Ciaran Lack (above left) and Akshay Borges (above right) are both chefs at the Scalloway Hotel, a family-run hotel, bar and two AA rosette restaurant on the waterfront in Scalloway, just a short drive from Lerwick. They will be demonstrating at 12:30 on Saturday the 31st of October in the cookery theatre at this year's Shetland Food Fair to be held in the Clickimin Leisure Centre, Lerwick.
Ciaran Lack, Head Chef Scalloway Hotel
Q. How long have you been cooking?
A. I have been cooking in commercial kitchens since I was 15, so 12 years this year.
Q. What inspired you to start cooking, and what drives you to continue?
A. I have always had inspiration from home my dad used to be a chef working in rosette and Michelin star kitchens. Now-a-days my influence comes from my wife who has driven me to become a head chef at a fairly young age and is always pushing me to succeed.
Q. Do you have a favourite Shetland-produced ingredient?
A. I have 2 favourites: the fish and shellfish is first. I haven’t worked anywhere where the produce is as fresh or of such a high quality. Secondly the Shetland breed of lamb which packs great flavour.
Q. What dish will you be demonstrating at The Shetland Food Fair this year, and why did you choose this dish?
A. We are going to be making a Shetland Shellfish Stew with locally foraged and sourced ingredients. The inspiration for the dish comes from making the best you can from your surrounding environment, something we try as much as we can to achieve at the Scalloway hotel.
I haven’t worked anywhere where the produce is as fresh or of such a high quality.
Akshay Borges, Scalloway Hotel
Q. How long have you been cooking and working in a kitchen?
A. I have been cooking in a commercial kitchen since 2004, when I was doing my Hotel management, back in India; but have been cooking since I was a wee boy, helping my mum with dinners in so I could get some extra weekly allowance.
Q. Who inspired you to start cooking?
A. It’s my mum who has inspired me to be a chef but professionally its chefs like Tom Kerridge, who proved that even a pub could get two Michelin stars and Jiro Ono, who owns Michelin three-star 10-seater, sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station. Just goes to show that you don’t have to work or own a uber fancy restaurant, few things you need is passion for food, relentless hard work and never ending thirst for learning new things.
Q. Do you have a favourite Shetland ingredient?
A. Personally I don’t have one favourite Shetland ingredient; I give equal importance to all the ingredients produced in Shetland as all of them pack an equal amount of flavour and freshness whether it is the mussels, local lamb or the fresh fish etc.
Q. What recipe will you be demonstrating at the Shetland Food Fair?
A. I am going to make simple Kerala Butternut coconut curry and vegetable pilaf rice, to showcase how simple it can be to cook a delicious curry which is vegan and gluten free.
I give equal importance to all the ingredients produced in Shetland as all of them pack an equal amount of flavour and freshness whether it is the mussels, local lamb or the fresh fish.
Elizabeth Atia
I am a self taught home cook, feeding my family on the west side of Shetland with as much local produce, flavour and love as I can. I am no expert by any means, but I do enjoy learning and writing about food, flavours and techniques.