It was clearly too much to hope that any of the three per cent of people in the UK who apparently prefer to eat their chips in the nude would be present at the Press launch of National Chip Week, writes Anna Melville-James.

While the sight of folk scoffing pommes frites au naturel would certainly have represented a unique photo-opportunity for my colleague Antony Moore, the British Potato Council's prosaic premises on Oxford Business Park South is probably not the best place to be seen devouring chips in the buff.

Instead, we had to make do with the singular sight of a couple of 7ft chips hovering around and the prospect of a free "chip lunch".

From the man in the Chinese takeaway who asks: "You want chip (singular) with that?" to the people who demand chips with everything, we are a nation of avid chunky fried potato consumers. Sprinkled with salt and laced with vinegar, the humble chip tastes like culinary angels dancing on your tongue. Silently blessing the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, the world's first potato pirate, we were shown upstairs, where an office had been converted into something resembling the sort of seaside chipshops of yore, palaces of fried symphonies in which the humble spud had the lead role in the orchestra.

Fresh tulips decorated the table centres, surrounded by containers of vinegar, salt and ketchup, the latter being for the barbarians among us, of course.

To the side, twin hillocks of bread rolls awaited the pleasure of those who were connoisseurs of the fabled chip butty. Wine or orange juice was available to wash it all down. This was the only slightly jarring note - as any Scottish child knows, the only suitable beverage to wash down chips is Barrs Irn Bru. We were swiftly to discover though that the way you eat your chips says a great deal about the sort of person you are. There are, I am pleased to report, five such categories - The Gourmet, The Scoffer, The Nibbler, The Grumbler and The Resistor. The other categories need not detain us here. Suffice it to say that I am a Gourmet, which apparently implies that I have very high standards, a strong sense of guilt, a white-hot flame of passion burning within and am looking for a soul-mate. Blimey! Bring on the chips, then.

"Chips are a big part of our business," said British Potato Council chairman David Walker. "And National Chip Week helps us utilise our skills down the supply chain." But surely, I say, the British need no encouragement to eat chips? "We'd like you to eat even more of them," Mr Walker replied, eyes gleaming.

"We want people to eat chips until we have completely taken over the fast food market, so we can't relax our efforts." The council's plans for nationwide domination revealed, it was time to bring on the chips.

A slight delay ensued, during which the rumble of various hungry stomachs may have been confused with the growl of distant thunder.

Eventually, the two 7ft chips arrived bearing boxes of their smaller relatives wrapped in traditional chippy paper. A sigh of satisfaction could be heard as they were passed around, opened, seasoned and consumed with relish. As the heathen Moore smothered his with ketchup, I tried manfully not to let my aesthetic sensibilities be offended. The chips themselves, I may tell you, were very tasty indeed. A chorus of rustling wrappers and soft chomping provided a soundtrack to greasy bliss.

Outside, the two giant chips were performing a dance for the benefit of Central TV's cameras. I managed to pass between them without ending up with a chip on each shoulder.

And I thought, only the British could take the humble spud, cut it in slices, fry it in hot oil or fat - and make such a song and dance about it.

I'd had my chips.

George Frew attends the launch of National Chip Week at the British Potato Council's HQ in Oxford

Chips are a national institution - what other foodstuff would have a whole week of celebration dedicated to it?

National Chip Week starts today and, like the superstar it is, the chip will be on tour around Britain delighting old fans and winning new ones as the British Potato Council raises the fried spud's public profile for the third year in a row.

Perhaps it won't be doing book-signings, but the perennially popular potato will be meeting its public at promotions, TV appearances and appearing on the menus of the 300 pubs and restaurants who are supporting the event.

Chips account for more than a third of all potatoes eaten in Britain each year - that's more than two million tonnes of spud - or a sizzling 37kg for every person. Not content with dominating a nation's kitchens, chips also lead the table of take-away food trade, with 300 million meals per year, compared with runner-up Indian that boasts a mere 219 million. Not bad for a vegetable that began life here as a dubious aphrodisiac from South America, whose name in Spanish meant "testicle of the earth".

Historically, the chip is rumoured to have originated in France where chefs discovered the magic of a dip in hot oil to turn the starchy root vegetable into French Fries. In Britain, the first known reference to chips is found in the 19th century Shilling Cookery Recipe Book, where they are described as thin-cut potatoes cooked in oil.

It didn't take long for the chip to become synonymous with British life, most iconically in the outdoor eating, fish'n'chip experience at seaside towns the length and breadth of the country. But where there's a will there are usually many ways, and the chip has undergone more image changes than Madonna. The bulk of chips in Britain are now cooked and eaten at home, despite the rise of fast-food outlets.

With the advent of oven chips 21 years ago, revolutionary "baked" chip-making became possible, and the convenience of tray over chip-pan is a major incentive for today's chip fans. In a survey by the British Potato Council 49 per cent of people confessed to buying ready-prepared chips. No shame in that, especially as TV chef Gary Rhodes has been reported to approve, even serving the humble oven chip as part of his own dishes. Of course, purists would insist that a chip is not a chip unless it has been fried lovingly by your own hand, and 38 per cent of survey respondents agreed.

Jose Francisco, owner of Smarts Fish & Chips in Headington, whispers that the secret of tasty chips is using Maris Piper potatoes and a good quality vegetable oil. But who really has the answer to the perfect chip? Head chef Michael Quinn, of Oxford's Randolph Hotel, says there's no such thing.

He says: "If you ask 100 people what their perfect chips are, you will get 100 different answers.

"I like to use Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes, so that the chips are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, cut thick with the skin on, blanched and twice fried with a good dollop of HP sauce." A man particular about his potato batons, then. But ask anyone to choose and arguments will rage between the merits of crinkle-cut, straight, skinny or chunky.

According to McCain's, inventor of the oven chip, there are even regional trends in chip identity. Thick, chunky chips are most popular among adults and those in the Midlands, Southerners prefer straight chips, and Yorkshire folk eat the most take-away chip fare. Condiments are more universal, divi- ded between those who like crispy chips with seasoning or sauce and those who prefer sludgy ones, doing front-crawl in an ocean of vinegar.

Indeed, there are as many ways to eat chips as there are things to eat with them. Such popular appeal is in part due to the chip's incredible versatility and flavour-friendliness. Fish remains the number one partner for chips, but fans team them up with everything from chicken to pizza, and even curry. Whatever your taste, there is a chip duet waiting to sing on your tastebuds.

Michael Quinn adds: "Chips are universally popular. When I was head chef at The Ritz I put fish and chips on the menu and they were really in demand.

"They're a versatile potato dish and people will order them with all sorts of things. My last customer ordered them with Dover Sole - a very expensive fish." Of course, it's not all feckless fried abandon. Dieters and health-conscious souls around the Western world tend to regard chips as second only to cream in the realm of devilish foodstuffs.

But the news is good: chipped potatoes are full of nutrients such as foliate and vitamin C, and 100g of oven chips is a perfectly reasonable 162 calories.

So celebrate the virtues of the chip with the rest of the nation's chip lovers.

National Chip Week is all about being a chip off the old block in the tastiest way possible, and what better excuse could there be to enjoy the nation's favourite dish?

Facts

- When potatoes first arrived in Britain in the 16th century they were thought to be an aphrodisiac

- A British Potato Council Survey found that 3 per cent of Britons expressed a preference for eating chips in the nude

Chip lingo - the spud is named after the long, narrow spade used to dig potatoes

- In Britain we produce around 350,000 tonnes of frozen chips a year, equivalent to the weight of the entire population of Asian elephants

- Time to throw out the chip pan! Oven chips celebrate their 21st anniversary this year

- By the end of 2000 Britain will have eaten enough chips to reach to the moon and back

- A recent survey listed pinching your partner's chips as the number one cause of arguments

- The record for the most portions of fish and chips sold by an independent fish and chip shop is more than 4000.

Story date: Monday 21 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.