As part of our Q&A feature we had the chance to ask Michelin star winner Nick Nairn a few questions. Nick has been a household name now for many years and when he’s not running his two cookery schools he can be found filming or writing. He has a love of everything Scottish and loves telling people about great Scottish Produce on offer and how to make healthy meals. More information on Nick can be found here.

When did you know you wanted to become a chef?
When I cooked my first plate of food ­ it was stuffed chicken breast in a curry cream sauce nb. it was the 80’s (editor – This is very retro!!).

How did you get to where you are today?
It takes a lot of hard work, good luck and self belief. With all three of these anything is possible.

What would you say is your signature dish?
That would have to be seared escalope of Loch Duart salmon with avocado salsa.

What inspires you? How do you come up with ideas for the dishes in your restaurant?
Great Scottish produce is a great place to start. Ideas arrive in many different ways ­from cook books to dining out. Being out and about filming helps too, it gives insight into many great producers I might not come across otherwise.

Do you do the cooking at home?
At home we both share the cooking.  

What Scottish ingredient do you love to cook with?
That would have to be Langoustine.

Do you have any hints or tips for cooking the perfect steak?
To find out how I cook a good steak attend one of my perfect steak quick cook classes in Aberdeen or Port of Menteith.

What is the most essential item in your kitchen?
My Falcon induction range cooker.

Where do you go when you want to eat at a restaurant?
Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles.

What ingredients should every home have in the cupboard/refrigerator?
Every home should never be without olive oil, parmesan, Maldon salt, pepper grinder, chicken stock and unsalted Grahams gold butter.

Do you have any tips for budding chefs or restaurateurs?
For chefs go and work with great chef proprietors. For those wanting to open their own restaurant eat out a lot and see what works and what doesn’t.

Anything else we’ve not asked that you’d like to tell us?
Try the Nick burger in one of my restaurants, The Kailyard or Native by Nick Nairn. Also, the perfect gift for someone this Christmas is a Nick Nairn Cook School giftcard. 

Many thanks to Nick for taking the time to answer our questions. I think the Nick Burger is definitely top of our burger list now!  The cookery classes sound great and we’ll hopefully get ourselves booked into the perfect steak quick cook class in the near future. For all you foodies out there it should definitely be on your wishlist!