World-class chefs to cook for Scotland’s fine dining festival

Seven of UK’s best-known chefs will cook at The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen for Signature, Scotland’s fine dining festival. The 12-day celebration of gastronomy will be held from November 4 to 16 with an afternoon tea from patissier-chocolatier William Curley and tasting menus from Mark Greenaway, Glynn Purnell, Atul Kochhar, Martin Wishart, Roy Brett and Brian Grigor in following days. Curley has become the youngest chef patissier after crafting his art at the iconic venue The Savoy. Purnell is known for popular cookery shows including Saturday Kitchen and My Kitchen Rules in addition to his contribution with the launch of Jessica, Birmingham’s first restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. Greenaway has left his mark as an ambassador for Scotland Food and Drink with multiple features in lists of UK’s top restaurants. Kochhar has been one the first Indian chefs to win a coveted Michelin star and is known as the ‘chef patron’ of the Benares restaurant in London. They will be cooking along Grigor, who has head chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant for 15 consecutive years Number One at The Balmoral in Edinburgh; Wishart, who opened the first restaurant in Edinburgh to be awared with a Michelin star and four AA Rosettes; and Brett, chef proprietor of seafood restaurant, Ondine, who has worked with Mark Hix in London and critically acclaimed seafood chef Rick Stein. Signature, which was launched in 2017, will be staged in the IX Restaurant of the hotel, the only AA’s four-star silver rating venue in Aberdeen. In addition to an auction, proceeds will go to the Friends of the Special Nursery, the neonatal unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Graham Wood, owner of The Chester Hotel, said: “The inaugural event last year showed that there is definitely an appetite in Aberdeen for a fine dining festival. Guests travelled for miles for the unique opportunity to enjoy exquisite food created by some of the culinary world’s household names, and we believe there will again be significant demand with the chefs we are bringing to the north east this year. “Aberdeen’s reputation as a foodie destination has grown incredibly in recent years and The Chester Hotel has been leading the charge. We believe in creating simple, beautifully cooked food using only the best quality Scottish ingredients. We know that the chefs who are giving up their time to be part of this event are really excited about the prospect of coming to Aberdeen and serving the type of menu that they would in their own restaurants.” Tickets for each event are £150 for the dining and £75 for the afternoon tea.