Is this the secret to the perfect roast potato? Asda development chef says adding a store cupboard ingredient is key (and turning every five minutes!)

TikTok chef, author and Young Masterchef judge Poppy O’Toole started making recipe videos at the start of the pandemic after losing her job, moving back in with her parents and becoming frustrated that her siblings weren’t paying attention to her.

Three years later, she has 4.1 million followers, has made countless TV appearances and even traveled around Peru, helping to raise almost £200,000 for the charity Action Against Hunger.

However, she still makes TikToks at home and focuses on the humble foods that Brits love: chips, hash browns and the classic Sunday lunch.

She’s set to take the internet by storm again this summer after collaborating with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s to share new recipes Brits can use to take their frying game to the next level – even in the scorching heat.

MailOnline sat down with Poppy for an exclusive interview to find out all about the perfect summer roast and how she turned into one of the UK’s best-known chefs.

Poppy is a big fan of Sunday roasts and takes pride in creating content that will help her millions of fans up their game. But now she wants to go further.

Citing Censuswide research for Sainsbury’s, she told MailOnline she was also seeing demand for lighter versions of the roast dinner.

She said: “Funnily enough, when I was a kid I never liked roast dinners because they were on Sundays, so I knew I had to go to school tomorrow.

“Since I’m now a full-fledged adult, one of my favorite things to do each week is prepare a roast dinner. To think that people don’t have it in the summer and that they are deprived of it because it’s warm outside is just wrong.”

The centerpiece of the lighter roast, which Poppy has created in collaboration with Sainsbury’s, is not a whole cut of meat, but pork chops with ‘nduja butter, which can be bought ready-made in UK stores.

Simply sear the chops on each side for one minute, then bake in the oven for 12 minutes, then add the nduja oil and cook for two more.

Poppy said the ‘nduja chops “have a Mediterranean flavor that you don’t get in a roast dinner.”

She paired them with slow-roasted confit tomatoes, a simple recipe that involves roasting tomatoes with garlic and fresh thyme.

The chef’s recipe says to mix 250 ml of oil, two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, one tablespoon of salt and two teaspoons of sugar, then add chopped garlic and fresh thyme to the tomato dish and pour over the oil mixture. Then bake on low heat for 90 minutes.

The crowned potato queen recommends swapping heavy, lard-baked potatoes for lemon-roasted ones for a lighter, more summery alternative.

Poppy advises boiling the potatoes for about 15 minutes before leaving them to air dry.

Then toss the potatoes until fluffy – this will give every fried potato the crunch it needs. Cook in hot oil in the oven for 30 minutes.

While cooking, mix lemon juice, two teaspoons each of oregano and semolina, and garlic. Remove the potatoes from the oven, add the mixture plus additional lemon slices and cook for another 30 minutes.

She added: “I also mix the ingredients with a little broth, chicken or vegetable, which soaks into it and you get that lovely extra flavour, then add a little semolina for a little extra crunch.

“The citrus hit really lifts the mood. The potatoes can be quite heavy, but they are a little rich and crunchy, but the lemon just comes through. This is what I love to do.

“The traditional roast is meat and gravy, and I just wanted to expand it into something very summery that people would want to have even when it’s really hot outside.

“It’s so easy to recreate things like this at home.”

No roast would be complete without gravy, and Poppy makes it. Simply wrap the garlic bulb in foil and place it in the same pan as the potatoes to bake.

Next, fry a couple of shallots and then add a glass of Sauvignon Blanc to the pan. Mash the fried garlic into a paste and add. Then pour in the broth and gradually add the cornmeal until it thickens.

For a special occasion finishing touch, add some fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme and parsley.

This sauce goes especially well with Poppy’s giant Yorkshire pudding, which you can make in the air fryer.

To prepare, simply mix four eggs, 140g flour and 220ml milk. Add small bunches of fresh rosemary, thyme and lemon zest, then let the mixture cool for an hour.

Next, heat the oil in a deep fryer pan to 190°C and then cook the mixture for five to eight minutes until it is golden and crispy.

Serve in the center of the table with a handy pan of gravy in which to dip the pudding.

Just three years ago, Poppy never imagined she’d be cooking this new summer roast for her four million online followers.

In March 2020, she was approaching ten years as a junior sous chef in London. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and she lost her job almost immediately.

She told MailOnline she decided to move back in with her parents and younger siblings so her dogs would have access to the garden.

“I thought we were going to be locked up for three weeks,” Poppy said.

“When I got home, my little brother and sister were just scrolling through TikTok and didn’t pay any attention to me!” But then they showed me how someone cooks there, and I thought: ok, let’s make a recipe, let’s do something.

“So we just started making recipes there, mainly so they would think I was cool and give me some attention.”

Her platform was very small at first and she used it to “occupy her mind” while looking for other chef jobs to apply for.

But messages from followers and key workers thanking her for sharing her recipes and cooking experiences made a difference: “I thought, I’m actually teaching people, teaching things that I didn’t realize were important at the time.” .

“That’s when I realized I wanted to continue. Because if I can teach a recipe that can make someone’s day better, that’s what I’ll do.”

Four months later, Poppy received her first collaboration request from a kitchen brand and decided to see if she could turn her platform into the next step in her career.

Her TikTok account started getting more and more attention and then started gaining momentum when one of her videos in which she recreated a brown McDonald’s style went viral on social media.

But it was a challenge. Poppy told MailOnline how just after a video she posted first hit 100,000 views, TikTok “broke” – meaning everything was deleted from her account.

She continued: “Before this, I also didn’t have social media. This was completely new to me.

“Being able to figure out how it works was just amazing and exciting, and I’m very grateful to all the people who like my content.”

Although those early days are a thing of the past, Poppy says she still regularly has “pinch me” moments when she can’t believe what she has achieved.

“A few years ago I was working in the kitchen and just enjoying my job as a junior sous chef, so it was a big turnaround, the trajectory of my life was completely different at that point.

“There are so many pinch-me moments happening all the time. It doesn’t stop because I never thought I’d be in this position.

“The first time was when one of my videos got 100,000 views. That was also the first time the media became interested in what I had done. And that’s when I realized that people were listening to what I had to say.”

She explained how she copes with her new fame without admitting everything that is written on social networks.

“I’ve always been able to enjoy life no matter what happens, which also helps with social media.

“At some point I had to decide: I no longer look at all my comments. I still look at a lot of them and answer them the first day or so, but after that I just skim through.

“I don’t want to stay quiet about things at all, but sometimes I don’t need to know it all. This is how I deal with it.

“Everyone is going to get criticized and trolled, that’s how the internet works and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

“But given the opportunity to express my point of view, for example on International Women’s Day, I can’t help but use my platform to do so, it would be foolish not to do so. It’s not something I shy away from.”