Grate cheese and chop chives while potatoes are cooking, set aside.
Bring a pot of water to boil while peeling the potatoes. Cut potatoes into large chunks. Cutting the potatoes will make it faster to cook and easier to mash.
Add potatoes to the pot.
Add bay leaf and some salt. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are cooked all the way through and starting to fall apart.
Drain water out of the potatoes.
Add chopped butter, milk, ground white pepper, and some salt. Start mashing slowly and watch out for splatter. Mash until all smooth.
Fold cheese into potatoes with a wooden spoon until evenly combined. Fold in chives. Taste to see if you need to add more salt.