Get planning for chip week before its too late

IT’S NOT long before Chip Week 2014 (17-23 February 2014) officially gets underway, so now is the time for chefs and caterers to prepare for one of the biggest events in the chipping calendar!

Foodservice Footprint Chip-Week-logo-2014-300x123 Get planning for chip week before its too late Foodservice News and Information Grocery sector news updates Out of Home sector news  Stu Barker Red Tractor Potato Council NFU Love Potatoes Chip Week British Potato Council

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stu Baker, Chip Week campaign manager for Potato Council, said: “It’s only a short while before chip celebrations begin, so now is the time to put your preparations in place. The Week offers the ideal opportunity to make chips the star of a specials board and increase sales – after all, no menu is complete without a chip offering!

 

“From running chip promotions to holding events or even donating chip profits to a local charity, foodservice outlets can support the campaign in a number of exciting ways. What’s more, the high profile event provides a great platform to increase customer awareness and drive interest in quality chip dishes.”

 

Chip Week is backed by a nationwide PR campaign that generates incredible amounts of publicity for chips and also for businesses taking part – and it’s easy to get involved.

 

Stu said: “Don’t worry if you haven’t finalised your plans for Chip Week 2014 just yet, there’s still time! Why not offer a variety of chip styles including chunky chips, skinny fries and spicy wedges; customers will enjoy choosing from a range of tempting chip offerings to complement their meal.

 

“Alternatively, organising fun chip-based activities will generate a real buzz in the local community and encourage customers to support your event. It’s a good idea to promote plans on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, or perhaps advertise any Chip Week promotions in the local newspaper.”

 

Know Your Facts!

 

  • More than 1.6 million tonnes of potatoes are made into chips every year in the UK – weighing the same as over 14,000 blue whales or 4,000 jumbo jets.
  • The land required to grow potatoes for chips is 33,664 hectares – big enough to fit London’s Hyde Park 237 times, or 47,000 Wembley football pitches.
  • 382 million portions fish and chip meals are sold in the UK each year.
  • In one year we eat nearly three billion meals containing chips, with dinnertime the most popular time to eat them (65%), and tea time the second favourite (23%).
  • Brits use at least 26 different words for fish and chips.
  • Using the right variety of potato for chipping can make all the difference – to ensure your chips are lovely and fluffy try King Edward or Maris Piper.
  • Fish and chips outsell Indian takeaways by two to one.
  • The world’s largest fish and chip portion was made in July 2012 by Fish and Chips Ltd, London. The fish weighed in at 47.75kg and the chips 23.5kg, breaking the previous Guinness World Record which was held by the Wensleydale Heifer pub.
  • Celebrity chip fans include Lady Gaga, Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Kate Moss and David Walliams and Michelle Obama.
  • A survey of 1,000 adults shows ‘chip shop chips’ are the nation’s favourite chips with nearly half (45%) of all respondents putting them first, followed by French fries (16%), oven chips (14%), potato wedges (8%) crinkle cut chips (7%) and curly fries (7%).
  • The survey also shows that where we live affects our chip choices, with people in the South preferring salt and vinegar on their portion while the Scottish are more likely than people in any other region to choose a portion of curly fries. People in the Midlands have a fondness for curry sauce and cheese with their portion; the Welsh are more likely than other regions to eat their chips straight from the oven; and a quarter of Londoners favour the French fry.

 

For chip recipes, POS material, event ideas and much more, visit: www.chips.lovepotatoes.co.uk and http://www.potato.org.uk/promotion/foodservice