Doyen of Scottish Hospitality, Ken McCulloch has died in Glasgow, aged 76.
Born in Glasgow in 1948, McCulloch went on to become one of Scotland’s most successful and innovative hoteliers.
He began his career with British Transport Hotels as a young Commis Chef, working in the kitchens at The Malmaison restaurant in Glasgow’s Central Hotel and then at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.
After a short period with Stakis Hotels, he stepped out on his own and opened La Bonne Auberge, a wine-bar in the Park Circus area of Glasgow, before making his way to Royal Exchange Square where he opened the famous Charlie Parker’s wine bar and restaurant.
In 1986 he put Glasgow’s name on the map as a global destination when he opened the city’s first boutique hotel, One Devonshire Gardens, with his award-winning interior designer wife, Amanda Rosa.
It was, at the time, the most luxurious hotel in Scotland. With Andrew Fairlie as Head Chef, the hotel gained a Michelin star in 1996.
McCulloch then went on to create the Malmaison Hotel Group, whose first hotel opened in Edinburgh in 1994, and after just four successful years, he sold up and moved to Monaco, where he and Amanda bought the Abela Hotel with business partner racing driver David Coultard.
This became Columbus Hotel, which opened to international acclaim.
Ken and Amanda then created Dakota Hotels, launching the now hugely successful hotel group in 2004 before returning home to Glasgow in 2009.
An independent thinker, his passion for creating ‘hotels with a difference’ saw him become an ambassador for Scotland and for Scottish talent, continually achieving critical acclaim for his innovative thinking, his meticulous attention to detail and focus on the guest’s experience.
McCulloch once said that the best advice he ever received was from Fernand Point, chef of the Michelin starred Le Pyramide near Lyon: “Success is the sum of many small things correctly done.”
With such an illustrious and successful career spanning over five decades, it was clearly advice that Ken followed to the letter.
(Atalanta)
