Aberdeenshire-born chef Orry Shand opens his debut restaurant next week – Falls by Orry Shand on Royal Deeside, about 20 miles from Aberdeen.
Orry trained in top Scottish kitchens including Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles and Number One at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, and came to prominence as Scottish National Chef in 2019 and UK National Chef of the Year in 2024-5. This year he is representing Aberdeenshire and Scotland in the BBC’s Great British Menu.
He has taken over the former Falls of Feugh restaurant near Banchory which closed at the end of 2025, and invested £500,000 in the new launch, offering a set tasting menu of 12 to 15 courses, focusing on Scottish produce with Nordic inspiration and French cooking techniques.
He says: “Being Aberdeenshire born and bred, it means so much to me, my family and team to be rooted in the region, celebrating its local produce and its distinctive character. This site offers the perfect riverside location — we looked at several locations in the shire and city, but fell in love with the Falls site as soon as we saw it.”
Orry says there is never a “right time” to open a restaurant – but he has always wanted to have his own place and now seems right in terms of his personal and professional development.
“I’ve got two young daughters who are not at the baby stage anymore. Off the back of National Chef and a few things, it feels right. I think I’ve got the right investment for the project.
“If I get over 40, I’m probably never going to do it. If I’m going to take a 10-year lease, I should do it now at 36. It just feels right.
“I think I’ve matured as a chef quite a lot over the last few years and come into my own style of cooking more. It’s funny – you always think you have a style, but I look at what I was cooking three years ago and think it’s shit. I’m sure in a couple of years I’ll look at the National Chef dishes and think they’re not all that.
“I always want to move and progress. Staying stuck on something too long isn’t good.”
