Michael Smith, Head Chef of Three Chimneys Restaurant on Skye and star of VisitScotland’s ‘Surprise Yourself’ advert, will compete this week against the nation’s best chefs in the final of BBC’s The Great British Menu.
Date:
Tue, 31 May 2011
Source:
VisitScotland
In the national tourism organisation’s new advert launched in March, Michael helps to showcase some of the most surprising ways to see Scotland, with the focus fixed on the friendly natives who live opposite his restaurant, in this instance a colony of seals.
The gruelling BBC2 show has seen a variety of chefs from around the country compete in a series of regional ‘cook offs’, in order to gain the chance to cook for the nation at The People’s Banquet, a feast for the unsung heroes in the nation’s communities.
Having already knocked out Tony Singh (Oloroso, Edinburgh) and Philip Carnegie (Inverlochy Castle, Fort William), Michael will this week cook against more of the UK’s finest chefs, before finding out whether he has earned the right to chef at Friday’s party.
It is fitting then that at the end of Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink that he should be competing to show off the country’s fabulous natural offering against the rest of the nation.
Michael Smith commented: “It’s a great honour to represent Scotland on the final week of the Great British Menu. Scotland has the best produce in the world and I hope I’ll be able to do it justice. I will be going out of my way to reflect the ethos of The Three Chimneys by using the type of ingredients we source in the Isle of Skye.”
Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that Michael has made it through to the latter stages of the competition.
“As a nation, we have some of the finest food and drink products in the world, and it is fitting that Michael is going to show these off to the nation, in what promises to be a visually stunning and surprising way.”
Featuring a range of events organised by VisitScotland, Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink was launched by the Scottish Government last May as a legacy of the 2009 Homecoming celebrations.
Since the start of the focus year, a survey has shown that, between October and December 2010, there was a 6.5 per cent surge in the number of people who agreed that “Scotland is a country of great food and drink experiences”.
The Great British Menu airs at 6.30pm on BBC2 each night this week.
Source: VisitScotland
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