When celebrity chefs are recognised in the street, they are usually greeted with something like a “we had a great meal at your restaurant, thank you” or “I love your book”. When Poppy O’Toole, the 31-year-old host of Young MasterChef and one of the most famous British chefs on social media (@poppycooks has 4.8 million followers on TikTok; another 1.2 million on Instagram), is recognised in the street, it’s something a bit less fawning. “I get, ‘Oi, potato lady!’ shouted at me,” she says, laughing. “It’s quite weird, but I guess that’s where people know me from.”
She is known for her hundreds of mouthwatering recipes for potato dishes. Not just jacket, roasted, mashed or chips, but golden hash browns, battered chips and golden loaded fries, earning her the title of the “high priestess of potatoes” from Nigella Lawson. It’s fair to say, especially this week, that she’s not only a champion of the potato.
O’Toole has made a point of calling out sexism in the food industry, as well as talking about her own experiences in “toxic” work environments. Last Monday, posting on her Instagram account she expressed frustration about the chef Jason Atherton, who had claimed he hadn’t seen any sexism in the industry. O’Toole posted: “It is disappointing to see a leader in our industry diminish the experiences of those who have spoken out openly about the sexism in the hospitality industry. Speaking on my experiences in Michelin-starred kitchens, I’ve had an employer grab my arse at a public event, tell me what sexual positions they’d want me in front of my entire team.”
She added: “Let’s not continue to ignore a problem.” The post prompted an outpouring from female chefs about their experiences. By Wednesday, an open letter condemning sexism and inequality in the industry was signed by 70 female chefs and hospitality workers. It’s unlikely the campaign will end there.
It’s a busy week for O’Toole. She’s about to publish her fourth set of recipes, The Potato Book. For O’Toole potatoes are far from a humble vegetable. When we speak — before the Atherton interview — she said. “I’ve always loved them. My first job was at a pub where I had to peel potatoes,” she says. “Their versatility makes potatoes universal. Every single culture or country you visit has a potato dish and a lot of other countries do much more with potatoes than us.”
Five years ago, O’Toole had just lost her job working as a chef in the kitchen of a high-end London restaurant as the pandemic started. As the country shut down, O’Toole moved back in with her mum and stepdad in their house in Bromsgrove, outside Birmingham.
Bored and trying to distract herself from applying for jobs, O’Toole began making videos of herself cooking at home, then sharing them on TikTok. “There was a lot of trial and error,” she says. “But the stuff I was best at — and what was most popular — was always the carby stuff like potatoes.”
Over the next 12 months, O’Toole’s profile went stratospheric. She created a video series on TikTok called 25 Days of Christmas Potatoes, which racked up millions of views. Within a year she had a deal to publish her first book, Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need.
O’Toole’s most famous potato recipe is her layered potato parfait that takes 15 hours to cook from start to finish. “It’s golden and crispy and so indulgent,” she says. But there is something for everyone in the book — including people who don’t have almost an entire day to cook.
She has written a chapter dedicated to mashed potatoes, including a recipe with hot honey and bacon. I can’t wait to make one recipe that combines two ingredients of my favourite things: Marmite and roast potatoes. “It gives them a really savoury umami flavour.” After fluffing up your potatoes, mix with Marmite and add to hot oil in a roasting tray.
Can she see herself getting bored with spuds and moving on to another vegetable? Parsnips? Squash? Carrots? “Never. I love potatoes too much.”
I doubt it’s the last we’ll hear from her fighting against sexism in kitchens either
This mash includes mozzarella, red Leicester and cheddar
ELLIS PARRINDER
Three cheese mash
Serves 2
Ingredients
• 600g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2cm rounds
• 50g mozzarella, grated
• 50g mature cheddar, grated
• 50g Red Leicester, grated
• 50g butter
• 50–75ml double cream
• Salt and white pepper
Method
1. Pop the potato slices into a saucepan of heavily salted cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave on a gentle boil for around 20 min, until the slices fall off the tip of a knife. Drain in a colander.
2. Put the colander back on the empty pan on the turned-off hob ring, cover the potatoes with a clean tea towel and leave them to steam-dry for 5 min.
3. In a small saucepan over a low heat, melt together the cheeses and butter with 50ml of the double cream. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Portion by portion, while still hot, pass the steam-dried potatoes through a sieve or potato ricer into a bowl, or mash with a potato masher.
5. Fold the cream mixture into the potato while both are still hot so they combine properly. If the mash is looking a bit thick, warm the remaining cream and add that too. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Roast potatoes with shallots and white wine
ELLIS PARRINDER
Wine and shallot roast potatoes
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 800g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 100ml neutral oil
• 200ml white wine
• ½ shallot, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 50g butter, cubed
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves finely chopped
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper
Method
1. Get your potatoes into a saucepan of cold water, crumble in the stock cube and season with a touch of salt. Place the pan over a high heat and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave the potatoes on a gentle boil for 10–15 min, until they fall off the tip of a knife. Drain in a colander.
2. Leave the potatoes in the colander, over the pan on the turned-off hob, to steam-dry with a tea towel over the top for 10-15 min.
3. Heat the oven to 220C fan/gas 9 and get the oil into a baking tray. Pop the tray in the oven to get the oil hot.
4. Once the spuds have steam-dried, carefully add them to the hot oil in the baking tray. Pop in the oven for 20 min, then remove. Turn the heat down to 180C fan/gas 6. Give the potatoes a turn and return them to the oven for 30 min, until golden and crunchy. You may need less or more time, so keep an eye out.
5. During the last 15 min of the roasting time, make your reduction. Get a large, high-sided frying pan or sauté pan and add the wine, shallot and garlic. Place over a high heat and bring the liquid to a rapid boil until reduced by about half. Reduce the heat and, little by little, whisk in the butter and chopped herbs, until you have a velvety sauce.
6. Once the potatoes are cooked and golden brown, take out of the oven, toss in the saucy reduction and season with salt and black pepper.
Potato salad with parsley, mint, chives and capers
ELLIS PARRINDER
Herby potato salad with parsley, mint, chives and capers
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 500g baby potatoes
• 30g flat-leaf parsley, stalks removed
• 30g chives 4–5 dill sprigs
• 4–5 mint sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra to garnish (optional)
• 1 tbsp capers, drained
• Zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 3 tbsp full-fat cream cheese
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 1 x 50g tin of anchovies, drained and roughly chopped
• ½ shallot, finely sliced
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• Salt and black pepper
Method
1. Tip the potatoes into a saucepan of cold heavily salted water. Place the pan over a high heat and bring the water to the boil. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 min, until they fall off the tip of a knife. Drain in a colander and leave to cool completely.
2. In a small blender, add all of the herbs, along with the capers, lemon zest and juice and cream cheese. Season well with salt and pepper, then blitz until smooth, dribbling in the olive oil and a splash of water to loosen and help everything blend. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
3. Slice the potatoes into large chunks and put them into a large bowl with the pine nuts, anchovies, shallot and spring onions. Spoon over the dressing and toss everything together to coat. You can sprinkle a little extra chopped mint on top too.
Smashed potatoes are a great alternative to nachos
ELLIS PARRINDER
Smashed potato nachos
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 1.2kg Maris Piper potatoes, halved (no need to peel)
• Salt and black pepper
For the spiced oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 2 tbsp olive oil
For the pickled red onions
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• Juice of 3-4 limes
• A pinch of caster sugar
To serve and garnish
• 1 ripe avocado
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Small bunch of coriander, leaves finely chopped
• 3 slices of processed cheese
• Splash of whole milk, or as needed
• Sour cream
• Sliced pickled jalapeños
• Sliced red chilli
• Sliced spring onions
Method
1. Get your potatoes into a saucepan of heavily salted cold water. Place the pan over a high heat and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave on a gentle boil for 20-25 min, until the potatoes fall off the tip of a knife. Drain in a colander. Place the colander over the pan on the turned-off hob and leave to steam-dry with a tea towel over the top for 5-10 min.
2. Heat your oven to 180C fan/gas 6.
3. On a large baking tray, space out the potatoes and use the bottom of a jar or tin to press them down and crush them so they have lots of edges to go crispy.
4. To make the spiced oil, mix together the smoked paprika, garlic granules and a big pinch each of salt and pepper with the olive oil. Use some of this to brush all over the potatoes, then roast them in the oven for 30-40 min, before flipping them over, brushing with a little more spiced oil, and roasting for 15-20 min more, until the spiced oil has turned a dark red and the potatoes are cooked and crispy.
5. Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the pickled red onions (you want just enough lime juice to cover them) and leave them to soften and infuse for at least 10 min, then set aside.
6. De-stone the avocado and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Smash the avocado with a fork and mix through the red onion, lime juice and chopped coriander. Season well with salt and pepper.
7. In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave the cheese slices with the splash of milk, on full power in 30-second bursts. Stir after each burst, until the cheese has melted to a sauce. Add in a bit more milk if it is a little thick.
8. Layer up the potatoes with the pickled onions, dollops of guacamole and sour cream, and a few jalapeño and chilli slices, then drizzle with the cheese sauce and garnish with a sprinkling of spring onions.
Poppy O’Toole’s tips for perfect mash
• Slice your potatoes into 2cm-thick rounds, so that they cook evenly.
• Cook in a wide, deep pan so your potato slices can fit into a single layer. If they’re overlapped the bottom slices will cook quicker than the ones on top.
• Be generous with the amount of salt in your water — it should taste like the sea.
• Don’t boil the water — keep to a simmer, to help the potatoes cook more evenly.
• Steam-dry your spuds: drain in a colander and place this back on top of the pan. Place a tea towel over the colander to lock in the steam, for about 5 min, so the potatoes are paler around the outside and crumbling away.
When it comes to mashing, pass the potatoes in small portions through a sieve/potato ricer/masher and add the butter at the same time. This coats the starchy potatoes to keep them fluffy. Add in a dollop of warmed double cream and stir to combine.
Extract taken from The Potato Book by Poppy Cooks (Bloomsbury, £22 Hardback). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members
