CHLOE WALSH & THE POTATOES

in my 'bowl of roast potatoes as a snack' era

Apr 10, 2024

I often ask people about their carb totem pole. The premise being that you have to rank the following carbs from favourite to least favourite: pasta, bread, rice and potatoes. More often than not, potatoes come out on top. They aren’t at the top of my personal totem pole, but I feel that a crisp, golden, perfectly salted roast potato is the finest specimen of the humble tattie. It’s my favourite way to eat potatoes and the recipe below is a perfect example of how to treat them well.

Chloe Walsh

, also known as chloecooks__ on IG, is someone I have admired from afar for a long time. I want to eat everything she cooks, her styling and photography is completely delicious and I am dying to sit down with her IRL. Alas, Chloe lives in LA, so that will have to wait, but when I was thinking about who I would like to interview next for TLP, Chloe naturally sprung to mind. Not only is she an inspiration on social media, but she has also just launched her very own Substack, which you should check out if you haven’t already - anchovies & soup.

In this conversation we cover everything from how to start a supper club, to her favourite breakfast and most treasured kitchen tool.

Sending love, Rosie x

For anyone who isn’t familiar with your work, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do?

My name is Chloe and I am a chef, recipe developer, food stylist, supper club host, writer and creative. I am originally from the UK but I have been happily living in Los Angeles for the past 7 years. My days can look quite different depending on what work I have going on. But my job entails developing and testing recipes for other brands, restaurants and other chefs. Sometimes I have a food styling shoot and those days can look quite different - usually up quite early and home quite late. They tend to be long days. If I have a supper club / pop up or brand dinner on the horizon I am usually dedicating a lot of my day to planning, prep and execution for that. I always have a lot of writing to get done – I have a lot of exciting projects that I am working on at the moment. Which hopefully I can reveal soon!

As a fellow Supper Club host, I wonder what your top tips are for any avid cooks out there who would like to start their own but don’t know where to start?

Firstly, I like the vibe to be very casual and relaxed. Anyone that knows me, knows that I act exactly the same as hosting strangers as I would hosting friends. I want it to feel like you are attending a friend's dinner party. Also, I know it is easier said than done - but I try not to sweat the small stuff. There is usually a solution to everything. I begin planning the menu weeks before and consider how everything will be plated. I usually do a mix of plated and family style, but you should do whatever makes you feel most comfortable. I always make sure the table is fully laid the morning of the supper club. Glassware, silverware and all. It is a huge weight off my shoulders to know that is already done. Prep is key! And also considering how each dish is made and timing of everything. I like to have some simple dishes that allow me to relax with my guests a little more, maybe have a sip of wine. And then some more complicated, showstopper dishes too. It’s all about balance. A simple crudo, done really well, could even be the showstopper! My best advice is that, if you can afford it–try to go to some supper clubs before hosting your own. It helped me form opinions of what I wanted and didn't necessarily want as well.

When you first moved to the US from the UK, what was the biggest change to your eating and cooking habits? And was it difficult to make the adjustment?

Gosh! It has been so long now (almost 10 years), it’s hard to even remember. I don’t remember my eating habits really changing that much. I have always eaten a very vegetable heavy, bluezone-esqe diet, even when I lived in the UK. That amplified somewhat I suppose, having the abundance of produce here in California. Thinking about it now, perhaps I honed into that way of eating even more (without really even thinking about it) because we started to shop at the farmers market daily and so it was just inevitable. However, I do remember eating out a lot more too! I think living in a new city and meeting new friends is so exciting, that eating out and socialising just comes with the territory. Especially in that we were in SF, the culinary capital of the US. I think SF (or maybe the bay area) has the most michelin stars within its certain radius. And so I was exposed to tasting menus and very special restaurants earlier on in our move–mainly for the pure excitement of it all! That, and all of our new friends were huge foodies too. And for the first time in my life really, I had the money to enjoy special meals like that.

Congratulations on the launch of your very own Substack, anchovies & soup! Can you tell us a little about why you started it and what readers can expect?

Thank you so much, Rosie! It means so much coming from someone like you, whom I deeply admire! Your writing (and cooking) really inspires me. I am so glad and grateful to be connected. I have been wanting to start a substack for sometime now but perhaps I was scared to commit, but also I felt like the space was perhaps a little saturated. I have so many thoughts on food, life, books, cooking, restaurants, travel and what inspires me. My friends and peers had been asking me to start one for ages too. But, after my mentor and chef from culinary school reached out and begged me to start one, I thought what was the worst that could happen! He told me he loved the way I would describe things, and really enjoyed my other bits of writing (I famously have crazy long captions on IG, that could’ve really been a substack post, ha) and that other people would too. So that was it! It is almost a journal of sorts! Recipes and home cooking pursuits of course but also insight into my daily life, work, travels etc. I have so much to write about it is almost hard to plan it all out. I can be a bit scatty from time to time (as you might get from my writing), and I struggle with dyslexia but I can’t let that stop me from expressing myself! :)

What does a typical morning look like for you?

I usually wake up around 6am naturally and will get up and feed my 3 cats (the loves of my life). I will then make a cup of tea and take it back to bed. I like to work from bed for a bit, so I will grab my laptop from my desk and take it back to bed. By this time my husband is already up, so I am not disturbing him. I will then check emails and get any writing done. I feel most productive / creative first thing in the morning or just as the sun goes down / dusk. I'm not sure why this is, but I know it’s when I get my best work done! After that I will shower and do skincare and will have already mapped out my day. I usually don’t eat until lunchtime, which I know is so bad. But I am just not hungry in the mornings. My sister is exactly the same. So I guess I intermittent fast without meaning to. If I do have anything in the morning, it is usually a matcha with almond or pistachio milk, from my favourite coffee shop, Canyon Coffee. I will go there most mid morning to either catch up with a friend or for a meeting. I have all my meetings there! Once I am home around 10.30am, my working day begins!

If you do have breakfast, what’s your favourite thing to eat?

If I end up having breakfast, and I happen to be at home– it is usually something on toast. It is always savoury, and almost always will include an egg and anchovies. I love charred zucchini on toast in the spring, and summer tomatoes on toast with just salt and black pepper too (when they are in season, ofc).

Describe your perfect day off…

My perfect day off would be.. waking up naturally around 8am after a solid 9 or 10 hours of sleep. Chatting in the kitchen with my husband in the morning before he starts his day. Then heading to Canyon Coffee to meet a friend for matcha. I would then drive to the Westside for lunch in Malibu and most likely order oysters and then some fish and chips, whilst reading whatever book I am reading. Solo lunches are my absolute favourite thing in the world. Then I would go and lay on the beach for a few hours and then head back East before the afternoon rush hour. In the evening I would cook something that we might have both been craving (most likely clams or scallops–we are a seafood loving household) then have a lovely, long everything shower, then go to bed early reading a book.

Describe your most treasured kitchen tool, and tell us a little about why it’s so important to you.

My microplane! I use it for so many things! Grating cheese, zesting lemons, grating nutmeg, grating tomatoes (for pan con tomate). I cannot live without it!

If you could give your 18 year old self advice, what would it be?

Trust your gut / instincts, as they are almost always correct. Don’t lose your sunny disposition, it’s not unrealistic, despite what some people might tell you. And don’t be afraid to dream big, everything starts with an idea!

As we head into Spring, what are you most looking forward to cooking with?

Morel mushrooms! There is nothing better than a fresh morel. I look forward to the abundance of peas and asparagus too of course. I love peas so much and try to cook them in as many ways as possible before the season is over. Also Jersey Royals are not a thing in the US unfortunately, but I love boiled Jersey Royal potatoes. They are so good with a bit of butter & some chopped parsley and mint. I am salivating at the thought right now.

THE POTATOES

*a note from Rosie: I made these as a snack for the warehouse with a sour cream & chive dip and it was breathtaking - highly recommend.

Serves at least 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

8 - 10 medium sized waxy potatoes, peeled

1/4 cup (60ml) of olive oil

2 tbsp of flaky salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to (375f / 175c)
Peel the potatoes (seriously, peel the potatoes this time, it makes a difference).
Cut the potatoes in half or quarters depending on the size, you want each piece to be roughly a couple of inches.
Parboil them in a large saucepan until you can push a fork in, but you don't want them to crumble, they need to stay together still.
Drain the water, put them back in the saucepan, and put the lid back on. Shake them until they look fluffy and all the lines of each potato have softened (this bit's key) be careful not to overdo this as you don't want them to fall apart.
Next, get a roasting pan and put a fairly large amount of olive oil in it and pop it in the hot oven.
When the oil is hot, take the pan out of the oven and gently put the potatoes in, flip them a couple of times so they're covered in oil on all sides.
Salt liberally, if you want you can add fresh rosemary and garlic at this stage.
Put the potatoes in the oven, keeping an eye on them, turning each potato after 20-30 minutes. Keep cooking until they're golden brown on all sides, at least 40 minutes.

Serve them with anything and everything, particularly good with a Sunday roast (ofc!!), as a snack, or FAB for dipping.

CHLOE WALSH & *THE* POTATOES