Host for the evening : Gary Maclean

Scotland’s national chef and winner of Masterchef: The Professionals 2016 reveals why he can’t wait to host the Menu Food and Drink Awards 2020

It was obvious pretty early on that Gary Maclean was destined for a career in cookery. “I started messing around in the kitchen when I was about 12,” recalls Gary, who comes from Glasgow. “Food back in the mid 80s was pretty rubbish generally but although I had no real understanding of cooking itself, I was curious how things worked.

“For example, I wanted to know how you turned porridge into oatcakes – mind you, I set fire to the grill trying to dry the oats out!”

He soon progressed to making mince rounds and selling them to the neighbours.

“I made more money doing that than on my paper round,” the 47-year-old reveals. “I had the worst round in Glasgow – I only had 10 customers, got paid £3 and was never up early enough in the morning to deliver the papers in time.

“I didn’t enjoy school and wasn’t very good at anything apart from two subjects – drama and home economics. Suddenly, in home economics, instead of being the worst at everything, I found myself the best in the class and the others were all asking me how I did it.

“So it was inevitable that I would end up in a career with food.”

Gary spent his early career working in hotels where he learned a number of key skills. At the age of 30 he opened his own restaurant in Glasgow and, as head chef, challenged himself to regularly create new and exciting menus for his customers. From there he went on to run the kitchens at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art and the Burrell Collection.

He’s also held executive chef positions at two of Scotland’s biggest independent operators and his current role as senior lecturer at City of Glasgow College is what really drives his passion for mentoring young chefs and creative cooking. In December 2016 he was crowned Masterchef: The Professionals Champion 2016, after taking on 47 other professional chefs in the pursuit of gastronomic glory. So it’s no surprise that 2017 saw the Scottish Government appoint him as Scotland’s first National Chef, to promote Scottish produce on the world stage and encourage communities to eat healthy, seasonal, locally produced food.

Gary is looking forward to hosting the Menu Food and Drink Awards at Dundee’s Apex City Quay on March 12 – the first time he has hosted an awards ceremony.

“I do a lot of public and after dinner speaking but I’ve never presented awards before,” he says. “I’m aiming to have a bit of fun with the audience on the night.”

“I know a lot of the nominees and I know many of them will be biting their nails on the night, just as I’ve done many times myself at such events.” Gary is no stranger to Courier Country and he’s worked in the area on many occasions, with many friends in our local food and drink industry. “Courier Country is a powerhouse of quality, a who’s who of Scottish food and drink,” he enthuses. “The quality of the produce, and the people behind it, is incredible – the area’s reputation goes much further than just Courier Country.”

Gary is also impressed by the chefs on the big night – Praveen Kumar, Graham Paulley, Martin Hollis and Paul Newman – who will each cook a delicious course at the gala dinner.

“The line-up of chefs is incredible, they’re all heroes of mine and it will be an incredible night for food,” he smiles.

“It’s going to be a nice night and I’m looking forward to catching up with people. Events like this are usually very noisy because everyone is chatting away so keeping everyone’s attention will be a challenge!” he continues.

“It’s so nice for them to get out of the restaurant, kitchen, factory, shop or wherever for a night too – it’s a total celebration of Courier Country.”

As a lecturer Gary knows first-hand how important it is to encourage youngsters to become the next generation working in Scotland’s food and drink industry.

“On the education side, Perth College UHI has produced some amazing alumni, including Tom Kitchin – it shows a mark of quality of Scotland as a whole.

“But worldwide we’re struggling to get chefs into the industry,” he says. “The world is completely different now from when I was growing up: the young people coming through today are worldly wise and smarter than us – they have got the internet at their fingertips so they can question, research.

“They’re too smart to do 15 hours’ work for eight hours’ money. It’s an amazing industry so let’s treat our youngsters the way we’d like to see our own kids treated. It’s one of the biggest industries in Scotland so we have to make it attractive for the next generation, and give them a proper foundation.”

While most chefs usually have a signature dish they enjoy cooking, Gary reveals he’s a bit of an all-rounder.

“I love everything: pastry, butchery, fish, shellfish,” he smiles. “I’m OK at everything and just as happy plucking 14 pheasants as making 14 lemon tarts.

“I enjoy the process, I love it all.

“I don’t like doing sprouts though,” he shudders. “I used to spend ages preparing them and they’d always come back uneaten. “I banned them when I became a head chef!”

I’m aiming to have a bit of fun with the audience on the night