Roberta Hall-McCarron
The chef opened Edinburgh’s The Little Chartroom in 2018. In September, it relocated to a larger space, with the old site home to new venture Eleanore
My favourite food memory is eating pints of langoustines while sailing on the west coast of Scotland. It’s such a simple thing but a brilliant example of how great something can be when the produce is well-sourced and unbelievably fresh.
People want to enjoy fantastic food in an intimate setting with friendly, unfussy service, but they don’t necessarily want to get all dressed up and spend a fortune.
We’re seeing more chefs try to minimise waste and get use out of every last bit of produce. I certainly wasn’t using the stem of a leaf when I started out cooking, but through different preservations it can really change the whole dimension of a dish.
The produce we have available to us in Britain is world-class. We’ve seen the farm-to-table approach do so well and I think it makes consumers more conscious of what they are eating and its provenance.
I’ve been doing a lot of dehydrating and puffing of grains lately. It’s a great way to add texture to a dish and change the profile.
One of the most underrated ingredients is potatoes. You can do so much with them. I love serving stuffed potato dauphines on the side of dishes, and recently I’ve filled them with ham hock rarebit and also with salt cod brandade.
All my holidays are based around visiting restaurants across the world. If I can take one thing from each experience and it evolves my own food, then it’s been a worthwhile trip.
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is to always put yourself in the guest’s shoes. Whenever I think about how to serve a dish, I switch out of chef mode and ask myself, ‘What would I want if I was the diner?’
I’m inspired by Kirk Haworth of Plates. The way he’s championing plant-based cooking is so inspiring. His story and passion for his craft is incredible. I’ll be cooking with him later in the year and I’m so excited to get a real insight into the way he treats vegetables (thelittlechartroom.com).
‘THE PRODUCE WE HAVE IN BRITAIN IS WORLD-CLASS’