Lead concentrations were measured in boiled, mashed potatoes and in baked potatoes that had been prepared and cooked in domestic kitchens. Levels of lead in the boiled, mashed potatoes ranged from below the 1μg/kg limit of detection up to 18μg/kg with a mean of 6μg/kg (wet weight). In the large majority of cases the lead in the tap water was the predominant source of the metal. Higher amounts of lead (range 11μg/kg to 56μg/kg, mean 27μg/kg) were present in baked potatoes and this was attributed to soil adhering to the potato skin. The extent of leaching of lead from bone during cooking has also been investigated. For beef stocks there was little evidence to suggest that significant migration of bone lead occurred. For beef casseroles, marinaded in red wine, some leaching did occur from beef joints containing elevated amounts of bone lead; however the levels were all below 350μg/kg and, on average, less than double that found in casseroles prepared from normal joints where the bone lead levels were an order of magnitude less.