Lorna McNee joins us at Cail Bruich to tell the remarkable story behind becoming the chef who brought a Michelin star back to Glasgow for the first time in 18 years. She takes us from washing pots in a small Italian restaurant and a teenage stage at Gordon Ramsay, to walking into Andrew Fairlie’s legendary two-Michelin-starred kitchen as an apprentice and immediately wondering whether she was good enough. Lorna spent the next 12 years working alongside Fairlie, who became her great mentor, and opens up about the moments she wanted to quit, what made him such an extraordinary teacher and why his death ultimately made her realise it was time to step out and discover what her own cooking looked like.
We also hear how Great British Menu transformed Lorna’s career, from the devastation of narrowly missing out first time around to returning and becoming Champion of Champions, before taking over Cail Bruich and winning its Michelin star within just five months. She reveals the bizarre way Michelin broke the news to her over FaceTime during Covid, why the restaurant subsequently became fully booked for two years, and argues that even established head chefs should still disappear for a month to stage, learn new techniques and come back better. Plus, why she hates matcha and hot honey, the night vegan protesters invaded her restaurant and had to be removed by police, and plenty more from one of Scotland’s greatest chefs.
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