FROM the Scottish Borders to Aberdeenshire and Sydney Australia, Ivor Clark has spent the past 35 years satisfying the taste buds of diners across the world. And having honed his skills for the last 12 at Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf & Spa, the Peebles-born family man has no plans yet to hang up his apron.

For as head chef at the four-star hotel and just a stone’s throw from his family home, Ivor still relishes the chance to serve up mouth-watering dishes prepared using the finest freshest ingredients for his leisure and corporate guests.

A graduate of City & Guilds at Telford College in Edinburgh, 50 year-old Ivor overseas a close knit professional team of eight chefs. They collectively provide a great dining experience within the AA rosette awarded Renwicks Restaurant and serve-up flavoursome dishes to satisfy the hearty appetites of visiting golfers and mountain-bikers.

Ivor said: “I’ve been working at Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf & Spa since it opened in 2003 and I can honestly say no two days are ever the same. It’s a tremendous buzz and privilege to ensure our guests, from hungry golfers and wedding parties to couples on a short-break consistently enjoy dishes prepared with pride and passion.

“As part of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts group, we always prepare food using whole raw ingredients. Our menus always reflect foods that are in season, like asparagus (April-June) and summer berries.

“Personally, I enjoy preparing dishes that feature game like venison or combine old and new cooking techniques using cuts of prime Scotch Beef. For example, we may offer a braised beef blade with a melt-in-mouth seared beef fillet that is served with the likes of spinach or balsamic roasted shallots. In my experience, over the summer months guests also enjoy lighter flavoursome dishes like a shaved fennel salad with a fresh piece of cod and new potatoes.” While his hand-picked suppliers always deliver on Ivor’s demand for the ‘finest freshest’, the Borderer is proud too that breakfast guests now also enjoy a taste of his very own specially prepared homemade marmalade and jams.

It’s all very much part of a day’s work for the chef, though he has enjoyed the bright lights and beaches of Sydney, he feels very much at home overseeing the kitchens within the 99-bedroom hotel that overlooks the famous River Tweed and is surrounded by the picturesque Borders countryside.