David Wilson Interview

"We'll shortly be getting asparagus from Glamis so we'll do asparagus dishes. Then we'll get the early strawberries - and the spring lamb started a few weeks ago. We do beef, fish and lobster most of the year round, but we change the way we're doing it. If it's fish it'll depend on whether it's halibut, turbot, cod or sole. If it's beef, we'll do some other cut. We have to change occasionally and the chefs don't want to be doing the same thing all the time. You find that you sometimes revert back to a previous dish, but we'll play around with it and fine tune it to bring it up to date."

Some things, though, are favourites that have become fixtures. "We do a sweet called a little pot of chocolate with rosemary and it's been featured a lot in other people's cook books. It's an unusual combination that's not to everyone's taste, but we have to keep that on. It's been there for about 20 years and I suppose it is a kind of signature dish.

"With desserts, I think you have to make it that bit more complicated. It's a chance to show off a bit. You couldn't just put some strawberries on a plate - although I'm not against doing that and they'd be absolutely wonderful. But people don't want just a bowl of strawberries and cream. We would have to serve them in between two little thin biscuits, maybe with a sorbet on the side…"

There is no doubt, he agrees, that we are cooking less, yet eating out enthusiastically - and our expectations are higher than ever."People aren't cooking at home, but they go out and they talk about food much more. When I was young, I went home and my mother would be in the kitchen because that was the way it was. Women didn't work. I'm not going to argue against women going out to work - but it's a fact that cooking takes ages unless you're just going to open a packet.

"Even if it's just frying a steak it's still going to take three quarters of an hour or more, and then you've got to think about potatoes or vegetables and then there's all the cleaning up.

"Youngsters are not seeing cooking at home and they're not getting it at school. But at the same time they're all watching these programmes and they're all interested in the chefs, who are celebrity people now. Their expectations are for the sort of stuff these guys are producing and it really has to be very visual. It's the 'ooh' and 'ahh' element.

"People tend to think you're just in the kitchen for an evening - but we'll have spent the whole morning just organising ourselves so that when people come in we've done the pastry and the sauces and prepared the veg and filleted the fish and trimmed the beef. Then you have to make the bread and the dinner rolls. It's very labour intensive."

However, his reputation means he is often out of the kitchen in an advisory role. For the last three years he has been a director on the Taste of Scotland board and he is active in the Natural Cooking of Scotland initiative, which aims to take the home-grown produce policy as far as possible. He has also been involved in providing a Scottish menu with international appeal for the new Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel. As executive chef he has advised on kitchen layout, menus and suppliers. "Whether it was just potatoes or carrots from Dundee and Perthshire, I made sure they knew where to go."

But the real joy is still found behind the stove. "The pleasure for me is that I still enjoy the cooking. I don't enjoy talking to VAT men and bank managers, but that's all part of the business.

"I've got good lads that can interpret what I want and that's the exciting rush for me - working on a dish or a new element. They don't all work, but if you don't try, you never know. I would be quite happy if that was all I had to do.

"Sometimes you get a real excitement because something has come together and worked fantastically well, but you never have 100% success rates. That's the bit we love. And of course I read books and I go out and dine. Chefs should always be eating, otherwise they don't know what's going on.

"I'm still thoroughly enjoying what I'm doing and I think I can still be innovative. While I'm not in the forefront of fashion, I don't feel I'm in any kind of rut. And hopefully I can put something back in by helping Scottish chefs and helping to raise standards."

As if to demonstrate that demand for his talents is as high as ever, an American couple arrive as we speak.

"Oh hello," says the lady timidly. "We were just passing and we were very much hoping you could fit us in for dinner?"
"No problem," he says. "No problem at all."

Contact David and Patricia Wilson
The Peat Inn
Cupar
Fife
KY15 5LH

Tel: Peat Inn 01334 840 206

Residence Tariff:
Double or twin bedded suite £145
Double or twin as single £95

The restaurant serves lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. Lunch is a daily changing 3-course set lunch with coffee and petits fours at £19.50. Dinner offers a daily changing 3-course set menu at £28.00 and an a la carte menu at around £33.00 for three courses. Tasting menu 6 courses and coffee at £42.00.

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