{"id":114379,"date":"2025-05-19T13:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/114379\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:00:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:00:12","slug":"in-a-nutshell-craig-nelson-from-ox-and-finch-i-love-to-listen-to-classical-music-in-the-car-but-i-dont-enjoy-music-in-the-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/114379\/","title":{"rendered":"In a Nutshell, Craig Nelson from Ox and Finch: ‘I love to listen to classical music in the car, but I don’t enjoy music in the kitchen’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally from East Kilbride, Craig Nelson began his culinary journey at Lanarkshire Catering School. In October 2020, he moved to London and worked at the renowned Harwood Arms, London\u2019s only Michelin-starred pub. Having started his career at Ox and Finch<\/a> in Glasgow he decided to return to their kitchen as Head Chef as they re-opened.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the closest thing you have to a signature dish:<\/b><\/p>\n

Bbq bream crudo, dashi and citrus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Describe your style of cuisine in ten words:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Modern with classic techniques \u00a0<\/p>\n

Best and\/or most memorable meal you\u2019ve ever eaten:<\/b><\/p>\n

Dinner at The Ledbury.<\/p>\n

Worst\/weirdest thing you\u2019ve ever eaten:<\/b><\/p>\n

Fermented fish from a tin, I\u2019m not in a rush to see that again!<\/p>\n

Worst thing you\u2019ve ever cooked:<\/b><\/p>\n

I tried to make stir fried noodles with cod for a dinner date once, and it couldn\u2019t have gone any worse.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the dish that you\u2019re most proud of having cooked:<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a particular dish, but running the sauce section at The Harwood Arms is still my proudest moment to date.<\/p>\n

Favourite ingredient:<\/b><\/p>\n

Any type of acidity, vinegar especially. I just love how much it can lift a dish.<\/p>\n

Your go-to recipe book:<\/b><\/p>\n

The French Laundry Cookbook, an unreal and inspiring book.<\/p>\n

What other country\u2019s cuisine really excites and intrigues you?<\/b><\/p>\n

South East Asian\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most you\u2019ve ever paid for a meal:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a31400\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your favourite Scottish chef:<\/b><\/p>\n

Ron Mckinkey\u00a0<\/p>\n

Favourite chef outside Scotland:<\/b><\/p>\n

Josh Cutress, he has an unreal knowledge about cooking\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who taught you to cook or ignited your passion for food as a youngster:<\/b><\/p>\n

Many different chefs. Brett Graham is definitely the most inspiring chef I have worked with\/for.<\/p>\n

Most important lesson a young chef can learn:<\/b><\/p>\n

Listen, be on time and just say yes.<\/p>\n

Culinary mentor \u2013 the most important person in your development as a professional chef:<\/b><\/p>\n

Josh Cutress, Jake Leach and Brett Graham\u00a0<\/p>\n

Best thing about the industry:<\/b><\/p>\n

The people\u00a0<\/p>\n

Worst thing about the industry:<\/b><\/p>\n

I have no issue with it, but I think others would say the demanding and unsocial hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the biggest sin a chef can commit:<\/b><\/p>\n

Lying. It just does not get you anywhere or help anything.<\/p>\n

What do you eat when you\u2019re at home:<\/b><\/p>\n

Pasta, a lot of pasta.<\/p>\n

Celebrity guest or your perfect dinner party \u2013 who would you most like to cook for:<\/b><\/p>\n

Anthony Bourdain.<\/p>\n

Tell me a something about you that virtually no-one knows:<\/b><\/p>\n

I love to listen to classical music in the car.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite wine?<\/b><\/p>\n

Ch\u00e2teauneuf du pape \u2013 Aleks from The Harwood introduced me to it and I\u2019ve never looked back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your spirit of choice?<\/b><\/p>\n

Gin.<\/p>\n

Do you play music in the kitchen and, if so, what\u2019s your go-to track or artist:<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t enjoy music in the kitchen, I can\u2019t hear myself think.<\/p>\n

If you weren\u2019t a chef, what would you be:<\/b><\/p>\n

Probably a plumber or joiner.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read our full review of Ox and Finch here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subscribe<\/a>\u00a0to read the latest issue of Scottish Field.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Originally from East Kilbride, Craig Nelson began his culinary journey at Lanarkshire Catering School. In October 2020, he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,1203,918,4884,51676,51677,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-114379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-food","10":"tag-glasgow","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-in-a-nutshell","13":"tag-ox-and-finch","14":"tag-scotland","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114534627649087192","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}