Recruitment drive for 50 jobs in plush new food hall

Bonnie & Wild, the new food hall within Edinburgh’s St James Quarter, has begun recruiting front of house staff for its Scottish Marketplace.

Kate Russell, who took up the role of Bonnie & Wild’s general manager on Monday, said her priority was to now build a highly trained team who were passionate about promoting Scottish food and drink.

Bonnie & Wild is due to open on June 24 alongside much of the St James Quarter. The Edinburgh site is one of Scotland’s largest food and drink venues and will contain three bars, eight food stalls and four speciality retailers, with open-plan seating for about 400 people.

Kate, who comes from the multi-award-winning Edinburgh restaurant group Loudons, said she was in the process of interviewing for assistant manager roles, with a sales and events manager to follow, before recruiting front of house and service staff.

She said: ‘One of my main objectives is to ensure staff share Bonnie & Wild’s passion for Scottish food and drink. We want our staff to be the welcoming face of Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace, but also to champion Scotland’s wider food and drink industry.’

Along with about 50 new Bonnie & Wild staff, the Food Hall venue will also lead to jobs being created for each of the 12 concessions, with some key roles already advertised on the edinburghfuse.com website. Ms Russell said: “The number of jobs being created at Bonnie & Wild is expected to be close to 100.”

Kate, who brings with her a wealth of industry experience including from her time at Edinburgh’s family-run institution S. Luca, added: ‘There’s nothing like Bonnie & Wild in Scotland. We will have a high quality food offering from multiple providers, including some very well known names such as MasterChef winner Gary MacLean. Within this amazing food hall setting, guests will be spoilt for choice!’

Bonnie & Wild general manager Kate Russell

Last week Bonnie & Wild revealed additional details of its venue, including its flexible events space that contains a private dining area, demonstration kitchen and intimate bar. It followed news of the partnership with the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards, which will see award-winning images of Scotland exhibited throughout the venue.

Kate said: ‘Through our exciting events programme and key partnerships with the likes of the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards we will be showcasing not just Scottish food and drink but also the very land it comes from. Sourcing, sustainability and provenance are hugely important to us.

‘Our events, from launches and parties to pop-ups and festivals, will give Bonnie & Wild guests the opportunity to meet the people behind these amazing food and drink products, while on the walls around them they’ll be reminded of the land, lochs and seas from where many of these products will have originated.’

For more details visit bonnieandwildmarket.com.

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