Stephen McLaughlin was born in Glasgow in 1976 and brought up in the same city. Following Catering College, a work placement led him to One Devonshire Gardens, and to the kitchen of Head Chef, Andrew Fairlie. This was to be a relationship that changed his life and career. Upon completing his college course in professional cookery, and a brief spell in the opening brigade of The Malmaison hotel, Glasgow, Stevie returned to One Devonshire Gardens and commenced what would become a 26-year working relationship between the two men. Stevie worked his way through the ranks of Andrew’s kitchen, and moved to Gleneagles Hotel to open Andrew’s first independent business. At Restaurant Andrew Fairlie Stevie rose to the role of Head Chef, and when Andrew sadly passed away in early 2019, has taken over the reins and carries on Andrew’s lifelong work.

In his own words, Stevie says: “I discovered my genuine passion for the trade working part time in restaurants and hotels whilst at Glasgow College of Food Technology.  I quickly recognised that hard graft, a perpetual focus on quality and fastidious attention to detail define a good kitchen.

I remember a time with Andrew, I was young boy and we were tasting a dish with loads of different Scottish seafood on it; the fish was amazing, but for me there was one thing that stood out, and that was the sauce.  A tomato butter sauce but it had such a depth of flavour I hadn’t experienced before.  It was the infusion of star anise that bought the tomato to new heights. It was that point as a young chef as part of my learning I was hooked and I wanted to understand and discover these things for myself and I continue to do so on a daily basis.

Being part of the opening team at Malmaison in Glasgow at the age of 20 was a turning point for me; this led to a Commis Chef position at One Devonshire Gardens and resulted in being a key member of the team when awarded our first Michelin star in 1996.

Promoted through the ranks, Andrew asked me to move from ODG with him to open his eponymous restaurant at The Gleneagles Hotel in 2001; currently the longest standing, and only one of two, 2 Michelin star restaurants in Scotland.  I have held the position of Head Chef since 2006 for the past eleven years.

My key role is creating and evolving new dishes with my senior team – and ensuring we operate with great consistency.

As significant though, is my role in driving the culture of the kitchen; there is a lot to be said for setting a positive work environment with enthusiasm and good humour. I have also learnt how critical development and mentoring is to a team; we take great pride in nurturing and growing young talent.

Our dedicated walled garden is a constant source of inspiration and innovation; test planting new or unusual varieties, creating new uses and combinations with amazing ever-changing produce. 

Keeping it simple is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve; however, we manage to create clean and elegant dishes using both classical and modern techniques.  This, coupled with our access to the most amazing produce in Scotland gives our cooking a real ‘edge’.

My desert island dish would be a whole braised turbot and mash potato shared in the company of my family and friends.   I will never forget my first taste of Joël Robuchon’s Purée de pomme de terre in Paris in my early 20’s – made with equal parts potato and butter and still one of the best things I have ever tasted.  This taught me that texture is as important as flavour and that a great dish can sometimes be as simple as mash potatoes, brilliantly done”.