THE Scottish culinary scene is enjoying a new vibrancy.

The number and variety of top-class eateries gladden both the heart and the stomach. And the key ingredients in this success are young, talented and ambitious chefs nurtured by masters of the art who are keen to lend a helping hand to the coming generation.

A classic case in point is Glaswegian Ian Scaramuzza, who has become the first Scot in almost 30 years to win the Roux Scholarship - the toughest culinary competition for young chefs in the UK, and ranked among the most prestigious in the world.

Scaramuzza started his cooking career at the age of 18 at House for an Art Lover, then worked for Geoffrey Smeddle before becoming a protégé of Andrew Fairlie - the first Roux Scholar in 1986 - at Gleneagles. It is fair to say his early experiences can have been no picnic. Albert Roux himself has long been a supporter of Scottish chefs, and looks to recruit talent nurtured by the scholarship for his Chez Roux restaurants in Lochinver, Inverness, Gullane and Cromlix House.

The son of a dinner lady, Scaramuzza is head chef at two-Michelin star Hibiscus restaurant in London, but says it has always been his dream to have his own place in Glasgow or Edinburgh at some point. It is an appetising prospect.