Long before Dougal Kirkpatrick’s formal elevation to the position of Head Chef of a family business that goes back more than half a century he had been playing a pivotal role in what has been the steady growth of Kirkpatrick’s Catering. It had been his grandmother and after her his recently deceased mother Margery whom he said had been the twin pillars of an establishment, which, among other distinctive assignments, has fed the members of the country’s National As-sembly.
Such training as made the affable Dougal the ‘boss man’ of what he says is a firm that is “doing well” occurred under his mother’s wing. In her time, Margery had distinguished herself both as an accomplished caterer as well as a woman who constantly articulated her pride in her Chinese heritage.
Dougal – without being indifferent to his heritage – appears far more caught up in the more cosmopolitan obligations of the local food industry. Discussions on cuisine fail to lure him in pretensions of expertness in Chinese cooking. Instead, he says, he is
