A lot can change in the space of a decade. Fashion trends come and go, cheerful children morph into surly teenagers and what once seemed like ground-breaking technology inevitably becomes obsolete. But in Glasgow’s restaurant scene at least, there has been one constant.
This year Ox and Finch, one of the city's most beloved venues, celebrates 10 years in the business with no hint of slowing down since their ‘whirlwind’ opening week in 2014. Still at its helm today is founder Jonathan MacDonald, who took a journey back in time with the Herald to share a story which began with a stint on Scotland's burgeoning street food circuit. Pictured: Jonathan MacDonald of the Ox and Finch (Image: Newsquest) “The intention was always to look for a restaurant site, but that’s a difficult thing to do and takes time,” he said.
“As a sort of precursor to the Ox and Finch we ran a pop-up restaurant at SWG3 called the Street Food Cartel and did events like the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. “At the time people like El Perro Negro, Tantrum Doughnuts and Chompsky, which went on to become Gnom, were all doing the street food thing as well. “It was a great incubator as well as a team builder and a lot of the original Ox and Finch team, some of whom are still working with us, started off doing these events.
” “It was a lot of fun, but there comes a point when you want to turn up to work knowing that you’ll have running water or be able to plug something into a wall without a ge.