• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Daily Business Magazine

A magazine complement to the Daily Business website

  • Life, Arts & Leisure
    • Creative
    • Festival
      • Festival Reviews
    • Film
    • Food & Drink
    • Stage Shows
    • Life
    • Leisure
      • Rio Recommends – dog walks and cafes
    • Homes
    • Style
    • Travel
  • Opinion
    • Bill Magee
    • Craig Alexander Rattray
    • Karen Harvie
    • Keith Anderson
    • Russell Dalgleish
    • Terry Murden
  • Interviews
  • Notebook
  • Working Life
    • Careers & Management
    • Finance and legal
    • Technology
      • Tech Talk
    • Well Being
  • Daily Business News
    • All Content

Brasserie Ecosse backs staff to shine

June 8, 2021 by a Daily Business Contributor Leave a Comment

 Natalie Maitland and Jordan Millar with general manager Nikos Matsikas


A Dundee restaurant & bar, due to open its doors to the paying public later this month, has spoken of its plans to enable its young team of employees to shine in the coming months.

With the last year having seen two agonising lockdowns inflicted on the hospitality industry, and latest UK figures stating that 660,000 job in the industry have now been lost – with many more predicted – Brasserie Ecosse, just behind The Caird Hall  at Shore Terrace, has fully retained all its staff.

The restaurant, known for its famous egg chairs, its champagne tasting area, metal effect curtains, and eye catching wall of live moss & succulents, has been running an in-house training academy for young hospitality workers, since 2019.

Incorporating industry recognised training for both front of house, and young chefs, the academy has taken a number of young Dundonians, such as Natalie Maitland and Jordan Millar, and progressed them through the business. Having started as a part time junior waitress, who was often affected by a severe lack of self belief, Natalie is now Brasserie Ecosse’s head waitress.

Along with mastering professional front of house skills, Natalie has also had extensive training in many aspects of running a hospitality business. These include performing a dessossage & gueridon service, learning about customer service & recovery skills, covering K.P.I.’s & sales targets, HACCP & COSHH training, and Fire Safety & bomb threat training.

With the restaurant currently seeking to fill some new roles in both the kitchen and front of house, general manager Nikos Matsikas, who set up the training academy with the support of his head chef, Scott Cameron, and Brasserie Ecosse owner, Dr Rami Sarraf, believes the restaurant will be a trailblazer for training and mentoring.

“Natalie will pass on her experience to the new staff, providing them with a buddy system as they bed into the role,” he said. 

Said Natalie: “I’m really looking forward to the restaurant re-opening. It will be great to get some more local young people working here in this amazing space. 

“Doing well in this industry is all about someone taking the time with you, until you feel much more confident about everything you are doing, from recommending a wine, to describing the ingredients in a complex dish. 

‘It’s been a long layoff, but we have all kept in touch with one another to keep spirits up’

“Knowledge is power. Nikos is a patient teacher whose understanding of the industry is unsurpassed. He has given me his passion for excellence, and I get a huge buzz from seeing diners enjoy their meal together with the whole experience, as it’s a touch of theatre here at Brasserie Ecosse for sure.

“That’s probably what I have missed most in lockdown. It’s been a long layoff, but we have all kept in touch with one another to keep spirits up, and Nikos has still been passing on tips and training guidance the whole time.”

Currently a commis chef, Jordan Millar will once again be running his own section within the Brasserie kitchen, working on Brasserie Ecosse’ delicious selection of starters & desserts.

With the mantra “laid back luxury”, Brasserie Ecosse’ menu uses a mix of classic and modern cooking techniques, predominately French, but with some influences from parts of Asia.

Jordan commented: “Like Natalie I’ve missed the buzz of the whole place. It’s been hard to be away from the job you love, but now is my time to shine with Scott providing fantastic advice and mentoring.

“We’re both been discussing the re-opening menu, as it will feature some favourites, together with some new dishes we had developed before lockdown. There’s a whole host of seasonal ingredients to play with too.”

This article appears under the terms of the DB Direct service

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Food & Drink, Life, Arts & Leisure, Restaurants, Working Life

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar



Editor’s Pick

Struan Stevenson

Holyrood must get a grip on the bad bets

Struan Stevenson

… [More...] about Holyrood must get a grip on the bad bets

Bill Magee

Crypto needs rules to rein in volatility

Bill Magee

… [More...] about Crypto needs rules to rein in volatility

Terry Murden

Pay claims still driven by the ‘us and them’ grievance

Terry Murden

… [More...] about Pay claims still driven by the ‘us and them’ grievance

Reston Station

Reston back on track after half a century

Julena Drumi

… [More...] about Reston back on track after half a century

Advertising



Footer

  • All Content
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • WordPress

Copyright © 2022 · Design by jPAD Consulting · Magazine Pro · Genesis Framework

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...