Poppy O'Toole, the UK's 'Potato Queen', shares her incredible journey from peeling spuds in a pub kitchen to amassing millions of followers on social media and becoming a TV favorite. Her love for potatoes, ignited during lockdown, led her to create viral TikTok videos, a bestselling cookbook, and memorable TV appearances.
When Poppy O'Toole first started peeling potatoes in a pub kitchen, she could hardly have predicted that she would become the UK's ' Potato Queen ', amassing over 5.5 million followers on social media . You might recognise her from her appearances on BBC 1's Saturday Kitchen. Her passion for potatoes was ignited during lockdown when, after nearly a decade in professional kitchens, the Michelin-trained chef found herself jobless due to the hospitality industry's shutdown.
Back home in Bromsgrove, she began filming herself preparing her favourite recipes and sharing them on TikTok under the handle Poppy Cooks. Her video demonstrating how to replicate a McDonald's hash brown at home went viral, leading her to share more potato-based content. This culminated in a '25 days of Christmas potatoes' series, which solidified her status as the 'Potato Queen' and led to the publication of her cookbook, Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need. She has appeared on This Morning with Cat Deeley and Ben Shepherd, danced with TV chef Rosemary Shrager, performed a Mis-Teeq rap for Alesha Dixon, placed fourth on Celebrity Weakest Link, judged on BBC's Young MasterChef, and showcased her potato expertise on Celebrity Mastermind. Meeting Sesame Street's Elmo and receiving a custom-made potato puppet are among her proudest achievements of 2024. Not many can boast such unique accomplishments, reports Birmingham Live. We had a chat with her at Holly Hill Church School in Rubery, where she was showing kids the ropes of slow cooking as part of the Tesco Fruit and Veg for Schools initiative. This £4 million scheme is all about giving youngsters a daily dose of fruit and veg, along with the know-how to use slow cookers. 'When I was peeling potatoes in a pub, I'd never have thought I'd be 'Potato Queen' and really busy on TV and social media,' Poppy from Bromsgrove shared. 'I really put it down to timing and luck.' She recounted how TikTok, initially just a platform for dance videos in her mind, became her stage after a recipe popped up. 'My little brother and sister were into TikTok and a recipe video came up. Until then, I'd thought TikTok was just about dance moves. So I made some churros and shared it and my little sister was really excited. I found I got a buzz from doing it. I made some hash browns using the McDonalds recipe they put out during lockdown and that video got a million views. It was astonishing, it was wild.' Her journey continued with German Cottage Potatoes, which also gained traction, leading her to realise a pattern. 'So next I did some German Cottage Potatoes and that did well and I thought I can see a pattern here. I love potatoes because they are accessible and easy to cook.' The second lockdown saw her embarking on a 25-day potato challenge, showcasing her spud skills and amassing hundreds of thousands of followers. Despite the success, she admitted feeling vulnerable to online criticism. 'When it came to the second lockdown in the November and everyone was at home, I decided to do 25 days of potatoes and went through my potato repertoire. And I got hundreds of thousands of followers. In some ways I felt quite exposed. I remember one person criticised my food and it was upsetting. I felt like I didn't mind them criticising me but not the food because it's really good.' Poppy catapulted to fame with her 'Potato TikTok' voiceover video, which instantly went viral and grabbed the attention of a Bloomsbury publisher, resulting in a book deal. Next thing she knew, TV producers were eager to feature her on their shows. 'That night I went to bed with 200,000 followers and I woke up in the morning and had a million,' Poppy shared, still living in Worcestershire. She couldn't believe the rapid growth of her following, realising something big had happened as people around the globe tuned in. 'I just said yes to everything. I love doing TV. It's completely different to cooking in front of your phone at home. It feels like being in the kitchen again, I love the pressure of it. It's really good fun. Sometimes I forget it's going on TV and I just end up singing, like when I rapped a bit of Miss-Teeq to Alesha Dixon.' Her culinary success even led to a special collaboration with Sesame Street when they toured the UK and introduced Poppy to Elmo - together with a custom potato puppet. 'Elmo has to be one of my absolute highlights,' she revealed, expressing delight over having cooked alongside the lovable character for Sesame Street’s social media, although she lamented not being able to keep the potato puppet souvenir. All this excitement comes as Poppy releases her fourth cookbook. In a Birmingham classroom, Poppy stirred up excitement among the children as they peeled, chopped and cooked vegetables for a veggie casserole, part of the Tesco Fruit and Veg campaig
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