Despite big changes in our eating habits - traditional fish and chips is as popular as ever, as Helen Peacocke discovered in National Chip Week More than 320 million fish and chip meals are sold from fish and chip shops up and down the country each year.

And that figure does not take into account the many vans and fast food outlets that sell chips with everything.

The Oxford-based British Potato Council has declared this week National Chip Week.

It hopes to encourage us to celebrate the humble spud by eating even more chips this week than we normally do - at the moment we munch our way through more than two million tonnes a year.

Most of us eat them with fish, pizza or steak or on their own with a touch of vinegar or ketchup. Half of us prefer them with vinegar, 39 per cent go for ketchup and the rest of us eat them with brown sauce, mayonnaise, gravy or on their own.

Diana Rees, head of marketing for the British Potato Council, which is now based in Nash Court, at Oxford Business Park South, explained why they have devoted a week's celebration to the chip. "The Government is now recommending that we eat more carbohydrate, and the chip certainly offers that, beside which it's a fresh vegetable.

"It's a common mistake to assume chips are really high in fat. Actually, if you make thick chips and cook them in oil, and drain them properly, they seldom contain more than five per cent fat.

"The highest amount of fat found in a chip is 21 per cent and that's only if it has been badly cooked and cut very thin," she said.

Two Oxford fish and chip shops that have established a reputation for serving piping hot crisp chips are The Mediterranean Bar, in Abingdon Road, owned by Athanssios Papapostolov. Also Smarts Fish and Chips, London Road, Headington, which is managed by Jose and Teresa Alberto Francisco.

Athanssios took over the Mediterranean Bar two years ago. He said it is hard work, particularly when the price of potatoes goes up as they have this year and he has to try to absorb the price.

I rated his chips as excellent, crisp, hot and tasty. My only complaint being the size of his chips which were quite small, with a great number of small off-cuts included.

The chips from Smarts were lighter in colour, and had a good clean flavour. They also get top marks for being crisp hot and tasty. However, they would have benefited from a slightly longer cooking time. Both shops charged 80p for a bag of chips and gave very generous portions.

Every week is chip week for Michael White, proprietor of the White House bar and restaurant in Botley Road.

Michael believes that fish and chips is a very up-market meal, offering the perfect marriage of flavours, which is why it features as one of the dishes on his lunchtime menu.

Fish and chips at the White House are cooked to order and come served on a bed of mushy peas, and garnished with tartar sauce, watercress, and lemon. They taste absolutely delicious.

Story date: Friday 19 February

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