The statement “I love potatoes” came up in a discussion over Wednesday night-dinner and it wasn’t even me who spoke those three words, although I emphatically agree. The statement was said with an infinite amount of gusto and it was clear that there was a deep-seated passion behind it. Roger told me that his standout ways to eat potatoes were gratin style baked with cream and cheese, roasted new potatoes and good old-fashioned chips. The discussion rolled on and all four of us ended up pitching in as we excitedly spoke best ways and bad ways to eat the basic spud. Was a pontiac better than a desiree to roast and what’s the best way to get some crisp?

As the winter chills made their entry in Sydney this week I cooked a traditional Shepherd’s Pie with a piled heap of mash on top and revelled in the comfort and satisfied feeling one gets when eating the humble potato. And not just a winter staple but an all season food, I recall chowing down a jacket potato cooked over campfire at Cooma last year, soaking up the creamy sauce of a gratin my sister cooked for me and I unashamedly admit that I am the aunty who takes a chip off my nephew’s plate if his meal arrives before mine!

So I put it to you; how do you eat your potatoes? And have you tasted a bit of Friday Mash as this is not just some Friday pub special but top nosh mash in my books.