In A Nutshell, George Colebrook: ‘My customers wouldn’t know but I trained as a clown in Paris for two years.’

London native George Colebrook’s love of cooking stems from his childhood, as he was introduced to the importance of produce by his grandfathers – who worked as a butcher and dairy farmer respectively – and was taught by his mother to appreciate the beauty of simple cookery.

In 2024 George co-founded Arete with Neil Paterson, a culinary service specialising in bespoke dining experiences across the UK. George and Neil will be attending this year’s Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Scottish Game Fair, which takes place from 4-6 July at Scone Palace in Perthshire. 

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

Veal sweetbreads with sherry, white asparagus, walnuts and wild garlic. 

Describe your style of cuisine in ten words:

Franco-Italian, quality produce and classic techniques. Simple but refined.

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

Ikoyi in London. Flavours and ingredients I didn’t know existed.

Worst/weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten:

Lamb testicle kebab. I like offal but that was awful.

Worst thing you’ve ever cooked:

When I was at university and started getting into cooking, I made a curry but we didn’t have any coconut milk so I used cream cheese. It went straight in the bin after the first mouthful.

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

I cooked kidneys on toast for Fergus Henderson, and he devoured them.

Favourite ingredient:

Artichokes, anchovies, marjoram. 

Your go-to recipe book:

Marcella Hazan – The Essentials of Italian Cooking. 

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

Japanese cuisine. The restraint and simplicity which is seldom found in European cooking.

Most you’ve ever paid for a meal:

I went to Lyle’s for a solo lunch before it closed for good, and spent £300 and I don’t regret it in the slightest. 

Your favourite Scottish chef:

Rosie Healey (Gloriosa, Glasgow). 

Favourite chef outside Scotland:

Nick Braham (Quality Wines restaurant, London). 

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

My grandad (he was a butcher) and my mum. 

Most important lesson a young chef can learn:

Better to do it well, slowly, than do it badly, quickly.

Culinary mentor:

Nye Smith, Three Horseshoes, Sommerset.

Best thing about the industry:

The variety of people and cultures that you encounter is inspiring, and the endless learning.

Worst thing about the industry:

The toxic masculinity and sexism.

What’s the biggest sin a chef can commit:

Stop putting care into their cooking.

What do you eat when you’re at home:

I’m very partial to a crumpet.

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

Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson and Edith Piaf. 

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

I often laugh in my sleep.

What’s your favourite wine?

A natural Gamay from the Auverne. 

Your spirit of choice?

A highland single malt. 

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

In a professional kitchen, I find music too distracting. In my kitchen at home, it’s always Radio 3. 

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

A gardener. 

Tell me a something about you that your customers won’t know:

I trained as a clown in Paris for two years. 

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