Gary Maclean, Scotland’s National Chef, is to open a new restaurant called Kin in Edinburgh next week that celebrates the nation’s produce and culinary traditions.
With room for 45 guests, Kin is part of The Roseate Edinburgh, a three-year-old boutique hotel converted from two Victorian townhouses on the capital’s West Side.
Glasgow-born Gary made his name by winning MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016 and the next year was appointed the inaugural ‘National Chef’ by the Scottish government, with a brief to promote Scottish produce on the world stage and healthy eating at home. He is also executive chef at the City of Glasgow College and operates two venues at Edinburgh’s Bonnie & Wild food hall: seafood restaurant Creel Caught and deli Soup & Caboodle.
Gary says of his new venture: “For me, authentic Scottish food has always been about the finest ingredients and genuine hospitality. KIN is about connection as much as it is about food, bringing together guests, locals, producers and our team around thoughtful, honest cooking that celebrates the very best of Scotland’s larder.
“The menu reflects the way I cook today: modern Scottish food steeped in exceptional produce, a strong sense of place and honest flavour, inspired by ingredients that feel deeply personal to me: Scotland’s seafood, smoked fish, game and dairy.”
The menu will evolve and change with the seasons, although you can expect his take on Cullen Skink – he calls it “the king of Scottish soups” – to be a permanent item, featuring kiln- smoked haddock, dulse and burnt onion. Other personal favourites include hand-dived scallop with brown crab, barley, spinach and shellfish emulsion; grilled langoustine’ pan-seared loin of roe deer with oats, nuts, salsify and sloe gin sauce; and cranachan cheesecake.
Ravi Birdy, executive director of Roseate Hotels & Resorts, said he knew Gary was the right chef for the project from their first conversion. “Finding someone whose passion for Scotland’s larder, whose belief in honest, generous cooking, and whose instinct for warm, genuine hospitality mirrors our own values so completely – that is rare.
“Edinburgh has always deserved a restaurant of this character, and I am immensely proud that it will find its home at The Roseate Edinburgh. This is not just a restaurant opening, it is the beginning of something we hope will become a true part of the fabric of this city.”
