Roberta Hall-McCarron is a living embodiment of all that makes Scotland so magical. Her love for its people, produce, and places oozes from her every pore, and while she has been cooking since she was young, much is made these days of her “overnight success.” And yet, with any rapid foray into the public eye, most have been working away for years before becoming well-known. Such is the case for Hall-McCarron. She comes up over and over again in interviews with big-name chefs as a new favourite or one to watch.
Working under the very able wing of Scotland’s great, Tom Kitchin, she went on to appear on Great British Menu and did a stint in Dubai (could there be anywhere more different to the Highlands?) and then returned home, opening critically acclaimed The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern. She is a champion of all things Scottish, and her new book, The Changing Tides, is more than just a cookbook; it is an ode to Scotland. “Scotland has so much scope and so many wonderful places are opening outside of Edinburgh,” she says when we speak. “I’ve always been proud to say I’m Scottish. The produce is incredible, which really helps with cooking local seasonal food. I love chocolate, and I have to get that from outside of Scotland! My executive chef at The Chartroom worked in Australia, so we’ve now incorporated some real Asian influences subtly, such as starting to use white soy to add an extra layer of umami. But generally, we have an abundance of amazing stuff right here.”
Hall-McCarron mentions Tom Kitchin a lot, and it’s clear he made a huge mark on her. “Working with him was a pivotal moment in my career. It was infectious working in a restaurant where the chef owner was there for every service, unbelievably driven and passionate about Scottish produce and classical cooking.” She was, she felt, “totally out of her depth” but, clearly, she was able to cope better than she thought, and she spent over three years in The Kitchin before moving to Tom’s new restaurant, Castle Terrace. And, as with all great chefs, her time came to open her own place, but not until after she married Shaun, the Castle Terrace manager, in 2018. They went on to open The Little Chartroom together and have been making major waves in the food world ever since.
Roberta feels strongly that not only does she want her voice to shout loudly about the beauty of Scottish produce, but also to encourage more women to start working in kitchens. While the book world is saturated with wonderfully talented female cookery writers, the number of women working in kitchens is still woefully low. “I was at an event recently about women and food, and we were asked what it was like to be role models. I still find it hard to think of myself in that way, to be honest. But it was very humbling and lovely of them to say. The goal, six years ago when we opened, was to open a restaurant and cook good food, but things have grown, and that event ignited a passion in me to be a voice. I’m in a position to champion not just amazing produce and everything that’s going on in Scotland, but the industry as a whole. We have to really try and be an advocate to get women into this industry. It really inspired me, and I’d like to use what I can to push things forward a bit more.” This mantra doesn’t make Roberta feel pressured and, in fact, she admits to being very driven: “I’m 41 now, so I’ve been doing this for quite a long time, and my experience coming up through kitchens was very male-dominated. It never bothered me because I didn’t know anything else, but of course, I look back and realise that a lot of male chat surrounded me! We don’t have that now in the kitchen that I run, and I wouldn’t let those situations occur anymore.”
Roberta’s new book is a beauty, loaded with personal anecdotes, inspirational recipes designed very much with the home cook in mind, and each chapter ends with a section on dinner party recipes: “I love a dinner party”, she enthuses, “and there is a little prep involved, but if you do that then you can relax and have a good time. I think people often get stuck on what to do when hosting dinners, so I hope this is helpful. What I love about them is the way everyone is around one table, just grazing and drinking loads of wine and taking their time.” And, when eating out, Roberta favours an informal and relaxed atmosphere with the same sort of approach to communal eating and sharing plates: “the way the team greet you and the ambience that you get is key for me. I want it to be warm and relaxed. I want to be greeted like I’ve walked into their house, you know? And, obviously, I’m after delicious food but interesting food, too. I don’t want to be overly challenged, but I love food that makes an impression and leaves me asking how the hell they made that. And if the chefs are coming out, amazing. We do a lot of that ourselves. Chefs aren’t stuck in windowless basements anymore, and it’s nice for us to interact with guests and experience their enjoyment of our food first-hand.” More than happy as we are to help Roberta champion her favourite places in Scotland, she gives us her five favourite restaurants both inside and outside the capital city.
Noto, Edinburgh
“Noto by Stuart Ralston (who also has Lyla and others) is in the city centre, and it’s been around a good few years now. It’s a sharing plates restaurant, and I love going there with a group of people, so you can really order a variety. The menu does change quite often but there’s a few staples that never change. They serve a super naughty and indulgent chocolate ganache with Italian meringue on the dessert menu, featuring miso and hazelnut. You know, when you can taste something just by talking about it? I can taste it right now.”
Montrose, Edinburgh
This is the sister restaurant to the Timberyard, and they opened this up, I’d say, about a year and a half ago. Everything they do is just absolutely gorgeous. It’s beautifully done and perfectly styled in a converted 19th-century inn and just right up my street. Upstairs, they offer a more formal fine dining set menu, while downstairs is a wine bar featuring a variety of sharing plates. I loved the oysters, and their menu changes frequently – as do their oyster toppings – but they’re very creative and incredibly good.
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Inver, Loch Fyne
Inver is located on the West Coast of Scotland, and it has been there for approximately 10 years. It’s not far from Loch Fyne. I’ve spent an awful lot of time on the West Coast, but when I was a child, there was nowhere like this to go. Pam [Brunton] has incredible skill and knowledge in what she does with food. She and partner, Rob [Latimer] have created this beautiful restaurant with a really interesting menu that changes. They have a green star because it’s very sustainable. It is off the beaten path, and I think it actually goes down to one single track before you reach it. They’re both from the West Coast of Scotland, and they both put so much into it. When they first opened, they just had the restaurant, but they knew they’d need accommodation. With time, they’ve added bothies, and they’re just really beautiful. If you stay in one overnight, you get a picnic basket with your breakfast in the morning. Inver is incredibly produce-led and sourced from surrounding farms and local growers, so it’s loaded with yoghurt, butter, preserves, pastries, eggs, juice, cured meats, and potted loch crab.
The Glenturret, Lalique
Mark [Donald] is absolutely killing it, and I’m so happy for him because he’s so talented and such a nice guy. I’m so happy for him getting that second Michelin star. He’s such an exciting chef, not just for Scotland but for the whole of the UK. When I made it to the final of Great British Menu, the second time, I needed to reach out to somebody when preparing my final dish. I couldn’t see the wood from the trees anymore, and I was hitting walls. The theme that year was innovation and invention. For me, there’s nobody more inventive or innovative than Mark, so I reached out to him. The second Michelin star [the only one for a distillery anywhere in the world] means people are flocking from everywhere to go to The Glenturret now. The tattie scone, which is one of the snacks, was one of my favourite bites. I could’ve eaten it all night. It’s a sort of potato bao stuffed with tattie mayo, a disc of raw wagyu, beef glaze, egg yolk jam, truffle and caviar. I thought, if he could just feed me these all evening, I’d be a very happy girl.
Hawksmoor, Edinburgh
This may be a bit boring as it’s a chain, but it’s somewhere we go a lot in Edinburgh, and I love what they do. I’ve met Huw [Gott] and Will [Beckett], who set it up. They’ve been really supportive of The Little Chartroom, and they use local, independent businesses in Scotland, rather than importing items from London, which is great, particularly for a chain. The beef dripping skinny fries are a standout. (I’m not a chunky chip girl.) I also love the macaroni cheese because they use about five different cheeses, and the Caesar salad is really good.