Head chef of the The Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant Tyron Ellul has our mouths watering as he talked about sourcing fresh seafood from fishermen in the north east.
What’s your favourite April dish?
As you start to come into spring, you start seeing the first of your asparagus and your new tatties. These are nice light spring flavours and it gets us really excited because it’s a new start to the culinary calendar. I would put wild salmon with new tatties, asparagus and hollandaise sauce. It’s something light, vibrant and seasonal.
What kind of food don’t you like?
Honestly, there’s really nothing I don’t like – I eat just about anything! As long as it’s nicely cooked, nicely prepared and fresh. It could be a nice sentimental homemade dinner – as long as there has been love and care put into it. I just love food! A lot of people don’t like mushrooms, but I love them. I used to go out picking them from the local area. In actual fact, they’re one of my favourite things. King mushrooms are absolutely brilliant!
What’s your star ingredient?
We’re blessed to be by the sea here at Tolbooth Restaurant, so we get loads of fresh produce. The likes of langoustines are beautiful when we get them in the summer. Basically, we have some of the finest seafood right on our doorstep. We buy lobsters and langoustines from local fishermen – they just bring them to the door. We also buy fresh fish from Blue Flag which is based in Aberdeen. They bring us fresh fish every day from Peterhead fish market. We give them our order at night time, then they wait for the fish coming in from Peterhead, fillet it, and by 11 o’ clock the next day it’s here, all nice and fresh.
Know any good foraging spots in the north east?
The north east is a good area for foraging, but it’s the sort of thing you need to explore. A lot of foragers don’t want to reveal their secrets! But you often find spots by chance – sometimes you’ll be out walking and you’ll find a good wee spot for mushrooms. In the summer, you can often pick up some girolles and porcini mushrooms. You need to know what you’re doing though and I always recommend taking somebody with you. I just love walking in the woods and while you’re there, it’s a wee bonus getting a handful of mushrooms for your tea.
What local produce do you use?
One of the things that really draws me to Scotland is the brilliant produce. On my days off, I sometimes go for a wee fish dinner, so I go to the local fish market and buy some fresh scallops. Last time I had a lobster dinner – I got it from the fisherman that supplies the restaurant. There is also a local fishmonger in Stonehaven called The Creel which I pop to now and again.
Who’s your favourite celebrity chef?
Marcus Wareing is an inspirational chef and everybody looks up to him. I think he’s a great mentor. Some of his food has a very classical background to it but it has a modern twist which is nice to see – he makes the food that I like myself. Every chef has their own style and personality that rings through from the dish to the table.
What’s been your biggest kitchen disaster?
There are always big disasters in the kitchen, that’s where you get your experience from! The older and more mature you get, you know your way about more so disasters become less frequent. When I was a younger chef, I worked on the Isle of Eriskay on the west coast. I made a whole pot of soup, and put it in a big tub to go in the fridge. As I was lifting it down, I just spilled it all over the floor and all over my legs. In this industry though you just have to pick yourself back up and move on!
The Tolbooth, The Harbour, Old Pier, Stonehaven AB39 2JU.
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