FAMILY AFFAIR
‘I come from a whole line of chefs so it was only natural that I would become a cook’
Family affair
Neil Forbes, chef patron at Cafe St Honore creates some great Scottish dishes from offal
WORDS ANNA DOVE IMAGES ANGUS BLACKBURN H
e may have been honoured with the title of Scottish Chef of the Year, but Neil Forbes’ talents in the kitchen originated in his family home in Pitlochry. Coming from a family of chefs, Forbes
was destined to go into the business of food and drink. ‘My father was a chef and my uncle was a chef,’ says Forbes. ‘I come from
a whole line of chefs so it was only natural that I would become a cook.’ For him there has never been any question about his career path. From
a young age he watched his father cook and knew a life in the kitchen was what he wanted too. His career began at Casa dei Cesari in Surrey before moving back to
Scotland. After years at the helm of the Atrium and Blue restaurants in Edinburgh, Forbes and his business partner took over Cafe St Honore on the city’s Thistle Street West in 2008. Inspired by seasonal produce, and old traditions and recipes, he transformed the former pastry shop into the renowned Scottish eatery it is today. Despite the French name, Cafe St Honore offers a menu of traditional
yet simple, and primarily Scottish, dishes. ‘The name has always been here – it was initially a pastry shop,’ explains Forbes. ‘St Honore is the patron saint of pastry.’ The menu is inspired by the Auld Alliance between Scotland and
France. ‘We had countless family holidays in France and I remember the crusty baguettes, the cheap bottles of plonk,’ recalls Forbes. ‘We have kept the name and we have always stayed true to France.’ St Honore’s menu regularly features coq au vin, toasted homemade
brioche and crème brulée to stay true to its French roots, but Forbes is careful to use Scottish ingredients to create the dishes. As a member of the Slow Food UK Chef Alliance, he is keen to keep traditions of great Scottish cookery alive. He runs slow food masterclasses at the restaurant in a bid to encourage amateur cooks to use natural, locally-sourced ingredients and to cook with offal and cuts of meat that would otherwise be discarded. Inspired by what is in season, he travels to local markets in search of
fresh, wild produce. ‘I look to places like the farmers’ markets and the Grierson Organic farm in Perthshire for inspiration,’ says Forbes. ‘It is all local produce and it is all from within about a 50-mile radius, local to us here in Edinburgh.’ Forbes works closely with Scottish farmers to source the ingredients
for his Franco-Scottish menu, which changes daily to cater for what’s in season. Taking into account the time of the year, Forbes finds his recipe ideas by looking outside on his ride to work. ‘You look at what’s going on around you. You look at what people are growing and breeding.’ The philosophy behind his food is to keep dishes simple and
unadorned, using a carefully selected combination of flavours. ‘Keep food simple,’ advises Forbes. ‘There is something stunning about a simple, humble pot of soup.’
Left: Neil Forbes raises a glass to simple Scottish food.
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