MasterChef finalist and food writer Sarah Rankin talks about her favourite dishes, her biggest Scottish inspirations and growing up with her mum cooking adventurously with ingredients and flavours.
What is closest to your signature dish?
Venison, any cut, any way prepared, I love venison and I think we should celebrate it more.
Describe your cooking style in 10 words.
Scottish, seasonal, sustainable, delicious, unpretentious and made with love.
The best or most memorable meal you’ve ever had:
I still remember the taste of the Abroath Smoky Velouté from Newport by Jamie Scott, which sadly has since closed. It was incredibly delicious.
Worst/weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten:
Just a few weeks ago, I had pig snout and crispy pig tail at a traditional Spanish restaurant in Madrid – strange, but delicious.
Worst dish I’ve ever made:
At the after-party for my husband’s 40th birthday, we had seriously overcooked chicken wings, like spicy charcoal.
What dish have you made that you are most proud of?
The sweet corn custard and chicken skin dish he made during a MasterChef invention test when he was given chickens and eggs and asked to get creative.
Favorite Ingredients
Any pickled vegetables: red onions, radishes, capers, nasturtium seeds, wild garlic sprouts, etc. They have a slight sour taste that will enhance the flavor of any dish.
Your go-to recipe book:
Grandma’s handwritten recipes.
What other countries’ cuisines really excite and intrigue you?
I love Middle Eastern cuisine – the delicate use of spices, the slow cooking of meats at low temperatures, and the sweet and sour infusion of fruit into savory dishes – it’s all amazingly delicious.
Most expensive meal you’ve ever paid:
I can’t say the name but it was a Michelin star restaurant and £500 – totally not worth it.
Your favourite Scottish chef:
Tom Tsapis, he’s doing amazing things, the experience that he and Matilda have created at Killiecrankie House is exceptional.
Favourite chef outside of Scotland:
Jeremy Lee: Real ingredients, traditional cooking, no tinkering, and he seems full of love for his produce and his team.
Who taught you to cook or ignited your passion for food growing up?
My mum. She was a fantastic home cook when we were growing up, adventurous with ingredients and flavours – not an easy thing to do in Inverness in the late 70s.
The most important lesson a young chef can learn:
Let’s go for it, let’s savor everything and make it with love.
Culinary Mentor – The most important person in my development as a professional chef:
I am self-taught and have never worked with a brigade but Gary McLean and Coinneach MacLeod were extremely helpful and supportive.
The best thing about this industry:
How flexible a career in the food industry is and how food brings people together.
The worst thing about this industry:
Women, especially, are still woefully underrepresented in the restaurant industry.
What is the biggest sin a chef can commit?
Don’t be humble. Your worth is determined by the value of the last dish you serve.
What do you eat when you’re at home?
Eggs in all shapes and sizes. And chimichurri on everything.
Celebrity guests or the perfect dinner party – who would you like to cook for?
Marianne McNeill. I think she would be pleased that many of the recipes she saved are still being made today.
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
As a teenager, I was an avid Elvis fan and wrote a diary (still unpublished) about his life when I was 13.
What is your favorite wine?
Cremant.
What is your spirit of choice?
Gin, then whiskey. It depends on the time of day. No gin after 8pm. Anytime before that is fine.
Do you listen to music in the kitchen? If so, what are your go-to songs and artists?
I listen to podcasts while I cook or with an old movie playing in the background, and Voyager is my current favorite.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing?
Marketing Consultant. I still do this work today and it has proven to be useful when starting a new career or small business.
Sarah Rankin will be bringing some kitchen theatre to this year’s Game & Wildlife Trust’s Scottish Game Fair event, taking place at Scone Palace in Perthshire from 5th to 7th July.
For more information on “Chefs In a Nutshell,” please click here.
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