THE POTATO QUEEN’S MASHING RECORDS
POPPY O’TOOLE, 27, @poppycooks, 1.5 million followers WITH her no-nonsense cooking and focus on technical skills, Poppy is the millennials’ answer to Delia Smith.
Having lost her job as a sous chef at a members’ club last March, she was introduced to TikTok by her younger siblings and went viral with her very first video: a recipe for hash browns.
She has already turned those online ‘likes’ into a money-spinning book deal: her debut cookbook, The Food You Need, is out in September. COOKING EXPERIENCE: She skipped university to start out as an apprentice at Michelin-star restaurant Purnell’s before working as a pastry chef. She later became junior sous chef at all-women members’ club AllBright. KNOWN FOR: Her self-confessed love of spuds has earned her the nickname The Potato Queen, with recipes including crunchy confit potatoes.
She can also be found whipping up harissa-spiced salmon, fennel sausage pasta and sweet treats including Bakewell tarts. SHE SAYS: ‘When I lost my job, I decided to start cooking for myself, rather than other people. Using TikTok to get my recipes out into the world has been a silver lining to a horrible year.
‘I shoot all my videos on my iPhone in the flat I share with my boyfriend. I thought I’d spend my life working in kitchens but I now want to continue making content online or on TV.’ SIGNATURE DISH: Lemony garlic roast potatoes. Peel and quarter four to six potatoes, put them in a pan of cold salted water and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 180c/350f/gas 4. Place a tray in the oven with 50ml oil. Drain the spuds and leave to steam dry with a tea towel over them for ten minutes. Toss them so they break down a little.
Put the potatoes on the hot tray and cook for 30 minutes. Mix together the juice of a lemon, 50ml chicken stock, 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp fine semolina, a clove of garlic, minced, and salt and pepper.
Take the spuds out of the oven and turn it up to 200c/390f/gas 6. Pour the lemony liquid over the potatoes, mix and return them to the oven for 30 minutes. Season and sprinkle with parsley.