Some things stick in your mind for years. And there's one memory which has remained with me for more years than I care to admit. It's of the first meal I ever ate in France.

I was there on my first Continental holiday. I had survived a night-time crossing from Newhaven to Dieppe and I had survived the third-class early morning train journey to Rouen in the company of an ancient farmer who, apparently, had eaten nothing but garlic for the previous month.

I had even survived the disappointment of arriving at the home of the girl I had gone to France to meet only to discover she had left for the South of France for a couple of weeks.

But I couldn't survive without food, which was why, as soon as it was decently near lunchtime, I headed for one of the small, family-run bar/restaurants which used to lurk around every city and town street corner but which since, sadly, have been scythed down in their thousands.

The set lunch – which cost me a few shillings – really opened my eyes as to what good French bistro cooking was all about. But it wasn't the plate of charcuterie that impressed me most, nor even the trout, gently fried in butter with almonds, nor the perfectly-dressed green salad, nor even the crème caramel which rounded off the meal after the cheese.

It was the potatoes that came with the fish: perfectly-diced, fried to a light golden crisp and dusted, just before serving, with finely chopped chives and fresh grated Parmesan. The smell that came off those potatoes, I tell you, filled the place. They represented the most sublime vegetable-eating experience of my life up to that point.

And that simple recipe is one I return to time and again, because it's still so wonderfully aromatic. And that's one reason why I get angry when I read about a decline in potato sales – because people who don't eat them have no idea what they are missing. It's largely a lifestyle thing, apparently: potatoes take time to cook and prepare, when you can have pot noodles ready in two minutes and rice or pasta in not much longer – and that's not to mention the pre-cooked sort which can be heated in seconds in a microwave.

Mind you, if the only mashed potato you've known has come from a packet; if you've only been brought up on frozen, pre-cooked roast potatoes and have never experienced the real thing cooked in duck fat; if chips are things you take out of a plastic bag and crisp up in the oven, then I cannot really blame you for not getting excited at the prospect of a potato dish.

But for an imaginative cook potatoes present an inviting, blank canvas. And given the fact that we are now able to choose from any number of varieties, no-one should ever run out of inspiration when it comes to serving them up.

Think of nutty Pink Fir Apple potatoes in a salad, think of a huge baked potato stuffed with mature cheddar and topped with home-made coleslaw, think of Boulangere potatoes – thinly sliced and cooked in chicken stock with garlic and rosemary – and you have some of the world's greatest flavours at your disposal.

Properly cooked and with the right attention to seasoning, potatoes offer far more than you will ever get from rice or pasta or noodles. And we are daft to start turning our backs on them.

Chris Rundle

Ingredients for four to six

2½lbs (one kilo) floury potatoes

3ozs butter

2 generous tblspns full fat crème fraiche

10 gratings of nutmeg

20 grindings of black pepper

2tspns salt

1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and very finely chopped

Method

Peel and halve the potatoes and boil in salted water until on the point of collapse. Drain well and return to the dry pan and shake gently over a low heat for 30 seconds to drive off any excess moisture. Add the butter and start to mash.

As soon as it has been absorbed, switch to using a fork and add all the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Cover and leave in a warm oven for 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to develop.

Prepared with the skins on because that's healthier: the vitamins are not in the skins themselves but in the first millimetre or so of flesh underneath, which is usually discarded during peeling.

Ingredients for four

2½lbs (one kilo) Desiree potatoes

2tblspns Cajun seasoning

1tblspn olive oil

For the dip:

3 large tblspns good-quality mayonnaise

Juice of one lime

Method

Wash the potatoes thoroughly. Cut each lengthwise into quarters then cut each segment in half again. Dry all thoroughly with kitchen paper.

Place the wedges in a large bowl, add the olive oil and stir well to coat. Add the Cajun seasoning and mix well. Arrange, skin-side down, on a baking sheet and bake at 220C/425F/gas mark 7 for 35 minutes or until crisp. Whisk the lime juice into the mayonnaise and serve with the wedges while they are still warm.

Ingredients for four

2½lbs (one kilo) Desiree potatoes

1tblspn olive oil

3ozs butter

Sea salt

2tblspns fresh, finely chopped chives

1 heaped tblspn fresh grated Parmesan

Method

Peel and dice the potatoes and boil for six minutes in well-salted water. Drain thoroughly. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, add the potatoes and fry briskly, shaking to turn, until lightly browned on all sides.

Drain well on kitchen paper, place in bowl, toss with the chives and Parmesan and turn into serving dish. Get them to the table while still hot.