The 5pm Dining blog is delighted to see the fourth Budding Chefs programme getting underway this month.
Budding Chefs is an exchange programme which has been initiated by the Institut francais d’Ecosse and Fred Berkmiller of L’escargot restaurants. The idea is to develop the gastronomic connections between budding French and Scottish chefs and to showcase the best of both larders.
Since the first trip to Scotland in 2011, a few dozen chefs from the Lycée Hotelier de Dinard in Brittany have undertaken a tour of Scotland’s producers; worked with the big names of the Edinburgh restaurant scene and run two pop-up restaurants at The Hub in 2012 and 2013. In return, dozens of Scottish chefs have made the trip to Brittany to do likewise.
March will see cooking tutors Fabrice Le Bret and Antoine Davy return to Scotland with a new group of twelve budding chefs from the Lycée Hotelier de Dinard Brittany. This year, the budding chefs are joined by four budding waiters from the Lycée Hotelier.
To help support the exchange, there are two interesting events taking place at The Hub in Edinburgh on Saturday 22 March.
][7]Gastro chat
First up is a series of food-related talks taking place from 1.30pm to 6pm. The sort of topics up for discussion are: What is gastronomy? How do the French and Scottish do it? How do you define a larder? Why choose to produce sustainable and tasty food? What’s a periwinkle? Are the Scandinavians a food model?
The actual schedule was still up in the air at the time of writing but there are some big hitters appearing. The full run down with biogs is here but, among the guests, are top Edinburgh chefs Craig Sandle and Tom Kitchin of, respectively, The Pompadour by Galvin and The Kitchin.
They are joined by Loic Bienassis, a French historian at the European Institute of History and Food Culture in Tours; Roderick Sloan, a Scottish chef and a sea urchin fisherman living on the coast of northern Norway and Erica Randall, Head Gardener of the Scottish Kitchen Garden, supplying both Edinburgh restaurants The Scottish Café and Centotre.
Last but not least is the journalist, travel and food writer, Michael Booth. Mr Booth recently caused a rumpus with his latest book The Almost Nearly Perfect People: the Truth about the Nordic Miracle – a work which managed to upset all five Nordic countries.
Tickets cast £12 and are valid for all talks. Ticket holders are invited to drop in to see one, a few or all of them. A bar is open all day.
Five course feast
The gastronomic highlight of the exchange trip takes place on the Saturday evening when the budding chefs, under the watchful eyes of Fred and Craig, will cook a five course menu devised by Mssrs Berkmiller and Sandle.
The full menu can be seen here. Tickets are £40 a head. All tickets can be bought via here.