Old Course Hotel Recognised in Hat-trick of Awards

The five red-star Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St Andrews has scooped a hat-trick of awards recognising excellence – topped by the accolade of Young Chef of the Year.

Ross Marshall, head chef at the hotel’s 3 rosette Road Hole Restaurant, who was shortlisted alongside David Goold of Edinburgh’s Cafe St Honoré and Scott Spink of Craigie’s Farm Deli & Café in South Queensferry, was awarded the prestigious title of Young Chef of the Year at Thursday night's Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards.

As a finalist, Ross had attended the Martin Wishart Cook School for a cook-off where he and the other young hopefuls were given a mystery set of ingredients to prepare a dish for the panel of judges - Martin Wishart, Scottish Field editor Richard Bath and Paul McLaughlin, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink.

Ross speaks highly of his peers, saying: "The competition with David and Scott was very intense – they are both extremely talented chefs, so it is a real honour to receive this award.

"I’m so pleased, not just for me but for the whole team at the resort."

That team is headed by director of food and beverages, Simon Whitley, who has overseen Ross’s promotion to head chef at the Road Hole Restaurant – one of two Rosette-awarded restaurants at the world-famous resort.

Simon is "absolutely thrilled" for Ross, explaining: "Ross’s dish won the judges over and demonstrated his excellent skills, not just in terms of preparation and presentation, but also his talent for combining ingredients and flavours that excite and reward those who experience his unique cuisine."

Edinburgh born Ross, who has worked at The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa since June 2009,  has been instrumental in helping to launch and run a programme of suppliers’ lunches that promote greater partnerships between food and drink suppliers and the resort’s chefs.

The programme – deemed a major success – won a second Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Award – Success Through Working In Partnerships.

Ross explains: "The lunches provide an opportunity for some of Scotland’s very best suppliers to come together – along with leading food and drink writers and journalists – to see how we make the best use of the produce to highlight our passion for provenance and to provide a taste of what’s on the menu at the resort for the coming season."

The panel noted that the programme demonstrated an "excellent example of true supply chain collaboration and clear evidence of benefits to all", adding that this was "a very innovative approach to building close working relationships with suppliers".

On the same night – at a separate awards ceremony – the Kohler Co-owned luxury resort, with sister property The American Club Resort in Wisconsin, completed the hat-trick, taking Group Hotel of The Year at the Catering in Scotland (CIS) Excellence Awards, one of the industry’s ultimate accolades.

Resort general manager, Daniel Pereira, is delighted not only for Ross but for the entire resort staff, saying: "Ross has shown us all that he is an extremely talented and innovative young chef. He is real credit to the team.

"The Group Hotel of the Year Award is a true testament to the amazing hard work that is put in throughout the entire resort and across all departments where, for those who choose to visit, VIP is standard."

The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, has 144 luxurious rooms including 35 suites, and borders the 17th Road Hole of the world-famous Old Course in St Andrews, the Home of Golf.

The hotel boasts spectacular views across the links courses to the sea, the Grampians and St Andrews.

Kohler Co acquired the award-winning hotel in October 2004 and has since completed a comprehensive investment programme, which includes new suites by  French designer Jacques Garcia and a brand new, state-of-the-art conference wing. The Kohler Waters Spa opened in March 2006 and is a member of the prestigious Leading Spas.

Meanwhile, the Duke's St Andrews is a magnificent heathland masterpiece with views over the Fife town. It reopened in the summer of 2006 following a transformation by American golf course architect Tim Liddy, protégé of Pete Dye. Recently positioned by Golf World magazine in the UK’s top 100 courses, The Duke’s is now on many golfers "must play" lists.

Daniel Pereira joined Kohler Co as general manager of the Old Course Hotel in November 2010. With over 18 years' experience within the hotel, travel and tourism sector, Daniel has an impressive background in the five-star hotel industry – having previously held the role of general manager of Scottish properties for The Eton Collection.

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