Press release -
Peebles chef puts Borders on the map in Great British Menu
A chef from Peebles in the Scottish Borders will represent his country on the popular Great British Menu TV Show next week.
Ally McGrath, 43, chef and owner of Osso restaurant in Peebles was one of three chefs selected to represent Scotland on the BBC programme which starts at 7.30pm on Monday 29th August.
VisitScotland hopes that Ally’s success will help shine the spotlight on food in the region and contribute towards Scotland’s growing reputation for premier restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs which resulted in a visitor spend of almost £1 billion on food and drink in 2015, the highest ever recorded.
Chef Ally is one of 24 chefs from all over Britain competing for the opportunity to cook at a special banquet at the Palace of Westminster in honour of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘Great Britons’.
Ally said is delighted to have been selected to represent Scotland in the series. Ally worked for Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House, and Odette’s, both in London, before opening his first restaurant Halcyon in Peebles in 2003. He later established Osso in 2007 – which was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2012.
His dishes take inspiration from the Scottish Borders where he grew up and the local ingredients that are available on his doorstep.
Ally McGrath of Osso restaurant said: “It has been such an honour to take part in the Great British Menu and to compete against some of the best professional chefs from across the UK.
“I grew up in the Scottish Borders and take inspiration from the outstanding local produce that is on offer. I hope that by taking part in this series, I am able to inspire others to pursue their passions as well as help raise the profile of the Scottish Borders as an excellent place to live and work in.”
Regional Director for VisitScotland, Doug Wilson, said: “Congratulations to Ally McGrath at Osso restaurant for representing Scotland in The Great British Menu and I wish him all the best in the series.
“It is achievements like these that help to boost the growing reputation of restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs in the Scottish Borders. Food is an integral part of the tourism experience with visitors to Scotland attracted by the opportunities to sample traditional dishes and local produce.”
The Scottish regional heats will air on BBC Two from Monday 29th August and will see the chef’s dishes – inspired by the transformation in British food throughout the reign of Her Majesty the Queen - judged by some of Britain’s most accomplished chefs and veterans of the competition. Representing Scotland are Ally and Michael Bremner from 64 Degrees, Brighton and Adam Handling from The Frog in London.
For more information on Osso restaurant, visit www.ossorestaurant.com/
For more information on Visit Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- food & drink
- scottish borders
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
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- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
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- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
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Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 - 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design begins on 1 January 2016 and ends on 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- Join the conversation at #IAD2016
- Events can join the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design Partner Programme throughout the year by visiting http://www.eventscotland.org/YIAD_partner_programme
