He has cooked for Presidents, Royalty, Hollywood A-listers and football legends but Ferrier Richardson admitted his culinary heart will always belong to Glasgow.
The 67-year-old chef, who has magiced up dishes for Erling Haaland, Robert de Niro and the Sultan of Brunei to name but a few, is extremely proud of his Glaswegian roots.
Born in Govan, Ferrier re-established the culinary reputation of the Rogano and The Buttery, was Executive Chef at Glasgow’s first five star hotel and has owned several multi-award winning restaurants in the city.
After two decades working as private chef to the President of Gabon in Central Africa, the dad-of-two returned to Glasgow in 2022 and opened gastro pub The East End Fox in Garrowhill.
Determined to showcase the abundance of incredible eateries in his home town, Ferrier has written a new book – Glasgow on a Plate – which features 20 of the city’s best chefs and their favourite recipes.
The talented chef, who worked at One Devonshire and The Fountain in the 1980s, said: “I have worked all over the world catering for some of the most prestigious and high end clients on the planet but Glasgow will always be my culinary home – a city full of incredible restaurants and chefs.
“Glasgow is one of the foodie world’s best kept secrets and after returning to Scotland after working abroad for 20 years I noticed it more than ever.
“I have written eight “On a Plate” books including two about Glasgow but the landscape and style of food in the city has changed so much I felt it was time to do another.”
Restaurants showcased in the book, which is out now and has a foreward by Scotland’s National Chef Gary McLean, include The Gannet, Cail Bruich, Crab Shack, Ox and Finch and the Ho Wong.
The Culinary Olympics gold medallist added: “I was spoilt for choice when it came to choosing from the plethora of chefs who are hard at work in Glasgow and they have contributed their favourite recipes.
“There are a lot of great Glasgow chefs working across the globe but there are many who are still here in Scotland working their magic which means you don’t have to head across continents to find the best of produce cooked well.
“I loved every minute of my international career and I still have quite a few private clients in various countries but I’m happy and proud to be back on home turf cooking for the people of Glasgow.”
Ferrier, who was one of Scotland’s most prominent chefs in the 80s and 90s, left the country for Central Africa after being offered a job by one of Queen Elizabeth II’s aides.
And the granddad-of-one says he might still be there if it weren’t for the tragic loss of his brother Simon, who was murdered in 2018, and his mum who died from Alzheimer’s six weeks later.
Ferrier, a former Scotland’s Master Chef of the Year, said: “I worked for the President and First Lady of Gabon for the better part of five years and the job took me to some incredible places and introduced me to some amazing people.
“In 2013 I was invited to the White House as a guest of President Barack Obama and the following year I met the Queen and Prince Phillip at Buckingham Palace the night before the Commonwealth Games.
“The chefs of the Commonwealth Heads of State were all invited to a dinner and the Queen ended up speaking to me for a full ten minutes which is unheard of.
“She couldn’t believe how someone from Glasgow had ended up in Gabon as chef to the President. She asked me about the Glasgow’s Miles Better campaign and we spoke about how much the city had evolved. She was enthralled. The Duke was terrific too. I just gabbed away and thought nothing of it until afterwards.”
Ferrier, who was chef owner of Yes in Glasgow city centre and October in Bearsden, added: “The President was friends with the King of Morocco so I spent a lot of time with him and became part of his inner circle. He has houses all over the world so I got to see so many places.
“I have so many stories about my time in Gabon but the one that sticks out is when I flew into the Presidential Palace with all my dishes in cool boxes.
“After we landed I set them on the ground and stood back to watch the Chinook taking off. Every one of the cool boxes went scooting along the ground or up into the ai. Luckily the food stayed inside. I had a good laugh afterwards with the President about the ‘flying ice box? incident.’”
As well as running the East End Fox and the Auldhouse Bar in East Kilbride, Ferrier still caters for private clients including footballers, actors and international royal families.
He said: “I cooked for Robert de Niro – he was great and a real plain eater as he is conscious about his health as was Erling Haaland. I catered for him and his family for the last two summers. He is a really lovely guy and very natural.
“I look after the Sultan of Brunei for six and seven weeks of the year when he is in Spain playing polo. I’ve met a lot of amazing people – not bad for a wee boy who grew up a stone’s throw from Ibrox and left school with four O’Levels.
“I think the East End Fox customers love that the chef who has been cooking for all these famous people is also rustling up their steak pie and chips.”
Ferrier, who started out his career in the Central Hotel, added: “Returning to Glasgow after 20 years away I realised diners were gravitating towards the quality mid market sector. I looked at a few premises in the city centre but decided Garrowhill was the place to be.
“I lived most of my married life in Mount Vernon so I knew the area and the people well. Taxis are like hens’ teeth in the city centre at the weekend and Ubers cost a fortune so I created a city centre style dining experience in the East End.
“It has proved a hit and I could not be happier. I’m a proud Glaswegian and am delighted to be back doing what I do best in the city I love. My book Glasgow on a Plate pays homage to all that is great about our food.”