Fresh or frozen? When the chips are down

HOW MUCH of the plate is covered with chips in the average pub meal? A quarter? Maybe a third? In fact, research carried out by McCain suggests that chips account for 40 per cent of plate coverage in a typical pub main course.

Leaving aside the somewhat disturbing image of squads of covert chip inspectors armed with slide rules and dividers swooping on unsuspecting pubs, it's a point worth considering. The quality of chips served may be a key factor in customers' assessment of how much they enjoyed their meal - as well as whether they come back.

First things first. Yes, home-made chips are marvellous, and many upmarket food pubs make a big deal about the fact that spuds are peeled, sliced and fried on the premises.

For the vast majority of pubs, though, the time vs convenience equation probably doesn't work out. If you're going to devote precious kitchen labour to producing fresh dishes, then fancy salads, posh sandwiches or home-made desserts will all command a higher premium than chips.

For most pubs, then, it's frozen frites all the way. And that, according to McCain Foodservice associate director Adrian Greaves, is the point at which there are some important choices to be made. If pubs buy chips simply as a commodity, then they are likely to see big variations in quality and consistency in the course of a year.

"The main focus for McCain Foodservice recently has been the segmentation of our product range," says Adrian. "We also now guarantee that all our potatoes come from British growers, and are cooked using only sunflower oil."

The segmentation into Classics, Signature and Alternatives gives pubs plenty of choice, from your basic chip to chunkier versions, skin-on versions and products that enable pubs to run the increasingly familiar 'trade up to twisty fries for an extra 30p' type of offer.

Nutritionally, chips themselves aren't the devil incarnate, despite what the health lobby would have us believe. Peeled and frozen potatoes contain a fair quantity of vitamins - "and if you can offer oven-baked options as well as fried, customers wil be reassured," says Adrian.

Paying a little more attention to the quality of chips can pay dividends, believes Adrian.

"If you change the size of a steak, you add significantly to the cost of the meal. But if you trade up to a more premium chip or offer a range of choices of potato products, the cost difference is small, and you give customers a much more enjoyable experience," he explains.