Mashed vs. roasted: The great potato debate

Posted October 9, 2020 8:50 am.

Last Updated October 9, 2020 1:21 pm.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – From turkey, to gravy, to stuffing, and more. It’s the Friday before Thanksgiving so many of us are planning our dinner menus and talking about our favourite foods.

But what kind of potatoes will you be serving?

It’s a heated topic in the NEWS 1130 newsroom, with Morning Show anchor Amanda Wawryk pitting colleagues against one another over their preference for mashed or roasted potatoes.

Producer Dean Recksiedler thinks roasted is the way to go — but that seems to be an unpopular opinion here.

“For Thanksgiving? Mashed potatoes, come on!” producer Sonia Aslam says. “Obviously mashed potatoes. If you put roast potatoes on the table, I’m going to just push them off the table. It’s pretty simple.”

.@llikemoyd has officially taken on the role of “roving mashed potato reporter” https://t.co/FlWLmUY4cY pic.twitter.com/vzEv2R9fDl

— Hana Mae Nassar (@HanaMaeNassar) October 9, 2020

That sentiment is shared by others, too.

“Not even a question, mashed potatoes. Especially if there’s any gravy involved, mashed potatoes all the way,” anchor Toby Kerr adds.

Others have questioned Dean’s previous experiences with potatoes, wondering if he’s ever had “good” mash in his life.

For web editor Hana Mae Nassar, it’s more of a practical choice.

“Mashed, because you can do the little crater and put the gravy in it, then you mix it up and then create another crater and put some more gravy in it,” she says.

“Mashed all the way, with garlic built in and a lake of butter or gravy on top,” Business editor Richard Dettman adds.

But reporter Ash Kelly points out that “butter is for every other night of the year. Just gravy.”

On the Off Beat reporter Mike Lloyd likes to add a little more to his mashed potatoes, saying a little sour cream instead of milk goes a long way to get that silky smooth texture.

Others in the Rogers Media family seem to agree with the choice of mashed over roasted.

Perry Solkowski from Sportsnet 650 tweets: “Cmon, Mash Potatoes might be the first vegetable you eat as a baby. You’re going to turn your back on them during the holidays? Anyone who votes roasted is a traitor.”

Cmon, Mash Potatoes might be the first vegetable you eat as a baby. You're going to turn your back on them during the holidays? Anyone who votes roasted is a traitor.

— Perry Solkowski (@psolkowski) October 9, 2020

But Dean does have some company on team roasted.

“Roasted potatoes. In what way are mashed potatoes better? They’re nice and crispy, you’ve got pillowy insides. Roasted all the way,” anchor Kurtis Doering says.

And then there are those who just want to watch the world burn.

“Neither – potato pancakes all the way!” writes reporter Monika Gul.