Award-winning north-east hotelier and chef David Littlewood has become the youngest ever president of Scotland’s national body for chefs.
CHEF proprietor of both Tor Na Coille Hotel in Banchory and Kildrummy Inn by Alfor, David Littlewood (34), is officially the youngest ever president of the Federation of Chefs Scotland (FCS).
He takes over from Ian McDonald, executive chef at St Andrews Links Trust.
Littlewood, who runs Tor Na Coille with his brother-in-law, Nigel Hake, is a MasterChef of Great Britain. He has won numerous awards including Scottish Chef of the Year, Grampian Chef of the Year, Grampian Young Chef of the Year and the SHA Awards Medaille d’Or.
The Kildrummy Inn has been named Rising Star Scottish Restaurant of the Year (2014) and was runner up in The Observer Food Monthly, UK Restaurant of the Year (2014).
The family took over The Tor Na Coille hotel in Banchory in March 2017.
“I was very lucky to be mentored by great chefs in my early career; they inspired me and challenged me and through this, they showed me the immense value in supporting the next generation of great Scottish chefs,” said Littlewood.
“I feel that it’s incumbent upon all of us who have learned from other professionals to continue this tradition. The FCS is an important organisation in driving up standards and our current members play an influential role in enthusing young people about Scottish food and to work in our industry.”
FCS – run exclusively by Scottish chefs – exists to promote excellence in the industry across Scotland through supporting and developing young chefs through training.
Alongside Littlewood, Jav Aziz, executive chef at Rangers, has been appointed vice president. Robbie Penman and Vikki Munro have also joined the board.
The FCS encourages participation in culinary competitions such as the Scottish Culinary Championships and the Scottish Chef of the Year. It also fundraises to support young chefs to undertake national and international learning experiences.
It also helps Scottish pupils learn more about their food through the Chefs@School project. There are currently 100 Scottish chefs volunteering their time to work with 15,000 pupils.
