(I recommend cooking your bacon in the oven. Make sure to save the grease.)
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 butter, milk, bacon grease and some salt. Start mashing slowly and watch out for splatter. Mash until all smooth.
Crumble crispy bacon strips and add them to the potatoes. Add minced herbs and fold it all into mashed potatoes. Taste to see if you need to add more salt.