How to make roast potatoes for Christmas dinner - and avoid common mistake

There's a common mistake a chef reckons most people make when cooking up Christmas dinner roast potatoes. Getting your roasties crispy is KEY as you bid for festive feast perfection.

There's a blunder you need to avoid. It could spoil your spuds, Marc Williams, the cookery school director at The Grand - a five-star hotel in York - told the Daily Record.

You should always let your potatoes cool completely after parboiling them, he says. Most of us drain them and put them straight into a roasting pan to go into the oven. That's a BIG mistake, Marc says.

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The chef said: "To get the perfect potatoes, peel them, add them to cold water and bring them to a boil. Boil for around six minutes until the edges soften. Then, strain them and wait until the steam stops. You'll never get a crisp result if they are full of water."

Once your potatoes have fully drained and cooled, there are a few other steps you can take to ensure you get the ultimate crisp - including using seasoning and using the right sort of fat.

Marc added: "Preheat your chosen fat in a hot oven - duck fat is my choice! Don't forget to season the potatoes and then carefully add and baste them in the duck fat. Roast for around twenty minutes in a hot oven before turning them over; this allows a crust to form underneath, so you won't leave half the potato stuck to the tray."

If you want to try something new this year, you could go without the oven and use an air fryer instead. Marc said: "They are fantastic for roast potatoes and cut down