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Evelyn’s Table
get diluted, but when you’re in such close prox- imity, everyone can see how it’s being done. So I think in terms of breeding and nurturing talent, a small kitchen is fantastic.”
Roberta Hall-McCarron at Eleanore Roberta Hall-McCarron is executive chef of Eleanore in Leith, a small neighbourhood restaurant serving a set menu by head chef Hamish McNeill
At roughly three by three metres, the kitchen at Roberta Hall-McCarron’s second restau- rant, Eleanore, isn’t exactly generous, but it’s a space she knows intimately, as it was the original location of her first concept, the Little Chartroom. The latter was so success- ful it muscled its way up and out into a larger property within a few years, an evolution that left Hall-McCarron to re-establish how she used what was left behind. “You don’t know what you need until you’ve
worked in the space, but every single inch is used to its maximum,” she says. It seems to defy physics, but inside she’s managed to squeeze in ovens, fridges, shelves, barbecues, prep space and sinks. There’s even a water bath under a section of the bar outside that
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guests then unknowingly eat above while meat slow-cooks underneath. But it’s not always high-tech kit that has the largest impact – a simple row of hooks for utensils hanging above the stove were “life-changing”, while stackable food containers run floor to ceiling on simple shelves. The traditional storage spaces of the kitchen
have been turned out into the dining room, and now ferments, pickles and preserves line the walls where guests sit, with a coat cup- board turned into a dry store for ingredients. While Hall-McCarron oversees Eleanore,
her 6’8” head chef Hamish McNeill leads the team on the ground. “Everyone says, did you try to find the biggest chef for the small- est kitchen? But Hamish is very nimble,” Hall-McCarron laughs. Aside from McNeil, there can be up to three other chefs working in the space, which means there’s no room for a kitchen porter. Instead, it’s “all hands on deck” to clear the washing up. The food also has to be practically consid-
ered when working with such neat propor- tions. One way the team at Eleanore do that is by balancing the menu between hot and cold dishes, so there’s never a bottleneck at the stove. Hall-McCarron says: “We also do
22 March 2024 | The Caterer | 35
“I think in terms of breeding and
nurturing talent, a small kitchen is fantastic” James Goodyear
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