MARTIN Wishart is the latest big name chef to open a restaurant in Glasgow.

The award-winning restaurateur joins the ranks of Brian Maule, Marco Pierre White and John Quigley who have already established eateries in the city.

Martin's new venture, The Honours, is a contemporary brasserie housed in the Malmaison Hotel, on West George Street.

It follows in the footsteps of his Edinburgh brasserie of the same name, his eponymous restaurant in Leith and its sister restaurant at Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond.

And excitement is building that his arrival could herald the return of a coveted Michelin star to the city.

Glasgow has not had any Michelin-starred restaurants since Gordon Ramsay's Amaryllis, at One Devonshire Gardens, closed down a decade ago.

Previously, Andrew Fairlie (now head chef at Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland's only two-starred Michelin restaurant) gained Glasgow's first star for One Devonshire Gardens in 1996.

Brian Maule, whose French fine dining restaurant Chardon d'Or has been a Glasgow institution since opening its doors in 2000, said: "Glasgow's restaurant scene is thriving, with some great middle-of-the-road restaurants, good pricing structure and fantastic atmosphere.

"It has been very buoyant since the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup - it looked great on the telly, which will be a big boost for tourism."

He added: "The city has been good to me - I came back here from London in 2000, mainly for personal reasons, and I think the city's dining out scene has really improved in the last 14 years."

Brian is one of the chefs judging Glasgow's Culinary Excellence programme, which could produce the Michelin-starred chefs of the future.

Twelve city high schools take part in the 12-week programme, designed to teach pupils life skills as well as cookery.

The initiative culminates with a lunch challenge, in which participants have to prepare and serve a three course meal to invited guests, under the watchful eye of their mentors.

It kicks off today with Springburn Academy's lunch event at Chardon d'Or.

While Glasgow continues to languish without a star (Edinburgh has five and in total, Scotland has 15), the city has triumphed in Michelin's increasingly popular 'Bib Gourmand' category.

The Ox and Finch, owned by Jonathan MacDonald, and The Gannet, run by chefs Ivan Stein and Peter McKenna, are relatively new restaurants located in thriving Finnieston.

They join West End favourite Stravaigin in the Bib Gourmand category, which is the guide's 'value for money' equivalent of a star.

In an exclusive interview with our sister newspaper The Herald, Rebecca Burr, editor of the Michelin Guide, said that while stars are still the most important part of the Guide, there has been a new focus on value-for-money establishments this year.

She explained: "The Bib Gourmand Awards reflect the continuing trend for competitively priced, less structured and more flexible dining.

"This trend is well reflected in Glasgow, where young chefs of this exciting new generation are proving they have a firm grounding in good quality food and are passionate about it.

"We want to encourage more young chefs to use Scotland's world-class produce simply and well."

ann.fotheringham@ eveningtimes.co.uk