Television
1996 BBC2 Wild Harvest with Nick Nairn
1996-present BBC2 presenter Ready Steady Cook
1996-present Regular contributor to Food and Drink, Masterchef, Junior
Masterchef, Light lunch and Carlton Daily, appearances on Friends Like These, Celebrity Weakest Link, Chefs TV Blunders, Beechgrove Garden, This Morning and Good Food Live
1996-98 BBC2 Presenter Who’ll Do The Pudding
1996 BBC2 Wild Harvest 2 with Nick Nairn
1997 BBC1 Island Harvest
1998-present BBC1 presenter Celebrity Ready Steady Cook
1998 ITV presenter GMTV Christmas Cooking with Nick Nairn
2000 Carlton TV, presenter, Back To Basics with Nick Nairn
2000 BBC radio Scotland, presenter Cooking With History
2001 BBC2 presenter Kitchen Invaders
2001 Foodfest 2001, TV advertising campaign
2002 BBC1 presenter So You Think You’re A Good Driver?
2003 Actor, Scottish Executive Healthy Eating advertising campaign
2003 BBC Scotland presenter, Nick Nairn And The Dinner Ladies
2006 BBC2, finalist for Scotland, Great British Menu
2007-present BBC1 presenter and contributor, Saturday Kitchen
2007-present BBC2 Scotland co-presenter, Landward
2007 BBC2 represented Scotland, Great British Menu
2009 BBC1 The One Show, presented one-off specials
2009 BBC2 Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is
2009 BBC2, presenter, Eating In The Sun
2009 ITV, presenter, Taste The Nation
2010 Channel 4, co-presenter, Iron Chef UK
Nick is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio Scotland programmes and is in high demand for voice-over work.
Books
Wild Harvest BBC Books, 1996
Wild Harvest II, BBC Books, 1997
Island Harvest, BBC Books, 1998
Meat, Game and Poultry, Orion, 1997
Nick Nairn Does the Main Course + video, BBC books, 1998
Big Ready Steady Cook Book, BBC Books, 1997
Great Food, West 175, 1998
Nick Nairn Cooks Desserts + video, BBC Books 1998
Tower Pressure Cooker Recipe Book, Pifco Ltd. 1999
Island Harvest (USA), West 175, 2000
Nick Nairn’s 100 Top Salmon Recipes, BBC books. February 2002
Zalm Top 100, BBC Worldwide (Holland). April 2002
Nick Nairn’s Top 100 Salmon Recipes (USA) West 175, 2002
Simply Lamb, Quality Meat Scotland, September 2002
Russell Hobbs Steamer Recipe Book, Salton Europe. September 2002
New Scottish Cookery, BBC Books, November 2002
The Ready Steady Cook Book, BBC Books. September 2003
New Scottish Cookery (paperback) BBC Books. January 2004
Nick Nairn’s Top 100 Chicken Recipes, BBC Books, March 2004
Great British Menu, Dorling Kindersley, April, 2006
Fish ‘n’ Tips, Cassell Illustrated, 2006
Nick Nairn Cook School, 2008
Newspapers and Magazine Publications
1997-2000 Weekly columnist, Sunday Mail
1997-present Regular contributor, BBC Good Food Magazine
1998-1998 Contributor, Ready Steady Cook part-work series
2000-2001 Weekly Diary, Sunday Herald
2000-2004 Fortnightly Food Column, Sunday Herald Magazine
2000- 2004 Quarterly Food Column Scots Magazine, Scots Heritage Pty,
Australia
2008-present Weekly Food Column Spectrum Magazine, Scotland On Sunday
Nick has also contributed to many other magazine and newspaper publications and written countless articles and opinion pieces.
Awards
1986 Scottish Field/Bollinger Newcomer of the Year
1987 Acorn Award, Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine
1990 Scottish Field/Charles Heidsieck Scottish Restaurant of the Year
1991 Good Food Guide, Country Restaurant of the Year
1991 Michelin star
1991 Macallan/Decanter Restaurant of the Year
1992 Member Masterchefs of Great Britain
1991 Founder member Scottish Chefs Association
1996 Scottish Chef of the Year
1998 President Drambuie Chefs School
1998 Tourist Board Thistle Award for Tourism And The Media
1998 Jacob’s Creek World Food Media Award – Silver Ladle for Best Television Show (Island Harvest)
2000 Winners @the Web Design and Innovation
2000 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards 2000 for contribution to Food & Drink
2002 Personality of The Year, Food Processing Awards 2002 for development of Baxter’s sauce range
2002 Best Cookware and Bakeware, 2002 Housewares Industry Awards. For Nick Nairn / Tower Cookware range
2003 Fellowship to the Master Chefs of Great Britain
2004 Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards – Winner Best Food and Drink TV Show for Nick Nairn And The Dinner Ladies
2005 Nick Nairn’s Top 100 Chicken recipes selected in Food and Wine magazine’s top 25 cook books of 2004
2007 Honorary Doctorate from Stirling University for outstanding contribution to Scottish cuisine and work in promoting healthy eating
Other
Board Member, Taste of Scotland 1990-2002
Patron, Queen Margaret’s University College, Edinburgh 1998-2003
Patron, Community Action for Food in Faifley (CAFF) 1998-2001
Consultant, Compass Group UK 1998-2001
Consultant, Royal Bank of Scotland Executive Dining 1998 -2004
Consultant, Ewos/Aquascot Seafarms 1998 -
Consultant, SECC Foodfest
Spokesman, Quality Meat Scotland 1998 -
Spokesman, CASH (Consensus Action on Salt and Health) 1999 -
Food Champion Consultant for The Scottish Executive Healthy Eating Campaign
Judge, Jacob’s Creek World Food Media Awards - 2001, 2003, 2005
Consultant, Lidl 2006 -
Consultant, Doubletree by Hilton, Dunblane Hydro 2009 -
Consultant, Erskine Garden Centre & Coffee Shop 2009 -
Nick Nairn is Scotland’s best-known chef, in high demand for his cooking skills, as a food consultant, television presenter and personality and also as a prominent spokesperson on diet and Scottish produce. These days he uses his integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and talents to spread the word about Scotland’s wonderful natural larder and in helping people cook and eat better.
Nick owns, teaches at and bases all arms of his business at the acclaimed Nick Nairn Cook School on the beautiful shores of the Lake of Menteith. His second Cook School in Aberdeen is due to open in 2012. His Nick Nairn Food Consultancy goes from strength to strength with a successful cereal, bread and biscuit food range available in supermarkets, and with more produce in the pipeline. And in 2009, Nick put his name to The Kailyard by Nick Nairn restaurant at the stunning Doubletree by Hilton, Dunblane Hydro. The consultancy also has a hand in the veteran charity Erskine Hospital’s cafe at the Erskine Garden Centre not far from Glasgow. Nick also has partnerships with Falcon ovens, Kitchens International, Jaguar, Lidl, and many others.
Nick has published ten cookery books with sales well in excess of 500,000 copies, and appears regularly on television as a food presenter on Landward and The One Show, and is a regular chef on Saturday Kitchen. He has recently completed his latest TV project with fellow chef and friend Paul Rankin, filmed around the West Coasts of Ireland and Scotland. This is due to be shown in 2012. He has also made a succession of successful BBC television series, from Wild Harvest, Wild Harvest 2 and Island Harvest, to his show Nick Nairn and The Dinner Ladies, which won a Glenfiddich Award. He also represented Scotland in the finals of Great British Menu, ultimately winning the opportunity to cook his Scottish venison dish for The Queen’s 80th birthday banquet.
In 2007 Stirling University recognised his contributions to Scottish cuisine and his work in promoting healthy eating and awarded him an honorary doctorate.Nick started his working life travelling the oceans as part of the Merchant Navy and relished sampling the street food of the world. When he came home to Scotland and tried his own hand at cooking he found an untapped talent. He literally taught himself the skills that led to him becoming Scotland’s youngest Michelin-starred chef in 1991 at his first restaurant, Braeval, in the Trossachs. He went on to open Nairns restaurant in Glasgow in 1997 also to international acclaim.
For more details about Nick, see the lists of his work, books, television and more, at the top of the page. And for any further information call Julia Forster on 01877 389909.
