Chef Danny Young. The Torridon
The weather changes at least a dozen times during the 24 hours I spend at the Torridon, a remote hotel in the northern Scottish Highlands. At one point, it’s rainy, then the fog rolls in. Later, the sun peeks through the clouds and sends a rainbow arching across the grey-blue water of Loch Torridon. The rain returns, followed by the sun, followed by an even harder rain. But the ever-evolving weather is part of the allure of the 18-room hotel, once the hunting lodge of the Earl of Lovelace and his wife Ada. That grandiose history lingers, although in recent decades the hotel has adapted to the times.
The Torridon is now owned and run by Daniel and Rohaise Rose-Bristow, who live on the estate and make updates to the property each winter, including room renovations and the addition of pens for the hotel’s pigs. The Torridon is now the U.K.’s most northerly five-star hotel; from London, it’s accessible by flying to Inverness and driving two hours through the scenic Highlands. Some of the updates made in recent years have been to the Torridon’s culinary offering, which is now in the hands of English chef Danny Young. He joined in 2024 and quickly expanded the scope of the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, 1887, and its more casual spot, Bo & Muc Brasserie. In early 2026, 1887 was awarded its first Michelin star.
“It was a big move,” Young, 32, tells Observer of his decision to relocate to the Highlands. He’s speaking from the Torridon’s sitting room, where a fire is blazing despite it only being mid-September. Through the large picture windows behind him, the weather is being predictably unpredictable.
The Torridon. The Torridon
“But it’s been the right move, and everything’s gone in the right direction,” he acknowledges. “We’ve been able to find more of an identity in what we do in the restaurants. Michelin wasn’t ever the goal. The minute you start chasing it, you’re cooking for them rather than the guests. So we did what we believed in and cooked amazing food with great local ingredients. Eventually, if something is good enough, you’ll get noticed.”
1887, named for the year the Torridon was built, spans two rooms at the front of the castle-like building. It can seat up to 38 guests for breakfast, but Young prefers to keep dinner more intimate and not fill every table. In the evenings, 1887 showcases the best of local produce, seafood and meat across a nine-course tasting menu, which runs £150 per person. The Torridon has an expansive kitchen garden, where many of the ingredients on the 1887 menu are grown—a highlight of the dining experience. Although Young wasn’t particularly familiar with the area before moving to Scotland, he has found an incredible bounty of products there.
“Almost every dish has an element from the garden,” he says. “The langoustines come from the loch just outside. Our scallops come from Orkney. A few things come from farther afield, like the tomatoes, which are from the Isle of Wight, and the beef in the beef tartare is ex-dairy cow from Yorkshire.”
The 1887 restaurant at the Torridon. The Torridon
The langoustines are sourced from a local fisherman in Loch Torridon, who catches them near the hotel. The ensuing langoustine dish is the highlight of the meal at 1887. “I had never seen a langoustine this big before I came here,” Young says. “I don’t think anyone in the U.K. is getting them this big. We’ve had that dish on since December, and we haven’t changed it because it blows people’s minds.”
The shellfish, which has a buttery texture, is served in a rich bisque sauce made with the shells and sea bass bones. It’s augmented with a Champagne foam that Young creates using the leftover Champagne from the wine service the night before and lemon verbena from the garden. Almost no waste is generated by the dish.
Loch Torridon langoustine, crafted with champagne and lemon verbena. The Torridon
“We try to roll each course into the next one so all of the elements of an ingredient get used,” Young says. “The sea bass is served later, but we can use the bones for the sauce. We always wanted to get the most out of a product, especially if it’s a prime product like the langoustines or the sea bass. We also work with the brasserie to help reduce waste in both restaurants.”
While most of the ingredients are relatively local, Young does source pigeon from France, truffles from Hungary and caviar from Germany. The coffee comes from farther afield, but it is roasted in Inverness. For Young, it’s important to include a few luxury products, like truffles, but he always wants to use them in a balanced way. “Using caviar in the right way can add a lot to a dish,” he notes. “And it’s nice for the chefs, too. They might never get to use it again.”
Another highlight of the menu is the beef tartare, served with the Umai caviar and a sugar kelp sauce. It’s so rich I almost couldn’t finish it, which is a compliment. Currently, Young uses ex-dairy cows from a farmer in Yorkshire who does full animal butchery on his farm. That allows the chef to verify the meat’s provenance, which is then aged for 45 days. It has a marbled, rich texture and flavor, which Young enhances by marinating it in its own fat. “That way we’re using every bit of what comes in,” he says. “The rest of the beef trim goes for the brasseries to make gravies or sauces.”
Young sources the meat at the restaurant from a farmer in Yorkshire. The Torridon
The Torridon does have its own herd of Highland cows, although they aren’t used as regularly in the restaurants. Guests of the hotel can sign up to feed and brush some of the herd, which graze right outside. The hotel butchers one or two cows in the early spring, and the meat lasts around six weeks, although Young says it tends to be used for burgers rather than finer cuts.
“We’ve just changed the breeding program because Highland cows are not known for the best meat,” he says. “We’ve just added two crosses in this year into the breeding program, which means next year we’ll be looking at two Highland Cross Shorthorn cattle. It’s been a learning process. And, of course, people come to Scotland to see the cows, so we don’t want to take that away.”
The pigs, who live in two large pens near the kitchen garden, may also find themselves on a plate. One group is composed of Mangalitza pigs, which Young describes as the “wagyu of pigs,” and the other is a group of saddlebacks. “It will probably be next summer before we can get them on the menu,” he says. “Pork gives you a good chance to make charcuterie and stuff like that. So it’s great for the chefs because they can learn all about the charcuterie.”
Getting the most out of every product is a priority at the restaurant. The Torridon
Young sees his work at the Torridon, which joined Relais & Châteaux last November, as a long-term project. He hopes to add dry-age fridges and trolleys, and he always wants to keep improving how he trains his team. Young admits that it can be a challenge to attract talent to somewhere as remote as the Highlands, especially during the winter months. But he’s a big believer in staying somewhere for as long as possible, and he encourages his employees to do the same. It’s a sensibility Young learned while working at Northcote, a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Blackburn helmed by chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen. Over his 13 years there, Young grew from apprentice to head chef.
“There is a part of me that wishes I’d move around to see other things,” he says. “I’ve found myself trying to learn a lot more now because I’ve missed being in different kitchens. But that’s what traveling is for. I get away as much as possible. And I think it was the right sacrifice. I’ve learned a lot about being a leader and managing a team from a younger age. I think it’s important for chefs to stay put for a while. Here, we look for people we can invest in and who can then give us something back.”
Young, who is originally from Lancashire, started at Northcote when he was 16, although he didn’t necessarily set out to become a chef in a fine dining restaurant. He had applied to join the British Navy at 15, but didn’t pass the math exam.
“I was going to go into the navy and become a chef because I really enjoyed cooking,” he recalls. “But during the exit interview, they said I didn’t have the math skills. Two weeks later, I got an apprenticeship at Northcote. I’d gone from wanting to go into the navy to working in a Michelin-starred kitchen. Everyone says everything happens for a reason, and I’m a big believer of that. I could have had a completely different career.”
After leaving Northcote in 2022, Young spent time working in Cornwall at a pub near Port Isaac. “Everything was perfect, but it wasn’t the food that I wanted to do,” he says. “People wanted burgers, fish and chips, pizzas. I felt like I’d worked too hard to do that type of food, so I left. I want to keep pushing myself with high-end ingredients, finding the best beef in Cornwall, the best scallops, the best langoustines. But at the time, there was nothing in Cornwall that fit the bill. My recruiter said, ‘I do have a property in the middle of Scotland.’”
The Torridon. The Torridon
Out of curiosity, Young flew up to Scotland to see the Torridon. Four weeks later, he had relocated there. Although many of the staff members live on-site, Young has settled into a nearby house. The secluded lifestyle is part of the Torridon’s allure, which Young now understands.
“When you get here, you are in the middle of nowhere,” he admits. “Being here takes you away from the outside world for a few days. We get so many people coming and turning their phones off. Some people want to be in the mountains, some people just want to sit here in the lounge for the afternoon, or they want to walk through the gardens. There’s so much versatility to what they can do, from falconry to boating on the loch to the cow feeding to dining at 1887.”
Young’s take on an ice cream sandwich. The Torridon
In September and October, Young will swap in his fall menu. Some of the dishes, like the dessert, a take on an Eton mess, don’t completely change. Mine was served with raspberries, but Young has also served the dish with rhubarb or strawberries, depending on what’s in season. Soon, he’ll use blackberries foraged from the local area. Young’s recent accolades, like the Michelin star and being named National Chef of the Year earlier this year, have brought more possibilities to his doorstep, including the offer of global partnerships with brands like San Pellegrino. But Young doesn’t want to import bottled water when the Torridon has its own water source, which yields the best water I’ve ever tasted. And he wants to keep using what’s available in the U.K., rather than looking for products around the world.
“We’ve got some of the best natural water coming through our land,” he says. “Bringing in a brand doesn’t fit with what we do. We do a lot of work with Macallan because it’s right next door to us in Scotland. We’re never going to work with Nespresso because we have a great coffee company here. Why change it? It’s amazing to get these opportunities, but everything has to fit with what we do at the Torridon.”
Young isn’t chasing more stars, although he’d be grateful for any recognition. He wants to keep building on what he and his team are doing at the Torridon, both at 1887 and at Bo & Muc. Sustainability and sourcing are important, as is staff retention. But for Young, the most essential issue is staying true to his vision.
“I believe in the food we do, and that’s because of the ingredients,” Young says. “We’re using the same quality of ingredients that the two- and three-star chefs are using. We never want to compromise on that. We want people to come here and to know that everything they touch and feel and eat is quality. Each year we ask: What can we do better? That way, every time guests come back, the experience and the food have changed, it’s improved, and it’s on another level.”
Dining and Cooking