They’re the main attraction.
Getting them cooked to a perfect golden brown on the outside and fluffy on the inside can be a bit of a tricky feat.
Make sure your Christmas dinner is as delicious as possible by planning ahead of Christmas Day.
every time.
The pro says it’s not about the type of spud you use – he reckons you can just pick the one you like best.
‘I get asked all the time which potato is the best, but I reckon you could give me any type of spud and I could still whip up a top-notch roast potato.’
It’s all about how you cook them, and you don’t want to overcook.
‘You’ve got to peel the potatoes, chop them up so they’re all the same size and cook ’em slowly in boiling water, so they cook through gentle-like, without the outside gettin’ overcooked and the inside stayin’ raw,’ he says.
‘So you want to chuck some lard in a hot tray and shove it in a ripper of an oven – usually around 220 to 230 degrees Celsius – and just cook the arse off them, giving them a good stir every now and then. You’ll find they turn out nice and crispy on the outside but still light and fluffy on the inside. That’s the trick that works a treat for me every time.’
If you’re after adding some herbs to your potatoes to give ’em a bit of a boost, Marcus reckons he’s got some suggestions, depending on what meat you’re serving ’em with.
If it’s lamb, you’ll want to go for some cracked black pepper, Maldon salt, rosemary and garlic, for beef just keep it simple with garlic and thyme, and if you’re having chicken you’re serving, he reckons you can add a bit of everything.
But there’s one thing you won’t ever catch the chef putting on his roast potatoes, and that’s Vegemite.
A recipe that’d gone viral on social media claimed that drizzling Marmite over your potatoes would make ’em extra crispy when cooking, but according to Marcus, that’s ‘absolute rubbish’.
The most bizarre things he’s come across in eateries.
A restaurant in Seven Dials, Marcus, and it turns out there are two things he wants customers to stop doing.
The first one’s all about being on your phone, something many of us are pretty guilty of doing.
‘You don’t have to take a photo of yourself eating your meal. Just have your dinner and appreciate the people you’re sharing it with.’
The chef said it’s a bit strange how fixated we are on scrolling on our phones when we’re out and about.
‘One of the things I see a lot in restaurants is people stuck to their mobile phones. It could be a romantic dinner or just people going out with their mates, but you see them and they’ve just got their noses buried in their phones. I find it quite strange. You’re supposed to be out for a specific reason.’
And the other thing Marcus really wishes people would stop doing is grizzlin’ after they’ve had their tucker.
‘Aussies never have a word to say when they’re dining in the restaurant, most just seem to accept their meal even if it’s not up to scratch,’ he says. ‘They’ll put up with it and then send an email or write a scathing review on TripAdvisor.’
‘Good restaurants want to make sure customers are having a great time, so if you mention something during your meal, they might fix the issue or give you a complimentary drink, like a glass of champagne, to turn your experience around.’
Do you have a yarn to spin?
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