The UK’s next top chef... the Scots teen who taught himself to cook during lockdown
... and he’s already working in a Michelin star restaurant
A SCOTS teenager is on the road to culinary fame and fortune after teaching himself to cook gourmet meals in his family kitchen when the pandemic shut down his school.
Bored of his parents’ day-to-day dinners at his home in Falkirk, Nathan Strachan decided to take matters into his own hands and spice up the menu.
While his peers played computer games to occupy themselves during lockdown, Nathan glazed, flambéed and sautéed his way through a raft of dishes – posting images of his imaginative creations online in the hope he would be spotted by industry experts.
Now, at 17, the talented chef – who lists fellow Scot Gordon Ramsay as his inspiration – is working full-time in one of the country’s top Michelin star kitchens.
One of a small team of chefs at Unalome by Graeme Cheevers in Glasgow, Nathan is trusted to design and cook his own dishes for lunch and dinner service where diners pay up to £100 a head.
Many teens would struggle to boil an egg but Nathan’s recent creations include brown crab mousse with savoury custard and dashi jelly, salt-baked celeriac glazed with soy and honey, and
‘I started trying my own ideas and posted photos’
yoghurt parfait with strawberry sorbet and honeycomb.
He has even been picked to represent the exclusive restaurant at Scotland’s Ideal Home Show later this month, where he will be cooking live on stage.
‘People are often surprised when they realise I’m only 17 but when they see what I can cook they realise that age doesn’t matter,’ Nathan told The Scottish Mail on Sunday.
‘There aren’t any other chefs my age in top Scottish kitchens. I don’t think a lot of people my age see it as a profession they can get into. I absolutely love the fast pace and buzz of a professional kitchen and would like to have my own Michelin star restaurant before I’m 30.’
A former pupil at Graeme High in Falkirk, Nathan didn’t enjoy traditional lessons. He said: ‘I found school boring but now I’ve found a career I’m really suited to that keeps me on my toes.
‘I’m not really concerned about a lack of qualifications as my work speaks for itself.’
He continued: ‘I don’t come from a family of cooks and was never a huge fan of what my mum and dad cook. We used to eat a lot of traditional food, stews and casseroles, nothing fancy.
‘I was 14 during the first lockdown and was stuck at home with nothing to do so I decided to start making the food. ‘I watched a lot of cooking shows – particularly Gordon Ramsay, who I really like – and would recreate recipes I saw.
‘I started trying my own ideas and posting photos on Instagram and sending them to people in the industry and it got me noticed.’
He added: ‘Most of my mates are still at school and can’t cook.
‘They all like to come round to mine for food when I’m not working. I do long shifts and don’t get home until late but I absolutely love what I do.’
He is currently working in the pastry section at Unalome but his preferred choice of ingredient to work with – and to eat – is fish. ‘My favourite meal to eat would be Scottish halibut cooked with lots of butter and served with potatoes and honey roasted carrots,’ he said.
‘If I have my own restaurant I’ll have a lot of fish on the menu.’
Nathan, who left school at 16 to pursue his career, got his big break at Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen and also Dean Banks in Edinburgh before being poached by Mr Cheevers last summer.
He has since been offered a job at a top London restaurant, three Michelin star Core by Clare Smyth, but wants to wait until he is 18 to make the move south.