January in Scotland - our survival tips!

Well it all seems a bit of blur really. The maddest busiest time of year was followed by more madness and business as we opened in Edinburgh for the first time in our history on 1^st and 2^nd January 2014.

The thing is Edinburgh is packed with so many things still in full swing that it is madness not to open our doors and be part of it. The fairs still run, the big wheeel, the theatres, the rosy cheeked visitors wrapped up in bright scarves and cosy jackets are wandering past our door on their way to and from the hot spots of the city. So we threw open our door and invited them in.

We were delighted to be snuggled down into our banquette seating with the heating roaring and the head thumping as other like minded souls wandered in and we were collectively brought back to life by some great food and drink.   The atmosphere was crackling and smiles broad so if you didn't make it this year then make a date for next. 

And now it is the 6th of January and yesterday was of course the 12th day of Christmas has come and gone and we are back into the real world, whatever that it. The great big spiky, sweet smelling Christmas tree has been recycled back into the earth from whence it came and the baubles are wrapped in paper until their next appearance in December 2015. But well, we had a chat between us and agreed the twinkling lights outside should be left up for now. Well it is so darn dark and cold and well Januaryish we need something to lift our spirits, make those passing smile and to remind us that though the festive frenzy may be over for another year you really don’t need an excuse to get out and have a good time.

On the note…..there's our game dealer at the door with our pheasant so I must away…..details to follow….and 'til then….Happy New Year!!!  Mmmn pheasant…...

And don't forget it's £7.95 for two courses for lunch at Howies in Edinburgh from now until 31st January-and that includes the whole menu not just a wee short cheaty one.
Early dining as well if you're wanting to be tucked in early doors £14.95 for 2 courses Sun- Thursday - now you can't say fairer than that.

Well here we go! Hogmanay and Blogmanay in Edinburgh 2013.

Edinburgh is a cracking place to be for Hogmanay and this year will be no exception.

The torchlight procession kicks things off which can make grown men as well as hormonal women cry and consists of a long trail of rosy cheeked folk, walking through the most historical parts of this beautiful city holding aloft a flaming torch. Sparkly eyes, romantic notions and chilly toes are the theme and being surrounded by such historical beauty can feel rather profound. The Torchlight Procession is now sold out but even watching it gets you in the mood. So t speak to coin a phrase. Anyway here's the link if you fancy joining in Edinburgh's Hogmanay. And if you do - please wrap up very well indeed. Balaclavas are quite the thing round here at this time of year. You may laugh? But when your extremities are numb you will be coveting that man over there in his  hilarious home knitted balaclava as he will be smiling and cosy  and smiling in there.

A good way to defrost is head our way. We are open at the bottom of Calton Hill at Howies Waterloo Place – you can’t miss us as you turn towards Princes St that’s us on the corner. It is where you can be assured of a warm welcome, twinkling lights, a huge Christmas tree and some great Scottish food and warming wines too. We are taking part in Blogmanay by hosting a table of intergalactic bloggers from all over the world - if you are a Twitterer then we're on @HowiesScotland and we will keep you up to date with the night as it progresses. 

 

Anyway, here's a wee peek at Howies a Georgian Hall with a huge amount of history and we are so looking forward to giving them and your good self a great warming Scottish feast to remembered for a long time beyond. If you Tweet then use the hash tag Blogmanay and you can be part of it no matter where you are.

If you’re in town for the festivities our sister restaurant which is in a medieval building in the beautiful Victoria Street, just 2 minutes from the Castle and The Royal Mile. It is where our new manager Lara resides. Passionate about Scottish food and customer service pop in and say hello – she is a wonderful Irish woman and you will love her!

Once the big night is over we're still open! We’re informal at the best of times but on 1^st January – even more so. We will be up perky and ready to help you ease your way into what can sometimes be a difficult day! Bloody Marys, big smiles and a warming venison casserole will give you a flavour of what you might indulge in if you pop in.

So enjoy yourself and please stay safe. Warm. Happy. Well fed. And watered. And remember what we said about the balaclava! Seriously – you may look daft as brush but you will be as snug as bug in a rug.

HAPPY HOGMANAY TO YOU AND YOURS!

Another Day In Paradise.

For the uninitiated the title of this post is ironic. If you are not clear exactly what irony is?  Well read on...

You know there is a certain time of years that all the light bulbs just blow. Usually just as winter kicks in and you need them. Well clearly there is also a time when commercial catering equipment just goes. And in the case of Howies it seems just when we have bought back the business we sold 5 years ago.
So that was yesterdays challenge.

The ice machine.

The dishwasher  at Waterloo and a fridge at Victoria Street.

A dishwasher but not as we know it. Well this one works.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Friday is not a great day to phone someone and go ‘HELP!’ as all commercial kitchen engineers are already running around sorting out other restaurants whose equipment has burst. So we tried everything/everyone. We googled, begged, and had some joy a as the fridge was fixed and then the ice machine too.  But try as we might we could not find someone to sort out the huge up and over dishwasher.

So I have just heard late last night that the Ops Director was in there strapped into ye old rubber gloves where she had a late late sweaty night washing the plates manually.

After a long long day in the office, on the floor, and then in the kitchen washing dishes.  CBE, Knighhood & OBE required.And a holiday. A lie down and a whisky.

Have you ever been faced with an ever increasing mound of dishes. The plates, forks, spoons and knives of 120 odd folk? Well just imagine it... then times it by ten. It is hell.

My first job to supplement the pocket money as a 15 yr old was as a dishwasher at The Crescent Hotel in Aberdeen. A wild eyed chef called Raymond ran the place with a mad eye and a sharp knife. Up to my oxters in boiling water with a film of sweat on my face was how I spent many a miserable hour. The head dishwasher – yes there was a pecking order was called Marlene – after Marlene Deitrich. That is where the resemblance ended.

Woman being blindly guided into emptying machine 1954.

I can recall that hell as if it were yesterday. And if we don’t find someone to fix our darn machine it won’t feel like yesterday it will be today. Off to get some Marigolds in preparation of the day ahead…..

Victoria Street Refurbishment Started!

Very excited about  our refurbishment which kicked off today January 8th, 8am at Howies, Victoria Street, Edinburgh.

Here on the left you can see the Howies sign on the current exterior which is Purple and Black...don't ask why - I don't know, you see we have just bought the restaurant back after 5 years so you would really have to ask the previous owners......so..anyway inside and out we decided it's time for a change.

Here are some of the photos of the ‘before’.

As you can see a mishmash or colour and all sorts of quirky bits and bobs .

The restaurant has two separate dining rooms.

The front room has 3 huge picture windows that look out onto Victoria Street - Victoria Street was built hundreds of years ago and is genuinely regarded as one of the most beautiful streets in Europe as it snakes from Edinburgh's Grassmarket to George IV bridge, The Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle just round the corner.
Every shop or restaurant here is a one off. So if you want a real flavour of medievil Edinburgh look no further....I digress.

As you can see red, whitea silver extraction pipe and splodges of teal on the wall. These are the colours we are looking at painting it - no not all of it just the pillars and arches. Final decision on colours tomorrow with John the patient and delightful painter.

If you would like to keep up to date with the inevitable stramash (Scots for everything going wrong, then right, then quickly wrong again) then click the follow button at the top right hand button of this page.

 This is the bar which is usually stacked with bottles, glasses, coffee cups and smiling staff but it's all been cleared out for the big turnaround.
Colours have been difficult to decide upon. Howies logo is teal and cream so why mess with something so delicious we are just using those lovely hues to do the whole jing bang (Scots slang for the entire project).

 The current window display is mainly brushes, rollers, and large plastic buckets. We are only shut for 4 days so you can imagine the pressure on turning it round fast. We have 7 - yup count 'em - 7 brides for 7 brothers no no no I mean 7 painters in there with scaffolding, dungarees, a loud radio and a propensity to whistle out of tune.


This is the back room. An in fact the only thing we've done since buying Howies back mid-December is to rehang this amazing battered copper chandalier which was originally an gas fired one in the Victorian era. Tis a thing of beauty so much  so it's being lowered during the refurb so you can see it properly...it's a beezer (Scots slang for a beautiful example) and was hanging in the very first Howies we opened 21 years ago and we've carried it with us ever since.
The high chairs are looking for a home as there just is no room for the little darlings. They look like Ercol and will be wending their way to an Edinburgh charity shop unles you would like one? Free to your lovely baby.
We need stacking high chairs for our mini diners - baby changing facilities also being fitted into the ladies loo. We do love the wee ones. Good news cludgiewise too  the loos  are being done up too - I didn't think you would appreciate those photos...no I thought not.

 Part of the exterior here. The middle section...black, blue, purple and the most attractive addition of the plastic hanging basket which will be ritually burnt as it is truly a hideous thing.

The whole place was done properly a long time ago and since then has been patch painted and occasionally tweaked so it is well overdue a great big wash of coherent colours.

The picture windows were full of people with their noses pressed against them today wondering what on earth is going on. So do tell them......

That both inside and out it is all being done…..exciting stuf. I shall post an update - meanwhile if you want to book a table for the reopening click HERE

Public Holiday but not for the Restaurant Business....

Highland Cattle - yeh they look cute but by goodness they taste even better. (Sorry Coo)

Yes two whole days off. The1st and the 2nd then bang! The 3rd January it's back into the frey.
Closing Howies for 2 days sounds like heaven but in reality it means the second the doors open again we all hit the ground running.
Phone messages, emails and texts for bookings are taken as deliveries start piling in from 10am sharp.
We have no freezers in Howies so we get deliveries every day except Sunday and if we've been shut for a couple of days that means we start from scratch again. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes yes of course this adds pressure on the chefs but vitally it gives us the ability to be seasonal and change the menu every day. Yes we have our stalwart favourites but at this time of year in Scotland there is a plethora of game available.  Lordy it's tasty stuff. Venison, pheasant, rabbit, hare, partridge and the like gathered from the Glens and cooked fresh. Wonderful. This January we have a great supply of Scottish pheasants so there are lots of tweaking on  a variety of pheasant recipes  to decide which ones cut the mustard and are on the list.

So as you read this the chefs are getting all their delicious ingredients together and preparing for the cook off. Yeah!

This is a joy.

The head chef cooks everything on the menu. Every starter, every main course and every pud and then we all get together to taste and give feedback as to what's good, great and an absolute beezer.

There are 3 Howies Restaurants but we are not a formulaic set up on any level so the chefs design their own menus and with tasting, testing and talking we end up with 3 cracking and unique menus.
Head chef at Howies Victoria Street is Chris.....Waterloo Place is Stevie and in Aberdeen we have a new head chef starting on the 6th....more of which later....

I intend to try everything. EVERYTHING. Of course there will be salad on the menu this month - well there has to be for me or I may combust.

Menu highlights here in next post....but right now....I'm off to pluck a pheasant......please fill in your own joke here........oh and here are some highland coos in action on the Isle of Mull on the West Coast - cute !

The Restaurant Business brace yourself!

Are we mad?
Well we must be.
5 years ago we sold a restaurant group in Scotland called Howies and this week - *drum roll* we bought it back.
When we sold up it was a halleluiah moment.

It was a fond farewell to 37 hour days, stress, sleepless nights, supplier dramas, customer juggling, responsiblity for keeping everyone staff and customers hap hap happy.
And a big hello to a calm and regulated lifestyle, regular hours, quality time with family and friends, inhaling without the pressure of  a manic voice in your head shouting 'stop inhaling that's taking too long you should be on the phone sourcing a new Hobart as the old steam drive one has finally collapsed'.


And now look at us!
Once more into the breach.
With the benefit of time, bascially being out of the madness of catering for 5 years,  we are back, fired up and raring to go.
Well we are.
Which is just as well....we're in the middle of a recession, and the world has changed and well frankly so have we. No longer the wet behind the ear, wide eyed newbies not these days we are more the crinkly faced, bow backed, fools who for some reason best known to themselves glossed over the bad memories and focussed on the good time (singular). Ok I do exaggerate but well.......

....here we are pictured last week. The day we got the keys back standing outside Howies Waterloo  in Edinburgh. 
If you come back to this blog, which I hope you will, you will find an honest day to day account of what it's really like to be in this business they call restaurant.

7 days a week. 7 nights a week. Dealing with the public. Dealing with farmers, veg growers, cheesemongers, booze purveyors, bakers, joiners, plumbers, chefs and each other.
I am wondering about seeking sponsorship from the local psychiatric unit as this I suspect is where this will all end.
Well it beats wearing a 3 piece suit and sitting behind a desk.
Or does it?
We'll see.

Wish us luck. We'll need it!