'I love chips and cheese' - Meet the chef at Edinburgh's loveliest restaurant
We asked this chef 11 foodie questions
Claire Hanrahan, co-owner and chef at Norah in Edinburgh’s Newhaven
What is your first food memory?
Eating cocktail sausages at my third birthday party. I wolfed down more than my tiny body could handle.
How would you describe your cooking style?
Simple and seasonal. Working with Lloyd Morse from The Palmerston has been a huge influence on the way that I cook and instilled into me the belief that we can let good produce do all the work. Our job is just not to mess it up.
What's your ultimate guilty food pleasure?
Chips and cheese, or chips for breakfast, but I have no guilt over that.
What is your favourite food destination, outside Scotland?
It's a toss-up between Lisbon and Bologna but I think purely for sentimental reasons Lisbon wins. I still dream about the salt cod from restaurant Ze da Mouraria. It was served on a big silver platter with a load of chickpeas, potatoes and vinegary cabbage.
Favourite cookbook and why?
It's a specific copy of a specific book. When we opened Norah my mum gave me the original copy of Myrtle Allen's Ballymaloe Cookbook that her mum had given to her. It sits on the shelf at Norah and is a little reminder of the women who helped shape what Norah has become.
What's your favourite Scottish restaurant/cafe/bar/deli?
If you’re looking for an overall winner then it’s Gloriosa hands down, I love the way they approach seasonal cooking and I have never had a bad meal there. We keep meaning to explore Glasgow's food scene more, but every time I'm through in the west I just find myself drawn back to Gloriosa.
Favourite ingredient?
A lashing of olive oil makes basically everything better.
Worst ingredient?
Truffle oil - anything truffle related will never cross Norah's threshold.
What has been your biggest kitchen nightmare?
Working at The Palmerston on a busy Friday night and making an entire potato gratin before realising that the salt and the sugar had been switched. I’ve also dropped many freshly baked cakes right on the floor.
Who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party and what would you eat?
Graham Norton, PJ and Kevin from the podcast I'm Grand Mam alongside a bunch of my real friends. We’d have roast chicken, chips and a huge green salad.
And what are you up to these days?
Norah's keeping me busy through the week and we've got some exciting things in the pipeline including our first pop-up from Ireland which we can't wait for. I'm a massive Edinburgh Festival Fringe fan so I really threw myself into it over August and will likely be in hibernation outside of work for the foreseeable as a result.
3 Pier Place, Edinburgh (www.norahnewhaven.co.uk)
Read more: “The seaside 'labour of love' restaurant that's opened in time for the Edinburgh Festival”
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