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Welcome to the Seafood Matters podcast.
I'm your host, Jim Cowie. In

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each episode will dive into the world
of seafood and by chatting with fishermen,

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fishery scientists and seafood chefs, will
highlight the importance of seafood in our daily

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lives, economy and environment. Whether
you catch your own seafood, love cooking

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it, or want to learn more
about where your fish comes from, you'll

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find it all here on the Seafood
Matters Podcast. This episode features Kevin Dalgleish,

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a renowned chef classically trained by the
legendary Antony Edelman at the London Savoy.

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He's also the chairman of the Scottish
branch of the Royal Academy of Culinary

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Arts, which I myself am a
member of. After serving as head chef

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at the prestigious Aguergil Tower in the
far north of Scotland, Kevin took on

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the role of executive chef at the
Chester Hotel in Aberdeen, where he transformed

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the culinary landscape with the signature food
festival. He now owns Amused by Kevin

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Dalgleish, where he specializes in modern
international cuisine. Join me exploring seafood from

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the perspective of one of our country's
leading chefs with Kevin Dalgleish. This is

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Seafood Matters Well, Kevin doll Gleish, Welcome to the Seafood Matters Podcast.

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Thanks Jim. You're a Border lad
and since I've known you, you've been

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as far north in the country as
you could possibly find yourself. You're now

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on the east side of it.
Where did it all start? Well,

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obviously I started in Hoike, in
the in the Borders, Queen of the

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Borders as they call it. You
know. I started when I was fifteen

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sixteen and I got this little job
in Hoyke called the Round the Ruse Bistro,

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and I had a really good chef
there, Ian Cunningham, who he

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worked in the dort Chest and he'd
been to London and so he always edging

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me to go to London. So
I got a part time job there with

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a day release course in the Borders
College and it already started from there.

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Came from Hyke High School, obviously
Rugby orientated. You know, I had

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a chance to this job and I
think I probably told it before Jim was

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obviously Jim Telfer was the director and
I had to say to him on a

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Saturday morning to say that I had
to give up my rugby career to give

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a chance to work in the Randy
rusbistro, which didn't go to down too

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well. Must have been hugely influencing
in your as a person anyway, because

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I'm right and saying there's another well
known rugby icon that you were in the

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same school, So I mean yeah, I mean the other the other big

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influence so in my cave was was
Bill McLaren obviously one of the biggest commentaries

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of all time in the rugby world. And I can mind have been in

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London and you know he was in
the on the he was commentating for the

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Six Nations and I would say,
oh, he was my pea teacher and

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no one would believe me. You
know. Jim Telford is your your your

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wrector at the school and Bill mcclaran
your pee teacher at the school. So

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two massive influential guys at the high
high school, which I think you always

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take bits and pieces from everyone.
I think in your life, what did

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your what did you do as a
child, I mean being brought up in

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Hike, I think it was it
was quite a lively town there, and

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the mills were booming, you know. He had Pringle Leland, Scott Hay

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Co all these you know, massive
mills. So it was a great place

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to be brought up, you know. And I did play rugby. I

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like my dad was a great footballer. He liked football and obviously you know

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Rangers was the kind of chosen team
that gets handed handed down to you.

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But you know I did like rugby. I played rugby until for the school

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and the primary school, which was
which was great. Then obviously you could

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to think what you want to do
there was there was no real rugby money

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then. There was no money money
and much sport perhaps from maybe football.

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So you have to make a decision. And my decision was to take this

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job at the rond of his bestro
and you know from fifteen I started work

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there. Yeah, so there was
no chef chefing in your early days.

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Well, I think my dad's brother, Ramsey, he had a few pubs

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and hotels and Edinburgh so he had
in the sixties he heard the Rotland Hotel,

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which was quite influential because they always
kind of started the kind of pub

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trade, bar lunch trade, and
that was the first kind of place,

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or he used to say to me. He was one of the first guys

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to start that because everyone was just
drinking in those days. Food was just

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a secondary thing. But so there
was always that aspect of hospitality within the

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family, although not my immediate family
as such. Okay, and what did

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your dad do in your mum?
So, my dad was a policeman and

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he was obviously at placement for thirty
five years until he retired, which was

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helpful at one point, but no
so great in other points. But you

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know, and my mum he just
helped clean up the police station, so

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it was it was quite a we
live right next to the police station,

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so it was quite a nice little
place to live to be honest. Yeah.

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Yeah. And is it London.
You went from the Borders. Yeah,

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I mean when I was nineteen,
so i'd been at the end of

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his beast for about four in about
years, done a day release course,

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as I said, at the hike
the Borders College, and then I used

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to write. I used to mind
buying the you know, the caterer magazine

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when it was used to be really
thick and it's full of jobs. So

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I used to I used to love
logos. So I used to write away

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to all these different hotels, not
really no on coming from what they were

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or who they were or what the
what the stand for? And I wrote

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away to maybe half a dozen hotels, and about two weeks later I got

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this response from the Savoy in London. Obviously there's no email then, no

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really mobile phones as such. Still
get this nice letter back and it was

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inviting me down for an interview in
the Savoy in London along the Strand.

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So I just went down for as
a ford. The interview went down Stadia

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for three days and then I was
expected to go down get off a job

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straight away. But the chef at
the time, anton Ado, when he

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says we'll get back to you,
thinking oh no, totally totally screwed up

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here, but right enough. A
bit a week later, I've got a

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letter asking if I wanted to start
a Zavoy about three months later, which

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was great, so but then reality
kind of kicks anything. Well, christ

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they go to go to London coming
from Haike, so it asked where it

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all started, to be honest,
So he is, so, really you

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started in the Savoy? Yeah,
nineteen year old, walking down, walking

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down? I can always remember I've
got the trip the sleeper train from Carlisle

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with two big cases, walk down, walk along. I can always remember

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walking along the strand two cases.
You know you can remember. I imagine

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coming from Hayke. No really being
in London or any city is going to

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be apart from Edinburgh or Glasgow in
your life. You think, Chris,

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what I've done here? But you
shouldn't get into it, you know,

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once you start making friends and the
first few months is hard, but once

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you get into it, it's absolutely
fine. It must have been hugely exciting.

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Well walking in from a kitchen from
three people to I think it was

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eighty nine chefs. I think all
the different sections at the Savoy and that's

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just a the River restaurant, restaurant
kitchen. It was certainly an eye opener.

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And I can remember my first day
because I know you're going to probably

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ask me was you know you can
imagine the Savoy kitchen is massive and they

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all have the different you know sections
to have the portar section, have the

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sauce, they have the fish,
they have the vegetable section, roast section,

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pastry, you know, you name
it, they've got it. Butchery.

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So I was in the bed section
for the first three months, and

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the chef to party there to meet
Kevin, go and get me a ladle.

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So I just walked up to it's
again section and grabbed a ladle.

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Of course, the chift party on
that section you grabbed me by the neck

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tie because obviously you had to wear
neckties on those days. It is get

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your own effan ladle, and I
went, ah, okay, And obviously

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you know your first day you're getting
threatened like that. You'll go oh.

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So it's like Tim, I was
like christ a better wise up here so

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and he surely wise up quite quick. So when you say you're wise up,

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what do you take the ladle?
When he's not looking well, he

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can't do that. He got to
be any shop in the morning. But

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I can remember I was there for
around three or four months, and of

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course I stayed in Camden Town.
So you have to get up quite early

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because you have to start at six
in the morning. The ship, all

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the chef the party started at six. So one day I thought I'll maybe

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get wise and you know, I
finished late and I went and got all

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the puts and pans from the plan
section and put them in the hit them

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on and all the ovens in the
red section. Of course, I came

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in at half half six and all
the rest of the guys were looking for

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the rest of the pans. Of
course I had hit them in all the

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ovens, so I just pulled them
out of the ovens and had all the

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best pans, so I would allowed
to do that again, and just in

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case, I never came in the
next again day. So yeah, you

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just got to be wise. And
I think, you know, people say

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the what a bullying kitchens? But
I think I'm quite sure that there was,

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and I'm sure there still is.
But I think it does that kind

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of form of bullying. I think
it does kind of sharpen you up and

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wise up, and a lot of
chefs just don't tolerate anymore. And I

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think but I said the scene quite
a lot. And did you go from

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the Savoy to acle do it as
ship? No? After the Savoy I

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left. I was there for about
three and a half years and I got

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this job. I just I was
just feeling I needed to leave London.

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I wanted to get back only because
I used to see all the great produce

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coming in and we'll probably touch up
later all the fantastic produce coming from Scotland

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into the stores. You know that
there was amazing smoked salmon. There was

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all the salmon, you know,
probably fish from you probably set down from

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scrubs and at one but Jim,
I'm quite sure. But you know,

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seeing all this amazing produce coming from
Scotland, and I says, maybe I

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want to go back to Scotland and
work closer to this produce. And that's

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where I think my love of produce
and local suppliers really kicked in because He's

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seen this, you know, the
teen great pride and source and produced at

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the Savoy, and I think that
really stuck with me throughout my career.

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So I went to the west coast
of Scotland and got a job at the

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Marine Highland and Troon. So that's
when I went after the Savoy probably and

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I had another job lined up at
the at the Pumpadoor restaurant with the Jeff

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Bland at the time, but the
money was no very great and you had

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to live out as well, which
in Edinburgh those days was expensive. When

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he had one hundred and twenty pounds
a week. So the Marine had offered

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me slightly more and it was living, which was something more attractive. But

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in hindsight, I should have played
ten the Pompadoor Restaurant because they were obviously

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you know, they were gunning from
a Michelin star then. But the Minion

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was great. I met with a
great chef, Richard Sturgeon, who I

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still keep in contact with, and
he kind of put me through the pacis

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there and it was great because it's
funny because my first day, one of

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the chepsy's oh where you came from
us? I went the Savoy and they

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went, oh, yeah, there's
Avoy in Air. I went, no,

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No, there's Avoy in London,
so that they can a step back,

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went over, what's this guy doing
here? But it was it was

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actually a great place to learn,
and you know, I could relax a

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bit better there and had good fun
there. You know, it was good

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for the leg who I've met with
you Anton n Edelman. People like that

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are almost iconic. There must be
a fantastic influence on a guy's career.

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Yeah, as I said earlierly,
you know you take I think you spoke

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you spoke about you know Bill mclar
when you speak about Jim Telford, you

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know, all these guys are you
know, they're in the top of their

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game. I would have thought,
and I think you'd take a little bit

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from each person in your life that
you admire. And you know, Anthony

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Leman was he was. He was
a great motivator. He was obviously a

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great chef. But Tom, you
can remember eighty five chefs in that kitchen,

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you know, and there's a lot
of what I would say, egos

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as such to try and control.
So even to control that alone is is

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a is amazing to do that,
never mind putting a thousand meals out a

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day. But then you get to
the to the main it's think we had

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about twenty chefs, Yeah, twenty
five chefs, but you know, really

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taking care of the food there.
The food was you know, the budgets

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were obviously different, but the produce
was the same. We still got the

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best stuff you could buy. And
that was a trend throughout my life catering

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life. I think it's you're always
sourcing the best in greens and working kitchen.

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I can give any advice to anyone
working kitchens that take real pride in

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sourcing the best best in greens.
And people get confused with saying the best

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must be the most ex so I
don't mean that, I mean just the

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best, getting close to the sources
you can and try and source the best.

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That doesn't have to be the most
expensive. You know, as you're

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all saying, that's great, it's
good to have people influential, people who

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can can influence your career. But
at the end, after all that,

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in fairness to yourself, Kevin,
you've almost built that of yourself now.

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And I see at that level and
one of the things you mentioned we local

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produce, I would have to take
my I always have done since I've met

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you, because I well, obviously
when you worked at the at Agagol Tower,

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I was well aware of the fact
you would you could have gone anywhere

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you wanted and negotiated a good price
and been quite corporate as far as getting

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suppliers to come down to a price
that you wanted to pay. But I

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would have to give you credit and
say you always supported locals. Remember you

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always got your beef local, and
wick you always got your fish and scrabs

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there. I used to think that
was fantastic, considering the power you would

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have had to get a really good
deal off some of the bigger suppliers.

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Yeah. I mean when I went
to I could go, it was a

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different, completely different place I've ever
worked before. It was as you know,

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it was an amazing place to work. And we had some great clients

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there. We had you know,
as you said, Vodaphone, we had

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you know, Rose Royce, we
had you know, the American hierarchy came

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over, you know, anyone that
it was. Anyone came to I could

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Go Tower, but no one really
knew better, which was probably one of

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the best things. And we had
to you know, these people were coming

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from all over the world, so
our food had to match up to any

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of the restaurants that they would like
to eat within that and in that scene.

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And so I mean, and I
said about local, and I bought

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local for two reasons really, I
think the most important one for me.

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It was the best in the world
anyway. You know, you look at

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Keithness, They've got the best crab
in the world. They've got the best

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lobsters in the world. You know, the fish and shellfishes is the best

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in the world. They've got game
from berry Dale. He had the beef

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from you know, they may select
that used to get it was just Keithness

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beef. You know, everything was
in our doorsteps, So why would I

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have to go out to the county
to do anything but that it would have

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been easier for me to get it
from like a national supplier and get a

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good deal. But you know why
didn't need to do it, because they

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were just buying it from Caithness.
Enemies to go back. I can mind

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the Sometimes some guy is saying to
me that local hotels there, they'll buy

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it from up called you know,
a national supply company where they buy it

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from Caithness. You'll go all the
way down to Edinburgh. They come all

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the way back up next again then
and I thought, why would you do

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that? But I mean, I
think the producing Caithness alone. I mean

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we still buy bits and pieces from
Caithness even now and again, and I

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even buy some stuff direct from Ortney
which obviously scallops and we still use that

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little beacher in Ortney which we buy
bits and pieces from. But I think

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if you but if you really like
your suppliers, they look after you and

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you can trust them. It's all
building up trust. And you know that

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don't send you the best of the
can and they'll give you the best fair

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price at the car and I think
that's the really relationship really need to build

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up. And after going from Savoy's, Darker Towers and things like that,

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you must feel very proud. I
have a huge respect for your career and

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I think it's wonderful now that you've
actually got your own restaurant. Can you

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tell us about that? Yeah,
I mean it's something I never even thought

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about having because you know this year
cost as you know yourself, but they

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put something that together is just an
endless pit at some points. But you

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know, after coming to Aberdeen and
working at the Chester for ten years,

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I think it gave me a great
platform. I think because you know,

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we had a great restaurant at the
Chester and we built a great clients at

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the Chester and then obviously after COVID
the change can attacked about it. So

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that's what gave me the opportunity to
do that and opened the door. So

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I think anything of COVID. COVID
kind of makes you think what you really

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want to do in your life.
I'm quite sure everyone's had those thoughts.

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And this opportunity arose and I thought
about it and then I said no,

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no, I'm happy where I am, and then it came again, and

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my wife Kerry says, well,
you're only going to regret it because you

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know you're going to do it at
one point. So then I say,

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well, there's nothing. I can
always get all the job if it doesn't

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work out. And here we are. We opened up the doors and the

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first of July last year, so
we've been opened that a year, five

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four months and we've never looked back. It's been great, busy since day

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one. And you know, Touchwood, we're going to continue to build on

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that, which is you know,
it's pleasing for me because it's always a

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risk that it's going to fall flat
in the face. But I think if

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we just be honest with your customers
and cook the food that they want and

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you think that it's good, I
think you shouldn't get a good reputation.

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I can remember when I started with
the Captain's Galley and you actually were my

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mentor chef when I was in the
college, and one of the things you

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always told me just I think is
a brilliant bit of advice. Cook.

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Would you like Yeah? I think
I think if you if you keep if

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you keep to the you know,
I mean, I was kind of classical

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change. If we keep to that
kind of flavors, I think you're not

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going to go wrong. And I
think if you've got a good palette and

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you're cooking too what you like,
the people are like that. If you

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start going off pieced a bit,
and I think you're really happy with that,

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I think, just do what you
do and listen to your guests.

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I mean I speak to them,
my guests every night. I'm out on

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the floor asking how things were.
And you know, once you get you

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know, associated with some really good
customers and really good businesses, they'll soon

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tell you what's right and what's not
wrong in a nice way, you know,

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because you're always looking for good feedback
and constructive feedback. And as long

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as you are willing to take that
on the chin as I suppose, or

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take it and do something with it, I think you're not going too far

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wrong. Are you still sticking with
your same ethos? Now you're on your

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own of of doing this local supplies
fish and yeah, yeah, even more

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so now, Jim. I think, because you know, you've got to

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keep your finger on the pulse.
You've got to you know, you got

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to know exactly what you're buying and
I've always I've no changed taks. If

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I was being a chef for someone
or being on my own, I would

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do the exactly the same. You
know, the suppliers know not to send

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us any kind of know, some
good stuff because if you just to send

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it back and I think our standards
are are met. You know, we

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look at every single thing comes through
the door to see if it's within our

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our standards. And I think that's
how it's great to know your suppliers,

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because the soon know what you need
and the produce that you want, and

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this kind of size of fish that
you want. And you know, with

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the odd times that you get you
know, lobsters that are too big,

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but you know we'll sort that out. But I think the key thing for

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me if you can buy or can
get as close to the source, like

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we buy lobs us from down and
John's Haven. I think, you know

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they know exactly what size of the
lobsters we want. We get lobsters from

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Stonehaven. He knows exactly what lobs
of sizes we want within you know a

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couple of hundred grams. You know, the guys at the market, they

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know the kind of halibit the size
they want roughly, So that's exactly for

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me because it all works out get
portion size because you know, if i've

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you know, hall abit for me
is is around five to six skiller and

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I can know what yield I get
from that. So that's a good,

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little good thing for for chefs starting
out they're trying, you know, say

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to your suppliers, well, that
kind of halibit or tarbet is good for

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me because I know exactly how many
portions roughly within you know, hundred grams

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or so. But I think a
little at a lot of things like that

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really help help me. What the
message I get picked up from that as

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well, Kevin is it gives the
whole project a consistency. And yes,

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it tells your suppliers and what you're
what you demand and what you want,

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but it's also a great message for
your staff. Yeah. I think,

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like anything and the kind of level
that cooking and you and you were cooking

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as well, I think consistency and
creature a habit, I think is the

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two key things for for for restaurants
to survive, because you know, consistently

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for me putting if I'm not there
of Matthew's here in the kitchen. The

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most reason thing for me to say
is get good reports and say, oh,

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I had a great meal last night
at Mouse, and I know for

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a fact I wasn't in So that's
the best thing for me because if we've

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trained the staff, probably you know, we've got we've got everything right that

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the chefs know what they're doing in
the front of house, know what they're

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doing, And that's the reason for
me that I can take a step back

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that I don't have to be there
every night the of the week, because

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I mean I'm there ninety percent of
the nighttime. But as you know,

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you've got to try and have some
some free time as well, especially with

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a kind of young family. So
it's important that you that you feed that

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knowledge onto your your next people in
the in the restaurant. That's so true.

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The last thing you want is I've
actually heard it. I can't remember

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where it was or who it was, but there was this guy that were

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talking about going out for a meal
and they says, oh, don't go

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on our Wednesday. The chef some
night. Yeah, well yeah, I

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think it's I mean, you know, if I was to fall off for

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a few weeks and you can't dependent
on your business notice survive if you know

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there. So I've set it up
so you know, I can't take time

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off as long as i'm there,
you know, ninety percent of time,

337
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because it's easy for you to drop
off the off the wagon. But I'm

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there, you know every day.
I don't mind being the kitchen every day

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because you know, as yourself in
a business, it's not just about cooking,

340
00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:04.319
it's about you know, you know, looking ahead. We're always looking

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ahead to do different events. We've
just launched our Bummy Burns or Robbie Burns

342
00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:15.880
Night for obviously the in Janius,
So we're always looking to do different themed

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events. And we do a cup
of sporting events every year. So anyone

344
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want to keep it different, you
know, we just don't want to be

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the same kind of restaurant D n
D. We want to keep it interested

346
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with the staff, keep it interesting
for me, keep it interesting for the

347
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guests. So that's why we're slightly
different to than any other restaurant in the

348
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city. And are you for your
Burns Night theme night? Are you piping

349
00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:42.240
the hags in and all that?
Yeah? I mean last year Glynn Glyn

350
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Parnell came up and we had a
bit of fun and we called it the

351
00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:49.359
Brummy Burns Night because obviously he's from
Birmingham. But this year Glynn can't make

352
00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:56.640
it, so we've got we've got
the ambassadors from Glynn Fillick, so he's

353
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going to host the evening and we've
got some amazing whiskeys that are going to

354
00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:03.400
through. We've got a whiskey a
thirty year old, we've got a twenty

355
00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:06.079
five year old, we've got twenty
one year old, and then we've got

356
00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:08.000
one in from Bolbeni as well.
So it's a great mixture from from the

357
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from the Grant family that we've got
there. So we're going to do five

358
00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:18.160
different drums to five different courses and
we'll pipe in the hagus and we're going

359
00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:19.480
to do you know, we're going
to do I think a little bit different.

360
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So we're gonna do a little haggis
and oxytill ravioli to start with,

361
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with a little Madeira cream sauce and
we'll do a nice smoke salmon dish and

362
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then we'll probably do a roadier dish
and then we'll finish off with if we

363
00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:37.680
can get some bud orange, we'll
do something with blood range. So and

364
00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:42.720
then obviously wonderful whiskeys and some amazing
wines as well. So we'll we'll mix

365
00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:48.720
up. We'll not be whiskey to
match each course. Yeah, we're going

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00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:52.680
to match. We're going to match
all the whiskeys to the courses, which

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is which is great. So so
the guys from Glennafredic are amazing for for

368
00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:00.960
doing that. So and they match
up the whiskeys and we're you know,

369
00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:04.039
a lot, we'll do that more
and more. Now we're doing a lot

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00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:10.640
of whiskey pairings as well as wine
pairings. I think we've done about eight

371
00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:14.200
or nine and we've got a few
book to earlyer this next year as well,

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00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:21.440
which is which is great because we've
we've purposely built our whisky list up

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on our wine list just because you
know, in Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Sure,

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00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:29.519
we've got great tourists coming in now. You know, I've noticed in

375
00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:33.799
the last year or two years the
golf really taken off here, the whiskey

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00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:37.400
trails are really taken off. So
we only try and capture that market when

377
00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:41.680
they come and be ready for them. So we've purposely upskilled our whisky list

378
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and our wine list to you know, to showcase what the region's got and

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Scotland supposes such. You know,
Kevin, I have to say I'm deleted

380
00:27:52.880 --> 00:28:03.519
to listen to you because what really
impresses me and comes ratling home is you're

381
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you're a chef pretty much all your
life, all your working life, you've

382
00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:11.440
been a chef and you've worked in
some of the most outstanding places. But

383
00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:18.079
what fascinates me listening to you just
now is you're talking as a business man,

384
00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:22.759
which is so important. Yeah,
but I think I've probably learned a

385
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:26.920
bit of from US Belgium because you're
a good guy business guy too, So

386
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.920
I think speaking to you and talking
about food to you, I think I

387
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:33.519
always kind of was interested on that
kind of side because and I think it's

388
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:37.559
to be a chef. For to
be a successful chef, you've got to

389
00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:40.960
run the kitchen like a business.
And I think I've always done that,

390
00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:47.119
you know, is it from is
it banter for for a for a all

391
00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:49.640
Abit price or a Harrick price or
and then you've got to try and get

392
00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:53.240
the yield and a portion correct,
and I think, you know, I

393
00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:56.880
think that just kind of stems through
the business, I think. And then

394
00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:00.279
and You've always watched and I've always
I think I like Banister and John Banister

395
00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:04.039
again, they were really pioneers or
their or their time. I think they're

396
00:29:04.279 --> 00:29:08.640
well ahead of their time. For
Achagold Tower was an amazing place, and

397
00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:12.359
I think John and Lett Banister were
two of the most switched on people I'd

398
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:15.079
ever met in my life, you
know, from taking the ruins of a

399
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:22.599
castle to make it into an amazing
world destination and just outside with too,

400
00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:26.720
so I think taking bits and pieces
from them. And you know they done

401
00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:33.480
a golf weekend with Ronning Rafferty and
Scott Crmfields was his trainer, and we

402
00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:37.599
had a guy Butterwick up doing the
wines from Clarity and we just exactly the

403
00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:41.319
same two months ago we managed to
get Running up and do a night and

404
00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:48.279
and he's done the wines and guy
came up from London to do the wines

405
00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:49.880
as well. And I think it
was just you know, to do a

406
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:56.279
weekend that we did that at the
restaurant, which was successful that came from

407
00:29:56.279 --> 00:30:00.599
Akagil Tower twenty years ago. You
know, Running would do a weekend and

408
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.240
holost of weekend with great wines and
great food and to emulate that there obviously

409
00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:07.960
there'll be a lot smaller scale,
but that's the kind of stuff I love

410
00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:11.039
from from general like Banister, and
I think, you know, just to

411
00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:15.440
learn a lot of things and different
from restaurants. You know, I think

412
00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:21.799
you want to make it interesting.
I totally agree with you there. I

413
00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:26.359
just often used to think about the
vision John and or Let Banister must have

414
00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:32.920
had what they saw there, and
obviously they were looking at factors like also

415
00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:37.599
though it was remote where they were, to have airport close by, all

416
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:45.119
the all the rail link, all
the important things. But also I mean

417
00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:51.519
I had the good fortune to have
some involvement with Chercal Tower, which I

418
00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:56.200
really enjoyed. And when you were
doing the Food of Love weekend and you

419
00:30:56.279 --> 00:31:03.960
had some amazing chefs, real top
top chefs, and that's one of the

420
00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:11.160
things I quite often, very often
was impressed with talking to them. They

421
00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:18.279
were the success fall ones were quite
corporate minded as well. Yes, I

422
00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:22.480
mean I still sometimes can't believe the
kind of chefs that we got up to

423
00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:25.559
with, you know. I think
I must have been in my twenties at

424
00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:29.119
the time, late twenties, and
to try and get these chefs up and

425
00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:33.200
we weren't paying them many fees as
such, we're just phoning them over and

426
00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:34.880
asked them if he would come up, and I think they were quite intrigued,

427
00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:37.160
to be honest about why we've got
up to wik to this castle.

428
00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:41.880
I can always remember Anton Musslman,
you know, such a great chef,

429
00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:45.039
you know, and you talk about
businessman, I think he's probably one of

430
00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:51.000
the best for being really corporate and
really business minded. So he taken a

431
00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:55.559
little nuggets from him. And I
think he invited me down to his place

432
00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:00.480
in Bulgaria, his little church there, which was an amazing place, and

433
00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:02.960
you know, he showed me around
and you know, he had the modern

434
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:07.200
Blanc room they would sit two people
who'd have the Bentley room that would sit

435
00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:10.119
with a big oak table with the
Bentley seats and you know, and he

436
00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:15.119
said to me, these companies came
to him to do them out, you

437
00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:17.279
know what I mean. So I
think even little things like that as well,

438
00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:21.359
one day I might do that here. So you know, fast forward

439
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.480
twenty five years that he years.
You know, fit Ken have been really

440
00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:27.359
good to us, that help us
at a different level. But you know,

441
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:30.400
they've invested in us a little bit
to make I love the Whiskey Cabinet

442
00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:35.599
and produced those little whiskeyes. So
you know what I remembered twenty five years

443
00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:39.319
ago with Anton Musselmans came to fresh
you know now, so if we just

444
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:44.319
speak to these guys and you know, we have we had Nicknair, we

445
00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:50.559
have Paul Paul, Paul Rankin,
we had Phil Howard, we had you

446
00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:53.039
know to get all the guys from
the Square, we had Brett from the

447
00:32:53.160 --> 00:33:00.119
Ledbury, Angela Hartnett. You know, all these guys that came up and

448
00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:02.599
you know, they really enjoyed themselves
up in Wick because they've never seen any

449
00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:07.359
like it. Richard Corrigan. That's
funny when when we got Richard to the

450
00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:12.920
and then we started getting the Chester
with its slightly different with the signature festival.

451
00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:17.920
And I can remember speaking to Richard
Corrigan and Richard Grame was with me

452
00:33:17.960 --> 00:33:22.119
and he says, have you ever
been to Aberdeen before? He says,

453
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:24.240
oh, I've been to Aberdeen once
when I was doing a gig in Wick

454
00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:28.039
and I had to leave early to
go and watch the rugby. I says,

455
00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.839
yeah, that was with me Richard, and then obviously he was burst

456
00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:32.519
up laughing because he had to had
to go to Crook Park to watch the

457
00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:37.440
rugby halfway through the halfway through the
dinner. But it's even meeting these guys,

458
00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:39.640
you know, that was you know, for them to come up to

459
00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:45.599
our little kitchen and Wick and cook
some of the amazing meals with us was

460
00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:47.200
great, and it was great for
the staff, and it was great for

461
00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:52.599
the suppliers up and wear up in
Wick and Thursley and scraps. I can

462
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:54.519
remember I don't know if he'd maybe
said to you, I think when we

463
00:33:54.599 --> 00:34:00.759
had Anton musselming up and he couldn't
believe that the troller went out for such

464
00:34:00.839 --> 00:34:04.000
long time because he's used to do
a little day boats down in Cornwall and

465
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:07.599
says, I can't believe the trollers
are out for maybe seven up to seven

466
00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:09.960
days. He couldn't get that into
his head that he thought about. We

467
00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:13.880
went, I caught the fish and
came back the same day. Yeah,

468
00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:20.360
the thing had fascinated in May with
Anton Mossyman. Was there were actually a

469
00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:27.400
market in scraps there on that day. So and I was sort of doing

470
00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:32.599
a seafood slant on the on that
weekends and so well, good luck that

471
00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:38.639
on that occasion we had actually had
an auction going, and he just absolutely

472
00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:45.519
loved the sort of vibrancy and whatnot, and I was fascinated. He came

473
00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:50.719
up, he obviously saw Hall a
Bit and Turbot and John Doe. He's

474
00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:58.320
all lined up with iced and fish
boxes waiting for the auction to waiting for

475
00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:02.480
them to be sold. And he
leaned over and obviously the way you could

476
00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:07.880
see that the whee wheels were getting
round, and he was thinking that where

477
00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:10.559
the businessman commute? He says,
what do you pay for haliban? Up

478
00:35:10.599 --> 00:35:22.320
here? There's nothing about what would
you cook? What did you do with

479
00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:25.840
it? Yeah, well, I
think even myself now, I think you've

480
00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:29.840
got to have that business mind as
well as you know. I'd say,

481
00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:34.840
percentage wise, I'm probably in the
kitchen seventy percent of my working day and

482
00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:37.280
then thirty percent on everything else,
you know what I mean. But you've

483
00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:40.000
got to I'll say that that's within
that you know, a day's business.

484
00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:43.480
But I mean I get in the
morning you're shooting your emails, just straight

485
00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:45.599
on speaking to people, So I
mean, I don't really count that as

486
00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:49.599
his work. But I think you've
just got to be You've got to be

487
00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:54.559
everywhere in your businesses. You know
absolutely. The one thing you don't want,

488
00:35:54.920 --> 00:36:00.719
I would say, is I hate
the very word or anything associated with

489
00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:07.119
it cheap or or discount. I
used to always myself. I always said,

490
00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:13.760
Kevin, whatever anybody feels about it, it's a known as price because

491
00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:20.440
I know the standard and world standard
food as you mentioned there yourself, that

492
00:36:20.599 --> 00:36:25.159
we would be we get up here. So yeah, I always felt that

493
00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:32.119
it was never stuck in high and
selling cheap. No, I think we're

494
00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:37.239
class to be quite expensive in Aberdeen, which which had rather that than than

495
00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:40.320
to be cheap. But we're just
honest. We're know we're no recognized anywhere.

496
00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:43.840
Guests. We maybe buy, as
I said earlier, we buy the

497
00:36:43.960 --> 00:36:46.039
best. You know, we've got
Tarbet coming tomorrow, we've got all a

498
00:36:46.119 --> 00:36:50.280
bit, We've got will Bass,
We've got you know, scalps that come

499
00:36:50.280 --> 00:36:53.159
from what we every every week.
You know, we buy the best,

500
00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:57.639
the freshest lobster and card that come
through the door every every other day from

501
00:36:57.960 --> 00:37:00.760
from just down the road. So
you know, we've buy the best that

502
00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:05.079
we can and we don't do that
much to do it because we want the

503
00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:08.000
as you say, we want the
flavors and the natural flavors. I like

504
00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:15.880
cooking to sing through. So that's
that's all we do. I think we

505
00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:19.679
try, and you know, we've
really could much about cooking, but I

506
00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:23.679
think my best way of cooking,
I think, is just to let the

507
00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:28.880
flavors or the natural flavors speak for
themselves. I think, you know,

508
00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:32.679
you don't want to over complicate cooking. I think cooking shouldn't be over complicate,

509
00:37:32.920 --> 00:37:36.920
complex, that should just be natural. That's that's how I see it.

510
00:37:37.119 --> 00:37:44.840
But don't you see as well?
Unfortunately you hear people which I intentionally

511
00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:51.599
dislike, the term old school or
old fashioned when you talk about respect and

512
00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:55.880
honesty and that. But you mentioned
that earlier, the word honesty, And

513
00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:01.679
do you not feel what it comes
down that I feel listening to you and

514
00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:09.199
thinking through what you're saying. Given
your customers are trust you, but you

515
00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:15.880
also trust your suppliers and these trust
you, so it's trust all the way.

516
00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:19.199
Yeah. I mean, that's why
I like getting as close. I

517
00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:22.599
keep saying close to the source,
but it's getting as close to the you

518
00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:25.920
know, you know that the farmer. You know, we've even then to

519
00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:30.199
the little lady that Katie that does
the eggs. You know, we're you

520
00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:31.519
know, the guy that helps us
to make our bread. We're off.

521
00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:36.440
You know, we're all friendly.
We will speak about stuff if if they've

522
00:38:36.440 --> 00:38:38.760
got a problem. You know,
our bread supplier somethings brings our lops us

523
00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:43.199
up and then vice versa. So
you know, we try. It's a

524
00:38:43.199 --> 00:38:45.519
small community really, if you think
about especially in Aberdeenshire, it's a small

525
00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:52.360
small network are really good suppliers that
we try and keep together. And you

526
00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:55.440
know, I don't jump suppliers from
from one week to the next because I

527
00:38:55.519 --> 00:39:00.000
save a pound. He could do
that, but it'd be be a nice

528
00:39:00.280 --> 00:39:02.519
But I think, you know,
some days that we'll lose, sometimes they'll

529
00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:06.920
win. And I think you've just
got to be honest with everyone and say,

530
00:39:07.559 --> 00:39:09.039
you know, as long as as
long as you're honest with me,

531
00:39:09.360 --> 00:39:13.320
I'll be honest with you. And
it's an end the day, we'll we'll

532
00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:16.199
just buy the best that we can
and that's all we do. Yeah,

533
00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:23.199
it's it's so important. But I
always felt as well, Kevin, and

534
00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:31.159
I'm sure that's one of the reasons
you're stick to locals suppliers yourself, but

535
00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:37.639
not only it's it's not a case
I don't think price comes into it.

536
00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:45.679
But one of the things that I
thought so important as far as the quality

537
00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:52.440
is concerned, and on many an
occasion I had chefs up in scraps there.

538
00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:59.159
Unfortunately, although he's not with us
now, a good friend yours Andrew

539
00:39:59.239 --> 00:40:02.360
fairly one of them. And one
of the things that they could never get

540
00:40:02.440 --> 00:40:10.639
over Kevin was which I know that
you're well switched on to the shelf life

541
00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:16.280
we've got. Yeah, yeah,
I mean I think especially you, I

542
00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:20.639
mean even you see here in Aberdeen. I think if you can get as

543
00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:23.559
as fresh as you can and ebeat
sculps coming every day in the stop pulsating.

544
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:29.840
You know, we only buy as
issued enemies by by Shelfish live and

545
00:40:30.519 --> 00:40:35.159
it's extremely live when we get it, and something that the fish is too

546
00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:37.199
fresh, you know, I mean
we sometimes I've been I've been filling out

547
00:40:37.199 --> 00:40:40.559
a hall a bit and it's actually
still it's a bit tough almost, you

548
00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:44.320
know what I mean. So you
sometings need to let it relax a bit

549
00:40:44.760 --> 00:40:47.920
a day or so just to get
the better best at it. You know,

550
00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:52.159
it's I think sometimes it can be
too fresh. Sometimes well the rigor

551
00:40:52.280 --> 00:40:59.559
mortis is not out of it and
people think, oh, it's only humans

552
00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:05.840
that get rigor mortis sets in when
a body a human dies, But it's

553
00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:14.320
every everything, every whether it's got
a fin or legs or wings, mortar

554
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:17.199
sets in. And if you don't, if you don't, if you try

555
00:41:17.239 --> 00:41:22.079
to cut it before that and take
it off the bone, you're in trouble.

556
00:41:22.039 --> 00:41:29.719
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I
quite often that people may be making

557
00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:32.880
comments like that and they couldn't believe
when I aren'twer would be looking at me

558
00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:37.920
when I answered them saying, well, the biggest problem we have in freshness

559
00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:44.679
is it's too fresh. Sometimes sometimes
that can mind be an apagal and would

560
00:41:44.760 --> 00:41:47.280
get a target or a or or
a harbit through and it was exactly I

561
00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:51.719
mean, soul was probably the hardest
one to try and to try and relieve

562
00:41:51.760 --> 00:41:54.559
for a while because it was too
fresh and it would just be tough almostly

563
00:41:54.599 --> 00:41:58.880
a tough state. I mean you
just have to try and keep it for

564
00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:01.639
the nes again day. But yeah, it's not a bad problem to have,

565
00:42:01.800 --> 00:42:05.880
to be honest. What kind of
what what? What would you do?

566
00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:10.000
What kind of dish would you serve
with a nice fresh halibit off the

567
00:42:10.119 --> 00:42:16.039
market? I mean halibit we've got
all abit actually coming in tomorrow, I

568
00:42:16.079 --> 00:42:22.519
mean halibit. I tell her what
we did do actually yesterday, sorry last

569
00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:27.559
week. We had a little nuggets
of We had some sea trout, we

570
00:42:27.639 --> 00:42:30.760
had some halibit, and we had
some wild bass, and we actually made

571
00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:36.800
a little and we had some lovely
prawns and some squid, and we actually

572
00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:42.599
did a lovely the oral pasta and
we made a nice shellfish beast and cooked

573
00:42:42.639 --> 00:42:45.639
the oral pasta through almost we do
like a paella almost such with rice,

574
00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:51.559
and it had some treats oil,
and we made a lovely past a little

575
00:42:51.880 --> 00:42:54.880
shells, I mean just like panned
fried all a little bit of fish,

576
00:42:55.320 --> 00:42:59.480
a little bit of a little nugget
a sea trout, a little nugget hal

577
00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:02.599
abit, a lot nugget of bass, I mean almost done. Recreated a

578
00:43:02.639 --> 00:43:07.079
little paiella dish, but it was
with a little ordro pasta. And I

579
00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:12.159
had it on Sunday from my lunch. And sometimes you just don't you just

580
00:43:12.719 --> 00:43:15.719
take a step back and say that
was absolutely delicious because you could taste every

581
00:43:15.800 --> 00:43:17.679
part of the fish. You could
taste the bars, you could taste the

582
00:43:17.800 --> 00:43:22.760
halibit, you could taste the sea
shrut and it was all just masked and

583
00:43:22.840 --> 00:43:28.519
flavored with this wonderful the shellfish or
soo, which was was great. So

584
00:43:28.679 --> 00:43:31.760
a lot of things like that we
do. But but I think even we've

585
00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:35.559
got Turbert coming tomorrow, we pull
it. I mean, I just could

586
00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:37.079
get. I love the little brown
shrimps so a little you know, a

587
00:43:37.159 --> 00:43:40.519
little monyear. I mean, we
had lovely dover souls in a few weeks

588
00:43:40.559 --> 00:43:45.199
ago, which was like Hen's teeth, and we just done it with a

589
00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:50.360
little mareniar muscles and things like that. It was absolutely We poched it.

590
00:43:50.440 --> 00:43:53.400
We turned off the bone and we'd
steamed it and pouched it as opposed to

591
00:43:53.559 --> 00:43:57.639
just pan frying it. But we
pushed it with a muscles. I think

592
00:43:57.719 --> 00:44:01.440
muscle stock is one of the most
flavorsome you can get. We just reduce

593
00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:07.039
it with white wine, loads of
phenyl and celery and all that kind of

594
00:44:07.079 --> 00:44:12.440
atomatics, partially dill, and then
just make a little nice little cream sauce

595
00:44:12.519 --> 00:44:16.039
finish it. Reduce it and make
it really irriated and just poach the fish

596
00:44:16.119 --> 00:44:22.719
in that. And it's absolutely fantastic. I just love listening to the way

597
00:44:22.760 --> 00:44:29.760
you're the terms you're using and almost
before the word before every bit of fish

598
00:44:29.880 --> 00:44:36.519
you mentioned you have the work,
just your passion. I just get excited

599
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:45.639
the word lovely, which is lovely
to hear. No, it's I mean,

600
00:44:45.679 --> 00:44:47.320
I just get you know. I
just love cooking. I just love

601
00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:52.519
cooking, especially fish, I think
because it's such a delicate thing. Delicate,

602
00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:55.920
it's quite delicate to cooking, you
know. It's I think fish cooking

603
00:44:57.079 --> 00:45:00.000
is far more as far harder than
than kind of thing meat wise, because

604
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:02.880
you can obviously, let I mean, we do like fish rest as well,

605
00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:09.400
but I think there's more error in
fish over cooking. Then we always

606
00:45:09.440 --> 00:45:13.760
cook our fish likely under to be
honest, which sometimes has a problem with

607
00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:15.199
some people, but that's the way
we cook it. And it's there's nothing

608
00:45:15.239 --> 00:45:20.320
wrong with that, it's absolutely fantastic. But it's just trying to educate people.

609
00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:22.880
I think the biggest thing in Scotland, I think is to try and

610
00:45:23.079 --> 00:45:28.599
educate people. And I don't mean
and I kind of pont Away or anything

611
00:45:28.599 --> 00:45:30.239
like that. I think we need
to try in it because I think historically

612
00:45:30.320 --> 00:45:34.000
Scotland and I have said it's for
years. You know, Scotland's got the

613
00:45:34.039 --> 00:45:36.920
best produce in the world, but
the worst diet in the world. So

614
00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:39.239
we need to try and educate people
to eat better and eat properly, and

615
00:45:39.519 --> 00:45:43.480
you know, eat things that shoot
the way that should should be cooked.

616
00:45:43.519 --> 00:45:45.639
And we will not change our cooking
way for anyone. And people want to

617
00:45:45.679 --> 00:45:49.679
send it back to you know,
have a bit cooked a lot more.

618
00:45:50.039 --> 00:45:52.559
That's fine, but you know,
we'll never overcook fish and we'll cook fish

619
00:45:52.599 --> 00:45:57.719
properly. And I think it's always
a it's always a being in my life.

620
00:45:57.760 --> 00:46:00.559
We will say, oh, it's
it's undercooked, when actually it's they

621
00:46:00.599 --> 00:46:04.760
should just eat it and enjoy it. You know. There's a woman come

622
00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:08.760
into the captain's Gallio wants and sister
me. She says, thank god,

623
00:46:09.320 --> 00:46:19.000
I've just discovered there's more to Scotland
than haddock. There's nothing wrong with I

624
00:46:19.199 --> 00:46:22.159
like, but that's right, you
know, I mean, but where can

625
00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:28.039
you go? You could probably name
I reckon fifteen restaurants in Scotland if you

626
00:46:28.119 --> 00:46:30.239
went for an You know, one
of my favorite thing is it's a wonderful

627
00:46:30.400 --> 00:46:35.440
poached piece of salmon. You know, you don't really get much wild salmon

628
00:46:35.480 --> 00:46:37.559
these days, but you imagine a
wonderful either a wild sea show, just

629
00:46:37.639 --> 00:46:44.000
poaching that beautiful stock, you know, slight, just warm pink on the

630
00:46:44.039 --> 00:46:47.280
inside. Where do we get that. It's it's difficult to get people because

631
00:46:47.280 --> 00:46:52.639
people just overcook it. And I
think it's very difficult to get anice piece

632
00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:55.679
of fish at that in Scotland,
which is a shame. And keep it

633
00:46:55.800 --> 00:47:00.880
simple with a nice mayonnaise, a
nice fresh mayonnaise is yeah. I mean,

634
00:47:00.920 --> 00:47:04.480
I love the springtime when we have
you know, you get the sea

635
00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:07.280
trout coming in and you have the
sparagus there and you have the juzzy rolls.

636
00:47:07.280 --> 00:47:12.599
I think that three combinations asparagus,
juzzy rolls and sea trout is one

637
00:47:12.639 --> 00:47:15.000
of the best combinations you'll get.
And I always look forward to that time

638
00:47:15.079 --> 00:47:20.679
in the kind of springtime when the
first of the juz rolls come through to

639
00:47:20.760 --> 00:47:24.480
make that you know, a nice
Judge roll fix or a nice gesule foam

640
00:47:24.960 --> 00:47:30.239
and just poach nicely the sea trout. And I think that combination is it's

641
00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:34.639
just fantastic. So you know,
seasons again, season all is a big

642
00:47:34.679 --> 00:47:37.360
thing for us at the restaurant.
You know, we will never put obviously

643
00:47:38.039 --> 00:47:42.159
things asparagus at this time of year, but I think and I would look

644
00:47:42.199 --> 00:47:45.039
forward to the different nuggets that produce
you get through to each season, which

645
00:47:45.119 --> 00:47:49.119
you know, I'm already looking forward
to the blood oranges and and the rule

646
00:47:49.119 --> 00:47:52.079
barb coming through and end of January. So I think you know, this

647
00:47:52.280 --> 00:47:54.719
is the kind of time that there's
nothing much coming in, but I think

648
00:47:55.039 --> 00:47:59.639
you look forward to the kind of
January February time. There's little nuggets I

649
00:47:59.679 --> 00:48:04.280
think men through that they look forward
to put on the menu. It's interesting

650
00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:10.199
you say that, Kevin. What
does seasonal day mean to you? Oh,

651
00:48:10.440 --> 00:48:15.960
just as much as cooking local or
using local supplies. I think seasonality

652
00:48:15.039 --> 00:48:20.519
is that is is up there with
buying local because you know it's it comes

653
00:48:20.559 --> 00:48:22.679
hand in hand. You know,
your suppliers are the you know, the

654
00:48:22.760 --> 00:48:27.440
farmer will come to you or the
or the farm down the road. See

655
00:48:27.440 --> 00:48:30.920
I've got this beautiful spouting broccoli,
or we've got this lot of collettes at

656
00:48:30.920 --> 00:48:35.679
this time of year that they'll put
up to us, I think, and

657
00:48:36.079 --> 00:48:38.199
I think working with local people,
they will say I've got this next week,

658
00:48:38.280 --> 00:48:42.119
or I've got that that week,
or that's coming the following month.

659
00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:45.920
So that's how we look at our
menus, that's how we devise our menus

660
00:48:45.199 --> 00:48:49.440
because we will speak to our suppliers
and see what we've got next one,

661
00:48:49.519 --> 00:48:52.639
what's what's the star ingredient in this
next month that we can put our menus

662
00:48:54.880 --> 00:48:58.679
and you know you usually get a
partner and we've got a part of now

663
00:48:58.800 --> 00:49:02.280
what what we like to use using
what we know that's coming in, and

664
00:49:02.400 --> 00:49:07.199
that's how we we read your menus. We will we will be determined on

665
00:49:07.280 --> 00:49:09.519
the season and what we've got local. That's how we that's how we write

666
00:49:09.519 --> 00:49:19.199
our menus. What when you're from
the places you've talked about Archer Hall Tower

667
00:49:19.360 --> 00:49:25.320
before that Savoy, what sort of
just say banquets and things like that,

668
00:49:27.119 --> 00:49:31.920
what sort of numbers have you cooked
for are been involved? I mean the

669
00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:37.119
Savoy was like ridiculous. I mean
that we could do we can do seven

670
00:49:37.159 --> 00:49:39.920
to fifteen a Lancaster. We could
do over a thousand a day in the

671
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:45.760
Savoy, you know what I mean. So but seeing that in the chest

672
00:49:45.760 --> 00:49:49.360
that we could do five hundred a
day, you know, even at the

673
00:49:49.400 --> 00:49:52.079
restaurant we could. We've got well
this this Friday, they call it Mad

674
00:49:52.239 --> 00:49:55.039
Friday. We've got one hundred and
sixty two books, which is a lot

675
00:49:55.079 --> 00:50:00.440
for us but that's three settings throughout
the day which you have to plays in

676
00:50:00.519 --> 00:50:02.840
that. But I think, yeah, the numbers, but I think it's

677
00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:07.880
just been organized. And I think
working in different sizes of places and different

678
00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:12.519
types of places helps you through the
career. You know, to be organized,

679
00:50:12.559 --> 00:50:15.719
I've always feel I was fairly organized. If it's running a kitchen or

680
00:50:15.840 --> 00:50:21.599
just running a section, or or
running just one little section within a kitchen,

681
00:50:21.639 --> 00:50:24.199
I think you've got to be dead
organized. I think there's if you're

682
00:50:24.280 --> 00:50:30.880
organized, you're going to be fine. I think that's I can remember that

683
00:50:31.119 --> 00:50:38.760
from you. And I think that's
the difference between a cook and a chef.

684
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:49.320
I like the idea of the cook, but a chef with his prep,

685
00:50:49.840 --> 00:50:57.159
you know, it's all about prep
and and they have a system so

686
00:50:57.480 --> 00:51:00.840
organized. I think it's wondering if
it's a place to even watch guys like

687
00:51:00.960 --> 00:51:07.599
yourself the way you we're organized,
so when you are hit with big numbers,

688
00:51:07.880 --> 00:51:15.760
it's never a mad panic last minute
because you're now. I think for

689
00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:19.440
me, you know, and what
I've tried to install in the restaurant is

690
00:51:19.639 --> 00:51:22.719
if we do one hundred covers,
it's going to be exactly the same as

691
00:51:22.760 --> 00:51:25.639
we do twenty covers, and that's
what I mean. The food that we'll

692
00:51:25.679 --> 00:51:29.719
put out on Friday, although it's
mad Friday, we'll put as much care

693
00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:31.679
in detail to every single dish for
that one hundred and sixty people, or

694
00:51:31.719 --> 00:51:35.440
we would for twenty people the following
week, you know what I mean.

695
00:51:35.679 --> 00:51:39.679
And I think that's the that's the
kind of nod to a really good restaurant.

696
00:51:39.719 --> 00:51:43.639
It's the same. It doesn't matter
if you go when it's really busy

697
00:51:43.880 --> 00:51:46.199
or it's really quiet, you'll get
the same. And we talked earlier on

698
00:51:46.280 --> 00:51:52.119
about consistency and the produce and consisting
in the prep. But if your dishes

699
00:51:52.199 --> 00:51:54.639
is consistently good, it doesn't matter
how busy or how quiet you are.

700
00:51:54.760 --> 00:51:59.199
I think that's the key to for
repeat custom because people, as you say,

701
00:52:00.320 --> 00:52:02.599
they know your style, they know
your ninety nine point nine. You're

702
00:52:02.639 --> 00:52:06.960
going to get a decent meal and
it'll be an odd time that something happens,

703
00:52:06.960 --> 00:52:10.400
obviously, but it'll not be for
the lack of trying to do things

704
00:52:10.480 --> 00:52:16.880
right. Yeah. Well, that's
that's the work that goes back to the

705
00:52:17.719 --> 00:52:24.880
honesty. Yeah. Yeah, I
think people come, we get a lot

706
00:52:24.920 --> 00:52:30.039
of a peak custom, which is
really pleasing to us because they know and

707
00:52:30.159 --> 00:52:34.280
we've got a lot of business guys
coming in and business dinners, and they're

708
00:52:34.280 --> 00:52:38.639
obviously entertaining clients and they don't really
embarrassed by you know, a poor service

709
00:52:38.800 --> 00:52:44.159
or a poor poor piece of food. You know, they want to entertain

710
00:52:44.199 --> 00:52:45.880
their clients and maybe strike a deal
or you know, you don't know what

711
00:52:46.079 --> 00:52:50.400
business meetings are happening in the restaurant, but we've just got to be honest

712
00:52:50.440 --> 00:52:54.000
and do our best. And I
think what I've noticed now is is you've

713
00:52:54.000 --> 00:52:57.920
got to step outside the kitchen with
you know, being a chef. It's

714
00:52:57.960 --> 00:53:00.760
not good hiding in the kitchen and
hoping everything is going to be fine.

715
00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:04.840
You've got to you know, take
the bull by the horns and and you

716
00:53:04.920 --> 00:53:08.079
know, demand the same respect you
having the kitchen to your front house staff

717
00:53:08.119 --> 00:53:10.159
and say this is what it needs
to be, like, this is the

718
00:53:10.239 --> 00:53:13.559
service that we need to be,
like, this is what we want to

719
00:53:13.679 --> 00:53:16.199
do, and set our stalls out
to try and you know, at the

720
00:53:16.280 --> 00:53:20.440
front house staff need to be on
point just as much as the kitchen guy,

721
00:53:20.480 --> 00:53:22.159
because you know, we've never really
touched in service. But I think

722
00:53:22.239 --> 00:53:27.599
service is just as supportingt is serving
a good meal because they're your print,

723
00:53:27.679 --> 00:53:29.960
but they're your eyes and ears of
the restaurant. You know, that's what

724
00:53:30.039 --> 00:53:35.159
people see. And if we get
bad service, doesn't matter a great piece

725
00:53:35.199 --> 00:53:37.679
of fish or whatever it may be. If the service is poor, they're

726
00:53:37.719 --> 00:53:44.400
not going to come back. What's
your sort of code of conduct for a

727
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:52.840
commercial kitchen. We just you know
what I've done in the kitchen, and

728
00:53:52.960 --> 00:53:54.960
I've purposely done it. You know, I've always said that kitchen should be

729
00:53:55.039 --> 00:54:00.480
like a football teammost you try and
get different people within in your in your

730
00:54:00.519 --> 00:54:07.079
brigade. We've got we've got an
amazing two really amazing with three really amazing

731
00:54:07.159 --> 00:54:13.760
young people in the kitchen. We've
got Phoebe who just won win the springboard

732
00:54:14.079 --> 00:54:19.519
national finals last year and we've just
teenned her as an apprentice, so she's

733
00:54:19.599 --> 00:54:22.960
the youngster in the kitchen. And
we've got you know, we've got Leslie

734
00:54:23.000 --> 00:54:27.239
and Ross, who's the two kind
of chefter parties that are. They're still

735
00:54:27.320 --> 00:54:30.960
young, but they're absolutely fantastic within
their own rights. We've got Armin who's

736
00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:35.920
the other chef to party, and
then Matthews, the headsher. But they're

737
00:54:35.960 --> 00:54:39.320
all young people want to learn.
They're keen, and you know, I

738
00:54:39.440 --> 00:54:44.960
need to pass on my knowledge and
my you know, organization and if I've

739
00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:47.400
got any skill, well, because
I need to pass on to them because

740
00:54:47.440 --> 00:54:52.320
hopefully, you know, we'll nurture
them for the next generation, you know.

741
00:54:52.599 --> 00:54:55.039
And I think we've got to bring
the young people through. So we've

742
00:54:55.039 --> 00:55:00.719
purposely turned an apprentice, will hopefully
take another one next year once the people

743
00:55:00.800 --> 00:55:04.480
move up the ranks. I think
we've got to keep it fresh and you

744
00:55:04.519 --> 00:55:07.320
know, keep them young and keep
them interested because we've got to have this

745
00:55:07.519 --> 00:55:14.599
next generation of hospitality people because it's
hard to find people. And that's you

746
00:55:14.679 --> 00:55:16.519
know, that's what I'm about the
kitchen. We want to try and bring

747
00:55:16.599 --> 00:55:20.840
the young people in and you know, we get them a good wage even

748
00:55:20.960 --> 00:55:22.679
be that young, but we need
to learn them and get them into this

749
00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:25.599
indisty because the industry will falling flat
in the face if we don't have the

750
00:55:25.679 --> 00:55:37.320
right people here. That's admirable because
it's I can just imagine that looking at

751
00:55:37.400 --> 00:55:45.400
from the youngster's point of view,
what a great training they're getting. Yeah,

752
00:55:45.440 --> 00:55:49.119
I mean it's it's one to one
a lot of the time because and

753
00:55:49.239 --> 00:55:52.360
again I was very conscious of not
working them over hard. You know,

754
00:55:52.400 --> 00:55:55.320
when I was when I was young, probably Phoebe's age, I was at

755
00:55:55.360 --> 00:55:59.639
the Savoy and I would start at
six in the morning. I would something's

756
00:55:59.679 --> 00:56:02.199
fincial living at night and you get
happen our break or what it may be.

757
00:56:02.400 --> 00:56:07.639
But those kind of days are are
few and far between now hopefully because

758
00:56:08.239 --> 00:56:10.360
it does take me. I can
always mind it saying if you work a

759
00:56:10.440 --> 00:56:13.880
year, it's of why you really
work two and a half because of the

760
00:56:13.920 --> 00:56:16.960
hours that you put in. But
I think that's that kind of makes a

761
00:56:17.000 --> 00:56:21.119
lot of people, but it also
breaks a lot of people. So in

762
00:56:21.280 --> 00:56:25.079
our kitchen, we just get the
guys to work four long days. They're

763
00:56:25.079 --> 00:56:29.519
working about forty two hours a week. They get three days off, and

764
00:56:29.960 --> 00:56:35.280
that's how we work it in the
kitchen, and because they need they need

765
00:56:35.360 --> 00:56:37.480
to try and have that life balance
because if we don't get if we don't

766
00:56:37.559 --> 00:56:39.719
have that life balance, I think
we're going to lose a lot of good

767
00:56:39.719 --> 00:56:43.719
people to the industry. And I
think we're going to make it more a

768
00:56:43.840 --> 00:56:49.039
factive to younger people and get them
in because a lot of people do enjoy

769
00:56:49.079 --> 00:56:52.360
cooking and the low and it's a
bit of a different kettle of fish cooking

770
00:56:52.400 --> 00:56:54.920
within a you know, a professional
kitchen. That isn't it in a in

771
00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.360
a kind of home kitchen. But
if you've got that arch to cook,

772
00:57:00.039 --> 00:57:02.440
I think we need to urge people
to come in and we can of overwork

773
00:57:02.480 --> 00:57:05.599
people, we kind of shout and
ball on them. I mean, we

774
00:57:05.679 --> 00:57:09.159
need to give them a fair chance
to enjoying it. I think I think

775
00:57:09.239 --> 00:57:15.199
that's fantastic to hear that, Kevin, because the industry, which I'm sure

776
00:57:15.239 --> 00:57:21.679
you'll agree in certain places, has
done nothing to attract people into the industry,

777
00:57:22.800 --> 00:57:30.440
giving people split shifts, not two
days off together, and not all

778
00:57:30.559 --> 00:57:36.280
that well paid. That it hasn't
given the industry. It hasn't done anything

779
00:57:36.559 --> 00:57:39.719
for the industry. Sort to hear
you saying that that's commendable, that people

780
00:57:39.840 --> 00:57:45.519
actually can have a life, and
you probably, I'm quite sure you're not

781
00:57:45.760 --> 00:57:50.239
absolutely no fool. I'm quite sure
you probably. I can hear it in

782
00:57:50.320 --> 00:57:53.440
your voice. I think you feel
that you get a better return for it

783
00:57:53.760 --> 00:57:58.239
for being fair to them. Yeah, I mean, I hope so.

784
00:57:58.280 --> 00:58:00.440
I think you know it does cost
the business a lot of money. It

785
00:58:00.559 --> 00:58:04.719
does. You know, we could
easily if I was really, you know,

786
00:58:04.840 --> 00:58:07.519
really business minded or really you know, we could say, well you

787
00:58:07.599 --> 00:58:12.039
work five days and you know,
but I want, I want, I

788
00:58:12.159 --> 00:58:15.599
really care about the industry. I
really care about the people coming through.

789
00:58:15.719 --> 00:58:19.920
So if I can give a bit
back, why be you know, a

790
00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:23.039
lot of less margin on the wages
or it costs a lot bit more.

791
00:58:23.280 --> 00:58:27.360
I think that's just every If everyone
just did a little bit to help the

792
00:58:27.480 --> 00:58:30.519
industry. You know, I could
easily say I could easily cut way two

793
00:58:30.599 --> 00:58:32.880
chefs and we'd run people at the
ground and they would have just had to

794
00:58:32.920 --> 00:58:37.079
do the work. But I don't
want to be that business that that drives

795
00:58:37.119 --> 00:58:39.800
people at the ground or makes people
you know, don't want to cook,

796
00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.639
or they get burnt out. As
to say, I want to be a

797
00:58:44.719 --> 00:58:46.440
nice, pleasant place to you know, we have our days. It's it's

798
00:58:46.480 --> 00:58:50.480
hard, but I think on the
on the cooks of the thing, I

799
00:58:50.519 --> 00:58:53.119
think we look after our staff as
much as we can. You know,

800
00:58:53.159 --> 00:58:58.159
we give them, you know,
three days off they work for sometimes long

801
00:58:58.239 --> 00:59:02.440
days mean one one close happy on
a Sunday, which sometimes get four nights

802
00:59:02.440 --> 00:59:07.039
off, so you kind of give
them a better opportunity than that. As

803
00:59:07.039 --> 00:59:09.239
long as as long as they're they're
ready for coming into work next again day

804
00:59:09.239 --> 00:59:13.760
and we're ready. I don't care. It's as long as I've been enjoying

805
00:59:13.840 --> 00:59:15.559
it. And I think you want
people to enjoy it. I think that's

806
00:59:16.079 --> 00:59:19.320
I enjoy it, So I want
people to enjoy it. I think,

807
00:59:20.440 --> 00:59:25.239
yeah, when you say there,
and I know you well enough that I

808
00:59:27.119 --> 00:59:31.599
know exactly what you do for the
industry, I'm giving something back. I

809
00:59:31.719 --> 00:59:39.679
can ask you your can I ask
you? Could you tell an audience about

810
00:59:40.480 --> 00:59:46.360
your involvement with the Royal Academy of
Culinary Arts. Yeah, I mean I've

811
00:59:46.360 --> 00:59:51.480
been I've been involved with the Royal
Academy for our best part, I had

812
00:59:51.480 --> 00:59:54.360
to say twenty years now. I
think it's how time flies. But I

813
00:59:54.440 --> 00:59:59.360
think it's a great association to being
involved with. And I think the chefs

814
00:59:59.360 --> 01:00:01.880
that have involved or the top of
the game, and you know, for

815
01:00:01.960 --> 01:00:06.360
the first time ever, I was
went to the golf Golf Week at Tumbury

816
01:00:06.800 --> 01:00:10.480
in the summer or just late summer, and I was going around the golf

817
01:00:10.480 --> 01:00:15.000
of course with John Williams, who
was obviously the execu chef for the Rits.

818
01:00:15.440 --> 01:00:17.800
So to do that was a great, great, great times they've had

819
01:00:17.800 --> 01:00:21.440
his drea for about four hours,
which was I don't think it was used

820
01:00:21.480 --> 01:00:22.920
to please, but I think it
was. But were just asked him questions

821
01:00:22.960 --> 01:00:25.880
and he was actually a great guy
to go around the golf and I'd say

822
01:00:25.920 --> 01:00:30.400
my golf improved slightly. But but
even just be you know, because we've

823
01:00:30.400 --> 01:00:35.119
all got the same philosophy. We
want to teach, we want to you

824
01:00:35.199 --> 01:00:38.519
know, try and do the you
know, sustainability. I think all this

825
01:00:38.760 --> 01:00:45.599
factors that the Academy and myself I
have. I think it's it's driven through

826
01:00:45.639 --> 01:00:47.960
the Academy and I think, you
know, it's a great opportunity to pick

827
01:00:49.039 --> 01:00:52.360
up the phone to anyone if you're
needing any advice or or or even about

828
01:00:52.360 --> 01:00:55.960
of help. It's great just to
speak to these people. And so I

829
01:00:57.000 --> 01:00:59.880
mean and part of the Scottish Scottish
Branch, which is what you do,

830
01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:02.920
which is in a bit of a
transitional period pitch. Hopefully by next year

831
01:01:04.079 --> 01:01:07.079
we're going to get it up and
running against which is which should be great.

832
01:01:08.440 --> 01:01:15.760
You're in charge, you're in in
the Scottish branch. Yeah, I

833
01:01:15.880 --> 01:01:19.079
was in charge, but I think
it's a bit what flux just now so

834
01:01:19.159 --> 01:01:22.559
we're looking looking to liven it up
and we'll have a few meetings and maybe

835
01:01:22.639 --> 01:01:24.639
next next year to see how we
can drive it for because you know,

836
01:01:24.679 --> 01:01:30.159
everyone's busy and I think after COVID
we tried to kick started through zoom calls

837
01:01:30.199 --> 01:01:34.960
and things like that. But I
think the Scottish division needs to get more

838
01:01:35.280 --> 01:01:37.079
involved with the London branch. I
think and or the rest of the team

839
01:01:37.119 --> 01:01:40.119
need to come together and the guys
from London need to have a couple of

840
01:01:40.159 --> 01:01:44.760
meetings in Scotland as well, just
to try and to try and you know,

841
01:01:45.159 --> 01:01:46.760
break up a bit. And we've
touched base with a lot of the

842
01:01:46.840 --> 01:01:52.559
Northern branch. I went down to
see Paul ask you at the Ivy the

843
01:01:52.760 --> 01:01:57.360
Arthhouse sorry in Liverpool, so we've
had a couple of meetings there which is

844
01:01:57.440 --> 01:02:00.800
great. So the Northern branch is
quite keen to do a little tip up

845
01:02:00.840 --> 01:02:05.239
to Scotland. I'm trying to have
a couple of meetings here as well as

846
01:02:05.400 --> 01:02:12.519
go down down to Middlesbrough or Liverpool
or Newcastle. It's it is a fantastic

847
01:02:12.800 --> 01:02:17.880
organization and there's a lot for the
industry. Funny, I've sold our restaurant

848
01:02:19.480 --> 01:02:24.760
and that horrible world. Retired,
but I've kept my membership of the Royal

849
01:02:24.840 --> 01:02:30.639
Academy going because I think it's just
a it's just something I like being involved

850
01:02:30.719 --> 01:02:34.119
in. Yeah, I mean if
you look at the caliber of people that

851
01:02:34.199 --> 01:02:37.199
are there, that they're all on
top of their game and they're all do

852
01:02:37.320 --> 01:02:39.320
that a little bit, you know, from the Adopt the Chef's School,

853
01:02:39.360 --> 01:02:44.320
which we have got a couple of
schools in Aberdeen that I still do and

854
01:02:45.360 --> 01:02:49.360
I've teamed up with a couple of
schools that they try and to do that.

855
01:02:49.440 --> 01:02:52.440
And I've done something with Russell Anderson
at Just Jourdan COVID, which was

856
01:02:52.679 --> 01:03:00.400
similar to the Adopted School, which
Russell's got a foundation which he helped you

857
01:03:00.480 --> 01:03:04.400
know and the privileged schools and kids
and that to take part in the sport.

858
01:03:04.559 --> 01:03:07.360
And he branched out and asked if
I'd do some cooking lessons. So

859
01:03:08.239 --> 01:03:13.920
all kind of came came about during
COVID where I would cook every Friday during

860
01:03:13.960 --> 01:03:16.199
COVID, I would go in into
the Chester. I would cook, you

861
01:03:16.239 --> 01:03:22.239
know, fifty meals for the for
the kids and that would go to the

862
01:03:22.320 --> 01:03:27.079
families because during COVID, obviously there
was not any school school meals, so

863
01:03:27.079 --> 01:03:29.159
a lot of the kids were.
Depending on the school, we used to

864
01:03:29.239 --> 01:03:31.920
get a hot meal. So every
Friday I had said I would cook in

865
01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:36.880
my own time, I would cook
every Friday. The Russell Anderson would pick

866
01:03:36.920 --> 01:03:39.599
it up in a little vans and
they would take it directly to the families

867
01:03:40.760 --> 01:03:45.360
through COVID and we just done that
every every Friday, just to give them

868
01:03:45.800 --> 01:03:49.559
a hot meal, just touch on
a Friday, and then that continued after

869
01:03:49.760 --> 01:03:53.440
after COVID. Once the schools came
back on a Tuesday, on my day

870
01:03:53.440 --> 01:03:57.360
off at the chest, I would
I would cook. I would go down

871
01:03:57.440 --> 01:04:01.119
in the seating community parish church and
I would do a lot of cooking lesson

872
01:04:01.199 --> 01:04:04.920
for them and they were absolutely fantastic. And again it was just to give

873
01:04:04.960 --> 01:04:08.760
them a meal. And you think
it's a bit harsh, but some people

874
01:04:09.320 --> 01:04:12.119
don't get that they're lucky enough to
have a hot meal every week. So

875
01:04:13.360 --> 01:04:15.480
that's one of the main reasons that
we do it. I've done it and

876
01:04:15.559 --> 01:04:18.119
I'll do that again once we get
settled into the restaurant. But you know,

877
01:04:18.920 --> 01:04:21.559
you know, being a being a
Rangers band in Aberdeen, I think

878
01:04:21.599 --> 01:04:26.119
it's good to help the Aberdeen footballer
Russell to help to do things like that,

879
01:04:26.239 --> 01:04:31.800
which is which is great. Yeah, I wouldn't be shooting too loudly

880
01:04:31.920 --> 01:04:39.320
as a Rangers man in Aberdeen,
no, But I mean we do a

881
01:04:39.360 --> 01:04:41.880
lot of things with the club,
I suppose, and I just like football

882
01:04:41.920 --> 01:04:44.760
team, honest Jim, and I
think you know, we do a lot

883
01:04:44.760 --> 01:04:46.960
of things for the club. And
I can remember my son Robbie when he

884
01:04:47.119 --> 01:04:50.880
first arrived on the scene here in
Aberdeen. He went to the Community Trust

885
01:04:51.480 --> 01:04:55.840
training and I got away with I
think a season of that with him having

886
01:04:55.840 --> 01:04:58.440
the Rangers top on. And then
he said, Dad, dad, and

887
01:04:59.280 --> 01:05:01.199
these guys have got in tops one. I went right, okay, So

888
01:05:01.320 --> 01:05:06.159
at the time Rangers had had a
red Away top, so I put him

889
01:05:06.159 --> 01:05:09.800
in that. I think I got
a week at that one. And then

890
01:05:09.880 --> 01:05:13.679
obviously he wanted to with Aberdeen talks, which which I got from and I

891
01:05:13.679 --> 01:05:16.599
said, why do you want to
put an Aberdeen This is I've just got

892
01:05:16.639 --> 01:05:21.480
to spoke my local team. So
there he goes I liked Aberdeen for a

893
01:05:21.559 --> 01:05:28.639
few years and does he is that? Well, I'm hearing the finish for

894
01:05:28.840 --> 01:05:31.599
a few years. Do you mean
you've got them changed again? No,

895
01:05:32.039 --> 01:05:34.320
no, no, not at all. If you want to suport Aberdeen,

896
01:05:34.360 --> 01:05:38.360
that was that was his his his
choice. But I think I tear him

897
01:05:38.400 --> 01:05:42.519
to Bruce a Dublin game two seasons
ago, and I think I think that

898
01:05:42.639 --> 01:05:45.760
kind of changed his appetite for the
for the for football or for Rangers,

899
01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:47.639
because that was just I mean,
it's one of the best nights I've ever

900
01:05:47.760 --> 01:05:54.199
seen Eyebrooks. But yeah, but
I mean he can support whoever he wants.

901
01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:59.400
Good on you, Good on you, a bit light hearted with all

902
01:05:59.440 --> 01:06:04.599
the number and lovely food that have
you. What's if I can ask you,

903
01:06:04.719 --> 01:06:13.599
what's the best and worst compliment you've
ever had? The best and worst

904
01:06:13.639 --> 01:06:17.360
complement? It's a hard one.
I think the best cup. I think

905
01:06:17.440 --> 01:06:23.079
the best complement gym is just to
have a full restaurant and everyone's happy.

906
01:06:23.119 --> 01:06:25.559
I think people don't need to sell
them to you, just need to Sometimes

907
01:06:25.599 --> 01:06:29.119
I come out to the restaurant and
just take a step back. I've done

908
01:06:29.119 --> 01:06:31.519
it and started there with a full
restaurant, and I could see people laughing

909
01:06:31.639 --> 01:06:36.119
and meeting people, and you know, I think to come to take to

910
01:06:36.199 --> 01:06:40.039
spend their harding cash in my restaurant
and have a good time. I think

911
01:06:40.079 --> 01:06:45.320
that's the biggest complement anyone can give
to me. I'm probably coming back as

912
01:06:45.400 --> 01:06:48.280
well, I can, yeah,
exactly that. I mean, you know,

913
01:06:48.360 --> 01:06:51.360
we have a lot of repeat customers
now, which you know, become

914
01:06:51.480 --> 01:06:56.800
friends, I suppose, And I
think you've got to that's the biggest complent

915
01:06:56.880 --> 01:07:00.760
for me to see people and you
know, to take time to come to

916
01:07:00.840 --> 01:07:05.280
my restaurant and enjoy themselves and come
back. I suppose the worst compliment,

917
01:07:05.679 --> 01:07:10.639
I don't know, maybe not coming
back. I've never had many touch with

918
01:07:11.159 --> 01:07:15.119
bad compliments. I think you get
the odd one. But it could be,

919
01:07:15.199 --> 01:07:15.880
you know, a piece of fish
it's not cooked right, or a

920
01:07:15.920 --> 01:07:19.639
piece of meat it's no quick,
quick to their liking. But I think

921
01:07:20.119 --> 01:07:25.039
on the whole I've done pretty well. I think, yeah, good,

922
01:07:25.440 --> 01:07:29.760
good, Yeah. And so what
now, what would a day in the

923
01:07:29.880 --> 01:07:34.599
life Kevin Dougleys be an average day
in the life An average day, I

924
01:07:34.639 --> 01:07:39.800
think I get up and bust thing
and his check emails, which is probably

925
01:07:39.800 --> 01:07:44.880
a bad habit, and then you
obviously, I'll go to the restaurant,

926
01:07:45.239 --> 01:07:46.719
take the dogs and walk sometimes,
but Kerry's very good at doing that.

927
01:07:46.800 --> 01:07:51.199
I'll head the restaurant first. You
know, checks that the produce that's coming

928
01:07:51.280 --> 01:07:55.719
in, check the staff to see
if they're fine, you know, make

929
01:07:55.760 --> 01:07:59.079
sure the rest is looking good.
Of touch space with Olivia, who does

930
01:07:59.119 --> 01:08:01.599
our market and then see else and
we'll sit with her for a good maybe

931
01:08:01.639 --> 01:08:04.599
half an hour. We'll go through
the day's business, we'll go through the

932
01:08:04.639 --> 01:08:08.840
week's business. Then we'll go through
the next team month's business to see if

933
01:08:08.840 --> 01:08:13.079
we have any events or anything that's
coming on then and then we can start

934
01:08:13.159 --> 01:08:16.039
marketing ahead because we always work maybe
three months ahead. And then I'll get

935
01:08:16.039 --> 01:08:19.039
into the kitchen for a bit,
get some prep down, We'll do a

936
01:08:19.079 --> 01:08:23.600
bit of lunch, and then after
that I'll sometimes come home for an hour

937
01:08:23.760 --> 01:08:27.159
or so, or I'll maybe touch
base with Nikola in front of house team

938
01:08:27.199 --> 01:08:30.960
and see how they get on over
there and how how if we need to

939
01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:34.600
market any staff or getting new staff
and or staff training or send people away

940
01:08:34.640 --> 01:08:40.239
in any courses. And then obviously
dinner comes along. We'll do dinner service,

941
01:08:40.680 --> 01:08:43.600
and then you know, I'll go
and speak to the guests after dinner,

942
01:08:45.000 --> 01:08:46.680
and then help clean down for a
bit and then and then head home.

943
01:08:46.720 --> 01:08:49.439
And that's that's the basis of the
day really I think, you know,

944
01:08:49.520 --> 01:08:53.199
there's a bit bit everything. There's
a bit of market and a bit

945
01:08:53.199 --> 01:08:56.399
of cooking. And who'd have thought, you know, I mean, you

946
01:08:56.439 --> 01:08:59.159
know, I never thought I'd have
a restaurant, and you know, even

947
01:08:59.399 --> 01:09:02.279
five years ago, go I think
it's but it opens up opportunities, It

948
01:09:02.359 --> 01:09:06.439
opens up obviously different doors. I
think the first year, well last year

949
01:09:06.479 --> 01:09:11.399
obviously done the Great British Menu,
which was amazing, and that opens up

950
01:09:11.439 --> 01:09:15.199
more doors. And I think I
think you've just got to try and keep

951
01:09:15.279 --> 01:09:18.159
pushing, pushing your brand as opposed
it's such. I think you've got to

952
01:09:18.199 --> 01:09:20.520
try and push. A brand is
such, and it is called a brand.

953
01:09:20.600 --> 01:09:24.800
And now I think we've got to
try and establish that brand and you

954
01:09:24.880 --> 01:09:27.960
never know what comes that. We're
looking at doing a second place maybe next

955
01:09:28.039 --> 01:09:33.079
year, butch will complement our restaurant
here, which I'll drive even more people

956
01:09:33.159 --> 01:09:39.319
through. So I think it's all
exciting. I found anyway, and I'm

957
01:09:39.359 --> 01:09:44.199
sure you you feel it yourself.
Go round the tables. As you said,

958
01:09:44.239 --> 01:09:48.399
it's so important. And I think
people people a people like speaking to

959
01:09:48.560 --> 01:09:55.399
the man himself, but they do
like speaking to the chef. Yeah,

960
01:09:55.439 --> 01:09:59.399
I mean I see people. I
mean I'm once, I'm once, I'm

961
01:09:59.399 --> 01:10:00.279
out. I'm actually fine. But
getting out, you put it, try

962
01:10:00.279 --> 01:10:03.039
and build myself up to go out. But I don't know why. But

963
01:10:03.479 --> 01:10:06.560
once you're you're actually fine because people's
faces light up. If they had a

964
01:10:06.600 --> 01:10:10.640
great night, they'll they'll love chatting
to you. You know, they love

965
01:10:10.760 --> 01:10:14.960
speaking about how you cook stuff and
what you've been doing and what you're doing

966
01:10:15.039 --> 01:10:17.119
next, and you know, and
they love seeing that they've had a great

967
01:10:17.239 --> 01:10:21.079
night and what they're celebrating, why
they're here and who's at the table,

968
01:10:21.239 --> 01:10:24.880
and and even we got a lot
of people from White Gym coming up.

969
01:10:24.920 --> 01:10:27.760
We've had a good I've got to
stick. I've got to stock a bot

970
01:10:27.800 --> 01:10:31.279
of skippers run behind the bar now
for people from out just together, just

971
01:10:31.319 --> 01:10:34.560
to get that running milk when they
ever arrive. But you know, it's

972
01:10:35.880 --> 01:10:39.800
and I think just the best thing
for a chef is to let people enjoy

973
01:10:39.880 --> 01:10:43.239
themselves. And once you're around the
tables and you know people are happy,

974
01:10:43.920 --> 01:10:46.359
you can rest these deceived in a
good day's work. I'd say, do

975
01:10:46.439 --> 01:10:50.720
yeah, I know your family there, but do you go to hoke at

976
01:10:50.760 --> 01:10:55.279
all? Now? Still? I
tried to, I mean I tried to

977
01:10:55.319 --> 01:10:58.039
get down at the come Riding.
I was there last year. I've been

978
01:10:58.079 --> 01:11:01.359
there most most years. But yeah, I do. I mean, my

979
01:11:01.439 --> 01:11:04.880
brother is still there, my mum
is still there. So I do try

980
01:11:04.880 --> 01:11:08.319
and and obviously a lot of friends
are there, but a lot of friends

981
01:11:08.359 --> 01:11:11.600
have left, but you know,
we try and make a part to the

982
01:11:11.640 --> 01:11:13.800
comrade and some of a lot of
friends come back. So it's a good

983
01:11:13.840 --> 01:11:17.720
time to meet up as such,
and but it was It's a big part

984
01:11:17.720 --> 01:11:23.800
of my life. When it's I
suppose you call it home still and the

985
01:11:23.840 --> 01:11:26.560
people are like, a great,
yeah, there's they're really good people.

986
01:11:28.560 --> 01:11:35.760
Moving slightly different. What are you
into books? What what book would you

987
01:11:35.840 --> 01:11:42.039
recommend? Books? I just like
cook books. I'm not great at reading,

988
01:11:43.640 --> 01:11:47.359
you know, I but cook books
yeah, I mean I still think

989
01:11:47.600 --> 01:11:54.640
the Squares are great cook book,
both the Savory and the Suite and what's

990
01:11:54.680 --> 01:11:56.720
the latest one? I know what
any party while? To be honest,

991
01:11:57.680 --> 01:12:00.800
I thought that The Rich is an
amazing book. I turn it down to

992
01:12:00.880 --> 01:12:05.520
Tumblean and got John Willan to sign
it when he was there. I think

993
01:12:05.560 --> 01:12:09.439
that's a I think that's I think
The Rich just now is on par with

994
01:12:09.640 --> 01:12:12.199
one of the bit any of the
hotels in the world just now, the

995
01:12:12.279 --> 01:12:16.239
food and I think John Willens is
an incredible job of the last twelve years.

996
01:12:17.479 --> 01:12:19.960
I think, yeah, I mean
that's too that I stand up for

997
01:12:20.079 --> 01:12:24.920
me just now. I think there's
obviously the classics. We had Mark a

998
01:12:24.960 --> 01:12:28.399
peer Wire up at the Chester a
few years ago and attend the White heat

999
01:12:28.439 --> 01:12:30.600
Book Tom and got to sign it, which was, you know, we're

1000
01:12:30.840 --> 01:12:33.039
iconic book back in the day,
and it still is a great book.

1001
01:12:33.119 --> 01:12:40.239
You know, aiconic, iconic,
all round conic person. It's such a

1002
01:12:40.359 --> 01:12:44.239
character. He's he's quite in depth, but such a such a character.

1003
01:12:45.000 --> 01:12:53.079
Yeah. So where's Where's Where's Kevin
Dougley's going forward? Uh? Well,

1004
01:12:53.119 --> 01:12:56.399
I mean we've just got to keep
pushing the restaurant. I think we're coming

1005
01:12:56.479 --> 01:13:00.600
to I say, I say,
quiet period. It's such a January,

1006
01:13:00.000 --> 01:13:02.520
but look, but at least we've
got some history now that we can look

1007
01:13:02.560 --> 01:13:05.920
back to see what we did in
last January. We've done. We'd actually

1008
01:13:05.920 --> 01:13:09.920
okay, but you always worry that
you're going to be slightly quiet. But

1009
01:13:10.079 --> 01:13:13.800
I mean we've just had a few
inquiries for January, so January is looking

1010
01:13:14.000 --> 01:13:17.800
really good. And just keep being
you know, do what we do at

1011
01:13:17.800 --> 01:13:24.079
the restaurant, building on the restaurant. If we've reinvested a lot in the

1012
01:13:24.119 --> 01:13:29.479
restaurant with some r and some you
know, whiskey cabinets and wine carbinets.

1013
01:13:29.520 --> 01:13:31.880
So you've got to keep reinvesting to
a extent to make the restaurant look good.

1014
01:13:32.199 --> 01:13:35.399
And then you know, we've got
the opportunity to do a second place,

1015
01:13:35.520 --> 01:13:40.399
which we're looking at just now,
and see what that takes us.

1016
01:13:40.399 --> 01:13:44.560
We're going to do completely different concepts
of what we're doing at the restaurant at

1017
01:13:44.600 --> 01:13:47.159
a moves. We'll keep that,
We'll keep pushing that more and more further

1018
01:13:47.279 --> 01:13:51.520
up up scale, and we'll when
we introduced something that I say, lower

1019
01:13:51.560 --> 01:13:56.479
scale, but it's something less price
point that we can that everyone can enjoy

1020
01:13:56.600 --> 01:13:59.720
and come pure three times a week. And you know, I still have

1021
01:13:59.760 --> 01:14:03.159
an wineless. I was still have
the same ethos is cookie buying local,

1022
01:14:03.640 --> 01:14:08.439
you know, buying seasonal exactly the
same as we're doing it a mouse,

1023
01:14:08.560 --> 01:14:15.960
but just a slightly different tact.
It's always good to have ambition and something

1024
01:14:15.039 --> 01:14:19.760
to look forward to. Well,
it keeps you going, doesn't It keeps

1025
01:14:20.840 --> 01:14:30.199
absolutely Kevin, what's the challenge is
what what and what the industry faces restaurants

1026
01:14:30.319 --> 01:14:36.600
And I think for me, I
think we we started our business at the

1027
01:14:36.640 --> 01:14:44.079
peak time where the energy crisis was
was was it was really ravaging, I

1028
01:14:44.159 --> 01:14:47.680
think, and you know, I'm
to me we would obviously it's hard,

1029
01:14:47.680 --> 01:14:51.840
it was hard to wear a high
risk, high risk restaurant. Were a

1030
01:14:51.920 --> 01:14:57.920
lot of you know, energy companies
only taking anyone on. So we anyways

1031
01:14:58.039 --> 01:15:01.199
got a deal and I think they're
say that was very difficult to pay.

1032
01:15:01.359 --> 01:15:03.880
And you know he had to make
a lot of money to try and just

1033
01:15:03.960 --> 01:15:08.800
pay your electricity. It will never
win anything else. And then the government

1034
01:15:08.840 --> 01:15:12.359
don't really give you anything at all. We obviously the bat's a big thing,

1035
01:15:12.399 --> 01:15:15.960
obviously costs your bat into your your
menu price. But I think,

1036
01:15:15.800 --> 01:15:18.880
you know, to make we think
that people think we're expensive because you know,

1037
01:15:19.399 --> 01:15:21.720
people don't realize you need to give
twenty percent of that back to the

1038
01:15:21.800 --> 01:15:26.960
batman before you do anything. And
then obviously the rates again you know in

1039
01:15:27.079 --> 01:15:32.279
England, I know it's a big
burroer or my brothers in England, they're

1040
01:15:32.359 --> 01:15:35.600
they're getting a rebate of seventy five
percent. We're in Scotland, we don't

1041
01:15:35.640 --> 01:15:41.560
get anything, and and and the
frustrating thing is the government. You know

1042
01:15:41.680 --> 01:15:45.760
that the British government have gave the
Scottish government the money to fat to this

1043
01:15:47.479 --> 01:15:49.880
this end, so I don't know
where the moneys went or I don't know

1044
01:15:49.920 --> 01:15:54.880
why the industry is not getting that
rebate a seventy five percent, which is

1045
01:15:55.039 --> 01:15:59.079
really frustrated because you know, if
you cross the border in Carlisle or so,

1046
01:15:59.840 --> 01:16:01.840
you know you're going to get seventy
five percent less in your rates,

1047
01:16:02.399 --> 01:16:05.760
which is just ridiculous that this,
you know, the amount of people that

1048
01:16:05.840 --> 01:16:12.359
employed within the Scottish hospitality industry and
have to sponge all this together and it's

1049
01:16:12.399 --> 01:16:15.840
going to be catastrophic in the next
couple of years if people don't or the

1050
01:16:15.880 --> 01:16:21.399
government such don't really help or be
seen to be helping the industry, especially

1051
01:16:21.520 --> 01:16:30.680
when the twenty percent that was less
during COVID it was down. Yeah,

1052
01:16:32.479 --> 01:16:35.640
I think that really helped kick start
a lot of business or really give them

1053
01:16:35.720 --> 01:16:41.359
some breeding space maybe you know,
to make things cheaper. I mean,

1054
01:16:41.359 --> 01:16:44.640
the whole thing about doing that was
to help people get out. And if

1055
01:16:44.680 --> 01:16:47.720
we reduce our vat reduce our prices
and you know that, you know,

1056
01:16:47.840 --> 01:16:51.159
and people that can can just afford
to go. It can maybe go once

1057
01:16:51.279 --> 01:16:54.720
or twice a month, you know
what I mean, because we can load

1058
01:16:54.720 --> 01:16:57.720
our prices the government. You know, we obviously don't make as much money,

1059
01:16:57.840 --> 01:17:00.960
but it really kicks starts the the
industry. You know, even if

1060
01:17:01.039 --> 01:17:04.800
it was twelve and half percent would
may be something. But I think,

1061
01:17:05.439 --> 01:17:10.720
you know, this twenty percent is
just ridiculous and I think it really inflates

1062
01:17:10.760 --> 01:17:15.119
our prices to people think although people
think we're expensive, but you know,

1063
01:17:15.239 --> 01:17:17.960
people don't really realize that before you're
dealing, you give twenty percent back to

1064
01:17:18.039 --> 01:17:27.800
the government, well quite often and
various tax formats with income tax and that

1065
01:17:28.439 --> 01:17:32.960
various government throughout the world. When
they've reduced the tax rate, their income

1066
01:17:33.000 --> 01:17:38.840
has actually arisen. Yes, I
think so. Yeah. I mean they've

1067
01:17:38.920 --> 01:17:41.560
just got to be you know,
in this day and age, they've just

1068
01:17:41.640 --> 01:17:44.720
got to be realistic and what people
have prepared to pay to go out.

1069
01:17:45.439 --> 01:17:50.079
And you know you can see that
with the with the with the pub trade

1070
01:17:50.119 --> 01:17:55.039
in Scotland. I think you know, I don't know how many pubs close

1071
01:17:55.119 --> 01:17:59.279
and reference close, you know,
in a weekly basis, but I think,

1072
01:18:00.640 --> 01:18:04.199
you know, people we never had
wcly the The COVID never really affected

1073
01:18:04.279 --> 01:18:09.000
us, but we started straight after
COVID, where you know, the energy

1074
01:18:09.079 --> 01:18:13.399
prices were right, people weren't really
coming out or they're just choosing to come

1075
01:18:13.399 --> 01:18:15.880
out once a month or whenever it
may be. But even we just see

1076
01:18:15.880 --> 01:18:19.439
it now coming through the restaurant.
It's like getting busier. But we need

1077
01:18:19.840 --> 01:18:24.680
footfall for us to survive as well, because if we don't have the footfall,

1078
01:18:24.720 --> 01:18:27.640
if we don't have the support from
the local people and you know,

1079
01:18:27.880 --> 01:18:30.479
any tourists in the summer that we
get, you know, we're going to

1080
01:18:30.520 --> 01:18:31.319
fall fall out of our face as
well. And if we don't get any

1081
01:18:31.359 --> 01:18:34.279
help from the government. I'm not
saying that we have to get help,

1082
01:18:34.319 --> 01:18:36.520
but I think it'd be nice to
get some help to try and you know,

1083
01:18:38.079 --> 01:18:41.800
secure our future within the industry.
And you know, I put stuff

1084
01:18:41.880 --> 01:18:45.319
back to the industry to help to
help young people come. So I mean,

1085
01:18:45.680 --> 01:18:47.800
and you know, I'd hate for
me to stop doing that because you

1086
01:18:47.840 --> 01:18:50.880
know, you go to look after
the business and if the business can is

1087
01:18:50.920 --> 01:18:56.880
sustained, you know, taking on
young people and all falls in its space.

1088
01:18:58.319 --> 01:19:01.439
And when you say the I know
exactly what you're saying as far as

1089
01:19:01.479 --> 01:19:10.520
the Scottish government get the money from
Westminster, but in England it's the seventy

1090
01:19:10.600 --> 01:19:19.079
five percent rebate to hospitality or just
businesses or small businesses or what what is

1091
01:19:19.199 --> 01:19:25.800
that? As far as you know, it's it's it's businesses or small businesses.

1092
01:19:27.840 --> 01:19:30.239
You know, my brother's been fighting
for this and he's got he had

1093
01:19:30.239 --> 01:19:32.000
a small gym and hike and he
was fighting for the exact this because you

1094
01:19:32.000 --> 01:19:35.199
know, Hike's only you know,
fifteen miles from the English border, and

1095
01:19:35.960 --> 01:19:41.479
he was up in arms because you
know, his gym and hike was was

1096
01:19:41.760 --> 01:19:45.520
paid tventy five percent more than a
pac place just across the border, which

1097
01:19:45.600 --> 01:19:48.560
you know, and in the true
realistical thing, it's it's it's it's a

1098
01:19:48.600 --> 01:19:54.119
lot of money for small businesses to
absorb. You know, it just gives

1099
01:19:54.199 --> 01:19:58.159
us a fighting chance. But I
think I don't know what the Scottish government

1100
01:19:58.199 --> 01:20:02.199
because apparently they've been given them money
to pass it onto businesses, but it

1101
01:20:02.279 --> 01:20:06.600
seems to have either disappeared or I
don't know what's what's happened with it,

1102
01:20:06.680 --> 01:20:13.439
But then really needs it to give
this the support in some way, shape

1103
01:20:13.520 --> 01:20:15.680
or form, because a lot of
people, a lot of good people,

1104
01:20:16.039 --> 01:20:19.239
and I know a lot of restaurants
have closed lately, a lot of people

1105
01:20:19.279 --> 01:20:24.479
that have worked hard all the life
and it just became sustainable anywhere any longer.

1106
01:20:25.960 --> 01:20:34.399
I know Stewart, Divine friendly with
Stewart. He's the managing director of

1107
01:20:34.520 --> 01:20:43.319
the Ashville Fish obviously have to fish
and chip trade. And he's very very

1108
01:20:43.520 --> 01:20:51.399
vocal on social media anyway, and
and he's he's involved in the Federation of

1109
01:20:53.119 --> 01:21:00.840
Fish Fryers and they certainly push he
certainly pushes it hard. I'm very aggressive

1110
01:21:00.960 --> 01:21:06.760
on social media, Twitter and that, trying to get that, trying to

1111
01:21:06.840 --> 01:21:14.560
get it across. But as the
old problem, who's listening, I just

1112
01:21:14.640 --> 01:21:18.520
hope that. I mean, Scotland's
got such a great hospitality industry and people

1113
01:21:18.600 --> 01:21:23.079
come up from all over the world
to come here to you know, and

1114
01:21:23.159 --> 01:21:26.680
we're only just now getting some really
good restaurants and great hotels, world wide

1115
01:21:26.680 --> 01:21:30.600
hotels, you know, world renowned
hotels. But we need to try and

1116
01:21:30.640 --> 01:21:33.279
support these industries. We need to
try and support the people within the industries

1117
01:21:33.840 --> 01:21:38.159
because you know, I know the
margins that we try and make and they're

1118
01:21:38.319 --> 01:21:40.880
very tight. And if we have
to give you know more back to the

1119
01:21:40.920 --> 01:21:44.600
government or the government takes more,
or if the electricity goes any higher.

1120
01:21:44.800 --> 01:21:48.840
You know, we are very vulnerable
to anything that the government does or which

1121
01:21:48.920 --> 01:21:54.119
is a shame because we should be
we should be secure enough to run a

1122
01:21:54.159 --> 01:21:57.920
business that we can invest in,
you know, as I said earlier,

1123
01:21:58.399 --> 01:22:02.159
younger people. And if we don't, if we can't afford to the where

1124
01:22:02.199 --> 01:22:05.880
does industry go from from here?
Do you know what I mean? It's

1125
01:22:06.479 --> 01:22:13.119
it's disappointing that there's just no incentive. There's no incentive, and I think

1126
01:22:13.119 --> 01:22:15.960
the Scottish government really need to look
hard themselves and say, look, we

1127
01:22:16.079 --> 01:22:18.680
need to I mean I have not. It's a difference in Aberdeen lately.

1128
01:22:19.560 --> 01:22:23.920
You know, visit Aberdeen, Visit
Aberdeen, Sure, visit Scotlan. They're

1129
01:22:23.960 --> 01:22:27.960
doing a great job to get people
here from all over the world, if

1130
01:22:27.960 --> 01:22:30.439
it's whiskey, trails or golf.
When you know, Aberdeen needs to look

1131
01:22:30.720 --> 01:22:35.479
elsewhere from the oil and I think
they're actually getting there now. The tourism

1132
01:22:35.640 --> 01:22:42.479
numbers are starting to come in.
You know, we've got the cruise ships

1133
01:22:42.520 --> 01:22:45.079
coming into Aberdeen now, but we're
not gonna have any restaurants. Obody else

1134
01:22:45.119 --> 01:22:53.439
here to accommodate them unless we get
some help from the government, which is

1135
01:22:53.520 --> 01:23:01.479
absolutely crazy when you think of it. Yeah, no, that's quite that's

1136
01:23:01.560 --> 01:23:08.880
quite concerning, and it's as you
say, it's nationwide. That's well Scotland

1137
01:23:09.119 --> 01:23:14.000
anyway. Absolutely, if you've don't
get deep pockets or a backer or or

1138
01:23:14.239 --> 01:23:17.359
or or other businesses that can he
can pull from money from other business to

1139
01:23:17.439 --> 01:23:20.199
secure that. You know, we're
just a very small business and you know

1140
01:23:20.239 --> 01:23:24.079
I've done this on my own.
It's it's as if we've got puts of

1141
01:23:24.159 --> 01:23:26.800
cars sitting there just for a rainy
day. You know, we're you know,

1142
01:23:27.479 --> 01:23:30.159
we work hard each month to try
and make sure we've got enough money

1143
01:23:30.199 --> 01:23:32.960
to pay a pay the staff,
and then then the batman just comes and

1144
01:23:33.039 --> 01:23:38.880
takes his share. Anyway, but
I think I think we're very vulnerable to

1145
01:23:39.159 --> 01:23:44.399
to global global things and certainly energy. If the advantgy of prices spikes again,

1146
01:23:44.920 --> 01:23:47.840
I think we will be very vulnerable. And there's only so much people

1147
01:23:47.880 --> 01:23:49.840
who are willing to pay to come
out to eat, and we kind of

1148
01:23:49.920 --> 01:23:55.640
keep passing on costs to to our
guests because it's just unfair and I would

1149
01:23:55.640 --> 01:23:59.000
just be would just be priced at
the market from the from the and obviously

1150
01:23:59.039 --> 01:24:02.920
the national company here as well.
It's very difficult for us independence to try

1151
01:24:02.960 --> 01:24:09.840
and keep fighting off the costs.
Yeah, not one hundred percent. I

1152
01:24:09.920 --> 01:24:15.920
mean fishermen are very I like that. I mean their energy bills are just

1153
01:24:15.560 --> 01:24:23.720
astronomical. And when I was involved
with a good friend of mine, he

1154
01:24:24.239 --> 01:24:30.880
had a fishing boat, built a
new and in these projections when he was

1155
01:24:31.000 --> 01:24:42.159
building it, his sales if he
crossed forty thousand a week trip, sorry

1156
01:24:42.880 --> 01:24:46.800
for if he grossed forty thousand pounds
a trip, his crew had a good

1157
01:24:46.880 --> 01:24:51.920
wage, the boat, all the
expenses were paid, and he was going

1158
01:24:53.000 --> 01:25:02.600
ahead. He sold the boat twelve
years and I'd built a new one,

1159
01:25:03.600 --> 01:25:14.319
and the last trip of the board, his fuel alone, now the projections

1160
01:25:14.399 --> 01:25:18.760
were forty thousand a week and our
trip and everything was going ahead. His

1161
01:25:18.960 --> 01:25:26.479
fuel bill alone for that trip was
forty six thousand. Okay, assem believe

1162
01:25:26.560 --> 01:25:31.439
I mean to put in our perspective
when we looked at the figures from before

1163
01:25:31.479 --> 01:25:35.880
we turn it over. You know, the average electric bill from the restaurant

1164
01:25:35.920 --> 01:25:42.279
before we turn over was about fifteen
hundred quid a month. And now my

1165
01:25:42.439 --> 01:25:47.000
last electric bill, just last month
was just under eight thousand pounds a month.

1166
01:25:47.079 --> 01:25:55.520
Oh, you just can't sustain that
kind of costs. And it's just

1167
01:25:56.520 --> 01:26:00.439
until the government does something with a
century crisis or I like to call them

1168
01:26:00.479 --> 01:26:03.720
other things. But I think,
you know, at least Dick Turpin had

1169
01:26:03.720 --> 01:26:09.560
a mask. I think I think
we really need to look at small businesses

1170
01:26:09.600 --> 01:26:14.920
and help them because you know,
we're very vulnerable to energy costs and there's

1171
01:26:15.239 --> 01:26:18.560
only so much the government can do. But I don't think they're just do

1172
01:26:18.720 --> 01:26:23.000
a bl eye, blind eye.
I think it's just it's just not acceptable.

1173
01:26:24.439 --> 01:26:28.680
Yeah. But although Dick Turpin had
a mask, he also robbed the

1174
01:26:28.800 --> 01:26:35.920
rich and gave it to the poor. There is that which is certainly not

1175
01:26:36.119 --> 01:26:41.079
happening now. No, no,
no, I think something really needs to

1176
01:26:41.119 --> 01:26:44.399
get done because you don't want any
you don't want any more good wrestaurants going

1177
01:26:44.479 --> 01:26:47.279
to the wall. I mean,
we're lucky, we had a great first

1178
01:26:47.359 --> 01:26:50.600
kind of year, and you know
our positions are good for the second year.

1179
01:26:51.279 --> 01:26:55.800
But I think it's always, you
know, I worry, you know,

1180
01:26:56.560 --> 01:26:59.319
on a daily basis. They see
what we've got in our books,

1181
01:26:59.359 --> 01:27:00.920
and you know, you always think
it's going to fall off. An edge

1182
01:27:01.039 --> 01:27:05.279
or a cliff, and I've just
got to keep enough money in the bankats

1183
01:27:05.319 --> 01:27:10.359
month to pay the staff and anything
else is a bonus because you know it's

1184
01:27:11.600 --> 01:27:15.319
you know, you don't make a
lot of money in this trade. You

1185
01:27:15.399 --> 01:27:20.760
know, we're about pleasing people.
But if all these factors don't align themselves

1186
01:27:20.800 --> 01:27:24.800
anytime soon, and there's a lot
more good people going to go to the

1187
01:27:24.840 --> 01:27:28.720
wall, which is such a shame
because people work hard. You know,

1188
01:27:29.039 --> 01:27:31.840
references that have been going for twenty
thirty years or falling left, right and

1189
01:27:31.920 --> 01:27:36.439
center until someone really takes a wake
up call to see what's going to happen,

1190
01:27:36.960 --> 01:27:41.399
we're all going to be in the
dishment of the government. Really,

1191
01:27:42.039 --> 01:27:45.680
it's terrible. It's such negative energy
as well being used. And you're say

1192
01:27:45.680 --> 01:27:50.920
in there that you're concerned about the
future, concerned about keeping staff and things

1193
01:27:51.000 --> 01:27:58.720
like that, when your time should
be spent. What's your next product and

1194
01:27:58.840 --> 01:28:02.039
what's your next men? You and
exactly that. I mean, I know

1195
01:28:02.079 --> 01:28:05.800
they've done a lot of Aberdeen.
I know Bob Keeler's doing a lot of

1196
01:28:05.840 --> 01:28:12.399
things in Aberdeen to try and kick
start Union Street, but I mean we're

1197
01:28:12.479 --> 01:28:15.000
not we're not getting any at all
of that. But and we're not far

1198
01:28:15.039 --> 01:28:16.560
from the Union Street. But I
mean, I think there's the should be

1199
01:28:16.600 --> 01:28:19.960
more initiatives like that, but it
shouldn't be private people that come in to

1200
01:28:20.039 --> 01:28:21.960
do that. The government should be
taking that. I should do for that.

1201
01:28:23.640 --> 01:28:27.960
They should be forward thinking and thinking
how can we you know, you

1202
01:28:28.000 --> 01:28:30.960
look at look at Aberdeen and the
oil. I mean, I was,

1203
01:28:30.720 --> 01:28:33.239
you know, I've been here ten
years in the oil has always been kind

1204
01:28:33.239 --> 01:28:38.079
of slump since I've been here.
But I think they really need to think

1205
01:28:38.199 --> 01:28:42.600
and how they can they can regenerate
Aberdeen. And I think they're thinking about

1206
01:28:42.600 --> 01:28:45.039
it now, but they should have
done it ten years ago. But I

1207
01:28:45.079 --> 01:28:49.880
think the Aberdeen Council are so backward
thinking. And you know, Aberdeen should

1208
01:28:49.880 --> 01:28:54.000
be a thriving city for the amount
of money that's came through the city and

1209
01:28:54.560 --> 01:28:58.279
in the last fifty years, but
it's you know, it's probably one of

1210
01:28:58.359 --> 01:29:02.720
the the can see yourself any high
streets pretty poor now. But I mean

1211
01:29:02.720 --> 01:29:08.600
the amount of money that's came through
Aberdeen, Aberdeen Town Center or you know,

1212
01:29:09.199 --> 01:29:11.600
there should be booming. It should
be amazing looking. But I don't

1213
01:29:11.600 --> 01:29:14.520
know where all that money's went or
it's just been you know, and I'm

1214
01:29:14.680 --> 01:29:17.079
saying it's the council's fault by any
stretch. It means, but something went

1215
01:29:17.199 --> 01:29:23.960
terribly wrong over the last fifty years
here, Yeah, which is which is

1216
01:29:24.039 --> 01:29:29.079
a shame because it was a granted
city, lovely buildings and we just don't

1217
01:29:29.119 --> 01:29:32.840
want to see boards up in the
windows. Yeah, I mean, and

1218
01:29:32.920 --> 01:29:34.880
you see that. I mean that
they are now. I mean I went

1219
01:29:34.920 --> 01:29:39.720
down the Queen's Road every day and
there are people now, they are.

1220
01:29:40.000 --> 01:29:43.159
The for sale signs have gone.
There is there is a bit of of

1221
01:29:44.600 --> 01:29:46.800
there's people purchasing things, buildings and
doing them up. So it's always a

1222
01:29:46.800 --> 01:29:51.920
good side to see things like that. But I think it's only a few

1223
01:29:53.000 --> 01:29:55.920
years before we get back to where
I think we should be. But you

1224
01:29:55.960 --> 01:29:59.079
know, the government could easily kick
started a little bit quicker, I think,

1225
01:29:59.159 --> 01:30:01.880
and just you know, be a
bit forward thinking to see how they

1226
01:30:01.960 --> 01:30:06.439
can, how they can regenerate this
and in the hospitality can certainly do that.

1227
01:30:06.560 --> 01:30:09.920
You know, we are you know, I don't know how many people

1228
01:30:10.000 --> 01:30:13.239
un employed in Aberdeen and in the
hospitality sector, but it's a lot and

1229
01:30:13.319 --> 01:30:15.720
it's only going to keep growing if
the oil d windows. We need to

1230
01:30:15.079 --> 01:30:18.640
We need to put the hospitality in
the forefront because, as I said earlier,

1231
01:30:18.680 --> 01:30:21.439
we're going to get cruise ships,
We're going to get American golfers,

1232
01:30:21.439 --> 01:30:25.359
we're going to gate Norwegian golfers.
We're going to get all over the world.

1233
01:30:25.439 --> 01:30:28.399
Want to come and play Aberdeen because
we'll come to Saint Andrews. The

1234
01:30:28.479 --> 01:30:31.479
want to come to Alberdin now because
we've got some great courses here, We've

1235
01:30:31.520 --> 01:30:35.880
got some amazing world class whiskey trails, and we just need the hospitality to

1236
01:30:35.960 --> 01:30:39.880
fit in with that. And I
think you know, we're seeing little nuggets

1237
01:30:39.880 --> 01:30:43.800
are good restaurants popping up, some
amazing hotels that are that are here.

1238
01:30:44.319 --> 01:30:46.039
But we need to keep them all
here because all these people are going to

1239
01:30:46.079 --> 01:30:50.119
come hopefully, and we need someone
to get them beds, we need someone

1240
01:30:50.199 --> 01:30:56.119
to feed them, and we need
to give them good hospitality. It's it's

1241
01:30:56.159 --> 01:31:01.159
awful when you just listening to what
you're saying there and equality. You know,

1242
01:31:01.279 --> 01:31:06.439
it's a quality market. It's great
products of fantastic golf courses. I've

1243
01:31:06.479 --> 01:31:15.279
played Royal Aberdeen and Saint Andrew's.
You're as you say, the whiskey trail,

1244
01:31:15.359 --> 01:31:21.720
it's all high end quality stuff and
it's really disappointed to think that it's

1245
01:31:23.199 --> 01:31:29.960
the actual what they're holding it all
back. Is that our Scottish government,

1246
01:31:30.079 --> 01:31:34.640
who should be at the forefront of
promoting it. Yeah, they should see

1247
01:31:34.680 --> 01:31:41.399
that. I mean they're quick enough
to take the all money and run,

1248
01:31:41.479 --> 01:31:45.760
but I think they need to really
invest in Aberdeenshire if they want to try

1249
01:31:45.800 --> 01:31:48.239
and keep the amount of people employed
here, because you know, it's it's

1250
01:31:48.279 --> 01:31:51.680
a great place to live and it's
a great place to work. But I

1251
01:31:51.760 --> 01:31:55.680
think, you know, light oil, I think they really need to take

1252
01:31:56.359 --> 01:31:58.720
the blow by the horns and see
are we going to make this a world

1253
01:31:58.760 --> 01:32:01.439
wild destination because you know, before
I keep Aberdeen, why would he come

1254
01:32:01.479 --> 01:32:05.479
to Aberdeen if we did it weren't
associated in oil. You know, they're

1255
01:32:05.560 --> 01:32:11.439
they're putting all the money into the
whiskey trails, the the golfs are coming

1256
01:32:11.520 --> 01:32:15.159
online. You know, there's there's
there's everything here and your doorstep, and

1257
01:32:15.239 --> 01:32:17.640
we just need to shout about it. But we need the infrastructure here within

1258
01:32:17.760 --> 01:32:24.399
restaurants and hotels to accommodate these people
that want to come here and make it,

1259
01:32:24.600 --> 01:32:27.680
you know, just as good to
go anywhere as an Aberdeen shut and

1260
01:32:27.720 --> 01:32:30.319
Andrews. You know what I mean, because you know even five has got

1261
01:32:30.359 --> 01:32:33.199
some amazing places. Edinburgh went up
against Edinburgh, a world class city.

1262
01:32:33.840 --> 01:32:38.159
You know, if you want any
deciice of that hospitality market, we need

1263
01:32:38.239 --> 01:32:44.439
to make it appealing for to come. Kevin, Yeah, I was a

1264
01:32:44.960 --> 01:32:50.920
Royal Dornich. I'm now a member
of the a proud member of the Caithness

1265
01:32:51.000 --> 01:33:00.479
and Sutherland Seniors Golf and we're playing
in Dornich just a couple of month ago,

1266
01:33:00.199 --> 01:33:05.039
and it's just taking me to my
front of my mind. Exactly what

1267
01:33:05.239 --> 01:33:12.840
you said there, because as we
were getting organized and getting our tea times

1268
01:33:13.000 --> 01:33:16.560
and clubs and bags and all that
ready, at the front, there was

1269
01:33:16.640 --> 01:33:26.439
two Americans chating to each other.
They weren't together, but they obviously met

1270
01:33:26.520 --> 01:33:32.600
up and they were asking each other
where they've played, and just exactly what

1271
01:33:32.800 --> 01:33:38.000
you said. One of the guys
turned to his mate the other and said,

1272
01:33:39.119 --> 01:33:45.279
I've been in I've played Saint Andrew's, I've played Royal Alberdein and now

1273
01:33:45.399 --> 01:33:50.840
I'm playing Royal dorn Yeah. And
then people and they'll travel because they want

1274
01:33:50.880 --> 01:33:56.840
to have that experience, I mean, and we need to be Albertinchan is

1275
01:33:56.920 --> 01:34:00.479
to be just as good as is
that islands and islands which is just as

1276
01:34:00.520 --> 01:34:04.119
good as Edinburgh, just as good
as his wife, because we need to

1277
01:34:04.159 --> 01:34:08.760
make it appealing for people to come
and spend their money here, because the

1278
01:34:08.800 --> 01:34:12.399
people do spend a lot of money
to come across to Scotland, and and

1279
01:34:12.479 --> 01:34:15.399
it is an expensive country to come
u I suppose you know, to play

1280
01:34:15.439 --> 01:34:19.079
the golf course is expensive, the
whiskey is expensive. So we need we

1281
01:34:19.159 --> 01:34:23.680
need places that they can come in
and dine and you know, enjoy the

1282
01:34:23.760 --> 01:34:27.520
whiskey and enjoy there at each other's
company when they're here. So I think

1283
01:34:28.359 --> 01:34:32.560
we need that needs to be the
forefront of the local government and obviously the

1284
01:34:33.479 --> 01:34:41.399
national government as well, and enjoy
the food they'll enjoy is local Scottish food.

1285
01:34:43.079 --> 01:34:45.680
Well that's what they try and try. And I mean it's like anything

1286
01:34:45.680 --> 01:34:48.479
if you go on holiday, you
know, to spend whatever, you always

1287
01:34:48.520 --> 01:34:54.159
look for the You don't go to
the big restaurants that selve the all day

1288
01:34:54.239 --> 01:35:00.000
English breakfast. You try and find
out that the local beautiful restaurant that served

1289
01:35:00.039 --> 01:35:03.079
the local local fair because that's exactly
when they got You want to try and

1290
01:35:03.119 --> 01:35:06.119
get a piece of Spain when you're
there, so we find when the Americans

1291
01:35:06.199 --> 01:35:10.880
come, when the Scandinavians come,
they're looking for resturs just like ours that

1292
01:35:10.960 --> 01:35:15.279
I've got the nice whiskeys that were
not there were knows about the whiskeys that

1293
01:35:15.319 --> 01:35:18.199
we compare the whiskeys with the local
you know fish that we get from from

1294
01:35:18.239 --> 01:35:23.640
peter Head and scrub Store and and
and the sculptrom Martine. And that's that's

1295
01:35:23.800 --> 01:35:27.000
exactly what we're trying to do.
And I think that's what you know.

1296
01:35:27.039 --> 01:35:30.840
We need to keep that going and
need to try and shout about Aberdeenire because

1297
01:35:30.880 --> 01:35:34.439
they'll go away and tell them they
go back to America or Norway or Japan,

1298
01:35:34.520 --> 01:35:38.520
wherever they might come from. I'd
say they had a great time in

1299
01:35:38.560 --> 01:35:42.520
Scotland and then they'll come back,
and that's what we want. I'm just

1300
01:35:42.600 --> 01:35:46.199
thinking from what you're saying there,
if they come to your restaurant with the

1301
01:35:46.279 --> 01:35:56.720
time, they get their cut on
the VAT rate and the tax that would

1302
01:35:56.760 --> 01:36:03.039
pay on the whiskey as well as
well to be frightening to think how much

1303
01:36:03.079 --> 01:36:08.039
of it all goes to the government, which is why I always say we're

1304
01:36:08.119 --> 01:36:12.680
just a cash cow for the government. Anyway. Yeah, but it's just

1305
01:36:13.199 --> 01:36:18.079
holding it back, and it's it's
a shame. It's really opportunity. It's

1306
01:36:18.159 --> 01:36:21.680
sad. It's sad that they don't
have the vision to see it themselves.

1307
01:36:24.039 --> 01:36:28.800
Yeah. Well, hopefully, I
think there's enough. There's enough, there's

1308
01:36:28.880 --> 01:36:31.880
enough noise now. I think that
the government needs need to even to start

1309
01:36:31.920 --> 01:36:34.720
listening would be a good thing.
And then you know, I think if

1310
01:36:34.760 --> 01:36:38.279
you lose any other good restaurants,
I think they really need to stand up

1311
01:36:38.319 --> 01:36:43.640
and do something, because you know, we the idea that I might come

1312
01:36:43.680 --> 01:36:45.640
and say, well, what's the
point. You know, I've just coming

1313
01:36:45.720 --> 01:36:47.279
up. I'm just working to pay
to pay the staff. I'm not get

1314
01:36:47.359 --> 01:36:49.479
anything out of it. Or you
know, there's only so much loyal that

1315
01:36:49.560 --> 01:36:54.319
you could do to the to the
to the to the industry that you can

1316
01:36:54.439 --> 01:36:57.760
keep going. I'm not saying that
I will do, but I mean there

1317
01:36:57.840 --> 01:37:00.119
might be a day that if the
government doesn't intervene any time soon, you'll

1318
01:37:00.119 --> 01:37:04.319
say, well why should I bother? And then you know, if I

1319
01:37:04.439 --> 01:37:09.560
close, it's it's it's it's a
shame because there's there's twenty staff depending on

1320
01:37:09.680 --> 01:37:12.239
me, you know, gett out
of bed every morning and making it,

1321
01:37:12.359 --> 01:37:16.279
making it work, and making it
work for them, and you don't get

1322
01:37:16.279 --> 01:37:19.960
any help but whatsoever from from from
from anywhere, from the government, which

1323
01:37:20.039 --> 01:37:24.560
is is it's such a crying shame. And you can see my my tones

1324
01:37:24.640 --> 01:37:27.920
kind of changed to the to the
bubbly guy. I was elier when we

1325
01:37:28.000 --> 01:37:32.239
were talking about halibut and turbot and
Langstein's and scallops. Well, it's yeah,

1326
01:37:32.359 --> 01:37:36.680
but it's it's all relative. And
it's terrible that that is, that's

1327
01:37:38.119 --> 01:37:41.199
that is the case, because they
are it is a stifle in fact,

1328
01:37:41.239 --> 01:37:47.119
that it's stifling ambition and the ambition
and people like yourself. Yeah, the

1329
01:37:47.199 --> 01:37:50.439
biggest shock I didn't get, Gyman
is you know, you know, I

1330
01:37:50.600 --> 01:37:54.880
was never a businessman by anyone on
any means, but you kind of fall

1331
01:37:55.000 --> 01:37:57.880
into it and and I think,
you know, you've got to have your

1332
01:37:57.920 --> 01:38:00.600
finger onats past. And you know, we did have a great year and

1333
01:38:00.680 --> 01:38:02.159
we did make a little bit of
money. And then I found out that

1334
01:38:02.159 --> 01:38:04.279
the government take twenty percent of that
too, and I was like, well,

1335
01:38:04.399 --> 01:38:09.920
thanks, it's just and you pay
the corporation to that, which I

1336
01:38:09.960 --> 01:38:12.920
think is all a bit a bit
wrong really, to be honest, because

1337
01:38:13.079 --> 01:38:15.119
you work hard to try and try
and make a bit of money to try

1338
01:38:15.119 --> 01:38:18.640
and invest in only you know,
we invested all the money that we could

1339
01:38:18.680 --> 01:38:23.640
back into the business and then the
guy comes along and takes another twenty percent

1340
01:38:23.680 --> 01:38:28.199
off you, which is just totally
ridiculous. But anyways, that's a learning

1341
01:38:28.279 --> 01:38:30.800
cup for you as long as I
have been every morning, and focus on

1342
01:38:30.880 --> 01:38:34.600
what we need to do and keep
up with water. And if we can

1343
01:38:34.720 --> 01:38:39.000
get through this, you know,
the next couple of years to where we

1344
01:38:39.079 --> 01:38:41.840
are just now, and if the
government does give us a better relief for

1345
01:38:41.960 --> 01:38:45.359
a better you know, a bitter
less tax, I think we'll we'll benefit

1346
01:38:45.479 --> 01:38:51.159
us all in the long term.
Yeah, but it's I hope the messages

1347
01:38:51.279 --> 01:39:00.720
go out and the trade bodies shoot
shoutloaded. Yeah, we just need to

1348
01:39:00.760 --> 01:39:04.039
lobby the government more and just be
more active and a bit more aggressive and

1349
01:39:04.760 --> 01:39:09.319
and demand that we get someone to
listen to us, because, as I

1350
01:39:09.359 --> 01:39:13.279
say, we kind of keep sustending
these these costs any any any any longer?

1351
01:39:15.079 --> 01:39:17.399
Well, thank you, Kevin.
I think we'll wrap it up at

1352
01:39:17.439 --> 01:39:25.880
that and wish you the best and
hopefully all this turns changes and it's all

1353
01:39:26.000 --> 01:39:31.560
positive. Come in and I'm sure
we will, even getting the leg of

1354
01:39:31.640 --> 01:39:39.840
the rate rebate that. It's not
like you're wanting something that nobody else has

1355
01:39:41.800 --> 01:39:46.359
it did, something that doesn't stop
on the border. Yes, I mean

1356
01:39:46.560 --> 01:39:48.560
there's a lot of things we could
stop at the border, but I think

1357
01:39:49.119 --> 01:39:53.199
I think that's one of them we
don't and I think it just makes it

1358
01:39:53.239 --> 01:39:56.800
a level playing field for for us
in Scotland to try and you know,

1359
01:39:57.520 --> 01:40:01.159
do what we do in Scotland and
welcome tourists and locals to a restaurant.

1360
01:40:01.159 --> 01:40:05.039
I think if we get any any
little help would be great, But I'll

1361
01:40:05.119 --> 01:40:08.840
keep working hard as long as the
canty makes make it a success. And

1362
01:40:08.880 --> 01:40:11.359
I'm quite sure, as you said
earlier, if you want to do it,

1363
01:40:11.880 --> 01:40:15.800
I'm quite sure we'll be fine.
Yeah, well hopefully, And it's

1364
01:40:15.840 --> 01:40:23.880
good that you're keeping a positive view
on it. Although it's against tide as

1365
01:40:23.920 --> 01:40:27.520
far as the government are concerned,
no, I should They shouldn't be.

1366
01:40:27.720 --> 01:40:31.720
They shouldn't be against you. No, no, no, should be encouraging,

1367
01:40:32.800 --> 01:40:38.399
encouraging you and helping you. Yeah, and fight. It shouldn't be

1368
01:40:39.239 --> 01:40:44.159
keep fighting, it should be keep
working together. Yeah, yeah exactly,

1369
01:40:44.399 --> 01:40:48.279
But until someone really listens, Yeah, much further. Yeah, keep at

1370
01:40:48.319 --> 01:40:55.319
it. Have you heard the saying
we make better grandparents and parents because by

1371
01:40:55.399 --> 01:41:00.399
then we have more time? I
hope. So I let you taking a

1372
01:41:00.439 --> 01:41:02.119
restaurant on at fifty in never mind, put over the years when you've done

1373
01:41:02.199 --> 01:41:08.600
years. I was fifty two and
it opened. It just I've got two

1374
01:41:08.640 --> 01:41:12.800
years on you then, Joe,
great stuff,