The British Potato Council (BPC) packed a punch in its promotion of home-grown spuds this week, by inviting Hell’s Kitchen winner and former World Boxing Association champion Barry McGuigan to make his now infamous mash for a panel of high-profile foodies.
The Mash Challenge saw McGuigan, right, and 20 catering students from Hammersmith & West London College battle it out to find the ultimate recipe. The panel blind-tasted McGuigan’s recipe against 16 other mash variations made with three potato varieties - King Edward, Wilja and Desiree - mashed with different combinations of hot and cold milk, butter, olive oil, single cream and crème fraiche.
The mash was then judged for flavour, colour, texture, consistency and creaminess. McGuigan’s recipe, made with Desiree potatoes, butter, milk and salt, came out on top. A student recipe, using Desiree potatoes, butter, milk, two egg yolks, salt and pepper, came in second, followed by Wilja mash with butter and milk.
McGuigan said: “I grew up on potatoes, so I know that they are a fundamental part of our diet and very healthy as a source of complex carbohydrate. I jumped at the challenge of making the mash on Hell’s Kitchen and loved every minute of it, so it was the biggest compliment when Marco [Pierre White] said it was one of the finest he had ever tasted.”
McGuigan’s performance on the prime-time TV show has generated new interest in mash, and the BPC has seen a significant increase in hits on its website’s mash pages this autumn.
But a survey conducted for the BPC of more than 2,000 adults shows that many are not sure which potato varieties to use to make the best mash and are not aware that adding hot instead of cold milk makes all the difference.
Kathryn Race, BPC marketing director, said: “Barry’s performance has pushed mash back into the limelight, yet people are still missing a trick. Adding hot or warm milk gives a much lighter, melt-in-the-mouth feel, and it is best to use a floury potato variety.”
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