A career in food: Marco Piere-White on Martin Wishart

IT IS difficult to win the approval of Marco Piere-White, but the celebrity chef brims with praise for his former student: "One of my ex-guys, Martin Wishart, must surely be knocking on the door of two Michelin stars now."

That elusive second star might have evaded the celebrated Edinburgh chef, but his cookery career suffers from no shortage of accolades. After studying under numerous renowned chefs such as Albert Roux, Nick Nairn, John Burton-Race, Marc Meneau and Charlie Trotter, his Restaurant Martin Wishart opened in February 1999.

Initially staffed with a mere four people, it has grown in critical and commercial acclaim, culminating in a Michelin star in January 2001, maintained ever since. Other awards heaped on the dining spot in the Port of Leith, pictured right, include: four rosettes in the AA Restaurant Guide; the best fine dining prize at the Scottish Restaurant awards; the best-rated UK restaurant at the Top Table awards; and this year's Chef's Chef of the Year award - a prize that allows all AA Rosette-awarded chefs to decide which of their peers deserves special recognition.

Wishart opened his second restaurant at the Cameron House Hotel, Loch Lomond, pictured bottom right, in 2008, and scooped up the most stylish restaurant in Scotland award at the Scottish Style Awards the following year.

Yet Wishart hasn't solely concentrated his efforts on his restaurants, opening his Cook School in Leith in 2007.

It offers professional tuition in fine dining, as well as specialist classes for children aged 11-15, and students have included Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who said in 2009: "Martin is one of the best and most relaxed chefs in Europe. He wears his talent lightly and his small but perfectly formed team helped and encouraged us every step along the way."

With this CV, it's no surprise that on a recent visit to Scotland even Gordon Ramsay predicted Wishart would be "Scotland's next big thing, no question".