Executive Chef, Seaton House Lee brings with him not only a remarkable wealth of experience from leading roles in kitchens across the UK, Asia, and the Middle East, but also a strong sense of professionalism, attention to detail, natural leadership, and a passion for seasonal, sustainable, imaginative, and respectful cooking that will inspire the team. During his time at Scotland's renowned Turnberry Resort Hotel, Lee was awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Award for Excellence, having trained under Stuart Cameron and later Ralph Porciani. This foundation has shaped his refined touch and execution on the plate, honed further with openfire cooking restaurant 55 & 5th, Saint Regis Abu Dhabi where Lee won Best Steakhouse in the BBC Good Food Guide followed quickly by Restaurant of the Year. Lee then returned to the UK working in D & D London as Executive Chef in the north overseeing five restaurants with concepts including Japanese robata, New York contemporary British and rooftop bars in Manchester. Since returning to his Scottish roots, Lee is heading up all culinary development at Seaton House along with Chef Roy Brett, a new luxury small hotel in the heart of historic St Andrews.

Lee Tiernan worked at London's iconic St. JOHN restaurant for 10 years, leaving as head chef of St. JOHN Bread and Wine in 2013 to pursue his own vision. He started with a Black Axe Mangal pop-up in Copenhagen (lauded by chefs from around the globe) before securing a permanent site for his restaurant in North London, which has received critical acclaim and garnered an international fan base. Past collaborations include Momofuku Toronto, Joe Beef, Dan Barber's wastED, Action Bronson, Quo Vadis, St. John and Mission Chinese Food. Lee's first book ‘Black Axe Mangal’ was published in 2019 by Phaidon. Lee de-named the restaurant in 2022 and it is now known as Formerly Known as Black Axe Mangal.

LLOYD MORSE is a chef and co-owner of The Palmerston. Originally from just outside Sydney, Lloyd spent more than 10 years cooking in top London restaurants including The River Cafe, Magdalen, Primeur and Spring, before moving to Edinburgh and the likes of Timberyard, Good Brothers and The Free Company. He opened The Palmerston with business partner James Snowdon in 2021. He's an ambassador for UK charity WildFish’s Off the table campaign, launched in 2022 to encourage UK restaurants to take farmed salmon off their menus. The Palmerston champions local and seasonal produce, working closely with farmers and producers - particularly within Scotland - to source the best ingredients available. Whole animals are prepared on-site in the restaurant’s butchery, bringing a low-waste approach to the menu and allowing the team to showcase cuts from the whole animal. The Palmerston menu changes daily, European-style, with dishes including the likes of Tamworth, rabbit and prune terrine, Roast Texel hogget chop, white beans, tomatoes, tropea onion and rosemary, alongside sharing dishes including Roast chicken, chips and béarnaise, cassoulet and signature pies.

Rooted in Saharan desert cooking, Chef Lou brings a deeply personal and story-led approach to the table at Qasba. Drawing from Touareg heritage and shaped by travels across South America, North Africa, Spain, and Mexico, her food reflects a rich dialogue between landscape and migration. Inspired by the warmth of Levantine hospitality and a family tradition of cooking by instinct rather than recipe, each dish is guided by feeling and respect for ingredients — where a pinch of salt is as personal as a fingerprint. Working closely with seasonal Scottish produce, Chef Louisa creates bold, soulful dishes that honour ancestral traditions while embracing a fusion of flavours and techniques. Her work is defined by storytelling through food, deep cultural roots, and a community-led spirit of hospitality that invites people to gather. After the opening of Qasba a year ago she has received recognition from food critic Chitra Ramaswamy in The Times as well as her monthly sold out supper clubs and immersive cooking workshops. Through every menu, Chef Louisa offers a celebration of heritage, fire, travel, and the emotional power of food.

Michael Hunter is a key driving force behind The Spanish Butcher, Glasgow & Edinburgh, two of the UK’s leading modern steak restaurants. His approach is confident, focused, and rooted in exceptional produce. Working with the finest Galician beef available, Michael delivers dishes that are bold, honest, and full of depth where quality speaks first and technique follows. At the core of his cooking is a respect for fire. Simple, powerful, and precise. From perfectly handled Galician cuts to generous sharing dishes, everything is built around flavour, balance, and consistency. For Meatopia Glasgow, Michael brings this philosophy to life cooking over fire in its purest form, showcasing world class beef with dishes that are direct, impactful, and unmistakably Spanish Butcher.

NICK NAIRN is a self taught chef who developed his cooking in the modern French and Italian idiom, recently returned to his early love of Indian and Asian food discovered during his 7 years as a Navigating Officer in the merchant navy. This is reflected in classes at Nick’s Cook School and will be the subject of his next book.

NICK WATKINS is the founder of the Multi award winning burger joint El Perro Negro. Nick started his business as a pop up back in 2014, not coming from a cheffing background but having a drive to produce high quality burgers with high end ingredients. It quickly gained cult status in Glasgow with the first shop opening in 2014 and now operates in both Glasgow and in Edinburgh. El Perro has won best burger in the UK twice, as well as recently winning burger chef of the year among other accolades. Nick is no stranger to Meatopia being one of the first Scottish outfits to attend and has cooked at the event three times, serving up his award winning burgers to massive queues. This year he is cooking on home turf with something a little different. Watch this space.

ROBERTA HALL-MCCARRON opened her first restaurant, The Little Chartroom in 2018, followed by Eleanore in 2021 and Ardfern in 2024. Working in professional kitchens from 16, Roberta moved to Burj Al Arab, Dubai, before returning to work at Michelin-starred The Kitchin. Asked to be on the Castle Terrace opening team by Dominic Jack, she remained for six years (3 as head chef) meeting now husband and FoH at The Little Chartroom, Shaun McCarron. To date, she's won accolades including Best Newcomer at Edinburgh Restaurant Awards 2019; YBF Best Chef 2018; Eating & Drinking Award from The List Magazine; entries in Michelin Guides 2019 and 2020; UK’s Top 100 at Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2020; Breakthrough Chef of the Year at the Food and Travel Awards; Good Food Guide 2020; 100 Most Influential Women CODE, and shortlisted for GQ Best Chef 2022. In 2023 she became Squaremeal’s Female Chef of the Year. Representing Scotland, Roberta made the national finals in the BBC’s Great British Menu in 2020 and 2021, winning the fish course in '21 and cooking at the final banquet.

After 20 years in the service industry, you’d be hard pressed to find somebody as versatile as ROB HALLAS. From humble beginnings in McDonalds, to running nightclubs and bars, Robs unorthodox path has led him to owning and operating Bastards Bistro. A concept that pushes culinary boundaries, Bastards is an idea that was born from grit, determination and a whole lot of stubbornness. From 5 course pairing nights, to festivals to reinventing the scotch egg in lockdown, Rob has managed to indent his versatility and passion for hospitality into something truly exceptional. His cooking style is unique, putting his own spin on classic dishes. Cooking what he loves to eat and serve to the masses.