Argyll’s 5-Star Isle of Eriska Hotel bas not only seen the best hotel restaurants in the Central Belt off the park, it has the perfect recipe for guilt free good eating.

At the prestigious Scottish Restaurant Awards held in Glasgow on the night of 28th February 2011, the Islke of Eriska won the Best Hotel Restaurant award, beating both Edinburgh’s Michelin starred Number One at The Balmoral and Glasgow’s Hotel du Vin at the renowned One Devonshire Gardens.

Chef Robert MacPherson is the wizard whose skills conjured the award, supported by the high level of service and attention to detail that the Eriska team delivers  every day to diners at the hotel.

In these health conscious times, the Isle of Eriska is developing a way to quieten the conscience after  – or before – a four course gourmet meal.

It is shortly to open a Sports Centre which, with its golf course and spa and range of other activities will comfortably – or  not – justify the reward of the glorious food.

Elizabeth Todd, who works with the Isle of Eriska’s sales and marketing team led by David Morton, calls this ‘Calorie Neutral’ – which we suppose is another form of renewable energy.

Incidentally, the new sports facility – all 10,600 sq ft (972 sq m)  of it, will allow sports enthusiasts to play football, tennis, badminton or bowls (depending on configuration) and enjoy additional golf practice on indoor nets.

And  today congratulations have come in from Highlands and Islands MSP, Jamie McGrigor, who as put down a Parliamentary motion at Holyrood, congratulating Highland restaurant award winners.

Jamie McGrigor, also the Conservative party’s candidate for the Argyll and Bute seat at the Scottish Election 2011, has used the motion to congratulate three Highlands businesses which achieved national success at the 2011 Scottish Restaurant Awards.

These are the Isle of Eriska Hotel;  Lochaber’s Lochleven Seafood Café – judged Seafood Restaurant of the Year; and Skye’s The Three Chimneys, winning the Best Rural Restaurant title.

Jamie McGrigor says: ‘Having world class restaurants is incredibly important for the Highlands & Islands as tourism becomes ever more competitive.

‘The Highlands & Islands is fortunate to have some truly amazing restaurants- including these award winners- which often use our excellent local produce including seafood, cheeses and of course quality beef, lamb and venison.

‘It is right that we showcase the best of what we can offer the visitor to the Highlands & Islands and I wish these businesses every success in the future’.

David Morton of the Isl;e of Eriska says: ‘We were delighted to be an award winner on Monday evening, along with both the Lochleven Seafood Café team and The Three Chimneys team based in the Highlands & Islands.  Barry Moran and Alison Grieve from Lochleven were seated near the Eriska table – we tend to cross-refer diners to each other’s restaurants already as we’re less than 30 miles apart.  Now with us winning joint awards in 2011, we can explore doing additional marketing together on a collaborative basis for our terrific region.  Barry will be here at Eriska with his wife on Sunday evening dining and staying with us overnight as part of his celebrations of this week’s win.

‘While Michael Smith of Three Chimneys wasn’t able to be present at the Scottish Restaurant Awards, his team members Kevin Maclean and Chris McPhee were present and I spent much of the evening with both of them afterwards in town after the ceremony at Glasgow Science Centre.  Kevin is originally an Oban lad, and he is the first Obanite to buy me a dram of his hometown’s whisky!  So he’ll now forever occupy a special place in my affections.  Chris McPhee was celebrating his 23rd birthday the same day as the awards, so it was obviously quite an extraordinary night for him as a young chef.  For me as a transplanted Canadian, in my first month at Eriska, the evening was obviously incomparable too, and I was honoured to be Eriska’s flag bearer for the evening.

‘I look forward in the coming months to being a strong advocate and ambassador of this extraordinary region – and get the message out about what an exceptional place in which we have the privilege to live.  More first time visitors must be persuaded to come and see for themselves, and thus become lifelong supporters of Highlands and Islands.’