Brian Sage

Died: March 10, 2015

Brian Sage, who has died aged 74, was a restaurateur who ran a number of successful family restaurants in the west of Scotland.

His first job was sous chef at the Turnberry Hotel in Ayrshire, which he never envisaged would be a huge stepping stone for him. The job shaped his career and led to him running the hugely popular Wildings Restaurant and Hotel in Maidens. It attracted customers from far and near and it was always a case of booking well in advance for tables at the weekend.

A native of Liverpool, he faced the choice of becoming a professional footballer with Liverpool FC or training as a chef. Bill Shankly, the Liverpool manager at that time, had marked him down as a natural ball player in the club's youth squad but after serious consideration he felt the catering industry was for him. All told, he spent five years with British Transport Hotels catering college and then moved to Zurich in Switzerland to complete his training.

In the early 60s he took up his first sous chef position at Turnberry Hotel and it was there that he met his wife-to-be Dorothy. Married in 1964, it was a wonderful partnership and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last year. In 1970 he moved south back to his home city and took up several chef appointments at British Transport Hotels before moving to London to work at the famous Quaglina's restaurant in Mayfair.

It was from there that he was head hunted to become group buyer for Mount Charlotte Hotels, but three years later he returned to Scotland to become a partner in the Bruce Hotel, Maidens. This soon led to him taking over as sole proprietor, quickly establishing it as the in place to eat in Ayrshire.

In 1991 he received an out of the blue offer he could not refuse for The Bruce but selling out left him with a problem. Having worked such long hours week in week out, he had to find another interest and this led to him forming a partnership with a local builder and starting two care homes,The Ainslie Manor in Girvan (formerly The Haven Hotel) and Cumloden Manor in Newton Stewart.

The call of chefing proved too strong to ignore though, so he set his sights on The Blair restaurant in Girvan which was to see the start of Wildings, a name which very quickly became synonymous with a great eating-out experience. After ten years he found himself teaming up with another talented chef Bill Costley. Buying the Bruce Hotel back again, they re-opened it as The Creel. Around this time he became a director of Kilmarnock Football Club.

It was not long, however, before he decided that he wanted to be on his own again. Wildings mark two was born in Maidens and with it another chapter in the Sage hospitality story was under way. It was not long before the food writers and critics took an interest in this remarkable successful seaside village hotel praising its high standards for quality food and superb service. Several newspapers gave it a ten out of ten rating and golfers particularly from the United States had one word for it: unique.

He did not get much time for leisure. He was essentially a family man and latterly he was devoted to his grandchildren spending most of his time with them in Maidens and on regular holidays in Tenerife and Spain. He was a long-time member of Turnberry Golf Club and took a keen interest in all Maidens organisations offering support to many when asked to do so.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy and his daughters Sonya and Nicola both of whom have played an integral part in the development of the business.