Teenage masterchef to host West End pop-up restaurant

The 19-year-old culinary champion will open a bespoke pop-up in early August after being crowned Scottish Young Chef of the Year 2015.

Precocious Jonathan Ferguson was making his own dishes and recipes even at eight years old.

The teenager blossomed in the kitchen self-teaching catering techniques by watching television shows and studying old recipe books.

He sharpened his skills further working in big kitchens, gaining experience at top London restaurants at only 17.

The next challenge involves whipping up a tricky series of 5-course lunch and evening menus from August 3-5 at the Studio93 hub in the West End.

The catering genius worked most recently at Cail Bruich in Glasgow’s West End experimenting with local Scottish produce and flavours.

However, the pop-up event will be the first taster in running his own kitchen

It involves crafting complicated dishes like Loch Fyne scallop ceviche, pigeon breast and ravioli of summer vegetables, making the most of local Scottish ingredients.

Jonathan told The Tab: “I am looking forward to doing the pop-up event, maybe feeling a little bit nervous, but mostly excited.

“When I was younger, maybe around eight, I liked trying different things out for myself.”

He went on: “I loved watching Saturday Kitchen and I was a big time fan of MasterChef. I suppose that was my inspiration.

“Working in kitchens is really stressful and it takes a lot out of you. You can end up regularly working 15-hour days. However, you get a lot of experience in return and it is so fun too.”

“You begin to become more and more confident in yourself. You start to think up things in your own head.

“Before you know it you are driving home at night or lying in bed coming up with different ideas.”

Jonathan added: “Before I am 30, I definitely want to have my own restaurant. Until then, I would like to travel and cook abroad in different places.

“I want to visit San Francisco in the future – right now it is the up and coming place to be for restaurants, growing especially over the last two years.”

“For those wanting to get into cooking, my advice would be to keep in mind there are going to be times you want to quit but it is worth it in the long run.

“You should always remember why you are doing it.”

Jonathan’s pop-up will host 12 people per sitting across three days at around £50 per head.