Runaway success

Annie Smith won her first AA rosette a month after opening Scoretulloch House, Ayrshire. This would not be so unusual if Annie were not an "amateur" by industry standards. Cooking at home for the business contacts she and her husband Donald regularly entertained meant that Annie had lots of experience, but not at a commercial level.

Just prior to opening their small hotel, she attended a three-day Taste of Burns course, a training initiative encouraging use of local produce, led by well-known chefs and run under the banner of the area's most famous son. This gave her confidence as she heard professional chefs lamenting problems similar to the ones she was encountering.

"The difference between a cook and a chef is: how do you get 10 different meals to the table hot, all at the same time?" she notes. "That is where the experience and the training are needed."

But the Scoretulloch House restaurant took on a life of its own and the original dining area, set in the former library, did not provide enough space for the demand. By the second week, the Smiths had converted the living room, with its roaring fire, into a 36-seat dining room.

While proud of her rosette, Annie recognised that it was time to engage a professional chef when dinners regularly exceeded 20 covers. A fortuitous meeting with Tom O'Donnell, formerly head chef at Chapeltoun House at Stewarton in Ayrshire, led to him joining the Smiths at the end of last July. O'Donnell's cooking brought Scoretulloch its second AA rosette in October.

The success of the restaurant in its own right surprised both Donald and Annie. They had originally thought that Scoretulloch House would be a country house hotel. The property, bought as a dilapidated ruin in 1984, was restored over three-and-a-half years by the Smiths while they were working in the textile industry. Selling their business, the pair moved to Canada in 1994 but were soon pining for the now restored Scoretulloch. Returning after two years, they decided to turn their home into a hotel.

The location was good, with nothing of the sort within a half-hour's drive, according to Donald. With grouse moors nearby, the Smiths thought they would appeal to those wanting to get away for a night. The attraction would be the rooms, and the food would be simply for the hotel guests - or so they thought.

Things have all moved rather quickly for the Smiths since opening on 1 May last year. Donald estimates that the place has turned over £100,000 in its first eight months of operation, with room occupancy running at 50% during January, but certain to be about 90% in the summer. The restaurant averages 150 covers weekly for both lunch and dinner, with average spend £15 and £30 respectively.

Bed-and-breakfast rack rate for the one single room is £59, the double/twin rooms are £44.50 and the suite commands £75. A special weekend rate of £60 for dinner, bed and breakfast brings people in for an overnight stay. Residents can have a three-course dinner for £19.50. Non-residents pay £24.50, or £27 for four courses.

Not including capital investment in the property, Donald estimates that the pair have put £100,000 into invisibles - a new hot water system, fire precautions, and repaving the road to the house - for the completion of which they received some funding from Enterprise Ayrshire.

Later this year, they hope to complete a further extension to the dining room which will increase capacity to 50 seats, with the ability to section off the added 14 seats as a separate function room. Donald estimates this will cost about £50,000. With the dining room expansion will come a kitchen expansion, and once that is finished the couple would like to add to their existing four bedrooms, to make a total of eight. The cost estimate for this is about £20,000 per bedroom.

The pair's relatively amateur status, in terms of hospitality experience, has been an advantage in many ways, Annie believes. "The outsiders' perspective has been key," she says. "We are able to look at things with a fresh eye and not worry about how it has always been done."

The couple's experience of hotels around the world has stood them in good stead, as they understand the needs and desires of the customers. Annie feels that not knowing how the customer feels is a problem with some of the professional training which the hospitality industry offers its young entrants.

"Young people are brought into college and into the kitchen and they stay there," she says. "The kitchen is a very isolating place - you don't see the customer and it is high stress. The students don't get to experience the other side. It can give them a narrow view. I believe students should be taken to dine out so they realise it is not just about them in the kitchen, but about the person sitting in the restaurant."

The couple's success is in large part a testimony to the quality of their product and of their marketing. Hiring Libby Weir-Breen as their public relations and marketing consultant was, says Donald, one of their best decisions. Advertising was placed in some of the local papers, but on the whole the pair relied on Weir-Breen and her contacts to launch the product. The total cost for PR and advertising was £500 per month. "It is higher than average but worth every penny," says Annie.

A soft opening through April allowed the pair to hone their skills and prepare for the Scottish Tourist Board (STB) inspection, which yielded a four-crown de luxe rating. With that to trumpet, Weir-Breen invited Scottish food critics to experience Scoretulloch. Favourable reviews followed, and the AA was asked to do an advisory visit. The Smiths were ready for the incognito inspection which led to the first AA rosette. A further inspection led to the second rosette and a 5Q grading - with four bedrooms, Scoretulloch qualifies under the bed-and-breakfast criteria.

With the bedroom extension, the Smiths will qualify for AA star rating and hope they will meet red star standards.

Part of their success with both the AA and the STB has been their request for advisory visits. "We have found both the AA and the STB very helpful in the advice given," says Annie.

More publicity is due to come their way when Scottish Television screens The Home Show, featuring Scoretulloch House, in early spring 1998. The publicity has attracted loyal clients, with Annie estimating that there is about 50% repeat business. "We know that getting people through the door that first time is the biggest battle we have to win," she says.

As the business has grown, the pair have taken on more staff to assist them. Daughter Lizzie has trained in hospitality, having worked front of house at Cameron House on Loch Lomond, and now does shifts at Scoretulloch. Six part-timers and a full-time housekeeper make up the rest of the staff, with Donald and Annie filling in where needed.

"I have never worked so hard in my life," admits Donald. "The hours are long, but the people are nice."