Tony Singh

Tony has worked in the restaurant industry for over 16 years, beginning his career with an OND in Hotel Management and City & Guilds 7061 and 7062 from Telford College. He has since gone on to work in some of Scotland’s most prestigious restaurants including The Royal Yacht Britannia, The Balmoral Hotel and Martins Restaurant.

A strong advocate of staff development within the industry and promoting the highest standards of food, cooking and service, Tony is a member of the Academy of Culinary Arts, the Craft Guild of Chefs and he is a Master Chef of Great Britain. Tony also strives to promote the innovative use of Scottish produce through his membership of the Scottish Chefs Association.

Oloroso opened its doors in December 2001 and since then Tony has received a number of awards for his culinary talents including Drambuie Chefs Association Best New Restaurant of the Year, Scottish Chefs Award Scottish Chef of the Year and SLTN Best Restaurant.

His hand picked bar team have also won accolades including The Dram Top Mixologist and Best Contemporary Bar and SLTN Best Cocktail Bar.

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‘Kirkgate always was a shopping area and always will be in my head.’ Tony Singh

Kirkgate in Leith continues north from the northern end of Leith Walk. It was redeveloped in the mid-1960s to form a pedestrianised area including a shopping centre and housing. Vestiges of the old Kirkgate remain in the form of South Leith Parish Church and Trinity House, both dating from the first half of the 19th century.

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LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE, NEW SECONDARY SCHOOL, LEITH ACADEMY, 1928
UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER

‘This is a great picture to come across, it is the laying of the foundation stone for ‘Leithy’, sorry I should say Leith Academy school where I had a great time. But it sticks in my mind because whilst I was at school some scally had written on the stone, just under the usual ‘this stone was laid by … a Hen !’ Tony Singh

Leith Academy took on this name in 1888, but the history of the school stretches back well into the 16th century. The school, initially known as Leith Grammar, was housed at various locations in the area until a purpose built schoolhouse was erected on the west side of Leith Links in 1806. This building now houses Leith Academy Primary School. An increasing intake of students forced the school to move again to a new building on Duke Street, completed in 1931. This site was in turn abandoned for a new building on Academy Park, immediately to the east of Easter Road, which opened in 1991.

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INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF THE SIKH TEMPLE IN MILL LANE, LEITH (FORMERLY ST THOMAS’ CHURCH), 1991
UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER
Photograph copyright of The Scotsman Publications Ltd

‘The Gurdwara, or our temple, was in a close in Academy Street before we the congregation saved to buy St.Thomas’ in Mill Lane. This is the heart of my Sikh community in the heart of our Leith.’ Tony Singh

There has been a substantial Sikh community based in Leith since the 1950s. The first two sites for the Gurdwara, or Sikh temple in Leith were converted residential buildings, but in 1976 the community established its current Gurdwara in the former St Thomas’ Church in Mill Lane.