Member of the Month November 2021: Ryan Hogg

Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is Ryan Hogg.

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Ryan will receive an item of TSC merch of his choosing and will be entered in our Member of the Year 2021 competition. The Staff Canteen Member of the Month feature is brought to you in association with Major.

1.Current place of work, position

I am currently the head chef at the Park Hotel Peebles in the Scottish Borders, which is part of the Crieff hydro family of hotels.

2) What is your cooking style and what should people expect from your food?

My cooking style utilises Scottish produce,  classic flavour combinations with some modern twists and techniques but varies a little depending on the menu. We have three main food entities, our bakery/tearoom great coffee and a cakes, scones, sausage rolls. Ballantynes 1881 bar, which is gastro bar style menu and tryst which is our finer dining seasonal  tasting menu, so all require a slightly different approach to menu planning and cooking.

3) What is your favourite dish to cook and why?

Having just changed our gastro bar menu I have a few but if I had to pick one, it would be the pan-seared monkfish tail, crispy lemon and herb monkfish cheek, pumpkin puree, samphire, red wine glazed salsify and seaweed beurre blanc from that menu, I’m really happy with the way it has turned out and the tasting menu is great to do as well.

4) Name a food item/dish/ingredient that isn't considered "cheffy" but that you love to eat

Would have to be cottage pie. When it’s good you can’t beat it.

5) What do you like about The Staff Canteen app and website?

I think it’s great what The Staff Canteen does, I was introduced to it through the YouTube channel then signed up to the website about a year ago. Great articles on all aspects of the industry, and some amazingly talented people showcasing some amazing food. It’s a great community to be involved with would recommend it to anyone in the industry.

6) What are your plans for the future?

My plans for the future are to carry on moving forward with what we are doing food wise it’s never perfect it can always be improved or refined. I am currently  starting to plan next season's tasting menu for the beginning of next year, training and assessing one of my junior team members in her SVQ level two with the aim of finishing early next year, and of course, getting geared up for Christmas.

7) What are you most looking forward to over Christmas?

To be honest I really like working Christmas, we are fully booked for Christmas day and the hotel has a great atmosphere at Christmas,  it is really satisfying to play our part in creating great memories  for our guests with food.