Balbirnie Bush Telegraph January 2022

THE BUSH TELEGRAPH

JANUARY 2022

We are looking forward to a
record-breaking year ahead!

Balbirnie

House

ESCAPE
TO
BALBIRNIE
THIS
fEBRUARY

For February 2022 ONLY we have
an incredible offer for you to
Experience Balbirnie and it's
based on two people sharing.



Arrive at Balbirnie and enjoy a lovely
afternoon tea, stay in a standard

double or twin room, enjoy our SEVEN
course tasting menu and breakfast
the following morning for £120.00.
Book here!





Please note once booked, the booking is non
transferable. Additional costs for room upgrades at £40
per room and supplement cost for £40 per night for a

Friday and Saturday dates. Subject to availability and
this offer is not available on 14th of February 2022. This

is valid for new bookings only and cannot be used by
guests attending weddings at the hotel.
T&C's apply

The page 3 blog from Nicholas Russell

On our hotel blog during the first four months of 2020 lockdown we were

forecasting a £1M hit! But great news
, in 2022 the new future totally defines!

Here is our managing director's blog noting that our company financials are
fully back on track and we are looking at 2022 to be a record-breaking year!

A massive thank you to every member of the hotel brigade and to our local
community for such incredible support, over these last two immensely
challenging years. Read the Hotel Confidential Blog.

Back in the newspapers!
And as reported in The Courier, 'Balbirnie: Fife hotel’s ‘miracle’ turnaround
from £1m loss to record bookings'

January 2022

Employee of
the Month

CONGRATULATIONS TO
TAYLOR BELL

Taylor has made a truly wonderful input to our front of house brigade and
across the span of the opening of our SEVEN course tasting menu in our
Orangery restaurant.
A massive congratulations to Taylor, who has received a bottle of
Champagne, our SEVEN course tasting menu for two, which also includes
cocktails on arrival and a bottle of wine with her meal.
So very well deserved!

Our delicious seasonal SEVEN
course tasting menu will tantalise
your taste buds and run until the
end of February. Then the next new
menu begins!
It is a perfect experience to enjoy
with your nearest and dearest.




Dine in style with your
friends and enjoy our
truly delicious food!

It is such wonderful value, at £35 per
person. We also have a delightful
wine flight that is the perfect
accompaniment to the meal at £26
per person. Our wines have been
specifically selected to add that extra
wow factor to your dining experience!

You can book your table for your
SEVEN Course tasting menu here.

Dine in our relaxed Bistro with your
friends and enjoy our truly delicious
food. Our NEW Bistro menu has
just launched with some wonderful
new dishes and great reviews to
match!


t"hArolouvgehlyouatn. dVererylafxriinegndalym,bhieelnpcfuel

and courteous staff. The choice of
dishes and quality of food is very
good indeed. One of the finest
creme brulee I have tasted. A
memorable experience."
G. Mackintosh

EYoaurlycBanirdalosfofeernthjoayt
oisuar vfaabilualbolues

between 12pm and 5pm Monday to
Friday off of our set menu.

You can book your table and see our
current BISTRO MENU here.

The Balbirnie Takeaway

Our incredibly convenient takeaway is timed to the minute for you to
collect from our "Table of Joy". This so you do not have to wait for your
food being made. All takeaway orders are to be placed through our
Balbirnie House App.
You can select your time slot, drive round to the Courtyard entrance,
park up and collect from the "Table of Joy" just inside the blue doors!




GET THE APP TO ORDER TODAY! Apple phones & Android Phones

The Balbirnie Takeaway



We are now able to offer our takeaway

customers the opportunity to dine in our

gorgeous festoon lit Courtyard.

Our Courtyard offers you a lovely area to sit
and enjoy your takeaway. (Limited seating -
subject to availability) bring a blanket if you
wish to sit outside, we have further seating
areas on our South facing lawns, all beautifully
lit with festoon lights.

View our NEW menu!




PLEASE WATCH THIS SPACE AS WE ARE SOON
GOING TO BE STARTING DELIVERIES

OPENING HOURS:




Join us on new social media channels for our
Monday/Tuesday: CLOSED takeaway Facebook & Twitter


Wednesday - Friday: 4pm - 8pm

Saturday & Sunday - 12noon - 10pm

Executive Chef Kris Currie recipe:
Ricotta Gnocchi, wild mushroom, hazelnut pesto, pecorino

INGREDIENTS METHOD

Ricotta Gnocchi Gnocchi


300g ricotta 1. Add all your ingredients for the gnocchi into a bowl & mix
95g plain flour
50g finely grated parmesan thoroughly until completely combined
1 whole egg
2. Roll in cling film into logs about 15cm long and 1.5cm in diameter,
Hazelnut pesto
tie the cling film at both ends and place into gently simmering water
50g basil
30g grated parmesan with a lid for about 10 mins
30g roasted hazelnuts
1 clove garlic (crushed) 3. Once cooked, set aside to cool and then cut into pieces around
85ml olive oil
2cm
150g wild mushrooms
60g pecorino Pesto
1. Place all ingredients in a food processer and pulse until broken
down but not completely smooth

Assembly

Heat a frying pan and add some oil, add your gnocchi pieces and
gently shallow fry them for 2-3 minutes, add the mushrooms and a
generous dollop of butter and continue to cook until the
mushrooms are cooked and you have a nice golden colour on the
outside of your gnocchi. Once cooked remove the gnocchi and
mushrooms from the pan and arrange in your bowl. Apply pesto &
shaved pecorino as desired

Tip – replace the parmesan for an alternative hard cheese to make it
completely vegetarian!!

Master of
Ceremonies

I have worked at Balbirnie
for 10 years and I
especially love to look
after weddings. My entire
day is focused on making
the day as special as
possible for the happy
couple and making sure
that everything is exactly
as it should be.


We at Balbirnie are

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. This
year we will have a
record-breaking number
of weddings at the Hotel,
and we can't wait to
welcome all of our guests
and help our couples
make their dream
wedding come true.


Best Wishes,
MC David Murray
David running out of the way,
so the photographer can take
some snaps!

Kayleigh &
Steven
22.1.22

Real life weddings

How did their love story begin?



They briefly met in December 2009 through friends of Friends and Steven made a friend request to

Kayleigh the following day. They messaged each other back and forth and they knew that there was a
definite spark and then became a couple.
Why did they choose Balbirnie?


Kayleigh is a makeup artist and worked at her first wedding in Balbirnie in June 2017. She was

mesmerised by the place and when Steven popped the question she said to him, "come with me to
see where I want to get married!" Steven also fell in love with Balbirnie and they booked their original
date for Feb 2021, due to the pandemic they had to wait for their beautiful day.

Kayleigh & Steven

The special touches

My dress - Designer Martina Liana purchased from Eleganza Sposa



in Glasgow

Veil-Anna Rose Bridal
Shoes - Christian Louboutin
Hair - Bespoke bridal hair by Robyn and Sian Martin
Makeup - By the Bride as she is a Make up artist. Kay Make up &
Brow specialist.
Celebrant - Lucy Black
Piper: Rich Gordon
Florist: Oor Fleurs
Event dressing: TigerLilly and Style-a-chair
Ceremony music and drinks reception entertainment: The
Kilted Sax
Entrance song of ceremony: Halo by Beyonce
Cake: Cakes that Lan did
Favours: Personalised gold prosecco bottles for all
Tablescapes: Tall circular vases topped with a sphere of white
blooms with hanging crystals, golden charger plates
Band: The Jack Dames
Special touches and ideas: Personalised aisle runner, Dessert
table, teepees for the children by Teepee Dreams by Jen. Fireplace
places and staircases were dress throughout the house. Neon sign
"Drunk in Love" placed on a pampas grass wall supplied by Bella
Rose Creations.
Photographer: Victoria Photography
Wedding Planner: Christine Master of Ceremonies: David

Beautiful Balbirnie
January Weddings

Wedding Thanks

Wedding Thanks

Hi Gaynor

Thank you so much for your well wishes, we are currently unwinding and relaxing on our honeymoon
after a long 9 months of wedding planning.

The day was truly beyond anything we could have dreamed or imagined, we are still on a high from it
all! I can't thank you and your team enough for making our day just the most special ever and
delivering everything with such excellence and attention to detail! I really, truly felt like a princess and I
will never forget this day!

All of the staff at Balbirnie just made the whole day and I know that our guests were so impressed with
the quality of the food, service and everything in between! Especially the beef, you were right, it really
was melt in the mouth!

Thank you once again and we can't wait to come back again soon to remember our special day and
share memories

All the best
Olivia xxx

Dear Christine

Now that the Christmas decorations are finally down and we've all drawn breath, we wanted to
write and say a huge thank you for all the hard work which went in to giving Ellen and Jack a
wonderful wedding.

We knew as soon as we had our first meeting that we would be in very safe hands and so it
proved to be. Nothing was too much trouble and your timely replies and attention to detail were
extremely reassuring.

We know that Balbirnie is a hugely popular wedding venue, but it never felt like there was any
other wedding going on except ours and that is hugely to your credit. We really did feel very
looked after, both in the planning stages and once we had arrived. There were lots of little
thoughtful touches which really do make such a difference and stand out in my mind, right down
to having glasses of water for everyone just before the ceremony and looking after Izzy in her
pram while we nipped out to have our photograph taken on the steps!

Please could you also pass on our thanks to Angela, who was a great Master of Ceremonies on the
day and who looked after us so well. She was also hugely helpful to us on the morning after the
wedding.

Despite the wedding being delayed by a year, it was definitely worth the wait, and I couldn't
recommend you and the whole Balbirnie team highly enough.

Thank you again and our very best wishes.

Jen & Ellen

A quick chat with Balfour, the
hotel Cocker Spaniel



Hello everybody, my absolute best idea for this month, is to say to
all the dogs out there, that you can now bring your owners for a
walk in beautiful Balbirnie Park, followed by a Takeaway with
dining (if you wish to do so) in either Balbirnie's Courtyard, or up
on the festoon-lit top lawns.

On the Balbirnie Takeaway App, two scrambled eggs for all dogs
priced at £1 - enjoy!

Dog water bowls are beside our Takeaway Table of Joy, feel free
to use the hose for fresh chilled water!

Swim 2.4 miles, then cycle 112 miles, then
run a marathon! All stages timed!
#AnythingIsPossible



Fitness in Hospitality? Through the first 6 months of 2022, and in
pursuit now of an IronMan Austria 3.7.2022 three years in a row hat-
trick, Balbirnie House MD Nicholas Russell, age 54, is delivering a
monthly blog on what it takes to prepare for a full 140.6 mile
IronMan race, let alone completing one. Physical health and fitness,
mindset, conditioning, strategic planning, nutrition, and equipment.
Monthly updates via "The greatest wealth is Health."

Nicholas is a member of our amazing local, friendly and inclusive
Glenrothes Triathlon Club (GTC), annual membership is £20 -
'Joining the club back in 2014 changed my life, it's as simple as that!
And it's amazing to have seen the club grow over the first decade, to
now have 146 members and 14 voluntary coaches'.

NB Date for your diary!
10 year Anniversary GTC Balbirnie Duathlon 22.6.2022

The never-ending re-investment back into the

fabric of the assets, continues!



This month we are installing two bran
d new main boiler systems.
This is a £120,000 investment into ne
w energy efficiency.
Our Balfour Suite's Category A sitting
room, the ceiling is being
completely replaced, and the room re
-decorated.

Bedroom 103 is getting a complete refurbishment.

Orangery kitchens are in progress with Fire Suppression system
upgrading to (a) automatically deliver automatic gas switchoff (b) link to
our fire alarm, a further £7,000 upgrade.

And then ... drum roll please, we are going to see complete stripout and
the re-instatement of brand new changing rooms for the entire hotel
brigade.

Company director Gaynor Russell is now working on plans for a 5 day
turnaround total refurbishment of our Orangery, we are tbc for 28th March
2022 *watch this space*

It never ever stops at Balbirnie House!