Acclaimed chef, Stuart Ralston, is embarking on a new guest chef series, Shore to Shore, celebrating the rich bounty of the British waters and marking the one-year anniversary of his fine-dining venture, Lyla in Edinburgh.
The series will include some of the UK’s most exciting chefs take part in a four-hands dinner with Stuart, bringing their own take on seafood from Scotland and the wider UK coastline. The first part of the ongoing series will take place in October and November, before the second part next year.
The lineup includes:
Alex Nietosvuori, Hjem – 30 October – Hjem is the Michelin-starred restaurant led by Chef Alex Nietosvuori in Wall, Northumberland. Renowned for its Nordic-inspired cuisine, Hjem offers a unique dining experience that showcases the best of Northumberland’s produce. Alex honed his skills under renowned chefs like Björn Frantzén, Sam Nutter and Victor Wågam (Nima sous-chefs) and gained international experience in South America and Oslo. In London, he went on to work with The Laughing Heart’s kitchen team under chef Tom Anglesea before realising his dream at 26 with the launch of Hjem in partnership with his wife Ally Thompson. Hjem was awarded a Michelin star in 2021 affirming Alex’s early success in the culinary world. @a.nietosvuori @hjemrestaurant
Andy Beynon, BEHIND – 11 November – Andy Beynon spent 15 years working with some of the foremost Michelin starred chefs and restaurants in the country, including Claude Bosi, Phil Howard and Michael Wignall. In 2020, Andy opened his debut restaurant BEHIND, an 18 seater kitchen-table restaurant with a seafood focus. BEHIND offers diners a chance to see ‘behind the scenes’ into the kitchen, with the menu utilising the best of British produce. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2020, just 20 days after opening. @andybeynon @behindrestaurant
Johnnie Crowe, Restaurant St Barts – 30 January 2025 – Restaurant St Barts is the culmination of passion and hard work from three long-term friends Johnnie, Luke and Toby – the team behind Nest restaurant in Hackney and Nest Farmhouse in Norfolk. The Experience is a celebration of the world-class seasonal produce found solely in the British Isles. Johnnie and his team serve a tasting menu that uses the very best from small-scale farmers, growers, and conservationists across the Isles. Starting dinner with a series of snacks in the lounge, guests move through to the restaurant’s dining room which overlooks one the oldest churches in London – St Bartholomews the Great. Taking inspiration from the natural materials used to create the historic buildings around us, Restaurant St Barts is built with raw materials such as stone, wood and soft fabric throughout, to bring a feeling of the old Smithfield to the new. @johnniecrowefood @restaurantstbarts
Joshua Overington, Mýse – 18 February 2025 – Joshua grew up in a market town just outside York, spending summers in France and Europe, immersed in French restaurant culture. Joshua took a gap year that brought him to Sydney, where he took a job at a small restaurant, moving up the ranks from pot wash to prep chef. Back on home turf, Joshua cut his teeth at Yorkshire’s Pipe and Glass Inn, before moving to Paris to gain formal training at the legendary Cordon Bleu. During that time, Joshua became engrossed by the bistronomy movement taking the capital by storm and resolved to open a restaurant of his own with his wife Victoria after a successful season of Chalet hosting together. At the ages of 26, Le Cochon Aveugle came into the couple’s hands, where they ran a set menu celebrating classical French techniques. Following the success of le Cochon Aveugle, the duo moved to pastures new and in 2023 opened Mýse, the restaurant with rooms in Hovingham, which was awarded a Michelin star within seven months of opening. @chefjoshoverington @restaurantmyse
Theo Clench (ex Cycene and Akoko) (was to be held in October but is postponed until 2025) – Theo trained in Brighton before moving to London and working at a host of Michelin-starred restaurants, including development at Clove Club as well as Trinity and Portland, where he held the position of Head Chef. In 2020, Theo took the position of Head Chef at Akoko, Fitzrovia’s West African restaurant, where he learned how to extract optimum flavour from ingredients. In 2022, Clench took up the Head Chef role at Cycene, a restaurant in collaboration with Blue Mountain School in Shoreditch, an interdisciplinary arts hub. Cycene was awarded a Michelin star within five months of opening. Theo left Cycene in 2024 to expand his research and development through consultancy and private chef work before announcing his next project. @cheftheoclench
The evening will begin with snacks in the upstairs drawing room of Stuart’s 26-cover restaurant located in the Georgian townhouse on Royal Terrace, alongside cocktails and champagne from the trolley. Guests will then be invited into the main dining room, where the rest of the menu will be served with four courses from each chef. Each dinner will incorporate signature dishes from Lyla and the guest chefs, alongside dishes celebrating the Scottish larder.
An optional drinks pairing by Lyla’s award-winning Head Sommelier, Stuart Skea, will accompany the menu, featuring a collection of small-domain wines and sake, celebrating new-age, old-world and a hefty selection of UK-based producers. N25 Caviar will be sponsoring the series alongside Krug Champagne, which will be supporting the collaboration with Theo Clench as part of their Krug x Flower series.
Opened in October 2023, Lyla is Stuart’s fourth restaurant following Aizle, Noto and Tipo.
Located on Edinburgh’s Royal Terrace, Lyla is an ode to produce from the Scottish Isles, focusing on ingredients from the coastline and earth, taking over the space previously occupied by the late Paul Kitching’s 21212 restaurant. In 2024, Lyla was recognised as one the Best New Openings 2023 by Condé Nast Traveller in the inaugural edition of the awards, debuted at number 28th on the National Restaurant Awards, has been recognised as one of the most exciting restaurants in the UK by World’s 50 Best and was crowned Restaurant Newcomer at the Food & Travel Awards 2024.
Address: 3 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh
www.Lylaedinburgh.co.uk @lylaedinburgh
Price: Theo Clench & Krug Dinner: £325 for menu including paired wines, plus service and any extras
Hjem: £165 for the menu
Behind: £165 for the menu
