Flavour Profile Q&A - David Barnett of Blasta restaurant, Perth

The chef tells us about his dream dinner party and favourite destination

What’s your favourite Ingredient?

Salt. All my favourite ingredients tastes better once salt has been added.

Do you have a guilty food pleasure?

Beef Pot Noodle. I’m not proud but it’s just so handy as a midnight snack.

Tell us about your first food memory

Going on holiday to Islay with my friend, Peter, when we were around 8 years old. We waited by the pier for the fishing boats to come in and the fishermen gave us a couple of huge brown crabs. We tried to get them to battle before taking them to my granny so she could boil them. My grandpa smashed the claws open with a hammer so we could eat the meat, which was the sweetest and freshest you could get.

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

David Barnett of Blasta

Restaurant Martin Wishart in Leith. I worked there for two years and he is truly a flavour master. Edinburgh’s Timberyard is definitely up there too. For something a bit simpler, I love a wee café in Perth called Delicious, they do great sandwiches and the customer service is fantastic.

What would be your last supper?

A BBQ in my garden with my family. We would have all the family’s favourites, mine would be presa of Iberico pork, Marie would go for Hebridean lamb chops, William our six year old would choose langoustines, brill, and steak, Sophie (21 months) would like tender stem broccoli, asparagus, and olives, and baby Joseph is only four months, so he would choose milk. To wash it all down a couple of bottles of Cairn O’Mhor wine – the sparkling gooseberry and the blueberry.

Starter or pudding?

I love to make puddings but I would much rather have a starter. When my wife and I go out I order pudding, but only because she’s a pastry chef and wants to try it.

Do you have any food hates?

I hate to see food waste, it really angers me.

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

The starter would be my dish of charred langoustines, with cucumber, Asian pear, curry cream and borage. For mains, Ardoch Hebridean lamb with broccoli, wild garlic and potatoes slowly cooked in butter. Pudding would be Perthshire berries with Champagne sabayon, wood sorrel and mint.

I’d invite Marie, Billy Connolly, Ron Gilles of Cairn O’Mohr wines, for his great character and wisdom, an old school buddy, Ross Ainslie, for some great Scottish music. Also, Martin Wishart, to keep me in line and Nicola Sturgeon, to see what she’s like in in downtime.

What's your favourite geographical foodie destination?

Holland. To gain experience, for three years I spent my holidays working in De Librije, a three Michelin stared restaurant in Zwolle, Holland. I was amazed by the outstanding innovation of their food, the outlook of the industry, how they worked as a team and the calmness of the kitchen. It was a truly inspiring experience.

For more information on Blasta, see www.blasta.co.uk

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