Scone Palace’s new chef plans to create a stir with garden ingredients

After a search the length and breadth of the country for a culinary star who can create dishes fit for a prestigious venue and 5 star visitor attraction, Scone Palace has appointed a talented new chef to head up their catering offering showcasing the provenance of the Palace’s exceptional fresh home grown produce and serving Royally delicious dishes.

Steve Gilroy, previously Head Chef at Kinnaird Estate and Hilton Dunkeld House, has already begun work in the Palace’s bustling kitchen and will be managing the visitor attraction’s extensive catering operation which welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually.

Steve’s arrival coincides with Scone Palace joining VisitScotland’s esteemed Taste Our Best quality assurance scheme, which celebrates the very best in locally sourced Scottish produce. The Palace’s passionate new chef is planning to continue to develop exciting menus and products which showcase the provenance of the fresh ingredients grown in Scone Palace’s Kitchen Garden.

Steve said:

“Jobs don’t come more prestigious than working in a Palace, so I’m very proud to be the new Head of Catering at Scone Palace. The Palace grounds have a tremendous Kitchen Garden which offer beautiful fresh ingredients which we use in the kitchen here every day. At the moment, the tomatoes from the Kitchen Garden are really ripe and sweet and the variety of vegetables is excellent, having this resource to hand is a huge asset to any chef.

“We also have a great range of preserves made from local fruit and vegetables which are savoured by visitors in the coffee shop and are also for sale in the food shop. I hope to develop this range further and introduce new dishes and home-baking which will complement our delicious and world-famous scones from Scone.”

Sarah Butler, Chief Executive of Scone Palace. Commented:

“Steve brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to this unique and exciting role and we are delighted to welcome a chef of his calibre into the Scone Palace team.  With Scone Palace recently receiving its Taste Our Best accreditation from VisitScotland, we are very proud to be showcasing our food provenance, using fresh ingredients grown right here in the Palace grounds together with those sourced from the finest local suppliers.”

Scone Palace’s search for a chef brimming with ideas created a culinary stir on social media at the time with Michelin star chefs, Andrew Fairlie and Tom Kitchin, retweeting the position to their followers. The painstaking search has paid off with a new chef in place to continue to develop the five-star visitor attraction’s exceptional food offering. 

To find out more about Scone Palace, visit www.scone-palace.co.uk