Roy Brett - Judging Panel

Roy Brett was the Scottish entrant for the Celtic Cook Off 2011 and overall winner of the event. The Ready, Steady, Cook style competition, which took place in September last year, here at the West Cork Hotel, is happening again this year, and we look forward to welcoming back Roy, but this time as one of the elite Judging Panel.

Born in Edinburgh, Roy Brett has worked with some of the world’s most renowned chef in some of the UK’s most famous restaurants.

Starting with a three-year apprenticeship at Edinburgh’s Caledonian Hotel, Roy worked under Alan Hill and Jeff Bland, and from here he moved to the Savoy Grill in London.

His first position as head chef was at One Devonshire Gardens, Glasgow and after a time here Roy returned to London to work with Mark Hix at Le Caprice, but he returned back to the north in 1993, to take up the position as executive chef of the Glasgow and Edinburgh Malmaisons, where he worked for eight years.

Upon leaving here, he teamed up with Rick Stein in Cornwall and it was during his time there that Stein’s flagship restaurant in Padstow was named Restaurant of the Year for four consecutive years.

In 2007 Roy took up the position as Chef Director at Dakota Hotels, opening at Euro Central and then Forth Bridge shortly afterwards. Under his supervision, Dakota became the first Scottish restaurant to earn an accreditation for sustainable sourcing from the Marine Stewardship Council.

It was in 2009 that Roy launched Ondine and since then it has achieved critical acclaim and won a variety of awards including Chef of the Year and the food prize at last year’s Spirit of Scotland Awards. As well as currently being the Good Food Guide’s Scottish Restaurant of the Year.