Balbirnie Bush Telegraph January 2023

THE BUSH TELEGRAPH




Post-pandemic rollercoaster!

Confirmed! 2022 was Balbirnie's
busiest calendar year in history!

January 2023

Front page
splash!

This was
certainly a
highlight
of our year!

We were absolutely delighted to feature on the
front cover of "To Have & To Hold" wedding
magazine!
The cover highlights that we received the
wonderful accolade of Best Wedding Hotel in the
world for a third time. We are so overwhelmed
and grateful to all of our amazing couples who
voted for us, it truly means the world to us all.
You can read the magazine here.

'Balbirnie is now taking wedding bookings from couples, simply because
they have seen it has won Best Wedding Hotel in the world three times. As
the only hotel in the world ever to achieve this, it is such a romantic and

lovely way in which to begin a marriage'.

The
Perfect

Getaway

Our AMAZING offer for an overnight

stay at beautiful Balbirnie, based on 2
people sharing a standard double or
twin room. Enjoy a cream tea on
arrival, then tantalize your tastebuds
with our SEVEN course tasting menu
in our Orangery. Stay in a standard


double or twin room and enjoy

breakfast the following morning for
an incredible value of £130.


Please note this offer is for new

bookings only, Available on selected
dates on our website and paid in
advance at time of booking.
Supplement charges apply for
weekend dates and room upgrades.
This offer is now also available as a
voucher.

Gold

Our Bars manager Sean has been
working hard for the hotel to receive
the Best Bar None award, which we
have received GOLD accreditation.

This is a national accreditation and
award scheme for licensed premises.
Best Bar None has recognised Balbirnie
House as offering a quality experiences
focusing on safety and customer care.

Our management team have also
recently completed their personal
license exam and passed with flying
colours. Well done to all!

Best Bar None aims too:

promote social responsibility and a duty of
care;
improve knowledge and skills to assist in
responsible management;
reduce alcohol-related crime by investing in
premises’ policies and procedures;
promote partnership working to identify good
practice and areas for improvement;
supports due diligence, record-keeping and
training; and
gives awards, locally and nationally, to reward
success.
To find out more about this award scheme
click here

Our Management training programme is
well underway and it is aimed to help
inspire and train our team within our hotel
environment. It is designed to give the
trainee a good insight in to all the
departments within the hotel and to help
the develop their understanding and skill
set within hospitality.

Taylor
Bell

Tell us about yourself? I love horses (I have three) and I love working at the Hotel.

When did you start your Management training? I started last January and I have
spent time in most departments already. In 2023 I will be focusing on Events,
Weddings and I shall also be running the bistro for a few months, which I am very
excited about.

What department have you enjoyed working in the most? I have enjoyed it all but
working in Housekeeping and in the Kitchens is really physically demanding work. It
made me appreciate all of the behind the scences aspects of the hotel and what
each teams does. I learnt a massive set of new skills and a total new appreciation for
all the departments that I have been working with.

What's your goal for 2023? I am excited to run a a department for myself and learn
new things.

What is you long term goal in Hospitality? Ideally I would love to work in
Operations within a hotel environment and I see myself progressing there.

What has the training programme done for you? It has brought on my confidence a
lot and it has given me a wide skill set enabling me to be a valued member of the
hotel brigade. I am also getting SVQ qualifications too.

Would you recommend this programme to others? Of course it is a wonderful
opportunity for someone to grow and develop their customer service skills.

2022 YEAR IN REVIEW

Operations Manager, Kenneth Wilkie

What a fantastic year at Balbirnie. We set the challenge and the team has certainly
risen to it. With a record breaking number of weddings, alongside a multitude of


birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, and any other celebration you could think of,

it was a simple enough task. Remember what Balbirnie stands for and make yourself
proud. The team have gone above and beyond, delivering genuine yet outstanding
service in a relaxed and friendly manner. As we say at Balbirnie ‘memories are made
of this’ and I am delighted that so many wonderful memories have been created this
year.
We finish the year largely with the same team that started it, all a credit to Balbirnie
and a credit to those who have worked so hard to provide such a lovely environment
within which to go to work. It has been especially heart warming to see two of our
supervisors start a Management Trainee Programme within Balbirnie, ensuring a
continuity and quality for years to come.
With another busy year ahead we raise a glass to 2022 and look forward to 2023, all
with the same sentiment, today is not a dress rehearsal for tomorrow.

Private celebrations

Get together with your nearest and dearest to celebrate your

special occasion
with us. At Balbirnie we offer fabulous

affordability with our beautiful rooms and wonderful hospitality.

We offer superb, valued packages for our private dining experience.
This is available for a party of 10 or more.

Please email [email protected] for more information.

NEW Seasonal


SEVEN Menu
at

T
he Orangery

Our NEW delicious seasonal menu is
running throughout January and
February in our Orangery. It focuses on
seasonal produce within Scotland's
larder. It is certainly one not to be
missed!

The tasting menus are £38.50 per
person with Classic, Vegetarian, Vegan
and Pescatarian menus available. You
can also accompany your meal with our
specially selected wines on our wine
flight at £26 per person.

Book & see our menus here!

Front of house supervisor

Georgia's


LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Ingredients

170 g caster sugar
170 g slightly salted butter
2 medium free range eggs
170 g self raising flour (sifted)
3 unwaxed lemons
4 table spoons of icing sugar

Method

Grease and line your nonstick cake tin. If you
don't have any greaseproof paper then dusting
with flour can help prevent sticking.
Preheat the oven to 180C
Weigh the sugar and butter into a large mixing
bowl.
Beat together until fluffy. Add both eggs & mix.
Add flour and last of dry ingredients, fold until
smooth.
Add the zest of 2 lemons and the juice of 1 &
gently mix
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin. I
use a loose bottomed springform tin as it makes
it easier to get your cake out of the tin.
Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes
The wider the tin, the shorter the cooking time.
The lemon sponge should be golden on the
outside and a skewer pushed into the center of
the cake should come out clean.

To make the syrup, in a small saucepan, mix the juice of two of the lemons with the icing sugar.
Place over a medium low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a boil for 1-2
minutes until you have a light syrupy texture.
Poke holes all over the warm sponge with a skewer, almost down to the bottom.
Take the syrup off the heat (careful, it's hot!) and pour all over the cooling sponge.
Allow the hot cake to cool, then remove from the tin and cut into slices.

Congratulat
ions to our
Employee of the Month for

December



Curtis Paterson

Maintenance Manager Curtis has gone above and beyond in his care and
attention to our beautiful Category A listed house and always does so
with a smile.

Curtis received a bottle of Champagne and a voucher for two, to enjoy
our SEVEN course tasting menu, complete with a wine and cocktails.

Congratulations and best wishes from us all at Balbirnie.

Very well deserved!

Clí&o

na

Jamie

16.12.22




The magical winter wedding


of Clíona & Jamie
A gorgeous Christmas wedding full of laughter and

wonderful entertainment for their guests. The ceremony was


held at St Serfs Chapel in the historical town of Culross, Fife.

The reception at beautiful Balbirnie.

How did your love story begin?
We met at the Robert Gordon University Sports Ball when
we were both studying there in 2011.




Why did you choose Balbirnie as your wedding venue?
We live in Ireland so picking a venue was tricky as we wanted
somewhere that was cosy but could cater for everyone
travelling, and most importantly where the staff were
approachable and reliable so that we could plan it from
home. We viewed Balbirnie virtually during a lockdown and
booked without ever seeing it - the gamble paid off and we
loved it once we finally got to stay last Christmas!

What is the best advice you would give to future
couples planning their day?
Trust Christine - she’s always right!

Can you tell us about all the beautiful special touches
and ideas for your day?
We put a personalised note for each guest on their
limoncello bottle and this was the main talking point the
following morning! Also the snow we ordered arrived just on
time!

As the snow fell on their beautiful day,
guests enjoyed mulled wine and canapes by
the roaring fires. Simply wonderful!

My dress : Enzoani


Veil: Diamond Bridal in Cork
Shoes: Dune


Hair : Lauren Spriddle

Makeup: Karen Bowen
Photographer: Lifetime Photography
Videographer: We Are One Wedding Films
Celebrant : Tim Maguire
Piper: Rich Gordon
Florist: Poppy Floral
Event dressing: Poppy Floral and Balbirnie.
entertainment: Piper Rich Gordon who played
the pipes and also the saxophone during the
drinks reception
Entrance song of ceremony: Songbird by Eva
Cassidy
Cake: Marks & Spencer caterpillars
Favours: Limoncello homemade by the Groom
Tablescapes: Silver candelabras dressed with
foliage and surrounded by blooms and thistles
in vintage silver vases
DJ: Euan Lawrence and Saxingh from Tartan
Entertainment.
Special touches: The Bridesmaids, Groomsmen
and Bride and Groom were all introduced into
the Ballroom by a difference song!
Wedding Planner: Christine
Master of Ceremonies: Angela

Beautiful Balbirnie
November Weddings

Love Romance Joy

Wedding Thanks

Wedding Thanks

Angela, Thanks once again for all your support. The day was just perfect
Fiona

Aww Angela you are just the best , thank you so much. Hope the wedding
went well today and the bride had fun. So sad it's all over. Said to you last
night I feel like you and Leah are my friends you've been so welcoming and

amazing Kirsty xx
Hi Angela, Thank you for everything yesterday, we had the best time! Cliona x

Wedding Thanks

Hi Christine
I hope you and the team have had a good start to the week?
I wanted to send a very quick email to reiterate my thanks to everyone for such a magical
weekend.
The house, food and staff were wonderful and as I said on Sunday I understand that this
wouldn’t be possible without a great team so please extend this thanks broadly.
Special note to Chef and team (the salmon canapé and salmon starter were to die for (and my
favourites!) but we received LOADS of compliments on the food generally), Kenneth for being


such good fun and managing everything on the day and of course yourself for all the help in

the lead up.
Thank you again and we will hope to see you soon for a return visit.
Very best wishes for Christmas and New Year when it comes.
Laura & Neil
Xxx

Newly engaged?... Congratulations!





Your happily ever after begins here! Let us help you to create your dream wedding at
beautiful Balbirnie and make it reality with our award winning wedding planners.

We are delighted to say that here at Balbirnie House, we are a the third-time recipient of


the Best Wedding Hotel on a global level via Haute Grandeur Global 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 7th May 2023

Sunday 20th August 2023

Sunday 27th August 2023

Sunday 10th September 2023

Sunday 1st October 2023

"Couples can never be exactly sure when it happened. Or even when it started. But at
some point in that initial journey of contemplation our clients find themselves in the right
here and now, falling totally in love with Balbirnie House, and all that we do. And so, each
wedding begins."

From an interview with our MD Nicholas Russell in Haute Grandeur magazine. Read it here.

The
Bistro

Try our delicious menu in our
Bistro.
Our Bistro was created from the
old kitchens of the house and it
offers casual dining, fantastic
value, delicious and authentic
Bistro cooking.
We are open daily from 12pm and
offer a fabulous early bird menu,
Monday to Friday, between 12pm
and 5pm.
Click here to book your dining
experience.

This Cou
ld Be the Greatest
Night of Our Lives!




Balbirnie is pleased to announce, 'Rule the World Tribute' to 'Take That'
taking the floor on Saturday, 21st, January '23!
£55.00 per person includes your entertainment with the best in the
business, arrival fizz and 3 course meal!
Email: [email protected] for more information!