Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Scotland’s longest standing two Michelin Starred restaurant, has reopened for 2025 following a ‘transformational’ kitchen refit.
The award-winning venue, based inside The Gleneagles Hotel and led by Chef Director Stephen McLaughlin, used its annual January break to bring ‘fresh thinking’ to its kitchen, with a focus on improving the working experience for its 12-strong kitchen team.
Designed by CNG Foodservice Equipment, the kitchen space remains the same, but the equipment and arrangement have been reconfigured to deliver ‘a smarter way of working, which is more comfortable, practical and enjoyable’.
As part of the re-fit, three new cooking spaces have been added to the existing Athanor suite, reducing pressure and waiting time to access the stove. Two medium sized ovens have been taken out and replaced by one large Rational iCombi Pro and two baby combi ovens in different areas of the kitchen.
This has reportedly reduced traffic in all sections of the kitchen, minimising chefs carrying food and equipment past each other.
A key part of the reconfiguration was to give the restaurant’s signature dish, Home Smoked Scottish Lobster, its own area in the kitchen, with additional space created for two chefs to work together, making the process more efficient.
With staff health and wellbeing a top priority, all work surfaces were raised by 10cm to relieve pressure on backs; all edges were rounded to remove any sharp corners; and the open plan elements of the kitchen were increased, removing barriers and widening communication channels and ‘opportunities for eye contact and collaborative learning’.
McLaughlin said: “Our aim at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie is for every guest to leave happy and with a ‘cannot wait to return’ feeling inside them.
“We want to make sure the team feel this way too! We recognised that there were parts of the kitchen that didn’t work as well as they could, so rather than settling with an unsatisfactory environment, we decided to do something about it.
“The work we do is labour intensive and highly detailed – we want to ensure the team is empowered to do this comfortably and without any additional pressure, which will deliver the best possible result for our people and the guests who dine with us.
“We invited the original designers back in to make the kitchen work better for us today. We have a long-standing relationship and they’ve done a fantastic job,” said McLaughlin.
“After assessing a day of prep and two evenings of service, they came up with simple changes that would deliver improvements. We’re now working much smarter in a more productive, collaborative and healthier environment. The response from the team has been overwhelmingly positive.”
McLaughlin added: “Andrew would always teach us to work less with our backs and inspire us to work more with our heads, and this feels like a natural evolution of the Andrew Fairlie experience that I know he would be proud of.”
Restaurant director Kate Fairlie added: “I’m absolutely overjoyed with our new kitchen! As a small independent restaurant, we have always prided ourselves on creating a space that feels like home, not just for our guests but for our team too.
“The kitchen is the heartbeat of the restaurant, and ours was due for a transformation. We were so lucky to work with the incredible team at CNG, whose craftmanship, professionalism and charm made the entire process an absolute pleasure.
“It’s rare to come across a company who not only delivers top-notch quality but also brings a genuine warmth to the job. I’m so grateful for their hard work – they, along with Stevie, have helped us create something very special.
“The new kitchen is more than just an upgrade; it’s a complete transformation,” said Kate. “It’s a space that’s light, airy and energising, and I can feel that energy when I walk through the door.
“Our chefs are buzzing with excitement, and I hope they are happier and more inspired than ever to bring their best to the table. It’s a perfect blend of practicality and creativity, allowing them to work in an environment that reflects their passion for what they do.
“If Andrew could look down now, I know he’d be incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved. I hope he is ‘lifting the lid’ with his cheeky grin – knowing the space we’ve created isn’t just functional, but fun. It’s something he always encouraged us to remember. A massive thank you to the team at CNG, and to Andrew, whose influence and love, will always be felt there.”
Director of Grande Cuisine Ltd, Stephen Hobbs, said: “It is an honour to have been involved with the team and all at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie over a number of years.
“We installed the Athanor suite back in January 2010, and it’s great to see the original suite being refurbished and returned to new, ready for another 15 years of service.
“It just goes to show the foresight Andrew had for the restaurant all those years ago is still relevant, and the benefits that come from long-term investment plans for infrastructure, product and most importantly the team.”
Clive Groom, managing director at CNG Foodservice Equipment, said: “24 years on we were thrilled to be back in the kitchen to create a design that makes the same space work in a much better, more ergonomic way than before, which improves the environment for the team.
“By combining CNG’s wealth of experience of designing kitchens of quality, for Chefs of quality, and matching this to the clients wants and needs, their open-minded approach allowed CNG to incorporate design features that have created one of the truly great kitchens.”
