Meet the Great British Menu 2017 chefs from Scotland: Ally McGrath

This year Ally McGrath  takes on Michael Bremner and Angela Malik in a bid to make it through to the Great British Menu 2017 banquet which celebrates 140 years of Wimbledon. This year’s brief is to create dishes that capture ‘a taste of summer’ paying tribute to the history and prestige of the Wimbledon Championships.

Ally McGrath has previously worked at Lindsay House with Richard Corrigan just after it opened. After a couple of years Ally returned to Scotland, firstly to Edinburgh and then to the Highlands where he ran the kitchen in country house hotel, Muckrach Lodge. After a brief 3 month return to London and working at a pub in East Lothian for 2 years, Ally opened his own restaurant Halcyon in 2003.

Halcyon, unfortunately, closed after three and a half years due to various staffing and layout difficulties. Moving 30 meters down the road, Ally opened Osso in 2007 and the restaurant has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand several years in a row.

What made you want to take part in Great British Menu again?

Unfinished business? It was pretty close last year – I was up against stiff competition and I think I did quite well but I could have done better. The other reason was that it was good fun and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t just want to do it once, I wanted to try again and be better and do better. I didn’t make it to the judges’ chamber last year, I wanted to do that and see if I could progress further than that.

 Did you enjoy being pushed out of your comfort zone, and how difficult is it to cook in the GBM kitchen alongside other chefs?

It was very difficult. I was still in shock from being asked the first year so to be asked back, it was like ‘oh my god!’ There’s a lot of pressure, you’re up against some of the best chefs in the country. I think you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone every now and again. Doing it last year gave me a bit of a boost and I think I was resting on my laurels a bit before I did it so it gave me a kick up the backside to start pushing myself again. Doing it again, I’ve raised my game and that goes through to Osso. We’ve changed what we do slightly - we’ve got a stand alone kitchen now so it’s taken a bit of pressure off the kitchen at Osso.

Because of that, I had time and space to practice my dishes more. I had no time last year before filming and I didn’t practice them enough. I made mistakes that my wife and I had discussed, and discussed how we were going to rectify them, I forgot and I did the exact same thing. The things that Daniel was picking up on were the things we had spoken about and I felt like a bit of a tit, to be honest! So, this time, I had the time and space to fine tune it and get it how I wanted.

How tough is it to come up with dishes which fit the brief?

When the email with the brief comes through and you’re going ‘I don’t understand’, even that’s enjoyable, looking back. The rose-tinted glasses, I think that’s called! In the beginning, it was quite tough because I was sat there for a good hour thinking ‘Is it summer or is it Wimbledon?’. But once I got started and began really thinking about it, I got some really nice ideas. I think my menu is a lot stronger than last years’. It takes so much work and so much energy. I think there’s one dish that I’ll maybe never do again though! I thought it was a great idea at the time and then every time I did it, I hated it a little bit more. But the menu that I did, I thought was quite strong.

Did you feel under pressure to create theatrical dishes rather than well-cooked dishes served simply on a plate?

I think last year, I focused on props a lot more. Michael and I had a chat about it and I think that this year, everyone is going a bit away from that, concentrating more on getting the flavour right and the dish right. Especially on GBM, it seems to be more about the food and it’s all about the taste. The props are important with some dishes, it’s television and the people at home aren’t eating it. I’ve only seen what the Scottish one was like but we weren’t using as many props as last year – I’ve only used one. 

What were the best and worst parts of being on GBM?

I’ve got to be honest, I found this year so much harder. Last year, it was the fear of the unknown and I didn’t know what to do. Whereas this time, it was like ‘I’m not going home first!’. I put a lot of pressure on myself. Just being involved is probably the best bit! As much as it puts pressure on you, I’ve enjoyed the whole experience. You’re pushing yourself. There’s the fun and creative part of it – although my wife moans at me when I spend lots of money on new plates and I don’t like them anymore! But the bit I don’t enjoy is when they say ‘start cooking!’ That scares you the most but then you just get your head down and get on with it.

How nerve-wracking is it to cook for your peers?

Exceptionally, it’s terrifying, to be honest! You have your standards and you know what you think of your dish and then to have people that you look up to and you respect - you hope they don’t tear it apart. You’ve practiced it and you know what it could be and you’ve only got a limited time to get it done. Then time starts slipping away and you don’t get it right or you forget something, and then to have them look at it and then look up and look at you… To have them critique it, it’s quite frightening!

If you were scoring your dishes, would you agree with what your judge said or not? If not, why not?

I think I’ve been lucky, the two judges that I’ve had have been high quality. They’ve been very fair and very honest and they’ll even take you off-screen and have a little word with you, give you words of encouragement and things like that. I think some of the judges aren’t like that. The two judges that I’ve had, they’re in the top tier as well. They are highly regarded across the board.

Would you do it again?

I would have to give it a lot of thought. Last year, it was the shock of being asked and I said yes straight away. I would love to do it again, don’t get me wrong but whether I’d want to put myself through all that again, I’m not sure. It took a lot out of me this year and I think at the end of it, I was like ‘I’m never setting foot back in this kitchen again!’. But, we’ll see!

>>> Read more about Great British Menu 2017 here