Having been in the kitchen from 8 in the morning, I think Andrew Fairlie, the chef from Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, was glad of the short break our interview gave him! Andrew has been on Nigel’s hitlist for nine years and only now has he been able to work a trip to Obsession into his own busy schedule, due to the extension of the Festival dates into February.
So why did he come this year? For me, his reply sums up the festival in an honest, direct way better than any promotional material could do: “I’ve spoken to lots of chefs who have done it before. I knew it would be well organised. It’s good fun as well. The hospitality is second to none, Craig out front, Nigel in the kitchen, they’re a brilliant team. Northcote can fill the restaurant with 90 covers for 10 days in a row with regular customers which is a fantastic achievement in itself and there’s a lesson to be learned from that. There’s not many places in January you’d be able to do that”.
The dishes on the menu are heavily influenced by French technique but he’s also introduced Japanese cuisine, due mainly to its simplicity, so the scallops are Scottish but with a Japanese flavour using ginger and yuzu butter. Even his favourite implement, his knives are Japanese. More than 30 of the diners last night are regular customers of Andrew’s and I’m sure that the delicious menu he served will have converted a few more.
What does Andrew think about Lancashire? “I love the scenery, coming from Scotland it has a different feel to it, if I want to get away from Scotland for a couple of days, I tend to come down here. I just love driving through the rolling countryside”. From someone whose two Michelin star and four AA Rosette restaurant is set in 850 acres of beautiful Scottish countryside, that’s praise indeed.
Barbara
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