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Robbie Gleave, Executive Development Chef
Robbie is the chief alchemist in our kitchen/cooking lab, our answer to Heston! He is tasked with creating new, exciting, innovative dishes using only the best, and wherever possible, seasonal and Scottish ingredients.
Bursting with ideas, his imagination can run riot, and it’s worth it for the extraordinarily delectable and completely original menus he devises. Not one to ever kowtow to the norm, Robbie loves nothing more than playing with convention, which gives our events that rare culinary edge without ever sacrificing authenticity or fantastic taste and flavour.
From quirky touches (soup in individual thermos flasks and Kendal mint cake bonbons for a mountaineering-themed dinner) to the showmanship that plays with new techniques (we’re talking dry ice and UV lights), one of Robbie’s high points was his ‘stage’ at the world-famous Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, from where he brought back exciting concepts based around foraging and science as well as completely stunning presentation designs using wild flowers and gorgeous splashes of colour.
And yet, Robbie is also, quite literally, down to earth once he gets digging in his allotment (a less glamorous but equally potent source of inspiration). Supremely motivated and hugely motivational for the rest of the kitchen team, Robbie brings consummate skill, a passion for food, and a touch of humour – surely the perfect combination for an Executive Development Chef!