By Claire Warrender

A CHEF who was supposedly hailed as a culinary genius and a rising star in the kitchen has been suspended by one of Fife’s top hotels amid claims he is a fantasist.

Balbirnie House Hotel in Markinch is investigating allegations that James Stocks “embellished” his impressive CV to land himself the job of head chef with his own signature restaurant.

The 24-year-old’s claims that Hell’s Kitchen star Marco Pierre White helped launch his career and that Parisien chef Michel de Burgo had described him as a genius, made national headlines when Balbirnie proudly introduced him and his new menu in January.

The hotel’s website includes plaudits from White and boasts that Mr Stocks also worked for the Roux brothers and Gordon Ramsay in London, before moving to Paris where he took over as head chef under the three Michelin-starred Mr de Burgo.

However, yesterday a national newspaper claimed that the hotel, its diners and the media had been duped.

It claimed that far from endorsing Mr Stocks, White had never even heard of him and the other top chefs he claimed to have worked for did not know him either.

Balbirnie managing director Nicholas Russell said he was concerned to hear of the allegations against his chef and that he had been suspended pending further investigations.

However, he insisted Mr Stocks had gone through a rigorous four-hour interview before being appointed and that references had been provided.

These references led to a deal for a new cookery book which is due to hit the shops in November, and he even took part in the TV documentary The Rise Of The Chef, which has yet to be broadcast.

When he spoke to The Courier in January, Mr Stocks claimed Marco Pierre White had told him he would become one of the greatest chefs in British history, and he predicted he would win his first Michelin star within a year before going on to secure another two.

Balbirnie’s owners were so confident of his success that they invested £25,000 in a private tasting room where diners can watch and listen to goings-on in the kitchen through a strip of glass with a microphone pick-up.

The fact Mr Stocks can cook is not in question as he has received rave reviews from food critics and members of the public alike, and HotelReveiw Scotland named Balbirnie as Scotland’s 2008 Hotel Restaurant of the Year.

Despite yesterday’s revelations, Mr Russell stood by Mr Stocks’ culinary skills, describing him as “a brilliant young cook” who had brought a different dimension to Scotland’s offerings.

Mr Russell added, “His skills and foundations are completely obvious. Even if James is guilty of embellishing his CV somewhat, there is no doubt he has the skills to become one of the greats.

“Perhaps he is a fantasist. A young man who fantasises about gaining Michelin stars and becoming the best chef he can be is not a bad fantasy to have.

“Whether Stocks has learnt his cooking at fifth commis level with Alain Ducasse, as a pastry chef with Wolfgang Puck, or as a saucier with Donald Duck, he now cooks like he does and he runs the tightest kitchen I have ever seen.”