][1]Smiths of Uddingston was named the Scottish Restaurant of the Year last night at the fourth Scottish Restaurant Awards held in Glasgow Science Centre.
Although Smiths is perhaps not widely known outside its immediate area, the judges praised it for it providing ‘good food which was well presented, served with pride and pitched at a reasonable price.’
They called it ‘the sort of restaurant that most of us want to eat at most of the time.
‘It’s not flash, it’s not particularly well-known outside its area and it has no ambitions to be a TV celebrity but it is a hidden gem that does what it does very well.’
Smiths also won the Urban Restaurant of the Year category.
Neil Forbes of Cafe St Honore in Edinburgh was named the Chef of the Year. A passionate advocate of using local produce, Forbes dedicated his win to Scotland’s artisan producers saying that ‘Scottish produce is what he gets out of bed for’.
Forbes has had a 25 year career in which he has worked everywhere from Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons to Braeval via The Flying Scotsman Train and, most recently, The Atrium and blue which shut a fortnight ago.
The judges had this to say of their choice:
‘When it was announced earlier this month that, sadly, Atrium and blue were to shut, we had already made the decision to award the Chef of the Year title to Forbes.
Although Atrium and blue may have closed, the reasons for giving Neil Forbes the award didn’t suddenly disappear.
Neil Forbes won Chef of the Year because he was a passionate and vocal supporter of local suppliers long before “eating locally” were buzz words. He takes the admirable view that there are lots of food artisans working in Scotland and Scottish restaurants have a responsibility to support them.
The award is also for his work in teaching and training generations of chefs who have passed through the kitchens which he has run. Rather than always buying pre-prepared fillets of fish or cuts of meat, Forbes consciously keeps alive the skills which mean that his kitchen can break down whole deer carcasses; can butcher pigs; can make their own bacon and hams. There is a tendency towards chefs becoming de-skilled. Forbes is fighting against that.
We suspect that Forbes will continue to contribute to Scottish food for many years to come. If you want to taste what commitment to the local food chain tastes like then Neil is cooking at Cafe St Honoré.’
Tam Cowan hosted in his own inimitable way by telling the crowd that if he was on Death Row then his last meal request would be for an all you can eat buffet.
The full list of the night’s winners is as follows:
Best Italian Restaurant of the Year
Cucina, Edinburgh
Best Indian Restaurant of the Year
Balbirs, Glasgow
Best Oriental Restaurant of the Year
See Woo
Best Family Friendly Restaurant
West Brewery, Glasgow
Chef of the Year
Neil Forbes
Fine Dining Experience of the Year
Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
Best Pub Grub of the Year
Stravaigin, Glasgow
Best Hotel Restaurant of the Year
Isle of Eriska
Best Customer Service of the Year
Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery, Glasgow
Best Rural Restaurant of the Year
Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye
Best Urban Restaurant of the Year
Smiths, Uddingston
Seafood Restaurant of the Year
Lochleven Seafood Cafe, Fort William
Newcomer of the Year
Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
Restaurant of the Year