Ideal Home Show: Falkirk chef Nathan Strachan to cook live in event kitchen

Nathan Strachan is currently working at Unalome by Graeme Cheevers in Glasgow’s Finnieston, but has now been offered a job at top London three Michelin star restaurant, Core by Claire Smyth.

The former Graeme High pupil was doing a cookery course at college when he was offered a full-time job at Dean Banks at the Pompadour and decided it was the right move for him. He’s also worked at another popular Edinburgh restaurant, Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen.

When he was 14, he started as a dishwasher at a local pub and would post pics of his cooked dishes on Instagram. This led to a job at the Marine and Lawn in North Berwick before this college course.

Nathan said: “I’ve always loved cooking but throughout lockdown I was inspired by the photographs of dishes posted by chefs on Instagram and would then try to cook myself at home.

“Now I love just about everything at my work, but I love that we all get to try new things and are constantly learning. One day I’d definitely like to open a restaurant, hopefully within the next ten years. I’d love to open a fine dining restaurant in London with the goal of Michelin stars.

"By no means is it an easy career it takes a lot of sacrifice but as long as you are willing to listen and learn, as well as absorb all the knowledge from everyone around you, you will eventually move up through the kitchen.”

Asked about the food scene in Scotland, he added: “It is definitely improving with lots of new great restaurants opening and Michelin expanding its sights to new restaurants.”

He said that his favourite food to cook with is fish, adding: “It’s something I love to eat but also, because there’s such a wide variety of it and so many different things you can do to it.”

The Ideal Home Show Scotland opens at the SEC Glasgow from Friday and runs until Monday. More details here