19-year-old Meldrum House chef Luke says late father inspired his culinary career

Luke Wraight, 19, has gone from working in a trampoline park kitchen to working as chef de partie at Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course.

At 16, Luke said decided to “give it a shot”, and started his first job in a kitchen, at the trampoline park in Inverurie.

Now, he’s serving up steak for VIP guests at the luxury Aberdeenshire hotel.

“If you’d have told me in school that I’d be a chef, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he says.

The young chef would help out in the kitchen at home growing up, but he never imagined he would make a career out of it.

“I’m immensely proud,” says Luke.

“A lot of work goes into it.

“But I’m also very lucky. There aren’t many kitchens that you could walk into at 18 and progress to chef de partie in a year in a half.

“It’s a fantastic feeling.”

Luke’s dad was ‘absolutely an inspiration’

Luke can still remember the first time he ever gave a cooking a meal a try on his own – ten years ago, at just nine years old.

“The first meal I cooked for my dad, I remember it well because it was absolutely terrible,” he admits with a laugh.

“It was a tomato and chicken ragu. It was a terrible meal.

“But from that time on, the sights, the smells of the kitchen, and getting to that end result stuck with me.

“I found it really rewarding.”

“I had always been the helping hand,” says Luke, “chopping garlic, peeling onions, or whatever.

“That was the first time I got really involved.

“My dad passed when I was 14, and after that it was quite natural for me to take on the cooking.

“And I started to get more and more interested.

“He was absolutely an inspiration for me.

“My dad cooked lots of curries, kebabs and things like that.

“Growing up around good food definitely sparked my interest.”

What does Luke do at Meldrum House?

Luke’s role in the kitchen at Meldrum House involves not only running a section, but also helping to train younger chefs.

He says: “It’s cooking everything from start to finish, whether that’s making a sauce or a protein like steak.

“The other element in the role is teaching the younger chefs.

“We’ve got three junior chefs, so it’s about showing them what I’m doing, explaining the ingredients.

“I try to build their repertoire and awareness of what’s going on around them, so they can progress someday as well.”

But the 19-year-old doesn’t shy away from the responsibility.

“I think you have to be quite confident,” he says, “otherwise you make more mistakes.”

“I’m in such a fortunate position to be in this role at my age,” adds Luke.

“So I think people are quite surprised by my age sometimes.

“I definitely look young, which doesn’t help,” he laughs.