COOKERY Nairn's Cook School
John Webber has never failed. The gastronomic guru at Nick Nairn’s new cookery school in Glasgow has had students who couldn’t boil eggs finish his courses laughing in the face of a souffle (although not too hard of course, for fear of it falling).
Webber believes the present foodie phenomenon is due in equal measure to the media and a genuine hunger from a generation who, unlike their grandmothers, haven’t learnt cooking from their own mothers. And it’s fashionable. ’People look upon cooking as recreational,’ says Webber. 'After a busy day, go home, relax and cook yourself up something tasty. With modern techniques it doesn’t have to mean hours and hours over the stove. And for some couples, it’s one of the few times they can spend time doing something together.’
The new cookery school is aimed at interested amateurs. ’People will come with different expectations and they’ll come with different requirements,’ he says. ’People who either enjoy food as a consumer and would
WEBSITE
www.egonronay.net
Nairn's Cook School is aimed at interested amateurs
like to learn more about cooking, or perhaps people who entertain on a regular basis and would like to have more knowledge and a slightly larger repertoire. Initially we’re concentrating on the kind of food we do in Nick’s restaurant; modern cooking with an emphasis on quality of produce and clarity of flavour.’
Taught primarily by Webber, with Nairn popping in and out as available, the classes offer a low student/lecturer ratio with a maximum of eight students. Cost of £95 a day (9.30am—4pm) includes lunch and all appropriate notes.
There’s a variety of courses, starting with a foundation course on stocks and sauces. ’lt’s one of the first stumbling blocks,’ says Webber. ‘People open a recipe book and it says 402 of veal stock and they close the book again.’ Other subjects include fish and shellfish, desserts, as well as formal and informal dinner parties. Eventually, an eight-day masterclass course will encompass all the subjects linked together culminating in a comprehensive grounding in modern cookery. Oeuf a la coque anyone? That’s boiled egg to you and me. (Gabe Stewart)
(is; Nairn’s Cook Schoo/, 0747 353 0707
Visual stakes, but emphasises content over colour. As well as restaurant of the week (we’re talking London and
FOOD&DRINK Side orders
Food news in bite-sized pieces
It’s been a month of spring cleaning in the Central Belt’s bars and restaurants, With a bundle of establishments receiVing a freshen up and a lick of paint before the summer season Glasgow’s Pitcher and Piano has cleaned up and revarnished its floor. In Edinburgh, Bann's in Hunter Square has been redecorated and ehI is celebrating its fourth birthday With a revamp, the bar has been refitted, there's a new grey paint job and the menu has had a rethink If only the spring makeover was available for us weary punters too.
Leonardo and Co has added a new branch to its eXisting Glasgow bistros in Bothwell Street and Byres Road. The North Rotunda is the latest in the rapidly growmg mini-empire. Like its predecessors, the successful Leonardo's formula comprises pizza, pasta, a smattering of more formal dishes and a good selection of Wines and beer. Expect four more branches to open across Scotland shortly.
a: Leonardo and Co, 28 Tunnel Street, Glasgow, 204 7238
Billboard adverts for an outfit called the City Cafe in Glasgow don't mean that the legendary Edinburgh bar is heading west. Instead this City Cafe concept has been imported from Bristol and forms part of the City Inn Hotel chain. The new hotel on the banks of the Clyde, practically Within the shadow of the Finnieston crane has enlisted Pat McDonald of Channel 4's If You Can’t Stand The Heat as consultant. Head chef Will be Richard Lyth who comes With Good Food GUide accolades.
City Inn, Finnieston Quay, G/asgow, 0777 739 7444
Redecorated: eh1
Egon Ronay: down on motorway service
In the era of dotcom millionaires, we've been led to believe that new websites are strictly the preserve of the youthful and the groovy, so it's refreshing to note that one of the oldest names in food has taken to the web to air his characteristically outspoken Views
Hungarian born restaurateur Egon Ronay has been producing guides since the late 50s but the vagaries of the print world had left him stranded when his publishers, the AA, sold the rights to the guides to a company that subsequently went into liquidation Now after a high court battle Ronay is back in control and has taken the cyber-route for his criticism
The site is certainly low key in the
New York rather than central Scotland) and kitchen tips, Motorway madness —~ Ronay's guide to serVice stations is magnificently acerbic Citing the lack of competition in the serVice station marketplace, the guide offers a no holds-barred condemnation of food quality and prices. Only two establishmei'its, the Westmorland and NIan serVice stations both privately- owned, come in for praise. While the three big chains Granada, Welcome Break and RoadChef, who share more than sixty establishments between them, find little favour The site Will be updated weekly, In the meantime, if you’re going on a long car journey you may be adVised to take your sandWiches. (Moira Jeffrey)
rant
Le Sept
7 Old Fishmarkct Close. Edinburgh
Lunch and Dinner. Monday to Thursday. Friday. Saturday and Sunday. open all day.
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