Nick Nairn has spoken of fears that Scotland’s hospitality industry has been ‘hung out to dry’ amid increasingly challenging conditions.
Following the closure of Nairn’s in Bridge of Allan last year, the celebrity chef has shifted his focus back towards the Port of Menteith cook school, restaurant, and lifestyle store, which he operates in partnership with his wife, Julia.
It has been a successful summer for the duo as they build on a venture that ‘ticks every box’ for their shared creative passions and celebrate 25 years since the first series of Cook School demonstrations took place.
Despite this, Nairn remains vocal regarding the unrelenting pressures on hospitality businesses across Scotland and warns of the impact this could have on a nationwide scale.
“The past few months have been great for us, but that’s against the backdrop of an industry that is still under the cosh,” he said.
“The challenges facing hospitality right now are horrendous, and I worry that all the hard work over the past 30 years that has taken Scotland from a culinary backwater to one of the best places in the world to eat is at risk of being undone.
“I wish I could paint a brighter picture, but that’s the reality of the situation.”
Going on to highlight the cost of materials, utilities and labour as three major contributors to the current climate, Nairn said: “I am very tight on materials, which means even though inflation is rampant, we are able to mitigate that with our skill set.
“We buy an animal whole and break it down, making sure every part is used, and I grow a lot of our salads, herbs and vegetables. But other businesses don’t have that luxury, and even things we all use, like cooking oil, have doubled in price.
“Utilities are something we never used to worry about much, but have now become a major concern. It is what it is, and there’s no way out of paying whatever an energy company decides to charge.
“And finally, we have a really talented labour force. I believe that chefs should be paid well, receive every penny of their tips and feel rewarded for their hard work.
“That means our labour costs are high, and I worry about the future of our long-running apprenticeship programme, which helps young people who might never have got a start in the industry to develop their skills and go on to work in a kitchen.
“Training is a lifeblood for the future of our industry, but it is an expensive asset, and many places are cutting back.”
Nairn suggests that investing less time and money in training a new generation of talent will ultimately result in the loss of key skills, such as butchery or the ability to create soups and sauces from scratch with fresh ingredients.
“The chains will weather the storm, but it’s the brilliant chefs who have worked to make a name for themselves that are facing the toughest challenges,” he said.
“They’re the ones preserving a hard-fought craft in our business, which includes the ability to fillet a fish or break down a leg of lamb.
“It used to be the pinnacle of a chef's career to have their name above the door and run their own restaurant, but now you see the ones who have turned away from it and are pursuing work on super yachts where they can make a lot more money.
“And, with no talk of VAT reduction, it feels like the industry has been hung out to dry with news of another restaurant closing almost every week.
“We train, put value into the economy, work closely with our suppliers, and are a force for good.
“The government needs to keep sight of the enormous value our hospitality industry has and start making steps to help.”
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Over a 40-year career, Nairn has built a reputation as one of Scotland’s leading culinary figures, but he is not immune to the struggles of running a hospitality business in the current day.
As previously reported by The Herald, Nairn’s in Bridge of Allan closed last year after the business was hit by what the couple described as a “perfect storm” of events.
This included a devastating fire in 2021, the strain of a cost-of-living crisis and a 'bitter dispute' with the Henderson Street unit’s landlord.
“In hindsight, we mistakenly became involved in the Bridge of Allan restaurant project,” Nairn said.
“From the start, we kind of knew that it wasn’t really working. It was busy, but not in the way it should have been, and the metrics we were trying to follow weren’t quite right.
“There were all sorts of issues, not least the fire, which meant we never really recovered when we reopened, and it distracted us from the work we were doing at Nick’s and the cook school in Port of Menteith.”
Although conscious that not every business owner will be in the position to do so, Nairn has said learning to adapt has now helped steer his professional life into a new direction that is more fulfilling than any past endeavours.
“I have to admit, I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and the food we’re making now at Nick’s is the stuff I’m most proud of.
“I personally think that the tasting menu has been done to death and that people are starting to get fed up with it.
“They want to eat pizza, chicken wings or ham and melon. Simple dishes, but when care is taken in sourcing high-quality ingredients, this kind of food can really sing
“Back in the days when I had a Michelin Star, it was all quite exclusive fine dining that was only accessible to a certain demographic.
“Here, we have an egalitarian sort of set-up where everyone is welcome, whether that’s kids, big parties or even dogs.”
Although ever conscious of the tumultuous state of the hospitality industry, the 66-year-old chef is now ‘relaxing into’ a new normal at Port of Menteith, where he can pursue a burgeoning passion for gardening, pass skills on to budding home chefs in his Cook School classes and welcome guest chefs to the kitchen for special events.
He said, “What we’ve learned is that in hospitality, you have to be ready to diversify.
“We can no longer rely on a traditional model to get customers through our door.
“That’s why events like our long table dining nights with guest chefs have been a bit of a revelation for us. It’s a communal experience that has a whole energy of its own.
“Jules and I have opened 10 new businesses in the past decade, and it’s been great fun, but we’ve now found something that stimulates us without overwhelming us.
“It’s a privilege to get to work with your partner, and I’m enjoying where we are now.”
The Nick Nairn Cook School and Nick's restaurant are located at Port of Menteith in Stirling.
For more information, visit www.nicknairncookschool.com.
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