It’s all change at Cromlix, the Stirlingshire hotel owned by Andy and Kim Murray, as the former world Number 1 tennis player aims once again for gold - this time in the field of gastronomy.
The hotel, which was bought by Murray in 2013 and re-opened in 2023 after a spectacular interior design upgrade overseen by the former tennis ace and coach’s wife Kim Murray, has been awarded an inaugural Michelin Key, a new category which highlights the crème de la crème of the Michelin Guide’s top hotels selection. It means Cromlix will be visited by the Michelin Guide restaurant inspectors.
Permission has been granted to build a substantial new 80-cover glass-fronted restaurant and state-of-the-art kitchen in the grounds of the C-listed Victorian mansion hotel to accommodate growing demand. A new 16-cover fine-dining restaurant will also be created, and the recent appointment of two key players - a new head chef and a new “gourmet gardener” - strengthens the bid to gain Michelin Star status for Cromlix and compete in the burgeoning global food tourism movement in addition to the serving the booming local market.
“A good hotel restaurant is so important - it’s one of the things I learned when I was travelling on the tennis Tour,” Andy Murray told The Times. “The food at Cromlix has always been great in my opinion. But I know Kim and the team are making some changes next year which will make it even better.”
Kim Murray said: “The Michelin Key is a new concept, and it’s amazing for us to be awarded this as soon as it was launched last year. It’s a reflection of what we are doing here at Cromlix.
“It’s exciting to know that we’re now on Michelin’s radar, they are aware of us, and we will be getting visited by the Michelin Guide restaurant inspectors every year.”
James Mearing (left), formerly executive chef at the three AA rosette Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Restaurant in Evershot, Dorset, is the new executive head chef at Cromlix, replacing Darin Campbell, a Roux Scholarship finalist who was head chef for 11 years.
And Glasgow School of Art graduate Kathy Beckett is the new head gardener and florist with plans to create a new Gourmet Garden within the old walled garden in the grounds of Cromlix that will supply the restaurants with fresh produce and the hotel with flowers to complement the botanical theme of the interior design.
She is currently growing cucamelon (citrus-sour gherkins), luffa (sub-tropical vines), Oriental greens, horseradish and Kohl Rabi among other vegetables and flowers.
The existing Glasshouse restaurant, which currently has a waiting list of 4-6 weeks, will be used for afternoon teas and private events.
To avoid disruption while the new restaurants are being built Cromlix will close in January next year, to re-open in May 2026. So the potential for a Michelin Star in the 2027 Michelin Guide is real.
The new 16-cover fine-dining restaurant is intended to “to show off chef’s artistic and culinary skills” in the space currently used as a private dining room. It will offer a menu of “inspirational, indulgent” dishes three to four nights a week in a single sitting that will offer theatre as well as high-end gastronomy.
“Andy and I love eating out at good restaurants and the whole theatre of food,” said Kim Murray. “I’m a very visual person, and Andy loves his art. It’s said we eat first with our eyes and I do think good food needs to look beautiful.”
“Chef James’s food is incredible,” said Kim Murray. “I didn’t used to like salmon but he has totally converted me with the way he cooks it. He made two dishes for us when we were looking at him as our new chef, and really, his is exceptional food.”
Asked if Sir Andy has a favourite restaurant or style of food, she replied: “Andy loves sushi and Asian fusion food, and he always gravitates towards a Nobu [the upscale Japanese/Peruvian fusion hotel restaurant chain with branches all over the world]. We have a Beaverbrook restaurant near where we live, and we love the food at its Japanese Grill there too.
“For Andy food was functional when he was playing and now it’s more indulgent, light and delicious.
“But I also love a good steak with fresh locally sourced vegetables, nothing too fancy. Andy’s gran was a terrific home cook. You can’t beat well cooked local produce cooked on site.
“We don’t want food that’s so heavy it has to be carted out in a wheelbarrow. I think the food at Cromlix will be lighter, with more flexible menus but always delicious.”
Meanwhile, chef Mearing is aiming to elevate the Glasshouse restaurant from three AA rosettes to four with a seasonal tasting menu that showcases Denhead asparagus from Angus, duck and poultry from St Bride’s farm in Strathaven, local rabbit, Cromlix estate honey, pine and wild garlic, and produce from the hotel’s existing kitchen garden. South-east Asian influences include Kombu dashi, ponzu and Teriyaki slaw.
“Scottish produce is amazing and known as the best worldwide,” chef Mearing, who has moved with his Spanish wife and young family from Devon to Dunblane, told the Times. He is currently building a network of local and Scottish suppliers and also plans to create an in-house whole-animal butchery and fishmongery to train his staff in fundamental culinary skills and align the kitchen with contemporary cooking trends. He praised Sir Andy and Kim Murray for their “hands-on” involvement in the venture.
“When hospitality is so difficult it’s really important to have them close. It’s great for us to have such hands-on support,” he added.