Nick Nairn is one of Scotland's most exciting cookery talents.

From restaurateur to celebrity chef, Nick Nairn has had a long and pioneering career in the UK food industry. A familiar face to many due to his high-profile television appearances, Nick is equally famous for his staunch support of top-quality Scottish produce, and passionate advocacy of healthy eating. Based at his stunning Port of Menteith Cook School, Nicks hectic schedule includes teaching, filming and writing, but he is also in high demand as a food consultant, and travels the world giving cooking demonstrations and speaking on food-related issues.

Growing up in the gorgeous Scottish Trossachs, Nicks love of the outdoors and native country came early. But it wasnt until he answered an advert for a navigating officer with the merchant navy that his eyes were opened to the wonders of global cuisine.

Returning to Scotland to attend the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, he found himself experimenting in the kitchen in an attempt to copy those exotic dishes he experienced on his world travels, and it wasnt long before a fascination with food began to develop. It was a fascination that was soon to grow into a consuming passion and in 1986, he opened his first restaurant, Braeval, near Aberfoyle.

Entirely self-taught, Nick was soon causing a stir with his fresh style of cooking, and just a year after Braeval opened he won the Scottish Field and Bollinger Newcomer of the Year Award. Four years later and Nicks status as one of Scotlands finest chefs was confirmed as the restaurant was awarded a coveted Michelin star.

As his fame grew, Nick stumbled into the world of television, where his irreverent style combined with Scotlands fabulous natural produce to create Wild Harvest in 1996. Wild Harvest 2 and Island Harvest were soon to follow, all with accompanying books, and these programmes have now been enjoyed by millions of viewers around the world, from Sweden to Zimbabwe.

Other shows have included Wholl Do The Pudding, Back to Basics, and Nick Nairn and the Dinner Ladies, for which he won a Glenfiddich award in 2004. The popular 2006 series, Great British Menu, saw Nick competing against some of the countrys finest chefs before winning the opportunity to prepare the main course for Her Majesty The Queens 80th birthday banquet. But he is probably best known as a veteran of the long-running hit programme, Ready Steady Cook with Ainsley Harriott and numerous guest chefs including, Ross Burden, Antony Worrall Thompson, Brian Turner, Kevin Woodford, Silvana Franco and Lesley Waters to name but a few. Nick has co-presented Ready Steady Cook since 1996.

While his successful television career grew, Nick continued to work as a chef, opening a new establishment, Nairns Restaurant with Rooms, in 1997. It was an instant success and proved pivotal to the burgeoning Glasgow restaurant scene.

A desire to spread his knowledge of cooking good, simple food brought about the opening of his own Cook School in April 2000. With its idyllic setting in the Highlands , the school soon built up a well-deserved reputation as a foodies heaven, and in 2004, it was completely re-developed, re-opening as one of the leading cook schools in the world.

With state-of-the-art kitchens, the school has facilities for up to 20 students to enjoy hands-on cooking. Pupils also benefit from of an unprecedented level of tuition from Nick and head tutors John Webber and Alan Mathieson, as well as the chance to experience fantastic ingredients from some of Scotlands finest producers. The school is also supplied by the adjacent organic vegetable garden, managed by Nicks wife Holly, and boasts a stunning restaurant-style dining room, a wood burning pizza oven, and even a smoke house, where the chefs produce their own organic smoked salmon.

In the same year he opened his Cook School, Nick also established Nairns Anywhere, an event catering business boasting restaurant-quality food in any location. In 2001, catering giants Compass Group acquired Nairns Anywhere to provide the highest level of food and service in the prestige catering sector. Nick recently became much more involved with the company, and it is now run as a joint venture.

Through his food consultancy business, Nick Nairn Enterprise, Nick is kept busy with cooking demonstrations and public speaking. He travels across the country and around the world educating and entertaining thousands with his animated and highly enjoyable performances.

Nick is passionate about Scotlands fabulous larder and uses every possible opportunity to promote good food and healthy living. His burning ambition is to fill his fellow Scots with enthusiasm for the wonderful natural produce that surrounds them.

Nick is married to Holly and has two beautiful children, Daisy born in 2002 and Callum born in 2004.

TELEVISION
1996..BBC2 Wild Harvest with Nick Nairn
1996-present..BBC2 Presenter Ready steady Cook
1996-present..Regular contributor to BBC Food and Drink, Masterchef, Junior Masterchef, Light lunch and Carlton Daily, Friends like These, Celebrity Weakest Link, Chefs TV Blunders, Beechgrove Garden, This Morning and Good Food Live
1996-98..BBC2 Presenter Wholl do the pudding
1996..BBC2 Wild Harvest 2 with Nick Nairn
1997..BBC1 Island Harvest
1998-present..BBC1 presenter Celebrity Ready Steady Cook
1996..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 Youre a Good driver?
2003..Actor, Scottish Executive Healthy Eating advertising campaign
2003..BBC Scotland Presenter, Nick Nairn and the Dinner Ladies
2006..BBC2 Presenter, Great British Menu.

Nick is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio Scotland programmes and is in high demand for TV advertising and documentary 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 Nairns 100 Top Salmon Recipes, BBC books. February 2002
Zalm Top 100, BBC Worldwide (Holland). April 2002
Nick Nairns 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 Nairns Top 100 Chicken Recipes, BBC Books, March 2004
Great British Menu, Dorling Kindersley, April, 2006
Fish n Tips, Cassell Illustrated, 2006


NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES
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

Nick has also contributed to many other magazine and newspaper publications and written countless articles and opinion pieces.

AWARDS
1986..Scottish FieldBollinger Newcomer of the Year
1987..Acorn Award, career and Hotelkeeper magazine
1990..Scottish FieldCharles Heidsieck Scottish Restaurant of the Year
1991..Good Food Guide, Country restaurant of the Year
1991..Michelin star
1991..MacallanDecanter 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..Jacobs 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 the Baxters 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 Nairns Top 100 Chicken recipes selected in Food and Wine magazines top 25 cook books of 2004

OTHER
Board Member, Taste of Scotland 1990-2002
Patron, Queen Margarets 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, Jacobs Creek World Food Media Awards 2001, 2003, 2005