Scottish catering and hospitality news in Scotland

HotelReview Scotland has announced the launch of HotelReviewEDINBURGH.com, the first in a series of regional tourism websites edited and informed by local experts.

The launch of HotelReviewEDINBURGH.com and the unveiling of the new HotelReview Scotland National Network will link key Scottish tourism areas and their best accommodation providers in one search-engine-friendly network.

Former BBC Radio Scotland producer Vivien Devlin has been appointed Editor of HotelReviewEDINBURGH.com: I've worked with HotelReview and the Scottish Hotels of the Year Awards for almost five years and am excited about this powerful new website which will allow me to update at any time news and information about the city's hotels,' she says.

The new Edinburgh hotel guide allows consumers to link directly to the hotels' own websites, booking systems and offers from the guide's independently edited review.

Simon Williams, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Principal Hoteliers Association said: 'HotelReviewEDINBURGH.com will be a driving force to help bring even more tourists to Edinburgh. Its unique ability to provide both expert reviews alongside reviews from guests of all the properties makes it a great source for unrivalled advice on where to stay in Edinburgh'.

Visit th new Hotel Review Edinburgh website for more info.

The Royal Institute of Public Health is launching a new set of food safety qualifications designed to meet the precise needs of employers in the food retail, manufacturing and catering sectors. These new qualifications have been tailored to meet their particular requirements as set out in the new National Occupational Standards, and the latest European and UK legislation.

'These new qualifications have been specially tailored to meet the particular requirements set out by experts in each area,' says Dr Alan Maryon-Davis, chair of the Royal Institute. 'They provide an up-to-date approach to training in keeping with, and relevant to, everyday life.'

It is estimated that one in ten people could be subject to a food-borne illness each year, resulting in a huge drain on NHS resources and thousands of working days lost, not to mention the sometimes life-threatening effect on the individuals concerned and the real possibility of businesses being closed down if they are in breach of the regulations.

The awards cover all the topics relating to hygiene, legal and operational requirements that staff will need in order to operate safely and effectively in their business sector. Employers will then be able to demonstrate to regulators that staff have been properly trained in accordance with national occupational standards for their industry. The courses can be delivered on-site or at one of the many RIPH training centres available nationwide.

Anyone interested in offering this qualification should contact Tony Varey at the Royal Institute of Public Health or visit the RIPH website.

Fresh RM, the organises of Hotelympia, Hospitality and ScotHot, has announced the appointment of its new Marketing Manager, Jon Squire (pictured).

'Jon joins Fresh RM with an extensive knowledge and experience of exhibitions following previous roles with Emap Public Sector and CMP,' says Toby Wand, Fresh RM's Exhibition Director. 'He will be responsible for the marketing and development of the company's Hospitality and Foodservice exhibitions, the largest of which is Hotelympia.'

Running since 1935, Hotelympia is the UK's most important event in the foodservice, hospitality and leisure industry, representing the entire marketplace in one place at one time. With a range of new initiatives planned for 2008, including new product sectors and features, the show provides the ultimate opportunity for visitors to meet key contacts and experience the widest range of new, cutting edge products and innovations.

Hotelympia 2008 will bring together the hospitality and foodservice community, and according to Wand will 'attract more suppliers from catering equipment, food & drink, interiors, tableware, spa and technology than any other UK event'.

Hotelympia takes place from 17th to the 21st February 2008 at ExCeL in London. Visit the website for more information.

This month sees the launch of the Food and Health Alliance website for food and health professionals in Scotland. On it you can find the latest on local and national developments, events, research and publications. The site also provides useful links to relevant organisations, and members have their own section on the website where they can submit content covering anything from local initiatives to current job vacancies.

Kate Barlow, Food and Health Alliance Co-ordinator at Health Scotland said: 'The website is a central communications hub for Food and Health Alliance members. We consider it to be the first port of call for anyone who has an interest in food because it has all you need to know under one roof. You can get the latest on policies, research, events and publications. Networking is easy because members provide their details and can link up with each other. It's a vital resource for anyone working in this area.'

Visit the Food and Health website for more information.

Caroline Fry, Joint Managing Director of Charlton House Catering Services, has been shortlisted in the Customer Service Leader of the Year category at the 2007 National Customer Services Awards.
She now goes forward to the next stage of the competition with three other finalists, who will each make a 30-minute presentation to a panel of judges on 2nd July. The overall winner will be announced at an Awards Ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London on 18th September.

The National Customer Service Awards celebrate the effect and impact of excellent customer service on consumers and businesses. This high profile programme has become a firm fixture in the UK business calendar, promoting excellence, best practice and innovation in customer service.

Caroline joined Charlton House in 1994 as the company's first full-time Operations Manager.

Commenting on Caroline's success to date, Robyn Jones, Sharlton House's Chief Executive, said: 'Caroline is a constant source of inspiration. She is a true ambassador for Charlton House and also for the customer services sector. She is our right-hand lady who deserves recognition for her steadfast dedication to clients' needs.'

CIS Excellence Award-winning chef Tom Kitchin is this week celebrating the first anniversary of The Kitchin, the Michelin-star restaurant he and his wife Michaela opened on Leith's Commercial Quay.

The Kitchin gained its Michelin Star only six months after opening, making Tom Kitchin the youngest ever Scottish Chef at the age of 29 to be awarded one.

From a business which 'served two covers at lunchtime, three in the evening' The Kitchin now has a full house most nights of the week, with Saturdays booked up as much as eight weeks in advance.

'I have to remind myself that we began with only our savings, and what we borrowed: it has been hard work all the way but looking back on this incredible first year, we definitely think it has been worth it,' says Tom (pictured with his team outside the restuarant).'We have some fantastic loyal customers now who are all really into their food and wine,' says Tom. 'Our main focus is to ensure that they remain happy and will continue to enjoy and explore the culinary delights of the restaurant as we enter our second year.'

Rocco Forte Hotels has appointed Ivan Artolli run Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel when Debbie Taylor departs this summer.

Ivan has over 30 years' experience in the luxury hotel market and is currently General Manager at Forte's Brussels-based property, Hotel Amigo, in which he oversaw the completion of the property's £10m refurbishment in 2002.
Ivan has worked for Rocco Forte Hotels since 2000, initially at Hotel Savoy in Florence.

Debbie will leave Rocco Forte Hotels at the end of August, having amassed over 70 accolades for The Balmoral during her three-year tenure at the hotel.
She has also overseen the hotel's £7m refurbishment, and spearheaded the award- winning Five-Star Kids concept.

The closing date for entries in the Young Chef Young Waiter competition has been pushed back to 29th June.
Chefs and waiters, who have to be 24 years or younger on 31st December 2007, will gain from the guidance of a panel of Michelin-Starred chefs and industry representatives.
Personal feedback on performance, hints and tips on the industry and press coverage will be offered for all participants to help them to return to the kitchen and front-of-house with an enhanced business outlook.

The competition offers £2,000 cash and a week's study trip to Berlin as 1st prize.

'As The Restaurant Association we have a duty to the catering industry to make our competition play a significant role in the personal and business skill development of all the successful entrants,' says David Baldwin, Chairman of The Restaurant Association.
'Our competitors go back to their workplaces having genuinely matured, whether it be in terms of their approach to customers, food, presentation or personal skills and with a better awareness of the business in which he or she is a part.

'This year we have reduced the entry age, as year after year competitors continue to impress us with their professionalism, despite their age group.

Visit the Young Chef Young Waiter website to download an entry form.

Closing date for entries is 29th June 2007.

Regional finals will be held at:
Adam Smith College (Fife) 11th September
Darlington College 12th September
Birmingham College (Food & Tourism) 18th September
Thames Valley University (Ealing) 20th September

The final will be held at Westminster Kingsway on 15th October 2007.

Master Chef George McIvor will host and demonstrate at a celebrity cook show in aid of Blairgowrie charity, Blair Concern. Lorraine Kelly of GMTV and Sharon Donaldson of Grampian TV, together with Andrew Wilkie and Kevin MacGillivray, will also take part. George, Andy and Kevin will be 'auctioned' to come to the winner's home to prepare and serve a gourmet dinner with wine for up to eight guests.

'We are so lucky here in Scotland to have on our doorstep the finest seafood, beef, lamb and game in the world,' says George, 'and our duty as chefs should be to encourage Scots to demand Scottish produce both at local restaurants and in supermarkets.'

George and fellow Master Chef Colin Bussey will also be hosting a number of cookery demonstrations over the four days of the annual Flavour of Shetland Festival, from 21st to 24th June. Assisting them will be a number of young students from Shetland College who are eager to learn new food skills and techniques.
George and Colin will be collecting donations on behalf of the Master Chefs of Great Britain for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity set up to improve the quality of life for young cancer patients while aiding their chances of survival.

Contact George on info@georgemcivor.com for more info.

Debbie Taylor, General Manager The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, has been awarded membership of the prestigious Master Innholders by The Worshipful Company of Innholders.
Taylor (pictured) is now one of only two women who hold the accolade in Scotland, with a total of nine in the organisation worldwide. As well as becoming a Master Innholder, Debbie will also become a Freeman of the City of London at a ceremony at The Guildhall on 7 September 2007.

The Master Innholders was created in 1978 to promote and encourage excellence in hotels. Members join by invitation only and represent the most eminent hoteliers throughout the UK and worldwide.

Richard Ball, Chairman of the Master Innholders and 2006 Hotelier of the Year, said: 'Debbie's commitment towards the hotel industry and tourism in Scotland, as well as her personal achievements, made her an ideal candidate for membership of the organisation.'

The Scottish Tourism Forum has announced the appointment of Iain Herbert as their new CEO. Iain (pictured) has worked with several Scottish tourism agencies, including the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre and The Royal Yacht Britannia. He moved on to the successful Falkirk Wheel project to reopen the Lowland Canal network, which had closed in 1962.
Iain then became Head of Visitor Operations for National Museums Scotland, covering their six sites, including the Royal Museum and the Museum of Scottish Country Life.
'I'm looking forward to the exciting new challenges ahead, providing a real voice for the industry in Scotland through a professional and engaged approach focused on delivery for all current and future STF members,' he said.

Leading food and drink manufacturers in Scotland have joined together in a common cause to boost skills across the sector.
he Glenmorangie Company, Scottish and Newcastle and McVities are among the first to sign the food and drink manufacturing Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), a new deal whereby companies commit to individual, formal action plans to develop skills in their own workforces that can also benefit the sector as a whole. Developed by Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, the SSA for Scotland is a master-plan that maps out exactly what skills employers need their workforces to have, and how these skills will be supplied, both now and in the future.

'Food and drink is the largest and most diverse manufacturing sector in Scotland,' says Jack Matthews, Chief Executive of Improve. 'A training priority for one manufacturer might not be as important to another, so it's essential that each and every company has a tailor-made action plan to help boost the skills of its workforce and, in doing so, raise skills levels across the sector as a whole.'

The Glenmorangie Company was one of the first companies to sign an individual action plan: 'We believe that this is a great way of encouraging school pupils to consider a food-related career,' said Dr Peter Nelson, Operations Director (pictured with with Gillian Pirie, Project Manager at Glenmorangie). 'It requires an investment of time and effort, but we benefit from the fresh ideas and thinking that these students offer. It also helps us to find bright, enthusiastic new recruits. Although there's no obligation to work at Glenmorangie, we have had students take up permanent positions following their placements.'

The SSA for Scotland was completed this month and is the first time that the sector has a live guide to determine the entire programme of ongoing skills development. The SSA will be subject to continuous review in response to employers' changing needs to ensure its plans and objectives remain relevant.

Visit the Improve website for more information.

Glasgow's India Quay played host to Robbie Coltrane for part of his ITV1 programme, Robbie Coltrane's Incredible Britain.

The new 3-part series for ITV1 is due to be transmitted later this summer. The premise of the series is Coltrane?s travels from London to Glasgow, driving off the beaten track on a quest to 'rediscover the essence of Britishness'.

At India Quay he cooked for a full house of customers, in the process helping to raise hundreds of pounds for the Oxfam River Basin Charity. India Quay also contributed 25% of their turnover of the evening to the charity.

Larah Bross, bartender at Edinburgh's The Kitchin, is to star in her own one-woman show called Breaking the Seal in this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
Canadian Larah, 29 (pictured) appeared on stage in New York for four years, winning an award at the NYC Fringe and appearing regularly at the famous Caroline's venue on Broadway.

'The Edinburgh Festival is one of the world's great events and it is every performer's dream to get a slot at the Fringe,' she said.

Breaking the Seal puts the audience in the position of a bartender listening to the stories of seven totally different and wildly entertaining customers, all played by Larah. They include flamboyant characters such as Uncle Joey, Billy O and Mr McNifficent.
The show runs from August 2-26 at the Sweet Grassmarket City 2 venue, Apex City Hotel, with tickets priced from £6.

Proposals by Glenrothes-based developer Lomond Group for a new luxury hotel and restaurant complex with an aeronautical theme have been given the green light for development from councillors of Dundee City's Development Quality Committee.

To be called the deHavilland hotel and restaurant complex, the development will comprise 60 hotel rooms with the additional flexibility to accommodate business and conference meetings and a restaurant catering for up to 126 diners.
Located on a prime riverside site, the deHavilland hotel and restaurant complex is to be developed on a disused area of employment land.
Commenting on the proposals, Lomond Group's Development Manager, Alan Seath, said: 'The planning permission is a result of months of meticulous research, collaboration and great effort being applied to a very thoughtful design process, all of which has delivered an opportunity to develop this exciting project in the city.'

The complex has been earmarked for completion in the second quarter of 2009.