Get your sources sorted
If the phrase 'British hotel cuisine' conjures up images of Manuel attempting to teach Terry how to cook paella in Fawlty Towers, you could be forgiven. After all, there are only two British hotel restaurants with two Michelin stars and unless you go to the top end of the scale - we're talking the Claridges and Dorchesters of this world - you'll usually be disappointed. Which is why it seems such a bold statement when Scott MacDonald, executive chef of City Inn, says: 'I defy a critic to be able to tell the difference between our food and that of a Michelin-starred restaurant.' But then bold statements come easily when you've been under the tutelage of two of our brashest chefs: Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay.
Never too many chefs
I've joined MacDonald on a day of experimentation as he and chefs from the hotel group's properties in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow come up with ideas for their autumn menus. And amoung the bubbling pans in the kitchens of Westminster Kingsway College - one of our best cookery schools - it seems the biggest challenge is to ensure quality is maintained through a group of restaurants spanning the country. 'You have to get your sources right,' MacDonald maintains. 'I go out with each head chef to find local ingredients. In Manchester, for instance, we use Herdwick lamb - when we go to our supplier in Cheshire, we ask if he knows of any other good farms in the area.'
Quality is key
When I grill him about his earlier Michelin wager, MacDonald is as opinionated as his mentors: 'We're comfortable with our ability to produce great food from great ingredients.' Origin is a burning issue for him: 'Some restaurants seem to think it gives a dish a "wow" factor - but putting a farm name on the menu doesn't make the food better,' he rails while showing off a tray of fresh fish. In an effort to see how some new ingredients work, he has given his chefs a challenge: take your pick from a basket of ingredients and produce new recipes. To add heat to the contest, each chef is assisted by their hotel general manager. When the dishes are served, MacDonald, City Inn MD Huw O'Connor and myself put them to the taste test and, after half an hour and some Masterchef-style deliberations later, Glasgow is declared the winner. And do you know what? The dishes were as good as anything I've ever tasted in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
James Ellis, Journalist for the Metro (Published 12th August 2008).