Graeme Cheevers is the new Executive Chef at Isle of Eriska
Graeme Cheevers has announced that he will leave his current role as head chef at the Michelin-starred Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond at Cameron House.
After eight years at the restaurant, Graeme announced on his social media that he will be leaving to take on the Executive Chef role at the Isle of Eriska Hotel starting in August.
In an exclusive interview with The Staff Canteen, Graeme explained that after the fire at Cameron House in December 2017 which tragically led to two fatalities, he made the decision it was time for a change.
He said: "I've been with the company for eight years and the prospect of the hotel taking a few years to recover before it reopens, basically that was the final decider that it was time to have a little change.
"The time I've spent with Martin are probably the best eight years of my career so far. Obviously it was hard work but I think Martin himself pushed me to be a better chef and it has made me the chef I am today."
He added: "The Isle of Eriska is the right platform for me to produce the food I want to cook and the food I like to cook. I'm looking forward to a bigger challenge, a larger team, a bigger restaurant with more covers and I'll also be in charge of a small brasserie too.
"My food style has always been Modern European with a little bit of Asian influence and it won't change too much from what I'm doing now. I'll still be using British ingredients and I'll be working with a lot of fish and shellfish which I'm used to working with anyway."
Isle of Eriska has previously held a Michelin star and although it's early days Graeme hopes to get back in the guide saying: "In the next 12 months I'm looking to build and develop a strong team and settel into the role. I'm very keen to get the Michelin star back again and so is the hotel, they are a member of Relais & Chatteaux and they want that reputation back at the restaurant.
"That was the sort of job I was looking for, I didn't want to go back to cooking in a basic restaurant I wanted to be cooking the food I love which is the sort of food which usually attracts that accolade."
Born in Scotland, Graeme trained at catering college whilst working part-time in a kitchen. He got his first full-time position at a 2 AA Rosette restaurant in Glasgow and that peaked his interest in fine dining. Graeme went on to work for several high profile Scottish chefs, including Geoffrey Smeddle of the Michelin-starred The Peat Inn.
Martin Wishart is the chef proprietor of three restaurants in Scotland, two of which have stars in the Michelin Guide UK. His flagship Restaurant Martin Wishart in Edinburgh opened in 1999 and was first awarded a Michelin star in 2001. It has held the accolade for 17 consecutive years.
When news spread about him opening a second restaurant at Cameron House on Loch Lomond, Graeme contacted them about a job. A few months after it opened, Graeme started as a commis chef on the pastry section. He worked his way up the ranks at Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond and took on the role of head chef at just 23 years old. The following year, Graeme managed to retain the star previously attained under the leadership of former head chef, Stewart Boyles. Under Graeme, the restaurant has held the star to this day.
Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond is one of three restaurants owned by Martin Wishart. He opened his third and most recent restaurant, The Honours in Edinburgh in 2011.
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