In A Nutshell, Tony Singh: ‘I was very lucky to grow up around people who cooked at home’

Tony Singh on his memories of cooking as a child, the most he’s paid for a meal, and her favourite chef in Scotland. 

What’s the closest thing you have to a signature dish:

My gran’s Punjabi salmon recipe, which is always on my supper club menu. It’s spot on.

Describe your style of cuisine in ten words:

I use the best ingredients to produce big, bold flavours. 

Best and/or most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten:

My favourite meal is Oyster Rockefeller with chilli and spinach.

Worst/weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten:

Balut, which is a fertilised duck egg. When you crack open, it’s got a wee duck in there with feathers and the beak and everything. It’s the duckiest thing you’ll ever eat.

Worst thing you’ve ever cooked:

Nothing. I am an amazing chef, so all the evidence is always eaten. 

What’s the dish that you’re most proud of having cooked:

My last dish. You’re only as good as your last dish. 

Favourite ingredient:

I love chilli, you can use it in sweet or savoury dishes fresh, candied, or fermented. 

Your go-to recipe book:

There are loads but not written by chefs that people will have heard of. Le répertoire de la cuisine, for classic French recipes, and Charlie Trotter’s books.

What other country’s cuisine really excites and intrigues you:

Anything from Southeast Asia – Vietnamese, Thai, Laos, Cambodian, South Korean, and Indian cuisines. They have phenomenal flavour, different techniques, and freshness and vibrancy.

Most you’ve ever paid for a meal:

I was in Las Vegas for my 40th birthday. I won’t name the restaurant, but the food was dull, and service was rubbish, it was brutal and £1000 of disappointment.

Your favourite Scottish chef:

Michelin-starred Michael Smith of Loch Bay on Skye.

Favourite chef outside Scotland:

John Williams the executive chef at The Ritz. 

Who taught you to cook or ignited your passion for food as a youngster:

I was very lucky to grow up around people who cooked at home. I remember helping my gran out in the kitchen when I was five. She introduced me to my love of tomatoes, cut in half with a pinch of salt. If she made yoghurt, she would boil the milk, lift the skin off and sprinkle a bit of sugar for us to eat. It was just lovely. 

Most important lesson a young chef can learn:

Taste, taste, taste. It is what you trade it, and it plays a huge part in your food experience. 

The most important person in your development as a professional chef:

My lecturers from Telford College were amazing people. I was lucky to work with several fantastic chefs on the Royal Scotsman train, including Graeme Cockburn from Caledonian Hotel, Kevin McLeod from the Savoy in London and Graham Newbould from Inverlochy Castle. 

Best thing about the industry:

Being able to make people feel good by providing them with great hospitality.

Worst thing about the industry:

The business element of providing amazing hospitality. It is always a battle to provide the level of service you want to give, weighed up against cost constraints.

What’s the biggest sin a chef can commit:

If you know somebody has religious or dietary taboos, then breaking that trust and giving them something that is against their beliefs. 

What do you eat when you’re at home:

I am lucky my wife’s a great cook, and the kids cook as well. We eat everything, it could be anything from a crab boil, a bowl of Scotch broth, lamb shank Rogan Josh, to ordering a pizza or fish and chips. If I have been working and can’t be bothered to cook anything fancy, I have a ham, cheese and onion toastie with chilli.

Celebrity guest or your perfect dinner party – who would you most like to cook for:  

If it were possible, I’d love to cook for my granddad. I sadly never met him, but I have only heard good things about him. 

Tell me a something about you that virtually no-one knows:

I like to keep it that way, because in this land of social media, you need some private space. 

What’s your favourite wine:

I love an Italian Amarone, it’s phenomenal

Your spirit of choice:

My favourite whiskies are Isle of Jura Prophecy or Caol Ila from Islay 

Do you play music in the kitchen and, if so, what’s your go-to track or artist:

I listen to music during prep time, but not during service.  I like Motown and Soul, and any track by the Drifters. I love The Drifters. 

If you weren’t a chef, what would you be:

I would have been a Playboy millionaire, but the Youth Training Scheme wasn’t running courses. But seriously, if I knew that you could be a day trader, I would have done that.

Tony Singh MBE, is the Chef Ambassador for the Stranraer Oyster Festival. A second-generation Scottish Sikh, Tony was born and raised in Leith, Edinburgh. He will be appearing at this year’s Stranraer Oyster Festival, which takes place from 12-14 September. The event is a celebration of Scotland’s last remaining wild and native oyster bed with celebrity chef demos, live music, the Scottish Oyster Shucking Championships, and amazing food & drink. 

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