20/09/2026
Meet Dario, Our New Head Chef
For Dario, food, family and The Lodge are all closely connected. He has been a chef since he was 18, but it was love that first brought him to Scotland. Dario met his wife, Kirsten, while they were both working on a cruise ship. They moved to Edinburgh in 2013 before swapping city life for Royal Deeside in 2023, returning to where Kirstenās family are based to start a family of their own. It was also then that Dario joined The Lodge, becoming Head Chef in July. Itās a role he is loving. Dario has a real passion for food and particularly enjoys being more involved in developing our menus alongside Executive Chef Paul Grant ā making the most of fantastic local, seasonal produce, with an Italian twist.
He is equally passionate about people. He loves encouraging younger members of the kitchen team, helping them develop their skills and, most importantly, inspiring them to have the same enthusiasm and pride in their work that he does. And while moving from a big city to the countryside took a little adjusting to, Dario says there is now something magical about The Lodge.
āEveryone knows each other here. The owners care about us, we care about each other and it makes you feel at home. Itās a great place to work.ā Great food, great people and a real sense of family ā we think Dario has summed up The Lodge rather nicely. Congratulations on your promotion, Dario ā we canāt wait to see (and taste!) what comes next.
