Critics are eating out of Tony's hand now

Published on Thursday 22 January 2009 09:17

THERE'S a delicious smell making its airy way out of the kitchen and into the muted cream and green surroundings of the dining area at the Plumed Horse restaurant.

It's lunchtime, and while the Leith restaurant won't be open until 7 in the evening, the chefs are already hard at work, curling up syrup-coloured strips of biscuit into dainty circlets.

"They're making a tuile, a bit like a brandy snap. They put a chocolate disc on the top, then ice cream on top of that," explains Tony Borthwick, the freshly Michelin-starred owner and head chef, twiddling his fingers around to demonstrate the fiddly process. "It's a pain in the arse, actually," he adds, as he turns on his clog-clad heels and saunters across the restaurant.

This week, the chef and his Henderson Street eatery became one of four Scottish restaurants awarded a coveted star in the prestigious guide, joining fellow Leith restaurateurs Tom Kitchin and Martin Wishart.

It isn't the first time Tony has been so honoured – his last five-pointed accolade came in 2001 when his restaurant was based in Crossmichael, near Castle Douglas.

Such was his reputation that news of his impending move to the Capital caused a flurry of anticipation in 2006, but a three-month delay in opening in the city meant he lost the possibility of transferring that star to his new enterprise and critics' scathing reviews – of the food, prices, location – meant the much-heralded arrival ended up falling flatter than an overcooked souffle.

So this week's news should be a vindication of more than two years' hard graft and passion for Tony and his staff. Instead, while he insists he's "grateful" for the award as it will be good for business, he's philosophical about the contrast to the attention he's attracting now.

"You move on from all that stuff. All those bitter little memories, they're just memories now. And there are lots of good restaurants which don't have a star. When I got one in 2001, no-one rang me up or came to see me. Well, Border Television came. OK, I did get phone calls. OK, I'm lying, I'm talking rubbish. DON'T WRITE THAT DOWN."

It's a phrase which punctuates the conversation, along with chuckles which make his moustache wiggle, as he frequently lets his mouth run away with him.

It was a packed Saturday night when the news filtered through of the Michelin win. The awards had been leaked on the internet and Tony was sceptical.

"I was in the middle of service and the restaurant manager came in and said we had got the Michelin. Now, you don't joke with me in the middle of service so he got a mouthful."

But the calls kept coming. "I still didn't believe it. We were full and Ian (Bruce, the restaurant manager] had told everyone and all these people were saying 'congratulations' and all I was thinking was: 'I'm going to look really stupid if this is some kind of hoax'."

The problem was solved when Oloroso chef Tony Singh called. "That was a sort of confirmation for me," says Tony. "I knew it must be true – Tony Singh knows everything." There was even a phone call at midnight from a punter looking to make a booking – that Michelin magic at work already.

There was no cracking open a bottle of house champagne, though. "You don't drink it, you sell it. I'm from Yorkshire, I can teach any Scot about being tight!" Instead, he and his restaurant manager stayed up until 6am fixing the restaurant's website. Well, mostly his restaurant manager – Tony admits to be less than au fait with technology. "The server had gone off." Down. "Yeah, down."

He continues: "Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for this, but what you really want is bums on seats, then you can pay your staff and pay the bills. But I'm pleased for Jamie, my sous chef. He's been here two years this week and he's put a lot into it. He deserves some recognition."

After the initial wave of criticism Tony lowered his prices – it's currently 39 for a three-course meal at the Plumed Horse. So will he be making the most of his accolade and hiking up his prices?

"Behave yourself!" he laughs. "I don't think we'll be putting our price up this year." But the former water board worker says he'd be a fool not to be concerned about the credit crunch. "I'm hoping this (the Michelin star] will raise our profile in the city. Building a reputation is a non-stop thing."

Reputations, of course, are more easily built if you can get a TV slot, a la celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal. It's hard to believe Tony, who refuses to give his age although records show he's not far off the big 5-0, when he insists he wouldn't be a telly natural because he's too shy. But it is slightly easier to take on board his belief that he is too polite. Channel Four, he says, filmed on a Saturday night in the kitchen last year but the footage never saw the light of day.

"They didn't use it because it was so calm. I think they wanted me beating up waiters," he chuckles. "I don't take anything from Gordon Ramsay's management style. It's a tired old clich when people talk about chefs being temperamental. I have never thrown anyone out in two years."

Not that he'd know the fiery Scot's style from Hell's Kitchen. He's only seen Ramsay once on telly – "he was spitting out a scallop" – because he's usually stuck in his own kitchen. "People think this job is glamorous. They don't realise you work 18, 19 hours a day and you are four stone under your natural body weight because you don't have time to eat."

He says he doesn't really have much time to sample the city's other restaurants, although he does like The Kitchin's "simplicity and earthiness" and he enjoyed an "absolutely fabulous" meal at No1 at the Balmoral last September. "Pricey, though . . . DON'T WRITE THAT DOWN."

He lives down the road from the restaurant, near the waterfront, where he can enjoy the village atmosphere. "It's like Castle Douglas but with the city a bus ride away. And more pubs. I do sometimes manage to go for a couple of sad pints on a Saturday before the pubs shut but I'm usually the only sober one there. DON'T WRITE THAT DOWN. But you don't have time for a social life."

No social life, long hours and little praise from critics – there must have been times over the last two years he wanted to jack it in.

"No. Never. I'm a stubborn b******. DON'T WRITE THAT DOWN."

CHANGED DAYS

WHAT critics said shortly after the Plumed Horse opened in Leith in December 2006:

"Tony Borthwick needs to change his game or fold up his apron."

"Shoddy service . . . tinged with farce."

"Autocratic . . . unwelcoming."

&#149 WHAT they say now (before the Michelin announcement):

"Innovative dishes, skilfully prepared and artistically presented."

"Simply sublime . . . Tony's food is a work of art."

"With inspired dishes, he's nipping at the heels of the city's more established chefs."