Mark Donald named head chef of Number One at the Balmoral hotel

Mark Donald has been named as the new head chef of Michelin-starred Number One, at the Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh.

The Scottish chef arrives at the Rocco Forte hotel, following a 13-year stint abroad, during which he held the same position at Bentley restaurant and bar in Sydney, Australia.

He said: "After travelling and working in some incredible locations, I felt it was time to come home to beautiful Scotland. The Balmoral is such an iconic property steeped in history and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such a fantastic team in the heart of Edinburgh."

Donald, who replaces Brian Grigor in the position, heads up a team of 13 and has created a new menu inspired by Scotland, but taking influences from his and the team's international travels. Dishes will include oysters with smoked kipper and parsley; hand dived scallops with Iberico pork and black garlic ketchup as well as Scottish wood pigeon, green juniper and blood and potato cake. He will also place Highland wagyu beef on the restaurant's menu for the first time, serving it with beetroot and smoked bone marrow.

The chef has looked to local producers to elevate his menu, serving bread rolls made with East Lothian barley alongside Perthshire apple vinegar, Highland rapeseed oil and his home-made cultured butter, which uses cream from Kelso dairy farms.

The Balmoral's executive chef Jeff Bland added: "Mark brings a fantastic grounding in fine-dining having worked at some incredible world renowned establishments. His approach to fusing the best of Scottish produce with international flavours brings a fresh new style to Number One. Mark will take Number One to new heights as he respects the restaurant's ethos of continually innovating and surprising our guests."

Donald has previously held positions at Claude Bosi's Hibiscus in London and Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles in Perthshire as well as completing a stage at Noma in Copenhagen.

The hotel also welcomed Alain Roux in June 2018 as the signature chef of Brasserie Prince, which replaced Hadrian's brasserie and the Balmoral bar at the five-red-AA-star, 188-bedroom property.

Brasserie Prince by Alain Roux to open 11 June at the Balmoral hotel>>

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