T H E B U S H T E L E G R A P H May 2023 Balbirnie Welcomes The Mighty Josper Grill
The Grill @ The Orangery We are absolutely delighted to now be introducing NEW menus for The Grill @ The Orangery. These are our first Grill menus, and we very much look forward to evolving as we progress into the future. Grill opens from May the 6th, and it’s certainly going to be a wonderful and colourful celebration of Scotland’s amazing produce. We have installed our custom-made Balbirnie Blue Josper charcoal-fired oven grill, this will be an incredible new addition, as it is an absolute legend in the world of charcoal gastronomy. Amongst the new Grill menu offering, a selection of Scotland’s finest beef steaks, all sized at a truly wonderful 10oz each. From May to end of September, Grill will be available Thursday to Sunday, nights only with bookings available from 6pm. (Monday to Wednesday our Bistro remains open as usual for lunch and dinner.) From September 2023 through next winter, The Grill will open seven nights per week. You can reserve your table here.
AWA R D Thanking George MacDonald (on the left!) of Kirkcaldy and central Fife Sports council, for visiting Balbirnie House to present our Managing Director Nicholas Russell with the runner-up award in 2023 Senior category, for four successful Ironman finishes in a row. You can read all about the awards in the news article Fife Today. You can also read about his latest Ironman blog as he prepares to enter his 5th Ironman which will be held in Austria on the 18th ofJune this year. Well done from us all at Balbirnie.
MC? Master of Ceremonies? Or Microphone Controller! David Murray What is you working day like as a Master of Ceremonies? It normally starts at 10 am and my entire day is focused on making the day as special as possible for the happy couple and all guests, and making sure that everything is exactly as it should be. At Balbirnie we are truly passionate about hospitality and like to take into account all the attention to detail, and we go above and beyond in everything we do to make the wedding day as magical as possible. Every occasion is different, we always gear up everything and all at Balbirnie, for as much joy and happiness as we can possibly deliver. What top tips would you give to your couples? Enjoy every minute of your day. We will look after you, welcome all of your guests, and take care of your day. We want you to have your dream wedding come true! How long have you worked at Balbirnie? I have worked at Balbirnie for over 11 years, and I especially love to look after weddings. It is an incredible honour to look after such a special day.
L I F E T I M E P H O T O G RA P H We asked one of our Y many wedding suppliers, Rob Thomson from Lifetime Photography for a few top tips for couples on their wedding day! Make sure you click with your photographer as you want to feel relaxed around them and make sure their style of photography and edit is what you are after. Get an experienced and recommend photographer as you want to make sure that they are committed to your wedding as much as you are. Make sure you know how the wedding day will flow, that way there are no surprises. Take a plan b for the foot wear, incase it rains or your feet get sore. Bridal party to be ready 30 before the ceremony. This is so you can get photos before hand. If you can stay at the venue, as it saves time and stress. Make sure you allocate enough time for photos and mingle time with you guests. While you socialise with your guests we can also get candid shots of you enjoying your day. Have your speeches before the meal as it takes pressure off the speakers. Make sure all Groom's men are at the venue 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the ceremony time, to allow photos to be taken. If you have a child, make sure you have some one to help as it can be a big stress factor for couples. Keep family shots to a minimum parents, grandparent, siblings and kids, everyone else will be in your big group photo. Have fun and enjoy your day and if something doesn't go to plan, accept it and move on and enjoy your day!
INGREDIENTS 35ml Gin 15ml Cherry Brandy 10ml Benedictine 10ml Cointreau 35ml Pineapple Juice 15ml Grenadine Dash of lime 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters Cocktail of the month Try our Barman Grant's version of a Singapore Sling! It's full of fresh flavours that will tantalize your taste buds! METHOD Pour the gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine into a mixing glass or a jug. Add the ice and Angostura bitters. Stir well until the outside of the glass feels cold. Pour the mix into a tall glass, then add the pineapple juice and lime juice and stir gently. Top up if you wish with sparkling water and garnish. Then enjoy!
The Wedding of Joanne & Greg How did your love story begin? We met at the students Union in Aberdeen- on tequila night. Greg proposed to me on a river cruise in the Nile at sunset…. I was very surprised!! That’s why we wanted bright colours incorporated into our wedding because of Egypt Why did you choose Balbirnie as your wedding venue? Greg grew up in Coaltown of Balgonie and knew the area from growing up. Greg’s family are Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh based and my family are Dundee so seemed like a good half way point. Once We viewed Balbirnie and we didn’t need to see anywhere else the venue and grounds are just fantastic. What is the best advice you would give to future couples planning their day? Greg says ‘try to avoid global pandemics’ But seriously don’t sweat the small stuff, and remember it’s your day so have it your way- everyone will be quick to give opinions but it is your’s that matters. Can you tell us about all the beautiful special touches and ideas for your day? Instead of a memory table I had personalised cuff links made for Greg with a photo of his Grandad and his grandpa. I also had a bouquet brooch made for me of my late grandparents with a photo of them on their wedding day. So it felt like they were part of our day . We love AC/DC thunderstruck- it’s a soundtrack to most things in our life and just makes us laugh! We found the amazing Rich Gordon who would pipe this for us so we walked up the aisle into married life together to Thunderstruck and again entered the Ballroom to this and it was just amazing! Eight yards (kilt hire) managed to get a full kilt suit for our wee boy Alex that matched the groomsman and he just looked the cutest- and it feels like the world agrees with all the lovely comments and likes on the photo of him!
My dress: Christina Wu. I bought my dress from innate bridals in 2019 (for our original date in 2020) and the girls in there are fantastic, nothing was a bother for them- they safely kept my dress stored until 2023 and supported me through all the fittings! Veil: Rainbow club- ‘avalanche’ Shoes: Vans- Blue Glitter Hair: My friend Shannon Smart did our hair- and she did an amazing job!! I kept my down and curled Makeup: Abigail Tooth Hair and Make up! She was brilliant!! Highly recommend!! Photographer: Rob and Rachel from Lifetime Photography. They were fantastic. Minister: Tilly Wilson who is a family friend. Piper: Rich Gordon - Amazing!! Florist: Lynda at Olives flower shop! I always wanted bright flowers to pop against my bridesmaids dresses and Lynda made this happen. Event dressing: Pauline at Celebre helped us plan our decor for our ceremony and ballroom and it all looked beautiful Ceremony music and drinks reception entertainment: Rich Gordon played the saxophone- again he was amazing Entrance song of ceremony: ‘Perfect’- Ed Sheeran- but better on the pipes by Rich! Cake: we had three tiers baked by a family friend David Murdoch and it was delicious. We have a vanilla tier, biscoff tier and a lemon tier Favours: I (with lots of assistance from a friend Kerry Hall) hand made our wedding stationary. I made bookmarks as our favours that matched our invites & place settings. We also had a crisp wall. Tablescapes: We chose blossom trees for our tables provided by Pauline at Celebre Band: The Dirty Martinis- were fantastic the dance floor was filled all night! I actually didn’t sit down all night because I was too busy dancing! Wedding Planner: Christine Master of Ceremonies: Angela
Love Romance Joy Beautiful Balbirnie April Weddings
Love Romance Joy Beautiful Balbirnie April Weddings
Love Romance Joy Beautiful Balbirnie April Weddings
Wedding Thanks Hi Gaynor, I just wanted to email to say thank you to you, Angela and all the staff at Balbirnie. You guys are absolutely outstanding at what you do and our wedding was everything we imagined and more. We had the most amazing day and it went so smoothly. Everyone has commented on how stunning the venue and food was last Thursday. Thanks again, Katie and Andy x We had the best day! Thank you so much. Hannah x Thank you so much to everyone! Had The most amazing day!!! Balbirnie staff WOW absolutely amazing! Beth x Thank you to everyone at Balbirnie for making our day so special. It really was a day to remember Loryn xxx
Guest Thanks . Hi Katy Sorry this has taken a time to send. Just a short thank you to you and the team for the fantastic Saturday we all had last week. Everything was as we have come to from Balbirnie, excellent. Everything was spot on from the room we enjoyed, the food and the service (special mention for the two young servers Davyd and Abbie or Amy I think)they were both outstanding and an excellent advert for professionalism and high standards. Again sorry for taking so long in writing but once again thank you all very much. Cheers, George So glad we’ve discovered Balbirnie House for overnight stay and outstanding food and service. Hospitality is five stars. The wedding at the weekend was excellent and a few weeks ago we stayed over after the 7 course tasting experience. Thank you. Kind regards, Marilyn We had another fabulous visit to Balbirnie on Monday last week to try the 7 menu. The food was fantastic, and, staff and ambience were just wonderful as usual - especially at reception, where they had kindly offered to look after our wee dog Alfie when we booked, so we could dine dog-free. What a kind gesture. Please pass on our big thanks to the team, and to Gaynor whom I gather had the lovely touch of prosecco and a card in our room. It was so relaxing to have a glass of fizz in the room, with window open to hear the chilled wedding singer's music on the lawn! Delighted to see Balbirnie being so successful, and we'll be back again soon. Thanks again & see you next time Brian & Susan Corbett Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the fabulous staff at Balbirnie. I stayed last night with 3 friends to celebrate one of them becoming 60 ! We were so delighted to be given such beautiful upgrade rooms...gorgeous. The afternoon tea and 7 course tasting menu were absolutely delicious. We particularly want to thank Charlie and Jade for looking after us so well. We are already looking forward to our next trip to Balbirnie. Regards Debbie Coles
ESCAPE T H E P E RF E C T G E TAWAY O u r A M A ZIN G o ffe r fo r a n o v e r nig h t s t a y a t b e a u tif ul B albir nie, b a s e d o n 2 p e o ple s h a rin g a s t a n d a r d d o u ble o r t win r o o m wit h b r e a kfa s t t h e follo win g m o r nin g fo r £ 1 4 9. E n j o y y o u r din n e r in o u r bis t r o wit h a n allo c a tio n o f £ 2 0 p e r p e r s o n t o w a r d s y o u r fo o d bill. Please note this offer is fo r n e w b o o kin g s o nly. Av aila ble o n s ele c t e d d a t e s o n o u r w e b sit e a n d p aid in a d v a n c e a t tim e o f b o o kin g. Supplement charges apply for weekend dates and room upgrades. You can follow us for daily and fun updates on our main Twitter feed and for more information about The GRILL @ The Orangery.
We are delighted to say that here at Balbirnie House, we are the three time recipient of the Best Wedding Hotel on a global level via Haute Grandeur Awards 2019, 2021 & 2022! To make an appointment to view our gorgeous hotel and to speak to our wedding team please email [email protected] We still have a few special weekend dates still remaining in 2023: Sunday 27th August 2023 Sunday 10th September 2023 Sunday 1st October 2023 Sunday 31st December HOGMANAY Spectacular Sunday dates available this year!
Created from the old kitchens of the house, The Bistro offers casual dining, fantastic value, delicious and authentic Bistro cooking. THURSDAY NIGHT STEAK NIGHT (all day Thursday) Two 8OZ Rib-eye steaks & a Bottle of House wine for the marvellous price of £55.00 FABULOUS SET MENU Available Sunday - Thursday, all day! 2 Courses £15.95 3 Courses £19.95