Sean Kelly, head chef at Seaview Hotel, talks about Aberdeenshire’s abundant local produce, power cuts during service and his idea of food hell.
What’s your background?
I’m from Aberdeen originally. During my school years I lived in Glasgow but my family moved back up north so I ended up back home in the north east. I went to catering college when I left school at 16. I’m 37 now. After catering college I had quite a few hotel jobs – they’re often the best places to learn. The owners of Seaview Hotel had another restaurant in Aberdeen called Granite Park – that’s where I was working before coming to Seaview Hotel. I’m looking forward to a new challenge.
What’s your favourite June dish?
In June I’d definitely be going for some fish. I’d probably choose some nice salmon. Cod is also really nice at that time of year – we put it with some nice herb potatoes and a tomato sauce. We source our fish here in Boddam. There’s a company just up the road called Skerry Rock Fish & Shellfish which is where we get our fish from. It’s all local. They get their fish from Peterhead fish market.
What kind of food don’t you like?
I really don’t like peaches. I’ll happily use them when I’m cooking but personally I don’t like them at all. I just really don’t like the taste. My food hell would be a really bitter peach crumble – something horrible like that. I’ve never liked them, even as a child.
What’s your star ingredient?
Definitely mushrooms. They’re just so versatile, you can do so many things with them. In the restaurant at the moment we’re doing a mushroom risotto – we do a crispy fried egg on top with some parmesan crisps as well. I know a lot of people don’t like mushrooms, but I love them.
Where’s a good spot for foraging in the north east?
There are a lot of woods and forests here in Boddam which are good for finding mushrooms. Nearby in Cruden Bay and Peterhead as well there are good spots for foraging. Because we’re still developing the hotel menu – we just opened in November 2018 – I haven’t been foraging for the restaurant yet but I know there are some berries that grow in Cruden Bay.
What local produce do you use at Seaview Hotel?
We get really good local fish here. I’d like to get another local butcher on board too. At the moment we get our meat from McWilliams in Aberdeen – it’s all Scottish meat. We aso use King Foods – a family-run business in Aberdeen – for our groceries. For ice cream and sorbets we’re using Casa di gelato in Aberdeen [which specialise in homemade gelato using Scottish milk and double cream]. For normal dairy products we use Turriff’s Montrose.
Who’s your favourite celebrity chef?
Marco Pierre White. When he was at the top of his game he was way ahead when it comes to cheffing. I first came across him when I was younger watching television. I definitely liked a lot of the ideas he had – no one else was doing what he was at the time. Things like combining two pieces of meat – like wrapping chicken in bacon to keep it moist and tender. He was doing that with different cuts of beef.
What’s been your biggest kitchen disaster?
Probably the good old power cut in the middle of service! I’ve had that before – I was in Newburgh at the time at The Udny Arms Hotel. The gas was still working so we were just cooking in the dark basically. We ended up with candles and we had to just quickly serve everything. It was funny. Nobody left so that’s always good!
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