Mark Greenaway received his first kitchen job at the age of 15. He looked for hotels and restaurants that might be hiring chefs in his local phone book in his hometown of Lanark, Scotland. After calling everyone, the Catland Bridge hired him for KP, Greenway assumed it was an apprentice. He appears on the first day of full chef white and high chef hats. He spent the entire shift to wash dishes.
“I said, ‘Cheer, I did nothing.’ Edinburgh, Caledonia In late summer. “He said, ‘Well, yes, you’re KP.’ Turns out, KP stands for “kitchen porter.” I used a tall white hat all day in my chef and he said, “Okay, put your white guy on tomorrow.”
Today, Greenaway is one of Scotland’s most famous chefs, with years of careers including positions in Scotland, England and Australia. But he initially just because he thought it was an easy way to make money. “I thought: How difficult is this?” he said, mocking memory. “I like to cook at home and assume, ‘Okay, you’re ready to prepare all day.’ It’s not that difficult.'”
The first day in the kitchen was eye-opening, not only because Greenaway appeared in the full chef. This was also his first time in a real restaurant. Growing up in Renfrew until he was 10 years old, then in Lanark he never had a meal outside his home and even actually cooked with his family. “It’s not the way I grew up,” he said. “So, in my life, I never had a restaurant like a regular customer. Now, I always eat in a restaurant. But, since I never eat in a restaurant, I really don’t know what a chef is.”
Greenaway separated his time, between the three restaurants. He lives in the Lake District of England Mark Greenway (Haweswater Hotel) Located in Edinburgh and staying regularly in Edinburgh oversight Court In historic Edinburgh, Caledonia, part of the Curio series that recently transitioned from Waldorf Astoria to Hilton. Greenaway Helms in London Hub UK Bars and Bistros.
Greenaway began his relationship with Edinburgh, Caledonia in 2019 when he was first grazed by Mark Greenaway shortly after closing his restaurant of the same name. On the court, he currently presents a six-course tasting experience called the “Progress Menu”, a experience that shares the name with his recent recipes, progress.
“We want to showcase the incredible produce we have in Scotland,” he said of the £65 menu. “Of course, we also want to showcase the skills in the kitchen, but in a way of showing sympathy for these ingredients. The beauty of tasting the menu is that you might try something you wouldn’t normally be normal. Some people like safety. Some people like adventure. It’s about a mix of safety, adventure and good products.”
Greenaway and his team used as many Scottish ingredients as possible. All seafood as well as beef, chicken and lamb are sourced locally. More than 80% of vegetables come from within 10 miles, as do honey. This menu is also available as a la carte option, and usually changes seasonality every six weeks. Some popular dishes are preserved, such as Greenaway’s famous Toffee Pudding egg soufflé. There is no cliché that fits Scottish cuisine, sometimes considered clumsy or boring.
“I called my first recipe Perception Because I wanted to try to change the perception of Scottish food in my own small restaurant,” he said. Scotland has a reputation, but we grow some of the best soft berries in the world, the best shellfish, the best Angus beef. We have some of the best lambs. People think that since we sent so much to the UK, we don’t know how to cook, we all live in the diet of cowhide and fried Mars bars. It’s not true at all.”
Although Perception Greenway said some assumptions were introduced in 2016. “I think that perception still exists, and that’s something we always have to change,” he said. Greenaway also won’t shy away from Scottish classics like Haggis. (For those unfamiliar with Scotch cuisine: it is made from the guts of sheep, mixed with oats, fat, onions and spices.) Although it wasn’t on the menu when I visited, he had previously shown the Roscoff onion dish on the menu, which combines whiskey Jus from Haggis and Haggis, Haggis, neep and neep and tatties.
“What I do always has a Scottish twist,” he said. “I’m Scotsian. My first restaurant was in Scotland. My ingredients are often Scotsian. But, what is to be considered Scottish food? It’s a big question. It’s not just about bagpipes and tartan, for us, it’s much more than that.”
Greenaway’s approach to his ever-changing menu goes back to his early work Auchterard House in Scotland. Although he had already started to start with savory cooking, Greenaway accepted a short-term show as a pastry chef. “The chef said to me, ‘You don’t allow anything to be repeated, not decor, not taste, nothing.’ “Every month, I have to create a new dessert menu from scratch. He is really strict. ”
This structure drives Greenaway’s creativity. He estimated that he created thousands of plates in his career, both salty and dessert. “It’s always a constant challenge,” he said. “At any given time, I’m always making three or four dishes. Maybe they rattle on my head, notes on my computer, or emails to someone or text messages. But I think as a chef, you want to challenge yourself.”
For a long time, Greenaway felt that he had something to demonstrate in the kitchen, especially when other chefs worked. “No one asked me to prove this,” he said. “I always felt like I had to do it.” But now, even though he kept trying to improve, he was confident in his success.
“As a chef, you’ll always be better,” he admits. “It’s not like accounting, it’s simple. You’re only limited by your creativity. It’s one of the few jobs you can express that. An accountant can’t just decide, ‘I’m going to add these numbers differently today. Let’s see what happens.’ We can do that with ingredients.”
progressreleased in the UK last summer, reflects Greenevil’s constant desire for progress. This is a grand work of recipes, with clever images of each dish. He never intended to write a second book, but said “crazy” drove him through the process again. “I think I have more stories to tell,” he said. “There are more recipes to share. And, once you bring out a recipe, it’s old because the dishes are done. Now I have dishes on my menu, not even in my second recipe.”
Today, Greenway defines success as being able to pass on his years of knowledge. He often seeks to open more restaurants or host events around the world, but he prefers to focus on his current job so that he can train young chefs. “For me, success is having a happy team and a busy restaurant that keeps busy,” he said. Despite the simple misunderstanding based on the misunderstanding, he is still happy to be part of the industry every day.
“It took me a few months in the kitchen to realize that it was that,” he said. “It’s not that I started to get easy – it’s not easy to be a chef – but I got better. You get faster, mind changes, less things burning, and can help you stay. It’s a 30-year career until I realize I don’t want to do anything else. I still don’t.”
