Heat the oven to 180ºC. Roughly chop the carrots, celery and onions and scatter into a roasting tin. Top with the chicken wings and thyme stems. Season well with salt and pepper and slide into the oven for an hour, until deeply golden.

In the meantime, peel the potatoes for your croquettes. Cut into quarters and add to a large pan. Add a tbsp of salt and cover with cold water. Bring to boil then cook for around 20 mins, until totally soft. Drain and allow to steam dry for 5–10 mins, then mash or put through a ricer, cover, and chill in the fridge until cold.

Remove the tray from the oven and toss in the flour, stir to coat, adding a splash of water to help scrape up any flavour from the bottom of the roasting tin — it should look like the wings and veg are coated in a sandy paste. Tip into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then turn to a simmer and cook for 20–30 mins, then tip through a sieve into a large shallow frying pan. Place over a high heat, add the Marmite, and cook for 20 mins further, until really thick. tip into a bowl and set aside to cool.

Remove the potatoes from the fridge, add 1 egg and season well with lots of salt and pepper. Crack the remaining eggs into a shallow bowl and whisk together. Tip the flour into another bowl and the breadcrumbs into a final bowl. Working with one at a time, shape a tbsp of the mashed potato into an oval shape, then repeat with the rest of the potato mix. Drop each oval into the flour bowl, then the egg bowl and finally into the breadcrumb bowl, then line out onto a baking tray.

Tip the oil into a large deep saucepan, use enough oil to come around half way up the side of the pan. Place over a high heat and heat the oil until it reaches 180ºC.

Whilst the oil heats, make the mayo. Add the egg yolk to the bowl and whisk in the dijon mustard along with a small squeeze of the lemon half. Add a tiny splash of oil and whisk well. Slowly add the oil, a tiny splash at a time, whisking vigorously with each addition, until it starts to thicken and emulsify. Keep adding the oil, you can add a little more liberally once it’s emulsified, until you have a thick mayonnaise. Add 2–3 tbsp of the thick gravy and whisk well. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Line a baking tray with kitchen paper. Once the oil is heated, add the croquettes, 3–4 at a time, and fry until golden and crisp. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside on the lined tray. Season with a pinch of salt. Repeat with the rest of the croquettes.

Serve the crispy croquettes with the gravy mayo, topped with a big crack of black pepper.