A Scottish chef has told of an 'Olympic adventure' which saw him cooking for the likes of Jackie Chan and US President George W Bush as the first full week of the 2024 games reaches its midway point.
Marc Honeyman currently enjoys a career as the executive chef at restaurant group Hunky Dory, owners of restaurants including Zhima, Chaakoo, Panang, and Topolabamba which operate across Glasgow and Edinburgh.
It was in 2008, however, that a ‘dream work trip’ prompted him to travel to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games as part of a $1.8m catering operation from US broadcaster NBC with ‘no expense spared’.
Honeyman was part of teams of 20 chefs working round the clock at any one time over six weeks, helping serve more than 900 people three times a day including athletes, celebrities, politicians, broadcasters, and NBC staff and crew.
Dishes included an array of assorted Chinese cuisine, as well as American favourites including hamburgers, fries, and pancake stacks, said to be a favourite of US swimming star Michael Phelps.
Of the other famous diners who left a lasting impression on the chef, he said: “Prince Albert of Monaco heard my accent and asked ‘Green or Blue’.
“We had a laugh about it and he even asked me to join him for lunch to talk about Scottish football.
“Another time I overheard voices I knew I recognised, looked up and there was Chris Tucker, he was great guy, brand new.
“Jackie Chan then joined him later for something to eat. It was surreal.
“ President Bush also visited the site, but we weren’t anywhere near him.
“I did cook for him though, and one of his secret service guys gave me one of his pin badges.”
Honeyman, who turned to kitchens after deciding against a career in accountancy, landed the job after working for the same broadcaster at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he helped turn out 400 burgers, 300 salmon fillets, and 200 steaks every day.
Having worked on night shifts throughout those Games, and frustrated to have missed out on all the sporting action, for the Beijing Olympics he insisted on early shifts.
In doing so he was able to take in some of the most famous moments in Olympic history, including some of Phelps’ record-breaking eight gold medals, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s 100m world record.
He also landed courtside seats to watch the iconic US ‘Dream Team’ basketball side that contained megastar Lebron James after being recognised by an NBC colleague.
“I was sitting in the gods, but one of the guys from NBC recognised me from the kitchen and asked why I was up there.
“They arranged for me to come down to courtside – which was amazing. I was a few feet from Lebron James, it was unreal.
“The early shifts worked perfectly, and to be there for Bolt’s record was probably the most special memory.
“That was sporting history.”
As executive chef at Hunky Dory Group, Honeyman now lives with his family in Gartcosh, and enjoys a career which involves designing menus, training staff, and being responsible for the kitchens in seven Hunky Dory restaurants across Glasgow and Edinburgh.
He said: “I wasn’t cut out for the 9 to 5 in an office.
“I’m meant to be in the trenches in the kitchen.
“It’s been a great career. I love the variety, and it’s given me these incredible Olympic experiences.
“I’m now passing on what I’ve learned to other teams and guiding what we do in the kitchen, opening new restaurants all the time. It’s incredibly rewarding.
“I’m proud of where I came from.
“Growing up in a council scheme in the East End of Glasgow. You get back what you put in, and if you put in the effort, it works out for you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games kicked off with an opening ceremony on Friday, July 26 and will continue until Sunday, August 11.
To keep up with the Herald's sport coverage, click here.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here