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           Royal Yacht Britannia












Royal
Yacht
Britannia

 Oloroso, Edinburgh


Oloroso,
Edinburgh

Columnists

The Grand Chef of Oloroso

by NEHA SINGH GOHIL

Chef Tony Singh is always happy to share his favorites.

Favorite ingredient? Fresh fish.

Favorite cook? Alain Ducasse.

And the best meal he's ever had? Langar, of course!

At 35, Tony is one of the most talked about chefs in Britain. He's the chef director and owner of Edinburgh's highly acclaimed restaurant, Oloroso, and the inspiration behind a new Indian eatery called "Roti." Combining his Sikh heritage with his proud Scottish identity, Tony Singh is creating a British cuisine all his own.

Tony, a third generation Scot, comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His great-grandfather and grandfather were door-to door salesmen in remote parts of the Scottish Highlands. Carrying a suitcase filled with everything from perfume to plastics, they eked out a living for themselves and their families on some of the world's harshest terrain.

Tony, on the other hand, has learned to make his living in the grandest and humblest of British kitchens. Starting in a pub at age 16, Tony made his way through hotel kitchens to the cramped quarters on the iconic Royal Scotsman train, and finally to his own restaurant. His first job as a head chef was on board the Royal Yacht Britannia when it docked in Edinburgh's Leith port.

Once home to Britain's Royal Family, the yacht hosted numerous world leaders before it became a Scottish tourist attraction. "It was a bit decadent," Tony remembers. The yacht's kitchen had more than enough staff to provide personalized service, plus a State Dining Room full of inlaid tables and Edinburgh's best crystal for the diners. New boats may be swankier, Tony admits, but the workmanship on this ship was absolutely stunning. On board, Tony catered corporate events for some of Wall Street's biggest names - from Enron to Jaguar.  

Although his career choice is unusual, his parents never questioned his decision, Tony says. Many people would suggest he try managing restaurants instead of cooking in them. He would tell them: "Anybody can manage, but being a chef puts you at the heart of a restaurant." When he did a documentary for BBC's Channel 2 a few years ago, he heard from a number of Sikh-Britons and other minorities who told him it was refreshing to see someone who wasn't a doctor or a dentist representing the community.

But surprising his critics isn't anything new for Tony. He specifically chose not to cook Punjabi or Indian food while he was training, since he wanted to avoid being stereotyped. "Instead, I'd go in and blow them away," he says. "When you're a Sikh with a dastaar and you open your mouth and a Scottish accent comes out, that really freaks them out," Tony chuckles.

He's continuing his unexpected twists at Oloroso, which opened in 2001. Tucked on a cobbled side street off of Edinburgh's main shopping avenue, the restaurant's outdoor terrace stands in the shadow of another piece of British history - the Edinburgh Castle.

Here, Tony calls his style "a fresh approach to dining", meaning, essentially, anything he can dream up. The menu changes daily and usually includes hints of his Sikh and Indian heritage  -  a curried fish here, a bit of saffron cauliflower there. But generally, it can range from sole mousse with a Thai jelly and crispy langoustines to plain old roast pheasant.

That's one of the things Tony likes best about his restaurant  -  anybody can come in and find something they like. "Your granny could bring her young granddaughter, or you can turn up in trainers and jeans with your friends," Tony says. The ambience is his own response to "foody culture," his pet peeve. "People get so uptight about food," Tony says. "Food is there to be enjoyed and shared."

His attitude comes from a place most of us have visited  -  the langar hall. "Mom and dad are great cooks, and we always did seva in the langar hall at the gurudwara," Tony remembers. "It's the best food in the world, because it's langar, it's together and it's shared for free."

"There's nothing better than sitting down and breaking bread with somebody," he says. At the end of the day, that's what he'd like his food to be all about.

Conversation about this article

1: Damanpreet Singh (Netherlands), June 27, 2007, 12:19 PM.

I really like the article. The thing that pleases me is that a Sikh, complete with beard and turban, encountered no difficulty in working in the kitchen. I find it particularly heartening because I too work in the Hotel Management field.

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