Catering Scotland NewsScottish catering and hospitality news in Scotland

Gleneagles has appointed a new Head of Sales to direct the regional sales team. Val Eglinton (pictured) joins the hotel from The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, where she held the position of Sales Manager for nine years.

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Staff at the Point Hotel in Edinburgh are to learn new skills from the best in the hospitality business around the world. Four employees have won HIT training scholarships, and their experiences will range from learning about staff motivation at the Disney Institute, Florida, to attending management training courses at the International Hotel School, Switzerland. They will also get the chance to discover how corporate hospitality works thanks to a management scholarship sponsored by Scottish Enterprise.

'These scholarships are a great opportunity for all our staff,' says Neil Ellis, General Manager (pictured, second from right). 'We have invested more than £40,000 on a management development programme that has involved sending staff on relevant educational experiences including food handing and hygiene, whisky distillery tours and English language lessons for foreign staff.
'We believe the best way to make customers happy is to invest in our staff and to ensure they are among the best-trained in the world. The scholarship recipients will learn from the best in the hospitality industry and they will bring so much back to share with everyone.'

The winners received their scholarships at the Emerging Talent Conference in February.
They include:

- Food & Beverage Manager Stephen McLay is to visit Florida
- Reception Supervisor Naheen Kahn and Restaurant Manager Johnny Smith are to visit Switzerland
- Trainee Restaurant Supervisor Nick Hogarth, will visit businesses in Scotland

HIT Chief Executive Cochrane said: 'The scholarships reflect the increasing importance of good staff training to Scottish hospitality and the benefits it brings to the tourist industry as a whole. It is unusual for four applicants from the same place to all receive scholarships but it is testimony to the way good establishments are utilising the opportunities offered by HIT.'

Alan Rankin, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Forum, is to leave after three years in the role to take up the post of Chief Executive of the new Aviemore and Cairngorms Destination Management Organisation. Rankin will remain at STF until mid-May and take up his new post shortly afterwards.

During the last year STF introduced Scottish Tourism Week, a week-long series of meetings from 12th-16th March, which feature a national tourism parliamentary reception and a challenge to MSPs to go out and meet tourism businesses in their area. The forum also runs business workshops to help tourism businesses become more competitive, and is currently running e-commerce workshops across Scotland.

'Alan has played a major role in developing the Forum and positioning it with the public and private sectors as the body representing the Scottish tourism industry,' said Peter Taylor OBE, Chairman of the Scottish Tourism Forum.

The ten finalists for the Scottish Food Scholarship 2007 have now been announced after the last of three semi-finals that took place at Edinburgh Telford College on 12th February.

The culinary talent chosen for the final includes:

Brian Grigor from Greywalls Hotel in Gullane

Andrew Munro from Fairmont St Andrews

Liam Mckenna from Circus Wine Bar & Grill, Edinburgh

Benjamin Martinetti from La Garrigue, Edinburgh

Tristin Farmer from Enverdale House Hotel, Coupar Angus

Nigel Liston from Alchemy, Dundee

Max Hogg from Monachyle Mhor, Balquidder

Derek Johnstone from Macdonald Crutherland House, East Kilbride

Savich Phannoi from Lochgreen House Hotel, Troon

Iain Walker from Loch Lomond Golf Resort, Dumbartonshire

Each competitor will be given a mystery box of Scottish ingredients and allocated a set time to create, cook and present a starter and main course. The winner and runners up will be disclosed the following week at the Scottish Food Scholarship Awards at Lulu, Edinburgh.

Call 0131 311 7050 for tickets.

Tourism Innovation Group has just announced the appointment of Robin Worsnop as the group's Chair. A key figure in Scottish tourism, Robin is Managing Director of Rabbie's Trail Burners, a popular small-groups tour operator.

Taking over from Bob Kinnaird, who held the position for two years, Robin's appointment follows two years in the TiG management team.

'TiG is leading the way in developing Scottish tourism and allowing this inspiring country to compete effectively in the world's marketplace,' he says.

TiG is a collection of over 50 tourism businesses who aim to stimulate innovation and collaboration in the sector, pushing Scotland a step ahead of its competitors.
As well as his new position, Robin sits on the management groups for Pride and Passion and the Edinburgh Capital Group.

Visit the TiG website for more information.

Ken McCulloch's £15 million 132-bedroom Dakota Forthbridge is scheduled to open in March, creating over seventy jobs in the area.
Chef Partner Roy Brett returns to Scotland from a five-year stint with Rick Stein in Cornwall, to spearhead the Dakota rollout north of the Border.

Cringletie House, the only four-AA-red-star hotel in the Scottish Borders, has welcomed the arrival of chef Jimmy Desrivieres.
Jimmy has worked in the Georges Blanc, Le Meurice and H?l?ne Darroze in Paris, and joined Westover Hall in Hampshire as sous chef in 2003 which he transformed from two AA rosettes to three in just one year.

'Jimmy brings with him style, dedication and enthusiasm that is truly remarkable and unmistakably his own,' says Cringletie House General Manager, Jeremy Osborne.

Cringletie is a baronial mansion located in the heart of the Scottish Borders, with 28 acres of grounds and a 17th Century walled garden.

Visit the Cringletie website for more information.

Tom Kitchin (pictured with wife Michaela),one of the youngest Scottish chefs to be awarded a Michelin star, will be doing a cooking demonstration at the Show at the SECC.
Each afternoon in the Studio Kitchen visitors can watch several of Scotland's top chefs share their knowledge, skills and tips in the kitchen. Geoff Smeddle of the Peat Inn and Edinburgh's Craig McAlpine, winner of Channel 4's Come Dine with Me will also be there alongside the Scottish Fopod Guide's Wendy Barrie.
ScotHot will also celebrate some of the UK's finest food and drink, with specialised producers from all over the country showcasing their delicacies, and there's the opportunity to sample regional foods and discover new products.

Kitchin's eponymously named restaurant in Edinburgh has established itself on the food map of Scotland relatively quickly, the restaurant only having opened in June last year. To be awarded a Michelin star so quickly is testament to Kitchin?s culinary skills.

Visit The ScotHot website for more information and details of events and exhibitors. Register online now and save ?15.

EatScotland has announced the launch of its much-anticipated award scheme, which promises to raise the bar in the Scottish eating out scene and credit to those who are achieving high standards and encourage others to aspire to that standard.

Silver Awards will reflect an establishment's overall high standards, from the food to service, and award-holders can ultimately strive to achieve the Gold Award, which denotes establishments that qualify as outstanding eating-out experiences.

A total of 60 restaurants, cafes and takeaways were notified last week as to whether they have gained a Silver award.

'The launch of EatScotland Silver & Gold award marks a real step forward for the Scottish food and drink industry as a whole, says Kevin MacGillivray, EatScotland Director (pictured above) . 'I have always believed that as a country we are blessed with a wealth of natural raw ingredients.

'Increasingly, the industry is waking up to the importance of making the most of the high quality ingredients on our doorstep, celebrating culinary excellence and improving the dining out experience as a whole with attention to detail in surroundings and service. Whether it's the local tea room, the best chippie in town, causal dining or our Michlin-starred restaurants, now is the time to reward our most innovative and quality-driven establishments with the recognition they deserve, and at the same time provide an incentive across the industry to strive to improve standards.

'I am committed to ensuring this scheme will prove a key factor in EatScotland's long-term role of raising the bar for the food & drink industry in Scotland, which I feel will improve enjoyment across the board to all who enjoy eating out in Scotland.

On addition to motivating the industry and providing assurance for diners, the scheme will ultimately seek to develop a positive image of the industry and merge together the notion of Scottish food and quality cuisine in perceptions at home and abroad.

For more information, visit the EatScotland website

Ashoka Bearsden helped spice-up the first ever Burns Mela earlier this week when it provided a buffet for more than 1,000 concert-goers at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow.

Part of the Celtic Connections programme, the Burns Mela featured a celebration of Scots and Asian culture and, appropriately enough, the Ashoka Bearsden buffet featured a novel fusion of traditional Scottish and Indian dishes.

'They say that music is the food of love, so it was only right that we should reflect the musical fusion of Scots and Indian cultures with a culinary equivalent,'
says Imtiaz Aslam of Ashoka Bearsden.

The Ashoka Bearsden was invited to cater for the event by Donald Shaw, organiser of this year's Celtic Connections festival.

Performers at the Burns Mela included Sushil K Dade, Indian drummers Dhol Foundation, singers Sheila Chandra and Michael Marra, DJs Tigerstyle, piper Iain MacInnes, Indian Bansuri flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, whistle player Michael McGoldrick, early music ensemble Concerto Caledonia and author Alasdair Gray.

Highland Game, the Dundee-based venison suppliers, are travelling throughout the country with the Tesco Taste of Scotland tour to promote the healthy living benefits of venison and the availability of Highland Game's Retail Range in a number of stores throughout Scotland.

The Tour starts 7 February in Dalkeith, Midlothian, and ends on 4 March in Ayr. Over the course of the month, Highland Game will be visiting stores in Lothian, Tayside, Grampian, Inverness, Glasgow and Strathclyde, with n-store events including sampling, discount vouchers and giveaways.

At each event, staff specialising in Scottish produce will be on hand to advise customers and answer any questions they may have regarding the availability of products.

For more information, visit the Highland Game website.

Master Chef of Great Britain George McIvor (pictured) will tonight demonstrate 'A Taste of Italy' to a full house at Baxter's Culinary Theatre in Fochabers.

McIvor will prepare a number of Italian favourites from soup to pudding, demonstrating his culinary skills and his passion for food while keeping the audience amused with anecdotes of his visits to Italy.
'The main characteristic of Italian cooking is its wholesomeness, simple and yet with such a variety of flavours and rich inventiveness in preparation,' he says.

One of Britain's top chefs, George is flying up to Shetland tomorrow to demonstrate with fellow Master Chef Kevin MacGillivray at Shetland's Food & Drink Conference on 2 & 3 February. The conference has been organised to promote and develop Shetland's reputation as a source of excellent food, and the cookery demonstrations which are open to the public will reflect the abundance of good food and drink produced on the island.

Coffee and musichouse chain, Beanscene, has launched Beanscene Espresso, a new, faster-paced sister brand to its more relaxed, neighbourhood offering. Comprising small outlets set up exclusively to serve the on-the-go market, the first Beanscene Espresso will open on 5 February at Edinburgh Quay, followed by a second in South Gyle a month later.

The smaller scale of Beanscene Espresso lends itself to a wider variety of potential locations, including high streets, concessions, carts and malls.

'Beanscene Espresso will provide metropolitan customers on-the-go with a range of lattes, cappuccinos, espressos and soft drinks as well as a selection of freshly made sandwiches, baguettes, muffins and pastries,' says Beanscene founder Gordon Richardson.

The launch of Beanscene Espresso follows the launch last December of a UK-wide franchising strategy which aims to deliver a further 25 outlets across Scotland within the next 18 months. Beanscene Espresso franchises are also available to prospective franchisees fed up with the daily grind.


There are currently 13 Beanscene stores throughout Scotland. The franchise strategy is to open up to 45 Beanscene stores over the course of the next three years, comprising three managed superstores surrounded by a mix of up to 15 Beanscene and Beanscene Espressos.