The Ralston family must have clarified butter or stock running through their veins.
There’s middle brother, Stuart, 36, who runs Edinburgh restaurants, Noto and Aizle, and is a regular on BBC Two’s Great British Menu, and eldest brother Scott is the head chef at the White Horse Oyster & Seafood Bar on the Royal Mile.
The youngest of the trio, who were all raised in Glenrothes, is Calum, 32, with 15 years experience in the capital’s hospitality scene, including stints working under both his brothers and at Bruntsfield steak restaurant The Chop House.
He’s just taken over the kitchen at 83 Hanover Street basement venue, Superico, which has a sister bar along the road at number 99 that was designed by Edinburgh design house, Ja!Coco! and won the Bar, Club & Lounge category at last year’s Hospitality Design Awards in the US.
“The restaurant’s unconventional menu, the cocktail bar’s bold interior design and the exceptional service sets them apart from many of the other leading hospitality venues in Edinburgh’s New Town,” says Ralston junior. “More than ever before, I think people are looking for unique and quality dining experiences that excite their senses, transport them to somewhere exotic and reflect the latest food trends and flavours from around the world”.
Superico will soon be switching up its South American food list and launching a new concept restaurant and cocktail bar menu under its established mixologist and bar manager, Mike Lynch, as well as their new chef, who describes his cooking style as “simple, clean and fresh”. Expect Japanese, Asian, South American and French twists.
The new and vibrant-sounding dishes include rump cap steak, prawns and mojo rojo, crispy potato and cured egg yolk; cod bisque with pancetta and Parmesan crumb, mozzarella and romesco; oysters with dill oil and yuzu mayo; seabass with samphire, citrus dressing, lemon and mint butter; plus miso baked aubergine with sesame, Szechuan, spiced tomato and coconut rice.
While, there will still be some of Lynch’s signature cocktails, such as the padron Martini, using padron peppers, blood orange spritz and their peach negroni.
Ralston will also be using a lot of the same producers as his brothers do, including the meat, which will be sourced from butcher, John Henderson, who is based in their home town of Glenrothes.
However, there are variations between the siblings.
"My brothers really taught me to maximise produce effectively, keep the food about flavour and taste and not to worry so much about bells and whistles, respect the ingredients, work clean and try to improve every day,” says Calum. "I'd say where we differ is that they're much further along their journey of being head chefs and restaurant owners. This is all very new territory for me, so I'm really trying to take all those great lessons they've taught me over my life into the new menu at Superico. It's difficult to compare my style with theirs, but they have given me all my experience to start my own journey as a chef."
Superico, 83 Hanover Street, www.superico.com
