Glasgow chefs Peter McKenna and Julie Lin to appear on BBC's Saturday Kitchen

Peter McKenna recently launched Eleven Fifty Five in Finnieston, transforming the former home of The Gannet, the award-winning restaurant he co-founded and led for more than a decade. The new venture marks a fresh chapter for the Monaghan-born chef, whose reputation has been built on championing Scottish produce through refined, ingredient-led cooking.

On opening the new restaurant, McKenna told me it reflects his personality, and the personality of general manager Kevin Dow: “You get to a stage in your life where you've been to a lot of fine dining restaurants, you've been to some of the best restaurants in the world, and that's brilliant and there’s memories to cherish. We've done our own take on Scottish fine dining for a long, long time, over a decade, and it wasn't the restaurants that I was gravitating towards.

“Yes, I still love fine dining, but it just wasn't fitting me in where I am at the moment, or Kevin, for that matter. So myself and Kevin would go down to London or we're going over to Paris, the type of places we were going to, yes, great food has to be great food as non-negotiable, but the atmosphere, the vibe, the service, the fun, because at the end of the day, it's a night out. It's a day out. You want to have fun.

“For me, if you're sitting over this beautifully crafted plate of food, but you're all very quiet and you're taking it all very serious, it's not really where we're at. We want to have fun. We want to go out and enjoy ourselves, and we want our food and our service to reflect that.”

Julie Lin, meanwhile, continues to expand her profile beyond Scotland through television, publishing and new restaurant projects. The chef first came to wider attention as a MasterChef quarter-finalist before co-hosting STV's Julie and Jimmy's Hot Woks and becoming a regular face on BBC food programming, including previous appearances on Saturday Kitchen. Her menu while at GaGa in Partick earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction.

This month she launched Tacos Lah at Edinburgh food hall Bonnie & Wild, bringing together Malaysian flavours and Mexican street-food influences.

Lin said her new Tacos Lah project is a natural evolution of her culinary journey, which has drawn on her experience growing up between cultures: “I've grown up with fusion cuisine all of my life. Food makes me feel connected to a place,” says Lin. “Despite Malaysia and Mexico being geographically miles apart, there are so many similarities in the way both countries approach flavour. The deep respect for dried chillies, acidity, smoke and punchy seasonings is incredibly inspiring as a chef.”

The menu includes sambal pork tacos with pineapple salsa, slow-cooked lemongrass beef birria served with a richly spiced dipping broth, and a prawn tostada inspired by the flavours of prawn toast.

“I'm deeply in love with my Malaysian roots, and this feels like a really exciting opportunity to explore the incredible range of ingredients found across Mexico and Malaysia and respectfully bring them together,” says Lin. “Tacos Lah is about finding common ground through food and creating something that tells a story. And brings a smile to people's faces.”

Saturday Kitchen is on BBC One at 10am: “Matt Tebbutt is joined by chefs Julie Lin and Peter McKenna, and by special guest Lenny Henry. Drinks expert Olly Smith picks the wines to go with the studio dishes, and there are some great moments from the BBC food archive.”