The greatest Edinburgh chef you've never heard of
The city's newest culinary star on his journey from cafe kitchen porter to Michelin recognition
Tyler King is Edinburgh’s new rising “Star” chef. Yet, despite gaining the first Michelin award of a career that’s on a steep trajectory, he has passed under the radar. He has managed to do that even though he is working in the city that, according to the Good Food Guide, is the UK’s “most exciting food destination”.
That’s because Tyler (31) managed to retain a coveted Michelin Star for Condita, one of the Capital’s tucked away gastro-gems. He did that following the departure of previous Head Chef Conor Toomey who had seen the south side restaurant gain a star in 2019 and hold it every year since.
The headlines and glory – understandably – fell to the chefs in the city’s two restaurants gaining their stars for the first time, Rodney Wages at The Avery and Stuart Ralston at Lyla. The city now has seven restaurants which are starred, more than any UK city other than London.
Yet Tyler’s voyage, from café kitchen porter at a local golf course to Michelin star renown, is an inspiring one of talent and determination.
Tyler and the team retained Condita’s Michelin star, having only taken on the role at the start of 2024. Retaining a coveted award attracted none of the media razzamatazz that winning a new star for the first time attracts. But it takes a kitchen-load of talent and hard-work.
Crowning a new King
Mark Slaney and partner Rebecca Hayward opened Condita in November 2018. Everything in the fine-dining space in Newington is a labour of love, from the hand-sketched menus, the wine list, and the mid-century McKintosh of Kirkcaldy furniture to what’s being played on the vintage record player all add to the place’s relaxed vibe.
Despite its gastronomic success, Condita takes a low-key approach, but in spite of this it still attracts serious foodies from as far away as the USA and Europe. They only have six tables and serve a surprise evening tasting menu. The independent owners pride themselves on their simple stripped-back philosophy where the best Scottish ingredients shine.
Finding a new chef for a Michelin-starred restaurant is not for the fainthearted. It comes with massive pressures for both the owners and the incoming chef. King explains, “In a lot of senses it's a lose-lose situation. You're expected to keep it, if you lose it, you're always going to the guy that lost on the star.”
King grew up in St Monans, and his first kitchen porter job was at The Pavilion café at Elie golf course when he was aged fourteen. He was hooked from day one. “I loved the speed of it, the rush of service, working at 100 miles an hour.” He even enlisted his younger brother, lying about his age to get him the job alongside him.
The small fishing village of St Monans provided King with an early introduction to seafood. “I tailed my first prawn when I was about six. We used to find washed-up creels on the beach, catch stuff or fish off the pier. If we caught a lobster, we would try to sell them to the local fishmonger.”
King left school at age fifteen. He candidly admits he is more of a hands-on learner than an academic but attended both Adam Smith College in Kirkcaldy and Elmwood College in Cupar.
After college, along with his brother and another chef, they ended up at The Bank pub in Anstruther. He says, "Looking back, it was good fun. It was a bit crazy that the three of us were left to run the kitchen. We were all really young.”
He then got his first commis chef role, at the one AA rosette, Malmaison in Dundee. He admits it was the first time he had ever worked in the kitchen with proper sections before, it was in his own words, “a bit of an eye-opener.”
“I worked close to one hundred hours in my first week. It was a real education, there was so much that I had not seen or heard about before.”
First taste of real fine dining
He set about gaining more experience and headed south to work at the three AA rosette Rockliffe Hall at Darlington: “It was where I first saw real fine dining in action.”
After a year he moved back to Fife and worked at the Michelin-starred Cellar restaurant Anstruther, before moving to Edinburgh as chef de partie at Angels and Bagpipes on Royal Mile. He worked his way up to sous chef before moving to Castle Terrace to work with Dominic Jack before taking a role at Number One Restaurant at The Balmoral Hotel run by Mark Donald.
During the pandemic, King returned to Fife, rented the Pavilion Kitchen, where he had his first job, and along with his brother and another chef started delivering three-course meals, making everything from scratch.
Then to fulfil an ambition to work abroad and experience a thriving European Michelin-starred restaurant scene he moved to Berlin, without a job. Within two weeks he landed a position at the chef-owned Prism, a one-star Michelin restaurant. After just over a year returned to Scotland ready to take on a head chef role at the Bridge Inn, Ratho, and from there he headed for Skye to work with chef Jordan Webb at Kinloch Lodge.
While on Skye he was approached about the head chef position at Condita. "It sounded great and was exactly what I wanted to do, but I was also wary of getting my hopes up, that's what this industry does to you. I had eaten there when they first opened. I saw lots of potential and I liked the concept of small numbers and one menu. But I also thought I could bring something new to it.”
Fortunately, Condita’s owners liked him and more importantly, his cooking impressed them. With free rein in the kitchen, King brought his culinary story to the restaurant and didn’t attempt to replicate Toomey’s style.
Condita’s menu changes with the seasons. King says, “I always try to make the dishes going on the menu better than the ones coming off. It needs to be an improvement, as opposed to a replacement.”
Focus is on ingredients
He explains his culinary style evolves constantly, “It's a reflection of what I like to cook and eat and what produce I have available. I like spicy food with 'punch-you-in the-face' levels of heat, so I cut the heat down and refine it more for Condita.”
The main focus is on ingredients. The techniques he employs come from all over the place, including South Asia. But as a classically trained French chef, it’s always in the background of his cooking.
King is proud of East Neuk’s incredible larder from which he sources produce: “It's a gold mine. I source from Fife because I am familiar with it. I know it's incredible, and there’s a lot more going on there now than there was when I lived there as an 18-year-old.”
He also uses homegrown produce from the owners' allotment and garden. The wild ingredients like pepper dulse, wild garlic, and gorse are foraged. King preserves wild food in his dishes throughout the year. He explains, “We're still using pineapple weed from last year which we made into a fermented syrup to make a dessert.”
At Condita, both the food and guest experience matter equally. He explains, “It is an interactive experience, the chefs come to greet the guests at the tables and give them a run through the dishes. One of the best parts of Condita, for me, is I get to speak to them and see their reactions to what I serve. I especially like it when people come, who have perhaps saved to come here, as a one-off thing.”
The restaurant has a small team of eight, so there's nowhere to hide. Everybody has to know their stuff. Diners can see King is either cooking in the kitchen or out in front plating up.
Retaining a Michelin star was a huge relief. King went to the ceremony with his brother, Marcus, a sous chef at Fife Arms in Ballater. The glittering ceremony saw Kelvingrove Museum filled with a whole constellation of culinary greats, “Seeing everyone there in the room was amazing. I knew everyone, but nobody knew me. I have followed their careers for years.”
A highlight came when his former boss Mark Donald, the chef behind the Michelin two star Glenturret Lalique restaurant, introduced him to Jocky Petrie, known as Chef Jocky, best known for his work alongside chef Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay’s Hell's Kitchen. Stuart Ralston at Lyla, and Rodney Wages at Avery walked up on stage and publicly received their embroidered chef’s La Font jacket, and Michelin award, to a thunderous round of applause.
Although King didn't get his 15 seconds of fame in the limelight or receive a chef’s jacket on the night. La Font made amends a few days later, sending him a Michelin embroidered jacket which he now is wearing with pride.
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That explains why the food at the pavilion was so good for a while! Congratulations to Mr. King - may his star continue to shine.