“We’re not selling because Inver’s not working. We still have all the energy and all the love, love, love for what we do”: chef-patron Pam Brunton on the story behind her shock announcement

One of Scotland's most celebrated restaurants is up for sale after almost 12 years, but chef-owner Pam Brunton insists Inver remains a thriving business. Cate Devine speaks to the pioneering chef about family, the future and why now feels like the right time to move on.

The food at the award-winning and highly acclaimed Inver restaurant, the impossibly picturesque former crofter’s cottage and boat store on the shores of Loch Fyne overlooking Old Castle Lachlan, has long been celebrated for, as chef herself puts it, her “reimagining Scottish tradition through fermentation and fire” and “showcasing local ingredients foraged from the hills and woods, seafood hauled from the loch, and produce grown and raised by friends and neighbours”. All infused with global culinary influences gleaned from stages at the likes of Noma in Copenhagen under Rene Redzepi, Fäviken in Sweden, De Wulf in Belgium, London’s Sugar Club under New Zealand chef Peter Gordon, and Mju under Japanese chef Tetsuya Wakuda. Dishes on the current menu, such as cucumber and gooseberry broth, cuttlefish with lardo and fennel, Arbroath smokie and kelp, mussel crumpet and flowering kale, illustrate her brilliant culinary creativity blended with the eco-conscious sustainability that attracted Scotland’s first Green Michelin Star (an accolade now renamed as Mindful Voices).

Such is Inver’s reputation that it has just been awarded 4 AA Rosettes, which the AA says places it among the very top in the UK and Ireland. Four rosettes, explains the organisation, recognises “a kitchen that operates at an exceptional technical level with ambition, creativity and refinement in equal measure … showing originality while maintaining balance and clarity”, adding that “Four Rosettes are awarded sparingly, reflecting the rarity of this sustained level of excellence.

It’s fair to say that Inver is one of Scotland’s most treasured and sought-after culinary experiences.

Which might explain the outpouring of shock and bewilderment at the news that chef Pam Brunton and partner Rob Latimer, co-owners of Inver, are selling their business after almost 12 years. I’m old enough to have learned that nothing in life stays the same forever, but all the same I’m curious to know more.

Is Inver another victim of the challenges in the hospitality industry in general?

“We’re not selling because the business isn’t working - quite the opposite,” is the first thing a decidedly buoyant chef Pam Brunton tells me when we speak. “We still absolutely have all the energy and all the love, love, love for this, for producing such an excellent thing. But life is calling us in different directions. Families who need more attention, parents getting older ..”.

The good news is that, barring “a surprise offer we can’t refuse”, the pair have given themselves a long lead time which means that in all probability they will be operating into next year and even potentially beyond. There will be eight years left on the 10-year lease come Spring, a pragmatic element in the decision to announce the sale now.

“We don’t imagine we’ll sell immediately as it can take months or years to sell a business and we’re already looking at a variety of things for next year like collaborations, different people coming on board, different staffing structure. Normally we start that process in November. “Restaurants and food are incredibly emotional spaces to operate in, as they become deeply personal for diners and for us - which is the joy. “All facets of life come through this restaurants, from birthdays, anniversaries, memorials. Food has such a significant role in people’s lives. So we thought that if we give everyone a year or so to give them the time to come and say goodbye, maybe it will mitigate things. We certainly didn’t want to put ourselves in the position of needing to go right now.”

Is there sadness in the decision?

“Of course there’s sadness but at the same time it’s fun watching this play out, wondering what will happen to Inver next. We think it may go even higher fine-dining, or it may go down the path of a simple food offering with lower staffing costs.”

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I try to press her on her own future plans by asking if she plans to keep on cooking, perhaps elsewhere. Turns out she’ll stop cooking “for a wee while, but not completely after 30 years of doing it”. A second book to follow her acclaimed debut Between Two Waters - Heritage, Landscape and the Modern Cook, published by Canongate in 2024, is a more immediate prospect.

“Rob and I have known this isn’t forever, so it was really about ‘when is this going to stop?’ None of this is about the business not working. These are not buoyant times for the industry but at Inver the ends are meeting. Much of our decision has been pragmatic as well as personal.”

And with that, the dynamic pioneering chef and author from Carnoustie, who has just turned 50, must run as she has to deal with a renewed cascade of requests and meetings and of course prep. Meantime all eyes are on the future for this unique talent who writes that she has “eyes in the back of my head, up my nose, in my ears and in each of the tips of my fingers”.

* Inver Restaurant, Strathlachland, Strachur, Argyll & Bute, PA27 8BU. +44 (o) 1369 860537.