About | Brae Kitchen

Our Story

Over the past two years we have grown to call The Highlands our home.

After extensively travelling, eating and working our way around Scotland we have established a love and understanding of The Highlands and all that it has to offer. We’re passionate about food that reflects this wonderful, wild place. That means celebrating Scottish growers and producers - and sharing the stories and people behind every plate. From hand-dived West Coast scallops cooked with foraged chanterelles, to the many ways we cherish and cook wild venison, we want you to come away from our meals feeling nourished, connected, and maybe even inspired.

Before launching Brae Kitchen we honed our skills working at a private Estate on the shores of Loch Ness. We then went on to spend the 2025 season running The Boathouse Restaurant, Kingairloch Estate, on the West coast of Scotland.

Meet The Team

Owen Bicknell-Currie

Co-founder

Head Chef

Ella Cardinali

Co-founder

Operations & Events

We love to grow, cook & eat!

We’re Ella and Owen - a professional chef and event coordinator duo who swapped city life for the wild beauty of the Scottish Highlands.

Drawn north by our love of hiking, kayaking, cycling, and cooking outdoors, we found a rhythm here we didn’t want to leave. Days spent fly-fishing, foraging, and cooking over fire turned into a way of life - and eventually, Brae Kitchen.

Owen — Head Chef

My relationship with food started long before I became a chef. I first worked in a greengrocer’s, which taught me the value of proper, seasonal produce. From there, I worked in food and coffee sales and found myself exploring more cooking techniques in my spare time. I became very curious about flavour and food. That curiosity led me to the kitchen! I took a leap of faith, quit my sales job in London and started hosting local supper clubs.

What drives me now is simple: working with great ingredients and being able to share the experience of enjoying them with other people. Our menus are inspired by the Scottish Highlands surrounding us - I spend a lot of time outside of work hiking, cycling, or fly fishing. That connection to this environment is a big part of how I cook.

Ella — Events, Marketing & Operations

I grew up around food - my mum’s been a chef for over 40 years - so hospitality and cooking were always part of life. I’ve worked in marketing, operations, and events across charities and startups, and eventually found my way back to food through a community garden project I ran after moving out of London. Launching my own cooking club using the produce grown in the garden solidified my desire to start a career with food.

At Brae, I look after the day-to-day running of the business, to events and partnerships. I care deeply about sustainability, community, and accountability - and those values show up in how we work with suppliers, look after our team, run our kitchen, and welcome our guests.