The team behind the world-famous Skye restaurant with rooms, The Three Chimneys, has announced plans to re-open its kitchen classroom experience for the island’s budding junior chefs next year.
Following the success of its pilot initiative in 2025, The Three Chimneys is now continuing its long-standing partnership with Dunvegan Primary School to offer even more youngsters the chance to hone their cooking skills and learn more about the best local produce from Skye.
The kitchen classroom open day experience for local primary children is part of The Three Chimneys’ ongoing commitment to giving back to the local community on Skye, including charities, local growers, crofters, producers and craftspeople.
Once again, The Three Chimneys’ kitchen will be opened up as a classroom for the day, as part of the latest programme of educational activities for local children, which is being led by head chef Paul Green and his team.
Different groups of 9 to 12 year-olds from Dunvegan Primary School will visit The Three Chimneys in 2026 to find out what it takes to run an award-winning restaurant.
As part of the hands-on experience, the youngsters will get the chance to handle a range of local ingredients showcased on The Three Chimneys menu, as well as front-of-house service. The junior chefs will also have fun finding their way around the professional working kitchen, as well as learning about the provenance and seasonality of ingredients on The Three Chimneys menu.
The Three Chimneys’ kitchen classroom open days have been set up to showcase the best produce from Skye; its sustainable ethos to sourcing high-quality produce; and continue to reconnect youngsters with their local landscape and coastline.
The latest school group to visit The Three Chimneys learnt about front-of-house service and made several dishes to enjoy for lunch together around the kitchen table under the supervision of head chef, Paul Green. Dishes on the menu included Cullen Skink’ The Three Chimneys’ signature Parker house rolls and the classic Three Chimneys marmalade pudding.
Mrs MacGregor, class teacher from Dunvegan Primary School, said:
“We’re delighted to have been involved in this project. It’s been amazing for the children to see the link between locally grown food and its uses. The children have been really excited at the prospect of being involved in the preparation, cooking and serving of this meal for community members they know.
“It gives them a real behind the scenes look and first-hand experience of hospitality, a major sector on the island, which many of them will be involved in in their teenage tears and beyond.”
Sam Muir, Head Teacher from Dunvegan Primary School, added:
“What better place for our pupils to gain insight into the thrill and excitement of a career in the food and beverage industry. They developed skills for learning, life, and work with hands-on experiences in the kitchen and front of house.
“Our pupils were truly inspired in experiencing hospitality at the highest level, and we hope this partnership can continue to grow. Opportunities like this help prepare our young people for their future lives and for meaningful contributions to our local community, where hospitality and tourism play such a vital role. We are incredibly grateful to the Team at the Three Chimneys for this valuable opportunity.”
Eli Varvey, P6, Dunvegan Primary School, said:
“I had the best day ever being a chef. I was making marmalade pudding, and it involved a lot of mixing and moving about. My favourite thing was tasting the food and the excitement of it all. Overall, it was a wonderful time – thank you Three Chimneys.”
Cailean Bandall, P5, Dunvegan Primary School, said:
“I had the best day ever. I was a chef, and I made bread and got to eat it so thank you so much. Five stars.”
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 continued 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 is such a rewarding experience for everyone involved, and we hope it will continue to thrive in 2026.
“We’re confident that our kitchen classroom open days 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, and the Northwest Skye Shinty Club.
“In fact, we’ve just raised a further £571.62 with visiting youngsters from Dunvegan Primary for Northwest Skye Shinty Club, as part of our latest fundraising activity.”
The Three Chimneys is rooted in the communities that make the Isle of Skye. Over the years, the venue has also supported Portree Food Bank, Skye Mountain Rescue, RNLI Portree and the Scottish Ambulance Service Station at Dunvegan.
Three chefs from The Three Chimneys were also recently drafted in to help cater for the Dunvegan Primary School Christmas party lunch.
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
