Years later, as the hospitality industry slowly crept back to life after a long series of Covid lockdowns, the pair would decide it was time for a change of scene.
Little did they know that this time away would ultimately lead them back to Scotland, filled with a sense of purpose and inspired by the culinary adventures they had shared.
“While we were doing that, we started to think about opening our own place.
“It was one of those pipe dreams that the more you talk about, the more serious you get until all of a sudden, we were actually looking for a restaurant space.
“A lot of people asked if we were tempted to stay in London, but for us, it was always going to be Edinburgh.”
Pictured: Nàdair is the first solo venture from the chef duo (Image: Supplied) Beyond harbouring a natural fondness for the city in which they had met, the couple says it was the strong relationships they had forged with local suppliers and the unrivalled calibre of Scottish produce that solidified their decision to return.
Mr Keery continues: “From a chef’s point of view, one of the things we missed most about living and working in Edinburgh was all the amazing produce that was available to us.
“Everything that grows in Scotland just seems very unspoilt and natural: it’s unlike anywhere else.
“We now work with a team of five suppliers including a forager who comes into the restaurant two times a week with bags of the most amazing stuff.
“They make our job really easy.
“All we have to do then is figure out how to cook it all.”
Pictured: Salt baked celeriac, celeriac skin & woodruff consomme, fried brioche and buckwheat (Image: Supplied)
These locally sourced and foraged ingredients form the backbone of Nàdair, the pair’s first solo venture which takes its name from the Scottish Gaelic word for nature.
After a total renovation of the space, the 20-seat restaurant opened on Roseneath Street in Marchmont this Autumn with Keery in the role of head chef and Baldry taking charge of the pastry section.
Together, they offer a five-course tasting menu which evolves daily according to what is in season, with foraged fruits and herbs also used to create flavourful infusions for their cocktail offering.
Pictured: A pine martini using foraged ingredients (Image: Supplied)
“It’s been so great to see that our regulars seem genuinely interested in what’s on the menu,” Baldry says of their Scandi-influenced dishes which have so far included foraged chanterelles with cultured cream, sea trout with onion, buttermilk and sweet cicely and dry-aged sirloin with celeriac, beetroot, sea sandwort to name but a few.
“We run a lot of the food out ourselves, and our service style is quite casual, which means that we have the time to chat and the feedback so far has been really positive.
“I know that other chefs like to plan everything in advance, but having new ingredients in every week makes things a lot more exciting.
“I think without that, the customers here would get bored quickly and we would be bored in the kitchen too.”
Pictured: The intimate, 20-seat restaurant has received glowing reviews for its Scandi-influenced dishes prepared with Scottish produce (Image: Supplied)
While discussing their menu and vision for Nàdair, this chef-y couple seems totally in sync, with equal levels of passion and enthusiasm dedicated to creating new culinary experiences for their customers.
Asked if there are any challenges to running a kitchen with your other half, Keery jokes that he’ll leave that one to his partner, giving Balrdy a laugh before she replies earnestly: “I think we have different parts of the job we’re responsible for and split that up well so that we’re not always working very closely on the same thing.
“We came up with everything from the décor to the menu ideas together which proved we were on the same wavelength and meant there wasn’t a lot of arguing.”
“I think even if Sarah and I weren’t together,” Keery adds, “we would still have opened the same restaurant.
“We like a lot of the same things, and that definitely helps.”
Pictured: Orkney scallop, onion, liquorice, buttermilk & sweet cicely (Image: Supplied)
Just a few months in, Nàdair is fast making its mark on the Marchmont area, with a handful of rave reviews under their belt and a local customer base who seem more than happy to welcome them to the neighbourhood.
“It feels like we’ve got the community on our side which is so important to us,” Baldry says.
“From the very first week we opened, it was people from around the corner who were coming in to eat,” Keery agrees.
“It wasn’t the Instagram crowd; it was the ones who had been popping their heads in the door to see what we were up to when we started redecorating.
“Sometimes, when I think back to when we were only daydreaming about starting our own place together, I still can’t believe that we’ve actually opened the restaurant.
“But, we’ve had an encouraging first few months and we’re not going to rest on our laurels.
“We want to keep that momentum going and cement the reputation that’s starting to build.”
