Chef Watch – Craig Stafford, Fishers in The City, Edinburgh

CHEF WATCH

 

Featuring Craig Stafford, Head Chef, Fishers in The City, Edinburgh

 

How long have you been a chef?

24 years.

 Why did you become a chef?

I was always cooking & baking as a kid, loved watching Ready Steady Cook & cookery shows when I was wee, so I enrolled in catering college when I was 18 to pursue my love for food more.

Favourite ingredient

Salt, simple but effective.

Favourite or signature dish

Halibut, such a versatile fish, pairs really well with pancetta, pearl onions and a butter sauce. It’s a sturdy fish so stands up well against exciting ingredients.

Favourite kitchen tool or equipment (apart from sharp knives)

A good frying pan, no sticking of fish.

Food hero(es)

Gary Rhodes and Nathan Outlaw are chefs I have always looked up to.

Any food you can’t/won’t eat

Raw oysters, hate them.

Comfort food/guilty secret

Spaghetti Bolognaise, total comfort food

Stupidest customer or kitchen experience

Customer asking for a poussin chicken cooked medium rare.

A brief biography

Enrolled in college at the age of 18 in Glenrothes.

My first restaurant of note was Kilconquhar Castle in Elie, that ignited my love for fish.

I moved to events at Murrayfield Stadium, then on to the Macdonald Hotel for 3 years. After that I worked at the Tower Restaurant (part of the James Thomson collection) which was a great experience for me. From there to Apex International Heights restaurant.

Finally moving on to Fishers in The City 9 years ago, working my way up from senior chef de partie to Head Chef.

I have been eating at Fishers in the City all the time that Craig has been there and have never had a poor course, never mind a poor meal. It's one of our favourite places in town, one of the very few to which we return on a regular basis. Find contact details for Fishers and read more about it in our recent review.