The Edinburgh chef’s first recipe book is full of Scottish dishes influenced by childhood sailing holidays

Lead image: The Little Chartroom

Divided into four seasons and built on recipes from Roberta’s Edinburgh-based restaurants – The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern – The Changing Tides focuses on the quality of Scottish produce, with ingredients from game and seafood to wild mushroom and berries.

“I wanted to create a book that was accessible and allowed people to try new things out, but wasn’t scary and really showcased produce at the height of their season when they’re at their best,” says the Edinburgh-born chef.

The cookbook’s recipes are accompanied by a selection of skills, from smoking, curing and poaching to shucking shellfish. 

“One of my favourite things about being a chef is having the skills to prepare food from scratch. It’s important with regards to waste and knowing about the provenance, but there’s also such an amazing feeling of achievement from taking food in its original form and transforming it into something delicious.” 

Credit: Amelia Claudia

Bitesize Qs

Who is your Scottish one-to-watch?

Mark Donald, the executive chef at The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Crieff. He’s already made leaps and bounds in Scotland, and I think he’s barely scratched the surface. 

What’s the most underrated ingredient in Scotland’s larder?

Arbroath smokies. They have unbelievable flavour, but are annoyingly hard to get your hands on. I was lucky once to get to taste one straight out of the smoker and it was incredible – warm, juicy and so smoky. 

What’s your current dinner party pièce de résistance? 

Pavlova! Such a great dessert, but it has to be big – small ones don’t have the same effect. 

If you could click your fingers and teleport to any restaurant right now – where would it be?

Osip 2.0 in Somerset.

Talking of changing tides… what would be your ideal foodie sailing trip?

Kick-start the day with bacon rolls and cups of tea up on deck, a little sail, anchor the boat, then go ashore for lunch at Inver Restaurant on Loch Fyne. Drinks and crudités in the cockpit later, then a BBQ on the boat or deep-fried scallops off the pier in Tobermory.  

The Changing Tides by Roberta Hall-McCarron is out now