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June 10, 2013
[Colin Wardrope: head chef at Windows restaurant in Glasgow's Carlton George][1]
Colin Wardrope: head chef at Windows restaurant in Glasgow’s Carlton George

Colin Wardrope has just become the Head Chef at Windows, the rooftop restaurant in Glasgow’s Carlton George Hotel. At school, it was a toss-up between cooking and carpentry but the lure of the kitchen won out. Colin joined Windows in 2005 and, apart from a stint at Dakota by Motherwell, he has been there ever since.

Located on the seventh floor of the hotel, Windows restaurant has brilliant skyline views of Glasgow. But that’s not the only reason that it stands out, this coming weekend, they are celebrating Father’s Day with something a little unusual: the Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea. Forget dainty sandwiches, this afternoon tea involves, among other things, mini burgers with smoked cheddar and chutney; steak petit pain and chunky hand cut chips.

The clincher is that the treat ends with a glass of cognac and cigar on the rooftop terrace. You can see the full menu here.

In this Chewin’ the Fat interview, Colin explains why he likes to keep it pure and simple in the kitchen. Just don’t invite him over for a plate of mash.

[The terrace at Windows has views over Glasgow's skyline][4]
The terrace at Windows has views over Glasgow’s skyline

What got you into cooking to begin with?

Just cooking in the house, making up pasta dishes for myself and using the family as guinea pigs. I started cooking when I was about twelve. Fortunately, they liked it and then I went to college and did my chef’s course.

Can you describe the style of food served at Windows?

The menu changes seasonally. We try to work with as much fresh food as possible. We don’t buy in any processed dishes. Instead we make them in-house from scratch. All the food is cooked to order except, obviously, things which have to be done in advance like dauphinois potatoes. It’s good quality food.

Is there a most popular dish for your customers?

It varies. Cod dishes tend to do well and rib-eye steaks can sell out quickly. It depends a bit on the time of month. People will spend more money when their salaries have come in and less as the month goes on.

What is your favourite ingredient to work with?

Duck is one of my favourites. It’s a lovely bit of meat with great flavours. I love eating duck. I would rather eat duck than steak. I like it cooked the way in which we do it on the menu now: pan frying it and then finishing it off in the oven for a couple of minutes before letting it rest.

What do you like to eat on a night off?

Usually, I prefer to cook in the house. To be honest, I don’t get that many days off.

Which chef has inspired you?

Michel Roux and Gordon Ramsay. They are my favourites. I like the classic French technique and Michel Roux is a master of it. I met Ramsay once at a book signing. He wasn’t a bad person. I think most of the stuff you see on TV is put on.

Is there anything you don’t like cooking with?

The only thing I really hate cooking is mashed potato. I can’t eat it. The texture, the taste, the smell, everything about it is wrong. The other chefs can’t grasp that I don’t like it. I know it’s strange. I’m fine with boulangere potatoes or chips or roast potatoes. Dauphinois potatoes are one of my favourite ways to eat potatoes but I can’t do mash. I realise that it’s unusual but there are worse things. I worked with one chef who would be sick at the mere mention of banana purée.

What has been the most exotic thing you have eaten?

I’ve tried monkfish liver in a paté. It’s wrong. You get the hit of fish and then you get the smooth texture of the paté – that’s two things that shouldn’t go together. It’s still not as bad as mashed potato but it’s getting there.

You can get anyone in the world to cook you a meal. Who will it be?

Probably Escoffier. Georges Auguste Escoffier. You’ll need to get some sort of re-animation machine for him. He is the man who formalised the roots of classic French cooking. He did it right. He did great but simple cooking. He is the granddaddy of cooking.

[Escoffier: a good man to have in your klitchen][6]
Escoffier: a good man to have in your klitchen

What do you think makes a good chef?

Hard work; a willingness to go beyond what you are taught; getting to grips with all the different kitchen sections; keep learning. My chef de partie here has got all those qualities. She’s called Maggie Adam and she has got what it takes. She’s got that drive.

What is the best thing about being a chef?

You never know what the next days is going to bring. No two days are the same even in the same restaurant. You might do ten people one night and a hundred the next. It’s always changing.

And the worst?

The worst thing is the hours. You are usually in the kitchen from 10am to 10pm. It’s hard to plan a social life. I tend to socialise with other people in the industry; chefs or barmen who have similar hours.

What’s been your worst kitchen disaster?

I had made two big trays of boulangere potatoes for a Christmas lunch and they collapsed. That wasn’t great.

You have a hot date coming around or you’re cooking a special meal for your wife. What’s cooking?

Probably guinea fowl with a good sauce and some roast potatoes. Nothing too fancy but good quality ingredients, cooked well. I think that good food starts with great ingredients and then you want to treat them simply and let their flavours speak for themselves. I’m not a fan of complicated dishes with dozens of ingredients cooked six ways.

What has been your most memorable meal?

I had dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s place in New York last year. That was the best meal that I’ve had in a long time. I had that many dishes that I can’t remember each individual one but my foie gras starter sticks in the memory. It was fantastic. That was pricey. $200 each from the a la carte and that was without wine.

[Gordon Ramsay: in balance, probably not as devilish as made out][7]
Gordon Ramsay: in balance, probably not as devilish as made out

Tell us your daftest customer complaint?

We had a rare beef salad on the menu and a customer sent it back thinking that it was undercooked. We explained that it was cooked rare and was meant to be pink. The customer thought that ‘rare’ referred to the breed. You do slap yourself on the forehead sometimes.