Prime Minister to host Burns Supper in Downing Street
The Prime Minister will host a traditional Burns Supper in Downing Street this evening (Monday) in celebration of the life and works of the famous Scottish bard.
Scots from a variety of business sectors, food and drink suppliers, educational institutions and politics will join the Prime Minister and Mr May, the Secretary of State for Scotland and others for a three-course meal in the State Dining Room.
Glasgow-based ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ winner Gary Maclean will take over the Downing Street kitchen for the day to prepare the menu, made up of fresh produce from a range of Scottish suppliers.
Guests will be welcomed into Downing Street by a piper from the Scots Guards.
The Prime Minister, who will give a welcome address to guests this evening, said:
Scotland is a greatly valued part of our United Kingdom and its contribution to the UK is immense – economically, socially, and culturally.
And Robert Burns is a great example of that, as one of our finest poets, famous world-wide.
I’m very much looking forward to this evening and the chance to celebrate a great poet, a great nation and an enduring Union.
Some of the courses being prepared by the head chef, who is also a senior lecturer at Glasgow City College, are the very ones that impressed the judges during the BBC2 cookery show.
Mr Maclean said:
I’m incredibly honoured to cook for the Prime Minister and showcase the best Scottish produce, sourced from local farms and dairies for this evening’s Burns Supper.
A Burns Supper is an institution in Scottish life and it’s wonderful to be able to be part of such a celebration of the works of our national bard in Downing Street.
Mr Maclean will be joined in the kitchen by his team, which includes his fellow MasterChef contenders, Matthew Healy and James Villiers, and James McGuire, who works for Braehead Foods.