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Andrew’s appetite for cooking was evident from a young age and at fifteen he began a classical four-year apprenticeship in his hometown of Perth. At twenty, Andrew become the first recipient of the Roux Scholarship and remains to this day its youngest scholar. Andrew further cemented his relationship with the Scholarship by joining the judging panel in 2006.
The Roux Scholarship radically altered Andrew’s perception, both of his life and his craft, and with his win came an unprecedented honour for a British chef – the opportunity to work in the kitchen of Michel Guerard, one of the great masters of French culinary tradition. Guerard’s approach to cooking was inspirational and Andrew still adheres to his mentor’s ethos of ‘simple food, brilliantly done’.
While training with Guerard at Les pres d’Eugenie, Andrew immersed himself with the French culture of cooking, working with diverse produce but always producing elegant, refined results. To this day Andrew’s menus are unashamedly French but flavoured with Scottish twists and treats.
After his time in Bordeaux with Guerard, Andrew moved on to world-renowned Hotel de Crillion in Paris for 14 months of gruelling training, which he refers to as his equivalent of military service.
After more than two years in France, Andrew returned to his native Scotland to spend two seasons aboard the luxurious 5-star Royal Scotsman train.
He then journeyed south to the London Ritz to take up the position of senior sous chef before returning to Paris and Euro-Disney (now Disneyland Paris, specifically to take advantage of, what he believes to be, the best management training in the world.
Andrew returned to his native Scotland in 1995 where he took up both the mantle of executive chef at Glasgow’s One Devonshire Gardens Hotel and received not only acceptance into the esteemed Academie Culinaire de France but also his first Michelin star.
Edging ever nearer his Perth birthplace, 2001 saw the opening of Andrew’s eponymous restaurant within the heart of the legendary Gleneagles Hotel and Resort. Within its first year the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star and rated by both The Sunday Time and the Sunday Herald as the best restaurant in Scotland.
A stream of awards followed along with the honour of being named in the US publication Hotels as one of the top ten hotel restaurants in the world – the only British restaurant to be included.
In 2005 Andrew was tasked with cooking both a banquet and a dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and world leaders as Britain played host to the G8 Summit. The pinnacle of Andrew’s career came in 2006 when the restaurant was awarded a second Michelin star and Andrew himself was voted AA Chefs Chef of The Year.
For Andrew and his team the reward of a second star was precious recognition of the years, months, days and hours they had put in to create a truly exceptional restaurant.
Andrew Fairlie @ Gleneagles.
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