Achieving the perfect crispy, golden chips at home, akin to those served in restaurants, is a culinary quest for many. While traditional restaurant chips are often deep-fried in sizzling hot oil, three expert chefs have revealed a "golden rule" that allows home cooks to transform basic frozen oven chips into a remarkably crunchy and delicious treat without the mess and health concerns of deep frying.

Celebrity chef George Duran, based in New York, enthusiastically endorsed the air fryer as the superior method for cooking frozen chips. He described it as "putting fries on the fast track to crispy heaven," highlighting its ability to cook chips in record time while delivering that coveted perfect crunch, all without the greasy clean-up associated with deep fryers.

Cookbook author Kelly Jaggers from Texas echoed Duran's sentiment, explaining the scientific reason behind the air fryer's effectiveness. Frozen fries already contain residual oil from being par-fried before freezing. The air fryer works by heating this existing oil to a sizzling temperature, thereby activating it to crisp up the chips perfectly. This ingenious process eliminates the need for additional oil, resulting in extremely crunchy chips without unhealthy amounts of grease.

Further solidifying this advice, chef, restaurant owner, and cookbook author David Nayfeld also championed the air fryer method. He stressed a critical step for optimal results: preheating the air fryer. Nayfeld cautioned that starting with a cold air fryer can lead to uneven cooking and disappointingly soggy chips. He specified that 200 degrees Celsius (200C) is the ideal preheating temperature, defining it as the "sweet spot for crispy, golden fries."

For those who do not possess an air fryer, the chefs offered another valuable tip for achieving crispy chips using a conventional oven. The key, they advised, is to avoid overcrowding the oven tray. Placing too many chips close together can cause them to steam each other rather than fry, thus preventing the development of that desirable fried crunch. By giving chips adequate space, even a conventional oven can produce a satisfyingly crispy result.