Chef Jeremy Wares opens restaurant at Macdonald Hotels' Houstoun House
The 39-year-old chef, who decided to sell his restaurant with rooms in 2010 after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, becomes the third chef to open a restaurant under his name with the hotel group, joining Aiden Byrne and John Paul McLachlan who operate restaurants at the Craxton Wood Hotel in Chester and the Marine Hotel in North Berwick respectively.
Jeremy Wares at Houstoun House
Jeremy Wares at Houstoun House, will enable Wares, who set up a business making gourmet ready meals and has run a chef consultancy since selling his restaurant, to return to the industry without having the stress of owning his own business.
He will work alongside head chef David Murray in the kitchen while Grace Reilly joins as restaurant manager.
"I can’t put in the 16-hour days required to run a top restaurant any more, but that doesn’t mean I have to hang up my chef’s hat," said Wares.
"Jeremy Wares at Houstoun House is a tremendous opportunity to further indulge my passion for cooking delicious dishes in a bustling restaurant environment. We are now working hard to make Jeremy Wares at Houstoun House a truly leading culinary destination in Scotland.”
Quality produce
The menu at Wares' restaurant, which is set within the 16th Century building, will reflect the ethos shared across all 42 Macdonald Hotels which is to use only high quality ingredients, such as free range chicken and seasonal vegetables.
Wares, who owned 63 Tay Street in Perth before moving on to The Angler's Inn, will prepare Scottish dishes 'with a modern twist'. Dishes on the menu include Cullen Skink soup; Perthshire venision, stalker pie and sticky red cabbage; and seasonal Cranachan mess.
“I was keen to work with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts," he said. "We both share the same belief and passion for offering diners flavoursome dishes based on only the finest freshest and ideally locally sourced produce, always prepared from whole raw ingredients."
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts was established in 1990 by Donald Macdonald. Over the last 22 years, it has expanded to become the UK's largest privately-owned hotel group with food central to its operations.
Last year the group's catering director Alan Swinson told BigHospitality he was looking to work with more named chefs to operate restaurants at its hotels as part of plans to develop its dining options. The hotel group currently holds 45 AA Rosettes across its estate.
