Out of the Frying Pan... Mark Slaney & Conor Toomey, Condita


I've designed this  Q&A in order to give people an insight into working in the hospitality industry in order to prove that it's not all long hours stuck in a hot kitchen, having no social life and dealing with tricky customers.  Working in hospitality has given me the opportunity to learn essential life skills, travel, meet amazing new people, promote independent businesses and, of course, eat some amazing food - not many careers can offer that!  To help me paint the picture, I'll be catching up with a variety of different people to show just how diverse and rewarding life in food and drink can be.  

Condita is the brainchild of restaurateur, Mark Slaney. Mark has an extensive background in the wine industry and also runs a consultancy business. By opening his own restaurant, he is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Behind the stove is South African-born chef Conor Toomey, who has worked in several Michelin starred establishments across the UK, including as sous chef under Michael Wignall when The Latymer held two stars.

I have enjoyed two outstanding meals at Condita this year and really bought into the concept, not just the superb food, but for the first class service, too. What struck me about the Condita story was the attention to detail put in by Mark and the team. Every element from the cutlery to the decor seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, unveiling Mark's concept piece by piece. I caught up with Mark and Conor to chat all things Condita.


Mark, tell me about the concept of Condita?
The concept was to create somewhere to enjoy a dining experience that was exciting, innovative, and imbued with passion.

You once told me you have several box files of ideas you had jotted down for opening a restaurant and your attention to detail is stamped all over Condita. Talk me through the journey of Condita from the initial idea to opening the doors?

From conception to launch was well over two years. It took that long to plan everything out. We thought about everything in great detail. To give just one small example we decided that we wanted everyone to be seated on round tables and to have plenty of elbow room. That led us to look at table manufacturers and consider materials that tables were made from. Starched white table cloths are still widely used in restaurants but I wasn’t happy with the environmental impact of using these so we rejected the idea of table cloths. That meant we needed tables that looked beautiful but we also wanted something that was made in Scotland and thus in the end we decided upon using tables made by McIntosh of Kirkcaldy. The only problem was they stopped being produced in the 1970’s so we had to scour the country for second hand ones and then restore them and the matching chairs that originally went with them. This was a major undertaking but was well worth it.

Being from a family of hoteliers/restaurateurs, was opening your own restaurant always an ambition?

Absolutely but the longer I worked in different restaurants the more I learned, so I decided not to rush into things. I’ve been fortunate to work for many inspirational people who were driven by a passion for what they did and I guess a lot of that has rubbed off on me. It has also made me believe that, first and last, passion counts for so much. Restaurants that are set up without that at their core, for me, lack something and I think eventually it shows.

How did you know you were ready to make this huge commitment?

How does one know when one is ready to become a parent? You just hope and you give it your best shot.

You appointed Conor Toomey to head up the kitchen.  Tell me about how you met Conor? How did you know he was the right man for the job?

I was looking for a Head Chef for a long while and had put the word out and plenty of really good top chefs had come to meet me. When I met Conor I quickly realised that he really “got” what I had in my mind and he made me feel that what Condita was offering was just what he had been waiting for. I immediately liked him as a person too and it felt right; I could see us working together and I trusted my instincts and quickly offered him the job.

You’re approaching your first full year of trading.  Has it been as you expected? Highlights and hiccups?

No, it’s not been as I expected, it has been even more enjoyable and satisfying than I imagined. The place is very small and very personal and looking after guests, many of whom take the trouble to write lovely reviews about Condita, makes me feel very happy because they’ve clearly had a great time experiencing what we provide. It’s very emotionally rewarding. Highlights: opening the newspaper and reading a two page article about one’s restaurant. Hiccups: shipping some wines from Italy for a special event one time and having them held up in transit.

Condita has received excellent reviews from notable critics such as Joanna Blythman and Gaby Soutar. When you find out there’s been a review published in the press, what were/are your initial thoughts? Nervous? Excitement? You must have been delighted afterwards?

Reviews are our life blood because Condita has never done any advertising and we don’t do any discounting or deals. We offer what we do and we charge everyone the same price for what we do. I have always felt uncomfortable with the notion of charging one person one price and then the next day, or even the same day, charging someone else a different price for the same thing.

Our business depends on recommendation and not by deals and discounts. Being recommended by a notable food writer is a huge deal for Condita; everyone’s job really hangs on this and after the team has read a good review in the press it makes us all very proud of what we’re doing.

Condita benefits from having a kitchen garden in the Scottish Borders with seasonality an important factor in your food. Talk me through the menu/dish development process between you and Conor?

Conor tells me what ingredients he is planning to work with next and I think about wine pairings. He spends a lot of time working on new dishes and playing around with flavour and texture combinations. He is very careful to keep all eight dishes balanced as well. He gives me the new dish to taste and we try some wine options alongside it. If we are both happy then the dish goes “live” usually the next week. If we aren’t happy we work on it for another week. If we both aren’t happy with it then it doesn’t get served to guests.

Conor, how would you describe your cooking style? Any particular influences?

My cooking is quite fluid, I don’t I think I have a particular style as such. For me the most important thing is focusing on the ingredient and not to over complicate the dish by confusing it with too much. Influences are so varied, obviously some of the amazing chefs I have had the privilege to work for, I also really like using Asian flavours things like Umeboshi, white soya and quite a few others.

You’re used to working in hotels with (presumably) large kitchens and bigger brigades. How difficult was it getting used to the tiny kitchen at Condita?

It’s actually quite nice only being two in the kitchen, I don’t think I would want to be many more, soon as you start to get bigger it can be like herding cats. So it's great to be honest.

In a conscious bid to cut down on food waste, you operate a “bookings only” policy. How important was this to you when you opened your own place? What are the other key ways to reduce waste in a professional kitchen?

Working with “bookings only” is a huge deal for us. I don’t see how you can serve fresh food that takes a long time to prepare without knowing how many people you are cooking for unless you are willing to take a gamble on wasting food. My grandfather had a kitchen garden and I leaned the joy of growing one’s own food from him. I think we’ve got into the habit of wasting food no small thanks to supermarkets making food too cheap and easy to buy and encouraging us to buy too much with stupid deals and packaging. I’ll hold back from going into a rant!

Your background is largely in the wine industry.  What makes a great wine list?

I used to think that a great wine list was one that listed hundreds of wines that were perceived to be “great” wines. Now I think that a great wine list is one that shows passion.

You have hosted a number of guest speakers at Condita. Do you have anything in the pipeline?

Nothing finalised just yet but it is really gratifying when winemakers that we buy from offer to fly over here to support us.

What sort of food do you rustle up at home?

It’s invariably fresh and we’re fortunate to have a decent butcher and a great fishmonger in Peebles where we live.

I know you spend your holidays dining in Michelin starred restaurants. If you could eat in any restaurant tomorrow, whether it be one you’ve already dined in or one that’s on your bucket list, where would it be and why?

Mielcke & Hurtigkarl in Copenhagen. It’s magic.

What ambitions do you have for Condita in the future?

I don’t intend to change it, move to larger premises, replicate it or do anything that might compromise what we’ve achieved. My ambition is that we can get better at what we do.


Lastly, what are the best and worst things about the food scene in Edinburgh?


Mark: I started eating in Edinburgh in the early 1980’s. There were not quite so many places to choose from then but there were plenty of good places to eat then just as there are now. Food tastes, styles and fashions evolve. The men’s toilets in Condita are wallpapered with pages from Gourmet magazines of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the food photos are so of their time, just as I guess, todays will be in fifty years’ time. Today Copenhagen has become an international food destination, and rightly so. Scotland has a fantastic natural larder so Edinburgh could easily become another international food destination.

Conor: The restaurant scene in Edinburgh seems to be growing quite rapidly, so it's nice to be here at this time. Quite a lot of talented chefs coming in, the old guard still giving us something to push towards. I quite like that there a small restaurants popping up opposed to chain restaurants, I think that's a great sign for the future. 


Condita.co.uk

Read my review of Condita here

Several pictures used courtesy of Condita.


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