Eriska, Scottish Island

Maintenance Shed or Horticultural Growing Area

Chay has been having a spring clean of his shed and at the same time I had asked him to carry out a complete stock check of his tools. It all came to a head last weekend when I was looking for an alum key and found none in the set but whenever I opened a drawer I managed to reunited different pieces and as usual only found the one size I was looking for when I was at theend of my tether and all other hiding places had been exhausted. Anyway Chay promised to rectify the situation and I decided to revisit the scene of devastation as see how progress was going on.

On arriving at the shed I could tell action had been underway as firstly there was a pile of debris outside and secondly there was dust emanating from the door. So after I had taken a deep breath and stepped inside Isurveyed all around. To one side were the golf course machinery, all operational and ready for thebusy year ahead after a winter of maintenance and behind them were piles of fertisliser poised for the correct weather and application. To the other side were themaintenace machinery of the tractor, saw and wood piles ready for the fire and in the middle seemed to be a nursery ready for the garden. Indeed it was Chays trays of potatoes Chitting, bulbs pushing through the compost in the trays and at the far end was Chay standing proudly infront of his new workshop- well it did look as good as new!

He clearly has decided that anything lying still too long would be painter and we now have a wall of tools all labellled and marked. The shelves seemed to be neatly organized and lists of components identify the location of items, whetherr I would be able to understand what the items I am looking for is another matter but at least now I can give it a go with more hope than finding a needle in a haystack! It all looks a vast improvement but the test of course will be in keeping it this way for longer thann a day! We will have to wait and see

Rush before the Storm!

Every time we open a newspaper or turn on the television we hear ofr the imminent financial storm and terrible prophets of doom. So as with all storms we are getting ready at Eriska to hunker down before the impending potential disaster. In real terms this means completing  capital projects and trying to repay some money to the banks!!

So we have started work on Eriska Village 4 the final phase of the staff accomodation in the field by Chays house. This will be our most envirmentally sensitive construction yet with a traditional built structure, nearly three times as much insulation as the first block we built and solar pannels on the roof with Geo Thermal heatpumps in the ground to the west.  The total capacity will be four 2 bedroom, two bathroomed houses each with their own sitting room and kitchen. However as mentioned earlier the gathering storm is pressuring Chay to get the job finished sooner rather than later.

So as I write the foundations and floor levels are in, the first section of walls are up and the roof is due on over the next fortnight.  As with all storm warnings though it is a mad race against time and we are never sure wether the worst will hit us or whether we may just be over reacting and maybe lucky but as with life the better prepared the more chance we will have to survive!

Three Bears and the Staff accommodation!

Work has started on the new staff accommodation house at the edge of our property about a mile from the main house. We started moving our teams accommodation away from the island about 5 years ago and have over that time now build 3 blocks offering every member of staff their own space with private bathrooms and bedroom sharing only a kitchen and sitting room with another bedroom. I would like to think that over the evolution of these buildings we have learnt but every day when it comes to building work we seem to grow wiser, or more foolish!

The weather for this latest block could not have been more suitable, I thought, for the ground works as it has been dry enough to get us out of the ground and get the unsightly parts done in dust rather than mud! Then we hit a snag and lost a week due to a delivery going askew, each day passed and the weather seemed to be changing and then just when th delivery arrive the forecast promised rain but with fingers crossed it seems to have held out just long enough to get the floors in.

However its also a bit like the three bears story. the first house was too wet, the second house was too dry and the latest house is I though just right. However this is where I went wrong, apparently although the condition seemed perfect they were actually too perfect and the cement floors all dried to quickly and then they had to wet them to keep them cool!!

Some people can never be pleased!!

Robin Buchanan-Smith in a Pot!

Yesterday as I walked through the garden i passed Eric with a big black bag under his arm. Being ever curious I stopped him to see what he was up to. "I'm putting Mr B in a few pots in the green house" he remarked. Being aware that many things at Eriska area bit different even this made me feel a bit surreal so i had to ask more.

"I already have 4 pots in the green house of him and they are growing well but I understand Chay wants a couple at home now too!" He remarked, I could not contain myself and had to ask more. In the end it appears that someone has kindly arranged for a Rose plant to be named after my father and this is the second batch of cuttings to be delivered. I am told it will be a wonderful vibrant yellow color- to match his favorite summer shirt. As soon as it has some shape and is starting to bloom, I will post some images of the vibrant Robin Buchanan-Smith  but for now it is simply bare and prickly.

No comments need be added to this !!

Roberts Young protege makes it to competition finals

Robert and his kitchen team are thrilled that Scott, one of the team, has been selected from many leading restaurants in the UK to win a place in one of four heats in this year’s Young Chef Young Waiter competition run by The Restaurant Association. A Young Chef, Scott has worked at Eriska for one year and will now compete in the heat of this prestigious competition, which takes place in Fife Academy. If Scott is successful at the heat, he will compete with seven other finalists in the Young Chef category in London on 15th October, with the assurance that, if chosen as the winner, he will not only win £2,000, plus an unforgettable study trip to Berlin, but will also gain the status and credibility to succeed within the restaurant industry, as have many of the previous winners.

Young Chef Young Waiter is the longest established competition in the industry and is organized by The Restaurant Association in recognition of the talent found in restaurants and kitchens nationwide, with one prize awarded to the best Chef and one to the best Waiter. Seen amongst the trade as the industry’s premier award, Young Chef Young Waiter is aimed at under 24’s who are passionate about food and its service and, whether winners or not, entrants will enjoy the experience that the award offers in competitive cooking with their peers.

London dash

Yesterday was the Pride of Britain Front of House conference so Rowena and I dashed south to London for the day. It was an interesting conference split into three sections. The first covered the way Pride of Britain worked and how the hotels could benefit most from working together, the second was a talk by Stuart Harrison, who confidently titles his company the Profitable Hotel Company, not ideal given that Pride of Britain is a non profit making organization, (although it may have given our chief executive food for thought) and the third was a tutorial about how to get the most from the Internet and especially the on line booking engine. Having been a complete Doubting Thomas a year ago I have been forced to change my outlook and take the mantle of "if you can't beat them join them" as many of our customers book on line as a preference and if we did not try to embrace the technology then we would be left on our own very soon.

I was mainly there in my capacity as Chairman of Pride of Britain but this gave me the opportunity to try and learn something, although my greatest lesson was from Rowena who insisted on leaving London with an excessive amount of time (in my opinion) before we had to catch a plane. However as we sat in the delayed Heathrow Express and just made the plane in time to board I had to admit that maybe a little less haste was better for the heart!!

 

Happy Christmas from all at Eriska

Happy Christmas from all at Eriska

Well the weather is doing its best to fill us with Christmas Cheer, a cold but clear night ensured that there was no excuse for Father Christmas not being able to make his rounds and not even the fog could be blamesd as we had a wonderful clear night last night. As many question what Santa does on his days off I think we at Eriska really know!!?

Staff Development Day

Every year in December we seem to have a quiet week and try to close the hotel for a few days for three reasons: Firstly to get the last minute maintenance done before Christmas, secondly so my mother can decorate the public areas in peace and quite and thirdly to get a few days of staff holiday off the books before the end of the year and have a breather before a hectic Festive dash.

This year we decided to change this and use the opportunity, with all the staff off on the same period and most staying withing sight of Eriska,  to develop our team. The idea came from Robert in the kitchen who wanted to develop and advance his teams link with their suppliers to help broaden their understanding so he took his whole team to the cattle market in Forfar and then onto the butchers shop in Blairgowrie. Over the course of the day they were able to track the beef from the framer, who they met at the market to the market, then the Butcher and back home to Eriska. Having spoken now to most of the team it was a productive day and although the weather conditions were dire and a 3 hour journey took nearly twice as long it will I hope help give them all an insight into the products they work with.

The remainder of the staff were to stay at Eriska and we employed a company and gave them a brief with three key tasks, firstly to offer some staff development, secondly to help build team understanding and thirdly to have a bit of fun. So they started with a customer care course with all involved from front of house, to estate team to back of house then it was a team task to design a challenge for another team then see it carried out and finally they all played a hospitality game which as well as being competitive was aimed at increasing their knowledge of Scotland and the hospitality industry.

Having now debriefed several participants I think overall it was a fascinating exercise and because I was not directly involved in the operation of the day it allowed me the chance to assess how members of the staff worked together and at the end of the day the company who ran the event gave me a completely unbiased view of each of the staff members and their strengths and weaknesses. Often  we become to embroiled in the day to day operation that we can loose sight of the bigger picture and its only when we pause and take stock of the situation that we can move forward. Anyway it is something we will definitely repeat in the future although a different format would keep others guessing but it will be off to the fish market and out on the open seas for the kitchen team!!   

Chays official shed opening

Chay had timed the completion of his shed construction to a "T". He insured that it was all ready for a grand opeing to coincide with all the high and mighty of the Labour Party flocking to Oban for their Scottish Labour Party Conference. However when I said he had timed it to a "T", this was not a T for Tony Blair but a Tea for afternoon consumtion,  so I was not surprised when I dropped by to view the shed this afternoon and see how much space and that there was a kettle on and the world was being put to rights by the construction team.  Certainly the hot air would have been similar to that within the Corran Halls in Oban and probably a similar number of people taking interest!! Hopefully the fact that I have vetoed both insulation and a space heater for the new shed will deter such idleness throughout the winter.

Anyway the shed is now complete with large doors great clear workspace for the machinery and a good well organised work storage area. Now the next job is to complete the flit from the old store by the stables and to strart convertinmg this space into the new Changing rooms for the swimming pool. The aim is to crerate two 80m2 changing facilities, underfloor heated and spacious enough to offer private lockers for every guest and member who uses the facility. However first things first and the flit is on a tight schedule as I want it complete before Chay himself flits off to Africa for his holidays.

Thankless task

This morning when I ncrossed the carpark Andrew was pushing the "Billy Goat", our mechanical leaf sweeper up and down clearing the leaves. By the time I returned half an hour later it was as covered with leaves as an hour ago, but in reality much had changed. He had in fact filled three big bags and although they seemed to be falling faster than he could collect clear them he must be making a difference- or so I tried to convince myself.

In reality the weather has been  absolutely perfect for clearing leaves off the trees, dry and crisp with just enouigh breeze to help usher them to the ground. Its a shame its not a wee bit stronger and we could simply wait and collect them all from the side of the fence by the hill. One year sometime ago I managed to persude a helicopter pilot who was dropping some guests off to leave rather more cautiously and take a spin round the house, we simply stood by untill he had departed and with a small team rushed out and collected the large piles which had ammassed. In truth it was job done in one afternoon. However this year there are no friendly pilots and it will be a long thankless task- except that we do appreciate it really!