Edinburgh chef-restaurateur announces series of female-chef collaborations
Acclaimed Edinburgh chef and restaurateur Roberta Hall-McCarron is partnering with school-breakfast charity, Magic Breakfast, to launch ‘Magic Dinners’, a series of collaborations with female chefs from across the UK. The chefs include Rosie Maguire, Gemma Dallyn, Amber Francis, Julie Lin, Flora Phillips, Ruth Hansom and Flora Shedden.
The dinner collaborations will take place across Roberta’s three restaurants – The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern. The series begins on 27 October, at Eleanore, with Rosie Maguire of Higher Ground restaurant in Manchester.
Depending on the venue, menus will be priced between £60-£100, with 20 per cent of each bill donated to Magic Breakfast. The donations will support the charity’s work in offering breakfast and expert advice to tackle morning hunger in schools across Scotland and England.
Rosie will be bringing some of the seasonal produce from Higher Ground’s Cinderwood market garden. Priced at £75, the menu will feature dishes such as Cured halibut, apple and shiso; baked scallop, Calabrian chilli and saffron hollandaise; and roe-deer saddle, Cinderwood squash, cavolo nero and preserved garlic.
On 12 December, Roberta will welcome Gemma Dallyn, Scottish chef and recipe developer, who will bring her take on seasonal Scottish cooking. In the New Year, the collaborations move to The Little Chartroom, with food-education advocate and Great British Menu ‘Champion of Champions’, Amber Francis joining Roberta on 9 February.
On 2 March, chef and TV presenter Julie Lin, of Edinburgh’s Mexican and Malaysian fusion spot Tacos Lah will join Roberta at Ardfern, which will also be the venue for the collaboration with butcher and chef Flora Phillips, on 23 March.
Magic Dinners will then return to The Little Chartroom on 6 April, when the Craft Guild of Chefs’ National Chef of The Year Ruth Hansom will bring an ultra-seasonal style of cooking from her North Yorkshire restaurant. The series will continue into May, as Aran Bakery’s Flora Shedden joins Roberta at The Little Chartroom.
Roberta has previously supported Magic Breakfast with its Fuel For Success campaign which donates £1 from every bill towards children’s breakfast during exam season.
She said: "Magic Breakfast is a charity working towards such an important cause and I am delighted to be able to support it in any way possible. Beyond getting involved with the Fuel for Success campaign, I am glad we can continue working together, whether that’s making pancakes with the kids at The Little Chartroom and or through Magic Dinners."
Ali Roberts, head of corporate partnerships at Magic Breakfast added: "Magic Breakfast is delighted to be working with Roberta and the Little Chartroom restaurant group.
“Through their fantastic Magic Dinners initiative, they are helping to provide more nutritious breakfasts for children and young people at risk of starting their day hungry. A nourishing breakfast helps ensure that children and young people have the fuel they need to learn and thrive.”
The series of collaborations will continue throughout 2027, with more names to be confirmed at a later date.
Pictured: Roberta Hall-McCarron
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