Renowned chef Andrew Fairlie is stepping down from his two Michelin-starred restaurant at Gleneagles due to a terminal brain tumour.
He has been fighting the illness since 2005 with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery but was told in June no further treatment was available, The Times Scotland reported.
Mr Fairlie is now retiring from the restaurant, which he established in 2001, to arrange a wedding with his partner Kate White and spend time with friends.
Read more: Top 12 Scottish restaurants, as chosen by The Herald's Ron Mackenna
He said goodbye to colleagues in the kitchen on Saturday and will officially hand over the keys to the head chef Stevie McLaughlin, general manager Dale Dewsbury and his business partner Gregor Mathieson in February.
Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at the luxury Pertshire hotel is the only one in Scotland with two Michelin stars.
Mr Fairlie told The Times: "Giving up my restaurant kitchen was the hardest part.
"The fact that I'll never be back, never have that buzz and atmosphere of the kitchen again, was very emotional.
"But it's dangerous for me to be there. I'd just be a liability."
He added: "I had so many sleepless nights worrying that my life's work would turn to dust.
"My worst case scenario was that Gleneagles would take back the space and give it to some other chef.
"I am very grateful that it is not the case and that my legacy will continue."
Sharan Pasricha, founder and chief executive of Ennismore, which owns Gleneagles, said: "We're immensely proud of all of Andrew's achievements including being Scotland's only two-star Michelin restaurant for the past 12 years, and are delighted to continue the legacy of such an important and cherished culinary icon through the renewal of our long-term partnership with the restaurant.
"Importantly, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie is a close-knit team of experts who share Andrew's vision, drive and passion for excellence, and who work tirelessly together to offer one of the finest culinary experiences in the world.
"We're confident that, under Gregor, Stevie and Dale's leadership, this deep-rooted ethos will be preserved, developed and enhanced for future guests, and we'll continue working closely with them to ensure it remains at the pinnacle of the global culinary scene."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel