Head chef at Rocca makes it to the Masterchef Semi-Finals

The head chef, Jamie Scott, at Rocca Bistro and Bar in St. Andrews has made it to the semi-finals of Masterchef. The young chef has been impressing the judges with his exciting and varied dishes.

As the third chef in the St. Andrews area to have made it to the semi-finals of a major cooking competition, he stands as testimony to the incredible food that we have available in this small town. But why? ‘It’s such a nice town with so many tourists. It’s natural to have good food as well’, the chef told the Stand.

Jamie was entered in the Masterchef competition by his bosses last year, but they failed to make the deadline. So he entered himself again this year, on a whim. His was excited when he made it to the semi-finals with his signature Turbot wrapped in Chicken Skin dish.

How was being in front of the cameras, cooking under such high pressure and in such limited time scales? ‘I’ve done it before. I was in ScotHot (a scottish cooking show) for three years and I cooked in front of 5000 people in the Foreign Food Festival. But I still didn’t want to come across as stupid when I cracked jokes. So naturally I was worried.’

And how did Jamie get into cooking? ‘My mum is a head chef at The Links,’ he responds, ‘I always loved cooking. I’ve travelled around a lot, learning to cook in many different places.’ Jamie has been at Rocca for three years now, but what opportunities could Masterchef bring him? ‘I’m not sure. Scott (Davies), who made it to the semi-finals last year has been very successful and is now head chef at The Adamson.’

This calls for a party. ‘Yes! Lots of friends and family are coming round to watch the semi-final on Tuesday!’ Let’s hope good things come to this very talented and friendly chef.

Image courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cyril_Rouquet,_finaliste_Masterchef,_cuisine_à_Louvre_Bouteille.jpg