Orry Shand, National Chef of the Year winner from Ellon, was told he ‘wouldn’t last two weeks’ in his first kitchen job

Chef Orry Shand has come a long way since his first job in the kitchen, peeling potatoes in a local hotel back when he was 14.

The 34-year-old, who works as an executive chef with Entier catering company, now trains the next generation of young talent, and leads private dining events.

But he only started out on this career path by chance, when his mum told him he “had to get a part-time job”.

Orry started at Udny Arms Hotel in Newburgh, immediately helping out in the kitchen.

His taste for the “hustle and bustle” of the industry clearly stuck – despite some negative voices.

“I didn’t have many expectations at that age,” Orry recalls.

“I always remember, when I started at The Udny Arms, there was this chef who said: ‘I don’t think that guy is gonna last two weeks’.

“It’s quite funny in that sense.”

In October, the north-east chef took part in the National Chef of the Year competition from the Craft Guild of Chefs, and came first place.

His North Sea turbot starter, loin of lamb main and Valrhona chocolate ganache dessert blew the judges away.

Orry now inspires other young chefs

Orry’s first role back at Udny Arms Hotel involved peeling vegetables, cleaning mussels – and it was while doing those tasks that he developed a taste for the kitchen.

“It gave me a feel for the kitchen camaraderie,” he says.

“I liked the hustle and bustle of the environment, and the banter in the kitchen.”

Now, he leads the Fresh Olive apprenticeship programme at Entier, helping other young people hone their skills in the kitchen.

“It’s definitely satisfying,” he says.

“Because sometimes you’re taking someone straight out of school who can barely hold a knife, and then at the end of three years, they’re quite an accomplished cook.”

Planning the secret sauce for Orry’s success

Orry drove ten and a half hours from Aberdeen to London with all his equipment and food in order to compete in the National Chef of the Year competition.

But this wasn’t a stressful journey for the 34-year-old who had planned and practised his dishes dozens of times.

“Probably a month before the competition, I was in here [the kitchen] every single day off, preparing for it,” says Orry.

“Even before I put in my entry, I worked on my dishes to make sure I was really happy with them.

“If you practice and you know you can achieve it in that time, then that will give you confidence.

“If you go into something unrehearsed, you’re going to be less confident.

“Not that I was oozing confidence, but I quietly went about my business, thinking: I’ve practised and I know I can do this.”

“Everything went to plan, and on time,” says Orry.

“I wasn’t really nervous for the awards dinner.

“And that wasn’t because I thought that I was going to win, but because I thought I had done everything I set out to do to the best of my ability and I was happy with it.

“So if I didn’t win, it would be because I was beaten by someone better, and I couldn’t have done any more.”