What was it about your menu that made it ‘Scottish’ for you?  The ingredients! I used the most fantastic Scottish ingredients. Scotland produces the best langoustines in the world, and is the biggest producer of them. I wasn’t bothered that Oliver Peyton didn’t consider the avocado in my dish to be suitable for a British dish. Is your cooking generally influenced by your region?My cooking is totally dominated by my region and is entirely produce-based - you can only cook as well as your raw ingredients. In my cookery school we are surrounded by fabulous produce such as lamb, beef, game and eggs from the hens in our own garden, and smoked salmon from our own smokehouse. It’s all there in one place. Do you think the four winning dishes make a good menu? Would you have chosen any of the other courses to complement your winning course?I truly believe the four dishes that have come out of this show work brilliantly together. There is a great progression of flavours - from the smokiness of salmon to the meatiness of turbot, but with its lovely cockle dressing - obviously followed by my tremendous main course! I think the menu hangs really well together and of course Marcus’s custard tart is a superb British dish. I think all the dishes were so good they would all have worked well in any combination. At the banquet, will you be providing an alternative dish for vegetarians?Yes, the kitchen will be providing a delicious vegetarian alternative. How important is it for you as a chef to be cooking for the Queen?I am really proud to represent Scotland. This is the most important thing for me - to provide great Scottish produce on this momentous occasion. How would you feel if the Queen’s plate came back half-finished? One of the problems with the main course is that by the time the Queen gets it, she may already be too full if the other portions are large. The butler brings out a platter of food and the Queen and her guests choose what they want to eat. They have security guys who will take food samples, but they don’t have Beefeaters who take a mouthful and foam at the mouth! I would love it if she came back for seconds! Did you create your dishes specifically with the competition in mind? I was really busy at the time, so I made them up on the spot! Alan and John the two senior tutors at my cookery school made tweaks to my recipes, so you’ll notice a discrepancy between the book and TV recipes. How high on your CV will cooking for the Queen be?
 Cooking the main course for the Queen’s 80th birthday is a great honour
I have already cooked for Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Princess Anne, but cooking for the Queen will be pretty high up there. Cooking the main course for the Queen’s 80th birthday is a great honour. Is British food now the best in the world?It’s definitely up there. I think we can probably lay claim to the title, but then again the Aussies and the Americans are doing quite well now too. British food is up there with the world’s best, not forgetting France and Italy. Scottish food on the other hand - now we’re talking! If someone was cooking a Great British Menu for you, what would you want them to make?I would be totally delighted with the menu that we are doing for the event. It wasn’t a fix that we had Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales all on that menu. Bryn’s turbot is a great dish and the egg custard tart is a winner that would please me no end.
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