Gleneagles Part Two: The Dormy/A70

Hey everyone it’s Cian again from Gleneagles and this vlog is about my time in the Dormy Clubhouse and also a bit about the A70, which is a subsection of the Dormy clubhouse which offers lots of small bites and sharing plates. The menu has two major influences, Indian cuisine and Scottish cuisine. They are some dishes that are strictly following each cuisine such as the black pepper chicken tikka being Indian cuisine and the Haggis scotch egg being Scottish cuisine. Theres some dishes that have influences from both cuisines however, such as the Malai cauliflower, which is a cauliflower dish that has been steamed then marinated in indian spices and then baked to order and served with a Scottish cheddar bechamel to offset the heat from the marinade. Working in the A70 has been beneficial for me as it is a smaller kitchen, there is only two of us most days so communication is vital for sending food out of the kitchen. Another thing about the A70 kitchen is that its an open kitchen so the way I carry myself is vital as I'm in the view of the customers. There has been times where we have gotten absolutely slammed and once we sent all the food we would have to completely reset the kitchen because of the mess, a small kitchen can get messy very quickly when its busy!

I find the Dormy environment very different to the Birnam, for example the very first day I worked in the Dormy I was invited out for the staff night, whereas I was in the Birnam for two months and there was no work/social crossover with any of those colleagues. The best thing was I met two Irish lads who were both also from Waterford and had done the BA in hospitality management and never came back from their placement because they liked it there so much! Meeting these lads was so good because hearing an Irish accent for the first time in two months was so refreshing because learning to understand some Scottish slang has been a struggle!

Working the A70 and Dormy has been very beneficial for me because I have learned so much about different cuisines, I have never used so much different spices since starting here! The best thing has been the kitchen team, I have made so many friends in the Dormy, we spend 60 hours a week together so we are all like family. Ive learned so much and in this kitchen I feel appreciated and not viewed as another pair of hands solely because I'm a student. I have made some great friendships in my time and I don.t see myself leaving Scotland anytime soon.