There are times when I miss the gruelling hours spent working in hospitality. Sandwiched behind a bar with coworkers dancing between the gantry and the ice well like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Bending, hopping and twisting around to perfectly dilute a martini while a Guinness is settling. Playing Tetris with the empty plates lifted off a table to save a trip or two. Burning your fingers on the pass. Mumbling orders like a mantra when you’ve forgotten your checkpad. Crying, sweating and laughing through 16-hour shifts in the trenches of a busy venue on the weekend.

It is a beautiful, challenging and rewarding industry. I’m sure anyone who has worked in it could tell you that. Especially in Scotland. It’s a shame that all levels of government still seem to take it for granted.

The Michelin Guide Ceremony for Great Britain and Ireland 2025 selecting Glasgow as host for its first event held outside of England was a huge vote of confidence in Scotland’s burgeoning gastronomy scene. Not unlike the Oscars for chefs, the prestigious food and drink ceremony was moving to behold. To achieve such a level of success takes resilience, sacrifice, determination, skill, love and perfection. You will probably lose a little blood in the process, maybe even the tip of a thumb. But to be recognised with a Michelin star (or two, or three) or a Bib Gourmand, wow. What an achievement. Sitting inside Kelvingrove Art Gallery on Monday night, amidst all the glitz and glamour, I couldn’t help but feel irked by the politicians who were in attendance.

You see, the industry has taken such a beating thanks to........

© Herald Scotland