A small restaurant on Skye which opened less than five years ago has been voted the best in Scotland, beating some of the country’s most famous eateries.
Edinbane Lodge took the title of restaurant of the year at the Scottish Excellence Awards, presented at The Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh last night.
The result was another triumph for 33-year-old chef patron Calum Montgomery, who was born and raised on Skye.
Edinbane was a 16th Century derelict hunting lodge until he and his family bought it in 2017 and transformed it into a restaurant and four-bedroom accommodation.
It is believed to be one of only six restaurants in Scotland to hold four AA Rosettes for culinary excellence.
The restaurant seats just 32 diners and customers are told their table is theirs for the evening or lunchtime service.
Judges said: “Calum and his team were above exceptional in all aspects of the criteria, including benchmarking, innovation, sustainability and ethics.
“With a very strong list of finalists, all those who were short-listed made the final call very difficult, such was the calibre of applicants.”
Mr Montgomery was also a finalist in the chef of the year category of the prestigious industry awards.
One of the five finalists in the restaurant of the year category was Station Road at The Lovat, in Fort Augustus, the three AA Rosette business led by head hcef Sean Kelly.
Runner-up to Glasgow’s Radisson Red in the group hotel of the year category was the 22-bedroom Duisdale Hotel on Skye’s Sleat Peninsula – part of Anne Gracie Gunn’s three-strong Sonas Collection of hotels.
Duisdale received a “highly recommended” rating, with Highland Coast Hotels’ Royal Marine Hotel at Brora in third place.
There was consolation for Sonas when group general manager Andreas Maszczyk scooped the employee of the year award.
Judges said he “obviously goes the extra mile to support colleagues and clearly lives and breathes hospitality”.
“We were impressed with entrepreneurial spirit,” they said, adding: “He is a great multi-tasker who gives time to colleagues as well as the core business.”
Banchory Lodge, the Georgian manor house on the banks of the river Dee, lost out to Rufflets Hotel in St Andrews in the independent hotel category.
The title of best newcomer restaurant went to Mingary Castle, in Ardnamurchan, housed in a 13th Century fortress and run by Jessica Thompson and Colin Nicholson.
Amuse, which opened in Aberdeen last summer, was a finalist in the newcomer category.
The Highlands provided two out of three finalists for the sustainable business award, won by the Crannog Centre at Kenmore on Loch Tay.
Visit Inverness Loch Ness, the first carbon-neutral tourism business improvement district in the UK, won a “highly commended” rating.
The third finalist in this category was Glen Mhor Hotel and Apartments in Inverness, which recently invested in a £7 million energy centre and has its own distillery and brewery.
Malmaison founder scoops lifetime achievement gong
A highlight of the glitzy event was the presentation of a lifetime achievement award to Ken McCulloch, founder of the Malmaison and Dakota hotel chains.
The 16 experts on the awards advisory board included lecturer and author Gary Maclean, Lovat Loch Ness owner and sustainability specialist Caroline Gregory and Andrew Fairlie protege and Great British Menu-winning, Michelin-starred chef Lorna McNee.
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