Tony Borthwick ponders his future in Leith (left), cheek by jowl with Martin Wishart (below)
I'M HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL, I WANT SOMETHING THAT WILL BECOME
AN INSTITUTION
The Plumed Horse. as before. will accommodate only about 28 diners at any one time. Wisliart‘s restaurant can now take up to 55 covers (averaging 45 every night).
Wishart confirms that he encouraged Borthwick to come to lidinburgh. ‘l‘m delighted he‘s going to be our neighbour.’ he says. "Tony was involved in the Scottish l"ood Scholarship along with other Michelin starred chefs. We started talking about business and I said there was plenty of room in Iidinburgh. especially for a smaller restaurant with a chef/owner.‘ As for competition. Wishart is unafraid. ‘If you're on the ball and run your business correctly. yotr shouldn‘t need to fear competition. For
n-
” 4",
customers. more choice is great. If we share customers. all the better. I don‘t see it as competition in a negative sense.
‘l.eith has a village feel around the Shore area.‘ he says. “There are already well-established good restaurants. Between Tony. Tom Kitchin and myself. it all just highlights Leith itself.‘
Borthwick implies he was getting itchy in (‘rossmichael near (‘astle Douglas for a while. Keeping staff was difficult. and off-season mid- week nights could be spent watching ('omnurr'on Strum rather than cooking. Having secured the star. he was named chef of the year by the Scottish (‘hef‘s Association in 2005. Time had come to scratch that itch. While he relishes a challenge. he returns repeatedly to finances. as well. If he had stayed in the countryside. he fears he would have ended up a ‘poor old man. I need to be practical. Hopefully I'll make enough to pay off this wee flat.‘
His commitment to Leith appears quite strong. There is the ‘wee liat' into which he and his partner have had to shoehorn belongings (having vacated a sis—room farmhouse). The premise for the new restaurant in Henderson Street has a 20-
mm ,_ W a?
LEITH CHEFS
year contract. ‘l‘m here for the long haul.‘ he says. ‘I want something that will become an institution.’
He says coming to the city wasn‘t a difficult transition. He plans to give up his car and has found the birdlife around Rennie's Isle surprisingly diverse (he recently spotted a rare puffin-like seabird). While raised in rural surroundings. he has done stints in London and Glasgow previously. ‘Cities are just loads of villages pushed together.’ he says.
The self-taught chef cut his professional catering teeth at the Savoy Hotel. having left Yorkshire after recovering from a broken neck. ‘That was a life-changing event.‘ he says. ‘I always loved to cook.‘ He calls his time at the Savoy his ‘national service’: ‘nothing prepares you for the abuse.‘ he says. The experience taught him less about cooking than about discipline and teamwork. ‘You learn how to organise and why you need hierarchies.‘
Despite the Michelin pedigree. Borthwick doesn‘t allow his restaurant to be stuffy. In Galloway. the Plumed Horse overcame ‘preconceptions' about what a Michelin starred restaurant is like. He wants his front of house staff to be ‘correct‘ but not intrusive: a balance of pleasantness and professionalism. ‘limploy nice people and it can happen naturally.~
Martin Wishart predicts success. ‘Smaller. individual restaurants deserve to be supported and I think he is going to find that Iidinburgh will give him support] he says. Bonhwick is pleased that advance interest has been ‘nothing short of phenomenal.~ He says. ‘It feels as if there has been more interest in booking a table in what's a building site than when it was an operating Michelin starred restaurant.‘
As we wrap up the interview. he says that after a slow start. the joiner‘s work on the Plumed Horse‘s interiors has noticeably accelerated. (iood news. ‘l'm bored.‘ he admits. And that dish that keeps him up a night‘.’ A boneless whole lemon sole stuffed with a lobster mousseline. He acknowledges that obsessing about a particular dish may sound ‘sad' and that he needs to get back on the tools soon. ‘lt‘s for my own health.‘
For updates on the Plumed Horse, log onto www. www.plumedhorse.co.uk or to book call 0131 554 5556
Another newcomer to Leith, Tom Kitchin (pictured left, in his kitchen), has been earning rave reviews for his cooking
30 Nov 1.1 [)(x: 20061115 LIST 19