Craig Grozier of new Glasgow communal dining experience Fallachan Kitchen answers our 11 food questions

We asked the chef director about restaurants, drinks and trends

Craig Grozier of Fallachan Dining

What’s your favourite ingredient?

It’s got to be butter. It makes everything delicious. Organic and made in Scotland is always the best.

Do you have a guilty food pleasure?

Fallachan Kitchen's dish wild mallard, elderberry mustard, winter chanterelle, liver sauce

Definitely a king rib supper from a chippy. The fish and chip shops in Fife are brilliant.

Tell us about your first food memory?

It was probably picking rhubarb in my Granny’s garden aged about three or four years old. I’ve got fond memories of dipping it in sugar with her, and it’s a memory I definitely cherish.

What’s your favourite Scottish restaurant, deli or cafe?

Craig Grozier at the stove

I’ve got a few favourites. It all depends on what mood you’re in. One of them is Timberyard in Edinburgh, which is run by one of my best mates, James Murray. His restaurant is driven by seasonality and quality, much like what we do at Fallachan. They’ve also just recently opened a wine bar and restaurant, Montrose, which I’m looking forward to trying out soon.

Big Counter on Victoria Road is probably my favourite restaurant in Glasgow and perfect ‘day off’ food. They have a very well-sourced, eclectic menu that changes regularly. They serve brilliant food with such a high standard of cooking with the same quirkiness that you would find in a back street, family run bistro in Paris. It’s definitely one of the Southside’s best kept secrets. It’s always great to enjoy as a group so you can have at least one of everything. They do great big steaks which are perfect for sharing, and often fish on the bone which is delicious. Always order the salad too. Lastly is La Gelatessa, which opened in the Southside of Glasgow last year. It’s an absolutely brilliant ice-cream shop - as good as, if not better than many I’ve tried in Italy.

What would be your last supper?

It would be a complete mishmash of favourites, including a starter of otoro, or tuna belly, (we got some British landed tuna in 2023 from our brilliant fish merchant, David Lowrie). I’d have it with some really high-quality soy sauce, or sudachi, a kind of Japanese lime, along with good quality salt from Blackthorn. For my main course, I’d love a well-aged, good quality rib eye steak with peppercorn sauce, crispy fries and a brilliant bottle of red wine. I’d definitely get the steak from somewhere like Butchery at Bowhouse. Dessert has got to be a classic sticky toffee pudding, with two large scoops of proper homemade vanilla ice cream. If I wasn’t making it myself, it would have to be a Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding, but always buy an extra jar of sauce.

Starter or pudding?

Probably starter as I’m more of a fan of savoury, though I do love a light, not-too-sweet dessert (except the sticky toffee pudding, as mentioned above).

Do you have any food hates?

Unripe tomatoes, and any out-of-season fruit.

What starters, main and dessert would be served at your dream dinner party and who would you invite?

A great big feast with lots of friends and family from all over – those who we rarely get to have altogether at once. I’d start off by serving our ‘fircaccia’ – focaccia made with pine, and Borders rapeseed oil that we smoke with peat ourselves. Next, we would have poached Islay langoustines with aioli and Islay oysters with our ramson and roasted kelp dressing and some lovely Hungarian orange wine.

For main we would move onto a whole roast suckling pig, with pig fat roast potatoes and pork gravy, plus a big green leafy salad with shallot and English mustard dressing. Dessert would be a warm apple tart tatin with vanilla creme fraiche.

What’s your favourite geographical foodie destination?

Paris – when you walk around you can feel how ingrained the food is in the culture and the history of the place. It is almost a living museum of cuisine. I started my career learning the fundamentals of French cuisine and I really believe in the importance of it. It’s a right of passage for any chef or food lover to go, if you’re serious about food and drink. We went back in 2022 and had some brilliant meals at Le Chateaubriand, Le Clown Bar and we spent quite a few evenings at Septime La Cave, a brilliant, tiny little wine bar. Paris is full of amazing restaurants and bars and there’s always new things popping up, so it’s a great place to go and explore with each new visit.

Next food trend?

It will be continuing to focus on foods that are good for your gut microbiome. From sourdough to kombucha and kefir. It’s great to see how we can develop ancient preservation techniques that also benefit our health. We look to incorporate this into our menu in a variety of ways - our bread at Fallachan is generally always some form of sourdough, whether it be our Octomore Peated sourdough or sometimes our sourdough baguettes. We also offer a non-alcoholic pairing which is designed to complement our food menu and includes our own kombucha and cordials. The drinks team and chefs work together to collaborate on ideas and flavours for each new menu.

Favourite drink?

A red hook, which is a riff on a Manhattan, created by New York’s Milk and Honey bar.

The next Fallachan Kitchen event is an After Burns event with Bruichladdich distillery on January 26 and 27, 7pm, £95pp including three drams and nine courses, see www.fallachandining.co.uk or Instagram @fallachan_