Head chef Bruce hasn’t let being deaf affect his career

Being deaf has never stopped Bruce Price from achieving his ambitions in the kitchen – and now he’s joined the newly-refurbished Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club as its new executive head chef.

Bruce has cooked all over the world from Australia to Switzerland, China and Taiwan, since his early days in his native New Zealand.

During his time in Scotland, where he’s won the highly acclaimed ‘Scottish Chef of the Year’ title three times over, Price has worked for The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, Apex Hotels, and was executive head chef at Crieff Hydro Hotel for six years.

Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Bruce said: ‘I’m very much looking forward to settling in at Dalmahoy and getting to know my team here. I’m passionate about good ingredients used well. I’m all about using and sourcing Scottish produce in my menus, an ethos which Dalmahoy also shares, so I felt we would be a good match.

‘The hotel’s Pentland Restaurant menu celebrates Scotland’s larder – and, indeed, even one very close to home – the hotel’s own herb garden, which I’m excited about getting involved with.

‘My first job will be to look at menu planning for the season ahead. I’ll be complementing excellent Scottish produce with some international influences I’ve picked up on my travels and cooking in other countries. Expect to see some innovations like a Kiwi Burger on the specials in The Brasserie!’

The new executive chef has been deaf since birth, something which he’s never allowed to hold him back.

Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club’s new executive chef Bruce Price (Picture: Stewart Attwood)

He explained: ‘I have never, ever let my deafness restrict my ambition to become a great chef. I have never seen it as a disadvantage.”

‘While the day’s business is written out on a whiteboard every morning, communication in the kitchen is mostly verbal, with me lip-reading and staff quickly learning to understand my spoken instructions. It’s a slightly different way of working for the team here, but I’m sure it won’t be long before my new team and I get to know each other.’

Bruce will be responsible for a 24-strong kitchen team across Dalmahoy’s Pentland Restaurant, the James Braid Bar and Brasserie, a lounge which serves snacks and afternoon tea, private dining areas as well as the hotel’s conference, weddings and events catering offering.

An authentically Scottish culinary hotspot, overlooking the golf course and acres of parkland with views over to Edinburgh Castle, the Pentland Restaurant is Dalmahoy’s signature dining restaurant and makes for a memorable experience.

Alistair Kinchin, general manager at the independently-branded Dalmahoy said: ‘We’re really pleased to welcome Bruce to our team here at Dalmahoy. We’ve worked hard to cement our culinary reputation in Edinburgh, and as a three-time Scottish Chef of the Year, it’s a real coup to have enticed Bruce to join us. Bruce’s stewardship heralds exciting times ahead for Dalmahoy as a food destination.’

Set amidst a thousand acres of parkland on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Dalmahoy is a four-star hotel and country club with an original 18th century baronial-style manor at its heart.

For more details, visit www.dalmahoyhotelandcountryclub.co.uk

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