Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels has appointed a Group Executive Chef who brings 25 years’ experience to the role, having worked for renowned hotel groups as well as luxury cruise liners.
Ross Bootland will oversee the culinary teams at each of the hotels in the family, including Crieff Hydro Hotel and Peebles Hydro Hotel. He will mainly be based in Crieff but will regularly visit the properties in the Borders, Dundee and Glencoe in order to support and lead the teams.
One of Ross’ main focuses will be recruitment and continuing to build a training programme to help nurture upcoming talent.
Ross said: “I am delighted to join Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels. They have approached me on a few occasions but this felt like the right time to make the move and I’m enjoying having a better work/life balance being located closer to my family at home, rather than spending months at sea.
“Recruitment has been very challenging across the industry so one of my main objectives will be to hire some fantastic talent into chef vacancies we have across the group.
“I want to create a friendly and supportive culture across all of the kitchens in our hotels and will be looking at ways we can invest in our team’s development.
“While the head chefs at each of the hotels will continue to be responsible for creating their own menus, I will be on hand to develop concepts that fit the personalities of each of the hotels. I’m already working on exciting ideas with the team and would love for us to work towards putting one or two of our restaurants forward for AA Rosette Awards.”
Stephen Leckie, CEO of Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, added: “We are very pleased to have Ross at the helm as Group Executive Chef.
“His fantastic ambition and drive to nurture a fantastic working environment will really help take our restaurants to the next level and attract talented chefs who are looking for the opportunity to hone their craft and create exciting a wonderful dining experience for guests.”