Sear the Beef: Pat the beef chunks dry with kitchen paper and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan or casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the beef in two batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Brown it well on all sides for 5-7 minutes per batch. What works best for me is getting a really deep, dark brown crust. Once browned, transfer the beef to your slow cooker pot.

Sauté the Vegetables: Lower the heat slightly and add the chopped onions, carrots, and celery to the same pan. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have softened and started to colour.

Build the Flavour Base: Add the crushed garlic and tomato purée to the pan and cook for another minute until fragrant. This step cooks out the raw taste of the garlic and deepens the flavour of the tomato.

Create the Roux: Sprinkle the plain flour over the vegetables and stir well to combine. Cook for one minute to cook out the floury taste. This will help to thicken our gravy later on.

Deglaze the Pan: Pour in the red wine, turn up the heat, and bring it to a simmer. As it bubbles, use a wooden spoon to scrape all those delicious browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce by about half. This is a key technique explained well by food historians, noting its importance in classic French and British cooking. For a deep dive, Wikipedia offers a great overview of deglazing.

Combine in the Slow Cooker: Pour the vegetable and wine mixture over the beef in the slow cooker. Add the hot beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Give everything a good stir to combine and season with a little more salt and pepper.

The Slow Cook: Put the lid on and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. The beef should be completely tender when pierced with a fork.

Add the Potatoes: Add the chunks of potato to the slow cooker for the final 2 hours of cooking time (if cooking on low) or the final 1.5 hours (if cooking on high). This ensures they become tender but don't turn to mush.

Thicken and Serve: Just before serving, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. If your gravy is a little thin, you can thicken it. Whisk in 2-3 teaspoons of gravy granules until dissolved, or make a slurry by mixing 1 tbsp of cornflour with 2 tbsp of cold water and stir that in. Put the slow cooker on high for 15 minutes with the lid off to allow it to thicken. Check the seasoning and serve hot.