Lorraine Kelly Nominates our ‘kilted chef’ Craig Wilson to Fly the Flag for Scotland
To honour the 6 Nations Rugby Tournament, Ireland’s ‘The Afternoon Show’ has booked celebrity chefs for a Culinary 6 Nations Tournament, including Aberdeenshire’s very own ‘kilted chef’ Craig Wilson of Eat on the Green Restaurant.
Each Friday throughout February and March, the Irish chefs will face a live cook-off challenge against one of the celebrity guest chefs, each of whom represent a nation competing in the renowned rugby tournament. The chefs will be tasked to cook a traditional dish that best represents their nation to challenge that of the Irish chef’s. Lloyd Grossman will be the judge of the winning dishes.
The following chefs confirmed to take part are:-
Aldo Zilli - for week one, 5th Feb (Italy V Ireland)
Jean Christophe Novelli - for week two, 12th Feb (France V Ireland)
Simon Rimmer - for week three, Feb 19th (England V Ireland)
Dudley Newbery - for week four, March 12th (Wales V Ireland)
Craig Wilson - for week five, March 19th (Scotland V Ireland)
The kilted chef will be sure to tackle his opponents and try their talents with something rather scrum…ptious!
Craig was nominated to represent Scotland by GMTV’S Lorraine Kelly. They first met when he appeared on the television series ‘Pot Idol’. Lorraine affectionately nicknamed him the ‘kilted chef’ which he has been popularly known as ever since. Craig said,” The ‘Pot Idol’ experience gave me the confidence and support I needed to set up in business”. The Udny based treasure, Eat and Green, serves excellent food using only the best in local produce and is now visited and delightfully savored by locals and celebrities alike.
In the last two years, Craig and his team have enjoyed some television exposure with a feature on STVs The Five Thirty Show in 2008 and more recently on the Good Food Channel’s ‘Market Kitchen’. Following customer nomination and their support through the voting process, Eat on the Green made it to the top three in Scotland as ‘Local Food Hero 2009’. The Market Kitchen film crew and renowned food critic/ presenter Martin Ford made the long trip from London to Udny Green to film Craig in action. His loyal customers have recently informed him that they also have nominated him for Gordon Ramsay’s F Word Best Local Restaurant competition 2010, so between his TV appearances and exciting plans in the pipeline he is excited at the prospect and challenge of another busy year.
Craig and his team have earned numerous accolades over the years and received a Special Recognition Award in the Grampian Restaurant of the Year 2009. Orry Shand, a young and talented sous chef who works with Craig has held onto the title of Grampian Young Chef of the Year for two years running. Whilst it’s great to receive industry recognition, Craig says that his greatest accolade is his customers returning time and time again to enjoy good food and hospitality. Craig offers an imaginative range of contemporary and classic dishes using specially selected, fresh local produce and he attributes much of the restaurant’s popularity to the abundance of fantastic produce available on his doorstep.
