Beverley Jarvis, 74, is a cooking a festive three-course meal for eight using her Instant Vortex Plus machine. An air fryer expert, she hopes to convert the nation – and has already had the backing of Great British Bake Off star Prue Leith.
Beverley, from Ashford Kent, started using the kitchen gadget after her son bought her one – and quickly fell in love. She’s now the author of the Everyday Air Fryer Cookbook – and is putting her skills to the test on Christmas Day.
Beverley, a great-grandmother-of-two, said: “I’m doing pigs in blankets, two roast turkey breasts wrapped in bacon, I’m cooking basmati rice in the air fryer for a Christmas salad.
“Honestly the roast potatoes I made were the crispiest potatoes ever and I just used a tablespoon of oil and two teaspoons of goose or duck fat, and they were delicious.
“I’m also doing a vegetable medley including Brussel sprouts, a salmon side with sliced clementines, parmesan crisps to have with drinks and carrot and cranberry muffins.
“Another thing I do is a whole camembert with a little bit of rosemary and garlic – put it in the air frier and a few minutes later you’ve got wonderful dip.
“Prue Leith said ‘I never thought I’d be an air fryer fan, but Beverley Jarvis has me hooked’ – the advantages are amazing to be honest.”
“And It’s three-and-a-half times cheaper to use than an oven.” Beverley first started cooking with an air fryer in May 2022 after her son purchased one and the pair tried cooking frozen sausages and chips in the gadget.
Impressed by how they came out, she went home and immediately bought one of her own. She began experimenting more and quickly realised how versatile the piece of kit was.
And as she developed more recipes, she decided to put together a cookbook.She even ran a demonstration for charity on how to use the air fryer at her local town hall.
She says people were so keen to see her festive grub the demo sold out – and now she encourages friends and family to take the plunge and invest in the gadget.
“One thing that’s fabulous for Christmas is dried clementine slices – they take about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.
“I just cook them on 82 degrees, and they’ll be on display,” said Beverley, who is also a grandmother-of-19 and a mum-of-seven.
“For Christmas dinner, I would cook turkey boned and rolled with bacon around it and parboiled potatoes tossed in little oil and goose or duck fat, they only need a little bit.
“I put the potatoes around the turkey joint, and you’ll find it’s cooked in 55 minutes as opposed to an hour and 40 minutes in the oven .
“I also make an alternative Christmas cake – I’ve got a delicious recipe for a yogurt and oil cake with cranberries and chocolate chips.
“It’s so quick in the air fryer. “What I say to people is if you’re wondering whether to take the plunge, don’t hesitate – you will really benefit from having one in your kitchen.
“I use it every day for almost everything and am now working on my second air fryer cookbook.
“It’s the efficiency of them that I’m so impressed with, they can cook from frozen, reheat food, it can do fish, meat, veg, poultry – the scope is unbelievable.”
