Three-times Scottish Chef of the Year Bruce Price has joined Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club as its executive head chef.
Price has worked for The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, Apex Hotels and was executive head chef at Crieff Hydro Hotel for six years.
The New Zealander’s career has also taken him to Australia, Switzerland, China and Taiwan.
Price said: “I’m very much looking forward to settling in at Dalmahoy and getting to know my team here.
“I’m passionate about good ingredients used well. I’m all about using and sourcing Scottish produce in my menus, an ethos which Dalmahoy also shares, so I felt we would be a good match.
“The hotel’s Pentland Restaurant menu celebrates Scotland’s larder – and, indeed, even one very close to home – the hotel’s own herb garden, which I’m excited about getting involved with.
“My first job will be to look at menu planning for the season ahead. I’ll be complementing excellent Scottish produce with some international influences I’ve picked up on my travels and cooking in other countries.
“Expect to see some innovations like a Kiwi Burger on the specials in The Brasserie!”
Dalmahoy, which overlooks its golf course on the outskirts of Edinburgh, recently had a major refurbishment.
Price will run a 24-strong kitchen team across its Pentland Restaurant, the James Braid Bar and Brasserie, a lounge which serves snacks and afternoon tea, private dining areas as well as the hotel’s conference, weddings and events catering offering.
The executive chef has been deaf since birth and he said: “I have never, ever let my deafness restrict my ambition to become a great chef. I have never seen it as a disadvantage.
“While the day’s business is written out on a whiteboard every morning, communication in the kitchen is mostly verbal, with me lip-reading and staff quickly learning to understand my spoken instructions.
“It’s a slightly different way of working for the team here, but I’m sure it won’t be long before my new team and I get to know each other.”
Alistair Kinchin, general manager at independently branded Dalmahoy, said: “We’re really pleased to welcome Bruce to our team here at Dalmahoy.
“We’ve worked hard to cement our culinary reputation in Edinburgh and as a three-time Scottish Chef of the Year, it’s a real coup to have enticed Bruce to join us.”
