Golden Oldies – Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles Hotel
Restaurant Andrew Fairlie
Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perth & Kinross PH3 1NF
01764 694267 www.andrewfairlie.co.uk

The Bill (2015 Prices)
Dinner
3 courses £95.00
Dégustation Menu (7 courses)
£125.00
The Score
Cooking 10/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5
TOTAL 24/25
Gleneagles Hotel was always intended for the well to do. One of the latest in a distinguished line of railway hotels, it was planned before the Great War, then opened in the roaring 20s to serve those in search of the pleasures of North Britain. It may come as a shock to those younger than me to realise that the term “railway food” used to have connotations of luxury, and that one of the best lunches (and wine lists) to be had was to be found in the dining car of a long distance British Rail train. Gleneagles, along with the other railway hotels (which included the North British and Caledonian in Edinburgh, and the Central in Glasgow), was sold off in the 60s and, like the railways, they all enjoyed mixed fortunes for the next couple of decades.
One could spend the full length of this column listing Fairlie’s achievements and awards. Winner of the first ever Roux scholarship aged just 20, a Michelin star at 1 Devonshire Gardens nearly twenty years ago, and owner of the only 2 Michelin star restaurant in Scotland (one of only 15 in the UK). There is lots more, but you get the picture. All of which simply increases the pressure every time, as diners expect perfection. I know I did. Reading up on the development of the restaurant over the 15 years since it opened, it is interesting to study its journey. Ten years ago, a reviewer slated the obsessive detail which serving staff were expected to pass on. That has gone (although my heart did sink when our waiter offered to “explain” the menu to us. No thanks, I can read.) Fairlie then went through a phase of trying to emulate the molecular gastronomy of Ferren Adrià, but then wisely listened to his customers who had come to sample the very best of Scottish produce, and therefore some of the finest in the world. He now has his own walled garden from which vegetables and herbs arrive daily. Some of his interviews will suggest that he has tried to create an informal space. If that is truly the aim he has failed, but I suspect he means a step or two down from the formal starched way of some of the French establishments where he learned his trade. One of these was at the stoves of Michel Guérard, pioneer of cuisine minceur, a revolt against the huge amounts of butter, flour and cream used in classical French cuisine. We went for the dégustation menu, minus any cream for L. It was interesting to note how few adjustments had to be made. The dining room is quirky and designer, but still unmistakably grand hotel. Our table for two had two seats at the end of a banquette at ninety degrees, ensuring each had a view, but there were one or two offering only a view of a blank wall. No fewer than four sets of amuse-bouche arrived before the main event started. The range of techniques dazzled early on, from a mini choux bun to salmon mousse in a doll’s house sized ice cream cone to something remarkable with a parsnip cream, a horseradish ice cream and something beetrooty. I also enjoyed the playful homage to Scotland’s less haute cuisine, a venison sausage roll with brown sauce. Both homemade, we were assured. Probably the only quibble I have about the whole night was the first contact from most of the staff. They seemed initially nervous, as though we were famous or frightening. Once they loosened up they were, without exception, lovely, but it was odd that we were the ones trying to put them at ease and not vice versa.
It must be great to be front of house here. If you get any complaints, the customer is criminally insane and should be put away. There is not a high staff turnover. Head chef Stephen McLaughlin has been with Fairlie for 20 years. There are always spots for short term chef secondment (as Fairlie himself enjoyed) but otherwise any potential new recruits have to put in a couple of shifts and win the team’s approval before they are recruited permanently. It sounds like a recipe for harmony on a par with that served up in the restaurant. For this quality and quantity the hefty price is irrelevant. Everyone who loves food should come here once for perfection on quite a lot of plates. |
We dined there in September just before the Lockdown. It was perfection!