Newspage 15th March 2018
We have copies kept of old newspages in the offices here in Moffat going back to 2008 which was when I moved down to Moffat from Skye in late November after a three week trip to India where I managed to get lost at Delhi airport.
Almost ten years on and we have quite swish offices in Sunnybrae, Old Well Road in Moffat, with carpets and new desks bought in early 2017. There is lots of space.
CIS is on the move again and as of Monday the 4th of June we will me making the 400 yard trip down onto Well Street in Moffat, smaller premises but what is an actual business premise as opposed to a house which has been converted.
We will be keeping the same numbers, website and email address, our Facebook page will also be in the same part of cyberspace.
I hope that there are not the same complications with switching the phone lines over as there was back in 2009 when we shut down the Portree office on Wentworth Street, overlooking the Tongadale Hotel. I hope that BT gets it right this time.
It will be time to say goodbye to the fax, goodbye to the lovely large interview room which I might just use for more traditional dinner parties and maybe a summer buffet.
I broke the news to Johanna and Jessica on Monday morning past and I am relieved that they both seem quite excited about the move and not having Saturday morning fish feeding duties. Bentley the Basset Hound and Poco the little Spanish Bodeguero will remain with me in Sunnybrae.
It is a busy old week so far in the CIS offices, five permanent placements so far, almost 30 adverts including two in Hong Kong which is always a boost! Johanna is into double figures for relief jobs out and we may make the 60 target for the second time this year. Tom is on holiday this week, coming back Monday to do some chef recruitment and work on more concise details for our brewery in Lockerbie.
As I write Jessica is getting another advert out.
The cool weather has come back today and the dogs are sitting quite content before I wake them from their slumber for the afternoon walk.
Then back to the office for some sous chef hunting.
The time in Moffat has been good for Chefs In Scotland, after our start on Skye all those years ago when many of us were still young.
7th March Thoughts from Spain
We made our way out from Manchester airport last Sunday, not quite three days after the original planned departure from Glasgow airport, which was cancelled amidst the late winter snow in Scotland and much of England.
It can take a couple of days to get into the rhythm of life in this part of the Costa Del Sol; silly little worries about a couple of defunct light bulbs and a broken toaster.
Waking up this morning, the sun had decided to come out and the sky was blue.
Lindsey and myself made a list of small errands for the little apartment, a “pueblo” at Capistrano Village in Nerja. We drove down, parked up next to Beijing Bazaar and had soon got our chores done for the day. We plan to collect the car tomorrow.
The beach at Torrecilla still has debris from the recent weather, unusual for the Costa del Sol; plastic bottles, broken bamboo sticks and cans sit on the high water-line. We sit and soak on the sun, with others welcoming some gentle heat.
The Tapas as ever helps, a couple of new Bars to go with old favourites; Sevilla and Rotunda where a glass of nice white or red Rioja can be drunk with a choice of gambas, queso, patatas con aioli, jambon de seranno and so much more.
Tonight there is some classical music at the community social hub at Capistrano where I attended by first Annual General Meeting yesterday. I kept by hand down when invitations were asked from the floor for new Committee members. Enough. The average age would be 70 plus. All nice people, polite and mainly comfortable.
Later, we will walk down to Irish Annie’s where my sister in law’s friend Jackie is playing music.
Tomorrow, Manana can wait.
Michael and Lindsey in Nerja
A very busy week - 19 relief chefs out and 37 adverts placed so far.
Michael has been in the office while Jessica has been on annual leave, he has been looking after head chef sous with both tom and Michael getting lots of CV’s sent out and interviews arranged.
We have met a couple of chefs this week for relief work.
Relief work is now picking up, so if you are known to CIS and have availability please get in touch with your dates.
Out and about this week is
Gary Williamson was at Glenesk Hotel in Edzell
Ryan Williamson is back at Dram in Glasgow
Saurav Kumar worked last weekend at The Winking Owl in Aviemore
Paul Sellers is at The Cross Keys Hotel in Kelso
Donnie Lamont is back helping at Cuillin Hills Hotel in Skye
Glenn Richards is at Victoria / Esplanade Hotels in Rothesay
Jason Paxton is at Go Glasgow Urban Hotel
Mark Carswell is at Scores Hotel in St Andrews
Zander Yuill is at La Piazza in Carluke
George McCallum is at Inverlochy Castle near Fort William
Ionel Rizea is at the Old Mill Inn in Pitlochry
Blair Mackay is at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
Thanks all for all your hard work 😊
�Bȯ���7 ҹN1�
A very busy week - 19 relief chefs out and 37 adverts placed so far.
Michael has been in the office while Jessica has been on annual leave, he has been looking after head chef sous with both tom and Michael getting lots of CV’s sent out and interviews arranged.
We have met a couple of chefs this week for relief work.
Relief work is now picking up, so if you are known to CIS and have availability please get in touch with your dates.
Out and about this week is
Gary Williamson was at Glenesk Hotel in Edzell
Ryan Williamson is back at Dram in Glasgow
Saurav Kumar worked last weekend at The Winking Owl in Aviemore
Paul Sellers is at The Cross Keys Hotel in Kelso
Donnie Lamont is back helping at Cuillin Hills Hotel in Skye
Glenn Richards is at Victoria / Esplanade Hotels in Rothesay
Jason Paxton is at Go Glasgow Urban Hotel
Mark Carswell is at Scores Hotel in St Andrews
Zander Yuill is at La Piazza in Carluke
George McCallum is at Inverlochy Castle near Fort William
Ionel Rizea is at the Old Mill Inn in Pitlochry
Blair Mackay is at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
Thanks all for all your hard work 😊
�Bȯ���7 ҹN1�21st February 2018 newspage
Rarely can it be accused of being a dull life in a chef recruitment office.
I am back in the main office this week covering for perm head and sous chef recruitment while Jessica is on holiday.
We had a good chef from Lanarkshire booked for a chat about the pros and cons of relief work yesterday afternoon. Two chefs pitched up and I met the first one, who I quite possibly met a few years previously and we had a good chat about chefs he had worked with at well-known Scottish Hotels such as Gleddoch House, The Popinjay and Cartland Bridge in Lanark.
It gives us a better feel when you have a chat face to face over a cup of coffee without the constant interruptions of phones ringing. “How many cigarettes do you smoke per day?” “What would you look to be doing in an ideal world when you get to 50 years old?”
Meeting chefs also brings home what a hard physical job being a chef is; hitting a plateau as head chef early on in your career and then looking for the next direction. Or doing the rounds as a career sous chef or chef de partie and pushing on, working hard, trying to get up to being a head chef.
There is a lot to it, there are positives, such as the lifelong friendships made along the way, the camaraderie and the buzz of a good kitchen service (not that I can quite remember this one) The opportunity for self-betterment, the almost always availability of work at some level. Accommodation, which is not always the best, but often no bills. The most basic, food.
It is interesting to have a chat and get a feel for someone’s life, rather than just seeing a piece of paper and looking at dates and judging.
This week, as we move towards the end of the month in the CIS office, the amount of adverts and relief jobs have increased. Monday, we took a whopping 11 adverts and they still pile in.
I am off to walk the dogs now up the back before hunting for head chef candidates for two well know hotels up the west coast; both of which I have visited and dealt with for getting on for two decades.
Pablo Picasso can wait a little longer.
Many thanks for your continued support.
Michael
Lowland Brewing (LB) update
13th February 2018
We have received the in depth drawings from Homer Young of McGowan Miller in Dumfries and these have now been sent to the builders we have been dealing with in Lockerbie.
It is great to meet up with people I was at school with in Lockerbie and haven’t met for 30+ years!
We are submitting our Leader Application form on Monday the 26th of January and we have an excellent meeting last week with Ellen Grant from Dumfries and Galloway Council who gave us various pointers.
The purpose of the grant application is to match fund the LB resources for the building renovation and to equip the building with our stage one equipment for the large scale brewing of beer, which is mainly vats and kegs and some other smaller items.
I am working on the wording of the application and Tom is chasing up some more figures.
We are hopeful that building works can start to take place in April and with luck we might be producing beer by some time in June.
We are running a free beer tasting and tapas evening in Lockerbie on Friday the 23rd of March between 6pm and 9pm and everyone is invited for a chat and a beer to find out more about our plans for development in Lockerbie.
We have also opened dialogue with a group in Lockerbie about a potential site for a Lowland Brewery visitor centre to get us on the map and onto the Dumfries and Galloway Food and Drink trail. Being realistic (which is not one of my strong points!) this may happen in 2020 or 2021.
We are keen on the idea also of a festival which we would like to have up and running in 2019.
If anyone else would like to get a prospectus please email:
tom@chefsinscotland.co.uk or call the brewery mobile which is 07493716521, leave a message and we will get back to you.
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