Andrew Fairlie Scholarship

Judges Q&A 2020

The Andrew Fairlie Scholarship judges have a wealth of knowledge and expertise amongst them, so we put some questions to them! Find out what they enjoy about teaching their team, and what they themselves have recently learned.

The Judges

Stephen McLaughlin (Restaurant Andrew Fairlie), Sat Bains (Restaurant Sat Bains), Tom Kerridge (Hand and Flowers), Lorna McNee (Cail Bruich), Gary Maclean (Masterchef: The Professionals Champion), Keith Podmore (Andrew Fairlie’s former mentor)

Chefs are always learning, what do you enjoy most about teaching your team?

Tom:  That’s a slightly loaded question, because I actually enjoy learning from my team!  Everyone is encouraged to have an opinion and a voice, whether it fits or not doesn’t matter.  The one thing I like teaching is that experience and knowledge can only be gained by being active in the performance of being a chef.  They will only ever learn by doing it.  The skill set of a chef is much more than just cooking – structure, organisation, communication and resilience are all skill sets that you acquire along the way.

Gary:  The thing I love about teaching my students is that every day you can make a positive impact on someone’s life. Teaching is a huge responsibility and throughout my years in education as both student and teacher I have seen some of the most talented people pass through the college doors.

Keith:  What gave me immense satisfaction was seeing a young person develop their skills, becoming competent and confident. Also, great pleasure in seeing them succeed and teach others.

Sat:  I love to see my chefs expanding their view, using their creative mind, looking at things differently, when I can almost see them eating the dish as they are preparing it, querying the end result, why the steps are in there, not just the process but why.

Lorna:  I think what I love most about teaching my team, past and present, is the enjoyment and excitment on their face.  It reminds me of when I was their age learning new things, I was like a sponge absorbing everything that was given to me.  Then when they take the skills you have taught them and put them into play on their own, putting their own mark on it, that makes me so happy.

Stephen:  I love seeing the development of individuals and working with chefs of all levels, allowing them to grow and flourish to be as good as they can be.  Coaching them and helping organise them to work as a team.  The biggest thrill for me nowadays is in a busy service, to take a step back from the hot plate and watch and admire how our chefs and waiters go about their business.

And what was the last new thing you did/tried?

Tom:  The last brand new thing that I tried was a different cooking method for Swiss meringue that Nick Beardshaw, Head Chef at Kerridge’s Bar & Grill came up with.  Nick has been in the company for 10 years and is a very bright and switched on individual, whose intelligence allows him to super analyse methodology and reasoning.  He has been fundamental in the group for development and consistency in dishes over the years.

Gary:  I think with the current situation we are all learning new things, the big one for me is working from home, I have been teaching classes from my home to thousands of people all over the world. Most recently hosting a live cook-a-long via zoom to 2000 people in Texas.

Keith:  Being retired for nearly 15 years I still get to cook every day for my wife, family and friends.  I have started recently to make my own sourdough bread, the flavours are remarkable and I still get great pleasure from this!

Sat:  We’ve been creating a new dessert called Sherwood Forest, trying to recreate the forest floor using lichen, oak, moss, tobacco, chocolate and mushrooms.  I love being creative, trying different textures and flavours, and I think it’s nearly ready to be added to the menu!

Lorna:  The last new thing I tried, and I’m half way to achieving it, is a squab Wellington stuffed with foiegras and a truffle mousse.  Watch this space!

Stephen:  A small Japanese barbecue.  It’s used in small traditional Japanese bars for grilling skewers of food.  I wanted to take the purity and the cleanliness of this style of cookery but develop that into our style of cuisine.  We’ve also been making vinegars from last season’s fruit and vegetables, and using this to pickle and preserve this season’s secret garden produce.  This allows us to extend the seasons and showcase our secret garden produce the whole year round, as well as learning new skills as a team.

The Andrew Fairlie Scholarship is an incredible opportunity for aspiring chefs – you can find more details and apply for the scholarship here.