Why the Food24 team loves the humble roast

Memories with our loved ones and family are often filled with moments surrounded by delicious food, sitting together and enjoying one another’s company.

Whether it is just another Sunday or the festive season, the humble roast forms part of our most memorable moments. The Food24 team shares what made their humble roast dinners memorable and a few hidden foodie tips for preparing a scrumptious roast!

Tessa Purdon, head of content, favours the classic roast potatoes. “I am going to have to go with roast potatoes – cooked in duck fat. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.”

Tessa also shares that her cooking tip for a roast is to always have gravy – “it’s the secret sauce that completes a roast”.

A humble roast would be nothing without crispy potatoes, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside – a pairing that goes with pretty much anything as Lauren Goldman, commissioning editor for Food24 points out that the best roast potatoes she’s had are from her loved ones and her favourite restaurant.

“I love roast potatoes. The women in my family all make excellent roast potatoes (everyone except for me!) but the best I’ve ever had were at The Test Kitchen Origins. (Don’t tell my gran that!)”

For perfect delicious and tender meat, Lauren advises to not overcook the meat but rather allow it to rest for enough time before carving.

Lauren Josephs, Food24 managing editor, fondly remembers Sunday roasts growing up as moments of setting the table with her cousins and sharing a roast potato that was nicked from the kitchen.

Another staple of this much-loved meal is roast chicken and Lauren attributes her memories to her grandmother’s cooking.

“The fragrant smell of the spicy rub my gran used before covering her chicken with foil and popping it into the oven. The golden, crispy skin on the outside and the soft, juicy meat on the inside was always just right. She never got it wrong,” Lauren adds.

Adding to the list of tips, Lauren says that it’s best to prepare and cut all the vegetables needed for the roast the day before and to stick to no more than two veggie options to focus all your time on the “stars of the roast”.

Food24 content producer Bianca Jones credits her grandmother’s memorable roast chicken stuffing as her fond memories of a roast dinner with loved one’s.

“My gran used to make a super easy roast chicken stuffing but only for special occasions – the smell of roast chicken cooking with that stuffing reminds me so much of my gran, also it’s my favourite chicken stuffing recipe ever to this day!”

Potatoes are a hit with the team! They are also the go-to favourite for Tarryn Corlett, head of the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund & Food School Trust.

“Duck fat roast potatoes with a dollop of butter!”

When it comes to roast cooking tips, Tarryn adds that making your own gravy makes the world of difference and there is no such thing as too much glaze on the roast chicken.

Roast dinners are a labour of love, laced in nostalgia, duck fat and gravy! But you don’t have to slave over a hot oven to create this happy memory – McCain’s brand-new range of roast vegetables comes with a delicious glaze and is the perfect accompaniment to a roast chicken, lamb, fish, or whatever takes your fancy this summer. Enjoy either McCain Classic Roast Vegetables with Balsamic Glaze or McCain Mediterranean Roast Vegetables with Harissa Glaze – and if you want to tell your family the hard work is all yours, we won’t tell anyone.