World-famous Skye restaurant with rooms, The Three Chimneys, has opened its doors to some of the island’s youngest budding chefs to hone their cooking skills and learn more about the best local produce from the island.
Head chef Paul Green and his team turned The Three Chimneys’ kitchen into a classroom for the group of nine to 12 year-olds from Dunvegan Primary School to find out what it takes to run an award-winning restaurant.
As part of the hands-on experience, the group of seven youngsters got the chance to handle a range of local island ingredients showcased on The Three Chimneys menu.
The junior chefs also had fun finding their way around the professional working kitchen for the first time, as well as learning about the provenance and seasonality of ingredients on The Three Chimneys menu.
The Three Chimneys’ pop-up kitchen classroom was designed to showcase the best produce from Skye; its sustainable ethos to sourcing high-quality produce; and reconnect youngsters with their local landscape and coastline.
During the day, head chef Paul Green led a cooking class for the group, where they made several dishes to enjoy for lunch together around the kitchen table, including black garlic, onion and oregano rolls; crab tagliatelle; Vatten Croft lamb; and strawberries with mint and vanilla yoghurt mousse.
Tate Field from P6 at Dunvegan Primary School said:
“It was exciting to be in a proper restaurant kitchen and see what goes on.”
Isobel MacLean from P7, commented:
“I enjoyed trying food that had been grown locally and seeing it being cooked in front of me.”
Eli Varney, P6, added:
“I loved seeing the food being prepared by the chefs.”
Mrs MacGregor, class teacher at Dunvegan Primary School, said:
“The children had an amazing experience at The Three Chimneys where they were lucky enough to see locally grown food cooked in a real restaurant kitchen and then try it for themselves. It gave them an insight into the vast amount of produce that’s available on their doorsteps and how it can be turned into a first-class dining experience for people from all over the world.”
Head Teacher at Dunvegan Primary School, Miss Muir, commented:
“At Dunvegan Primary, we are passionate about developing the skills our young people need for learning, life and work. Experiences like this really help pupils see how the skills they are building in the classroom connect to exciting real-world opportunities. It has been wonderful for our children to discover just how many amazing careers are available to them here on Skye, and to be inspired by the creativity, teamwork and talent they’ve seen in action at The Three Chimneys.”
The Three Chimneys’ work with Dunvegan Primary School is part of its ongoing commitment to annual fundraising and support for local communities and charities on the island.
Every year, The Three Chimneys’ team vote to select a local community group or charity to support with funds raised through voluntary guest donations. This year, their chosen community partners are Dunvegan Primary and Carbost Primary near The Three Chimneys at Talisker on the shores of Loch Harport.
Kieran Walker, General Manager of The Three Chimneys, said:
“Our latest partnership with Dunvegan Primary School really has been a recipe for success. Creating a fun, hands-on space for budding young chefs to learn about cooking and local Skye produce has been such a rewarding experience for everyone involved.
“We’re hoping that our kitchen classroom experience will go some way to inspiring the next generation of hospitality professionals on the island and connecting them with their local environment.”
Kieran added:
“Thanks to the generous donations of our guests, we’re committed to providing ongoing fundraising support to local charities and community groups on the island, including Dunvegan and Carbost primary schools.
“The Three Chimneys is rooted in the communities that make the Isle of Skye. Over the years, we’ve also supported Portree Food Bank, Skye Mountain Rescue, RNLI Portree and the Scottish Ambulance Service Station at Dunvegan.”
Since opening as a restaurant in 1985, The Three Chimneys has been a trailblazer on the Isle of Skye, inspiring visitors to travel from all over the world to satisfy their appetite for the island’s fresh, local produce. The multi award-winning five-star AA star restaurant has three AA rosettes for culinary excellence and is included in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland, as well as The Good Food Guide.
The Three Chimneys and Skye’s oldest distillery, Talisker, are now also leading the rise of the gastro-distillery on the island with ‘The Three Chimneys at Talisker’. This immersive dining experience on the shores of Loch Harport is celebrating Skye as a world-class food and travel destination and reinforcing the island’s reputation for culinary creativity.
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For more information on The Three Chimneys and The Three Chimneys at Talisker, go to https://threechimneys.co.uk and https://talisker.threechimneys.co.uk
For more information on Dunvegan Primary School, go to www.dunveganprimaryschool.com
