Number 10 Hotel Classic cookery a hit for special events and occasions.

A CLASSICAL APPROACH

Traditional flavours and classic cookery have helped The Number 10 boutique hotel in Glasgow become a firm favourite for special celebrations and events

THE LOWDOWN

THE NUMBER 10 HOTEL

Outlet The Number 10 Hotel, Glasgow Format Boutique hotel and function venue General Manager William Sloan Time as a caterer 34 years Kitchen staff 8 Operating Hours Sunday to Saturday – 12pm until 10pm

William Sloan has worked in the catering industry, and indeed, in the same establishment, his entire professional life, or as he puts it from “man and boy.”

And while the name above the door of the beautiful Victorian sandstone building, which has been William’s place of work since he was aged just 18, has changed a number of times, his mind-set, drive and ambition certainly haven’t.

The hotel hosts an average of 40 weddings a year

“I started off in the catering industry as a young junior chef in this very same building, before working my way up the ladder to head chef and beyond that to where I am now,” William explains.

“I’m a perfect example of what this industry can offer in terms of employment opportunities for young people. I went into catering as a young kid with no idea what expect but I had the right attitude and ethic, and it’s worked so well for me.

“In this industry commitment goes a long way and can result in incredible opportunities to move up the ladder.”

Today, that ladder has seen William climb to his current position: general manager of The Number 10 boutique hotel in Glasgow – a stunning 26-bedroom hotel, with a keen focus on functions and events, just a stone’s throw away from Hampden Park football stadium.

Inside, the hotel features a large function suite, as-well as a smart candle-lit cocktail bar, which doubles as a restaurant with seats for 36 diners.

The menu, as William explains, offers those diners a “classical” experience, with traditional products and flavours.

“We change the menu about four times a year, in-line with the seasons, but no matter whether it’s spring or winter, that focus on classical, traditional flavours remains.

“That’s what our diners want. It’s food for special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, that

will suit people of all ages and generations.

We don’t really get ‘walk in’s here, it’s mainly a place that people book well in advance.

“We offer fantastic fi llet steaks, wonderful traditional steak pies, braised lamb and one of our signature dishes which uses a feather-blade of beef. We braise the beef for 10 hours in the oven, then we season it, wrap it and chill it down before slicing it. The effect is just out of this world, it’s so tender that you could cut it with the back of a teaspoon, it melts like butter.

One item that I never take off the menu and is an alltime favourite is chicken stuffed with Haggis and a black pepper sauce. It’s important to keep the Scottish theme strong, it’s such a big part of our identity.

“We keep the menu tight, it’s very much quality over quantity, so we do six starters, eight mains and about four or fi ve deserts.

“It’s all very fresh produce focused and I get the vast majority of my butcher meat from Booker. The Blackgate steaks are fantastic and the advice and support I get from the butchery team at my local branch in Glasgow is over and above.

“I’ve been going to the same branch since I was just 18. Back in those days I couldn’t drive and my old manager used to take me. What’s lovely is that many of staff in the branch started out around the same time as me, so I’ve known them for years and years.

“The butcher John in particular, I’ve known since my late teens and we have a fantastic relationship. Those kinds of relationships count for so much. Over the years I’ve seen staff and managers in my hotel change but Booker has remained a constant.

“The branch is only a few miles down the road so I tend to drop by in person at least a couple of times a week to top up on odds and ends, see the samples and chat to the staff and my fellow caterers about how their business are doing and any trends they’re noticing. A trip to branch can be a real knowledge- gathering exercise

DESTINATIONVENUE

THE NUMBER 10 HOTEL

Special Occasion venue

Number 10 Hotel is what William describes as a “special occasion” venue with facilities for large celebrations as-well-as more intimate anniversaries.

“We don’t really get ‘walk in’s here, it’s mainly a place that people book well in advance.” “We change the menu about four times a year, in-line with the seasons, but no matter whether it’s spring or winter, that focus on classical, traditional flavours remains.

“That’s what our diners want. It’s food for special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, that will suit people of all ages and generations. “We offer fantastic fillet steaks, wonderful traditional steak pies, braised lamb and one of our signature dishes which uses a feather-blade of beef.”

“I try to give Booker as much of my business as possible, so we get the majority of our fresh produce from there but also all the ambient food products for the pantry plus the janitorial and housekeeping goods.

“As a special occasion venue, we also get though large quantities of champagne and I’ve just this minute placed an order with Booker for three cases of Bollinger and four cases of Moët & Chandon which should see us through a few more days!

“We also buy vast amounts of stock in bulk, especially on the ambient side: the dried canned foods for the pantry such as pulses, spices, baked beans, it’s really worth it from a price point of view.

“We were on three deliveries a week at the start of the year but the business really took off over the summer and autumn so we actually went up to daily deliveries during that time.”

A big driver of Number 10’s summer of sales has been the creation of a brand new ‘beer garden’ within the hotel’s spacious grounds.

With easily accessible entrances from the side of the hotel and its function suite the spacious garden now offers an area of different dining areas, with seating available across its lawns, patios, raised decking, and under the cover of its newlybuilt and heated wooden gazebo.

“The pandemic made us think differently about our outside space and to be honest we didn’t realise quite how much of it we actually had until we starting thinking about making more of it,” William says.

“The garden has always been there but it wasn’t as accessible as it is now and there were lots of attractive but impractical stone pillars dotted around which made the space more challenging to use.

That’s all changed now though and the garden has been transformed into a large and truly beautiful space for people to sit, drink, eat and celebrate with lots of different zones.

We have also launched a new garden menu with some popular snacking favourites such as handmade burgers, and of course a large selection of bottled and draft beer, Champagne, cocktails, gins, whiskies and more.

We also offer a great value priced afternoon tea, which includes freshly made sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes and ‘chef’s choice canapé for just £12.95 a person.

I’m expecting those to do really well in the warmer months too as we have such a lovely setting for things like baby showers.

As part of the garden makeover, a stunning new garden pavilion was also constructed, giving the hotel a second function room, perfect for weddings, special events and occasions.

“The pavilion is absolutely beautiful, the real jewel in the garden’s crown,” William says.

The newly refurbished garden can hold as many as 600 people

WILLIAM’S SPECIAL BOARD

KEEP IT CLASSIC

Our customers come to us because we offer classical menus with traditional flavours, many of which have a Scottish focus. It’s important to keep the Scottish theme strong.

FRESH APPROACH

We get daily deliveries during our busy summer season but I also visit the branch at least three times a week to ensure that our produce is as fresh as can be. “It’s all made from glass and beautiful Scandinavian wood, with great high ceilings and sliding glass doors out into the garden so it’s perfectly suited to weddings.

“Weddings are a really big focus for us and last year we hosted 40! I’d hope to see that number rise even further in 2022, restrictions permitting, as a result of the new pavilion.

“I’m really looking forward to a good spring and summer with the garden. We’re determined to remain optimistic because, while the remaining winder months will undoubtably be challenging, in the blink of an eye it will be spring, and thanks to our newly-refurbished garden we have a wonderful setting for outdoor dining and events. We’ve got Easter, Mother’s Day and Communion season, which is quite a big opportunity in Glasgow, all to come, so there are certainly lots of reasons to be excited.

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

We keep the menu tight, it’s very much quality over quantity, so we do six starters, eight mains and about four or five deserts. “In the summer garden can now take up to 300 people, plus all the extra space in the pavilion, meaning that we can cater for almost 500. We’ve got a great team and we’ll all pull together to give those guests an experience to remember!”