Rachael Hamilton

Scottish Conservative MSP

Describe your favourite plate

of food. Sharing simple, food with friends and family is more important than what’s on the plate. Most people know they’re going to get good nosh at our house because we love cooking locally sourced ingredients. A homemade cottage pie with Scotch beef mince can be as satisfying as something fancy, it’s more about the company.

Why is it so special? Sharing food is

the art of giving.

More generally, what’s your

most memorable meal and why? A winter BBQ at Yellow Craigs beach in East Lothian. We barbequed partridge breasts, and ate them with homemade red onion marmalade and cherry tomatoes in a crusty baguette with a can of G&T.

Have you ever had any culinary

disasters? I made a decadent lemon tart with nine egg yolks and six lemons and didn’t have time for it to set before I served it to my guests. Instead of a beautifully cut and presented pudding, it was a tasty, but runny, gloop.

Is there one ingredient in your kitchen that you couldn’t do without? Butter Food Heaven/food hell?

Sweetbreads are my food hell because of their association. My husband ordered calves testicles at Au Petit Comptoir in Reims. The waiter arrived with the food, he took one look at it and tried to convince me that it was what I ordered!

What’s your guilty comfort food? Almond croissants.

Fantasy dinner party guests?

Nadim Zahawi, David Attenborough, Henry Dimbleby, Richard Osman, Peter Scudamore, Elizabeth Blackadder, The Queen, Mary Berry, Clementine Churchhill, Sinead O’connor, Ayesha Hazarika

What is your favourite thing on the parliament menu? Spiced lentil

soup

How would you describe you

approach to food? Wholesome and educated. Knowing how to cook and manage a store cupboard is one of the greatest skills known to mankind. The pandemic has pushed people back into the kitchen - let’s jump on that bandwagon and get home economics back into schools to cut food waste, promote health and wellbeing and alleviate poverty.