Mallaig chef Cameron MacBeth and his uniquely Scottish cuisine is now known the world over after his appearance on television’s Master Chef: The Professionals.
Cameron secured a place after applying and attending several interviews with producers. He was one of only 30 on-screen participants out of a field of thousands of hopefuls.
Well known for cooking superb dishes in his family’s Cornerstone Restaurant, Cameron was keen to get a place to fulfil a dream, get publicity for the business and to present Mallaig to a world-wide audience as a dedicated food destination.
He said: “With the quality and range of fresh food available in Mallaig and its surroundings, it should be an attractive destination for food and not just known for where you get the ferry to Skye or the end of the Harry Potter train line.”
Cameron made it through to the quarter finals of the show, holding his own against stiff competition while including as much of his home produce as possible, sticking to his aim of promoting his home village.
Venison, seafood, honey and wild garlic was delivered to him as each show was recorded in the London area earlier in the year. They went into his ‘competition’ dishes to high praise from the judges.
Cameron said at first he was nervous and in awe of speaking with several of the renowned chefs who sampled and passed their verdict on his creations.
However, he settled down quickly and felt at ease with them and his fellow competitors.
“Everyone was very nice and I made new friends amongst the other competitors even though we were being judged against each other. We are still in touch.
“While everything may look quiet and calm on the finished programme, it was stressful, with cameras in your face and buzzing around all the time, not to mention the judges looking in to see how things were going.
“However, I loved every minute and the fact everyone got on made it even better.”
Seeing it on television now, a few months on, brings back memories for Cameron who has enjoyed watching with his family.
“It is really great as my son Connell, who is two, shouts ‘Dad’ and is excited about me being on the screen,” he added.
“It was a great experience and everything I wanted it to be – meeting lots of new people, making new friends and hopefully turning Mallaig into a great food destination.”
If you missed Cameron’s appearances on Masterchef: The professionals you can catch them by going to www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mx9xb/episodes/guide and clicking on episode one and three.
Photograph: Mallaig’s Cameron Smith on Masterchef: The Professionals. Photograph: Shine TV. NO_F38_MasterchefTheProfessionals_23_CameronMacBeth