Precision and pressure is the bread and butter for a Poissonnier, a fish chef in French kitchens. Scottish-born Chef de Partie Ben Hoyle would know.
When he interviewed to be a part of award-winning chef Daniel Boulud’s famed Michelin-starred Daniel Restaurant in New York City—it’s a restaurant stars like George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Stephen Colbert and Shaquille O’Neal have dined at—Hoyle was a bit overwhelmed.
“Daniel is a New York institution, and Chef Boulud is one of the greats, so I was naturally intimidated when I first went in for my trial as a Chef de Partie while visiting New York City a few months before I started working there,” said Hoyle.
“I catered for many famous faces during my time there, some ex-world leaders, athletes, musicians and movie stars,” he recalls. “The people of New York seemed to take it in their stride when they walked in, coming from a small village in Scotland I was definitely shocked.”
Thankfully, he fit in with the kitchen at Daniel. “I enjoy a challenge and being pushed to work at the highest level consistently, and the team at Daniel was very encouraging and ultimately, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my career,” he adds. “There are so many incredible restaurants in New York City, it can feel hard or banal to keep up with what’s buzzy or new, so working at a place that every person, at least in the culinary world, knew and respected made me feel like I had a solid foundation professionally.”
Hoyle has been working in kitchens for half a decade, working across some of the most exacting kitchens in Europe and the United States. He has honed his skills working with hyper-local seafood in the Scottish Highlands to the fast-paced intensity of New York City restaurants, proving to be a standout talent among a new generation of culinary leaders.
But his entry into the culinary world began far from the world of Michelin stars and white tablecloths. At just 14 years old, he started washing dishes at a local pub in Scotland; an environment that immediately ignited a lifelong passion for the heat, discipline, and rhythm of professional kitchens. “I started cooking at a young age, and I was eager to join the workforce,” Hoyle recalls. “Washing dishes at a local pub sparked a lifelong passion for working inside professional kitchens.”
That spark quickly turned into a dedicated climb through the brigade hierarchy. While earning his formal qualification in Professional Cookery (SCQF Level 6), Hoyle honed his foundational skills at the Clayton Hotel in Glasgow before taking a pivotal leap into fine dining at Mingary Castle, a prestigious 3 AA Rosette-awarded hotel nestled in Kilchoan in the Scottish Highlands. Working in a tight-knit kitchen under Chef Patron Colin Nicholson, Hoyle absorbed the core tenets of hyper-local, seasonal gastronomy.
“Here, I learned the fundamentals of what it means to be a great chef,” says Hoyle. “Whole animal butchery, fish and seafood preparation, bread baking and pastry, and highlighting seasonal and hyper-local produce—most importantly, letting the food speak for itself.”
That commitment to discipline and raw ingredient integrity propelled Hoyle to Edinburgh’s legendary Restaurant Martin Wishart. Operating within an elite, highly competitive six-person back-of-house brigade at a restaurant that has continuously retained its Michelin Star status since 2001, Hoyle served as Chef de Partie managing both the Larder and Garnish sections. He oversaw prep schedules, ordering, and execution across tasting and à la carte menus during the restaurant’s landmark 25th anniversary year, which was busy, to say the least.
Hoyle’s technical precision stood out during high-stakes culinary collaborations, including an exclusive pairing event with the historic 400-year-old Bordeaux estate Château Le Puy. Working alongside Executive Chef Joe Taggart, Hoyle co-developed and produced bespoke entremet and vegetable pairings designed to match centuries-old vintages. During his tenure, the kitchen maintained its 4 AA Rosettes, an 82% score on La Liste, and its standing as one of Scotland’s premier dining destinations.
Yet, for a chef committed to mastering classical technique under maximum pressure, the ultimate test was in New York City. In March 2025, Hoyle joined the team at Restaurant Daniel, an iconic bastion of classical French fine dining, holding a Michelin Star, a 92 La Liste score and a spot on the New York Times Top 100 list.
Rising rapidly through Daniel’s demanding brigade rotations, through Garde Manger, Soup, Hot Appetizers and Fish Entremet, Hoyle ultimately earned the position of Lead Poissonier (Fish Station Chef). In classical French cuisine, the fish line is notoriously unforgiving, requiring absolute mastery over delicate proteins, complex sauce executions and high-volume timing under pressure with strict dining hours.
“Throughout my time at Daniel, I deepened my understanding of French fine dining,” Hoyle explains. “As Lead Poissonier, I was solely responsible for ordering, preparation, and cookery of the fish dishes, alongside menu development and training junior cooks to maintain the highest standards of a Michelin-starred kitchen.”
At Daniel, Hoyle’s role extended far beyond daily service. He served on the front lines for major international gastronomic events, cooking alongside culinary icons like Jacques Pépin, Thomas Keller (The French Laundry, Per Se), Junghyun Park (Atomix), Emma Bengtsson (Aquavit), and Charlie Mitchell (SAGA) during high-profile galas for Ment’or and the Jacques Pépin Foundation.
What sets Benjamin Hoyle apart in today’s culinary landscape is not merely his ability to execute under intense pressure, but his rare balance of classical French rigor and modern operational leadership. Whether coordinating intricate station prep in Edinburgh or commanding the fish line in Manhattan, Hoyle approaches the kitchen with quiet authority, unwavering consistency, and a deep respect for the craft.
“New York City is the epicenter of the culinary world, and there is so much produce available at all times,” said Hoyle, who was able to source fish from local producers from the Hudson Valley and Montauk, and searched for producers from across the Atlantic and Asia. He also used langoustines from his native country of Scotland, which made Hoyle feel right at home.
“Being able to utilize such a vast array of fish and seafood taught me a lot, it was totally different from the places I had worked before that prioritized local availability and season ability,” he adds. “It really developed my skills in fish cookery to a whole new level. We didn’t have to improvise, the abundance of options available to us meant we could never run out of ideas for new, innovative dishes.”
“The Chefs beside me were all working to such an excellent standard. Cultivating a team of great, hard-working people is paramount to the success of any restaurant, and Daniel has done that for decades,” said Hoyle.
One key highlight was cooking for Boulud’s Annual Ment’or Gala Dinner, an annual gala co-hosted by Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Jérôme Bocuse that fundraises for young chefs through the André Soltner Grant Program through the Ment’or BKB Foundation (they’ve raised over $2.2 million since 2014 for young cooks). “For the gala, I cooked alongside some of the greatest chefs working in America; Thomas Keller, Junghyun Park and Thomas Allen, just to name a few,” said Hoyle. “Watching them work and listening to what they had to say was truly inspiring.”
Being around star chefs is only part of the equation, but it is key. “I can attribute much of my success to those who taught and mentored me; the chefs who put in the time and energy to impart their wisdom,” said Hoyle .
Other skills are needed to work at high profile restaurants like Mingary Castle and Restaurant Martin Wishart, where Hoyle began his fine dining journey. “When working at restaurants of this standard and status, you learn quickly how to handle yourself under pressure,” said Hoyle. “Being successful in the kitchen requires not only technical skill, but a level of clarity so that you can execute multiple tasks simultaneously.”
The most important thing to Hoyle is staying composed, that is “maintaining a calm and collected approach to the work, no matter how crazy the service can be,” he said.
Next up, Hoyle is looking for his next challenge. “One of the great things of being a Chef is that there is no ceiling on what you can learn in cooking,” he said. “I want to expand my knowledge into new areas I have yet to explore.”
