The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Chef brings passion and patter to the table
Best known to many for his regular appearances on Ready, Steady Cook, chef Paul Rankin’s passion for food won him Northern Ireland’s first Michelin Star in the early 1990s.
He is on holiday in Italy ahead of his appearance at Perthshire on a Plate on Friday but work, or great food at least, is never off the menu for the celebrity chef.
On this occasion he is enjoying the simple pleasures of dining in Italy but is equally impressed by the quality of the wine on offer.
“Last night I had an amazing bottle of wine in a restaurant for just €13 – you just can’t get that in the UK.”
Paul was born in Glasgow to a Scottish father and Northern Irish mother, and his family moved back over the Irish Sea when he was just six months old.
He grew up in a village called Ballywater near the beautiful Strangford Lough and right from those early days he remembers his mum being “fussy about food”. She would seek out the best piece of lemon sole or beef and although she cooked simple dishes, they were always prepared with care and attention.
Part of a church-going family, the tradition of sharing food and especially home-baking are also an important part of Paul’s food heritage.
When he left home, Paul already had the cookery skills to prepare a simple family meal and when he met his first wife Jeannie the couple worked in the restaurant trade to fund their travels around the world.
After spells in the likes of Canada, India, China and Australia, the couple moved to London. Paul was determined to become a chef and he wrote to Albert Roux asking for a job.
“I started as a dishwasher at the age of 24 then I moved up through the ranks,” he recalls.
“It was brutally difficult, the hours were very long and I had to come in early to give myself a bit more time but it was wonderful.”
Under his mentor, he discovered classic French cooking techniques and wonderful produce. He was told he was too old to start training as a chef then, when he moved to open his own extremely successful restaurant in Belfast, people also said he was too young to have a Michelin star.
The affable Ulsterman has always been a popular TV personality and was one of the most successful chefs on the long-running Ready, Steady, Cook.
Recent TV projects have included culinary tours of Canada and New Zealand with celebrity chef pal Nick Nairn in tow, during which the pair focus on the Ulster-Scots influence in those countries. Of course, we also get to know the area’s food offerings.
Paul and Nick’s Big Food Trips have already aired on UTV in Northern Ireland and will be broadcast on STV next year.
At the Perth Show, Paul will headline the Perthshire on a Plate festival and will spend time in the Food Theatre passing some of the tricks of the trade on to his audience.
He hasn’t confirmed what will be on the menu yet, saying: “I will be using the best of the local produce, maybe lamb, beef or Scottish fish. Desserts aren’t really my favourite thing to cook but I do make a great tarte Tatin.”
He thinks for a second and then sets himself a challenge: “Yes, I’ll make them a tarte Tatin, tell them, I’ll cook them a tarte Tatin.”
Whatever Paul does decide to rustle up on the day, you can be sure it will be prepared with passion and sprinkled with some great anecdotes to keep the audience entertained.
He will appear at the Perthshire on a Plate Food Theatre on Friday at 11am and 2pm.
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I will be using the best of local produce, maybe lamb, beef or Scottish fish