Our chefs enjoyed a four course meal courtesy of executive chef John McMahon and his team along with matching wines.
The chefs
Chefs in attendance were Craig Hart, The Sheraton Grand; Stuart Ralston, chef patron, Aizle; Scott Smith, chef patron, Norn; Graeme Cheevers, Restaurant Martin Wishart, Loch Lomond; Gregor Ure, head chef, Gleneagles; Ian Macdonald, executive chef, St Andrews; Brian Grigor, head chef, Number One, Balmoral; Martin Hollis, executive chef, The Old Course and Joe Queen, Archerfield House.
Menu
Canapés and champagne
Specially Selected Pork
Scottish select pigs’ head pressing, mustard fruits, pickled brambles
Aged fillet of borders beef, crisp tendon, bone marrow skirlie, Jerusalem artichoke, seasonal mushroom.
Whisky
Balvenie Doublewood whisky parfait, 70% dark chocolate crémeux, black plum
Coffee and hand made Pettit fours
The menu and butchery demo at Prestonfield House
This was a networking lunch with a difference, to kick off the event Master Butcher Stewart McClymont broke down a Scotch Beef PGI forequarter.
John McMahon introducing
the menu at Prestonfield House
He explained all the different cuts including some lesser known such as the Denver and he encouraged chefs to ask him questions as well asking their cooking advice in return.
After the demo the chefs were treated to champagne and canapes, including langoustines, scallops, monkfish and oysters. They then enjoyed a four course meal by the team at Prestonfield House. Dishes included, Scottish select pigs’ head pressing, mustard fruits, pickled brambles and Aged fillet of borders beef, crisp tendon, bone marrow skirlie, Jerusalem artichoke, seasonal mushroom.
What the chefs and Scotch Beef Club had to say about The Staff Canteen live networking lunch at Prestonfield House
Scotch Lamb PGI
Corned lamb breast, roast
sweetbreads, tomato and apricot
ketchup, cassia bark, fermented
elderberries
Ciara Etherson, Marketing Executive at Quality Meat Scotland said: "I thought Stewart (McClymont) was a great addition to the start of the day and the feed back on the butchery demo from all the chefs has been fantastic. Stewart put a lot of thought into the demonstration, he spoke to chefs in his work to find out what they would like to know more about and any cuts they were not familiar with.
She added: "I'm really pleased with the meal and the Scotch Beef in particular was delicious."
Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of Quality Meat Scotland, continued: "It was nice to see chefs in a restaurant and being able to relax for a change! It's been fantastic for the chefs to see Stewart's butchery skills firsthand and taste all of our products, not just Scotch Beef, as part of this superb meal. The chat we've had with the chefs has been about how can we replicate this? How can we get more chefs involved and able to see the skills which go into the product?"
He added: "Today, seeing the smiles on the faces of some the top chefs in Scotland really made a difference to what we do day in, day out. We hope we have created some more ambassadors for this world class product which is Scotch."
Joe Queen from Archerfield House found the day very educational and was impressed by the technical skills of the butcher. He said: "We don't really get the opportunity to see the cuts from the fore quarter, and it was great to see how he broke it down and hopefully we can use our skills to create some dishes from those cuts we may not have used before."
He added: "The food, service and company have all been fabulous."
Brian Grigor, head chef, Number One at the Balmoral continued: "Seeing the butchery was great because you'll always take something away from it whether it's a cut or a technique there's always something to learn.
"We're all Scottish chefs so we all know how good the product (Scotch) is and if we are not putting it on our menu it's quite disgraceful really. Our guests who come to the hotel expect to see those things on the menu."
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