Meet the self-proclaimed Potato Queen who wants schoolchildren to veg-out!

A peek inside most classrooms these days likely unearths an abundance of social media geniuses, but millions of clueless cooks. Smartphones and social media might be stock-in-trade for today’s on-trend Generation Alpha but some things never change: noses turned at the prospect of a plateful of fresh fruit and veg.

Those of a certain vintage will remember Fanny Craddock – Britain’s first celebrity chef – who attempted to salivate a hungry nation with post-war recipes for cold mushroom soufflé, steamed puddings and heavy soup. And despite a never-ending carousel of chefs trying to make the preparation and cooking of food engrossing for kids, most have failed.

But the curse of parents, their little darling’s obsession with the internet coupled with a reluctance to eat their greens, could finally be a blessing.

Social media superstar and influencer Poppy O’Toole became an overnight sensation after sharing her love for the humble spud during lockdown.

Raised on a diet of legendary TV cooks like Keith Floyd, Delia Smith and Rick Stein, the Michelin-trained chef is popularly known as The Potato Queen. And today the sovereign of the stove might well hold the key to getting a generation of kids to eat and enjoy their veggies.

She has amassed an army of five million fans on Instagram and Tik Tok pumping out videos mixing easy-to-understand recipes and lip-smacking recipes which are a mash made in heaven for tech-savvy kids.

Poppy is now the face of Tesco’s Fruit & Veg for Schools drive, a first-of-its kind £4 million scheme that will see 140,000 primary and secondary kids at 400 primary and secondary establishments across the UK eat at least one piece of fresh fruit or veg every day.

Giving a masterclass at Mandeville Primary School in Hackney, East London, ironically just a stone’s throw from where Fanny was born in Leytonstone, excited pupils hung on her every word.

She said: “Fruit and veg are not horrible and boring. It can be so interesting and there are so many things you can do.

“We concentrate so much on protein, but there is so much you can do with veg. There is just such a variety and the combinations are amazing.

“We’re so used to having meat as the focus but we need to think about what we can do with a bowl of greens. Can it go into a frittata? Can it be chopped up and sautéed in a different way? Or is it better to blend it and make something else?

“But, yes, you can make delicious, wholesome, filling food with fruit and veg – 100 per cent.

“It’s fundamental to teach kids this and where food comes from, to see how it’s grown and the amount of work that goes into producing fruit and veg, and the amazing benefits of it.

“Picking up a chocolate bar is as easy as picking up a nectarine, it’s the same movement, it’s just one is going to do so much more than the other.”

Proud Brummie Poppy, 30, was toiling as an executive chef at an all-female members club in London’s exclusive Mayfair when Covid erupted in 2020 and she lost her job.

But it proved to be a blessing in disguise. Her fiancé Tom encouraged Poppy to continue her passion for potatoes by filming short, fun-filled videos and pumping them out on social media.

She said: “It was a big turning point for me. I lost my job in lockdown, had zero followers online, no plan, and no idea what I was doing.

“I thought, ‘actually I don’t have any income so maybe I can make this work’. I decided to give it a go and film myself making my favourite recipes.

“After a few months my first went viral – the McDonalds hash brown. Overnight, my following skyrocketed and that boost encouraged me to keep going and sharing what I know. And what I know really well is potatoes. My first job was in a pub peeling spuds, so clearly it was always meant to be. Since then I’ve never looked back.”

Poppy has appeared on This Morning, Saturday Kitchen, alongside her idol Jamie Oliver and as a judge on Young MasterChef, in addition to penning best-selling books. She has to pinch herself to comprehend her stratospheric rise to stardom.

She said: “My grandad Clive always said I was going to do something good, but I didn’t know what that was. He just said, ‘You’ve got something’.

“He and my nan Vicky were big foodies, well my nan was. We would sit down and watch Keith [Floyd], Rick [Stein], Jamie and Delia religiously and she would have all their books. We were all obsessed with food.

“When she passed away he had to start cooking and one day my mum came home and we were sitting eating a raw onion and some cheese. That was his level of cooking. But I loved it.

“Everything that comes my way now I just think how and why? But they would be absolutely blown over. I don’t think they could be prouder. What’s happening to me would be a shock to them, but such an amazing one.

“Saturday Kitchen was the thing I used to watch every single week with my grandparents and my mum. I have to pinch myself knowing we watched the TV shows I now get to go on.

“When I am out and about I get recognised as The Potato Queen and, oh my God, I love it, absolutely love it. I couldn’t have a better title.

“I still do all my own videos, my own food styling and recipes, so it’s really personal. The thing I like doing is just being normal. So The Potato Queen is exactly what I would always want to be called.”