Revelations: Chris Niven, executive chef, the Lawn at the Marine hotel, North Berwick

01 October 2021
Revelations: Chris Niven, executive chef, the Lawn at the Marine hotel, North Berwick

What was your first job?

Delivering flowers for a local florist in Dundee

What was your first job in catering?

I started out as a KP at Piperdam Country Club when I was 16 years old

What do you normally have for breakfast?

Toast with Dundee marmalade

Which is your favourite restaurant?

The Cellar in Anstruther

What is your favourite drink?

Whisky sours

What is your favourite food/cuisine?

Thai. I love the flavours and how fragrant the dishes are. I also love eating food that I wouldn't normally cook or eat at home

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

I don't like eating raw onions – they make me want to vomit! I can cook it, prep it and eat it cooked, but just not raw

What flavour combinations do you detest?

Chicken and banana (also known as chicken Maryland)

Which person in catering have you most admired?

Thomas Keller

Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take?

My tog knife, as I might need to hunt, prepare food I catch or find on the island. It would comes in handy for personal protection too

What daily newspaper/website do you read?

The Scotsman

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

Batman (Bruce Wayne)

If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?

I wanted to be a pilot growing up

Describe your ultimate nightmare?

Life without my partner and daughter

When and where was your last holiday?

Muskoka and Toronto in Canada in 2019. It was a great trip. Muskoka is a three-mile drive from Toronto and we visited a few smaller towns and some great breweries

Tell us a secret...

I'm scared of spiders. Depending on how close they are, I tend to run away!

What's your favourite film?

Justice League, the Snyder cut

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