Fresh out of school with a bit of kitchen portering experience already under his belt, Chris McCall got a job at the Michelin-starred Airds Hotel in Port Appin where he worked under head chef, Steve MacCallum, who was a keen forager and used to take his staff out to pick mushrooms, gather seaweeds, rake cockles, put down crab pots and go out on Loch Linnhe in a dodgy little rented boat that was forever breaking down to catch whatever they c