Graham Mitchell has been an advocate for the local hospitality scene for some time. To help strengthen it, the multi-award-winning chef has dedicated many hours to inspiring north-east school pupils to pursue careers in the industry.
The 37-year-old already has a lot on his plate.
Not only does Graham run his own successful 50 to 60-cover restaurant in Rosemount, known as Tarragon, but he and his wife Clare also have five kids.
They are aged three, seven, 16, 19 and 23.
However, with the chef having an incredible influence in the local cooking scene, he has spent years using this to help benefit the younger generation.
“It’s really important to encourage and excite youngsters into the sector as we have a dwindling number of people coming into the industry,” says the chef.
From Mintlaw to Aberdeen Grammar
Graham went on to say: “There is also a lack of skill set with chain restaurants offering processed food, so you lose those skills and pride of produce that you would get from an independent venue”
St Machar Academy, Newmachar Primary School and Mintlaw Academy are among the schools the dad-of-five has visited in the past to share his expertise.
The most recent is Aberdeen Grammar School where he gave a talk to roughly 40 first year pupils. Graham was there from 8.30am to 2pm.
“I spoke to classes about the hospitality trade, the restaurant [Tarragon], the importance of using local and the seasonality of foods,” he adds.
“I showed them how to prep asparagus to a restaurant standard as its in the height of season.”
The Aberdeen chef was asked “lots of questions” regarding his career and how it has taken him around the world, as well as hospitality in general.
Graham’s culinary journey has seen him named Scotland’s first surf and turf chef of the year and Scottish beef chef of the year.
He has also received gold for the north-east seafood chef of the year, among many other accolades.
“The strangest question was ‘if you own a restaurant, does that mean you’re a millionaire?’, Graham laughed.
“I don’t think the kid was ready for a chat about business economics and the dread of VAT and PAYE…”
Recipes fit for Tarragon’s menu
To make the experience even more exciting for the first year students, Graham threw a competition element into the mix.
Each pupil was invited to prepare a dish with the winning one securing a spot on the menu as a special at Tarragon.
Tarragon was recently named Best Restaurant of the Year at the Scottish Entertainment & Hospitality Awards 2023.
“As you can imagine with so many children, I got about 80 entries which was amazing,” Graham said.
“We had some interesting takes on African and Chinese recipe. But one dish that stood out was an asparagus [from Denhead Farms in Blairgowrie] ice cream with candied asparagus.
“We used some as a garnish for main dishes and did a barbecue asparagus salad with seaweed cured egg yolk and hollandaise as a starter.
“The customers were impressed by the level of detail the kids had put into it when told. And the asparagus dessert received a mixture of reactions.”
‘Kids are the future of this industry’
Graham went on to say his school visits will continue going forward.
The Aberdeen chef added: “The kids are the future of this industry. Without them it will collapse.
“I had a girl come up to me at last year’s Taste of Grampian festival to say hello and tell me that I had done a demo at her school.
“She was now training to be a chef after I had inspired her to follow the career.”
Conversation