Top TV Chefs Chefs' Christmas tips - roast potatoes

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1. Heston Blumenthal's tip: Two cooking stages (Image 1 of 8)

Fluffy on the inside, golden on the outside - just a Christmas potato pipe dream? We asked our Channel 4 chefs and others around Britain for their top tips on how to make the best roast potatoes.

Heston Blumenthal's tip: Two cooking stages
"The key is two cooking stages. Cook them in water first and then oil. The type of potato is important, you need a floury potato, but you have to cook them for as long as you possibly can without them completely disintegrating. They need to really start breaking up, so the outside's almost pureed. And then, really delicately, lift them out of the water... be careful, if you just tip the pan out they'll start pureeing because they're so soft.

Then get your oil, and make sure you've got enough - a lot of people don't put enough oil in the pan. Baste them first so they're covered in the oil, then a really hot oven and keep turning them. That way you get this glass-like crust - but they're really fluffy."

Heston Blumenthal, OBE, is owner of 3 Michelin-starred The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire.

For great Christmas recipes check out 4Food's Christmas delights