Luxury Inverness hotel, The Drumossie appoints award-winning new head chef to its restaurant
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A LUXURY Inverness hotel has appointed an award-winning new head chef to its restaurant.
David MacDonald, who was crowned young Highland chef of the year in 2015, has recently taken the position at the Drumossie Hotel.
Having trained at the Drumossie when he was 18 and working there on and off over the last few years, the now 32-year-old is ready to cook up a storm and put his own stamp on the menu.
“I’ve got lots of ideas and I just want to put my own stamp on it immediately,” Mr MacDonald said, talking about his plans.
Specialising in fine-dining menus and restaurant star-dining, Mr MacDonald has experience all over the world.
“I worked at Achnagairn House for four years, and then when the pandemic started I went to Inverlochy in Fort William,” he said.
“I then worked in St Vincent in the Caribbean for five months as a head chef there.”
The Uist-born chef then returned to his homeland and worked with a friend at Mingary Castle.
However, the driven chef had dreams of running his own restaurant so got in touch with the people at Drumossie who had first shown him the ropes.
“I wanted to run a restaurant myself, so I got in touch with Kenny [McMillan] here at Drumossie and I did a wee stint at Pittodrie House
hotel in Aberdeenshire before coming back here because it’s closer to Uist to see my parents,” he said.
He now hopes to build upon the stellar reputation the Drumossie already has and match his cooking techniques with seasonality, while wanting to ensure that all the food he is serving is local.
“I like to match my techniques with seasonality and I want to work with what’s as local as possible and I’m trying to work out how to do that,” he explained.
“I will look at local suppliers and see if there are any farms a stone’s throw away who can provide us with a fresh supply on a regular basis.”
Mr MacDonald was inspired to cook by his granny, who he used to go to everyday after school to enjoy her homebakes.
He now wants to serve the best food in Inverness.
Speaking about his hopes for the Drumossie, he said: “I want us to be the best restaurant in Inverness!
“There’s no reason why we can’t be as we have a great team.
“There’s no point doing it if you don’t want to be the best!”
