A rare collaboration between two pioneers of the Scottish Gastronomy Movement points to the past, the present - and the future

I want to comment on the upcoming “In Conversation With” event at Tom Kitchin’s The Bonnie Badger restaurant in Gullane, East Lothian. The chef has invited as his guest the inimitable Shirley Spear, co-founder in 1985 of the famous Three Chimneys restaurant on Skye. 

Both are unarguably significant figures, from two different generations, in the ongoing Scottish Gastronomy Movement: Shirley for recognising and promoting (sometimes against the odds) the world-class natural larder of the Inner Hebridean isle of Skye; for getting The Three Chimneys in Colbost placed in the World’s Top 50 Restaurants in 2002; and for receiving an OBE for her efforts in driving change in the Scottish food & drink industry; and chef Tom for becoming, at age 29, the youngest Scottish chef to attract a Michelin star just six months after opening The Kitchin in 2006 - and retaining it ever since. He continues to promote Scotland’s world-class produce and its top farmers, fishermen and suppliers across his four restaurants.

The event (on Thursday May 18, 2023) is the first time the two have collaborated. The four-course menu is to feature signature recipes from Shirley’s time at The Three Chimneys (which she and husband Eddie sold to hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray in 2019) and will be prepared by chef Tom and his team at The Bonnie Badger, including head chef Matthew Budge. 

And this is where I must declare a professional interest. When I was Editor of The Herald’s Saturday Magazine, I commissioned Shirley to be a regular contributor with a food column and recipe each month. (I even had enough budget to commission food photography by Alan Donaldson.) This resulted in awonderful book The Three Chimneys, published by Mercat Press (an imprint of Birlinn) in 2002 (see picture above). I still have it and am delighted that some of her dishes will be placed centre-stage once again. Shirley’s stories about the challenges and triumphs of starting out with her husband Eddie and two small children in a remote part of Skye are truly inspirational and I’m sure will transfix the audience.

Just some wee details from Shirley Spear’s 2002 book The Three Chimneys … just saying …

Shirley Spear’s Grilled Lobster Vanille, from her book The Three Chimneys, photographed by Alan Donaldson. It will feature on the menu at The Bonnie Badger, recreated by chef Tom Kitchin and his team.

The menu at The Bonnie Badger features Shirley’s classic Crab Tart with Warm Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette, Grilled Lobster Vanille (inspired by Rick Stein’s English Seafood Cookery) with a Garden Salad, and her famous Hot Marmalade Pudding.

When we three chat over Zoom, chef Tom sings Shirley’s praises: “I have real admiration for the impact that Shirley has had on our Scottish food and drink sector, and in helping Scotland to be taken seriously as a gourmet destination,” he says. “Shirley kick-started the process of shifting those negative perceptions of Scottish food and by joining forces, we hope to highlight how far we’ve come in putting Scotland’s larder centre stage and aim to continue the conversation about Scottish gastronomy.”

Just as Shirley is a pioneer of the contemporary Scottish gastronomy movement so, of course, is chef Tom a significant pioneer in his own right. 

I ask him for his views on the current state of the Scottish food scene. “Scottish gastronomy is at its best just now,” he says, “and much of that is because of these incredible early pioneers like Shirley. 

“We know and love the chef dynasties founded by the likes of Alain and Albert Roux, Pierre Koffmann and so on, but now in Scotland we have our own dynasties founded by earlier pioneers,” he adds. Chef Tom himself has trained a talented younger generation of chefs including Roberta Hall of Edinburgh’s Little Chartroom, London-based pastry chef Daniel Fletcher, Ron McKinlay of Canoe restaurant in Canada, and Lachlan Archibald, head chef at The Kitchin. 

He also says that suppliers are upping their game. “Before, there were only a few really big suppliers serving everybody. Now more independents are doing some really interesting things like bespoke orders, rare breeds, short-season, same-day catches, and interesting ideas in butchery. Macduff Butchers and David Lowrie are good examples of sons and daughters taking over established family businesses and innovating, creating really modern enterprises. 

“We’re working with some incredible farmers and using their pedigree lamb, Hebridean mutton, rare-breed pork - really good produce from Scotland. It’s getting a bit more attention from London chefs who now all want it too. That’s great for our suppliers and for the reputation Scottish produce and Scottish gastronomy, though I do want to be the best and the first.”

Changed days indeed from Shirley’s time, and before that. She says: “It’s a joy to see chefs like Tom continuing to make progress in championing local Scottish produce – and doing so in a much more sophisticated style.”

So here’s to the pioneers of the past, the present - and the future.