Mohammed al Fayed, chairman of Harrods, the luxury department store, is to open a restaurant in the Scottish Highlands.
The entrepreneur is spending £3m on the project and said he plans to seek advice from prominent chefs, including Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver on design and menu.
The eatery, which will be based on al Fayed’s 65,000-acre Balnagown Estate located in Kildary, Ross-shire, is expected to be a traditional inn, with oak panelling, open fireplaces and flagstone floors, with estate-reared meat including venison, lamb and beef on offer.
Al-Fayed plans to make the restaurant a leading destination for gastronomes, placing it at the heart of the estate, which he hopes to develop into a tourist attraction in its own right.
In addition, it is rumoured that its construction could be the subject of a reality television programme.
Al-Fayed said: “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?”
