The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Kevin cooks up a plan for another restaurant
From a young age Kevin Dalgleish knew he wanted to be a chef. What he couldn’t have imagined is the culinary journey he’d embark on throughout his career.
From working with award-winning chefs, cooking for former US President Bill Clinton and appearing on TV show Great British Menu, his career has been varied.
The 51-year-old is now the owner of two AA rosette restaurant Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish in Aberdeen’s Queen’s Terrace and working towards opening another restaurant in the city with Union Street an option.
And launching soon will be Bespoke Catering by Amuse which will see Kevin and his team bring their same level of excellence to private events.
It’s taken years of hard work, long hours and dedication for Kevin to achieve his dream of opening his own restaurant.
He was just 14 years old when he started working in a restaurant in his home town of Hawick.
Kevin said:“My next door neighbour knew someone who was opening a restaurant and he was looking for a young guy to help him. I was lucky to start there.”
Upon leaving school Kevin did the Youth Training Scheme in cookery with day release at Borders College.
He said: “I used to buy The Caterer magazine when it was really thick and had about 200 job adverts in it. There was no emails or online job adverts.
“I used to look at the hotel logos and would write to those who had nice ones.
“I never thought anything about it and then a week later I got an envelope through the door with The Savoy logo on it. I opened it up and they had asked me for an interview.”
Kevin got the job as a commis chef and at the age of 19 found himself leaving home and moving to London.
Despite admitting to being homesick for the first couple of months he settled in and made the most of the opportunity training under Anton Edelman.
Kevin then moved on and spent 18 months working at Anton’s Mosimann’s The Club in Belgravia again as a chef de partie.
But it was then he decided that he wanted to go back to Scotland to be closer to his family.
He worked at a hotel in Troon before again using The Caterer magazine to apply for a job at 15th century Ackergill Tower, a castle in Wick, where he spent 12 years as a sous chef.
While there he started The Food of Love weekend. These events saw him joined by some of the country’s top culinary stars including Paul Rankin, Angela Hartnett and Anton Mosimann to co-host the private dining weekends.
Kevin made his move to the Granite City in 2012 joining Simpsons, which then became The Chester Hotel, as executive chef.
He said: “Every position I moved in to it was a step up the ladder.”
It was a short time later Kevin got the chance to open his own restaurant in Queen’s Terrace with the closure of No.1 Bar & Grill.
He invested £100,000 opening Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish in July 2022.
Kevin, dad to Robbie, 13, and 21-year-old stepdaughter Hannah, said: “I thought to myself can I do it. It was a massive undertake and I thought long and hard about it.
“Someone said to me I would regret it if I didn’t give it a go so I went for it.”
In January last year Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish secured entry into the prestigious Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland, one of only three restaurants within the city to achieve two AA Rosettes.
Kevin, a fan of Richard Corrigan and Phil Howard, currently has 22 members of staff including Robbie who works as a cellar boy once a week and Hannah who works part-time.
“You’ve got to believe in yourself. If I could give anybody any advice it would be to believe. If you don’t then no one else will.”