James, 49, quit his well-paid job in the kitchens of oil rigs in the North Sea after falling in love with his wife, Sarah, and moving 4,600 miles to her home city of Portland, Oregon.
The Ayrshire-born chef is now using his 73-year-old mum’s batter recipe to cook up a storm with fish suppers he simply can’t sell enough of.
His taste of Scotland has proven such a hit with a city normally used to trendy street food, he’s diversified and already sells cans of Irn Bru, deep fried Mars Bars and cups of proper tea from his Frying Scotsman mobile food stall.
“The difference between here and the oil rigs is like night and day,” said dad-of-three James.
“I loved working offshore but it is an easier pace of life here and the customers really love Scottish fish and chips.”
His batter has proven so popular, he’s become a minor celeb in Portland, and regularly appears on the telly.
But serving up his taste of home is a labour of love.
He’s up every morning at the crack of dawn to peel 150lb of potatoes for his chips.
He serves them alongside lightly-battered cod, haddock, and deep fried Haggis suppers – which his customers can wash down with those all-important cans of Irn Bru.
Wife Sarah, a 46-year-old publicist, said: “As soon as he opened his fish and chip cart I was smitten with the food.
“The deep fried Mars Bars are the best thing I’ve ever eaten and haggis is on everyone’s food bucket list. People always come back for more!”
As a 10-year-old, James wanted to be a top chef and was spurred on to follow his dream by mum Elizabeth King, of Ardrossan, Ayrshire.
He trained at catering college in Ayr before snapping up a top job at the prestigious Highgrove House Hotel in Troon.
But lured by a new life offshore, he flew out to a rig half way between the remote Shetland Isles and Norway.
He later travelled the globe, working off Egypt, Ghana, Benin and the Gulf of Mexico.
“It was a great experience,” said James. “There were some super-funny people and the money was really good.
“But I met my wife and we got married in 2007.
“I was still working offshore and we had a daughter together, so it was hard for her with me being away four weeks at a time.
“I was in downtown Portland at a food cart and the idea popped into my head to sell fish and chips. The rest is history.”
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