Accidental chef Geoffrey Smeddle took a job as a commis in France after university and was hooked. He went on to accrue high-end experience at the Lanesborough and Four Seasons Hotels and at Orrery (under Chris Galvin) before taking on this 18th-century inn near St. Andrews in 2006. This close to the coast, local lobster, scallops and langoustine figure high in winter, as do grouse and Cairngorm venison (smoked in tartare, or with haggis and Madeira). There’s always, always a soufflé.