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August 11, 2009

Tom Kitchin, top dog at the Leith restaurant which carries his name, launched his first recipe book last night.

It’s called From Nature To Plate which sums up the young chef’s philosophy pretty succinctly. For Kitchin, it’s all about the seasons and you won’t find him dissing Mother Nature by serving up strawberries in February. Instead, his menus follow the rhythms of the seasons starting with asparagus in the spring through to the meaty delights of the game season in the run up to Christmas.

Last night, he was champing at the bit at the thought of the grouse that would be arriving at his backdoor on the Glorious Twelfth.

As the youngest ever Scottish chef to be awarded a Michelin star, Kitchin is the one who usually gets all the glory but last night he was keen to share the limelight. Michaela, his wife and the manager of the restaurant’s front of house, was named and famed as the actual writer of the book and the patient soul who had teased and cajoled all the info from her husband.

All of Kitchin’s key suppliers were also praised from Ben the fungi forager to Stevie Fish who supplies the restaurant’s . . . well, you can guess.

Kitchin has been keen to point out that the book itself is not a highly technical guide to Michelin cooking but an accessible recipe book for the competent home cook. This is certainly true of dishes such as the girolles on toast or the crepes with cherries. However, there are also a couple of more complex options which he has put in for his professional peers to pore over. It may be a while yet before I attempt his boned and rolled pig’s head with langoustines and a crispy ear salad.

The chef is officially launching his tome at the Edinburgh Book Festival on Monday but the event is sold out. However, he will be appearing and signing copies of his book at the Foodies Festival in Holyrood next weekend. 5pm followers can enjoy a 2-4-1 deal on entry to the event by clicking through here.

Tom Kitchin with fungi Ben
Tom Kitchin with fungi Ben