The Three Chimneys

Shirley Spear is a self-taught chef who took the risk of transforming her life and fulfilling a dream of owning her own restaurant. Together with her husband Eddie, she bought a small business in an improbable location; a beautiful but remote corner of the Isle of Skye, off the north-west coast of Scotland. From an extremely hesitant start and through many shaky years, that business has developed into one of Scotland's most successful restaurants. In 2002, The Three Chimneys was the only Scottish restaurant to be included as one of the World's Top 50 Restaurants. Four years later, in the spring of 2006, readers of "The Observer Food Monthly" magazine voted The Three Chimneys the "Best Location" award, acknowledging it as being one of the most impressive restaurants in the United Kingdom. This new edition of Shirley's bestselling book has been brought out to celebrate her continued success, and to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the Spears' eventful opening night, from which they never looked back. Shirley is a natural raconteur.


The story of the creation of The Three Chimneys provides a fascinating insight into her life as a chef, restaurant owner and working mum through the recent period of Scotland's burgeoning restaurant scene. A winning combination of recipes, culinary essays and personal anecdotes, plus over 100 evocative images of Skye, its produce and Shirley's mouth-watering creations, this is more than just a cookery book.