Andrew Fairlie Scholarship 2023

Meet the Finalists - Daniel Robb

Daniel Robb, Chef de Partie, Gleneagles

Where are you originally from?

I was born in Aberdeen and grew up in a small area called Mastrick. When I began my journey at Gleneagles in 2021 I moved to the village of Auchterarder in Perthshire. 

What inspired you to apply for the scholarship?

I am always open to improving my skills as a young chef and wanted to give myself a new challenge. Chef Andrew Fairilie’s legacy has had an incredibly powerful impact on myself with his journey of becoming the first Roux Scholar and working his way from being a young chef to having the only 2 Michelin Stars in Scotland is very inspiring. I am in a place where I am surrounded by multiple talented chefs where their passion for the industry is infectious and the competitive atmosphere is constant, and this has inspired me to apply for the Scholarship.

Can you give us a brief description of your career to date?

During my time at college studying Professional Cookery, I got my first job at 'The Merchant Bistro', a small French Bistro with a classic French Menu with a twist to each dish. My time there introduced me to a working restaurant kitchen and educated me on the operations behind the scenes. From here, I moved to work in a fine dining restaurant, ‘Granite Park’ this improved my skills as a chef and introduced me to the world of fine dining and private events. After learning about this new environment and gaining more skills and confidence in the kitchen I moved to a restaurant in Aberdeen called Cognito on the Corner. This was a brasserie style restaurant with a private dining room and fun menu.

During the pandemic, I looked into new beginnings and wanted to further my career. I felt I was ready for my next challenge and so I applied to work at The Gleneagles Hotel where I was hired as a Commis Chef in their two AA Rosette restaurant - The Strathearn.

I spend a lot of my time mastering the fish section and also furthering my skills on both the hot and colder larder sections as well as garnish. During my time in The Strathearn I earned a promotion to Junior Chef De Partie. After having conversations with my senior chefs, I felt ready for a new challenge and so we decided to further my career I should move to 'The Birnam', another restaurant within the hotel, to gain knowledge on cooking large meat cuts and different proteins.

I have currently been there for 1 month and I am learning new skills every day. It is a different style of cooking as we grill the food over the coals and the service style is new for me.

What does it mean to you to have been shortlisted for the finals of the scholarship?

On hearing I had been shortlisted for the scholarship I was in shock. I called my family straight away to tell them the good news and rushed off the phone to celebrate with my friends. I felt really proud of myself for making the move to apply for the scholarship and I feel like I have more confidence within myself.

Being shortlisted will give me the chance to showcase my skills and capabilities to the judges and having the opportunity to show my creativity and passion through my dish is something I’m really excited about. I’m very excited to be a part of the final and make my family, colleagues and myself proud.

Have you always wanted to be a chef?  What made you choose this career?

Growing up, both of my parents were terrible cooks. I have always wanted to eat well and growing up with parents lacking the basic kitchen skills, this was difficult. When I was growing up, my Grandma would always tell me stories about my Grandpa who was a chef in the Navy and I always thought about him and how his cooking abilities must have a skipped a generation. Hearing all these stories and wanting to eat better I realised at a young age I felt at home in the kitchen. During my teenage years, I would dine out in nice places, try new foods and cook meals for family and friends and my passion only grew. When it came to deciding what I should do for the rest of my life, I wanted to be a part of something that I enjoyed, so going to college for Professional Cookery was the next step for me.

What do you love about working as a chef?

More than anything, I enjoy the people I work with. The camaraderie within my current brigade is strong. We share knowledge, recipes stories about our lives outside of the kitchen and we all enjoy what we do every day. Working as a Chef I have always felt that the term ‘work family’ means more to me than someone in an office job. The long hours and time we spend together can be intense but we all achieve the results together and have fun while doing it. I enjoy hearing guest feedback and the stories behind their journeys to the restaurant. We share our guests special occasions and create the memories served to them. 

What is your favourite Scottish ingredient to work with? And why?

My favourite Scottish ingredient to work with are fresh Scottish mussels because of their versatility. The meat is plump and the stock you create from them is full of flavour. I enjoy using fresh Scottish mussels in fine dining cuisine where they can be the main focus of the dish due to their sweet flavour or they can also compliment a dish by being added to it. I enjoy working with them also as they are an affordable alternative to other seafoods and when it comes to preparing them, there are not one hundred steps included in making them so tasty – they are already so fresh and delicious.