chef / proprietor: martin wishart
Martin Wishart opened his eponymous restaurant in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith in 1999. Since then it has become known as one of the UK’s most acclaimed dining venues, currently holding one Michelin star, 4 AA rosettes and a score of 8/10 in the Good Food Guide.
Martin trained under renowned chefs including Albert Roux, Michel Roux Jr, Marco Pierre White, Nick Nairn, John Burton-Race, Marc Meneau and Charlie Trotter.
Martin is an entrepreneur with a passion for cooking. He keeps on top of his profession by forming bonds with other internationally acclaimed restaurants. His brilliant career has taken him around the world to Australia, the USA and across Europe. In New York he was invited to cook at the James Beard Foundation and experienced the kitchens of Per-Se, Daniel Boulud and The Bernadin. In Holland he has established a friendship and professional relationship with Lucas Rive from the two Michelin-starred restaurant De Bokkedoorns and Jonnie Boer from the three Michelin-starred restaurant De Librije.
In 2006 Martin participated in the Rencontres Internationals de la Gastronomie alongside the worlds other great chefs including Santi Santamaria, Michel Troisgros, Tetsuya Wakuda, Jaques Decoret. This experience widened his awareness and deepened his understanding of the evolving culinary styles at the pinnacle of the profession.
Martin continues to strive for professional success at Restaurant Martin Wishart. Now, with the opening of his Cook School and his new Restaurant at Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond, Martin aims to strengthen Scotland's reputation for good food and to encourage others with his enthusiasm for cooking.
head chef: joe taggart
Joe is from Irvine in Ayrshire and has learned his trade on the job. He began washing dishes at 17 and then slowly worked his way up the kitchen hierarchy.
He has held Senior Chef positions at the five-star Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and at Gordon Ramsay’s Amaryllis Restaurant in Glasgow, but most of his professional career has been at Restaurant Martin Wishart. He was a member of the kitchen team that won the Restaurant its first Michelin star in 2001, which is still the highlight of his career to date.
He has built a strong personal and professional relationship with Martin over the years. He feels he is being constantly challenged by the Chef’s determination to reach for ever higher standards. Together they have travelled abroad for special assignments: the most exciting being a Burns Supper in New York and a special reception for the Singapore Grand Prix.
"A good Head Chef has to be able to see the bigger picture, while keeping a close eye on all the detail. He must have a total love of the job to make the long hours worthwhile, and he must maintain discipline while being flexible enough to deal with the unexpected. When it all comes together, there is no bigger rush than delivering an excellent Dinner service."
head and pastry chef: rikki preston
Rikki is responsible for working with Martin to create all the desserts, bread, soufflés and petit four that are served at Restaurant Martin Wishart.
Although he has worked as a Senior Chef in all the classical kitchen sections in such places as The Royal Oak in Berkshire, The Balmoral and Cameron House five-star hotels in Scotland and L’Atelier Gourmand in Annecy, it is as a Pastry specialist that he feels most at home.
He has always just had the knack for coping with the fundamental techniques: “To do pastry well you need to have a love of the work and a gut instinct for how to approach it. Even then, you need to have the patience to work through the scientific processes and all the painstaking trial and error of developing recipes.”
When Rikki arrived at Restaurant Martin Wishart in 2003 he found the Restaurant he had always been searching for and where he has experienced the purest job satisfaction. His relationship with Martin is again crucial, Rikki feeling motivated and constantly refreshed by the Chef’s determination never to stand still and always drive for perfection.
reservations manager: steven spear
Steven began life in the restaurant trade at the early age of seven, scrubbing oysters in the kitchen of the family business on the Isle of Skye. He progressed to washing dishes, before part-time work as a waiter during his school days.
By then dreaming of becoming a leading Maitre’D, Steven left the island for an intense apprenticeship at Rogue Restaurant in Edinburgh before joining the newly expanded Restaurant Martin Wishart in October 2002. For three years he worked closely with Cecile Wishart to learn the house service style before being promoted to Maitre’D in 2005, making him one of the youngest Michelin-starred Restaurant Managers in the country.
Steven has been responsible for maintaining the precise attention to detail on which any fine dining business depends, never allowing the team’s guard slip on the quality of service. He has always strived to ensure that guests receive the warmest of welcomes, whether they come once a year or once a week.
The idea behind his new role as Reservations Manager is to further develop the Restaurant’s level of customer recognition and care. It is vital that from the moment a guest lifts the phone, to arriving for dinner, to ordering their aperitifs and enjoying their dinner that the team know exactly what their expectations and preferences are. Steven is uniquely qualified to ensure this enhanced level of service.
restaurant manager: jean christophe froge
As for so many of the world’s best sommeliers, Jean Christophe’s love of wine was nurtured from a young age sitting around his family’s dinner table. Never fond of academic school, by the age of sixteen he had already decided to embark on a professional wine and restaurant service training. After formal study at the CFA Hotel School in Tours he left his native village of Vendome and began a series of apprenticeships before arriving at Restaurant Martin Wishart for the first time in 2002.
He immediately impressed his new audience with his passion for wine, and soon built up an excellent reputation for matching the finest wine with the most delicious food. His work in researching and further developing the wine list and cellar was recognised in October 2006 when Restaurant Martin Wishart won the AA Award for Restaurant Wine List of the Year.
Keen to broaden his international experience his next move was to become Head Sommelier for the Harbour Grill Restaurant and Oyster Bar at the Hilton International Hotel in Singapore. Another great opportunity to review and develop the wine list and to take on responsibility for extensive staff training.
Despite the exotic warmth of Singapore, when the role of Restaurant Manager at Martin Wishart in Edinburgh became available he could not resist returning to chilly Scotland: much to the delight of his former colleagues and many of the most regular guests.
The mission now is to lead a dynamic team of front of house waiters, ensuring consistent performance and always striving to make improvements which will take Restaurant Martin Wishart service to the next level.