Cooking up a storm
by Julie-Ann Sherlock
Awards and accolades may not be what drive Monaghan native Peter McKenna but he and his fine dining restaurant, The Gannet, in Glasgow, keep on winning them. In November 2020, he won the prestigious Staff Canteen Chef of the Year award against some tough competition, but he isn't letting his latest achievement cloud his vision.
"Obviously I would love to get a Michelin star, but I would never change my business model to achieve that. I don't cook for the accolades; I cook because I believe in my style of food. And if the awards come, they come."
From washing pots in a hotel kitchen as a teenager to working his way up through the ranks, Peter has always known the food industry was for him.
"Other kids wanted to be astronauts and firemen, I wanted either to be in Iron Maiden or to be cooking food. Iron Maiden wouldn't have me, so cooking it was. We never had the career chat at home, I think they knew I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do, so my parents just left me get on with it. It was a career path I was confident in."
Having worked in top-class kitchens like Banc (Sydney), the Sydney Opera House, Patrick Guilbaud (Dublin) and Chez Bruce (London), Peter got the opportunity to work in an entirely different environment — a Saudi Prince's yacht.
"I went to meet the crew in Germany; I had pictured a small boat like in the Duran Duran [Rio] video. Nothing could have prepared me for it — it was huge! I got to travel the world; it was incredible. But I think I was too young and should have spent a few more years in the restaurants; after four years working on yachts, I was only 27. I took a job as a chef de partie because I felt I had to prove to myself I could still do the restaurant work and compete with everyone else."
A few years ago, a friendship he had nurtured from his time in Australia turned into romance and led him to Glasgow, to settle there and marry his Scottish wife, Chala. After working at Michael Caines at the Abode Hotel in the city for two years, The Gannet was born, followed a few years later by his now three-year-old daughter Ada.
The pandemic has been challenging for Peter and the crew of The Gannet.
"At first it was like a holiday, it was spring, we were having barbecues; then the reality set in that we wouldn't be reopening any time soon and the bank balance was starting to dwindle. We did some cooking for Drumchapel Food Bank and the community in Possel three times a week, so that kept us driven and focused.
"I found the second lockdown harder because we had gotten back into doing our thing and were busy. We opened an ‘at home service’ at the weekends with a limited menu. It kept the brand relevant rather than just mothballing it away, though we weren't making money because I bought biodegradable packaging. I didn't want to use stuff that was going to lie in a landfill, so that made it more expensive.
"I used to get up at 6.30am and work until maybe midnight, so it’s been an extreme change, only going in at 9.30am and leaving around 5pm. I'm home every evening and Sundays. I hope I will be able to get back into the routine! The one plus is being home for the past year and watching Ada grow."
Thanks to a new lockdown in 2021, plans to reopen The Gannet and return to serving stunning dishes made with local ingredients are now on hold, but Peter's side project, El Perro Negro (winner of the UK National Burger of the Year 2019 award), is forging ahead with plans to open a branch in Edinburgh soon.
"My business partners Ivan and Nick are spearheading that. We are really excited about bringing our burgers to Edinburgh and hopefully we won't be too delayed."
So, while 2020 was difficult, it brought some positives: a shiny new trophy has been added to Peter’s collection and he had the opportunity to spend quality time with his daughter. While waiting for the ovens to be fired up and his discerning clientele to return, Peter is itching to get back to where he belongs — in the kitchen.