Kinloch Lodge lures top London chef to Skye

Kinloch Lodge in Skye has long been a focus for fantastic food with world renowned, award-winning cook and food writer, Claire Macdonald at its helm for almost 35 years – but now Claire has invited Marcello Tully, a Brazilian - born kitchen revolutionary, to give it a new look and framework.

Marcello Tully, 38, has given the kitchen and restaurant at Kinloch Lodge a new dimension. He is intent on developing the ideas of renowned cook Claire Macdonald within a radically new framework, which will allow a new generation of cooks to develop with a full range of skills.

Claire Macdonald commented “It took us a long time to find the right person. We needed to find someone who shared our food ethos and philosophy and develop our menus at the hotel. We needed to find someone who could make a long-term commitment to the business. We contacted Marcello Tully, who I had worked with on various other projects over the years, really to see if he knew of anyone who would be interested. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect Marcello himself to take up this challenge. Thrillingly he decided it was what he wanted, and Marcello, his wife Claire and their 2 small boys moved from London up to Skye.”

Marcello, whose grandfather came from Edinburgh, trained with the Roux brothers’ for 7 years at Le Gavroche, going on to be their head chef at Home Rouxl. From there he moved to the food development industry, leading a team creating exquisite dishes for the catering, retail and private sector.

Out have gone the traditional gradations of chef responsibilities in the Kinloch Lodge kitchen – instead there is now a group of 6 young assistant chefs who are working with a range of recipes, assisted by a scientific approach to measuring temperatures and timing by using the sous-vide concept in a variety of dishes. The new team are also working in brand-new surroundings, throughout the winter the hotel has undergone a major refurbishment and redecoration, including the installation of a new kitchen which has been designed by Marcello to give his team the best chance of reaching the standards he is setting. There is new decor, too, for the 40-seater restaurant, which attracts hundreds of guests each year in addition to those staying in the hotel.

As for his work in Skye, Marcello says: “From a professional point of view, it is a chef’s paradise. My job is easy. I have the very best and freshest raw ingredients, we never skimp on quality, added to which I have a magnificent new kitchen and fantastically enthusiastic team”.

The energy and effort put into the food-side is matched by the spectacular, interesting, wine list. The restaurant also offers unique ‘wine flights’ with each item at dinner. These arrive in a stunning wine flight holder, with a small card describing each wine. The wine flights are incredibly popular and something quite unusual in Scotland.

So with its tradition of top quality ingredients and innovative ‘wine flights’; a highly trained and motivated staff; a purpose-built kitchen where the only tensions are creative; and new décor - it seems Claire Macdonald’s Kinloch Lodge is going to build on its past successes with a delicious recipe for new triumphs in the future.

For more information log on to Kinloch-lodge.co.uk.