Top Scottish cook shares her food loves, favourite Skye restaurant and edible icks

We grilled her about her life in food

Sarah Rankin is a Scottish chef, MasterChef alumni, food writer, broadcaster and private dining specialist. She’s also the author of cookbooks Feast and Kith, and runs regular cookery classes and supper clubs.

What is your first food memory?

The smell of pancakes from my granny’s kitchen every Saturday afternoon.

How would you describe your cooking style?

Seasonal and ingredient-led. I’d rather be inspired by what looks good and is at its peak than write a menu and scramble to find the produce. For private dining events, my menus are always secret and revealed on the night, usually because I’m inspired by the ingredients and am evolving the dish up until service. It’s a fun way to work.

What’s your ultimate guilty food pleasure?

White bread, runny honey and loads of sea salt. About six slices. Although I only ever set out to have one.

Favourite food destination, outside Scotland?

You can’t beat our larder, but I do love Spanish food. As a naturally greedy person, tapas is a great draw as I get to try loads of different things and picking stuff from other people’s plates isn’t as frowned upon as it is here.

Favourite cookbook?

I have over 200 so that is an impossible decision. I love the way Nigel Slater writes though and dip in and out of his book Eat. Not necessarily to cook from, just because it’s a very

soothing read.

Favourite Scottish restaurant/cafe/bar/deli?

I almost never go out as I am always working but I think that Edinbane Lodge in Skye is pretty hard to beat. I love Little Capo in Edinburgh and Xoko bakehouse in Inverness too. As far as bars go, I had a pretty exceptional Gibson in Porter & Rye in Glasgow the other week.

Favourite ingredient?

Scottish wild venison.

Worst ingredient?

Processed cheese. Why ruin a delicious handmade burger with a square of what is essentially tasteless orange plastic? It’s not quirky or ironic. Just revolting.

Biggest kitchen nightmare?

I had a private dining event for 24 people, and I made a huge batch of mini meringues to dip in chocolate and sandwich together with fresh cream and raspberries. They need to be super dry, so I left them to fully crisp in the oven overnight. I woke to find that I had set the oven to ‘steam’, and I had three trays of uncooked dollops of sweet egg white and no dessert. That, or removing a chunk from my finger with a mandoline while cooking at a very prestigious corporate event for a bottling reveal at a distillery. I did the rest of the event with my finger bandaged and unable to use my right hand.

Who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party and what would you eat?

Langoustines and courgette fritti with loads of garlicky, herby mayo, then a venison loin cooked rare with Ayrshire potatoes and Denhead Farm asparagus with butter and lemon. For dessert we’d have old-fashioneds and my granny’s tablet. I’d invite F. Marian McNeill because I’d love to know what inspired her to collate recipes from ordinary women across Scotland to create cultural and historical documents. Clarissa Dixon Wright would be a hoot and I suspect have no filter, and Shirley Manson because she’s probably the coolest person in Scotland.

And what are you up to these days?

I genuinely believe I have the best job in the world. I split my time between private chef work, hosting events and cookery stages, food writing and eating. From July 24 to August 2 I’ll be hosting the Edinburgh Folk and Food Festival Garden Theatre where I’ll have loads of Scottish chefs and cooks joining me on stage in George Square Gardens. It’s a perfect warm up to Festival season.

www.edfoodfest.com

Rankin is also at the Scottish Game Fair, today at 12.45pm in the Cookery Theatre, www.scottishfair.com