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News from the Kitchen

This month has been a demanding one for the kitchen, with cookery demonstrations, cookery classes and students to teach, the Chefs have been kept very busy! Our first cookery demonstration was held at the beginning of this month and we are pleased to say it was very well received. We had great feedback from all involved and the Chefs enjoyed the experience as well. We are definitely planning to run some more in future months.

Our first ever cookery course is now under way with the first classes being held this week. Participants will learn to cook a gourmet three course meal and will hopefully have some new skills by the end of the course. The course kicked off on Monday night with a great first session and we hope it will continue this way as this is a learning experience for the Kitchen Team as well.

Another project for Our Executive Chef David is to spend time with some student chefs who come to the Milton on day release from other establishments one day per week. David is lecturing and assessing the students, helping them to achieve their Level 2 SVQ in Professional Cookery.

With Grampian Chef of the Year competition looming, the rest of the Kitchen Team are trying to find time to plan and create new exciting dishes. Good luck guys and gals!

New Girl

Hi, my name is Becky Purcell and I have just moved down from Thurso to Aberdeen. It is fortunate for me that my sister is Restaurant Supervisor at the Milton Restaurant and through her I have been able to get work here! I am currently training to be a chef, doing my Modern Apprenticeship SVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery through Hospitality Training. My assessor is our Executive Chef David Littlewood. When not in the kitchen I help out Front of House, and although it is all very new I am enjoying gaining experience from both sides! Well that's all from me now but I will keep you updated on my SVQ progress!

Valentines Weekend

Here it is again, the weekend that the hospitality industry loves and dreads in equal measure!

It is great to have a fully booked weekend with waiting lists for the ever hopeful, and it is lovely that there are still so many romantic souls out there. It can also be quite exciting; one year we had a proposal which the gentleman wanted to be incorporated in to the menu - I had to make sure the right person got that menu!

On the flip side there can be quite a lot of pressure in the build up to the day but only because we are trying so hard to get everything right on the night(s). This year we are running the Valentines menu on Saturday and Sunday evening, so hopefully making the evening special for around 60 couples in total. We put a lot of thought in to the preparation, from polishing the champagne glasses and planning the layout of the restaurant to making up personalised gifts for guests to take away.

Our Executive Chef David Littlewood has come up with a mouth-watering five course menu starting with an Oyster Bloody Mary and ending with a little gift from us - Happy Valentines weekend everyone!

Competition Time

Hi, my name is Alexandra and it is now my turn to update you on what I have been doing. I have been very busy these past few weeks as I am preparing for the Academy of Culinary Arts Awards competition which will be held on Wednesday 10th Februrary at Kilmarnock.

In preparation for this I have spent a morning with Andrew Gordon Butchery and Fine Foods where I was shown how to prepare a whole lamb. I got to know the intricate details of the whole Butchery process from carcass to the final prepared cuts for sale. It was a most enjoyable experience and I am now using my newly learned skills here at the Milton.

I am getting a lot of practice in for the competition and hopefully I have what it takes to do well.

Wish me luck!
Alex

News from Front of House

Christmas is over, decorations are down and the Milton heads into a new year....

On January 28th we held another successful Jazz Evening, music was provided by the ever popular McCool Jazz. These evenings are proving to be very popular with our customers and we will have further Jazz evenings in the coming months, with the next one being Thursday 25th March.

Mr Rae and all the staff were delighted when River Dee Trust decided to have their official opening of the 'Salmon Fishing Season' here at the Milton, especially when the guest of honour was Billy Connolly! All went well on the day and thankfully there was no more snow.

We are now working towards making Valentines weekend one to remember. There are still a few tables left so for all you romantics out there, give us a call!

From the Front of House Girls

Happy New Year to all our customers, new and old!

So far January has been a busy month for the Office Staff. We exhibited at 'Your Wedding Exhibition' held at the AECC on 16th & 17th January and it was a success. We have had lots of enquiries and two lucky brides-to-be won Valentines Meals in our prize draw. Our Online Customer Feedback Survey has been launched (available on our website) and participants have a chance of winning a meal for two!

We have some exciting events coming up over the next few months...but I won't spoil the surprise so watch this space!

Hope to see you all at the Milton very soon.

From Nikki - Events Assistant