Great food is as easy as cooking by numbers

The main course and dessert are among a range of dishes recommended by the popular and charismatic city chef Paul Kitching to brighten up meal times during the summer months.

The head chef at 21212, an Edinburgh restaurant with private dining space and exclusive bedrooms, also encourages the Capital's residents to make the most of any summer sunshine by enjoying plenty of barbecues with family and friends.

"During the summer months, anything on a barbecue is healthy because you are not soaking things in oil," explains Paul. "You can go for sirloin steak on the barbecue with a lovely salad. Prime fish and meat on the barbecue for me is the way to go though - with a glass of champagne."

The 46-year-old, who is originally from Newcastle, opened 21212 - which serves modern French food made from Scottish ingredients - with partner Katie O'Brien, 38, and three friends in May 2009.

It achieved the title of Best New Restaurant in the UK at last year's National Restaurant Awards, and in January this year, just eight months after opening, 21212 received a Michelin star.

The restaurant's five-course gourmet menu comprises a choice of two dishes for the starter, main and dessert courses, with the starter followed by a soup course and the dessert preceded by a cheese course, hence the restaurant's numerical name.

Paul, who previously owned Juniper restaurant in Manchester with Katie, adds: "It got to the point where we had gone as far as we could in Manchester and we wanted to produce a better environment to cook our food in.

"Here we have such a beautiful restaurant and kitchen - it's almost like a theatre. It was a bigger stage to step up to."

He laughs: "We have found that people in Edinburgh like a lot of chocolate dishes, and there's a big Drambuie thing in Edinburgh too."

Paul also offers a few cooking tips to people fond of a traditional chicken dinner, advising them not to start slicing the meat immediately after roasting it in the oven.

"Before you slice it, let it sit for half an hour or so," he says. "If you attack the chicken when it is hot, it will lose a lot of the juices.

"Baste it with honey and lemon every 15 minutes over an hour and 15 minutes, and eat it with a salad including lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onion, cucumber, and lots of hazelnuts."

Paul has provided recipes for one of his favourite dishes for people to try at home.

He explains: "Gazpacho is a Mexican/Spanish chilled soup, which is almost like a Bloody Mary without alcohol, so this gives you a great summer starter. It's a light dish."

• Paul is the head chef and joint owner of 21212 on Royal Terrace, 0131-523 1030, www.21212restaurant.co.uk