JACK 'O' Bryan's in Dunfermline is in the running for a Scottish Thistle Award.
The family-run restaurant on Chalmers Street, which has recently applied for an AA Rosette, was nominated by the public in the 'Best Eating Experience' category.
The awards are run by Visit Scotland and the shortlist will be announced in July, followed by regional finals in the Autumn and the national final in November.
It's the latest accolade for the restaurant as, last month, head chef Jack Coghill was highly commended in the Best Chef category in the Scottish Excellence Awards.
He said: "I think you could say that we are very much on a roll at the moment.
“We were delighted to achieve success at the Scottish Excellence Awards and now we're definitely going to put together as strong an entry as we can for the Scottish Thistle Awards.
“It is fantastic to be nominated and to know that all our hard work as a family business in building up Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s clientele, multiple ratings, and my own particular profile as a young head chef who is also a pastry chef and chocolatier, has not gone unnoticed.”
The 'Best Eating Experience' category aims to recognise restaurants and eateries that provide customers with a memorable dining experience centred around Scottish food and drink, with judges also scoring high those who have sustainability at their heart, with a responsible approach to food sourcing and waste, and who support the local community.
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A popular spot in the city since it opened in 2019, Jack 'O' Bryan's is named after the chefs, Jack and his dad Bryan Coghill, with other members of the family taking on various roles.
Jack added: “The Excellence Awards recognised and rewarded me as a young chef, based on my skills and career development.
“Whereby the Thistle award is very much a team effort – for the whole eating experience when you come to Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s.
"So that too would be fantastic to win and a clear recognition of how hard everyone works, from front of house, to our new wine sommelier, to myself and the chefs in the kitchen.”
Another development at the fine dining restaurant is the introduction of a special lunch offering aimed at the travel trade, with a focus on attracting cruise ship passengers.
Jack explained: “We’re now listed with the local Cruise Forth organisation which promotes activities to cruisers coming into the Forth.
“Our trade lunch is a perfect fit for this target group too, offering them a delicious lunch featuring the finest Scottish produce. We’ll explain the provenance of these world class ingredients, whilst entertaining them with our chef banter!
“It’s all part of on-going activity to bring more tourists to Dunfermline.
“We are delighted to be involved in this and hope that it serves us well in this latest competition.”
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