Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

EXCLUSIVE: Popular Ballater restaurant Rothesay Rooms to be taken over by hospitality firm BaxterStorey

King Charles with Rothesay Rooms executive chef Ross Cochrane at the Ballater restaurant. Image: The Prince's Foundation
King Charles with Rothesay Rooms executive chef Ross Cochrane at the Ballater restaurant. Image: The Prince's Foundation

The award-winning Ballater restaurant Rothesay Rooms will be taken over by independent hospitality provider BaxterStorey in the new year.

The Royal Deeside venue, which is housed in the historic Old Royal Station, has had a successful six years under The Prince’s Foundation.

The reins will be handed over to BaxterStorey, which operates in the UK, Ireland and Europe, on January 1 2023. The Prince’s Foundation will retain the lease of the venue and will let it to the company for an undisclosed sum.

First established as a pop-up eating destination by the now King Charles, it’s purpose was to to drive tourism and employment to the area following the flooding and a fire in the village in 2015.

Exterior of Rothesay Rooms in Ballater. Image: Scott Baxter

When the station was destroyed in the fire, The Prince’s Foundation undertook an extensive restoration and renovation project, bringing jobs and visitors to the town.

Rothesay Rooms success

While the restaurant has celebrated numerous award wins in its six years and has also been included in the Michelin Guide for the past five, the foundation has been presented with challenges and has had to reconsider its involvement with the establishment.

Rothesay Rooms is led by celebrated north-east chef Ross Cochrane and general manager Carolina Cochrane. To date, all profits generated from the restaurant have been diverted back into The Prince’s Foundation to support its charitable work, including its education and training initiatives.

King Charles with Robert Lovie, centre, and Rothesay Rooms executive chef Ross Cochrane in the restaurant. Image: The Prince’s Foundation

A portion profits from the operation of the restaurant will continue to be passed to The Prince’s Foundation from BaxterStorey when they takeover. This will be invested in the charity’s various programmes.

Staff will continue in their positions, however BaxterStorey will review the food and drink offering, as well as opening hours in the new year. The team and staff will be consulted during this time.

Gordon Neil, executive director of The Prince’s Foundation, said: “The challenges presented by the global pandemic in the past two years, coupled with the acute impact on the hospitality industry, have led to us consider whether The Prince’s Foundation is best-placed to build on the significant success of what was originally intended to be a pop-up establishment.

Inside Rothesay Rooms. Image: Kenny Elrick

“From discussions with BaxterStorey in recent months, it has become clear that Rothesay Rooms staff and customers are in the best possible hands, and we look forward to seeing how the restaurant can continue to grow from strength to strength in a very special part of Scotland.”

The Prince’s Foundation will honour all bookings and run the restaurant until December 31, 2022.

A BaxterStorey future awaits

BaxterStorey specialises in restaurants, cafes, deli bars and executive dining rooms.

Their footprint spans across Scotland and they take pride in their connections with local Scottish suppliers and a passion for celebrating regional cuisine.

Jeremy Wood, managing director for BaxterStorey Scotland, said: “Rothesay Rooms is one of Royal Deeside’s most revered restaurants and it’s a privilege to be a part of its future.

Some of the dishes that have been served up at Rothesay Rooms. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

“We look forward to working with Ross, Carolina and their team to develop a menu which celebrates the best in Scottish produce and continues to be at the heart of the community”.

Rothesay Rooms was named Restaurant of the Year in 2017, 2018, and 2019 at the North East Scotland Chef and Restaurant of the Year Competition.

Conversation