Claire Macdonald


(Claire Catlow, Lady Macdonald of Macdonald)

1948 -

Cookery writer, teacher and hotelier. Born Claire Catlow and raised in Lancashire (England), she married Godfrey Macdonald in 1969. He became Lord Macdonald of Macdonald with an estate on Sleat in Skye and Chief of Clan Donald. With no formal training, the couple spent 37 years running a hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant from their home, Kinloch Lodge on the banks of Loch na Dal, where for many years Macdonald was the sole chef. She built a reputation as a cookery writer, producing more than twenty books. She has also run a cook-school. The hotel is now run by their daughter.

Macdonald received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, an honorary degree from Abertay University and an OBE in the New Year Honours List of 2014.


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