Well travelled Chef Coalin Finn has been appointed to oversee all kitchen functions across the eight restaurants and bars that make up the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St Andrews – including the 3 AA Rosette Road Hole Restaurant and golf’s ‘most famous pub’, the Jigger Inn. As the resort’s new Executive Chef, Coalin promises to bring in some new ideas, including an emphasis on sustainability and local sourcing, plus more plant-based and ‘well-being focused’ meals. He arrives in St Andrews with a wealth of experience from some of the UK’s finest establishments, having most recentl ..read more

Aluna Peach Woo-WooBy Dave Hunter Foreign flavours – whether it’s world beer brands, wines or exotic spirits – are likely to prove pretty popular this summer as customers seek out far-flung flavours to welcome the warmer weather. That was certainly the view of drinks companies when SLTN contacted them for their top tipple recommendations for the summer season, with tequila cocktails, Italian wines and beers from the Mediterranean all top tips for summer drinks lists.  In wine, Jon Harris, sales director for Scotland at Hallgarten Wines, said he expects premium rosé wines to ‘outperform th ..read more

Union members outside The 13th Note (Pic: Unite) Ex-staff of famed Glasgow music venue The 13th Note have won an industrial tribunal taken against their former employer, who has been ordered to pay them three months’ wages. The tribunal involved 11 staff, all members of the Unite union, and operator Javacrest Limited, a company now in liquidation, with Jacqueline Fennessy listed as its only active director. In June 2023, the venue hit the headlines when it was closed by environmental health due to a mouse infestation, but was then cleared to reopen days later. Then in July, its unionised staff ..read more

Sponsored Article Are you an experienced hospitality professional based in Aberdeen and hungry for a new challenge? Punch Pubs has two cracking pub opportunities to share with you. Why run a pub with Punch? “We put pubs, people, and opportunities at the centre of everything. We achieved Mind Gold and won the Licenced Trade Charity (LTC) Staff Wellbeing Award for 251+ sites last year. “This year, we achieved the esteemed Publican Awards Best Partnership Pub Company +501 sites. “We’re also proud of our exceptional Operations Managers. In the 2024 independent survey, The Licensee Index (TLI), Pun ..read more

Ultra-premium rum brand, Brugal, has just launched a new prestige sipping rum, Maestro Reserva, in the UK. Born from 135 years of Dominican rum-making experience, the process behind Maestro Reserva utilises an innovative cask toasting technique – claimed to be completely unique to and developed by Brugal – called ‘Dark Aromatic Toasting’. This technique sees the rum aged in premium American oak sherry casks, then emptied out and carefully placed aside. The casks are immediately toasted to extract natural caramel pearls that are drawn from the sugars in the wood. The casks are then re-filled wi ..read more

Edinburgh microbrewery, bar and restaurant Cold Town House will be hosting the inaugural Grassmarket Craft Beer Festival on the 11th of May. Kicking off at midday, the event promises to be a celebration of craft beer, local culinary delights, and live musical entertainment. Among the ‘distinguished’ selection of Scottish breweries involved will be Cold Town Beer itself, Barney’s Beer, Campervan Brewery, Moonwake Beer Co, 71 Brewing, Dookit Brewing Co, Holy Goat Brewing, Newbarns, Stewart Brewing, and Two Towns Down Brewing. Organiser Chris Queen said: “The Grassmarket Craft Beer Festival repre ..read more

From henceforth, the last Thursday of each April is to officially be known and celebrated as World Dram Day – at least, that is the plan according to leading craft spirits retailer Master of Malt. For the past 14 years, Master of Malt has been ‘discovering and decanting the finest premium liquids into wonderful sip-sized portions’, and has decided that the best way to shout about this illustrious track record is to devote a whole day to drams, starting this year, on April 25th. The serious point that the company is making concerns its efforts to ‘democratise’ premium spirits – using 30ml wax-d ..read more

Café Cùil on the Isle of Skye Chef-owners Clare Coghill, of Café Cùil on the Isle of Skye, and Scott Smith, of Edinburgh’s Fhior, are teaming up on Saturday the 4th of May to bring a fine-dining supper club to the Isle of Skye. For one night only, Coghill and Smith will collaborate on a six-course menu that aims to infuse Clare’s island produce-inspired dishes with Fhior’s clean, precise, and seasonal cooking, to bring something new and exciting to the island . The chefs plan to alternate courses, using local Skye produce and ingredients they foraged the ..read more

Perthshire five-star hotel hotel & spa Fonab Castle – managed by the Crerar Hotels group – now has Scottish hospitality industry stalwart Peter Walker as its General Manager. Walker takes charge at the luxury castle hotel after twenty-five years’ experience in the industry at some of the north-east of Scotland’s most recognised hotels, during which time he became a Master Innholder, a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and a Hospitality Action Ambassador. He was managing director of Maryculter House in Aberdeen for more than five years, delivering excellent results in employee engageme ..read more

An established community pub in Banton, near Kilsyth, is in need of a new lessee.  The Swan is described as a newly-renovated community pub with a ‘roaring’ food and beverage business. It was refurbished recently, with new fixtures and fittings added.  The property includes a bar/bistro on its ground floor and a flat above.  Selling agent Graham + Sibbald is looking for offers in the region of £45,000 for the ingoing premium and £25,000 for annual rent.  The agency’s Martin Sutherland described The Swan as an ‘outstanding pub’ which is ‘a great example of Scottish hospitali ..read more