Andrew Fairlie Scholarship 2022

Meet the Finalists - Halil can Durmaz

Halil can Durmaz, Chef de Partie, The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle

Where are you originally from?

I’m from one of the beautiful cities of Turkey known as Ankara. My childhood days are from Ankara, and after my culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu Istanbul I started travelling to quite a few places in the world for my professional career and presently I’m in Scotland working for Skibo Castle, The Carnegie Club Ltd. 

What inspired you to apply for the scholarship?

Since beginning my culinary career, I have worked in a wide variety of restaurants around the globe, experiencing very diverse kitchens as well as cooking alongside individuals in an incredibly niche culinary world. Now I’m here, I really want to learn and showcase the culinary tastes of Scotland and the UK, and I believe there will be no better platform to do so than this scholarship program. 

Can you give us a brief description of your career to date?

I started my cooking career when I was 14. I went to cooking high school and after that I studied at Le Cordon Bleu. I try to travel the world whenever I can and work in different countries with different chefs and kitchens. I was in Asia for about 4 years and I am now in Scotland. 

What does it mean to you to have been shortlisted for the finals of the scholarship?

I felt extremely happy. This is a lifetime opportunity for chefs to practice their skills and learn from the best.

Have you always wanted to be a chef?  What made you choose this career?

I love the environment of a kitchen. I grew up with great food. My mom still cooks two meals a day for everybody who`s at home. At my parents’ house the action is always in the kitchen. That’s the place where you where you want to be. When I go home, I spend more time in the kitchen than anywhere, not just cooking but sitting, while someone else might be cooking. I worked in restaurants during school, during the holiday breaks and I just knew that it was for me. I knew that I loved it.

What do you love about working as a chef?

I love the challenge of creating a dish at its best. And I know that perfection doesn’t exist because if a chef think a dish is perfect than something is wrong with it, for me there is always a room for improvement!  I believe that details make perfection but perfection is not a detail.

What is your favourite Scottish ingredient to work with? And why?

One of my favourite Scottish ingredients to work with is lobster, because the lobster in Scotland is more sweet and succulent and you can easily find fresh best quality lobster within a mile.