Andrew Fairlie Scholarship 2020/21
Meet the Finalists - Josh Wilkinson
Josh Wilkinson, Senior Chef de Partie, Isle of Eriska Hotel
Where are you from originally?
I’m from Bathgate, West Lothian, and moved to the Stirling area for college /work at 19.
What inspired you to apply for the scholarship?
A desire to improve myself, and winning this scholarship brings with it great opportunities to do that.
Can you give us a brief description of your career to date?
I was keen on cooking from a young age. I worked as a dishwasher in a tapas restaurant on the weekends during high school, and achieved an A in HND Professional Cookery. My career as a chef started as a Commis chef at Gleneagles, then I moved to Cromlix as Chef de Partie, and I’m currently at the Isle of Eriska Hotel where I am now Senior Chef de Partie. The team have been really happy to have kept our Michelin star during covid times.
What does it mean to you to have been shortlisted for the finals of the scholarship?
I’m really excited to be given a chance to prove myself among other talented chefs.
Growing up, did you always want to be a chef?
From a young age I’ve always been interested in cooking. As I grew older it snowballed into a passion that I wanted to pursue. I couldn’t imagine a job that didn’t involve food.
What do you love about working as a chef?
Being able to constantly try new food, ingredients and ideas. I also love being able to take ingredients from the wild, then prepare and cook them for guests. There’s something really enjoyable about being involved in the process from start to finish.
What is your favourite Scottish ingredient to work with? And why?
Mushrooms. Over the last few years I’ve become a keen forager. Understanding them has allowed me to identify their different flavours and textures. So many different species can bring different things to a dish. From this I was able to develop an interest in fermentation as a way of preserving mushrooms.
How has Covid-19 impacted you and your career, and how have you overcome this? What have you been doing during lockdown to keep your skills and knowledge fresh?
February last year I headed to London with a stage lined up, hoping to start off my career in London. Unfortunately Covid-19 had other plans. I was back in Scotland by the end of March. As lockdown ended I worked for free at my old work (Cromlix) to start honing my skills again before heading back to London. Unfortunately, it just didn’t seem safe with covid-19 still in high numbers down south. Thankfully I was put in touch with Andy Turnbull at Eriska and I managed to secure a job there. With similar interests in cooking techniques it really was a blessing in disguise to be offered a job here.