He was the head chef of Restaurant Andrew Fairlie,[1] an independent business within the Gleneagles Hotel and Resort in Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross.

At age 15, he began his training in Perth under chef Keith Podmore, having become interested in food after starting a job polishing glasses at a hotel.

Fairlie also spent time working at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris.

At One Devonshire Gardens—where he was appointed head chef in 1994—he won his first Michelin star, the only one in Glasgow at the time.

[7] Fairlie opened his own restaurant at the Gleneagles Hotel in 2001 and received a Michelin star within eight months.

[8] At Gleneagles he created his signature dish, a locally sourced lobster smoked over whisky barrel chips.