Following a full refurbishment of the dining area in 2023, the kitchen investment aims to boost productivity, creativity and efficiency for chef director Stephen McLaughlin and his 12-strong kitchen team.

Restaurant Andrew Fairlie was awarded a Michelin star in 2002, within a year of opening, and the second star was added in 2006. In February this year, the restaurant retained two Michelin stars for the 20th consecutive year.

Designed by CNG Foodservice Equipment, the space remains the same, but the equipment and arrangement have been reconfigured to deliver a smarter way of working, which is more comfortable, practical and enjoyable for the culinary team.

As part of the re-fit, three new cooking spaces have been added to the existing Athanor suite, reducing pressure and waiting time to access the stove. Two medium sized ovens have been taken out and replaced by one large Rational iCombi Pro and two baby combi ovens in different areas of the kitchen. This reduces traffic in all sections of the kitchen, minimising chefs carrying food and equipment past each other.

Stephen Hobbs, director of Grande Cuisine Ltd, commented: “It is an honour to have been involved with team and all at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie over a number of years. We installed the Athanor suite back in January 2010, and it’s great to see the original suite being refurbished and returned to new, ready for another 15 years of service.

“It just goes to show the foresight Andrew had for the restaurant all those years ago is still relevant, and the benefits that come from long-term investment plans for infrastructure, product and most importantly the team.”

Restaurant Andrew Fairlie’s signature dish, the Home Smoked Scottish Lobster now has its own area in the kitchen. The famous dish, which features on both the a la carte and ten-course Degustation menu, is usually served to every table in the restaurant each day.

This was a key part of the reconfiguration, with additional space created for two chefs to work together, making the process more efficient and improving the working environment for the chefs.

With the health and well-being of the team a top priority, all work surfaces have been raised by 10cm to relieve pressure on the back; all edges are rounded to remove any sharp corners; and the open plan elements of the kitchen have been increased, removing barriers and widening communication channels and opportunities for eye contact and collaborative learning.

Every element of the kitchen was considered as part of the process, with improvements to positively impact each member of the team, from head chef to kitchen porter.

Commenting on the kitchen investment, McLaughlin said: “Our aim at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie is for every guest to leave happy and with a ‘cannot wait to return’ feeling inside them. We want to make sure the team feel this way too. We recognised that there were parts of the kitchen that didn’t work as well as they could, so rather than settling with an unsatisfactory environment, we decided to do something about it.

“The work we do is labour intensive and highly detailed – we want to ensure the team is empowered to do this comfortably and without any additional pressure, which will deliver the best possible result for our people and the guests who dine with us.

“We invited the original designers back in to make the kitchen work better for us today. We have a long-standing relationship and they’ve done a fantastic job. After assessing a day of prep and two evenings of service, they came up with simple changes that would deliver improvements.

“We’re now working much smarter in a more productive, collaborative and healthier environment. The response from the team has been overwhelmingly positive. Andrew would always teach us to work less with our backs and inspire us to work more with our heads, and this feels like a natural evolution of the Andrew Fairlie experience that I know He would be proud of.”