2 Michelin Star Chefs: Mark Donald, head chef, The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant

 Mark Donald is the head chef at one Michelin-starred The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant 

Mark is the head chef at The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, set in Scotland's oldest working distillery in Crieff, Perth and Kinross.

Biography

Born in Torrance, East Dunbartonshire, Mark started cooking in pubs as a teenager. Hearing stories about places like El-Bulli, Mark dreamt of cooking in Michelin-starred kitchens.

His first exposure to the real world of fine dining was a stage at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, where he then worked for two and a half years.

During that time, Mark also did a stage at Noma in Copenhagen, then at the top spot on the San Pellegrino list.

When he left Gleneagles, Mark joined Claude Bosi at Hibiscus, also a classical fine-dining spot, but with a very different culture than that of Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, and the chef walked away with a better grasp of how to create highly technical, creative dishes. 

He then flew out to Australia, where he worked at Bentley Restaurant in Sydney for three and a half years.

Although he loved the lifestyle down under, and his time there allowed him to develop his own cooking style as well as to explore the Asian influences more present in Australia, Mark admits that while he was over there, he missed the produce available in the UK, and specifically in Scotland.

When he returned, he took on a role as the head chef of Michelin-starred Number One at The Balmoral, retaining the restaurant's star for two and a half years until he left to join the team at The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in early 2021.

He helped form a brigade for the new kitchen, opened the restaurant on July 28th 2021 and was awarded a star seven months later in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland 2022.  Mark gained his second Michelin star in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland 2024.

The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant

A collaboration between Scotland's oldest working distillery (since 1763) and renowned luxury French glassmaker, Lalique, The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant is located on the The Glenturret distillery's grounds, at the foot of the hills of Crieff and alongside the River Turret.

Open for dinner only, the 26-seater restaurant offers a choice of two tasting menus (one classic, one vegetarian), both priced at £125pp with dishes inspired by the local culinary landscape, shaped by Mark's diversity of experience in kitchens spanning different food cultures and styles.

Examples of dishes on the menu include Tattie scone with winter truffle and Baerii platinum caviar; Langoustine, buttermilk and Daurenki Tsar Impérial; Scallop kedgeree; Dover sole with white asparagus; Sika deer, hay smoked celeriac and sour Quince; and Maracaibo millefeuille, green coffee and Glenturret Triple Wood.

The restaurant's 420-bin wine list is partly comprised of a collection from co-owner Silvio Denz' own vineyards, and sits alongside a Whisky Bar with a choice of 250 bottles.

The interior of the restaurant has been its own source of praise within the lifestyle community, with a design from Green and Mingarelli, featuring exposed brick work, blue and red tartans from The Glenturret and Murray clan tartans, paired with soft golden barley tones.

Two of the crystal makers' chandeliers decorate the restaurant, as do its barley motifs adorn the restaurant's polished oak doors and tartan furniture.

Lalique also created the restaurant's bespoke glass and tableware.

Videos with Mark Donald: