Friday 8^th November 2019

Returning to Signature 2019, Roy Brett, one of the leading figures in Scotland's food revolution and a real champion of quality seafood.

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Roy's CV covers some of the best establishments in Britain. After a three-year apprenticeship at Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel under Alan Hill and Jeff Bland, he moved to the Savoy Grill in London.

His first head chef position came at the age of 21 at One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow working for hotelier and restaurateur Ken McCulloch before returning to London to work with the late Jeremy Strode at The Belvidere in Holland Park.

Le Caprice came next, working under Mark Hix. Returning to Scotland, Roy became Executive Chef at Malmaison Hotels overseeing the food and beverage operation for Ken McCulloch for over seven years, opening five hotels along the way.

Roy then joined Rick Stein in Padstow, Cornwall, and became his Executive Chef, and over the next five years oversaw the successful openings of The Bakery, Deli, Patisserie & the Fish & Chip Shop.

In 2007 Roy came back to Scotland as chef director at Dakota Hotels, opening Glasgow and then the Edinburgh venture shortly afterwards.

Under his care, Dakota became the first Scottish restaurant to earn an accreditation for sustainable sourcing from the Marine Stewardship Council.

Two years later, Roy achieved his lifelong ambition of opening a top seafood restaurant in his home city of Edinburgh Since then, Ondine has achieved critical acclaim and earned Roy a string of awards including Chef of the Year, AA Restaurant of the Year and holds a regular place in the UK list of Top 100 Restaurants.

Roy is committed to sustainable seafood and works with only the best suppliers around the country, including Welch Fishmongers at Newhaven who have supplied Ondine since the day it opened.

As a leading industry figure, Roy has advised the Scottish Government on sustainable seafood issues and has represented Scotland at major food and cooking events in Ireland, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.