Potatoes aren't glamorous... I wanted to do them justice

CHEF POPPY O'TOOLE TALKS TO ELLA WALKER ABOUT HER NEW BOOK, DEDICATED WHOLLY TO THE DELICIOUS, VERSATILE VEG

- CHEF POPPY O'TOOLE

THE sheer amount of butter, cream and, of course, potatoes, used in the making of Poppy O’Toole’s new cookbook is quite astounding.

Actually, the word Poppy uses, with a wicked laugh, is “heinous”.

“Heinous amounts!” she says.

“We came into the studio to shoot the book and one whole fridge shelf was just blocks of butter, and another shelf was just cheese and cream. I was like, ‘Wow, this is what dreams are made of. This is incredible’ There was, like, 50 kilos of potatoes under the counter, and then just cheese and butter everywhere. It was beautiful.”

All of it was in service of The Potato Book, a collection of recipes that take the humble spud and elevate it to levels of previously unseen glitz and glamour.

There's whipped clouds of mash displayed in coupe glasses, confit garlic butter potatoes cooked over 15 hours and crisped into Turner Prize-worthy sculptures, and a potato cake that is a tiered, wedding cake alternative, complete with potato smiley faces - which Poppy, 31, now makes for her birthday each year.

“Potatoes are so not glamorous, so I really wanted to do them justice,’ says Poppy affectionately.

Her love of the starchy tuber is completely understandable.