Ready steady cook

ANTHONY Worrall Thompson, champion of locally sourced and ethically raised produce and a passionate advocate of indulgence, is one of the star names at Taste of Edinburgh. He and other leading chefs at the event reveal a few of their foodie dreams and nightmares...

I blame Fanny Cradock. She's the one who – with Johnnie by her side – started the whole TV celebrity chef trend. And since then, there has been no shortage of them – there's Delia and Hugh, Jamie and Nigella. Gary, Keith, Rick and James. And, of course, there's Antony.

My favourite story about Antony Worrall Thompson – he of Ready, Steady, Cook, Saturday Cooks and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! – is that he's the man who made a cake that was so calorific a health warning had to be attached to it. In this age of food evangelism, when the number of hours that we spend parked in front of the television watching other people cook seems to be in inverse proportion to the number of hours we actually spend cooking, it's a treat that Worrall Thompson is willing to admit food is as much a pleasure as a moral duty, and that sometimes he just wants to throw a knob of butter and a gurgle of cream into his baked beans. Despite his outspokenness and his scarcely hidden delight in food that's calorifically intense, Antony Worrall Thompson is serious about what we eat and even abstemious when it comes to what he scoffs. "I'm on a permanent diet," he says with only a hint of exasperation.

A prolific cookery writer and restaurateur, Worrall Thompson's been cooking on the box since the idea of a celebrity chef was just some raw eggs at the bottom of an oven dish, rather than the super-inflated soufflé it is now.

A self-taught, self-made man, his grandmother could "burn a boiled egg", his mother didn't cook much, so young Antony taught himself by helping out in a neighbour's pub ("great fun") and working his way through a Cordon Bleu cookery course.

"I used to wait outside the newsagent's on a Thursday for it to arrive," he says. "I'd practise the dishes before the next week's instalment."

Worrall Thompson never trained with anyone. There was no learning his trade at the apron-clad knee of one of the greats, because after only six weeks in a kitchen he became head chef. After that, he quickly discovered that the best way to learn was to tell his number two what to do and then pay close attention. Cheeky.

For the TV chef who's heading to Taste of Edinburgh in a couple of weeks it's clear that we're in an odd situation at the moment, with interest in food – and chefs – higher than ever, while our cooking skills often extend to setting the timer and waiting for the "ping".

"We're quite foodie in our knowledge but not in our practical skills," he says. "Generally I think people tend to use cooking as a hobby at the weekend, they don't do it on a regular basis, which is a shame.

"And of course Delia's teaching people how to cheat now, so that's it, our food life is over," he says with a chuckle. Tinned mince? "Oh God, it's disgusting. I give better food to my dogs."

The owner of six grill restaurants, with another set to open, Worrall Thompson is passionate about the need to use local, seasonal produce for both taste and health reasons. "I've banned my chefs from using sugar snap peas, mange tout and French beans when they're not in season," he says. "They can't have strawberries on (the menu] in December. It's nutritionally better for you to eat food when it's in season and you should buy locally when possible."

That's fine in restaurants where chefs know what they're doing, but how do you tempt people away from ready-made food and into the kitchens themselves?

"It has to be done in schools," he says without hesitation. "At the moment kids get one cookery lesson a week, for one term, which has got to be taken outside of the school curriculum. That has to change. To me there should be one lesson a week throughout the whole of kids' secondary school experience. And it's not about fairy cakes, it's about cooking proper food, showing them how easy it is and getting them to appreciate and enjoy food.

"The French have a thing called un jour de goûts – a day of tastes – and they teach them everything from food to wine, to laying tables and good manners. I think we're really missing important, practical skills in our schools."

There's another chef who turned his attention to food in schools, isn't there?

"Jamie has damaged the schools," he says, before adding, "with good intentions I have to point out. But the uptake of school meals has dropped enomously since Jamie had that campaign because they don't want his healthy food.

Antony Worrall Thompson

chef and television personality

What's your earliest food memory?

Cooking breakfast for my mum when I was three. Toast, scrambled eggs and coffee. It was probably appalling but she pretended to eat it.

What's your ideal comfort food?

I'd go for the good old British favourites – stew and mashed potato. Really warming food. Failing that, if I wasn't on a constant diet, I do like crumpets with butter dripping through, with some baked beans in a saucepan reduced until they're thick then adding butter and cream. Put those on top of the crumpets add crispy bacon and melted cheese. That'd be fantastic.

If you want to romance someone, what would you cook?

Finger food so that we could feed each other. Oysters, asparagus, maybe prawns.

What's the food that you find hardest to resist?

Roast potatoes in goose fat. I'm not really a pudding man so I can resist those quite easily. Caviar too but that's not going to make me fat so I don't have to resist that.

Where was the best picnic you ever had? What did you eat?

On a beach in Jamaica. The hotel provided us with a hamper with various goodies but the best thing was that I had a fishing rod and I managed to catch a fish. We built a barbecue and slapped it straight on. It was almost still wriggling. We saw some lobster pots too so we stole a couple of lobsters and we grilled those as well. Add a bit of Red Stripe beer – you can't beat it.

If you had to choose a last supper, what would it be?

A big pot of caviar, a rib of beef aged for at least 35-40 days, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, vegetables, followed by sticky toffee pudding. And that would probably kill me so I wouldn't worry about it being my last supper.

If you could eat only three food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Potatoes, bacon and cabbage. You can have all sorts of combinations and you're getting your nutrients, carbs and proteins.

What food scares you most?

Pastry. I'm not a big fan of pastry cooking because I know that there are other people who do it much better, so I'd rather just let them do it. If I'm cooking a dish on the telly that involves pastry that's when I start to panic.

What food makes you happiest?

Japanese sushi or sashimi. I just love all fish. When I see uni (sea urchin) on the menu I get very excited.

Tony Borthwick

Head chef of Plumed Horse

What's your earliest food memory?

Boiled eggs and soldiers made by my mum. I grew up on a farm in Yorkshire so we always had really nice eggs. We kept a couple of cows, a couple of sheep, a few pigs, some geese and chickens. We had a stream down at the bottom of the field and we used to catch fish as well. I've always been interested in food, but not so much the cooking of it, more the eating!

What's your ideal comfort food?

Smoked haddock and poached egg on toast. That's the kind of thing I'll eat at 2am when I get home from work. It's not ideal to eat right before you go to bed but if I don't eat then, I don't eat, so any food is better than no food. For people who do this job, it tends not to be about eating for enjoyment but eating to keep your body going throughout the day.

If you want to romance someone, what would you cook?

It depends on the time of the year. At the moment I'm a big fan of wild sea bass. With food that good there's no point in messing around with it too much, so I'd cook it simply with a little sauce or dressing. People think everything has to be really complicated, but it doesn't.

What's the food that you find hardest to resist?

Lots of things: chocolate, fish and chips, Champagne, Deuchars IPA, caviar. I'm a bit of an over-indulger given the chance. We use some nice chocolate in the restaurant. We get a resealable bag of Valrhona Araguani which is 72 per cent cocoa solids. And there's a jar of whole almonds too. I'll start off with just a handful of each but then I'll just keep eating. And when it comes to Champagne, one bottle is never enough.

Where was the best picnic you ever had? What did you eat?

It was in Perthshire, in the hills. I had smoked salmon, caviar nice sandwiches, strawberries and a bottle of Champagne. I like picnics if I've got the time but it doesn't really happen these days. It's a bit like cooking at home.

If you had to choose a last supper, what would it be?

Eggs and bacon with bread fried in foie gras fat. What the hell, it's my last supper!

If you could eat only three food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?

This would be absolutely dreadful for me. If I had to choose I'd go for smoked haddock, bacon and chocolate. I like really nice quality bacon, I'm not stressed about where it comes from on the pig – nice back bacon, belly pork is a wonderful thing or pancetta.

What food scares you most?

Nothing about food scares me, there is nothing to be scared of. I just won't eat it if I don't like it.

What food makes you happiest?

Any of the food I've mentioned is especially good for me. Other than that, anything that someone else has taken the time to cook or prepare for me, irrespective of what it is.

Plumed Horse, 50-54 Henderson Street, Edinburgh, EH6 6DE, tel: [phone].

Tom Kitchin
Head Chef of The Kitchin

What's your earliest food memory?

Fishing for mackerel on the west coast when I was young. If you come across a school of mackerel, if you've got eight feathers in then you'll pull eight mackerel out. We used to end up with so many we didn't know what to do with them. We used to barbecue the fish we wanted to eat. It's so wonderful to catch and eat fish straight away – it just propels it to a different level.

What's your ideal comfort food?

On my days off I like a fish pie or a Sunday roast, something freshly cooked. Chefs don't want anything fancy when we're not at work, I like simplicity.

If you want to romance someone, what would you cook?

If you're anywhere next to the sea, langoustines. Again, up on the west coast you can see the boats coming in and in Applecross where we go, the fisherman delivers the prawns to the door so you can cook them there and then. On one of those Scottish days when the sun is shining, some langoustines with fresh bread and a bottle of Reisling. I don't think you can get much better than that.

What's the food that you find hardest to resist?

Pig's ears. I'm totally addicted to them. They've got a kind of saltiness to them. Michaela (Kitchin's wife] is always shouting at me for smelling of pigs ears.

Where was the best picnic you ever had? What did you eat?

We love picnics. The best ones are in the vineyard in Provence. We always go down there in the summer. We go to the market in the morning and buy some cheese, saucisson, some bread and a bottle of rosé. Fantastic.

If you had to choose a last supper, what would it be?

Tornado Rossini – a classic French dish that includes fillet of beef, foie gras and black truffle sauce.

If you could eat only three food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?

This is an absolutely ridiculous question. I can hardly even bear to answer it. I like autumn apples, langoustines and… there are so many things, no, seriously, this question is just ridiculous. I love my food. OK. Apples, langoustines and fresh bread but the question's still rubbish.

What food scares you most?

Scottish fried food scares me. If I was faced with having to go to a dodgy-looking chip shop I'd be petrified.

What food makes you happiest?

The first grouse of the year after the Glorious 12th.

The Kitchin, 78 Commercial Quay, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6LX, tel: [phone].

Roy Brett

Head Chef of Dakota Forth Bridge

What's your earliest food memory?

Sandy fig rolls on Portobello beach. Biting into one and thinking, oh no, that's not what I expected. I still ate them right enough.

What's your ideal comfort food?

At midnight when I get in from work and I'm too tired to cook it's got to be toast with Marmite and always a cup of tea.

If you want to romance someone, what would you cook?

Langoustine tempura. It's divine. Langoustines from Eyemouth would be perfect.

What's the food that you find hardest to resist?

Left-over breakfast when I get into work in the morning. There are sausages, bacon and a bit of black pudding. I find myself dipping into that when I get in and with my waistline as it is just now, I really shouldn't.

Tony Borthwick

Head Chef of Plumed Horse

Where was the best picnic you ever had? What did you eat?

When I was working with Rick Stein in Cornwall all the families in the village went out on a hay bale ride on tractors. We had Cornish pasties and beer, with juice for the kids. It was a tour of the headland by tractor on a summer's night – pretty cool.

If you had to choose a last supper, what would it be?

Eyemouth or Dunbar lobster grilled and served with some fresh herb and garlic butter. Simple and Scottish. And I'd have at least a bottle of Chablis.

If you could eat only three food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Maldon native oysters, my wife Karen's macaroni – the kids love it and I can't make it the same as she does – and a bacon sarnie.

What food scares you most?

Veal kidneys. They just don't do it for me at all. I remember when I touched them for the first time when I was an apprentice, it was like a Dr Who-style brain. I didn't like them and I've never eaten them since. I don't get the point of shocking customers really. We make a pig's head terrine but we call it old-fashioned pork terrine and everybody loves it. Some people use offal and they just do it to shock.

What food makes you happiest?

Food that people enjoy, food with which there are no complaints, that is the food that makes me happy. It's always really satisfying during a busy service, and we're getting caned in the kitchen when someone comes in and says "Table 27 loved the pork". It lifts the spirits.

Dakota Forth Bridge, Queensferry, Edinburgh, EH30 9QZ, tel: [phone].

Stuart Muir

Head Chef at Forth Floor, Harvey Nichols

What's your earliest food memory?

Fishing with my dad and cooking the fish there and then on the riverbank. I'm originally from Stranraer and we'd go fishing for trout usually and then just eat the catch. That's really what inspired me to be a chef. It's such a lovely way to cook and you just can't get any fresher.

What's your ideal comfort food?

It depends what day it is but one thing I really like is a juicy steak with a rocket and Parmesan salad. I'd like the steak just simply grilled and a fresh salad beside it. I'd get the best Scottish beef you can buy. I like a rib-eye or a rump steak because you get that extra flavour from the fat. That really hits the spot.

If you want to romance someone, what would you cook?

Fruit de mer followed by strawberries and Champagne. A lovely seafood platter with oysters, langoustine and lobster, all freshly caught locally. The strawberries from Perthshire are the best in the world. It's a sharing thing as well – a big platter in the middle of the table – and we could just eat until our hearts were content. Lovely.

What's the food that you find hardest to resist?

I love chillies. I grow them at home. Sometimes I get a small crop and I can hardly taste the fire, then I'll get one and it burns the head off me. It's nature's way of stopping you from being too cocky.

Where was the best picnic you ever had? What did you eat?
At the start of March, my wife and my two lovely daughters had a picnic in the Botanics. We had baguettes with salami and vegetables and we took lots of fruit. We found a quiet spot and had a beautiful afternoon.

If you had to choose a last supper, what would it be?

A simple risotto with shavings of white truffle. Pure indulgence. Then lobster thermador. And to finish, goats cheese, which I love, with a little bit of honey and some nice crusty bread.

If you could eat only three food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?

That's a hard question, it's unfair. I mean three food stuffs – vegetable, meat and dairy – but three ingredients. I'd probably say … crikey this is a hard one. OK, I'm going to say olives, tomatoes and chorizo.

What food scares you most?

Pre-cooked food from the supermarket scares me. I don't understand why people buy mashed potato. Or why people would buy chopped onions, just buy an onion. I don't understand why that's convenient. Frozen peas are a great thing, you can use them to make a nice soup or a risotto. Frozen onion? I can't get my head around that.

What food makes you happiest?

Fresh food cooked well.

Harvey Nichols, 30-34 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2AD, tel: [phone].

Nick Nairn

Nick Nairn Cook School

What's your earliest food memory?

Making soup with my mum. I used to stand alongside her and do "play" chopping. I was probably about three or four.

What's your ideal comfort food?

Homemade broth – a satisfying pot of soup. I love it. I always make sure that I make chicken stock once a week, I make a pot of broth and then just stick it in the freezer.

If you want to romance someone, what would you cook?

You want to give the person a fabulous experience but you don't want to fill them up too much as hopefully the romance will lead to some kind of activity. It's got to be spanking-fresh fish, turbot or halibut, cooked simply – grilled or poached – with an emulsion of water and butter. I'd serve it with garden veg and maybe some new potatoes straight from the ground. Tasting simple food (hand-picked where possible) that's cooked well says a lot about love. And given that Mrs Nairn is the gardener it would go down very well.

What's the food that you find hardest to resist?

Chocolate. I prefer milk to dark. I do like Lindt Milk chocolate but I'd be just as happy with a Twirl.

Where was the best picnic you ever had? What did you eat?

On top of Ben Ledi with Mrs Nairn. We once went walking with Muriel Gray and she produced some boiled eggs at the top and ever since then I've been a bit of a fan. Bananas too – real energy food. Muriel's husband, Hamish, took us up a Munro just before my 40th birthday and it was amazing. We sat on a snow-covered ledge and ate minestrone soup that I'd brought along in a flask. Here's a top tip though, never put the Parmesan into the flask or for ever more it will smell of vomit. Disgusting.

If you had to choose a last supper, what would it be?

It would have to be either the full Scottish mega food – scallops, langoustine and the rest followed by rack of beef, ribeye steak and all the trimmings. Or a really good bacon and egg roll.

If you could eat only three food items for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Cheese, tomatoes and really good bread.

What food scares you most?

Desiccated coconut. The texture, the flavour, everything about it – yeeugh. It gives me the heebies just thinking about it.

What food makes you happiest?

My heart sings when I eat food that ticks all of the boxes: it's local, in season, probably organic. Real soul food.

Nick Nairn Cook School, Port of Menteith, Stirling, FK8 3JZ, tel: [phone].



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