Michael Smith, the award-winning Skye-based Scottish chef, is to join the independent Perle Hotels group as Culinary Director and Brand Ambassador of its six hotels - just days after closing his Michelin-starred “magical little restaurant” Loch Bay at Waternish on October 31 [see previous post].
This newly-created role, beginning on November 10, will see the Inverness-born chef work with existing teams across Perle Hotels’ collection of six properties: The Bosville, Portree; Marmalade, Portree; The Bracken Hide, Portree; Perle Oban, Oban; Glencoe House, Glencoe; and from 2027 a new townhouse hotel on Castle Street, Edinburgh. His brief is to develop the individual restaurant concepts around provenance, local sourcing and a strong sense of place.
The move marks a dramatic career change for the chef, who has 40 years’ experience in the industry and has run the intimate 16-cover Loch Bay with his French wife Laurence for ten years and attracted a Michelin Star just 18 months after opening it in 2016. He has retained the Michelin Star throughout its ten-year run.
Prior to Loch Bay he was head chef at The Three Chimneys, also on Skye, leading the kitchen as chef director when it was awarded a Michelin Star in 2014. He also represented Scotland three times on BBC Two’s Great British Menu, becoming a chef judge on the popular cooking programme.
Chef Michael said: “I’m ready for a new challenge. Loch Bay has been the realisation of a lifelong dream. It was a huge personal challenge for my family and me, and I've learned so much.
“I’m reI feel like I’ve achieved everything that I’d ever hoped to, expressing a version of what we believed to be a magical little restaurant.
“The opportunity that Beth [Rehman, owner of Edinburgh-based Perle Hotels] has created for me was unexpected but I know this will be an incredible opportunity for me at this stage of my career and doing something I’ve never done before, at a new level.
“That is a privilege.
“This new role allows me to call upon almost 40 years of experience, and I find that extremely exciting. It’s also an opportunity to pass on what I’ve learned to the next generations coming up through Scottish hospitality.”
His first priority will be to spend time in each of the hotels, getting to know the restaurants and the people behind them before working with the teams o how each can evolve, from menus and sourcing to developing a stronger sense of place and individual identity.
Beth Rehman said: “Michael’s appointment is a significant investment for us, not just in our restaurants but in our people and in what we want food and drink to become within Perle.
“We’ve known Michael for many years and what has always stood out is his understanding of what makes a restaurant work - the food, of course, but also the people, the place and the experience around it.
“Michael brings an enormous amount of experience, but also real enthusiasm for working with our teams and developing what’s already there. We’re delighted he’s joining us and very excited about what we can achieve together.”