Scots mothers can't cook says TV star Jay Leno

HE IS America's Mr Nice Guy, the talk show king who regularly glad-hands Hollywood royalty and presidents and is watched by millions of viewers every night. But in Scotland, Jay Leno may soon find himself Public Enemy No 1 after slighting the domestic skills of the nation's womanhood by saying that Scottish mums can't cook.

Leno, whose mother was from Greenock, made the astonishing claim during an interview with Scottish-born chef Gordon Ramsay on his highly rated Tonight Show programme.

When Ramsay, who has appeared on the show before to give Leno cookery lessons, suggested that the 60-year-old chat show host should be good in the kitchen because his mother was Scottish, Leno retorted: "Scottish mums can't cook."

Leno went on to insist that his mother Catherine, who married the son of Italian immigrants, was forced to learn to prepare Italian food before she was allowed to marry his father. "It was a huge deal," he said.

He then attacked Scottish cuisine in general, telling the celebrity chef: "I mean, you've had Scottish food, oh my God." In a mock Scottish accent in which he imitated his late mother, he continued: "Jay, would you like a stale scone?"

The outburst even forced Ramsay to attempt to defend Scotland's reputation, saying: "It's getting better. Big time," but Leno did not seem convinced.

Leno's comments in a prime Scottish tourism market will infuriate the travel trade, which has worked hard to rid the country of the "deep fried Mars bar" tag in recent years. The Scottish food and drink industry is now worth around 3.6 billion to the country's economy and prides itself on locally sourced produce and a thriving tourist economy where 1 in every 5 spent by a visitor in Scotland is on food-and-drink related activity.

Masterchef winner, Scottish cookery writer and mother- of-three Sue Lawrence, was appalled by Leno's suggestion that Scottish mothers can't cook.

"It's a very old-fashioned attitude and it's simply not true," she said. The two things Scottish mothers are particularly good at are homebaking and soups. Many people say their mums make the best of whatever dish and are still very proud of it. My mum makes the best soup, my cousin's mother makes the best clootie dumpling, and so it goes on."

Mike Cantlay, the chairman of tourist agency VisitScotland said: "These comments about the poor quality of Scottish cooking and Scotland's food should be taken with a pinch of salt."Scotland has some of the best food providers, producers and experiences in the world and visitors are consistently telling us that they have seen huge improvements in Scotland's food and drink offering."

Roy Brett, who last year won Hotel Chef of the Year at the Missoni Hotel in Edinburgh's seafood restaurant Ondine, was also angered by Leno's comments.

"I just think it's complete ignorance," he said. "It sounds like he's trying to be funny but it's not really funny at all. We buy fantastic local produce from our shores but I think there's an ignorance towards Scotland and what it is in terms of quality food. We have a lot of Americans who come to our restaurant because we ethically source things and buy great produce."

Meanwhile John Quigley, chef at Glasgow's Red Onion bistro and former personal chef to rock singer Bryan Adams, said he thought Leno was being particularly unfair on the reputation of the Scottish scone.

"Given that we invented the scone, what he said is very cheeky. Scots invented the art of home baking, and while in the past we might not always have had the reputation of being world-class cooks, we have always had a reputation for being world-class bakers."

It is not the first time Leno has been critical of Scots cuisine. In an interview six years ago he was asked what he thought about Scottish cooking and responded: "Scottish cuisine? I don't think there's any such thing… when you buy a Mars bar… they dump them in hot oil." And in 2000, during an interview with X Files' star Gillian Anderson, who had been filming in Glasgow, he proclaimed Scotland's food to be "the worst food in the world".

However, Leno has also praised Scotland for its sense of humour, calling Scots "the funniest people in the world". Last year, he famously dressed up in drag to mock Scottish singing star Susan Boyle, and told his audience: "My mother came from the same part of Scotland. I think we're related."

His mother, Catherine Muir, was born in Greenock in 1911 and emigrated to the US at the age of 11. She later married Leno's father Angelo, the son of Italian immigrants, in New York. She died in 1993 from cancer, and her husband died a year later.

Leno, who was born James Douglas Muir Leno, is one of America's most famous stand-up comedians and talk show hosts. He replaced Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show in 1992 and, apart from a brief defection in 2009, has remained the programme's host ever since. Lawrence says that if she had been in Ramsay's position, she would have set Leno straight.

"I would have said 'I think you should get out more Mr Leno'. And then I would probably have said 'come to my house and I'll cook for you, and then we'll see what you think of Scottish food.'"

Brett, however, joked that Leno would be barred from his restaurant. "I wouldn't let him in," he said.