Scotch twist
Devising imaginative ways to serve haggis may not be high on the agenda for many chefs, but for Tony Budde, it comes with the territory. As executive chef at the 15-month-old Scottish Parliament on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, Budde is responsible for giving a taste of Scotland to foreign dignitaries and other VIPs as well as feeding the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and their staff.
"It's important to keep tradition here," says 37-year-old Budde, who was a craft trainer with Sodexho when the company won the prestigious contract last year. "Using Scottish produce is part of the brief."
Budde, who hails from County Down in Northern Ireland, may not seem the obvious choice to head the operation at Sodexho's flagship contract, especially as Scotland produces such a wealth of culinary talent within its own borders. He puts his selection down to having worked at a number of high-profile sites, both with Sodexho and previous employer Compass, since he moved to Scotland nearly 10 years ago.
In the decade he has been in the country, however, Budde has had the opportunity to work with some of the country's leading chefs. He readily admits that the likes of Willie Deans, with whom he worked at the Buttery restaurant in Glasgow (to "keep his hand in" while working for Sodexho by day), and fellow Sodexho chef Willie Pike, have had a huge influence on him.
"I've picked up so much from working with such chefs," Budde says.
Doing the knowledge
Numerous books and Taste of Scotland, the independent organisation set up to promote Scottish produce, have also contributed to his education in Scottish cuisine. In fact, so inspirational does Budde find the entire Scottish culinary scene that he has become involved with the Federation of Chefs of Scotland.
"Some of the stuff [coming from Scottish kitchens] is amazing," he says. "The number of restaurants opening in Glasgow is unbelievable, and they're all innovative and exciting. The chefs are really switched on and passionate about what they're doing."
While it is far from being one of Budde's personal favourites, haggis has a high profile on both the restaurant and the hospitality menus at the Parliament. According to Budde, it is always a popular dish with regulars and visitors.
"Visitors always want to try it, but because it's spicy and not to everyone's liking, I try to incorporate small amounts of haggis into dishes just to give people a taste of it," he explains.
Consequently, instead of the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties, visitors are more likely be treated to something such as creamed haggis encased in smoked swede with a creamed potato and parsley crust and a whisky broth.
"Haggis isn't difficult to cook, it just needs steaming," explains Budde. "But it is difficult to find flavours to go with it because it's so strong. I try to calm it down a bit with ingredients such as cheese and dill."
Balance of power
Digging into his culinary repertoire to come up with something a bit different - "I just try to think of something Scottish and innovative" - Budde decided to use it as a crust for another popular Scottish product, salmon, despite the danger that the product might easily overpower the fish's delicate flavour.
Mixed with dill, olive oil, ginger, Parmesan and butter, the haggis sits on a fillet of baked Tay river salmon and is served with a langoustine risotto and a light cream and ginger reduction. The dish was originally created for function menus but has now found its way onto the restaurant menu, where it is proving to be very popular.
"It's a lovely dish and very easy to prepare," says Budde. "It's evolved since I first did it. You have to get the balance of flavours just right so that the haggis seasons the salmon."
Having applied the technique successfully to salmon, Budde modified the haggis crust by adding rosemary to use it as a crust for roast Ayrshire lamb. He serves the dish with a tomato and smoked bacon concassé and poached vegetables.
Alongside the haggis are a host of other Scottish products on Budde's menus. Aberdeen Angus beef, scallops from the Orkney Isles and oak-smoked Ayrshire ham all make regular appearances, the last most recently wrapped around a roast fillet of pork, which has been stuffed with chicken mousse and served on a bed of cabbage and potato (known locally as clapshot).
The pork is also Scottish - it's an ingredient that Budde considers to be very underrated. "It's so versatile," he says. Another Budde creation sees it filled with oatmeal and apple and served with pan-fried Kailkenny cakes, another mix of cabbage and potato, this time combined with cream and a little egg, shaped into patties and fried.
Tartan tradition
Oats also appear on the breakfast menu, although this was not always the case, as Budde recalls. "Porridge wasn't on the menu when we opened, and some people objected," he says. "It was blown out of all proportion and picked up by the local newspapers, so now we have to have it on. In reality, only two or three people really want it."
Having such a specific brief and using only specified suppliers can be a little restricting, as Budde has found. Catering for functions gives him more room to be creative, though. "With so many people to cater for - both young and old - you have to do things you know will sell and will please all of them. Consequently, the menu is a bit run-of-the-mill," he explains.
"The only way to express yourself is with the food for functions. Visitors are generally easy to please and you can try things out on them."
The Parliament is in recess until 4 September and while the staff restaurant is open for administrative staff and any MSPs remaining during the break, Budde's workload here is nothing like the 200 lunches he serves on a daily basis in the dining rooms, not to mention the further 50-300 covers he puts out when committees are sitting, or the average of five functions a day for between two and 25 visitors he and his four-strong brigade cook for during the rest of the year.
It's not all rest, though, as he has been seconded to a host of summer events, such as the British Open golf tournament at St Andrews. His ongoing training duties will keep Budde's creative juices flowing, too. And if there's still some time left after all that, he can always find new ways to serve haggis.
Career history
1980 Portrush Catering College, Northern Ireland.
1982 Joined the Hastings Hotel Group and worked in various hotel restaurants throughout Northern Ireland, including the Stormont hotel in Belfast.
1985 Joined the Compass Group and worked in various units including a Royal Ulster Constabulary training unit where there were numerous functions to cater for.
1991 Moved to Scotland as head chef at the
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow and gained experience in large-scale banqueting.
1993 Joined Sodexho (then Gardner Merchant) as head chef at the Scottish Power site in Glasgow. Became involved in training and spent two years as a craft trainer with responsibility for about 200 units all over Scotland.
1999 Opening chef for the Scottish Parliament. Still involved in training for Sodexho.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 31 August - 6 September 2000
