Perthshire restaurants win culinary stars

Feb 26 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

CHEFS at two Perthshire restaurants served with top Scottish culinary awards yesterday refused to hog the limelight.

Chef owner Pete Gottgens, of Ardeonaig Hotel and Restaurant at Loch Tay – best hotel restaurant – and head chef Ryan Young at Perth’s Opus One – best urban restaurant – both credited their success to teamwork.

The fine-dining establishments garnered their honourable titles at the third annual Scottish Restaurant Awards, which assess creativity, customer service and top quality dining, at Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange.

Both chefs bagged a brace of culinary awards last year, with Mr Gottgens at Ardeonaig’s helm since 2003 and Mr Young a relative newcomer as Opus One opened less than two years ago.

“Last night’s award is a high achievement for us in a very short space of time and will really put us on the culinary map of Scotland,” said Sarah Boyle, co-owner of the New County Hotel and Opus One.

“After we bought the hotel we had a lot of refurbishment work to do and eventually got around to opening the restaurant, but it was after we appointed Ryan as head chef that things really took off.”

Mr Young downplayed his role in the best urban restaurant accolade.

“It’s really about having a good team around you, and the level of service they deliver to customers,” he said.

“I also like people to have their own input – it’s not a dictatorship.”

As for how he coped with working at close quarters in a high-pressure environment with his wife Lesley as second chef, he joked: “Is this going to be in print?

“We get on pretty well, we’re good pals, and when the job’s over we head home and get back to normal life.”

South African ex-pat Mr Gottgens, who has planted a hotel vineyard, echoed his peer’s sentiments.

“I don’t care how brilliant an individual you are, you need a strong team around you, working hard and to exacting standards,” he said.

“We work hard to develop good relationships with local farmers and suppliers and I spend a lot of time sourcing.”

Perthshire’s Monachyle Mhor at Balquhidder and Perth’s Angler Inn were also short-listed in the Scottish Restaurant Awards best rural restaurant category, but lost out to winner Cail Bruich of Bridge of Weir.