th February 2012 are brand new for 2012 and we want you, the nation's chip lovers, to get voting!

Lovechips is searching for the UK's tastiest chip shop chips, voted by you - the nation's chip lovers.

If you believe the tastiest chips can be found in your local chippy then show your appreciation by voting for them in the Choice Chip Awards 'Best Chippy Chips' category.

Maybe you're mad about your favourite pub or restaurant's chips? If that’s the case, let your fingers do the talking and show your support by voting in the 'Best Pub Chips' category.

Voting starts from 13th January 2012.

If your favourite chip shop or independent pub or restaurant doesn't appear on the list encourage them to sign up today. They can email chipweek@potato.ahdb.org.uk or call 01664 869409 to register.

For more information visit www.lovechips.co.uk

Chip Facts

Facts and figures

• For chips prepared in the home, nearly 60% are oven baked, over a third are fried and 3% come out of the microwave
• Friday is the most popular day of the week for eating chips, with around a fifth of the chips eaten then
• A recent survey confirmed that 87% of the population love chips!
• More than half a billion meals containing homemade chips are eaten each year
• In one year we eat nearly three billion meals containing chips
• We eat 300 million portions of fish and chips in Britain each year
• There are more than 10,000 fish and chip shops in the UK
• Nearly 200 million chip meals are sold in fish and chip shops each year
• Fish and chips outsell Indian takeaways by two to one

Health

• A portion of sweet and sour chicken, egg fried rice and two spring rolls contains 22% more calories than a portion of fish and chips
• An average portion of chip shop chips contains 686 fewer calories than a doner kebab
• Chip shop chip that are cooked for the optimum 5-6 minutes will absorb less fat as they are not left in the oil any longer than necessary
• Shaking and draining your chips can reduce fat absorption by 20% and make your chips crisper. This is because chips carry on absorbing fat after they come out of the fryer
• A study has shown that thin chips contained, on average, more than 1.5 times the fat of a thick chip cooked under the same conditions, making fat chips the healthier option
• Oven chips contain just 5% fat

Trivia

• A 2011 survey showed that fans of wedges are most likely to dip them in barbecue sauce, and ketchup is most popular with those who prefer oven chips and French fries
• Chris Verschueren, from Kastel, Belgium holds the world record for the longest French Fries cooking marathon. He cooked for 83 hours, serving 15,000 portions of chips
• In the 1860s the first fish and chip shop was reported to be opened in London by Joseph Malin, however, it was also claimed that premises near Mossley, near Oldham in Lancashire, was also the first fish and chip shop
• A quarter of all potatoes grown in Britain are made into chips - that's around 1.5 million tonnes each year, or nearly the same weight as 125,000 full double decker buses
• The record number of chip portions sold in a fish & chip shop in one day was 4,000
• The chips eaten in Great Britain each year come from potatoes weighing the equivalent of nearly 2.9 million Formula 1 cars. Laid end to end, those chips would take you around Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit over 1.5 million times - equivalent to more than 26,000 British Grand Prix's
• During the Second World War, chips were one of the few foods that weren't rationed
• The world's largest fish and chip portion was made in July 2011 at the Wensleydale Heifer pub. The fish weighed in at 20kg and the chips 23.5kg, breaking the previous Guinness World Record which was held by a restaurant in America
• The Territorial Army prepared for battle on fish and chips provided in special catering tents erected at training camps in the 1930s
• During the D-Day landings, the Parachute Regiment landing behind enemy lines in darkness identified friend from foe by using the code word 'FISH' and the reply would be 'CHIPS'

Science

• Tom Parker Bowles suggests that floury potatoes are better to make chips with because they contain more dry starch cells, meaning when they're cooked, the cells swell and create a dry cloud-like texture - Perfect for creating great tasting chips
• The Hairy Bikers suggest that soaking uncooked chips in cold water overnight helps them to cook evenly and colour nicely as any excess starch has been washed away
• Heston Blumenthal has invented the 'ultimate chip recipe' - the triple-cooked chip
• Maris Piper, King Edward, Rooster and Sante are some of the most suitable potato varieties for making chips because of their floury textures

Celebrity

• Lady Gaga recently made a late night stop with her tour bus for fish and chips in Marylebone, London. The bus wasn’t able to fit outside the chippy so her security team went to pick up the takeaway whilst they found a suitable parking spot
• Rihanna spent £500 in September 2011 on Fish and Chips for herself and her crew whilst filming a music video in Belfast
• David Walliams feasted on fish and chips to up his energy levels whilst swimming the Thames for charity in September 2011
• John Lennon liked to smother his chips with ketchup
• Michelle Obama treated her daughters to a fish supper in a London pub during a recent visit to London
• Kate Moss had her hen do at the Isle of Wight Fesitval in 2011. She celebrated with fish and chips
• Dermot O’Leary owns a chippy in Brighton called Fishy Fishy Seafood Brasserie
• Tom Parker Bowles is a former judge in the Seafish Industry Authority 'Fish and Chip Shop of the Year' competition
• Both Mike Tindall and Stacey Solomon used to work in chip shops before they were famous
• Winston Churchill referred to fish and chips as 'good companions'

www.lovechips.co.uk