Chef Calum Munro will be representing Scotland on this season of Great British Menu, using ingredients he foraged on Skye.
Father of two Calum says that Great British Menu is his first ever competition.
He was feeling both “nervous and excited” when he got the call from BBC producers last year.
“If you’re into food, it’s been the biggest show going – for me anyway,” he says.
“To be in it myself, it’s brilliant. I’m super excited to see it.”
Calum, son of Scots music legend Runrig’s Donnie, says his dad was “over the moon” when he told him the news.
Other Scottish chefs who have competed in Great British Menu include Tom Kitchin and Kevin Dalgleish.
Competing in Great British Menu a ‘no-brainer’ for Calum
40-year-old chef Calum runs his own restaurant in Skye, Scorrybreac.
Food has always been “really important” to him.
“From a very young age, I just really loved making potions and messes,” he laughs.
“I always felt connected to it.”
Now, he is competing in the Scottish heat of BBC cooking competition Great British Menu.
His competition rivals include superyacht chef Hannah Rose; Mark McCabe, head chef at Henrock by Simon Rogan; and David Millar, executive chef at Jupiter Artland.
“It was something I would never have put myself forward for,” Calum goes on.
“But then when I got call from the producer and they asked ‘Would you fancy it?’
“Well, it made me feel a certain way, and I realised I must have more competitiveness than I thought.
“It was a great mix of nervousness and real excitement.
“So I had to say ‘yes’ – it was a no-brainer.”
I asked Calum if these nerves continued during the competition itself.
“I just took it day by day,” he says.
“And I really loved the experience.
“I work on my own quite a lot at Scorrybreac, so going into an environment like that, it wasn’t that wildly different to my stressful, normal services.
“Doing everything on your own, having one shot at it – that’s pretty standard for me.
“So I felt confident in some ways.
“Walking into that space when it’s empty, and seeing the GBM sign and everything – it was incredible.
“It was a bit of sleepless night on the first one, but I was fine after that.”
What will Calum Munro be cooking on Great British Menu?
Calum added that he and the other chefs in the Scottish heat “got along so well”.
“It was really nice to hang out with them over the week,” he says.
“It was such a laugh, actually: I was like, should we be having this much fun, or should it be more stressful?”
Calum is a fan of the Great British Menu himself.
“Every time Great British Menu comes around, I’ve always been inspired by it,” says Calum.
“It makes you think in a totally different way.
“This year, for the 20th anniversary, we got a gift with the brief.
“It gave us all an opportunity to celebrate really unique and local things.
“That’s what I was really happy to do for Skye.”
This year marks the 20th season of Great British Menu, and the chefs have been given the brief of celebrating “Great Britons”.
Calum, who focuses on local foods at his Scorrybreac Restaurant in Portree, is bringing that same foraging flair to Great British Menu.
This meant driving 13 hours from Skye to set – with his Skye-foraged ingredients packed in the car.
“I used foraged items in every dish,” he explains.
“I had a car full of madness actually. Driving down, I was laughing and nearly crying in the car.
“I had all sorts of things: bog myrtle, heather, seaweeds and live things in there as well.
“Then I just had to make sure I got there, and put it in fridges.”
Watch Calum on BBC Great British Menu on Tuesday February 11th at 8pm on BBC Two and iPlayer.
More on Calum Munro:
Conversation