Harrods boss to open restaurant in the Scottish Highlands

Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed is planning to open a £3m restaurant in the Scottish Highlands. 

The Egypt-born tycoon said he will seek advice from chefs, including Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, to help with the design. 

The restaurant, which will be on al-Fayed’s Balnagown estate in Easter Ross, will come complete with oak-panelled fireplaces and flagstone floors.

Al-Fayed, who plans to start construction later this year, aims to make it one of Scotland’s most prestigious places to eat, offering estate-reared produce such as venison and beef. 

“I plan to ask top chefs such as Jamie Oliver for advice,” he told The Sunday Times. “I am doing this because I love the Highlands. I produce Scottish beef, lamb and venison for Harrods. 

“Why shouldn’t local people and visitors to the Highlands enjoy this produce at the place it actually comes from?"

The plans for the restaurant are part of an ambitious project to develop Balnagown as a leading tourist destination, including a nine-hole golf course on which players will only be permitted to use traditional wooden clubs with hickory shafts. 

In 2003, al-Fayed revealed plans for a 50-bedroom luxury hotel on an oil rig in the Cromarty Firth, eastern Scotland. Work is due to begin in 2008. 

By Daniel Thomas

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