Swells' kitchen for royal yacht

IT SERVED the Royal Family for 44 years, circumnavigating the globe several times in an illustrious career before being decommissioned to save taxpayers' money.

Finally berthed in Leith, the Royal Yacht Britannia has now become one of Scotland's most popular tourist attractions.

But the magnificent vessel that played host around the world to royalty, heads of state and other distinguished guests is now to have another role - as a floating cookery school.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that negotiations between acclaimed Michelin-starred chef Martin Wishart and the RYB Trust to open a school aboard the famous yacht are now at an advanced stage.

Although the former royal yacht is no longer a working vessel after being decommissioned in 1997, it still has fully-functioning galleys that prepare "fine cuisine" for corporate guests.

The plan is to open the Britannia, which is berthed next to the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, as a cookery school, alongside its main role as a tourist magnet.

Wishart, described last year by Britain's best-known chef, Gordon Ramsay, as "Scotland's next big thing, no question", hopes that the Britannia will prove an irresistible pull for would-be chefs who want to learn to cook in the galley where the Royal Family's food was prepared.

A source close to the deal said: "Contracts are about to be signed. This will be a cookery school for ordinary customers who want to learn how to prepare top quality dishes in great surroundings. The plan will be to open sometime in the spring of next year when the kitchens have been sorted out."

But opening the school at the prestigious site is likely to bring Wishart into competition with TV chef Nick Nairn, who also ran a Michelin-starred restaurant before quitting to set up his cookery school business at the Lake of Menteith, near Stirling. Nairn, who cooked for the Queen earlier this year, says he is planning to expand his empire to new locations in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Cheshire and London. "So, hello Martin," he joked.

Cookery schools have now become big business in the UK, with customers willing to part with hundreds of pounds for a day-long course with a top chef. So far, Nairn, who tired of the pressures of cooking to Michelin-star standards, is the only big name from the Scottish culinary world to take the plunge.

But Wishart, who was named the 2006 Scottish Chef of the Year last May and is expected to gain his second Michelin star in the near future, is known as a fiercely-driven individual keen to expand his business. Sources say he believes the Britannia's royal cachet will be the perfect background for a school of high quality, adding to the success of his eponymous restaurant on The Shore at Leith.

Both Wishart and the RYB Trust, which runs the Britannia, said they did not want to comment on the collaboration until contracts were signed.

Since being given a permanent berth at Leith, the Britannia has won a series of accolades and was among the finalists of the Scottish Tourism Business of the Year in 2004.

It is now Scotland's seventh-most popular paid-for tourist attraction and last year welcomed its two millionth visitor.

The galleys, where meals were prepared for the Royal Family and their guests - including Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Dame Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin and Rajiv Gandhi - are next to the ship's elegant State Dining Room.

The huge space, which can cater for around 100 seated guests, is now hired out to companies willing to pay at least £155 per head for an onboard package including the "finest cuisine". But the RYB Trust is also keen to explore new ways of raising revenue to preserve the yacht for future generations.

But Nairn, who charges his customers at least £155 for a day-long course, said: "Anyone who goes into the cookery school market will find it much harder than anyone can imagine. We lost £200,000 in the first three years. They are difficult things to establish and difficult things to make succeed.

"It is not enough to have a good chef at the helm, you have to have good communicators as well. You have to have culinary authority but also the ability to be able to talk to the customers and not many chefs can handle that over the course of seven hours."

After rising to TV fame on Ready, Steady, Cook, Nairn opened his school in 2000 following the closure of his own restaurant in Glasgow.

"I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved - we had 1,000 people through in the first year but 7,000 in 2005 - and I honestly believe it is one of the best cookery schools in the world."

Nairn says there is probably room for both he and Wishart to co-exist. "If Martin goes ahead then very good luck to him," he said. "He's a very talented guy with a good business head. I am sure there is plenty of room for the both of us."