TikToker horrifies viewers by making mashed potatoes out of a bag of chips, and a Michelin-starred chef says the hack is 'ludicrous'

• A TikTok chef went viral for turning a bag of chips into mashed potatoes.
• Eli, of @elis_kitchen, cooks Lay's chips in boiling water, drains them, then adds cheese.
• Michelin-starred chef Brad Carter told Insider he thinks the hack is 'ludicrous.'

From tiny pancakes to the perfect roasted potatoes, TikTok has been a constant source of cooking inspiration over this last year.

But one home chef is taking innovation to a whole new level by transforming a bag of chips into a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Eli, of @elis_kitchen, has become an internet sensation for his "signature cheesy mashed potatoes" video, which has been viewed more than 670,000 times on TikTok as of writing.

To make his special mash, Eli first adds salt and vinegar to a pot of water

After the water comes to a boil, he throws in a small bag of classic Lay's chips, filling the pot.

He cooks the chips until they begin to lose their shape, then drains the pot with a sieve.

Before he finishes the dish, Eli enthusiastically drinks a shot of the cooking liquid.

Then he adds some smoked paprika and plenty of cheese to the dish, mixing it all together before taking a bite - which he called "delicious."

Many viewers weren't sold on Eli's hack, with one person commenting: "No video has ever caused me more pain."

"This feels illegal to watch," one of the most-liked comments reads.

"There's instant mashed potatoes, like why!?" another added.

Turning potato chips into a creamy mash isn't anything new

Chef, restaurateur, and "Chopped" judge Chris Santos told Insider that a fellow judge taught him a hack that can turn potato chips into a flavorful side dish.

"While we were competing against each other, the brilliant chef Alex Guarnaschelli taught me that you can make a deep, satisfying, delicious, silky potato purée by rehydrating potato crisps in cream and then blending," he said.

But Michelin-starred chef Brad Carter thinks the idea (or at least Eli's version of it) is 'ludicrous'

"It looks like sludge and it's obviously not good mashing all that frying oil into your food!" Carter, of Carters of Moseley in Birmingham, England, told Insider of Eli's chip hack. "I'm a purist. A mash is a dish on its own, so it needs respect!"

"Ten out of ten for lockdown innovation though, I must say," he added.

If you'd rather upgrade your mashed potatoes sans chips, there are plenty of other Michelin-starred chef-approved hacks you can use instead.

Los Angeles chef Michael Mina throws olive oil and fresh herbs into his mashed potatoes to give them a Mediterranean twist, while Mari Katsumura, executive chef at Yūgen in Chicago, adds a little wasabi oil to give her mash an extra kick.

To take his mashed potatoes to the next level, Carter adds roasted-beef drippings instead of butter.

"It gives it a taste of roast dinner," he said. "You get this amazing, meaty, British roast dinner-flavored mash."

• Read more:
• 6 easy hacks from Michelin-star chefs to upgrade your mashed potatoes
• The roasted potatoes taking over TikTok were inspired by Emily Blunt's recipe that crashed Ina Garten's website
• The biggest and best TikTok food trends of the year
• I tried Emily Blunt's English roasted potatoes after they crashed Ina Garten's website, and it's one of the tastiest dishes I've ever made