Fresh Olive Apprentice - 5 Days at The Balmoral, Restaurant Number One

A few weeks ago one of our current Fresh Olive Chef Apprentices, Glen Christie, had the privilege to spend 5 days working at The Balmoral, Restaurant Number One. Number One sits within The Balmoral, the iconic 5* hotel in Edinburgh.

We caught up with Glen on his return to find out a little about his experience, and If this has had an impact on his views on his culinary career.

How did you find the experience?

I found my week at The Balmoral, Number One, extremely interesting and a fantastic experience. It was a completely new environment for me, and it was great to see it firsthand. The scale of the operation at The Balmoral was eye-opening. While Number One's kitchen itself is relatively small, The Balmoral as a whole is a huge workflow of kitchens functioning as a well-oiled machine.

How did the pace and intensity of the kitchen differ from your usual environment?

The pace and intensity of the kitchen at Number One differed from what I'm used to at Entier. At Entier, we work to tight deadlines, where everything needs to be ready and done to specific timescales. However, at The Balmoral, everything revolves around the upcoming service. All the kitchen tasks are being completed before service begins. The reason that most menu items can be prepared and ready promptly is because of all the prep work has been performed ahead of time.

Can you share a memorable moment or dish that stood out during your time there?

One memorable dish that stood out during my time at The Balmoral was the Scallop dish, which is part of the 7-course tasting menu. What impressed me the most about this dish was how they utilised every part of the scallop to create it. It consisted of a Hand-Dived Orkney Scallop with a Leek Chowder and Smoked Roe on top.

The main part of the dish was a pan-seared scallop, the leek chowder was made using the skirt of the scallop, the roe was smoked, then dried and placed on top of the scallop, and the rest was used for a stock.

Did you have a chance to work with any new/unique/rare ingredients?

There was a few new and interesting ingredients that I had never worked with before.

One of these would be the herbs that they use. I had never had the opportunity to work with some of these before. Another is some of the different meats and cuts. Meats such as veal and cuts such as sweetbread. It was great to be able to work with these and expand my skills and knowledge.

What were the most valuable lessons/skills you learned from the Chefs? Were there any tips or tricks that they shared?

Working with the chefs at The Balmoral was a fantastic experience. As the week went on, I realised the immense effort and precision that the chefs put into each dish. This level of dedication justifies why people choose to dine at a high-end restaurant like Number One. For instance, one of the Salmon starter dishes required making a Kaffir Lime Leaf Powder, which I got the opportunity to make. It takes around 2 hours to create the powder and it is used to coat puffed rice. Each dish received quite a small amount of the grains of puffed rice, highlighting the astonishing effort invested in even a single dish. Chef Mathew Sherry, Head Chef at Number One, explained how small details like this can challenge us as chefs to come up with new and creative ways to enhance the flavours of a dish.

Has this week shaped your future goals/aspirations in the culinary industry?

My week at The Balmoral, Restaurant Number One has had a profound impact on my future goals and aspirations in the culinary industry. It allowed me to explore different avenues in my career as a chef. While I'm still uncertain about the specific path I want to pursue, the experience of working in a high-end restaurant like Number One was a truly unforgettable and remarkable adventure that I feel very lucky to of been able to go on. The chefs at this level are more like artists, creating culinary works of art with their dishes. As a chef, I've always believed in the power of simple food made exceptionally well, where the flavours truly shine through. This experience has given me much to ponder and has expanded my perspective on what I can do or the possibilities of where my culinary career could take me.