Saturday 30 September 2017

A new chapter begins

It's 11 years now that we have owned the Selkirk Arms Hotel and never in that time have we been more excited about the way forward. This is a pivotal moment in the Hotel's history as we move the business forward. Customer dining, expectations, they way we book hotels and what we expect from hotels has changed beyond belief. As a business we have to change and adapt with it. 

The arrival of a new head chef and the opportunity to develop the team further is in itself exciting, offering new opportunities for our team and new tastes, textures and flavours for our customers. With Joanna now firmly filling Douglas's shoes the front of house team are settled and dare I say more relaxed. 

We'll be finishing the final phase of room refurbishment this winter in the cottage with room 1 & 3 getting makeovers and a new bathroom in room 3, we're planning installing a new kitchen extraction and canopy system in November ahead of a kitchen refurb in 2018. The Sports Bar is also due a complete re fit over the winter - more on that soon

We are delighted to announce that Ryan Millar has been appointed as our new Head Chef.

Ryan starts early October and will take the reins from Jake Hopkins who is set to go travelling the world. Our sincere thanks to Jake and Nicole for all their hard work over the years, we wish them happy travels and good luck.

Ryan will be showcasing his first taster menu on our Gourmet night on Friday 20th October to launch the Kirkcudbright Food Festival weekend before we launch our new winter menu the following week. Ryan brings a wealth of experience to the Selkirk including stints as Senior Pastry Chef at Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa, Head Chef at Zinzi Restaurant at Hunter Hotel, Western Cape in South Africa  and more recently at the Horseshoe Inn at Eddleston near Peebles. A keen cyclist and runner, he arrives in Galloway with his wife Anneli, a beauty therapist  and their young daughter.

We really hope they settle in Galloway and look forward to a new chapter in the continual development of our menus, local procurement and above all quality food at affordable prices. We’ll keep you posted on menu developments.

You can follow Ryan on his foodie instagram site at https://www.instagram.com/ryandonaldmiller