Major food accolade for town’s Harbour Kitchen

This recognition caps a remarkable year for Lach Maclean, the chef who has brought the restaurant back to top rating following the challenges of Covid closedowns and difficulties in recruiting staff.

Lach told the Gazette this week: “We didn’t expect to win. The competition we were up against was really strong. Most of these guys are Michelin Guide and AA listed.

“Over the past two months, we have scooped three awards which is really satisfying for such a small restaurant and small team. Apart from Leila and I, there are only two full-timers and the others are part-time.

“When we re-opened, we took the decision to really focus on seafood which was quite high risk but it has paid off. There are lots of challenges ahead with rising food prices and energy costs but for the moment we are in a good place”.

Eighteen months ago, Lach was intending to add the former Digby Chick restaurant in Stornoway to his business but the challenges of staffing put expansion on hold, to be re-visited at some time in the future.

Although Lach grew up in Stornoway, his parents are from Barra and South Uist. Part of his interest in food and good local produce came from his father Donald and uncle, Archie MacLean, who has run Gearraidh Mor Farm and abattoir at Craigston on Barra since 1984, supplying many top mainland restaurants.

However, Lach says he owes the course of his career to the off-chance of a training development officer from Perth College being on a visit to Lews Castle College on the right day in 2003.

Unrelated to his visit, there was a “competition” among catering students that day and Lach emerged on top. The training inspector was also a “spotter” for Gleneagles Hotel and at the age of 17, he started his career in Scotland’s top hotel.

Lach began as a Commis Chef, the youngest employee at Gleneagles Hotel and the most junior of 52 other chefs. “It was a big learning experience,” he says. “Then I became a Chef de Partie, which is a little step above where I was and so on through the ranks”.

Among his career highlights at Gleneagles was cooking for the G8 summit amidst “incredible security” when the guests included George Bush, Tony Blair and U2 lead singer Bono.

The norm for chefs is to move on after a few years to build experience. First he followed his head chef to a restaurant in Chester. Then onto the Ritz Carlton in London. Back nearer home to Inverness and four years at the Hilton in Glasgow.

His ambition, however, was always to have his own place and this came to pass in 2017 when he took over the lease of what became the Harbour Kitchen. The location had endured a couple of false starts, but has become a real island success story.

The jury for the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards pronounced: “The food is absolutely fantastic and excellent value for money. Brilliant - and we would happily recommend you all to visit”.