A well-kent figure from his many TV appearances, Nick Nairn has now turned his attentions to teaching, and is currently based at the Nick Nairn Cook School in Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire, which is where he was brought up.
In 1991, Nick became
Scotland's youngest chef at the time to be awarded a Michelin star. A champion of quality Scottish produce, he opened Nairn's Restaurant with Rooms in 1997 to international acclaim and in 2000 launched Nairns Anywhere, an event business boasting restaurant-quality food in any location.
2 MITCH TONKS A self-taught chef and former accountant, Mitch Tonks' success can perhaps be summed up best by giving a flavour of just some of the awards he has won, which include Best Fishmonger, Best London Seafood Restaurant and Best Fish Book in the World Gourmand Awards and a listing as one of the top 100 most influential foodies by Hotel and Caterer.
3 RICK STEIN Rick Stein OBE is probably best-known for his eponymous restaurant and shops in Padstow, Cornwall, but his TV series have demonstrated a willingness to travel further afield in search of fantastic fish recipes, such as in his French Odyssey programmes.
Rick attributes the success of all this to his simple philosophy: "Nothing is more exhilarating than fresh fish, simply cooked."
Rick has cooked twice for Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street, once for the French president Jacques Chirac and also at an event for the Queen and Prince Philip to celebrate the Golden Jubilee, to which all her past prime ministers were invited. He was made an OBE in 2003 for services to West Country tourism.
4 MARTIN WISHART Edinburgh-born Wishart, who previously worked with Albert Roux and Marco Pierre White, currently holds four AA rosettes and a Michelin star. His restaurant in Leith has twice been named Scottish Restaurant of the Year. The smoked salmon served is cured exclusively for the restaurant using eight-year-old whisky barrels.
5 TOM KITCHIN The owner of the eponymous restaurant in Leith, Tom Kitchin was the youngest-ever Scottish chef to be awarded a Michelin star, at the age of 29. His philosophy is to cook with only seasonal, local and fresh food and that makes for deliciously inventive fish dishes.
The full article contains 384 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
