Perth restaurant North Port becomes the Fair City’s only Michelin Guide entry as it is named one of the inspectors’ new favourite restaurants.
Michelin’s January list includes 24 new additions across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and England. Scotland’s two entries are North Port and Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish in Aberdeen.
The North Port restaurant already boasts two AA Rosettes, along with two other city centre eateries.
Head chef Andrew Moss says it’s “pretty amazing” to be included in the guide.
“They actually came back in October,” he reveals.
“They always post on Twitter to say where they’ve been. Someone sent it to me a while ago, so we’ve been waiting to see if they were going to include us.
“Obviously it’s now January and we’d completely forgotten about it, but we’re pleased.”
From the Michelin Twitter account, Andrew could tell they enjoyed the haggis, neeps and tatties when stopping by.
Not just for Burns Night@chefnorthport #Perth #Scotland pic.twitter.com/BaZ2lEdDiq
— The MICHELIN Guide (@MichelinGuideUK) October 13, 2022
While North Port makes its haggis in house, the chef describes it as one of the simplest dishes on the menu.
“For them just to have haggis, neeps and tatties, rather than something a bit more elaborate, I think it goes to show that Michelin inspectors aren’t always looking for things that are completely out there,” he says.
“They look for something that’s just simple and tasty sometimes.”
In its announcement, Michelin writes “prime Scottish produce is celebrated front and centre” and that North Port “celebrates the local larder”.
Andrew makes sure to use the best of Scottish ingredients, be it shellfish from the east coast or strawberries from Perthshire.
But he isn’t quite sure what makes North Port stand out from the crowd.
He says: “I honestly have no idea, we just do what we do and luckily people enjoy that.
“I wouldn’t say we do anything out of the ordinary, just good food in a relaxed environment.”
With a Michelin recommendation and two AA Rosettes, Andrew says working towards a Michelin star is not on the cards for now.
In fact, the North Port team of 10 has never set out to achieve certain accolades.
Their priority has always been to create a good working atmosphere and improve everything they do.
Andrew says: “We’ve never said we want to get certain awards, but if they come along it’s very nice.
“We’ve maybe aimed towards it, but we won’t focus all our attention on it. I think when you do that, you forget why you’re actually cooking and running the restaurant.
“Instead we learn new techniques in the kitchen or refining what we do. We’re always building on it that way, which feeds back to any accolades, awards or reviews.
“I’m not saying that I’m not that fussed – because it’s a great achievement – but we’ve never chased it. We’ve just let it happen naturally.”
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